Summary
On Wednesday, 29 November 2017, the GEF Council considered the proposed November 2017 Work Program, which includes: 83 full-sized projects; one programmatic approach; 101 recipient countries; 38 least developed countries (LDCs) and 28 Small Island Developing States (SIDS); and US$2.6 billion in co-financing. The GEF Secretariat reported that 76% of total original GEF-6 resources, 94% of revised GEF-6 resources, 92% of LDCs/SIDS allocations, and 82% of STAR Adjusted allocations for all other countries have been programmed.
During discussion, Council members supported elements of the Work Program and commended the Secretariat’s efforts in balancing geographical and focal area distribution of the projects. Noting that three of 18 entities, namely, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and World Bank, were allocated over 60% of programming, many Council members called for balanced inclusion of all Accredited Entities. Council members also discussed the level of private sector co-financing, enhancing cooperation with multilateral development banks (MDBs), and increasing investment in the work of the GEF. At the conclusion of the discussion, the Council approved the Work Program, subject to the comments made during the Council meeting and pending further submissions by Constituencies.
Additional agenda items discussed on the second day of the three-day Council meeting included: Rationale and Plan to Review GEF's Fiduciary Standards; Updated Policy on Ethics and Conflict of Interest for Council Members, Alternates, and Advisers; Relations with the Conventions and Other International Institutions; Non-Grant Instruments: Experience of the GEF Partnership; Plan to Review GEF’s Social and Environmental Safeguards; and the CEO Report on the Status of GEF-7 Replenishment. The GEF Council also held a dialogue with the heads of the Secretariats of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage and a summary report from the GEF Council Consultation Meeting with CSOs, the 53rd GEF Council Meeting, and the 23rd Meeting of the LDCF/SCCF Council. The summary report is now available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Leila Mead
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Council member Paul Ralison, Madagascar
Council member Mitchell Silk, US
Alternate Council member Carola van Rijnsoever, Netherlands
Council member Abdul Bakarr Salim, Sierra Leone
Participants during the session
Council member Zhongjing Wang, China
Alternate Council member Carola van Rijnsoever, Netherlands, Council member Nuritdin Inamov, Russian Federation, and Council member Esther Sanz Gonzalez, Spain
Gustavo Fonseca, GEF Secretariat, presents the GEF Work Program
Alternate Council member Mapa Patharina M.P.D.U.K., Sri Lanka
Alternate Council member Francois-Xavier Duporge, France
Council member Peter Elder, Australia, and Council Co-Chair Jane Chigiyal, Federated States of Micronesia
Council members Jozef Buys, Belgium
Council member Marita Olson, Sweden
Council member Aparna Subramani, India
Robert Bisset and Patrizia Cocca, GEF Secretariat
Council member Marcia Levaggi, Argentina
Jacob Duer, Principal Coordinator of the Interim Secretariat of the Minimata Convention
Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions
View of the dais during the discussions
Melchiade Bukuru, Chief of UN Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD) Liaison Office
Amy Fraenkel, Director, Mainstreaming, Cooperation and Outreach Division, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat
A view of the dais during the discussion on non-grant instruments
David Rodgers, GEF Secretariat (left)
Kenneth Lay, former Vice-President of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Lisa Pharoah, Rare
Ryan Alexander, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Andrey Shlyakhtenko, International Finance Corporation (IFC) (center)
