SGP signs MOAs for community grant projects that advance environmental conservation
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in Sri Lanka, Azusa Kubota entered into 29 Memorandums of Agreement (MoAs) with Community Based Organisations on behalf of the Global Environment Facility funded Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP).
The 20 community grant projects, along with three capacity development, three knowledge management and three social enterprise development grants will be funded under its Seventh Operational Phase (OP7) in Sri Lanka. Also present at the signing ceremony recently were representatives from the Ministry of Environment, which is the Operational Focal Point, the National Steering Committee, donor partner and grantees.
In addition, Memorandum of Agreements (MOAs) were signed with five community grant projects funded by Australia through the Community-Based Adaptation (CBA) Phase III project. These projects will focus on environmental conservation, strengthening community resilience against climate shocks and disasters, which is essential for environmental, economic, and social well-being, reducing inequalities and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to achieve Agenda 2030.
Commenting on the initiatives, Environment Secretary B.K. Prabath Chandrakeerthi stated, “Sri Lanka’s designation as an upgraded country programme within the GEF-SGP framework presents a unique opportunity. We now have the chance to refine and broadly apply a community-based landscape approach, leveraging the wealth of experience gained from other SGP countries, sectors, and regions. By incorporating these lessons and tapping into well-developed civil society and market networks, we can ensure that our efforts are even more impactful.”
Both the GEF-SGP 7th Operational Phase and CBA Phase III will be implemented in three key landscapes: the urban wetlands of Colombo, Knuckles conservation forest and the coastal region from Mannar island to Jaffna. The GEF-SGP 7 will fund 20 community grants designed to address critical environmental challenges such as biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and land degradation. Whereas the five community grants from CBA 3 will give more focus to building climate-resilient communities, with an overall emphasis on the need to equip vulnerable groups like women, youth, persons with disabilities, and indigenous peoples, to improve resilience to challenges such as pandemics, economic downturns, and social crises.
Highlighting the UNDP’s leadership through the GEF-SGP programme over the years, Kubota noted, “Since 1994, the UNDP in Sri Lanka has been supporting community-based organisations to demonstrate innovative and bottom-up approaches in their efforts to protect the environment and contribute to global efforts through local action under the Small Grants Programme (SGP) of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). We are very excited to scale up our ambition through a new cohort of 20 projects to build resilience of local communities to withstand climate shocks and improving environmental, economic, and social well-being in our collective efforts to achieving the SDGs.”
Key thematic areas of the CBA Phase III project include water security, coastal zone management, agriculture and food security, land degradation, and disaster risk reduction.
Underscoring the commitment of the Government of Australia, Australian High Commission in Sri Lanka Second Secretary (Development) Sophie Gordan commented, “Strengthening the resilience of local communities to climate shocks and disasters is vital not only for environmental sustainability but also for advancing economic well-being and reducing inequalities. Through an inclusive, community-led approach, CBA Phase III empowers vulnerable groups to adapt to both current and future challenges.”
In addition to the community grants, GEF SGP OP7 includes specialized grants aimed at enhancing capacity development, fostering knowledge management, and promoting social enterprise development within the targeted landscapes.
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