As GEF Closes GEF-8 Funding Cycle, Nigeria Looks Ahead to Stronger Climate and Biodiversity Support in GEF-9

At the Eight Global Environment Facility (GEF) Assembly in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, the GEF Council has approved 232.5 million USD in their 71st meeting, marking the end of the GEF-8 funding cycle that has now funded 24 projects in 22 countries. In the final round of project approvals by the Council, the GEF Trust Fund, one […]

At the Eight Global Environment Facility (GEF) Assembly in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, the GEF Council has approved 232.5 million USD in their 71st meeting, marking the end of the GEF-8 funding cycle that has now funded 24 projects in 22 countries. In the final round of project approvals by the Council, the GEF Trust Fund, one of the GEF Family of Funds alongside Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) and Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF)/Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF), received 144.3 million USD in allocation and is expected to generate 828 million USD in co-financing. The GBFF will support two conservation-focused projects at 20.5 million USD, while the LDCF/SCCF will support eight projects at 67.7 million USD in climate adaptation financing for the most vulnerable nations to climate change-induced environmental disasters.

The Minister of Environment in Nigeria, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, speaking at the Assembly on Thursday, endorsed the GEF-funding process, which has supported financing for biodiversity conservation, land restoration, and climate change adaptation projects in Nigeria since 2009. Nigeria received 21 million USD from the GEF-8 funding cycle, which began on July 1 2022, funding projects such as “Accelerating Nature and Climate Action to Advance Nigeria’s Net Zero and ‘30×30’ Targets” that aim to strengthen Nigeria’s net-zero emissions framework, is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and is executed by the Federal Ministry of Environment.

The council document, “GEF Trust Fund Financial Report,” however shows that Nigeria continues to default on its registered pledges to GEF, known as “Instruments of Commitment (IOCs),” to donate to GEF-4 and GEF-5 funding cycles. The outstanding amount is shown as 6.1 million USD from both cycles. Nigeria is the only country there yet to fulfil its pledges from two cycles, but the document also shows that Greece, Portugal, and the Russian Federation are also defaulting by a cycle at most. Regarding the unfulfilment of its pledges, the minister said in his speech that, “Nigeria is fully aware of its responsibility as a member, and I am glad to confirm that efforts are being made to redeem her pledge to GEF.” Although, he did not specify what steps are being taken. The dire economic situation in Nigeria has seen the federal government default on a lot of pledges, run on budget deficit, and spend almost 70% of its revenue on debt repayments, leaving little-to-nothing for environmental pledges or other administrative projects. Meanwhile, Uzbekistan, at the Assembly, has now committed to supporting GEF programmes, evolving from a recipient country to a donor country.

Lawal highlighted that Nigeria is committed to achieving the global biodiversity framework targets and continued to request for increased financial support for Nigeria’s environmental programmes, specifically requesting for finance when the GEF-9 cycle starts on July 1 to address desertification, coastal erosion, and biodiversity loss plaguing the Nigerian ecosystem.

The interim CEO of GEF, Claude Gascon, acknowledged that these are challenging fiscal times in the world but called for perseverance and hope for all. “This GEF Assembly comes at a defining moment in time, not only for the GEF, but for people everywhere who are looking for hope, leadership, and action in the face of growing environmental challenges,” Gascon said.

Local Communities Set to Be Prioritized with Indigenous Groups

Gascon, in his introductory remarks at the GBFF Council meeting, noted that close to 32% of approved GBFF funding is now supporting actions by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC), from an aspirational target of 20%, which is also the same set target for the GEF-9 cycle.

This new cycle will also prioritize IPLCs in project-related decision-making, according to Mohamed Bakarr, Integrated Programs and Knowledge Manager at the GEF. Upon inquiry, he explained that countries like Nigeria with multiple, diverse but non-institutionalized indigenous groups, as seen in climes in the Amazon or the Congo rainforest areas, will also benefit from IPLC prioritization, as projects with strong connections and benefits for local communities will be viewed as favorably as those benefitting indigenous groups.

“These standards [as it relates to IPLC benefits] are going to be applied based on the individual country’s context. If you are going to do a project in West Africa and Nigeria, where people don’t live inside the forest, they live outside the forest, and they [entrepreneurs or external parties] are trying to cut down their forest. It’s a completely different context, right? So there are the local communities that are associated with that forest [that are affected].

“In the GEF, we consider both [indigenous peoples and local communities] to be equally important,” Bakarr explained.

GEF Small Grants Aid Impact of Nigerian NGOs on Livelihoods and Local Communities

Local farming communities living in the desertifying Hadejia-Nguru wetlands in Yobe state benefit from early warning signals and access to improved seed varieties aimed at bolstering food security through a GEF-funded UNDP small grant programme, according to Joseph Onoja, director-general of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), the implementing partner for the project. “We are working specifically in a community called Maja-Kura,” he said in an interview on the sidelines of the Assembly. “We’ve identified some improved varieties of cereals, wheat, maize, and rice that the farmers can grow in a very short time, that can mature in 60 days.” He added that identifying signals early is helping to fight desert encroachment, while the seeds ensure that the farmers harvest their crops faster.

The small grant programmes have additionally been valuable for livelihood-development projects in Nigeria, according to Nigeria-based nonprofits present at the Assembly. Founder of Lifebuilders, an Oyo state-based NGO focused on propagating climate-smart agriculture among smallholder farmers, Grace Oluwatoye, stressed the importance of funding for sustainability projects in Nigeria, especially when it comes to propagating drought-resistant plants like Moringa or even successfully transitioning from fossil fuel use. She additionally clamoured for increased GEF-9 funding and expanded programmes for Nigeria and wants the federal government to adopt a more intentional and supportive approach to CSOs working on sustainability in the country.

For the Ministry of Environment, in addition to the small grants, the blended financing mechanisms adopted by GEF, including private financing and species bonds, remain just as important to secure. Mr Babagana Bukar, Director of Planning, Research, and Statistics at the Federal Ministry of Environment and the GEF Operational Focal Point for Nigeria, reiterated the minister’s expectation to secure blended funding for biodiversity and climate change mitigation projects during the GEF-9 cycle. He added that conservation cannot succeed without the local communities and that capacity building for staff is important to the ministry to ensure that projects are conducted seamlessly.