Partner with us

Why partner with us?

Together, UNEP and the GEF represent an ideal choice for countries seeking to deliver projects to reach the goals set by the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and to safeguard their precious natural resources for generations to come.

Donors and member states entrust us with GEF funding because of UNEP’s 50 years of technical experience in creating integrated solutions for the world’s environmental challenges. Our role as a UN agency means we can consider the broader social, economic and political implications of these challenges.

Not only do we ensure that our approaches look at all angles of the problem, we focus on delivering projects that are innovative and scalable. This means that our projects can adapt to meet needs in different ecological, geographic and economic contexts.

Our rich heritage with the GEF and our fully integrated approach encompassing the triple nexus of biodiversity & nature, climate and pollution means we are well placed to implement holistic and scalable solutions.

What’s more, the GEF is the designated institutional structure operating the financial mechanism of the CBD and the CCD. As such, we are uniquely positioned to help countries access these resources.

Our partners

Together with the GEF we have:

• Implemented over 350 projects across over 160 countries
• Invested over $660 million in biodiversity initiatives
• Are actively currently supporting over 130 projects around the globe

We empower all stakeholders - from local to international – at all levels of society. This includes working with all levels of government, companies, the financial sector, academia, NGOs and local communities, at all stages of the problem, to deliver fully integrated approaches. In turn, this means that our projects have long term sustainability at their core; they last, with full ownership by community stakeholders embedded as a design principle.

Types of projects

The projects in the UNEP-GEF partnership range from small-scale enabling activities that help countries develop national strategies to meet their obligations, to larger-scale regional and global projects.