Global Environment Facility

Description

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) assists communities in addressing environmental degradation that threatens livelihoods and security. Using private-sector solutions to overcome market and investment barriers, GEF programs combat illegal wildlife trafficking, protect biodiversity and critical habitats, and invest in sustainable management of freshwater, forests, fisheries, agricultural areas, and other natural capital.

What Does This Buy?

Contributions to the GEF generate grants, concessional financing, and blended financing allowing implementing partners to undertake projects in developing countries and countries with economies in transition.

Justification for the Request

• The GEF has completed over 4,000 projects in 170 countries.
• GEF funding has created 3,300 protected areas covering 2.1 billion acres, conservation-friendly management of 716 million acres of landscapes and seascapes, and sustainable management of 33 transboundary river basins in 73 countries. It has expanded forest protection, reducing deforestation in the Amazon by 80%.
• The GEF engages with private-sector partners to deploy innovative financial instruments, validate new technologies, and transform policy environments to create markets and incentives for sustainable approaches.
• GEF programs combat the illegal wildlife trade, which has links to transnational organized crime, and provides financing for terrorists and insurgencies. The poaching and illegal trafficking of rhino horn and elephant ivory are driving these species to extinction and fueling corruption and weakening the rule of law in countries that rely heavily on natural resources for economic growth and stability.
• GEF investments have led to the phaseout of 29,000 tons of ozone depleting potential1 and the sound disposal of more than 200,000 tons of persistent organic pollutants (POPs).

The American Impact

• Illegal wildlife trafficking is worth an estimated $23 billion dollars per year and finances extremist groups that threaten U.S. security interests. The GEF works with both supply and demand countries to strengthen national legislation, enhance wildlife law enforcement, and improve monitoring to reduce the illegal wildlife trade.
• International illegal logging costs the U.S. timber industry more than $1 billion annually. The GEF works with the U.S. Forest Service to reduce illegal logging in places such as the Amazon and Congo Basins.
• The GEF fosters sound management of chemicals that, when used improperly and disposed of unsafely, pose significant harm to human health and the environment. Many of these, such as POPs and mercury, travel long distances through air, are carried by migratory species and water currents, ignoring borders and persisting in the environment for extended periods of time.

Bold Vision

Funding an increase to $175 million will bring the U.S. contribution to previous commitment levels of $143.75 million and help pay down U.S. arrears. If sustained over the next four years, this additional investment could deliver the following illustrative results under the GEF’s agreed programming strategy:

• Support the safe management and disposal of 44 million pounds of highly toxic chemicals such as mercury, PCBs, DDT, dioxins, and ozone-depleting substances that persist in the environment for extended periods and impact human health far from their sources,
• Create 30 million acres of parks, an area the size of Mississippi, in places of high biodiversity, and
• Improve management practices on 50 million acres of productive lands and seascapes, an area the size of South Dakota, to increase productivity and help people provide for themselves and build long-term stability.

Impact of Cuts

• Cuts undermine global efforts to safeguard natural resources, which support political stability. For example, water shortages can lead to conflicts that GEF programs help avoid.
• The U.S. imports 86% of its seafood. Cuts could affect GEF investments in the sustainable management of globally important commercial fish stocks. Sustainable management not only maintains healthy oceans and supports the livelihoods of poor fishing communities, but also ensures that U.S. consumers can choose high-quality seafood.