November, 2000
Global Environment Facility Approves $153.7 Million for 14 Environment Projects

Contact Person:
Hutton Archer (202) 458-7117
E-mail: Harcher@worldbank.org


WASHINGTON, November 7, 2000--The governing Council of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) has approved a $153.7 million work program supporting 14 projects ranging from assessing the impact of climate change and reducing shrimp trawling's environmental damage, to helping China harness wind power and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. With non-GEF co-financing, the total cost of the work program's portfolio is $461.2 million.

Jointly implemented by the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Bank, the GEF is an independent multilateral financial mechanism helping developing countries protect the global environment. Its governing council, which convenes twice a year, ended a three-day meeting Friday.

Assessing the Impact of Climate Change

Among the projects approved was a $7.85 million grant to scientifically assess climate change impacts and adaptation options for the most vulnerable developing countries.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in a draft report recently sent to governments for review, has confidently concluded that greenhouse gases produced mainly by the burning of fossil fuels are altering the atmosphere in ways that affect the earth's climate. The panel warns that warming over the next 100 years could be even higher than their estimate in 1995, raising the temperature in the worst case by 11 degrees Fahrenheit, rather than the 6.3 degrees they predicted five years ago.

"Global warming on such a scale would have the most disastrous effects on people and the environment in the most vulnerable countries," says Global Environment Facility (GEF) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mohamed T. El-Ashry. "This project is most timely."

Presented to the Council by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the project, Assessments of Impacts of and Adaptation to Climate Change in Multiple Regions and Sectors, will fund 40 to 50 individual research studies in the most vulnerable countries over the next five years. The studies will assess the impacts of climate change on a range of socio-economic sectors and ecological systems at the regional and national levels and will also develop adaptation response options. Results will contribute to model adaptation strategies and to the national communications required of countries which have ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The total cost of the project is $12.46 million.

Reducing Wasteful By-catch of Shrimping

Another project approved by the Council aims to halve the amount of fish caught in nets of shrimp trawlers in six tropical countries--Costa Rica, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, Philippines, and Venezuela--and reduce the accidental killing of sea turtles. The GEF governing Council agreed to provide $4.7 million as a grant to this $9 million venture.

"Commercial fisheries worldwide discard 20 million metric tons of by-catch each year. That's bad for food security as well as biological diversity," noted El-Ashry. "This new project can have a positive impact for both."

Presented to the Council by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the project was primarily developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which also will have major responsibility for executing it under a special agreement with UNEP. Stakeholders, including fishing communities and interested non-governmental organizations, helped to initiate the project and will remain involved throughout implementation.

Helping China Sow Wind to Reap Cleaner Energy

The GEF also agreed to help the world's third largest energy consumer to harness wind power and reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. The People's Republic of China (PRC) received approval of a GEF grant of $12 million for a $98 million project. The remaining funds will be provided by the Asian Development Bank, and provincial power companies and banks in China.

The project supports efforts by the PRC to diversify its energy sources and reduce its dependence on coal, which accounts for nearly 72 percent of total commercial energy production and contributes significantly to the high level of carbon emissions.

The GEF project will accelerate the large-scale development and commercialization of wind-powered electricity connected to the public grid. It will increase by 78 megawatts the electrical capacity provided by wind power through the construction of three wind farms at Dabancheng in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, at Fujin in Heilongjiang Province, and at Xiwaizi in Liaoning Province.

Protecting Sri Lanka's Biodiversity

Finally, a $10.2 million grant as part of a $34 million project will help protect Sri Lanka's rich biodiversity while alleviating poverty, a root cause of threats to that biodiversity. The project will be co-financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Government of Sri Lanka, and other donors.

Sri Lanka, described by experts as a "global biodiversity hot spot", houses more than 3,360 species of flowering plants, 1,920 fungi, 242 butterflies, 78 freshwater fishes, 322 non-migrant birds, and 250 amphibians. The island also provides critical habitat for internationally mobile species, including five species of endangered marine turtle, around 100 species of waterfowl, and many other migratory birds. Half of Sri Lanka's species are endemic to the island.

The design of this new GEF project recognizes that Sri Lanka's protected areas cannot protect plants or elephants and other animals, without the cooperation and support, and hence the empowerment, of the nearby communitiessome of the poorest in the nationin the stewardship of biological diversity. Similarly, families in these communities, like other rural families, are dependent upon the survival of natural resources to sustain and enhance their livelihood.

In addition to these four projects--assessing climate change, reducing wasteful by-catch of shrimping, helping China harness wind power, and protecting biodiversity in Sri Lanka--the GEF council approved the following ten projects:

Biological Diversity

Burkina Faso: Natural Ecosystems Management (WB) GEF grant: $18.675 million; Total: $43.500 million. Developed through the World Bank (WB).

Mexico: Consolidation of the Protected Areas Program. GEF grant: $16.45 million; Total: $76.75 million (WB)

Mexico: Biodiversity Conservation in the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve. GEF grant $6.733 million; Total: $20.655 million. Developed through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Climate Change

Assessments of Impacts of and Adaptation to Climate Change in Multiple Regions and Sectors. GEF grant: $7.850 million; Total $12.460 million (Global, UNEP)

Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment. GEF grant: $6.812 million; Total: $9.020 million. (Global, UNEP)

China: Targeted Research Related to Climate Change. GEF grant: $1.724 million; Total: $3.414 million (UNDP)

Croatia: Removing Barriers to Improving Energy Efficiency of the Residential and Services Sectors. GEF grant: $4.59 million; Total $13.25 million (UNDP)

Romania: Energy Efficiency. GEF grant $10 million; Total $50 million (WB)

International Waters

Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand & Vietnam: Reversing Environmental Degradation Trends in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand. GEF grant: $16.749 million; Total: $31.683 million (UNEP)

Argentina/Bolivia: Implementation of the Strategic Action Program for the Bermejo River Binational Basin: Phase II. GEF $11.040 million; Total: $19.77 million (UNEP)

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The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is an independent multilateral financial mechanism that assists developing countries to protect the global environment in four areas: biodiversity, climate change, international waters, and ozone layer depletion. The GEF is jointly implemented by the United Nations Development Program, the United Nations Environment Program, and the World Bank. It currently funds more than 700 projects in 140 developing countries, having committed $3 billion in grants, and raised another $8 billion in co-financing.