The proliferation of harmful chemicals is a growing concern for human health and well-being and the global environment.During its 6th replenishment period (July 2014 to June 2018; GEF-6), GEF continues to play a catalytic role in leveraging budgetary resources to support elimination and reduction of harmful chemicals and waste.The GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP) is the special window of the GEF providing financial and technical support to communities and civil society organizations for addressing global environmental challenges, while also promoting poverty reduction and sustainable development. In the chemicals and waste focal area, SGP focuses its support to communities at the forefront of chemical threats either as users or consumers, including women and indigenous peoples.As of April 2017, SGP has supported 565 projects with an investment of more than $16 million in GEF grant funding, leveraging more than $18 million in co-financing from multiple sources. SGP’s chemicals and waste portfolio has focused on:  solid waste management to avoid open burning of waste;  pesticide management in agriculture and organic farming; • reduction of chemicals usage and contamination (such as PCB) in small-scale businesses;   capacity development, awareness raising and knowledge sharing.

The EU-NGOs project "Strengethening Environmental Governance by Bulding the Capacity of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO)" is a global project funded by the European Union (EU), implemented by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and delivered and co-financed by the Global Environment Facilty (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP). This publication:

1. Outlines the conceptual basis of the EU-NGOs Project and its community-led approach to strengthening environmental governance by increasing civil society participation in related processes;2. Presents a selection of eight EU-NGOs country case studies (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Georgia, Moldova, Morocco, Palestine and Ukraine) setting the local context based on which supported initiatives were developed, describing project activities and objectives, as well as reporting on key achievements, impacts and lessons learned from these on-the-ground initiatives; and3. Highlights some key overall impacts and lessons learned from on-the-ground implementation of community-led projects related to environmental governance in EU-neighboring countries.

The EU-NGOs project has produced considerable results with positive effects beyond the supported NGOs, as a large number of CSOs and NGOs have been reached through such tools as a training-of-trainers approach, partnerships, and dedicated networks. The case studies provided in this report aim to share valuable insights to such approaches that can be used as a basis for replication in similar initiatives around the world.