In 2009 the GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP) entered into a partnership Australian Aid to improve the climate resilience of local communities in 42 countries, including 37 SIDS. The goals of the programme are to: reduce the vulnerability and improve the adaptive capacity of local communities to the adverse impacts of climate change; provide countries with concrete ground level experience on local climate change adaptation; and provide clear policy lessons and mainstream community-based adaptation (CBA) within national processes, and scale up best practices. This brochure provides a summary of ...

This publication provides an account of SGP’s experience working with Indigenous Peoples over the last twenty-five years. The publication celebrates past achievements and advances critical lessons that can be used in forging new partnerships with Indigenous Peoples in future programming cycles, including opportunities to employ blended finance solutions. Building on the learning-by-doing experience gained over six Operational Phases, combining resources from the GEF with those of other bilateral donors, the SGP has cumulatively delivered financial support to over 25,000 community-based proje...

As a pilot initiative, this publication presents the work of the Global Support Initiative to ICCAs (ICCA-GSI) from 2014 (pilot phase) to 2022 (with Phase 2, rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic). The ICCA-GSI is a multi-partnership initiative that is implemented by UNDP, through the Small Grants Progamme and funded by the Government of Germany, through its Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, nukleare Sicherheit und Verbraucherschutz, or BMUV). Key partners include the Secretariat of t...

This publication provides a valuable account of how participation of local communities in the conservation of threatened species yields positive environmental and socio-economic results. Our planet is undergoing another mass extinction due to reasons widely known, including human activities such as deforestation, hunting, and overfishing. Much of the failure to arrest the loss of nature stem from the fact that the issue is highly complex and often requires concerted and integrated efforts from a range of stakeholders, including government, private sector and civil society. To this end, the Sma...

This is the Executive Summary of the Annual Monitoring Report 2018-2019.

This publication captures SGP’s experiences and lessons learned on plastics management, spanning not only the area of chemical and waste management, but also international waters and biodiversity conservation. The projects focus on implementing a circular economy either through recycling, reducing and reusing plastics for new products, influencing consumer use and behavior, or developing better waste collection and management practices at the community level. Some of these initiatives have also been scaled up in partnership with government and private sector. The 10 cases included in this pu...

The private sector has a key role to play in driving sustainable development. Micro, small and medium enterprises account for 90 percent of the private sector and more than 50 percent of employment globally. As such the sector provides an opportunity for innovative, inclusive and sustainable economic development. The Small Grants Programme facilitates partnerships between civil society, community-based organizations and the private sector to scale up and promote sustainability of community-led initiatives. This brochure provides a snapshot of SGP’s engagement with the private sector with a f...

​This publication presents an updated overview of the Small Grants Programme's (SGP) community-based approach and portfolio in the area of sustainable land management, as part of the overall UNDP's related portfolio, with special attention to gender and youth and a spotlight on the innovative partnership with SOS Sahel International, focusing on the Sahel region. It also includes a selection of case studies to showcase best practices and lessons learnt.

This brochure presents an overview of SGP's community-based approach to the reduction, elimination, and prevention of mercury use, including examples of successful projects implemented in Mali, Ghana, Uganda and Nepal. SGP promotes safe handling of products containing mercury, seeking to pilot and test innovative community-based mercury reduction and management practices, in support of the implementation of the Minamata Convention at the community level, especially in artisanal gold mining.

The GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP) provides financial and technical support to civil society and community-based organizations on innovative community-driven initiatives that address global environmental issues – such as biodiversity loss, climate change mitigation and adaptation, land degradation, international waters, and chemicals and waste management – while improving livelihoods. This infographic reports presents a summary of the key results achieved over the reporting period 2020-2021.