A five-day Regional Workshop for National Coordinators of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP) started today in Bratislava to

launch the implementation of GEF/SGP fifth operational phase in Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States and Arab States, and provide training and guidance on the vision and strategy of the programme, results based management framework and GEF's visibility policy for the next four years.

The event, hosted by GEF Small Grants Programme in Slovakia, will provide participants an opportunity to see results of the programme on ground and learn from its experience. The GEF SGP in Slovakia started in 2009 and since then supported 23 community based projects by delivering US$980.000 in grants.

The workshop will provide a platform to discuss implementation arrangements and reforms of the fifth operational phase of the programme. It will offer an opportunity to share lessons and good practices on community-based approaches to biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation and adaptation, land degradation, international waters and chemicals. It will be attended by over 40 participants from respective regions of Europe, Asia and Arab states.

The meeting will also allow the participants to visit a forest management project in the Danube River watershed. The floodplain forests, located on islands in former inland delta of the Danube River, are compared to jungle of tropical rain forests. They are also equally threatened. Despite the long-term nature conservation efforts, floodplain forests, as well as many other wetland habitats, are still under big pressure and are threatened by various human activities.

Contact:
Ana Maria Currea, KM Specialist, GEF Small Grants Programme | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.