From China News, 25 August 2015
reporter PAN, Xulin

Reported from the ‘Workshop on Experiences Sharing among Environment NGOs and 2013-2015 Projects Wrap-up Meeting for GEF SGP China’ which was held on August 25th in Shangri-la, Yunnan Province.

The Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP) has actively supported the community-based environmental protection in China since 2009. The GEF SGP has supported 68 projects at local level, in25 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. SGP has already become an effective mechanism to involve Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in resolving major international environmental issues.

As a corporate programme funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Small Grants Programme (SGP) was established in 1992, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on behalf of the GEF partnership. SGP channels financial and technical support directly to CSOs for activities in biodiversity conservation, abatement of climate change, protection of international waters, prevention of land degradation and elimination of persistent organic pollutants.
‘Workshop on Experiences Sharing among Environment NGOs” was attended by representatives of various institutions and Civil Society Organizations such as United Nations Development Programme, Ministry of Finance, State Forestry Administration, the Foreign Economic Cooperation Office in Ministry of Environmental Protection, China Environmental Protection Foundation, China Association for NGO Cooperation (CANGO), South-North Institute for Sustainable Development (SNISD), Peking University and Tsinghua University, as well as representatives from SGP National Steering Committee and SGP grantee partners.

Ms. Liu Yi, National Coordinator for GEF SGP, said that SGP was established because it is believed that solving environmental problems strongly relied on the support from CSOs and people from communities, and people need to be benefit from environmental protection activities. SGP channels financial and technical support directly to NGOs and CBOs for activities that conserve and restore the environment while enhancing people's well-being and livelihoods.

The maximum amount that SGP could provide to each project is 50,000 US dollars. In addition to grant-making, SGP also supports capacity building for CSOs and communities on solving environmental problem, management and organization skills through project implementation. At the same time, SGP support the establishment of a dialogue platform among CSOs, communities, local government and other stakeholders to cooperate on environmental issues.
SGP supports bottom-up, community-based approach. During ‘Call for proposal’ process, the local CSOs and communities work together to discuss local environmental issues and found out possible solutions, and then propose their work plans and goals. The NSC will then lead the evaluation process by gathering opinions from various stakeholders, assessing project proposal feasibility and it relevance to international environmental treaties.

SGP has contributed to resource mobilization through the demonstration effect. By showing the “tangible" and desirable results of projects, SGP provides solutions to other communities and regions with similar environmental problems, and it promotes the integration of local government, community, and other funding mechanisms. For example, the SGP funded project that installed 20 solar LED lights in the out of electrical grid pastoral area in Zhuoni County, Gansu province, had successfully influenced the local government to co-finance the installation of 152 LED lights in that region.

SGP supports CSO’s capacity development. SGP as a "Grant-maker+",supports CSOs with project and financial management, outreach and communication, throughout the project implementation phase. As a result of SGP support many grantees express that ‘We can handle all other projects after implementing SGP’.

SGP China supports partnership and network establishment and encourages knowledge sharing and dissemination. SGP China for over 6 years has supported establishment of linkages and networks between more than 400 CSOs. At the same time SGP facilitates connections between government and CSOs. The annual SGP wrap-up meeting provides opportunities for CSOs and government officials to have a face-to-face communication.
SGP China has supported CSOs to participate in important international environment conferences, study tours, and competitions. So far 13 SGP supported grantee partners have won environmental national and international awards, including Green China Person of the Year, Ford Conservation and Environmental Grants, China Social Innovation Award, and SEE Ecological Award.