Launched at the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP 22) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change by two civil society organizations, AlliaDev and IGAPURA, Initiatives Climat is a South-South Cooperation Programme among French speaking countries in Africa, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Initiatives Climate is delivered by a strong team of partners: the Global Environment Facility’s Small Grants Programme (SGP), which is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Institute Francophonie for Sustainable Development, United Cities and Local Governments of Africa, UNDP Morocco, UN Women, the Ministry of the Environment of Morocco, project DINIKA, and the Government of Canada.

Initiatives Climat is particularly noteworthy for its approaches of tackling deforestation and climate change via identifying, consolidating, and scaling up best practices and nature-based solutions developed by local communities through South-South cooperation in Francophone Africa. South-South cooperation is a broad framework of collaboration among developing countries of the global South, through which they share knowledge, skills, expertise, and resources to meet their development goals through concerted, coordinated efforts. This framework is especially important for its recognition of traditional knowledge, coupled with a peer-to-peer exchange modality, both of which are vital in addressing climate change at the local level.

For the GEF Small Grants Programme, one of the key partners of Initiatives Climat, South-South Cooperation is one of its key programs to transfer knowledge, encourage the replication of good practices at bilateral, regional and global levels, increase impact, scale up innovative solutions developed by grantees and partners. Read the full story here.