Project Funding
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established to forge international cooperation and finance actions to address four critical threats to the global environment: biodiversity loss, climate change, degradation of international waters, and ozone depletion. Related work to stem the pervasive problem of land degradation is also eligible for GEF funding.
Launched in 1991 as an experimental facility, GEF was restructured after the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro to serve the environmental interests of people in all parts of the world. In 1994, 34 nations pledged $2 billion in support of GEF's mission; in 1998, 36 nations pledged $2.75 billion to protect the global environment and promote sustainable development.
GEF funds a variety of project types, ranging from its Small Grants Programme and project preparation grants to Enabling Activities, Medium-Sized Projects, and full projects. To learn more about these GEF funding options, click here.
GEF's Small Grants Programme, administered by UNDP, has provided grants of up to $50,000 to finance more than 1,200 NGO-executed projects.
Back in 1998 GEF/UNDP started a 5-year project Energy Efficiency Strategy to Mitigate Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Gabrovo Demonstration Zone, Bulgaria. Funding was also provided by USAID and local Bulgarian sources. Download a report on its progress as well as on some energy efficiency issues in other Bulgarian municipalities:
http://www.gefweb.org/Bulgaria_Energy.pdf.