ABSTRACT
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is the financial mechanism to the most important multilateral environmental agreement that addresses biological diversity: the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). This chapter provides an overview of GEF’s experience in this role; discusses the current global funding milieu for biodiversity to achieve the objectives of the CBD; and identifies opportunities that the GEF will use to leverage existing funding flows to enhance the generation of global biodiversity benefits. The CBD provides the global policy framework to address biodiversity
issues and also provides the guidance under which the GEF operates to assist developing countries in meeting their obligations under the CBD. The objectives of the CBD are defined in Article 1 as ‘the conservation of
biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equit - able sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources, including by appropriate access to genetic resources and by appro priate transfer of relevant technologies, taking into account all rights over those resources and to technologies, and by appropriate funding’. The GEF funds the additional or ‘incremental’ cost of generating global
biodiversity benefits given that this outcome often comes at a cost above national development and environmental priorities. The relationship between the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the CBD
and the GEF is defined by a memorandum of understanding.1 In accordance with Article 21 of the CBD, the COP determines policy, strategy, programme priorities and eligibility criteria for access to and utilization of financial resources available through the financial mechanism, including monitoring and
evaluation. The GEF defines new or strengthened objectives and approaches, modalities, operational criteria, procedures and any other process needed to meet the objectives of the CBD and to respond to the guidance that the CBD provides. In applying COP guidance in project operations, the GEF and its implementing agencies support country-driven, national priority projects and programmes endorsed by governments.
