ABSTRACT
Launched in 1991, the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (SGP) helps developing countries to protect the global environment and contribute to sustainable development through mostly community-based small projects. Since its inception, SGP has funded some 24,000 small projects in over 120 countries. Drawing upon a series of programmatic evaluations, the authors highlight issues related to the relationship between global environmental objectives and national and local development results within the context of SGP. The authors question the assumptions behind evaluating the programme primarily on the grounds of aggregating its direct environmental impacts – whether with regard to protecting fragile ecosystems or promoting development that reduces greenhouse gas emissions – from thousands of small projects to the global level. Instead, they argue for taking a broader approach to defining SGP results to include national-level effects on policy and institutional development and on advocacy and inclusiveness.
