ABSTRACT
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is the world’s largest funder of biodiversity protection, nature restoration, pollution reduction, and climate change response in developing countries. According to the current GEF-7 Programming Directions, the GEF’s mission is “to safeguard the global environment by supporting developing countries in meeting their commitments to multiple environmental conventions and by creating and enhancing partnerships at national, regional and global scales”. The Independent Evaluation Office of the GEF developed a general framework for the GEF’s theory of change based on the premise that GEF support is provided to activities that directly or indirectly contribute to the improvement of environmental status and/or address drivers of environmental degradation. The GEF executes its mandate through partnerships with designated agencies, which develop project proposals and implement projects in collaboration with governments, NGOs, and other stakeholders at the project site.
