Over 30 years of tackling the world’s most pressing environmental problems
UNEP has been working hand-in-hand with the Global Environment Facility to create a greener world for over 30 years. Together we have implemented over 1,000 projects, inspiring, informing, and enabling the public and policymakers across more than 160 countries to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
As one of its founding agencies, we have been with the GEF on every step of its journey since 1992. Today, UNEP continues to support the GEF to achieve its mandate of tackling our planet’s most pressing environmental problems and is currently one of 18 GEF Agencies that can assist partners in accessing GEF finance.
Working across all GEF focal areas, our dedicated GEF technical teams bring together the best in environmental science and policy expertise with the unique convening power of the United Nations to design and deliver high-impact projects that enable lasting change.
33
Years of partnership
1035
Projects
162
Countries
Surat Thani, Thailand
Sutham Abmanee, pulls in blue swimming crab in an area of the Gulf of Thailand designated as a “refugia”. Inside the refugia, stakeholders have agreed not to use crab traps and other unsustainable methods.
Camargo, Mexico
Pure mercury refined from cinnabar mineral ore. Artisanal miners are frequently exposed to toxic substances, fumes and dust from the refinement process.
Bamougoum Chiefdom, Cameroon
UNEP and the GEF have teamed up with non-profit Rainforest alliance and the Cameroon’s Ministry of Environment to support protection of 7,600 hectares of land and forest in Cameroon.
Shennongjia National Park, China
A beacon of hope for conservationists, Shennongjia National Park National Park demonstrates the importance of integrating community well-being with ecological restoration by raising awareness and providing alternative livelihoods.
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) includes several multilateral funds working together to address the planet's most pressing challenges in an integrated way. Over the past three decades, the GEF has provided more than $26 billion in financing, primarily as grants, and mobilized another $148 billion for country-driven priority projects.