:::GEF SGP::: Small Grants Program Pakistan

To be eligible for SGP support, a project proposed for funding must meet the country-specific eligibility criteria laid out in the relevant SGP Country Programme Strategy approved by the NSC. It must also be consistent with the SGP Operational Strategy and relevant Operational Programs established by the GEF:

In the biodiversity focal area, activities must promote the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources in arid and semi-arid ecosystems; coastal, marine and freshwater ecosystems; forest ecosystems; or mountain ecosystems.

In the area of climate change, activities must either demonstrate the removal of local barriers to energy conservation and energy efficiency, or promote the adoption of renewable energy.

In the international waters focal area, activities must address environmental concerns in a specific waterbody shared by two or more countries (such as freshwater drainage basin that is regionally significant or a large marine ecosystem), or address land-based threats to international waters.

SGP may support sustainable land management through the following activities: (i) sustainable agriculture based on soil and water conservation through, improved tillage methods, agroforestry approaches to reduce erosion, promotion of suitable land uses (including protection from farming where necessary), and improved management of agricultural waste; (ii) sustainable rangeland/pasture management and ground water conservation namely through strengthening of viable traditional systems, mechanisms to resolve conflicts over land use, community-based protection, rehabilitation, fire management, ground water recharge; and (iii) forest and woodland management, especially in non-protected forests, such as promoting viable indigenous management systems, rehabilitation of degraded deforested areas, and by introducing ?fees for ecosystem services? and community woodlots for fuelwood.
Mounting evidence of damage to human health and the environment has focused on a category of substances referred to as Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). POPs are pesticides, industrial chemicals or unwanted by-products of industrial processes or combustion. They are characterized by persistence - the ability to resist degradation; bio-accumulation - the ability to accumulate in living tissues; and potential for long range transport. POPs such as PCBs or DDT can be found in areas far from their original source, causing harm to humans and animals including disruption of the endocrine system, suppression of the immune system, reproductive dysfunction, and developmental abnormalities. Organisms at the top of food chains such as predatory birds, marine mammals, and humans absorb the greatest concentrations of POPs.The involvement of the GEF in addressing POPs and other global contaminants dates back to 1995 in its work on transboundary waterbodies. Following the adoption of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in May 2001, the GEF Assembly designated POPs as one of the six GEF focal areas, making POPs a major focus of GEF assistance.

Several different kinds of activities are eligible for funding by SGP:

Community-based assessment and planning (planning grants): Small amounts of grant funds (typically no more than US$2,000) are available to support pre-project participatory assessment and planning activities designed to strengthen community participation in project identification and development.

Pilot demonstration activities: Most funded projects are activities that test and demonstrate the viability of innovative community-level approaches to global environmental problems.

Although most demonstration projects include capacity development components, grants may be awarded for targeted technical assistance and training activities which focus on developing CBO and NGO capacities in the GEF focal areas.

Monitoring and analysis: Grants funds may also be made available to intermediary NGOs and research centers (including universities) to support programme monitoring; to help identify, assess, and document best practices; and to prepare case studies of SGP-supported projects. The use of participatory methods in monitoring and analysis activities is encouraged.

Dissemination, networking, and policy dialogue: In order to leverage SGP project experience, grant funds are available to support dissemination of innovations and best practices, relevant networking activities, and policy dialogue efforts aimed at promoting a supportive policy environment for community-level action in the GEF focal areas.