Eight countries will benefit from projects designed to support climate resilience and biodiversity, and tackle land degradation and unsustainable fishing

June 17, 2021, Rome – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) today welcomed Global Environment Facility (GEF) approval for five FAO-led projects in eight countries, with total funding of over $ 46.6 million. The decision was taken at the 60th meeting of the GEF Council and the 30th meeting of the Least Developed Countries Fund Council.

The latest projects will address critical environmental challenges – such as land degradation, loss of biodiversity, unsustainable fishing and climate change – that threaten the food security and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people in Asia and Africa. Africa.

They will be implemented in partnership and co-funded by the governments of Cambodia, Cameroon, Eritrea, Lesotho, Malaysia, Senegal, Thailand and Viet Nam.

“These projects are particularly welcome after the launch of the United Nations Decade for Ecosystem Restoration,” FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said. “It is vital that we take action now to restore the natural terrestrial and aquatic systems we rely on for better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life. “

GEF-approved projects will help countries and communities adopt more sustainable and climate-resilient practices, foster regional cooperation and adopt stricter policies to conserve biodiversity and discourage illegal, unreported and unreported fishing. regulated (INN).

They will directly benefit 441,500 people and restore more than 27,000 hectares of degraded landscapes. The projects will also create 30,000 hectares of new land and sea protected areas, and improve the management of more than 765,000 hectares of landscapes and 4 million hectares of marine habitats.

Their action aims to mitigate 6.8 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and move 547,393 tonnes of overexploited fish stocks to more sustainable levels.

Among the projects led by FAO is a regional project in the Gulf of Thailand that will promote the sustainable management of fisheries in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Viet Nam.

By adopting an ecosystem approach to fisheries and strengthening fisheries governance, the project will help conserve marine biodiversity and reduce excessive exploitation of overexploited fish stocks, while supporting the sustainability of fishermen’s livelihoods.

The four approved projects in Africa will tackle the threats of climate change and land degradation to improve the climate resilience of communities, preserve natural resources and strengthen agricultural value chains to improve rural livelihoods.

Since December 2018, FAO has mobilized over $ 550 million in GEF grants for member countries, including recent projects, making FAO one of the top four GEF agencies in the world.