Global Environment Facility/ Small Grant Porgamme (GEF/SGP)

Small Grant Porgamme in Jordan
The Small Grants Program (SGP) in Jordan was initiated in 1993 as part of the Global
Environment Facility (GEF) and is being managed by the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP). The main goal of GEF/SGP is to provide financial and technical support
to projects and initiatives that conserve and restore the environment while enhancing
people’s well-being and livelihoods. The programme provided a support of 5.5 Million USD
for 200 projects in five operation cycles. Previous cycles made several accomplishments
in the five GEF focal areas i.e. biodiversity, climate change mitigation and adaptation, land
degradation and sustainable forest management, international waters and chemicals.
The philosophy of GEF/SGP is based on addressing the global environmental challenges
through integration of local communities in designing and implementing the development
projects that would, in turn, serve their needs and enhance the sense of ownership. One
of the main concerns of GEF/SGP is to provide successful local solutions to chronic
environmental problems, particularly the scarcity of natural resources, and to support local
communities by sustainable use of natural resources.

GEF/SGP programme in Jordan is characterized by the following features:
1. Direct impact on capacity building of the local institutions.
2. Documenting and disseminating practical experiences over the sustainable use of
natural resources at local level.
3. Reducing the obstacles and problems that are encountered by the local communities
when applying to environmental funding program.
4. Encouraging partnerships between communities and Non-Governmental Organizations
(NGOs).
5. Taking gender equality into consideration in the development projects.
6. Providing feasible and community-based solutions to address various environmental
challenges which can be applied in other areas.