BRATISLAVA, October 24, (WEBNOVINY) — Bratislava has become a venue of international cooperation in resolving serious global environmental problems. On Monday, October 24, representatives of nearly forty countries of central and eastern Europe, former Soviet Union, and the Arab world are meeting for a five-day workshop to prepare the strategy of the fifth operational phase of the Global Environment Facility’s Small Grants Program and discuss effective ways of the program’s use on the national level.
PR manager of the Regional Center of the UN Development Program Izabela Nagyova informed SITA news agency that the regional meeting of national coordinators of the Global Environment Facility’s small grants program should focus on analyses of results of the previous round, as well as the use of experience from the thus-far approach in protection of biodiversity, the ozone lawyer, soil and international waters against climate changes, persistent organic pollutants, as well as in the fight against land degradation and desertification.
Slovakia was selected to host this year’s workshop, which, according to Nagyova, confirms the successful launch of the small grants scheme of the Global Environment Facility in Slovakia. The program was launched in October 2009 with significant help from the Environment Ministry. Twenty-three projects have received subsidies worth a total of EUR 980,000 so far. “A new round of the grant call is under preparation at the moment. The scheme focuses on the support of development of civic activities in environmental protection, with emphasis on poor Slovak regions,” Nagyova added.
The Global Environment Facility’s small grants program is implemented by the UN Development Program (UNDP) and UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS). It involves over 120 countries, while over 13,000 projects have already been supported. The Global Environment Facility is an independent financial organization, consisting of the partnership of 182 countries, international institutions, non-governmental organizations and the private sector. The fund provides grants to emerging countries for projects of environmental protection and support of sustainable life in local communities.
SITA
