Alexandre Pinheiro Rego
Senior Communications Officer
arego@thegef.org
The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) was established by the GEF at the request of parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP15 to support implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Launched at the Seventh GEF Assembly in 2023, the fund aims to help countries strengthen national-level biodiversity management, policy, governance, and resource mobilization, including blended finance to leverage private sector financing. The GBFF can receive contributions from public, private, and philanthropic sources. It has streamlined procedures to provide efficient and impactful support for developing countries towards biodiversity goals, with a target of having 20 percent of its funding to support biodiversity action led by Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
The GBF Fund Council will be based on the balanced and equitable representation as is present in the GEF Council in accordance with the GEF Instrument, subject to the confirmation to participate by Council members. The GEF Instrument states that “The Council shall consist of 32 Members, representing constituency groupings formulated and distributed taking into account the need for balanced and equitable representation of all Participants and giving due weight to the funding efforts of all donors.”
Consequently, the GBF Fund Council will be open to representation by the following members, with more developing country representation compared to developed countries:
- 16 Members from developing countries
- 14 Members from developed countries
- Members from the countries of central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
All projects or programs must fulfill the following criteria to be eligible for GEF funding.
- Eligible country: Countries may be eligible for GEF funding in one of two ways: a) if the country has ratified the conventions the GEF serves and conforms with the eligibility criteria decided by the Conference of the Parties of each convention; or b) if the country is eligible to receive World Bank (IBRD and/or IDA) financing or if it is an eligible recipient of UNDP technical assistance through its target for resource assignments from the core (specifically TRAC-1 and/or TRAC-2).
- National priority: The project must be driven by the country (rather than by an external partner) and be consistent with national priorities that support sustainable development.
- GEF priorities: To achieve the objectives of multilateral environmental agreements, it is required that the GEF support country priorities that are ultimately aimed at tackling the drivers of environmental degradation in an integrated fashion. For this reason, the focal areas (Biodiversity, Climate Change, Land Degradation, International Waters, and Chemicals and Waste) remain the central organizing feature in the GEF-8 Programming Directions and provide countries with the opportunity to participate in selected “Integrated Programs” which aim to address major drivers of environmental degradation and/or deliver multiple benefits that fall under the GEF’s mandate (for more details, see the GEF-8 Programming Directions).
- Financing: The project must seek GEF financing only for the agreed incremental costs on measures to achieve global environmental benefits.
- Participation: The project must involve the public in project design and implementation, following the Policy on Stakeholder Engagement and the respective guidelines.
Developing countries