The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has approved 48 projects led by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), with a total value of about $2.9 billion. This funding, comprising $294 million in project financing and $2.6 billion in co-financing, is set to drive a significant transformation in sustainable agrifood systems, aiming to combat hunger and safeguard the environment.
These initiatives, spanning five regions globally, will benefit 4.2 million people and restore over 474,000 hectares of land. Additionally, they will enhance practices on more than 24 million hectares of land and marine habitats while also creating and improving the management of over 2 million hectares of protected areas on land and sea. Furthermore, the projects aim to mitigate 133 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions and eliminate 202 metric tons of hazardous agrochemicals.
FAO Deputy Director-General Maria Helena Semedo hailed the approval of the projects by the 66th Council Sessions of the GEF in Washington DC, emphasising their potential to improve millions of lives through agrifood systems transformation while advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.
Forty-six countries have partnered with FAO to access finance from the GEF for these projects. The GEF Council approved three FAO-led global and regional programs focusing on food systems, oceans, and ecosystem restoration.
One of these programs, the Food Systems Integrated Program (FSIP), will channel $252 million in project financing and $2.2 billion in co-financing to 32 countries. This program aims to transform global agrifood systems into sustainable, nature-positive, resilient, inclusive, and pollution-free. It focuses on eight agrifood value chains and sectors and is expected to restore over 870,000 hectares of degraded croplands, forests, natural grasslands, and wetlands.
Similarly, the Clean and Healthy Ocean Integrated Program will allocate $100 million in project financing to 14 countries to reduce land-based ocean pollution in nine Large Marine Ecosystems. This initiative addresses marine hypoxic zones and aims to enhance the management of over 520,000 hectares of land and 423,000 hectares of marine protected areas.
Lastly, the Central Asia Water and Land Nexus Program, led by FAO, will direct $26 million in project financing and leverage $335.5 million in co-financing to restore ecosystems in the Amu Darya and Syr Darya basins, enhance water security, increase resilience, and improve rural livelihoods.
These approved programs build on the momentum to apply agrifood systems solutions to environmental challenges and demonstrate FAO's commitment to advancing sustainable development globally. Additionally, FAO will support countries through individual projects focusing on biodiversity conservation, land degradation, climate change adaptation, and managing shared water systems in various countries.
