Global Environment Facility allocates US$ 7.59 million under its GEF 6 programme for Seychelles

Ministry of Environment and Energy
Press Release: Global Environment Facility allocates US$ 7.59 million under its GEF 6 programme for Seychelles

Monday 7th  July  2014

The Global Facility has finally released the details of the amount of indicative funding under its System for Transparent Allocation of Resources (STAR) allocation framework for the different countries its supports.  The Minister of Environment and Energy Prof. Rolph Payet has expressed satisfaction at the amount of money allocated to Seychelles for the next four years, which is similar to the US$ 7.6 million Seychelles received under GEF 5.
With a call from donor countries to increase funding for least developed countries and a reduction for countries with higher GDP, there were concerns amongst many Small Island Developing States like Seychelles that the amount of money they will receive under GEF 6 will drop. The issue of GDP as a measure of wealth of a country has always been challenged by SIDS because it does not take into account their vulnerabilities and the fact that when considering development there is global acceptance that SIDS are a special case.
Although, the special case of SIDS was recognized in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and although there is a United Nations General Assembly resolution for the elaboration of other tools to measure a countries wealth, to date Small Island Developing States are still finding themselves having to challenge the unwavering and persistent efforts by some countries to measure the wealth of all counties by their GDP.
Under GEF 5 STAR allocation, Seychelles received US$ 7.6 million for the period covering 2010 to 2014.  All the funds provided to Seychelles under GEF 5 have already been committed and most of the projects are under implementation. For this achievement Seychelles has been praised because many countries have failed to make use of the money allocated to them.
The Seychelles allocation is still one of the highest for SIDS and probably the highest when calculated per capita per country.  This reflects the Global Environment Facility’s trust in Seychelles ability to use the money effectively to address environment issues of global importance.  This is not surprising because through strong political commitments and consistent efforts to address environment challenges Seychelles has established an unrivaled reputation as a global leader in environment matters.
The US$ 7.59 million will be utilized to tackle emerging environment issues which will be determined through a National Portfolio Formulation Exercise, which will involve consultative processes involving all the key partners. Under GEF 6 allocation Seychelles will aim to consolidate progress made in biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, addressing emerging issues related to climate change and the building of resilience and the strengthening of its national institutional framework.
The announcement follows the recent Global Environment Facility Assembly, which took place in Cancun Mexico from the 28th to the 29th of May this year. Seychelles was represented at the conference by Minister and Mr. Didier Dogley, the National GEF Operational Focal Point for Seychelles. On the sidelines Minister Payet held talks with the CEO of GEF, Dr. Naoko Ishi and various senior officers of UNDP and International NGOs.
Additional information:
The Global Environment Facility is a partnership for international cooperation where 183 countries work together with international institutions, civil society organizations and the private sector, to address global environmental issues. Set up in 1991 the GEF has become the most important financing organization for beneficiary countries wishing to contribute towards tackling the global environment challenges at the national and regional level. It has financed over 3 690 projects in 165 developing countries amounting to more than US$ 12.5 billion in grants. For 23 years, developed and developing countries alike have provided these funds to support activities related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, and chemicals and waste in the context of development projects and programs.