___________

Uganda has joined a global campaign to mobilise resources to support environment management at the 7th council meeting of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in Vancouver, Canada.

Environment state minister Beatrice Anywar led the Ugandan delegation to the high-level meeting.

The delegation included deputy Secretary to the Treasury Patrick Ocailap, who is the Uganda GEF focal point person and Maris Wanyera, the co-ordinator of climate and environment funds, among others.

The meeting, which ended on August 27, 2023, started on Tuesday.

Finance ministry spokesperson Jim Mugunga told New Vision Online: “Uganda submitted on the governance of the fund, expedited disbursement of funds for implementation of agreed actions based on the government system and also on the system of accountability of GEF funds both financial and physical”.

Mugunga said under governance, Uganda proposed equal representation of developed and developing countries on the steering committee.

Global Biodiversity Fund ratified

A new global biodiversity fund aimed at ramping up critical nature restoration and renewal — objectives set out at a UN summit last year — was ratified on Thursday by the international community.

At the gathering in Vancouver, Canada and Britain announced they would provide a combined $160 million in seed money to get the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund off the ground.

"Everything begins with this effort," Manuel Rodriguez, head of the Global Environment Facility, said about the fund's official launch at a news conference, calling it a "hugely positive moment."

The Global Environment Facility (GEF)'s assembly brought together 1,500 people from around the world, including environmental activists, government officials, leaders of business and academia, and Indigenous peoples.

The fund's capitalisation follows a global "peace pact" signed by more than 190 nations at the Montreal COP 15 summit in December 2022 to protect nature and reverse decades of environmental destruction threatening the world's species and ecosystems.

About GEF

GEF was established in October 1991 to provide grants and concessional funding to cover costs associated with transforming a project with national benefits into one with global environmental benefits.

The GEF unites over 183 member governments in partnership with international institutions, non-governmental organizations and the private sector.

It is today the largest funder of projects to improve the global environment and provides grants for projects related to biodiversity, climate change mitigation, land degradation, chemicals and waste, climate change adaptation and international waters.