Samoa receives grants for environmental Projects

02 September 2017, 12:00AM

Twenty-eight applicants from Upolu and Savai’i has been awarded grants through Operational Phase 6 of the Global Environment Facility (G.E.F.) Small Grants Programme (S.G.P.) of the United Nations Development Programme (U.N.D.P.). 

The opening of the inception workshop for the nineteen recipients of grant awards in Upolu was held at the T.A.T.T.E. Convention Centre, following the workshop in Savai’i on 31 August 2017 where nine successful applicants signed grant documents. 

During this event grantee-partners represented by at least three members from each community or organization signed their contracts and attended an awareness workshop, where they were introduced to the Memorandum of Agreement guidelines and expectations. 

They also had a chance to discuss their approved and revised work plans and budgets and receive overall guidance on the implementation of their projects.  Overall U.N.D.P. G.E.F-S.G.P. for Operational Phase 6 grants reached US$701,500 with US$50,000 being the maximum amount granted to an individual project.  The range of projects which were successful in securing U.N.D.P. G.E.F-S.G.P. funding thematically varies from waste management and water sources projects to innovative agro-smart ecology and marine-coastal conservation initiatives. 

Lizbeth Cullity, U.N.D.P. Resident Representative in her remarks at the opening of the workshop said, “I congratulate all the successful applicants who are receiving financial grants. I challenge you to make good use of the grants and improve the quality of the projects.” 

“The better the outcome of these projects, the more funding we can hope to receive in the future. We ask you to use this grant to the best of your potential with all the technical expertise that have been provided to you and make sure that we can showcase that Samoa is serious about protecting its environment.”  

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Environment, Fiame Naomi Mataafa said the projects are critical.

“Government of Samoa attaches great importance to durable genuine partnerships and therefore has invested heavily in to work with the United Nations agencies including the U.N.D.P. G.E.F-S.G.P. to support national capacities and efforts to address climate change and other environmental concerns.” 

“Today’s workshop is an evidence of a strong partnership between the Government of Samoa and U.N.D.P G.E.P-S.G.P”.

Both Fiame and Ms. Cullity expressed their gratitude to the Ministry of the Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Samoa Umbrella of N.G.O’s, Small Business Enterprise Centre, Samoa Chamber of Commerce, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and Conservation International for their effort in supporting the work of G.E.F-S.G.P. over the past two year.

G.E.F-S.G.P was established in 1992 and was designed to embody the very essence of sustainable development through “thinking globally and acting locally”. 

The Small Grants Programme demonstrates that community action can maintain a fine balance between human needs and environmental imperatives by providing financial and technical support to projects that conserve and restore environment while enhancing people’s wellbeing and livelihoods. 

The programme chooses recipients that have a strong dependency on access to natural resources for their livelihood and often live in fragile eco-systems. Since its creation S.G.P. has provided more than 18500 grants in 131 developing countries. Funded by G.E.F. as a corporate programme, S.G.P is implemented by U.N.D.P. on behalf of the G.E.F. partnership executed by the United Nations Office for Project Services (U.N.O.P.S.).

02 September 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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