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The Small Grants Programme (SGP) of the Global Environmental Facility has been launched in Belarus on Tuesday at a UNDP conference attended by Government officials, representatives from NGOs and scientific circles.
The programme will provide grants of up to 50,000 US dollars to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) working in the sphere of environment. The provision of grants will be coordinated by a National Steering Committee and an SGP National Coordinator.
UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, Ms. Cihan Sultanoglu, stressed the key role of local communities in the implementation of the programme.
“One of the keys to the SGP global success has been its reliance on local communities in addressing global environmental issues. Through small amount of funding local communities can undertake activities that will make a difference in their lives and their environment” she told the conference.
The main goal of the programme is to bring about global environmental benefits through community-based initiatives and actions and to secure global environmental benefits through environmental protection, poverty reduction and local empowerment.
SGP implementation will be guided by a country programme strategy which adapts the SGP global strategic framework to the specific conditions of Belarus and serves as a benchmark against which project proposal will be assessed.
First Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus, Mr. Vassili Podolyako said the Belarusian Government supports the initiative. “Our Government is interested in the realization of initiatives of NGOs and CBOs in such fields as biodiversity, climate changes, international waters, land degradation and persistent organic pollutants in accordance with state environmental priorities.
Mr. Podolyako also said the Government would support co-financing of SGP projects.
The Small Grants Programme in Belarus is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the UN Office of Project Services (UNOPS) and the GEF Central Programme Management Team and is implemented by the UNDP Country Office.
Since its inception in 1992, the SGP supported activities of non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations in 80 countries working towards the fulfillment of the GEF priorities in climate change abatement, conservation of biodiversity, protection of international waters, reduction of the impact of persistent organic pollutant and prevention of land degradation, while generating sustainable livelihoods.
Grants are channeled directly to NGOs and CBOs in recognition of the role they play in the alleviation of environmental and development concerns.
For further information, please contact Dmitry Goloubovski, UNDP Programme Officer on Energy and Environment in Belarus, at +375 17 227 48 76 and Alexander Levchenko, National Coordinator of the Small Grants Programme in Belarus, at +375 29 689 38 88, email:
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