Country Eligibility
Country eligibility for GEF financing is defined in the 9th paragraph of the GEF Instrument.
“9. GEF funding shall be made available for activities within the focal areas defined in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Instrument in accrodance with the following eligibility criteria:
(a) GEF grants that are made available within the framework of the financial mechanisms of the conventions referred to in paragraph 6 shall be in conformity with the eligibility criteria decided by the Conference of the Parties of each convention, as provided under the arrangements or agreements referred to in paragraph 27.
(b) All other GEF grants shall be made available to eligible recipient countries and, where appropriate, for other activities promoting the purposes of the Facility in accordance with this paragraph and any additional eligibility criteria determined by the Council. A country shall be an eligible recipient of GEF grants if it is eligible to borrow from the World Bank (IBRD and/or IDA) or if it is an eligible recipient of UNDP technical assistance through its country Indicative Planning Figure (IPF). GEF grants for activities within a focal area addressed by a convention referred to in paragraph 6 but outside the framework of the financial mechanism of the convention, shall only be made available to eligible recipient countries that are party to the convention concerned.”
In other words, countries are eligible for GEF funding in a focal area if:
- They meet eligibility criteria established by the relevant COP of that convention
- They are members of the conventions and are countries eligible to borrow from the World Bank (IBRD and/or IDA)
- They are eligible recipients of UNDP technical assistance through country programming.
