18 October 2002: The second Assembly of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) convened from 16-18 October 2002 in Beijing, China.

The Assembly gathered Ministers and high-level officials from GEF Member States to exchange views on the policies and operations of the GEF. During the three-day Assembly, delegates heard statements from approximately 80 representatives, including ones by the President of the People’s Republic of China, the CEO/Chair of the GEF, the heads of the GEF’s Implementing and Executing Agencies, and representatives of multilateral environmental conventions, the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

During the Assembly, participants considered the Second Overall Performance Study of the GEF, the CEO’S Report on the Policies, Operations and Future Development of the GEF, Proposed Amendments to the Instrument, the Report on the Third Replenishment of the GEF Trust Fund, and the Report on Membership. A roundtable of ministers and other heads of delegations and several panels also convened. At the close of the meeting, participants adopted the Summary of the Second GEF Assembly, which includes the Beijing Declaration and a summary of the decisions of the Assembly.

The IISD RS Sustainable Developments report outlining these discussions in detail can be found at: http://enb.iisd.org/linkages/gef/assembly2/sdvol14num7.html