18 December 2013: The World Bank and Government of Sudan have signed a $7.74 million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to support integrated landscape management for sustainable livelihoods.

The Sudan Sustainable Natural Resources Management Project will work on issues related to land and water management, biodiversity conservation and ecosystem rehabilitation. Efforts will seek to reverse natural resource degradation and will build resilience to the impacts of climatic changes and socio-political challenges on food security and poverty. It will focus on the Wad Bugul and Telkuk protected areas in the states of Gezira and Kassala.

The project complements development activities for displaced and vulnerable communities in Eastern Sudan, as well as the Capacity Development Project for Provision of the Services for Basic Human Needs in Kassala. It falls within the Sahel and West Africa Program under the Great Green Wall Initiative (GGWI). [GEF Press Release]