The Global Environmental Facility (GEF) approved funding for a project to promote agro-ecological practices in Colombia that protect biodiversity while supporting palm oil production.
The project will be implemented by the Inter-American Development Bank, and is expected to contribute to the achievement of Aichi Target Seven.
21 July 2012: The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has announced that it is providing a grant of US$4.25 million to implement biodiversity-friendly agro-ecological practices in palm cropping in the northern and eastern regions of Colombia. The project is expected to reduce the percentage of new palm-growing areas that encroach on protected land, increase the surface area in palm-production units of protected land, and support small-scale palm producers.
The “Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Palm Cropping in Colombia with an Ecosystem Approach” project is expected to garner US$14.3 million in co-financing, and will be implemented by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Part of the funding will go towards generating knowledge, and more environmentally friendly methodologies and technologies for palm cropping in Colombia.
The project also aims to develop and introduce specific methodological tools to strengthen planning processes for crop expansion and integrated ecosystem management, to promote the provision of environmental services and to support markets for certified agrobiodiversity products from oil palm plantations, based on sustainability principles and biodiversity criteria.
The project contributes towards Aichi Target Seven, GEF notes, by mainstreaming biodiversity and addressing its most challenging threats, namely, agricultural expansion. [GEF Press Release]