The Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP), which is implemented by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), organized two events on 7 December 2025, during the 2024 UN Desertification Conference (UNCCD COP 16).

One of the side events showcased the contributions of local actors to implementation of the Great Green Wall Initiative (GGWI) at the community level in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region and explored synergies for expanding their reach. An African-led initiative, the GGWI aims to restore 100 million hectares of currently degraded land, sequester 250 million tons of carbon, and create 10 million green jobs by 2030. The event highlighted successes in gaining co-financing to scale up projects initiated with funds accessed through the SGP. Such projects include tree nurseries, beekeeping, and aquaculture, as well as growing drought-resistant melons in arid areas and using art and painting to build capacity for sustainable tree planting.

Providing an overview of the GGWI, one speaker described six areas targeted for attracting investment under the Initiative, namely: water for all; renewable energy; productive and resilient ecosystems; climate-resilient green infrastructure; strengthening agricultural productivity and resilient food systems; and transformative economic and business development.

The SGP has provided funds of USD 150,000 in eight of the 16 SADC countries, including to women-led organizations and civil society, based on work with UNCCD focal points in each country to identify priority areas. Several examples were provided from Zimbabwe including:

  • protection of the Shurugwi wetlands, which achieved groundwater recharge and enabled fish farming activities;
  • training in beekeeping, aquaculture, sustainable forest management (SFM), and crafts in the Honde Valley, which has promoted tree propagation, aquaculture, and honey exports; and
  • the SCOPE Zimbabwe programme, which focuses on environmental education in schools to transform barren landscapes into productive zones through activities in seed saving, crop diversification, and rainwater harvesting. 

Speakers also emphasized: the power of local actions to create global impact; the critical role of co-financing; the need to engage the private sector, with national governments accelerating actions to de-risk activities in order to ensure the private sector takes the lead; and the value of partnerships as well as the potential offered by new work streams, such as those related to carbon markets.

Another 7 December event focused on locally led landscape management to achieve land degradation neutrality, sustainable development, and socio-ecological resilience. Representatives from Maldives, Sierra Leone, Peru, and Morocco explained how small grants for land restoration are enabling traditional conservation practices to be documented and maintained, while opening up new businesses and market opportunities. SGP grantees illustrated the power of empowering local communities to take control of how they manage their land, with examples focusing on: Andean communities in Peru facing climate impacts and water scarcity; residents of an atoll in Maldives seeking to conserve a biodiversity hotspot; and a tiny community in Sierra Leone facing degraded land and land tenure conflict.

Speakers explained that UNDP seeks to apply the SGP approach beyond environmental issues to social programmes as an effective way to transform governance systems. They highlighted the importance of active participation of local communities and Indigenous Peoples, who should be empowered to drive change. They also noted the SGP’s success in mobilizing co-financing from bilateral donors, including Germany, Australia, and Japan.

A panelist described the SGP’s contribution in enabling projects to better reach local communities, mentioning: SGP support for the distribution of energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps through door-to-door visits in rural areas; community awareness campaigns around small-scale solar energy systems; and the introduction of new crops and income-generating activities to supplement farmer incomes in areas affected by salinity intrusion.