This week, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) secured $70 million in financing from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to support urban sustainability, groundwater management, biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation, and land restoration in 28 countries.
Key Initiatives and Their Impact
Urban Sustainability Projects:
- Algeria: FAO will help restore 17,500 hectares of green spaces and urban forests, improving over 21,000 hectares of landscapes, mitigating 715,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, and benefiting 1,090,000 people.
- Chile: The project will enhance green infrastructure in four cities, improving over 1,325,000 hectares of landscapes, mitigating 14,900 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, and benefiting nearly 732,000 people.
- Zimbabwe: Efforts will focus on restoring 300 hectares of forests and wetlands, improving 136 hectares of landscapes, mitigating 24,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, and benefiting 6,000 people.
Land and Marine Ecosystem Projects:
- Central America: Seven countries will manage inland and coastal ecosystems, improving 1.8 million hectares of protected areas, restoring 300 hectares of wetlands, and benefiting 350,000 people.
- Caribbean: Fourteen states will upscale sustainable soil management, restoring 28,000 hectares of agricultural lands and benefiting at least 6,900 farmers.
- Mauritania: The project will restore 80,000 hectares of forest land, including pasture and livestock corridors, and mitigate 313,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, benefiting 60,000 people.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: FAO and UNDP will improve the management of 193,000 hectares of biodiversity conservation spaces, restoring 1,500 hectares of agricultural lands, mitigating 2 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, and benefiting 100,000 people.
Climate Change Adaptation Projects:
- Angola: The project will enhance climate resilience of livelihoods, managing 250,000 hectares of land and benefiting 180,000 people.
Tanzania: Efforts will improve the management of 20,000 hectares of land for climate resilience, benefiting 1.5 million people and raising awareness among 175,000 people.
