Healthy planet, healthy people: How IFAD and GEF are partnering to transform the world
Healthy planet, healthy people: How IFAD and GEF are partnering to transform the world
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Rural lives and the natural environment are closely intertwined; one depends on the other. With agriculture a major contributor to the climate change that is impacting virtually everyone's lives, it's time to start thinking small.
Small-scale farmers, fishers and pastoralists produce much of the food we eat and are the key to sustainable food systems.
They depend on the earth, air, water and biodiversity that surrounds them for their incomes and their nutrition.
They’re on the frontlines of climate change and environmental degradation despite contributing little to emissions.
They need support to face these challenges to livelihood, health, and prosperity. Despite this, they are currently greatly underserved by global climate finance flows.
That’s why IFAD and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) have found common cause in responding to climate change, getting rural communities involved in sustainable management and building food systems that nourish us all.
After 20 years of collaboration and nearly US$ 200 million invested in 35 projects across the globe, here are some of the ways IFAD and GEF are making a difference together.
Transforming food systems together
The Resilient Food Systems pilot programme is transforming food systems in 12 African countries, with over 3.6 million people taking part. Through innovative methods, like agroforestry and sustainable land management, it’s avoided or sequestered over 21 million tonnes of greenhouse gases.
One of its most inspiring successes has been in Kenya, where co-financing by private sector investors has enabled thousands of small-scale farmers to restore 73,000 hectares of land by the Upper Tana river – the source of almost all of Nairobi's drinking water.
The success of the programme has led to the GEF Food Systems Integrated Programme, co-led by IFAD and FAO, which is putting US$230 million towards catalysing global shifts towards sustainable agriculture.
On re-peat
The Sustainable Management of Peatland Ecosystems in Indonesia programme is keeping carbon where it belongs: underground.
It channels climate finance to rural communities to restore and conserve rich, biodiverse peatlands that store about 57 gigatonnes of carbon—the largest natural terrestrial carbon store in the world. The partnership is now being scaled up in a new initiative which is expected to reduce Indonesia’s carbon emissions by over 160,000 tonnes annually.
Mountains of success
In Morocco’s vulnerable mountain regions, over 90,000 people, most of them women, have been trained to combat climate change impacts and build sustainable livelihoods through the PDRZM.
They’ve established water user associations to irrigate their land effectively and are managing 1,300 hectares through climate-resilient means. Meanwhile, women have found new income streams that both draw on and conserve the natural environment, from keeping bees to producing essential oils.
New possibilities
By bringing together IFAD’s expertise in rural development and GEF’s commitment to addressing environmental concerns, this collaboration has driven innovation and fostered thriving agri-food systems for two decades. Together, the two organizations are opening the doors to a healthier planet and people.
Publication date: 18 August 2023