India set to get $150-m GEF aid for biodiversity

India set to get $150-m GEF aid for biodiversity



ASHOK B SHARMA

Posted online: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 at 0036 hours IST

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=152615







NEW DELHI, JAN 23 : India is likely to receive around $150-million

assistance from the global environment facility (GEF) in the next four

years for several green projects and also those related to bio diversity

conservation.



India is also a major beneficiary of GEF’s small grants programme (SGP)

which has been implemented by the United Nations Development Programme

(UNDP) in 90 countries. A new SGP eco-development and bio diversity

project for a cluster of 28 villages in Tumkur district in Karnataka will

be launched on Wednesday in Bangalore.



Talking to FE, the GEF chairperson, Monique Barbut said, “India is a major

beneficiary. We have financed several projects in India amounting to $180

million. GEF’s financing led to co-financing by different agencies to the

tune of $1 billion.”



Barbut said many project proposals from India were under consideration,

the total fund flow from GEF may touch $150 million in the next four

years. She said though GEF was an important part of the public sector’s

effort to address growing environmental problems, it had kept aside $50

million corpus for funding private sector initiatives. Barbut was in India

to participate in the Delhi sustainable development summit and discuss

eco-development with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and

Industry (Ficci).



She said GEF had financed several projects to the extent of $2 billion in

140 developing countries during 2006. GEFs efforts have also helped

generate $22 billion co-financing from different agencies. India is also a

donor of the GEF Fund. Out of the last replenishment of $3.2 billion

contributed by donar countries, India and China contributed $9 million.

Barbut lauded India’s efforts and said in many projects the country was

able to do without GEF funding. In a World Bank-assisted wind energy

project, India returned $28 million assistance by GEF.