Background
Established in 1992, following the Rio Earth Summit, the Global Environmental Facility Small Grants
Programme (GEF/SGP) is a corporate programme of the Global Environment Facility and implemented
by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The GEF/SGP supports local communities at the
grassroots level to undertake projects aimed at restoring and conserving the environment while at the
same time enhancing people’s wellbeing and livelihoods. The projects supported are within the GEF
focal areas of; biodiversity, land degradation, climate change, sustainable forest management,
international waters, chemicals and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).
The GEF Small Grants Programme provides Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in developing and
transitioning countries with grants and technical guidance to enable them to tackle global environmental
challenges while addressing local sustainable development needs. In Operation Phase 7, grant-making
focuses on the strategic initiatives of; community-based conservation of threatened ecosystems and
species; sustainable agriculture and fisheries, and food security; low-carbon energy access co-benefits,
local to global coalitions for chemicals and waste management and tap on the opportunities in line with
the country environmental management and development priorities, the GEF target in Operational Phase
(OP) 7 and SGP Country Operating Strategy for OP71. With these environment-centered “grant
projects” the Programme also seeks to generate sustainable livelihoods and reduce poverty in the
world’s neediest countries and regions. With the notion “community action with global impact”, the
Programme recognizes that grassroots communities as custodians of their environments, are better
placed to tackle global environmental problems and come up with innovative and sustainable solutions.
Since its establishment in 1992, the Botswana Programme has supported 191 projects with varying
successes. Through the technical and financial support provided by the Programme, the local
communities have developed and led initiatives which significantly contributed to the restoration and
conservation of the natural environments as well as enhanced people's well-being and livelihoods
particularly in the rural areas. The Programme supports Government priorities and actions in
environmental conservation as well as driving the sustainable development agenda through supporting
community led pilot projects with the potential for up-scaling and replication by the Government and
other partners.
In supporting the Government in driving her sustainable development agenda, the GEF Small Grants
Programme is collaborating with the Government of Botswana and UNESCO World Heritage Centre on a
series of activities to support the replication of the Community Management of Protected Areas for
Conservation (COMPACT) model in Okavango Delta World Heritage site in Botswana under a project
titled “Engaging local communities in the management of the World Heritage Sites in Africa”. This
project builds on similar recent efforts in several World Heritage sites in Africa, including in South
Africa, Lesotho, Niger, Ethiopia, Senegal, Tanzania and Kenya. COMPACT seeks to demonstrate how
community-based initiatives can significantly increase the effectiveness of the biodiversity conservation
in the co-management of globally significant protected areas by working to improve the livelihoods of
local communities. The COMPACT methodology is one of the strategies developed by the World
Heritage Convention and aims to ensure that World Heritage conservation contributes to sustainable
development by fostering peace and security, care for nature, cultural diversity, inclusive social and
economic development and the quality of life of communities, whilst fully respecting the Outstanding
Universal Value of World Heritage sites. This commitment was further confirmed by the General
Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention when it adopted the Policy Document for
the Integration of a Sustainable Development Perspective into the Processes of the World Heritage
Convention at its 20th session in 2015 (20 GA 13).2
It is against this background, that the GEF/SGP invites legally registered Civil Society Organizations,
academic and research institutions in Botswana to submit innovative proposals that contributes to:

1.To promote and support innovative, inclusive and scalable initiatives, and foster multi stakeholder partnerships at
the local level to tackle global environmental issues in priority landscapes and seascapes.Environmental conservation in the strategic initiatives of; community-based conservation of threatened ecosystems and species; sustainable agriculture and fisheries, and food security; low-carbon energy access co-benefits and local to global coalitions for chemicals and waste management in line with the country environmental management and development priorities as well as the GEF targets as echoed in the Country Programme Strategy for OP7 and COMPACT site strategy. The proposed projects are planned to support the COMPACT replication project and to be implemented within Operational Phase 7 landscape to support local communities within the boundaries of Panhandle of the Okavango Delta in Botswana.