FAO and the GEF

Partnering for sustainable agri-food systems and the environment

Latest news and updates from the partnership

19/05/2025
Bees play a vital role as pollinators across a wide range of ecosystems, including forest landscapes and food crops worldwide. Nearly 90 percent of wild flowering plants depend on bees and other pollinators to sprout future generations, and 75 percent of the world’s food crops depend on it in part. By pollinating both wild and cultivated plants, bees and other pollinators play an important role in maintaining ecosystem services and biodiversity, while also supporting global food security and nutrition.
Bees
16/05/2025
The workshop led to the development of a strategic roadmap for increased mobilization of GEF and GCF resources, while strengthening the capacities of FAO country offices in environmental governance and sustainable natural resource management. 
AfricaWest Africa
02/05/2025
When the UN General Assembly adopted May 2 as World Tuna Day less than a decade ago, around 75 percent of tuna production came from sustainably fished stocks. Today, 90 to 95 percent of tuna landed at ports comes from stocks that are not overfished.
Common OceansFish StocksTuna
02/05/2025

As wildfires escalate in Namibia’s Kavango East Region, one woman’s dedication is helping to protect forests, livelihoods and future generations.

“When I was younger, forest fires were rare,” says Benita Makena Kaghuvi, seated under a tall false mopane tree in Cakuma village. “...

AfricaBiodiversity ConservationCommunity ForestryDryland ForestDryland Sustainable LandscapesDrylandsFireSouthern AfricaSustainable Forest Management
22/04/2025

Today is Earth Day, a time to reflect on and to take local actions to safeguard the land and the environments that sustain all life. We each play a part and all efforts for sustainability are worthwhile.

In Adaköy, a village in the Yeniçağa district of Bolu, Kamil Yıldız farms in the qu...

AgroecologyEurope and Central AsiaLand DegradationSoilSoil ManagementSustainable Land Management
02/04/2025
Community Seed Banks supported by the Dryland Sustainable Landscapes Impact Programme in Zimbabwe serve as "centers of excellence" for sustainable land and forest management. It's a unique four-in-one model that integrates forestry restoration, soil and land conservation, farmer field schools, tree nurseries, orchards, and solar-powered boreholes.
AfricaCommunity-Based OrganizationsConservation AgricultureDryland ForestDryland Sustainable LandscapesDrylandsEnergyRestorationSeedsSouthern Africa
27/03/2025
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched the “National Forest Inventory (NFI) Learning Journey” at a regional workshop in Bangkok, Thailand. This innovative, self-paced learning initiative aims to help Member Nations plan, implement, and analyze their national forest inventories. It provides ongoing access to valuable resources to improve forest data management systems and strengthen national capacities.
CBIT
08/03/2025
Traditional sun drying of fish in Bangladesh is climate-dependent and done at open spaces where insect infestations by beetle and fly are a real problem. Hazardous pesticides or chemicals are often used as a cheaper solution to eliminate insects during drying and storage of dried fish that pose serious public health risks. Innovative fish drying systems are part of a larger initiative that seeks to promote sustainable fishing practices, enhance the quality and marketability of dry fish products, and reduce post-harvest losses.
Asia PacificPesticidesPOPsSustainable Fisheries
Maize, wheat, and rice contribute to 50% of the world's dietary energy
03/03/2025
Global dialogue on wheat and maize innovations held in Istanbul, Türkiye, on agrifood systems transformation through innovation, policy and global collaboration.
CerealsFood Systems Integrated ProgramKnowledge Management
28/02/2025
Seagrass meadows are one of the planet's most valuable ecosystems, providing refuge, food, and breeding grounds for thousands of marine species while also storing up to 18% of the world's ocean carbon. A FAO-GEF project in Venezuela aims to reduce the threats of invasive species in seagrass ecosystems.
BiodiversityCoastalInvasive Alien SpiecesLatin America and the CaribbeanMarine BiodiversityMarine EcosystemsSeagrass
24/02/2025

The Coastal Fisheries Initiative (CFI) is a global effort to preserve marine resources, making sure fishing is done in a way that keeps the environment healthy. To date, the CFI has helped save 700 hectares of mangrove forests in Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal. In Indonesia, they're teaching people how to fish responsibly in areas that cover over 1.6 million square kilometers of ocean. We can only bring about such transformation if we work together.

Coastal FisheriesCoastal Fisheries InitiativeFisheriesMangrovesPrivate SectorSustainable FisheriesWomenWomen
17/02/2025
“Onboard observers enable you to know what’s happening in a fishery and what the impact on the ecosystem is going to be.” Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the project promotes responsible deep-sea fisheries management and biodiversity conservation in the high seas.
ABNJBBNJBiodiversityCommon OceansFisheriesMarine BiodiversityMarine EcosystemsSustainable Fisheries
10/02/2025
Through a conversation with the FAO-CBIT Global Forest project team, this webinar will provide an overview of the Project’s objectives and activities with a focus on improving forest data collection and analyzing. It will also offer an in-depth exploration of the Forest Resource Assessment (FRA) and Food and Agriculture Microdata (FAM) platforms
CBITEnhanced Transparency FrameworkForest MonitoringForestryParis Agreement
30/01/2025
In the quiet village of Tean Kam Thbong in Cambodia’s Banteay Meanchey province, a small group of farmers is rewriting their future. Together, they form the Rumduol Tean Kam Agricultural Cooperative (AC), a close-knit community of 97 members (38 women). What began as a small initiative in 2009 has grown into a movement of hope and resilience, supported by the Promoting Climate-resilient Livelihoods in Rice-based Communities in the Tonle Sap Region (PCRL) project and its partners. 
Asia PacificClimate ChangeClimate Change AdaptationLDCFLDCFLeast Developed Countries FundLivelihoodsRice
20/01/2025
The ZAEC Project is a transformative initiative that has made significant strides in reversing land degradation across southwestern Angola. The project has delivered impactful results, advancing Angola’s environmental sustainability goals and benefiting thousands of people in the target regions.
AfricaAgroecological ZoneAgroecologyLand DegradationLand UseLandscape RestorationParticipatory Land Use PlanRestorationSouthern Africa
07/01/2025
The Global Soil Doctors Programme launches in Turkmenistan to address the risks and challenges of salinity and erosion on agricultural lands.
Europe and Central AsiaGlobal Soil PartnershipLand DegradationSoilSoil Management
24/12/2024
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has helped 22 countries unlock $68 million in financing from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to address biodiversity loss, groundwater management,  climate change, land degradation, and pollution.
AfricaAsia PacificBiodiversity ConservationCivil Society OrganizationsCommunity-Based OrganizationsEurope and Central AsiaGlobal Biodiversity FrameworkGlobal Biodiversity Framework FundGroundwaterInternational WatersLatin America and the CaribbeanProtected AreasSGPSIDSSmall Grants Program
20/12/2024
In the town of Poñen, Florida commune, initial actions were carried out as part of the strategic alliance between the GEF Landscape Restoration Project and the CONAF Communities Prepared for Forest Fires Program, focused on preventing fires through landscape restoration and integrated land manage...
BiodiversityEcosystem RestorationFireForestryLand DegradationLandscape RestorationLatin America and the Caribbean
17/12/2024

The GEF Small Grants Program is a flagship initiative that over the past three decades has enabled civil society organizations to access funding and technical assistance for community action related to the environment and sustainable livelihoods. It specifically supports Indigenous Peoples and...

Civil Society OrganizationsCommunity-Based OrganizationsDroughtSGPSmall Grants Program
06/12/2024
The GEF-8 Food Systems Integrated Program launches to support 32 countries in transforming their food systems
Food Systems Integrated ProgramFS IP