The primary objective of the Small Grants Programme (SGP) is to assist in securing global environmental benefits in the areas of biodiversity, climate change and international waters.

The Programme is funded by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and is implemented by UNDP. The GEF/SGP aims to protect the environment by funding projects that use community based approaches to conservation and sustainable natural resource use while generating local benefits.

Participation, democracy, flexibility and transparency are cornerstones of the SGP approach. The programme encourages and supports the participation of communities, local people, NGOs and other stakeholder in:

• Formulating country programme strategies.
• Developing, presenting, and executing project concept papers and proposals.
• Building partnerships to broaden the scope of the programme and to communicate and replicate successful SGP initiatives.
• Raising public awareness concerning global environmental issues, thus changing public attitudes and practices.
• Influencing government environmental policies and programmes.
• Mobilizing in-kind and monetary resources to support project and programme sustainability.

SGP recognizes that the life-threatening challenges we face are the:

• Destruction of ecosystems and the species that depend upon them.
• Increasing levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in our atmosphere.
• Pollution of international waters.

Poor people are the most vulnerable segment of the population. Often they live in fragile ecosystems and depend on access to natural resources for their livelihoods. The programme operates on the premise that people will be empowered to protect their environment when they are organized. SGP however, is more than simply a fund that provides small grants to improve the local environment.

By raising public awareness, building partnerships and promoting policy dialogue, SGP seeks to foster an enabling environment for achieving sustainable development and addressing global environmental issues. GEF-SGP in Egypt has funded activities that support community-level action in the following focal areas: biodiversity, climate change and international waters. Recently, land degradation and persistent organic pollutants (POPS) have been added.

The following report is an independent assessment of the impact and relevance of GEF/SGP supported projects in Egypt. It seeks to guide, monitor and document lessons learned based on an assessment of the Programme as well as project achievements.