Claude Gascon

Wildlife is a thread weaving through the ecosystems of our world.  Species of flora and fauna play important roles in the function and integrity of our planetary life support system and contribute to human well-being.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has a long-standing commitment to the conservation and sustainable use of wildlife: both flora and fauna.  The GEF supports projects around the world that promote the conservation and sustainable use of medicinal and aromatic plants while recognizing the key relationship between traditional knowledge and stewardship and sustainable use.

In Lebanon, we worked to create incentives for local communities to sustainably manage wild stocks such as those in the oregano family.  The project helped to increase financial returns that flow to the guardians of these plants, creating incentives to improve sustainable harvest and management practices.

A project in Ethiopia prevented habitat destruction and the erosion of the diversity of medicinal and aromatic plants in the daisy, nightshade and legume families around the Bale Mountains National Park and therefore facilitated the development of safe and efficacious healthcare.

We worked in Morocco to strengthen the capacity of government institutions, non-governmental organizations and concerned citizens to conserve and sustainably use wild crafted medicinal and aromatic plants.  The project worked to ensure that harvesting was sustainable while also increasing the economic value of these plants by improving access to markets

These projects for medicinal and aromatic plants complement GEF financing for the largest global program for the conservation and sustainable use of wildlife.  The 38 country Global Wildlife Program (GWP) is supported by $360 million in GEF resources and $2 billion in co-finance, invests in human wildlife coexistence, combating illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade, conserving wildlife landscapes and supporting wildlife economies such as nature-based tourism.

While the GEF is the financial mechanism for the UN Convention on Biological Diversity it also supports countries to build complimentary skills and capacity they need to implement their commitments to CITES.  For instance, our work through GWP has contributed to the training of nearly 60,000 law enforcement, criminal justice, and wildlife management staff in wildlife crime prevention and has supported 18 new or revised wildlife-related legal or regulatory instruments.

On this World Wildlife Day, the GEF solidly reiterates its commitment to support CITES and to actions that support wild flora and fauna.