GEF National Dialogue 2018

The two day National Dialogue for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in Samoa was held on the 5th and the 6th of November, 2018 at the Taumeasina Resort, Apia. The Dialogue was officially opened by the Chief Executive Officer of MNRE, Tofa Ulu Bismarck Crawley emphasising the move for Samoa to prioritising environmental obligations as a basis for the Replenishment cycle of GEF 7 funds for Samoa.

The main objectives of this Dialogue included;

  1. Inclusion of information and validation of national objectives, policies, strategies and the means to achieve them;
  2. Mainstreaming environment in national decision-making; national positions in Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and coordination;
  3. Incorporating the capital value of environment to national accounting and other issues of interest and also planning of the GEF 7 Replenishment cycle for Samoa

The dialogue was led by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment as the Operational Focal point for the GEF. Members from the GEF Secretariat in Washington DC attended the dialogue with participation from various stakeholders including Regional organisations, National organisations and Government Ministries. The discussions and deliberations focused towards Samoa’s obligations on GEF’s six focal areas namely, land degradation, climate change, biodiversity, international waters, persistent organic pollutants and minamata convention on mercury.

The Dialogue also included a snapshot of GEF activities in Samoa and presentations of current and existing programmes implemented depicting the GEF main focal areas of environmental significance in the country.

The sessions were formatted to also highlight Samoa’s sources of financing and support available for this replenishment period namely; GEF 7 which amounts to USD 4million for the next four years.  The outcome of the meeting highlights the need to prioritising activities towards