Deputy Minister Narend Singh calls on Southern African countries to collaborate to strengthen environmental action
The Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Mr. Narend Singh has today – 20 January 2025 - opened the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Expanded Constituency Workshop in Johannesburg, Gauteng, highlighting the critical need for collaboration to address pressing environmental challenges in the Southern African region.
The pivotal four-day workshop brings together government officials, international agencies, multilateral environmental agreements, GEF implementing agencies and civil society organizations from 10 countries from Southern Africa to strategise on enhancing environmental initiatives and how to achieve impactful, lasting benefits for both people and the planet.
Delivering his opening remarks, Deputy Minister Singh underscored the urgent need for coordinated global and regional efforts. “Our environment faces unprecedented challenges, and it is only through collective action, shared knowledge and strategic partnerships that we can turn the tide against biodiversity loss, climate change and environmental degradation”, said Deputy Minister Singh.
Lebogang Seperepere, Acting Group Executive Project Preparation at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), emphasised the importance of partnerships in delivering sustainable impact, “The DBSA is committed to working with global partners like the GEF to address the twin challenges of environmental degradation and climate change. By leveraging our expertise in financing and infrastructure development, we can ensure that projects not only protect our planet but also uplift our communities. This workshop is an important step in fostering collaboration and delivering transformative change across Southern Africa.”
The GEF has dedicated $136.6 million for the 2022-2026 funding period to environmental efforts in Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The environmental funding for South Africa alone during this period is $49.1 million, the largest allocation in the Southern Africa region. The total GEF active environmental support for the ten countries of Southern Africa includes 123 active projects with $553 million GEF commitments and more than $3 billion in leveraged co-financing, with 90 percent of the resources supporting biodiversity and climate change.
Dr. Fred Boltz, Manager of the Programming Division at the GEF, emphasised the workshop's role in maximising the impact of available resources. "This workshop is a unique opportunity to strategically plan how to maximize our resources for greater impact by strengthening our partnership with GEF recipient countries, GEF implementing agencies and civil society organizations in the region. The GEF's funding and projects in Africa address critical needs such as building more resilient food systems, restoring degraded lands, developing greener cities and infrastructure systems, managing chemicals and waste, and conserving vital ecosystems and biodiversity”, said Dr. Boltz.”
The GEF Operational Focal Point for South Africa, Ms Shahkira Parker, indicated that with the GEF 9 replenishment negotiations about to commence this workshop provides an important opportunity for the region to put critical issues on the agenda with the GEF leadership to further enhance collaboration.
During the workshop, the participants will visit the project Building a resilient and resource-efficient Johannesburg: increased access to urban services and improved quality of life, being implemented by the DFFE, the City of Johannesburg the Development Bank of Southern Africa and the United Nations Environment Programme with funding from the GEF and, the City of Johannesburg to promote sustainable urban development.
Editors Note:
About the GEF
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a multilateral family of funds dedicated to confronting biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution, and supporting land and ocean health. Its financing enables developing countries to address complex challenges and work towards international environmental goals. The partnership includes 186 member governments as well as civil society, Indigenous Peoples, women, and youth, with a focus on integration and inclusivity. Over the past three decades, the GEF has provided more than $26 billion in financing and mobilized $149 billion for country-driven priority projects. The family of funds includes the Global Environment Facility Trust Fund, Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), Special Climate Change Fun
About the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA):
The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) is a leading African Development Finance Institution (DFI) with a mandate to accelerate sustainable infrastructure development. The DBSA supports economic growth and improves the quality of life across Southern Africa through investments in key sectors such as energy, water, transport, and ICT. The bank works to mobilise innovative financing solutions and foster strategic partnerships to address developmental and environmental challenges, with a focus on creating a more inclusive and sustainable future.
Enquiries
Peter Mbelengwa
Cell: 082 611 8197
E-mail: pmbelengwa@dffe.gov.za
Alexandre Pinheiro Rego
Cell: +1-202-812-2554
E-mail: arego@thegef.org
Soneni Phiri
E-mail: sonenip@dbsa.org
