Global Environment Facility (GEF) Regional Training Empowers GEF Operational Focal Points with Tools for Impactful Project Oversight
Windhoek, Namibia – 15 April 2025
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is partnering with the Tropical Biology Association (TBA) to provide financial and training support GEF Operational Focal Points (OFPs) across Southern Africa, as part of a corporate initiative to strengthen OFPs globally.
Namibia hosts a landmark GEF Regional Training Workshop this week, bringing together OFPs from 10 Southern African countries to build their capacity in overseeing and maximizing the impact of GEF-funded environmental projects.
Held from 15–16 April 2025 in Windhoek, the workshop forms part of the GEF-8 Country Engagement Strategy to empower national leadership through targeted investment in project oversight. The event is organized by the GEF and TBA, in collaboration with the Namibia GEF OFP Office at the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism and Doufi Namalambo Consultancy (DNC).
This Namibia workshop reflects a growing commitment among African leaders and institutions to professionalize environmental governance. Participants represent Namibia, Botswana, Comoros, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
“This initiative strengthens the Operational Focal Points’ project oversight and monitoring capacity, enabling them to take greater ownership of their portfolios and maximize the impact of GEF resources,” says Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, CEO and Chairperson of the GEF. “By fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing through training activities and field visits, we create an opportunity for these focal points to learn from one another and optimize the management of GEF-funded projects.”
From Paper to Practice: A Visit to the NILALEG Project at UNAM
While the workshop offers high-level training, the second day’s field visit to the University of Namibia (UNAM) brings the program’s message to life.
Delegates visit the Namibia Integrated Landscape Approach for Enhancing Livelihoods and Environmental Governance (NILALEG) — a GEF-funded project that exemplifies the connection between science, policy, and local action. Hosted at UNAM’s Wet Lab, the visit highlights how spatial data and ecological monitoring are being used to measure and report progress toward Namibia’s global environmental commitments.
From groundwater recharge studies to carbon sequestration mapping, the lab demonstrates how data-driven approaches improve national reporting under agreements such as the UNFCCC, UNCCD, and CBD.
The visit also spotlights UNAM’s leadership in training community monitors and maintaining a shared GIS platform that tracks land restoration, bush encroachment, biodiversity, and agricultural productivity across five key landscapes.
Why It Matters: A New Chapter in Oversight and Accountability
The training supports GEF’s Country Engagement Strategy, which allocates up to $32,000 per country for OFPs to strengthen project oversight — including site visits, data collection, stakeholder coordination, and reporting.
For many OFPs, who often serve in Ministries of Environment, this support provides essential tools to ensure that GEF investments deliver lasting change.
About the Organizing Partners: GEF and TBA
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is the world’s largest multilateral fund dedicated to confronting biodiversity loss, climate change, pollution, and land degradation. Since its establishment in 1991, the GEF has provided over $26 billion in funding and mobilized $148 billion in co-financing for more than 5,000 projects in 170 countries. Through its Country Engagement Strategy, the GEF is investing directly in the capacity of Operational Focal Points to improve oversight and effectiveness of funded initiatives.
The Tropical Biology Association (TBA) is an international organization committed to building the capacity of individuals and institutions to manage and conserve biodiversity in Africa. With deep roots in field-based training, TBA serves as an implementing partner under this GEF initiative, leading the delivery of customized regional workshops across the continent to strengthen technical skills, monitoring capacity, and regional collaboration among OFPs.
Together, GEF and TBA are building a strong foundation in Southern Africa region for national environmental governance, aligning in-country project oversight efforts with global environmental goals.
