South Africa and the GEF host international seminar to support higher impact on environmental action

17 January 2025

The Department (DFFE) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) will host the GEF Expanded Constituency Workshop for the Southern Africa region from 20-23 January 2025 in Johannesburg, Gauteng.

The Deputy Minister Mr. Narend Singh, will deliver the opening remarks at the four-day workshop, where 10 participating countries will discuss strategies and opportunities to strengthen environmental actions and generate lasting environmental benefits for people and planet. The participants include government officials, international agencies, multilateral environmental agreements, and civil society organizations.

The ECW will focus on the GEF approach on "Integration for Impact," highlighting the importance of unified approaches to invest in global environmental benefits across GEF’s focal areas. The workshop will also include a site visit to a GEF project in South Africa, providing practical insights into the application of integrated strategies.

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 Development Bank of South Africa and the United Nations Environment Programme with funding by the GEF to promote sustainable urban development.

Members of the media are invited to attend the opening ceremony, the details below:

Date: Monday, 20 January 2025 
Time: 08h30 
Venue: Radisson Blu Gautrain Hotel, Sandton, Johannesburg

TO RSVP, please contact

Alexandre Pinheiro Rego 
E-mail: arego@gef.org 

or 

Michael Mokoena 
Mobile: 082 906 5795 
E-mail: mmokoena@dffe.gov.za

For media enquiries, please contact

Peter Mbelengwa 
Mobile: 082 611 8197
E-mail: pmbelengwa@dffe.gov.za

Issued jointly By The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment and the Global Environmental Facility

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 Fund (SCCF), Nagoya Protocol Implementation Fund (NPIF), and Capacity-building Initiative for Transparency Fund (CBIT).