Highlighting Social Inclusion, Indigenous Rights, and Multi-Stakeholder Engagement Across GEF Programs
15–19 December 2025 | Online
The 70th meeting of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council opened today, marking a critical moment as the GEF prepares for its ninth replenishment cycle (GEF-9), scheduled to begin in July 2026. Held virtually, the Council brings together representatives of 32 constituencies to review performance, approve new programming, and set strategic directions for the coming years.
From the perspective of the GEF Civil Society Network, this Council meeting is particularly significant. Council members are considering the findings of the Eighth Comprehensive Evaluation of the GEF (OPS8), an independent assessment of the GEF’s performance during the current replenishment period. OPS8 is expected to inform the strategic priorities, partnership approaches, and delivery modalities for GEF-9.
Civil Society Engagement and Key Issues Raised
The GEF CSO Network is actively engaging in the Council process and has delivered multiple statements highlighting both progress and gaps in the GEF’s current approach.
One statement, delivered under Agenda Item 02: The GEF Monitoring Report 2025, welcomed the report’s documentation of positive environmental outcomes and notable advances in gender-responsive programming.
The Network acknowledged that women represent nearly half of the reported 2.6 million beneficiaries and that women are increasingly involved in land restoration and sustainable production systems. However, the Network also raised concerns that only 20% of livelihood benefits reached women, and that the report provides limited information on the engagement of civil society organisations (CSOs), Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs), youth, and persons with disabilities (PWDs).
Notably, the Monitoring Report refers to Indigenous Peoples’ engagement in only four projects, all located in the Amazon, raising questions about alignment with the GEF-8 “Whole of Society” targets. Information on youth engagement and the inclusion of persons with disabilities remains largely absent.
GEF CSO Network Response to Agenda 03
The GEF CSO Network welcomed the proposed $266 million Work Program for the GEF Trust Fund, supporting projects such as Unlocking Blue Pacific Prosperity, Permafrost Peatland Management in China, and South Africa’s community-focused initiative. We stressed the need for strong civil society and IPLC engagement, urged timely donor contributions, and highlighted the importance of strategic use of the remaining GEF-8 funds while preparing for GEF-9.
GEF CSO Network Response to Agenda 04
The GEF CSO Network welcomed the STAP Chair’s report and strongly supports efforts to enhance social inclusion, particularly through Indigenous Peoples’ engagement and social resilience. We endorse STAP’s recommendations on bridging scientific and Indigenous knowledge, reinforcing Indigenous rights, co-designing projects, and expanding fit-for-purpose finance. We also emphasize embedding social resilience in project design, advancing women’s leadership, and strengthening local partnerships, highlighting these as essential for a Whole of Society Approach and for informing GEF-9 programming.
GEF CSO Network Response to Agenda 05
The GEF CSO Network welcomed the Conventions Executive Secretaries Panel and the Council paper on relations with conventions and international institutions, recognising ongoing efforts by the GEF to align with convention decisions through a whole-of-society approach. The Network stressed the need to strengthen multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder participation in the implementation of GEF-related conventions, including meaningful engagement from environmental, social, financial, and cultural perspectives. It called for stronger and more structured involvement of civil society, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, women, and youth, in line with convention guidance.
The Network urged the GEF Secretariat to establish effective empowerment mechanisms for civil society and proposed the development of a multi-level, multi-actor engagement framework over the next five years. Finally, it emphasised that beyond funding allocations, clear prioritisation, stronger implementation, and robust monitoring and evaluation are essential to move beyond business as usual and halt environmental degradation.
GEF CSO Network Response to Agenda 06
The GEF CSO Network welcomed the IEO evaluation of GEF food systems programs, which confirms food systems as a major driver of biodiversity loss, land degradation, water stress, and climate impacts. While integrated programs can deliver results, the Network highlighted persistent gaps in governance, power dynamics, and implementation. It proposed specific refinements for GEF-9, including stronger participation of CSOs and IPLCs in decision-making, greater attention to land tenure and rights, safeguards for smallholders in market-based approaches, and adequately resourced coordination to enable transformative change.
GEF CSO Network Response to Agenda 07
The GEF CSO Network welcomed the Eighth Comprehensive Evaluation of the GEF (OPS8), noting its strong overall findings and evidence that community-based approaches deliver better environmental and socio-economic outcomes. However, the Network highlighted persistent gaps in social inclusion and meaningful stakeholder engagement, particularly for Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and youth. It called for clearer guidance and stronger action to operationalise a Whole of Society Approach, and recommended:
- Strengthening inclusive stakeholder engagement in integrated program design
- Enhancing linkages with national civil society to scale outcomes
- Institutionalising early, continuous, and accountable civil society and IPLC participation across project cycles
GEF CSO Network Response to the Work Program for LDCF & SCCF
The GEF CSO Network highlighted the LDCF and SCCF work program’s critical role in supporting climate adaptation in vulnerable LDCs and SIDs. It emphasized the need for inclusion, gender equality, and active participation of civil society, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities in governance, prioritization, and adaptive management. The Network urged timely and predictable finance, flexible implementation in fragile contexts, and learning-oriented monitoring that captures long-term resilience and institutional change, ensuring sustainable, locally rooted adaptation outcomes.
GEF CSO Network Response to the Progress Report on the LDCF & SCCF
The GEF CSO Network noted the LDCF and SCCF progress in strengthening climate resilience, highlighting whole-of-society approaches, gender responsiveness, and community ownership. Recommendations include deeper engagement of CSOs, Indigenous Peoples, women, and youth, enhanced transparency, disaggregated social indicators, and targeted capacity building. These measures will ensure climate finance reaches those most affected, leveraging local knowledge, leadership, and capacities for inclusive, sustainable, and transformative adaptation outcomes.
GEF CSO Network Response to the FY25 Annual Monitoring Review of LDCF & SCCF
The CSO Network noted the FY25 AMR for LDCF and SCCF, highlighting satisfactory portfolio performance, clear results, and gender outcomes. Persistent challenges include slow disbursement, capacity gaps, and coordination difficulties. We call for flexible delivery, stronger local support, and improved reporting on CSO, IPLC, women, and youth engagement to enhance impact for vulnerable communities.
A Call for Stronger Whole-of-Society Approaches
The GEF CSO Network emphasized that CSOs play a critical role in enabling community-based, inclusive, and sustainable approaches to environmental action. Active engagement of IPLCs is essential for long-term stewardship of ecosystems, particularly on Indigenous territories. Likewise, meaningful participation of youth and persons with disabilities is vital for social inclusion, economic resilience, and effective governance.
The Network highlighted that exclusion from land ownership, decision-making, and project benefits can exacerbate poverty, drive forced migration, and contribute to social instability. Addressing these gaps is therefore not only a matter of equity, but also of effectiveness and risk management for GEF investments.
Looking Ahead to GEF-9
Beyond the Monitoring Report, the Council is also reviewing a proposed GEF work program of 30 projects and programs, requesting USD 290.6 million in GEF Trust Fund resources and expected to leverage USD 1.8 billion in co-financing. Evaluations of GEF-funded food systems programs are also under consideration.
As deliberations continue throughout the week across the GEF Trust Fund, the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), and the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF), the GEF CSO Network calls for stronger tracking, reporting, and accountability mechanisms for stakeholder engagement.
For the remainder of GEF-8 and into GEF-9, the Network urges the GEF to translate its Whole-of-Society commitments into measurable action—ensuring that CSOs, IPLCs, women, youth, and persons with disabilities are not only beneficiaries, but active partners in project design, implementation, and monitoring.
The GEF CSO Network will continue to engage constructively with the Council and Secretariat to help strengthen inclusive, equitable, and impactful environmental action worldwide.
Opportunity for Feedback on Approved GEF Projects
Stakeholders have a two-week window to submit comments on any of the $290 million worth of projects recently approved, particularly regarding their focus, design, or the level of engagement of civil society, Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs), women, and youth. The document listing all approved projects is posted below, and the GEF CSO Network invites all members to submit concerns or suggestions promptly, particularly regarding project focus, design, or the engagement of civil society, Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs), women, and youth, ensuring that these perspectives are reflected in project implementation.
Feedback can be sent directly to policy@gefcsonetwork.org.
