The newly approved projects will advance nature-based solutions, climate-smart livelihoods, and community-driven resilience efforts. Photo;
In a critical boost for countries bearing the brunt of climate change, the Council of the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) and the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) have approved nearly $40 million in new project funding to support locally led climate adaptation across Africa and the Pacific.
Financed through the Global Environment Facility’s LDCF, the newly approved projects will advance nature-based solutions, climate-smart livelihoods, and community-driven resilience efforts in regions from the Sahel to the Solomon Islands.
GEF CEO and Chairperson Carlos Manuel Rodríguez said the move reflects the LDCF’s enduring commitment to tailored, country-led approaches.
“Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States are on the frontline of the global environmental crisis. Yet it is exactly these countries, where the challenges are greatest, that are showing us the way forward with nature-positive, inclusive solutions – solutions that the GEF is proud to support.”
With this round of funding, the GEF’s adaptation investments through the LDCF now exceed $618 million in the current four-year cycle, attracting over $2.9 billion in co-financing from governments and partners.
Restoring Ecosystems in Africa
In Africa, three key projects have been approved to restore degraded ecosystems, improve livelihoods, and build long-term resilience.
In northern Uganda, the Building a climate-resilient and sustainable Shea landscape project (GEF ID 11701) will address the sharp decline of the shea tree population, driven by bushfires, cutting, and land clearing.
The $6.7 million LDCF-funded initiative aims to support integrated land management, strengthen local governance, and improve community access to finance.
The project also aims to boost the commercialization of shea nuts and products, enhancing incomes and livelihoods for communities dependent on this vulnerable ecosystem.
In the Sahel, the RESILAND Program (GEF ID 11743) will receive $18.8 million to support landscape restoration and transboundary cooperation across Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Niger.
The initiative emphasizes community leadership, particularly by women, in sustainable natural resource use and climate resilience practices, including non-timber forest products and fisheries.
In Madagascar, the Science-based management of biodiversity and natural resources project (GEF ID 11694) will leverage $20 million in GEF financing—$18.2 million from the GEF Trust Fund and $1.8 million from the LDCF—with an additional $162 million in co-financing.
The project’s flagship innovation is the ‘Lemur Bond’, an outcome-based financing tool to attract capital markets for biodiversity conservation and community livelihoods in and around protected areas.
The Lemur Bond emerged from Madagascar’s Country Platform engagement, co-convened by the IMF and World Bank in October 2024.
Implemented by the World Bank, the initiative reflects a blended finance approach, seen as key to addressing interlinked challenges of climate change, conservation, and poverty.
Climate-Resilient Food Systems in the Pacific
In the Solomon Islands, where coastal erosion and erratic rainfall threaten food systems, the Resilient Rural Economic Growth and Food Security Project (GEF ID 11699) will channel $8.9 million into developing climate-smart agriculture across five provinces.
Led by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the initiative will promote subsistence and commercial farming models that integrate scientific expertise with customary knowledge and governance.
With adaptation measures embedded into local and traditional institutions, the project aims for sustainable, community-owned outcomes.
A Blueprint for Frontline Adaptation
Together, these four projects reflect a broader GEF strategy of combining technical expertise, local leadership, and innovative finance to address the urgent adaptation needs of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
“The LDCF’s continued commitment to supporting country-driven adaptation solutions in the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations,” Rodríguez reaffirmed.
The projects span sectors from agriculture and forestry to biodiversity and finance, and prioritize inclusive, community-led models that can be scaled or replicated across other vulnerable regions.
By restoring ecosystems, improving climate governance, and unlocking rural finance, the LDCF is helping communities better cope with both slow-onset risks and sudden climate shocks.
As extreme weather worsens and biodiversity loss accelerates, such financing will be vital, not just as a buffer, but as a foundation for dignity, stability, and hope in places often overlooked by traditional climate finance flows.
About The Global Environment Facility (GEF)
The Global Environment Facility is a family of multilateral funds working together to tackle the world’s most pressing environmental challenges through integrated, country-driven solutions.
Over the last three decades, the GEF has provided more than $26 billion in financing, primarily as grants, and helped mobilize an additional $153 billion in co-financing for thousands of projects worldwide.
These efforts support developing countries in achieving global environmental goals across climate, biodiversity, land degradation, chemicals, and international waters.
About The Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF)
The LDCF is the only multilateral fund dedicated solely to addressing the urgent and unique climate adaptation needs of Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
It focuses on building systemic resilience in sectors such as agriculture, water, food security, health, infrastructure, nature-based solutions, and climate information services.
The fund has delivered over $2.4 billion in grants across 51 LDCs, helping transition from incremental actions to transformational adaptation.
It also strengthens institutions, leverages broader finance, and promotes inclusive, locally led solutions.
