Chair’s report and presentation

This report to the Fifth GEF Assembly, presented by Rosina Bierbaum, STAP Chair, in Cancun, Mexico, comes at a comes at a critical but exciting juncture of the Facility. In two decades, the GEF partnership has made demonstrable contributions to delivering global environmental benefits (GEBs) in accord with its mandate as the financial mechanism for the Rio Conventions. Yet threats to the global commons continue to grow – driven by human activities and lifestyle choices – resulting in pollution, biodiversity loss, degradation of land and water, fragmentation of ecosystems, and climate change. Responses to manage common pool resources and improve governance have tended to be fragmentary, partial, and only limited in success.