The Global Environment Facility's Small Grants Programme (SGP) aims to deliver global environmental benefits in the GEF Focal Areas of biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, protection of international waters, prevention of land degradation (primarily desertification and deforestation), and elimination of persistent organic pollutants through community-based approaches.

SGP supports action - based and community led initiatives

Small Grants Programme provides grants to organizations for activities that initiatives local problems and activities that offer solutions to global problems in areas of:  

 Biodiversity Conservation

   Climate Change Mitigation

   Protection of International Waters
  Prevention of Land Degradation

  Phasing out Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

SGP champions hands on approach for sustainable livelihoods and lays emphasis on:

• Promote innovative community based projects to reduce local environmental threats.

• Build local capacity to implement sustainable development strategies, creating �local ownerships�.

• Encourages transparent participatory and country-driven approach to project planning design and implementation.

• Demonstrate high replicability, leveraging in-kind and in-cash co-financing and scaling-up potential. Creation of public awareness on environmental issues as an integral part of the project.

• Address livelihood, equality and gender concerns. Create an impact / influence on policy / at National / State / District levels.

• Links to research and development technology issues. Projects that encourage collaborative links with scientific organizations and promise innovative breakthroughs and primary research on indigenous technology, traditional knowledge and resource management issues.

In addition to addressing one or more of the focal areas mentioned above and fulfilling the cross-cutting issues of SGP, projects must fall into at least one of the following categories:

• Those which try out an innovative approach or adapting an existing solution/approach to a given situation.

• Those which having the potential to bring about a demonstrable improvement in the environment and socio economic situation of the community in a sustainable matter.

The Organization should be registered for at least three years. Organizations and projects will be given preference to the extent that they involve;

• Women as equal partners in programme implementation

• Marginalized population and isolated tribal communities

• Networking and Co-financing by partner organizations and communities

SGP will normally consider grants up to Rs. 15 lakh for each project. In special cases, where co-financing commitments are more, slightly higher budgets may be considered, if the project activities justify this. More emphasis is placed on leveraging local contributions in-cash and in-kind from communities.

The duration of the projects can be between 24 to 30 months. This may however be flexible to meet the needs of the project ideas.