LAGOS, June 22 (Xinhua) -- The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has approved three Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO)-led projects in five countries, totaling 18 million U.S. dollars in funding, the FAO said in a statement on Wednesday.
The new projects -- in Nigeria, Venezuela, and a regional initiative encompassing Malawi, Mozambique and Uganda -- will improve the management of protected areas, protect biodiversity in lowland forests, and build water security and resilience, said FAO in a statement reaching Xinhua in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub.
"Resilient and productive land and aquatic ecosystems are the foundation of sustainable agri-food system transformation," said FAO deputy director-general Maria Helena Semedo in the statement.
"The approval of these three projects strengthens our ability to help countries move on a path of sustainability that leaves no one behind," Semodo added.
The FAO said the biodiversity conservation project in Venezuela will address key barriers to the sustainable use of biodiversity in order to support the effective management of five existing protected areas in the Caroni River Basin in the Guiana Massif, one of the most pristine and biodiverse areas on the planet.
The project in Nigeria, the statement said, will improve the conservation, sustainable use, and restoration of a lowland forest landscape to protect globally significant biodiversity and strengthen the sustainable livelihoods of local communities.
The regional initiative across Malawi, Mozambique and Uganda will bring the sustainable management of groundwater to the forefront of water security for resilient livelihoods, ecosystems, and investments in Africa.
The three projects, approved on Tuesday at a GEF council meeting in Virginia, United States, will improve management for conservation and the sustainable use of over 8.3 million hectares of protected areas; bring 10,000 hectares of land under improved management; and restore another 24,000 hectares of forest and natural grasslands, according to the statement.
The GEF is a multilateral trust fund focused on enabling developing countries to invest in nature and supports the implementation of major international environmental conventions including biodiversity, climate change, chemicals and desertification. ■