Page - (000046) - in Evaluating Climate Change Action for Sustainable Development

the interactionwith civil society through the example of small grants provided to local communities, the introduction of new technology in collaboration with the private sector and the gender, equity and inclusiveness dimensions. 2.6 Civil SocietyActionSupportedThroughSmallGrants Whilecivil society isactiveatall levelsofgovernance, includingtheglobal level, it tends to be rooted in local organizations and action. Bottom-up action and repre- sentation are considered essential bymany civil society organisations. Change in behaviour initiatedbyandincivil societyoftenfollowsitsowndynamics–someof it top-down, where governments impose rules and regulations, or behavior is modelledontheexampleofpopularcharactersoropinionleaders,butoftendurable changeis initiatedat local levelsandgradually(orquickly)spreadingtothegeneral population. Of the organisations evaluated the Global Environment Facility has supported local civil society initiatives through itsSmallGrantProgramme(SGP). Weturnnowtotheevaluationsof thisprogrammetolookatwhether thisprovidesa promising avenue for civil society engagement in climate action. The SGP was established in 1992 and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on behalf of the Global Environment Facility (GEF).SGPprovidessmallgrantsofup toUS$50,000to localcommunitiesas they take action on sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity, climate change, land degradation, international waters, sustainable forest- and chemical manage- ment.SGPhasprovidedover18,000grants tocommunities inmore than125coun- tries. In its fifth operational phase (2011–2014), the Programme’s aim included expanding its coverage to 136 countries. US$288.28millionwas allocated to the SGPand total co-financingmobilized fromdiverse sources amounts toUS$345.24 million (GEF/IEOandUNDP/IEO2015, p. 1). From2013 to2015, theGEFandUNDPIndependentEvaluationOffices jointly evaluatedSGP.Oneof theconclusionsof theevaluationstates that ‘SGPcontinues to support communities with projects that are effective, efficient, and relevant in achieving global environmental benefits while addressing livelihoods as well as promoting gender equality and empowering women’ (GEF/IEO and UNDP/IEO 2015, p. xiii). The evaluation further notes that SGP’s system ensures global policies are translated into action at the local level. The results at local levelwere impressive, with high percentages of projects that contributed to livelihoods, poverty reduction andgender. In many countries, SGP achievements were replicated, upscaled and mainstreamed, sometimes to the extent of policy influence, into local and some- timesnationaldevelopmentprocesses.Replicationoftentakesplaceonalocalscale only:othervillages andcommunities copyingwhathadbeenachieved inaspecific SGPsupportedactivity.Thus, successful introductionofconservationofmangrove forests in Senegal at the local community level was replicated in other villages. Mainstreaminghappenedlessoften,butaninterestingexamplewasanSGPgrant in 2 ActiononClimateChange:WhatDoes ItMean andWhereDoes ItLeadTo? 25