GEF-9 — Outcomes of the Eighth GEF Assembly and 71st Council Meeting, Samarkand 2026

From 31 May to 5 June 2026, more than 2,000 delegates and observers met in Samarkand, Uzbekistan for four concurrent meetings: the 71st GEF Council, the 40th LDCF/SCCF Council, the sixth GBFF Council, and the Eighth GEF Assembly. A Civil Society Forum convened on 3 June. The meetings adopted a GEF-9 replenishment package with initial pledges of USD 3.9 billion, an approved STAR policy, a new agency expansion procedure, updated Lead Agency terms of reference, a 2026 GEF Evaluation Policy, and decisions on LDCF/SCCF and GBFF programming and budgets. GEF-9 introduces structural reforms covering blended finance, resource allocation, agency compliance monitoring, and stakeholder participation frameworks, with an investment period running from 1 July 2026 to June 2030.

Background: The GEF's Organisational Structure

The GEF originated with a 1989 French proposal and was established as a pilot program in 1991 through arrangements between three Implementing Agencies — the World Bank, UNDP, and UNEP — housed in and administered by the World Bank. By 1994, developing countries' calls for democratic decision making resulted in the GEF's restructuring, with representatives of 73 countries adopting a new GEF Instrument. With this restructuring, the GEF became a separate institution, hosted but not administered by the World Bank. Its organisational structure includes an Assembly meeting every four years, a Council meeting twice a year, a Secretariat, the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP, established 1995), and an Independent Evaluation Office (IEO, created 2003). The GEF Council — the main decision-making body — comprises 32 appointed members representing constituencies of donor and recipient countries. The GEF Assembly has convened eight times between 1998 and 2026 and comprises 186 member governments.

The GEF administers the LDCF and the SCCF, established under the UNFCCC in 2001, and provides secretariat services to the Adaptation Fund. It also administers the GBFF, established under the CBD in June 2023 and officially launched in August 2023 at the seventh GEF Assembly. The four bodies meeting in Samarkand were the 71st GEF Council (31 May–3 June), the 40th LDCF/SCCF Council (2 June), the sixth GBFF Council (2–3 June), and the Eighth GEF Assembly (4–5 June). A Civil Society Forum convened on 3 June, bringing together CSOs, IPLCs, women, youth, GEF member countries, Implementing Agencies, and other stakeholders.

GEF-9: The Replenishment Package

On Sunday 31 May, Maitreyi Das, World Bank, noted that GEF-9 negotiations were conducted with openness, perseverance, and a shared sense of commitment, and added that while the initially agreed envelope is USD 3.9 billion, additional pledges can be made. The World Bank, as Trustee, is expected to adopt the final resolution on the replenishment in July 2026. Interim CEO Claude Gascon presented document GEF/C.71/02/Rev.03, containing the investment strategy, policy recommendations, and a resource allocation model. Council members generally welcomed the outcome, although several expressed disappointment in the smaller envelope compared to previous replenishments. Several particularly welcomed the emphasis on LDCs, SIDS, and IPLCs. Some also stressed the importance of GEF-9 implementation being a country-owned and country-driven process.

The strategic priorities of GEF-9 include: Integrated Programs targeting systemic transformations through holistic and nexus approaches; blended finance with an aspirational target of programming 25% of resources to mobilise private capital; support for vulnerable countries, with the goal of directing 35% of resources to LDCs and SIDS and 20% to IPLCs; and whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches. GEF-9 also introduces structural reforms described as making the GEF faster, simpler, and more accountable. Among other issues, members encouraged more transboundary projects, urged expanding the number of agencies available to support LDCs and SIDS, stressed the potential of private sector, blended, and non-grant-based finance noting this must not substitute the allocation of concessional resources, and stressed the need to redirect nature-negative financial flows.

Blended Finance: Positions Expressed at the Council and Assembly

On 3 June, the GEF Work Program for June 2026 was presented by Fred Boltz and Mohamed Bakarr, GEF Secretariat (document GEF/C.71/03). The program comprises 16 projects in 19 recipient countries, totalling USD 141.4 million, and is expected to mobilise USD 828.1 million in co-financing. For GEF-8 overall, the co-financing ratio is 8:1. Many Council members highlighted the Uzbekistan Risk Mitigation Facility project as an example of the potential for using blended finance to increase co-financing. Participants stressed that the prioritisation of the private sector's involvement is a necessity, while emphasising that innovative and diversified funding approaches need to complement, not replace, traditional sources.

Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary of the BRS Conventions, said that chemicals and waste have been treated as an adjacent, secondary consideration, and that GEF-9 must "mark the moment when we stop treating pollution as a footnote to planetary health." He urged mobilising capital beyond grants to close the finance gap and stressed de-risking, catalysing, and unlocking relevant investments. Monika Stankiewicz, Executive Secretary of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, welcomed the expanded blended finance toolkit and said a strong GEF investment for 2027 will send a powerful signal. Rolph Payet, speaking at the Assembly's high-level opening ceremony, stressed that "NGIs are no longer optional if we are to move into scale."

At the Assembly's high-level plenary on 5 June, Kenneth Lay, Senior Managing Director, RockCreek, stated that ODA has always faced challenges related to competing demands, and that stress on public finance and the volatile diplomatic environment have fuelled this competition. He said that despite the global savings pool having vast resources at its disposal, asset owners "are not in the room with us and do not seem to be losing sleep over our targets." He stated that financial models must incorporate nature degradation as a macro-economic variable rather than as a footnote, and that the ambition of GEF-9 is making "investing in nature as natural as investing in infrastructure."

Directing Resources to Those Who Need Them Most

The GEF-9 equity architecture represents a significant structural shift. The adjusted STAR formula indicates approximately 43% of GEF-9 STAR resources will be allocated to SIDS and LDCs — exceeding the agreed 35% aspirational target — though the final share depends on the final replenishment size. Four new LDCs accessed LDCF resources for the first time under GEF-8, and the final Work Program under GEF-8 saw the LDCF reach 44 LDCs with total programming of over USD 750 million.

The 20% aspirational target for IPLC actions was described by Vivian Silole of IPAG as "the fruit of years of work, dialogue, and perseverance by Indigenous Peoples." The target applies not only to the GEF Trust Fund but across the GEF's family of funds, including the GBFF where the guidelines on actions by IPLCs were formally launched in 2026. The IPAG called for accrediting a network of Indigenous Peoples as an Implementing Agency — citing the successful track record of Indigenous-led projects — and for developing guidelines on IPLC actions analogous to the GBFF's across all other funds.

The GBFF: A New Model for Biodiversity Finance

The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund, launched in August 2023 and now holding USD 387.2 million in contributions from 11 contributors, presented its sixth Council meeting in Samarkand. With over 90% of contributions already programmed, the Fund's track record of meeting or surpassing all three portfolio-level targets — including a 30.4% channelling through international financial institutions against a 25% target — was highlighted as a model for how objectives can drive rather than constrain progress.

The GBFF Work Program approved in Samarkand comprises two projects in India and Papua New Guinea, totalling approximately USD 20 million, with an average of 39% supporting actions by IPLCs. Both projects focus on areas with high biodiversity and poverty overlap, delivering environmental and socioeconomic benefits simultaneously. A resource mobilisation strategy for 2026–2030, outlining two funding scenarios at USD 500 million and USD 750 million, was approved alongside a framework covering four contribution pillars: sovereign countries, subnational and regional public institutions, philanthropic and private foundations, and the private sector.

Agency Expansion: Strengthening the GEF Partnership

One of the most significant structural decisions of the 71st Council was the adoption of a new procedure for expanding the GEF Partnership. The four-stage procedure prioritises entities already accredited by the Green Climate Fund and/or Adaptation Fund, which will be fast-tracked for possible approval as early as June 2027. Entities not accredited by these funds face a standard assessment pathway of approximately 14 months.

The minimum eligibility criteria encompass four key GEF standards: fiduciary standards, environmental and social safeguards, stakeholder engagement, and gender equality. Council members broadly welcomed the framework while raising concerns about limiting the initial pool to GCF/Adaptation Fund-accredited entities — several argued this would disadvantage agencies with expertise in non-climate focal areas such as chemicals, biodiversity, and land degradation. A revised decision incorporated language ensuring collective expertise across LDCs, SIDS, IPLCs, the private sector, and all five GEF focal areas.

The compliance monitoring model was also modernised: effective 1 July 2026, the GEF transitions from periodic annual compliance review to continuous, risk-based compliance monitoring — aligning with standards in the GCF and Adaptation Fund.

Integration as Architecture, Not Aspiration

The Assembly's high-level roundtables — convened under nine interconnected themes over two days — converged on a shared diagnosis: systemic environmental challenges cannot be addressed through project-by-project interventions. Integration must be embedded in program design through a theory of change that fosters adaptive management, monitoring, and learning. STAP Chair Rosina Bierbaum urged treating systems as deeply integrated, diagnosing them in all their dimensions, and positioning Integrated Programs as "engines of innovation."

The Integrated Programs framework that drove GEF-8 — reaching 98 countries including 31 LDCs and SIDS — is strengthened under GEF-9 with updated Lead Agency Terms of Reference. New criteria include demonstrated experience working with SIDS and mobilising private finance, and Integrated Programs evolving from GEF-8 must now demonstrate capability and commitment to continuity frameworks. The Secretariat confirmed that Integrated Programs have a lower agency concentration rate than the rest of the GEF-8 portfolio.

For the STAP, GEF-9 begins under new interim leadership: with outgoing Chair Rosina Bierbaum concluding her term in June 2026, UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen proposed — and the Council approved — Edward Carr as interim STAP Chair for one year, with the existing panel membership remaining in place.

Civil Society, IPLCs, Women, and Youth: From Beneficiaries to Partners

The Civil Society Forum that convened on 3 June set the tone for what would follow in the Assembly. CSO Network Chair Faizal Parish called for civil society's formal integration throughout GEF-9 programming beyond targeted engagement frameworks, stressing: "We cannot influence outcomes if we are only invited once priorities and budgets are decided." The IPAG's Vivian Silole emphasised that a healthy planet is only possible when the rights of Indigenous Peoples are fully respected and they are treated as partners — not beneficiaries.

Amelia Arreguín Prado of the GEF Women and Gender Caucus articulated a reframing that ran through multiple sessions: "Women and girls, in all our diversity, are more than beneficiaries. We are knowledge and rights holders, environmental defenders, and leaders." She called on countries to deliver adequate public finance with "the urgency that our planetary crises demand." The GEF Youth Network's Heitor Dellastas announced the creation of a GEF-wide youth engagement strategy as a first step toward integrating youth participation across all GEF processes.

Looking Ahead: The Road to 2030

The 72nd GEF Council meeting is scheduled for 25–28 January 2027 in Washington DC in hybrid format. It will consider the GEF-9 Work Program, the Blended Finance Implementation Arrangements, an update on agency expansion progress, and the combined corporate budget and business plan for the 2028 financial year. A further Council meeting is planned for the week of 14 June 2027.

The broader 2026 multilateral calendar lends urgency to the Samarkand outcomes: CBD COP 17 (October 2026, Yerevan, Armenia) will deliver the first Global Review of GBF implementation; COP 31 on climate change convenes in November 2026 in Antalya, Türkiye; and the first BBNJ COP is scheduled for January 2027 in New York. The GEF-9 investment period officially commences 1 July 2026 — making the months immediately following Samarkand the critical window for translating replenishment commitments into funded pipeline.

Gascon's closing framing captured both the weight of the moment and its possibility: "2030 is not just a deadline. It is a promise to people, nature, and future generations." The challenge now is delivering on that promise — faster, simpler, and with greater accountability than any GEF cycle before it.