Marginalized groups—including women, Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs), youth, and persons with disabilities—play essential roles in managing natural resources yet continue to face exclusion from environmental decision making.
This evaluation will fill a critical gap by examining how GEF projects integrate inclusion across policies, safeguards, and delivery mechanisms, and what difference this makes for outcomes and co-benefits. It will also give special attention to fragile and conflict-affected situations, where exclusion and vulnerability are most pronounced.
The evaluation will be presented at the June 2026 Council meeting.
Evaluation overview
- The evaluation will assess how GEF’s policy framework on gender, safeguards, and stakeholder engagement is applied in practice, noting stronger progress on gender inclusion and IPLC engagement, with slower gains for youth and persons with disabilities.
- It will further examine trends in project design and monitoring, including how tagging systems, Secretariat review processes, and compliance mechanisms are shaping the quality and depth of inclusion across the portfolio.
Methodology
The evaluation will draw on a portfolio review of 300 projects representing $1.2 billion in GEF funding, complemented by policy analysis, stakeholder consultations, and case studies in Kenya, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe.
