For nearly three decades, GEF has supported ecosystem restoration, sustainable land management, and ecosystem-based adaptation—actions now recognized as nature-based solutions (NbS).
These approaches are vital to addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation while enhancing community resilience. This is the first evaluation to systematically assess GEF’s NbS portfolio, filling a gap in understanding how effectively these investments deliver results and inform future programming.
GEF-supported NbS interventions span a broad spectrum of approaches, with many projects integrating multiple types rather than focusing on a single category.
Evaluation overview
- The portfolio faces barriers from the absence of an operational NbS definition or tagging system, uneven policy alignment at national levels, and weak financing pathways that limit sustainability.
- Stronger outcomes occurred when projects combined restoration with co-management, secured follow-on financing, and embedded NbS in national strategies; several also recovered from weak starts through adaptive management and stronger local governance.
- Recommendations highlight the need for NbS-specific guidance and indicators, expanded blended finance and private sector engagement, inclusive capacity building with greater policy coherence, and stronger evidence on cost-effectiveness and Indigenous knowledge integration.
Methodology
The evaluation identified 933 NbS-aligned projects from GEF-5 to GEF-8 through portfolio review, case studies, and country-level analysis, supported by stakeholder consultations and global policy frameworks.
