IUCN and the Green Climate Fund

IUCN has been an Accredited Entity of the Green Climate Fund since March 2016. As an Accredited Entity, IUCN can now submit medium-sized projects to the fund (up to USD 250 million) with medium environmental and social risks. IUCN can submit projects which will be implemented through executing entities (“project management”) or through grant making mechanisms, where funds are allocated following calls for proposals.

IUCN brings to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) its expertise gained over its seven decades of experience in promoting the benefits of sound and healthy ecosystems. IUCN currently contributes to some of the Fund’s objectives through its three programmes as per the IUCN Programme 2017-2020:

  • Valuing and conserving nature enhances IUCN’s work on biodiversity conservation, emphasizing both tangible and intangible values of nature
  • Effective and equitable governance of nature’s use consolidates IUCN’s work on people-nature relations, rights and responsibilities, and the political economy of nature
  • Deploying nature-based solutions to global challenges in climate, food and development expands IUCN’s work on nature’s contribution to tackling problems of sustainable development, particularly in climate change, food security and social and economic development

IUCN projects deliver nature-based solutions as a way to address, and solve climate change issues. IUCN is extensively involved in supporting climate change adaptation, with a specific focus on ecosystem-based adaptation in the areas of land, forest, marine, coastal and freshwater resources management. IUCN also contributes to achieving Fund objectives on mitigation through its interventions in the forest, coastal and marine sectors, the management and restoration of terrestrial ecosystems and by integrating a gender perspective based on IUCN expertise. IUCN contributes to the Fund’s cross-cutting investment priorities: (a) Sustainable low emission, climate resilient agriculture,(b) scaled-up finance for forest and climate change, (c) Enhanced resilience in Small Islands Developing States (SIDS).

IUCN adds significant value to the Fund by implementing its mandate on capacity development, especially of IUCN Government and NGO Members. As defined in the IUCN statutes, IUCN must: (a) Mobilize its Members, components and partners to build alliances for conservation; (b) Strengthen the institutional capacity of its Members to conserve biological diversity and safeguard ecological life-support processes at global, regional, national and local levels; and (c) Promote enhanced cooperation between its governmental and non-governmental Members to strengthen the capacity of its Members and partners. As a result, IUCN not only works towards channelling funding from the GCF to recipient countries, but also contributes to enhancing their capacities to ensure that they have direct access to multilateral funding. In this context, IUCN ensures that National Designated Authorities (NDA) are part of IUCN’s capacity development plans. In addition, in countries where IUCN has State and/or Government Agency Members, IUCN dedicates efforts to ensure that NDAs are nominated and, as appropriate, strengthened.

About IUCN's accreditation

At the 12th Meeting of the Board (8-10 March 2016) the GCF Board adopted the Accreditation Panel’s recommendation to approve IUCN as a GCF accredited Entity (DECISION B.12/30). 

GCF website - details of IUCN accreditation