Egyptian Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad took part on Thursday in a consultative meeting organised by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) by video to discuss a draft document on the establishment of a global diversity fund.
The new fund for biodiversity will enable access to finance and benefit-sharing during her participation in the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, which was held in Montreal, Canada last December, the minister said.
The fund will provide independent and equal funding and serve as a governing structure to allow both developed and developing countries to be part of the decision-making process, the minister added.
Reports by the fund must be submitted to biodiversity conferences and developing countries most affected by the loss and degradation of biodiversity should be given greater leeway by the fund, Fouad said.
Developing and developed nations were divided at COP15 over a proposed fund that, according to a group of developing nations, should provide $100 billion yearly, or 1 per cent of the global GDP until 2030.
The GEF is a multilateral environmental fund that gives grants and blended finance for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, land degradation, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), mercury, sustainable forest management, food security, and sustainable cities in developing countries.
The GEF, which brings 184 countries in partnership with international institutions, civil society organizations, and the private sector, was established before the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.
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