Eight biogas projects, seven in Upolu and one in Savaii, will be implemented, thanks to the latest round of funding from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF-SGP).
This was confirmed in a statement issued by the UNDP.
This is the first time the UNDP GEF-SGP has supported biogas projects in Samoa. The use of biogas – largely considered a clean energy source that recycles organic waste into renewable energy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions – is part of the nation-wide push for renewable energy consumption to minimize the heavy reliance on traditional sources.
A total of 35 community projects are being funded under this new grant, totalling more than $1.6 million tala.
Other key thematic areas the new funding is supporting include organic farming, waste management, marine reserves, mangroves replanting, gender empowerment, collaboration, innovation, policy approaches, and scaling up of existing smaller projects.
An inception workshop was held today in Savaii, and yesterday in Upolu, to sign the Memorandum of Agreement between the successful community applicants and SGP, and to hand over their grants.
“Today’s inception workshop highlights the important role of local communities, civil society, and Indigenous Peoples as key agents of change to address global challenges including climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. It also underscores the important role of partnerships and financing to achieve Sustainable Development Goals,” said Jorn Sorensen, Resident Representative, UNDP.
Since its establishment in Samoa in 2003, SGP has supported environment-focused programmes, delivering an estimated US$5.2 million dollars for about 300 small grant projects on climate knowledge and advocacy, capacity building, financing, technology transfer, adaptation and mitigation.
