CONSTITUENCY COORDINATION

Lessons & Good PracticesBy

Momodou B. SarrGEF Council Member

Operational Focal Point (The Gambia)

Douala, CAMEROON, June 2008

1Presented by Momodou B. Sarr, GEF Council Member & OFP of The Gambia

GEF Governance Structure

■ GEF Council meets every 6 months to review and approve projects, Work Programmes, Business Plans, policies

■ GEF Assembly meets every 3 years to review general policies, operations, and amendments to the GEF Instrument.

CONVENTIONS

Provides Guidance on

Policy & Programme

Issues

COUNCIL

32 Members:18 Recipient14 Donor

ASSEMBLY

All 176 Participants

2Presented by Momodou B. Sarr, GEF Council Member & OFP of The Gambia

GEF Council 32 Members

• 16 Members from developing countries• 14 Members from developed countries • 2 Members from the countries with economies in transition

Countries grouped according to their Constituency

• AFRICA 6 Constituencies

• ASIA 6 Constituencies

• LATIN AMER. & CARIBBEAN 4 Constituencies

• EAST EUROPE 2 Constituencies

3Presented by Momodou B. Sarr, GEF Council Member & OFP of The Gambia

Sahelian Constituency

Member states- Burkina Faso- Cape Verde- Chad- The Gambia- Guinea-Bissau- Mali- Mauretania- Niger- Senegal

Council Member: The Gambia (November 2007)Alternate Member: Guinea-Bissau

4Presented by Momodou B. Sarr, GEF Council Member & OFP of The Gambia

Rationale for Constituency Meeting• Provides a forum to discuss GEF related issues within a regional context;• Offers the opportunity to share the experiences on implementation of GEF

projects and GEF programmes;• Stimulates GEF focal points to mainstream GEF issues at national level;• Facilitates offering the information about recent achievements of countries

regarding GEF issues;• Facilitates establishment of informal partnerships for reaching various

objectives;• Offers the opportunity to enhance a relationship between member• Aims to strengthen coordination, communication, and outreach efforts

between constituency participants;• Provides a forum for focal points participating in the constituency to meet

and exchange information and lessons learned, as well as discuss implementation of GEF projects;

• Provides an opportunity for participants to meet prior to Council meetings to develop constituency positions with regard to issues under consideration by the Council and to ensure that constituency views are reflected in Council deliberations

5Presented by Momodou B. Sarr, GEF Council Member & OFP of The Gambia

Coordination Mechanisms

• Maintaining regular contact with other Focal Points members• Contact with GEF Secretariat on behalf of Focal Points• Dissemination of information from GEF Secretariat and

Implementing/Executing Agencies to Focal Points• Conducting Constituency Meetings prior to Council Meetings• Preparing the constituency’s position during Council Meetings• Facilitate exchange of experience on GEF implementation

between Focal Points

6Presented by Momodou B. Sarr, GEF Council Member & OFP of The Gambia

Challenges

• Language barriers (French, English & Portuguese)– Difficulty in writing tri-lingual messages– Difficulty in conducting meetings in (3) languages

• Insufficient Budget ($2000 per constituency meeting)• Frequent new appointments of Focal Points• Lack of regular updates on addresses & emails by Focal Points• Lack of feed-back on GEF issues from other Focal points• Heavy work burden to go through all information from

GEFSEC

7Presented by Momodou B. Sarr, GEF Council Member & OFP of The Gambia