Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Small Grants Program Arrives

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CARACAS, Aug 2 2010 (IPS) - The Small Grants Program of the United Nations will provide support at a maximum of 50,000 dollars to initiatives from non-governmental organizations, academic groups and communities in Venezuela for mitigating climate change and promoting the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. “Since 2004, environmental organizations like ours have been working to bring this program to Venezuela, which requires government acquiescence and provides management of projects with the requirements of participation, democracy and transparency in resource administration,” María Eugenia Gil, coordinator of the Aguaclara Foundation, told Tierramérica.

Alfredo Missair, representative in Venezuela of the United Nations Development Program, asked the groups seeking small grants in August “to be multipliers of the idea of a green environment and of a culture of rights of all and for all.”

There are two million dollars in funding available from the Small Grants Program, with a maximum of 50,000 per initiative. The program, run by the Global Environment Facility, has so far distributed 12,000 grants in 122 countries.