The GEF Small Programme (GEF/SGP) is administered by the UNDP, and is currently offered more than in 100 countries. Established in 1992, the year of the Rio Earth Summit, The GEF Small Grants Programme [SGP] embodies the very essence of sustainable development. By providing financial and technical support to projects in developing countries that conserve and restore the natural world while enhancing well-being and livelihoods, SGP demonstrates that community action can maintain the fine balance between human needs and environmental imperatives. SGP links global, national and local-level issues through a transparent, participatory and country-driven approach to project planning, design and implementation. Though SGP grants are small, their impact is large. Thousands of projects have addressed adverse environmental changes and enriched the lives of tens of thousands of people, in Africa, Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean.

The programme operates on the premise that people will be empowered to protect their environment when they are organized to take action, have a measure of control over access to the natural resource base, have the necessary information and knowledge, and believe that their social and economic well-being is dependent on sound long-term resource management.

However, SGP is more than simply a fund that provides small grants to improve the local environment. By raising public awareness, building partnerships, and promoting policy dialogue, the SGP seeks to help create a more supportive environment within countries for achieving sustainable development and addressing global environment issues.