Global Environment Facility Launches $140 Million Drought Resilience Program
A new GEF initiative starting in 2026 aims to help vulnerable dryland regions build proactive resilience against escalating climate risks.
International environmental funders are preparing a major financial push to help dryland communities adapt to increasingly severe climate conditions and land degradation.
The Global Environment Facility has announced plans for its new Drylands and Drought Management Integrated Program, an initiative designed to help nations shift from reactive crisis response to proactive drought management. The initiative will operate during the GEF-9 investment cycle, which runs from 2026 to 2030, in response to requests from parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
Targeting vulnerable ecosystems, food security, water supplies and local livelihoods, the program features a tentative envelope of $140 million in grant financing. The funds will support national monitoring, preparation and mitigation efforts while aligning with broader international partnerships, including the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership and the Drought Resilience Investment Facility.
The effort also reinforces the Rangelands Flagship Initiative, a global campaign led by Mongolia and the UNCCD aimed at conserving and restoring the world’s grazing lands. To support coordination, the GEF is providing $3.3 million through a project implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, backed by $8 million in co-financing from Mongolia and the IUCN. This builds on more than $300 million approved during the previous GEF-8 cycle for 50 rangeland and pastoralist support projects.
Under the broader GEF-9 cycle, which carries an initial programming baseline of $3.9 billion, drought resilience will receive dedicated tracking metrics and a specialized resource allocation formula. Four aligned integrated programs are expected to direct more than $800 million toward land, food and ecosystem resilience.
Program guidelines specify that 20% of resources across the fund family will directly benefit Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Additionally, 10% of total GEF-9 funding is set aside for blended finance mechanisms, with an overall goal of leveraging 25% of GEF resources to drive private sector investment.
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Jesse Jacobs is Assistant Editor of EPOnline.com.
