Integration for greater impact
Eighth Comprehensive evaluation of the GEF
CBAs have been a critical pathway through which the GEF has promoted inclusion across its portfolio, enabling greater participation of women, youth, and other marginalized groups in environmental decision-making and benefit sharing. The IEO evaluation of CBAs highlights how these approaches, when well-designed and supported, can strengthen social cohesion, empower underrepresented populations, and improve both environmental and socioeconomic outcomes.
In CBA projects designed during GEF-6 and GEF-7, 62 percent identified women as stakeholders, up from 43 percent in GEF-4 and GEF-5. References to IPLCs increased from 14 percent to 46 percent, and youth from 11 percent to 33 percent. While these figures indicate progress, meaningful participation—particularly for women in leadership and decision-making roles—remains limited. In Madagascar, implementers made practical efforts to boost women’s involvement, such as adapting meeting times and using informal settings to encourage participation. In Peru, civil society and IPLC stakeholders highlighted the importance of incorporating women’s perspectives early in project design. Although quotas were seen as a helpful entry point, they were not sufficient to address deeper systemic inequalities.
One of the key successes of CBAs has been their ability to create space for women’s leadership and participation in natural resource governance. For example, in Nepal, the project Integrating Traditional Crop Genetic Diversity into Technology Using a BD [Biodiversity] Portfolio Approach to Buffer Against Unpredictable Environmental Change in the Nepal Himalayas (GEF ID 4464, United Nations Environment Programme) involved women farmers from remote mountain communities in on-farm conservation of traditional crop varieties. Their participation was not limited to planting and harvesting, but extended to decision-making about seed selection and biodiversity conservation methods. This not only contributed to agrobiodiversity but also enhanced women’s roles in household and community-level planning processes.
In Bhutan, the project Enhancing Sustainability and Climate Resilience of Forest and Agricultural Landscape and Community Livelihoods (GEF ID 9199, UNDP) illustrates how CBAs can strengthen inclusive decision-making and climate-resilient development. Farmers established Telegram groups in collaboration with municipal agriculture extension officers to exchange information, discuss challenges, and jointly identify solutions. These digital platforms created space for farmers—especially women and youth—to actively participate in shaping decisions that affect their livelihoods. The project further embedded local ownership by involving community members, cooperatives, and government representatives in planning and implementation processes, ensuring that interventions responded to specific needs and opportunities. Women were intentionally engaged in capacity building and user group formation, and supported through gender-responsive technologies that eased labor demands in postharvest processing. This inclusive and collaborative approach contributed to improved agricultural productivity, sustainable land use, and income generation, while enhancing community resilience and cohesion.
CBAs have also proven effective in fragile contexts. The ongoing Least Developed Countries Fund project on Strengthening Adaptation through Institutional Building and Resilient Livelihoods in South Sudanese Agro-pastoral Landscapes (GEF ID 11418, International Fund for Agricultural Development) demonstrates how community engagement could help navigate political and social instability. The project works through local adaptation committees, which include youth and women, to plan and implement rainwater harvesting and sustainable rangeland management practices. These structures give marginalized groups a platform to voice their needs and priorities, building legitimacy and strengthening local conflict-resolution mechanisms.
The ongoing Enhancing Biodiversity Considerations and Effective Protected Area Management to Safeguard the Cook Islands Integrated Ecosystems and Species project in the Cook Islands (GEF ID 10780, UNDP) uses CBAs to integrate local knowledge into ecosystem restoration and marine resource management. Youth will be involved in coastal planting and environmental monitoring activities, fostering environmental awareness and technical skill-building that extend beyond the life of the project. Through a low-value grant modality, investment assistance will be provided to local community groups and landowners for implementing innovative practices, such as soil conservation, climate-resilient crops, water conservation, erosion control, organic fertilizers, community nurseries, invasive plant control with youth volunteers and/or women’s groups, and ecotourism experiences.
The GEF’s CBA projects have become more inclusive of women, IPLCs, and youth over time, although systemic inequalities have not yet been addressed. Women, youth, and IPLCs are included more frequently in more recently designed projects. However, the extent to which projects explicitly address systemic inequalities that prevent their participation, particularly of women, was unclear. The GEF policies that focus on inclusion also contain language supportive of CBAs, although without mandating the approach. Monitoring of CBA processes in medium- and full-size projects is weak. There is limited evidence of CBA projects tracking indicators that reflect activities central to processes associated with CBAs—such as the ability of groups to govern, the number of resources under the control of communities, the inclusion of vulnerable groups, community scorecards, actions taken to address any complaints, and participation in leadership roles and decision-making. The lack of data and indicators limits the GEF’s ability to adaptively manage CBA projects. Another recurring issue was the short time frames of many CBA initiatives, which constrained deep, trust-based engagement with marginalized groups. Inclusion requires time for capacity building, dialogue, and adaptation of interventions to diverse social realities—elements that are often at odds with rigid project timelines and funding cycles.
Nevertheless, CBAs have made a meaningful contribution to inclusion within GEF-supported projects. Where community institutions were inclusive, and where projects actively worked to build the capacity of marginalized actors, CBAs contributed to more equitable governance, stronger local ownership, and greater resilience of environmental outcomes. These findings underscore the importance of embedding inclusive CBAs more systematically across the GEF portfolio, with adequate support, longer timelines, and clear pathways to institutional scaling.
