Letter 11: My NGO Wants to Go to a GEF Council Meeting
To: Nani G. Oruga, The Bees Trees
From: Chris N. Eppers, Solar Musketeers
Re: What is involved in participating in the NGO-GEF Consultations and GEF Council
meetings? How are the NGO observers to the Council meetings and recipients of
NGO travel grants selected?
Dear Nani,
If you're really sure you want to join the GEF mill and go to a Council meeting
and the NGO-GEF Consultation, here is some explanation of the events on both
the official and NGO sides.
As you have probably heard, ten NGOs are allowed to attend/observe the Council
meetings. Five NGO representatives may be in the meeting room and the remaining
five may watch on closed circuit TV. A fine distinction in official GEF language
is that being in the room is attending the Council meeting and watching on the
closed circuit TV is observing the meeting. I tend to keep things more simple
and use 'observe' for the entire group of 10 NGOs that go to the Council meeting.
All accredited NGOs may attend the preceding NGO-GEF Consultation.
To ensure at least a minimum of recipient country NGO participation in these
meetings, there are four to sixteen travel grants available, depending on resources.
Because not everyone can observe and because of the limited number of travel
grants, it is necessary to have a self-selection process to choose both observers
and travel grant recipients. Below I have described the events associated with
the Council meetings and the processes for participating in them. I've tried
to anticipate your questions and have used a question and answer format.
First though, a couple of considerations. One is that most of the procedures
relating to selecting observers and travel grant recipients are still evolving.
As more NGOs become involved things will probably be refined. I think, though,
that the basic elements are there. The second consideration is that it is possible
to have au impact on Council decisions without attending a Council meeting.
At the end I'll give some pointers on being effective without having to leave
home.
Does my NGO have to be accredited to the GEF?
Yes. One of the requirements for being selected as a delegate to the Council
meeting is to be accredited with the GEF. It is not too complicated and, in
order not to exclude smaller, more grassroots type NGOs, the GEF will be flexible.
I've enclosed a copy of the Accreditation form (stapled in the centre) or you
can get one from the GEP Secretariat. By being accredited to the GEF you will
also receive all the documents for the Council meeting, as well as other information
on GEF activities on a-regular basis.
Are there any NGO meetings associated with the Council meeting?
Yes, there are. Typically, the day before each regular, biannual Council meeting,
there is an NGO-GEF consultation; the day before each Consultation there is
an NGO preparatory meeting. The NGO-GEF Consultation provides a forum for exchanging
views and concerns related to GEF policies and projects. NGOs, GEF and IA staff,
and Council members are invited to attend.
It is jointly organised and co-chaired by NGOs and the GEF Secretariat. The
agenda of the Council meeting is the basis for structuring the Consultation
discussion. The Consultation usually follows the pattern of an NGO representative
giving an introduction to a particular agenda item, followed by a response from
the Secretariat and/or the Implementing Agencies. Then there is some time for
an open discussion and questions from Council Members. Some NGOs feel that the
Consultations tend to be more of a public relations exercise than a substantial
discussion that will lead to serious consideration of NGO concerns and steps
to address them.
The NGO Preparation meeting is for the NGOs to prepare for the Consultation
and Council meeting, discuss positions on various agenda items and other concerns,
outline an NGO statement, and select the NGO delegates to the Council meeting.
The meeting is organised by the NGOs and only they may attend.
Who pays for all the NGO activities?
In case you were wondering, of the sixteen travel grants per Consultation,
four are paid through the GEF Secretariat's regular budget, while the other
twelve and the cost of holding the NGO-GEF Consultations are paid through a
'Voluntary Fund', which was agreed upon by the Council at the May 1995 meeting.
For the time being, the GEF is contributing US$50,000 per year to the fund.
This amount is just enough to cover the costs of one Consultation and one set
of twelve travel grants per year. The remainder must come from other sources
such as government, foundations, or the private sector. Some of the Council
members would particularly like to see contributions coming from NGOs themselves...
The NGO Preparation meeting bill is footed by the NGOs or whomever they can
get to donate the Funds.
Have the NGOs organised themselves?
Yes, the NGOs have organised themselves into an experimental network of regional
NGO contact points on the GEF. Its primary purposes are to facilitate selection
of travel grant recipients, gather NGO input on the GEF and its Council meetings,
and disseminate information, such as NGO reports on the Council meetings and
GEF projects.
Currently the network (which I call the NGO-GEF network) is structured around
eight regional contact points and a central contact point (divided between two
offices in Washington DC, at the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the United
States Climate Action Network). The regional contact points are in Canada, Croatia,
Germany, Ghana, India, Kenya and Uruguay. The focal point addresses and those
of other NGOs active on the GEF are listed in Annex 1.
The role of the central contact points is to liase regularly with the regional
contact points and GEF. Secretariat on issues relating to NGO participation
in the GEF; gather NGO input to GEF policy documents; coordinate the NGO preparation
meeting and Consultation logistics and agenda development; and coordinate selection
of the travel grant recipients through the regional contact points.
The main tasks of the regional contact points are to:
Provide notification of GEF-NGO Consultations and GEF Council meetings and
distribute relevant documents.
Coordinate selection of regional travel grant recipients and notify the
central contact point of the recipients.
Liaise with central contact point.
Collect coordinate and provide brief report on regional concerns relevant
to the upcoming GEF meeting.
Report back to their region on each GFF Council meeting and on current policy
and project issues.
How are the travel grant and NGO observers selected?
As I mentioned above, the travel grant recipients are selected through the
regional contact points. The process varies from region to region and the selection
must be communicated to the central contact point six to seven weeks before
the Council meeting, usually shortly after the Council agenda has been released.
(It is supposed to be published eight weeks before the Council meeting.) Usually
the central contact point will send out the steps that need to be completed.
The NGO delegates to the Council meeting are chosen at the NGO preparation
meeting immediately prior to the Council meeting. One precedent for selecting
the observers was set at the February 1995 meeting, at which all the NGOs split
up into their regional groups and selected one person to be the 'regional' member
of the delegation. The remaining places were filled with people having special
expertise related to either the focal areas or particular agenda items.
The criteria for NGO selection have been set out in the document, Selection
of NGOs to attend/observe Council meetings, (GEF/C.3/5). It was agreed that
NGOs should be able to select their representatives without the interference
of the Secretariat, provided they followed the selection criteria set out by
the Council. The NGOs are accountable to the Council for following these criteria.
The main criteria are:
an adequate geographic representation, thematic expertise, and a gender
balance.
the agenda of the Council meeting should be taken into account.
there should be a wide representation of views and expertise, as well as
a balance among international, national, and local NGOs.
there should be rotation among the NGO delegates from meeting to meeting
so that there are a few observers who have experience of past Council meetings.
nomination of an individual to represent an NGO should be made by the executive
director or competent authority of the organisation concerned.
If it happens that there is a Council meeting with no NGO consultation or that
the voluntary fund has run low, then four travel grants would still be available
and the four recipients would also observe the Council meeting.
What do the NGO delegates do?
The NGO delegates' primary responsibilities are to put forward NGO views concerning
agenda items and report back to the NGO community on the Council proceedings.
During the February 1995 Council meeting, when NGOs were first allowed to observe,
the NGOs drafted a short description of the "roles and responsibilities
of NGO delegates to GEP Council meetings". You can get a copy of it from
either your regional contact point or the central one. Below I've put down some
of the main points.
The paper covers issues such as who the delegates represent, the need for preparation,
coordination of the delegation, guidelines for interventions, and other activities
such as lobbying, debriefing, and reporting. It concludes by suggesting that,
after the Council meeting, the group should evaluate the performance of the
delegation.
Representation and procedures for interventions are perhaps the most sensitive
issues and therefore require a good understanding on the part of each NGO delegate
of who he or she is representing. It has been generally agreed that NGO delegates
officially represent only their own organisations, but have a special responsibility
of communicating NGO views as discussed at the NGO preparatory meeting. The
delegation decides who will give the intervention for each agenda item requiring
one. This does not usually require much discussion, because the issues have
already been covered in the preparatory meeting and have been considered in
the selection of the delegates. It goes without saying that delegates should
only intervene on those topics on which they have some knowledge.
Along with identifying who will make the interventions, the delegation must
determine on whose behalf the intervention is being made. For example it could
be on behalf of individual groups, regional or subject-specific networks, or
the NGO community participating in the preparatory meeting. The latter may include
even those NGOs who are not able to attend but who have signalled their support
for specific issues. It may happen that NGOs have a particular concern, which
needs independent technical expertise. In that case it is often most effective
for that person-to give an intervention as an independent expert.
For the group to run smoothly, it needs to select a coordinator. This person
is responsible for seeing that specific tasks are done, such as the debriefings
to the NGOs present for the Council meeting, and writing the final report. This
person would also liaise with the GEF secretariat and see that the NGO observer
seats in the Council room ate filled.
Advocacy work, the report of the NGO delegation and the debriefings are the
key responsibilities the NGO delegation. To carry them out, it is critical that
the delegates are well prepared. The debriefings and writing the report may
be a chore, but there would be little point in having NGO observers if they
did not do this. You may not believe it but there are people who do use the
reports, and they (the reports) tend to be more informative than the Chairs'
summary. It usually follows the outline of the Joint Chairs' Summary. The report
of the July 1995 meeting was quite elaborate and included some explanation of
the issues the NGO positions, and then a detailed summary of the discussion.
I found this very helpful. In order to complete the report, the NGO delegates
need to be able to stay a day longer, unless they complete their part earlier.
The report is distributed to the regional contact points. The debriefings during
the Council meeting ensure that other NGOs who have travelled to Washington
for the meeting learn what is happening and can give further input to-the delegation.
NGO delegates who have been selected in a more 'regional' capacity have a special
responsibility to inform their respective contact points about developments
related to their respective regions. Likewise, NGO members who are dealing with
specific GEF focal areas should try to provide more detailed information to
other NGOs who are working on these issues.
What are Council meetings like?
Hectic especially if you are on the NGO delegation. Because the meetings are
short NGOs have to be ready to react quickly to developments. This means being
well prepared, including putting some thought into anticipating events. Going
over some of the NGO reports of past meetings would be a good idea. It helps
if you know the delegates already, but if you are new, this won't be the case
unless of course you have met some of the delegates from your region. A good
time to meet Council members and other delegates is during the lunch breaks.
If it is your first time there, hang around with the some of the old hands so
that you get an idea of what the current state of play is on different issues.
1t will help if you know who are the key people to speak to and will help you
to avoid suggesting an idea or position on an issue that has already been resolved,
or at an inopportune time.
As I mentioned before, NGOs may be and are called upon to make interventions
on specific agenda items. In addition, at least at the regular, biannual Council
meeting, an NGO representative makes a statement on behalf of the NGOs which
attended the Consultation. It usually summarises the concerns related to specific
agenda items and may raise broader ones that the NGO community has regarding
the GEF.
Because interventions on specific agenda items always take place after the
Council members have discussed the topic, it is important for NGOs to get their
message across at least to key members beforehand. The Consultation is supposed
to serve this purpose, but not a11 Council members attend-it. In that case it
is necessary to speak to them at some point during the Council meeting before
the agenda item comes up, or at the reception the night before the meeting begins.
Even better is to speak with Council members or their advisers while they ate
still at home preparing for the meeting. If you are involved in giving or preparing
an intervention, one thing to keep in mind is that a short intervention that
makes some well chosen points and can be backed up by a few good examples has
a much greater impact than one that tries to air more general concerns.
A more practical aspect of the Council meetings is being at the right place
at the right time. The NGO delegation is given ten blank badges. Five are a
colour that permits entry into the Council room, while the other five allow
access to the video room only. Before the meeting begins the delegation must
draw up a roster of who will be where and when. This is usually done by agenda
item. It is very important that the people who are to be in the room are present.
It gives the wrong impression to Council members if the seats ate not filled.
Those that are waiting for the next agenda item must pay attention to the discussion
so that they are in the vicinity to trade badges. If, for some reason, one of
the people who were supposed to come into the room isn't there, either find
someone else to take their place or stay there until he or she arrives. Just
don't lose your badge. It's quite embarrassing for the whole group.
What if I can't go to a Council meeting?
Don't worry, it is still possible to have an impact. This can be done through
informing the Council member who is representing your constituency, asking other
NGOs to speak with their Council members about your concerns, preparing your
own position papers, and supporting and contributing to other NGO position papers.
Often Council members refer to input given by their national NGOs in the weeks
before the meeting. You may be able to get the addresses of Council members
through the GEF Secretariat.
If you are going to stay at home, it is useful if you have access to the electronic
networks so that you can receive the documents more quickly. It also helps,
if you are working with other NGOs, to develop joint position papers. In this
fashion, the Climate Action Network produced quite a well received paper with
comments on the climate change section of the draft operational strategy. Other
organisations develop their own position and then circulate them for support
from the wider NGO community, also an effective method.
Maybe I will see you at one of the meetings! Or, get one of your papers on-line.
