Badia Ecosystem and Livelihoods Project (BELP) granted USD 3.3 million by Global Environment Facility (GEF)
On 31 July 2012, a Global Environment Facility (GEF) grant in the amount of USD 3.3 million was endorsed to fund the Badia Ecosystem and Livelihoods Project (BELP), a new GEF and World Bank partnership. Turi Fileccia, Senior Agronomist in the FAO Investment Centre, explains the background and goals of the project and the role of the Investment Centre. The project, which aims to enhance communities’ capacity and provide them with the tools and opportunities necessary to improve socioeconomic circumstances in the long term, is one of five projects under the Middle East and North Africa-Desert Ecosystems and Livelihoods Program (MENA-SELP). It will be implemented by the National Centre for Agricultural Research and Extension (NCARE) over a four year period, from 2013 to 2017.