Development of the UNDP-GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP) Mexico Geographic System and Database

The GEF Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP), implemented by the UNDP, provides financial and technical support to communities and CSOs to meet the overall objective of “global environmental benefits secured through community-based initiatives and actions”

The goal of the Sixth Operational Phase of the GEF Small Grants Programme in Mexico is to contribute to achieving global environmental benefits by empowering local communities to manage production landscapes in Mexico's Southeast large ecosystems in a manner that enhances their social, economic and environmental sustainability and resilience.  Landscape and seascape resilience will be enhanced through the individual and synergistic impacts of a set of adaptive community practices that maintain ecosystem services, conserve biodiversity, mitigate climate change and reverse land degradation in the following large ecosystems: - Deltaic-estuarine landscape of the Grijalva-Usumacinta Rivers; - Coastal lagoons and marine interface in the northern Yucatan Peninsula; - Tropical deciduous, sub-deciduous and sub-evergreen forests in the Yucatan Peninsula; and - Montane broadleaf and cloud forest in northern Chiapas. 

The project builds on the results, experience, and lessons from previous SGP phases, and lessons learned from relevant Programmes such as COMPACT. In particular, the project is strengthening networks and second-level organizations to integrate and bring to scale production and marketing of sustainably produced goods and services. 

Coordinated community projects in the landscape will generate ecological, economic and social synergies that will produce greater and potentially longer-lasting global environmental benefits, as well as increased social capital and local sustainable development benefits. 

In 2019, Mexico´s SGP implemented the Mid-Term Review Process. In this context, the international consultant recommended improving the monitoring and evaluation process. A special emphasis has been made on the verification of the hectares effectively managed by the communities, and the Co2 emissions or offset link to those results. On the other hand, SGP Mexico has implemented training to communities and CSO to improve their capacities to monitor their territories through the use of a drone, GPS receiver, satellite images among others.  The present consultancy is proposed in order to allow the creation of a dedicated SGP app and online system, which allow CSO and CBO to improve the quality of the reporting process, and increase their knowledge of their territories. 

Target states: 

• Tabasco

• Chiapas

• Campeche

• Quintana Roo

• Oaxaca

• Yucatan