GEF Participates in the 18th International Economic Forum of the Americas in Montreal

Washington DC, June 21, 2012 - Last week, GEF Deputy CEO, Andre Laperriere, represented the Global Environment facility at 18th International Economic Forum of the Americas in Montreal.  This Forum was created to promote the role of the Americas in major decisions and reforms related to the current global economic context. Its mission is also to facilitate agreements, offer business opportunities and provide access to unique insights from leading specialists. This year's forum was articulated around two main themes: CSOs and cooperatives on one hand and energy on the other under the overall theme “A Global Economy in Transition: New Strategies, New Partnerships”. 50 international speakers and 3,000 participants attended the conference. 

GEF projects were presented during the second day of the event, which was dedicated to regulatory issues and recent developments in the sustainable-development, resources and energy sectors. Strategies and models for success using public-private partnerships (PPPs) in natural-resource development were also covered along with the oil and nuclear situation. Consequently, the future of alternative energy sources was discussed. 

The GEF projects presented were chosen because they represent a wide variety within the two main categories CSO/Cooperatives and Energy.  The projects covered large and small energy related projects, agricultural and urban locations, and biodiversity and indigenous people, always with the same clear message: these projects were designed with a significant input from the beneficiaries to be a self-sufficient, sustainable basis, and they were very early on appropriated by the local populations.

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From left: Andre Laperriere –Deputy CEO, Global Environment Facility, Maritza Tovar, Pride Program Manager for Latin America, RARE, Bagnan Aissata Fall, President, Association nigerienne de lutte contre la corruption (ANLC), Transparency  International (Nigeria), Matthew Coon Come, Grand Chief, Grand Council of the Crees* (Canada) 

The projects were presented by:

1. 1. Mr. Jose Manuel Perez, Representing the GEF Small Grants (GEF SGP) Panama Country Programme project Rural Micro Hydro Electrification Project. 
2. 2. Fabiola Elizabeth Gómez Brechtel, Director of Supported Projects of the Ministry of Energy in Mexico. Since 2010, she has been part of the implementation team of the Efficient Lighting and Appliances Project. 
3. 3. Ms. Maritza Tovar, Campaign Manager of APECO-RARE Conservation in Peru, representing the GEF Project in Peru Communities of Conservation: Safeguarding the World's Most Threatened Species.

1. 4. Mr. Jose Eduardo Perez Catzim, from Sociedad Cooperativa De Produccion Pesuera Cozumel SC DE RL, representing GEF SGP project Fishing in Sian Ka'an: Initiating and Upscaling Success. 
2. 5. Mr. Rodrigo C. Diez de Sollano Elcoro, General Director of Fideicomiso de Riesgo Compartido, Representing GEF project Renewable Energy for Agriculture Project in Mexico. 

In providing the audience with the opportunity to hear about GEF projects directly from community leaders/beneficiaries, it shed a fresh, highly motivating light on our projects vis-a-vis the audience as well as our project leaders.  This was a major success in terms of GEF visibility, stimulating replicability of our projects and technology transfer in particular.

For details of the GEF projects presented, click on the link below.