GEF 2025: Funds Target Illegal Fishing & Regenerative Farming
TL;DR: Global environmental funding targets illegal fishing and regenerative farming in vulnerable nations for 2025 initiatives.
- GEF approves funds for 56 countries, including small island states.
- Projects will strengthen fisheries and improve ocean governance.
- Nature-based solutions enhance soil, restore land, boost food security.
- Regenerative farming integrates into conservation efforts.
- Funding supports climate-resilient, biodiversity-friendly agriculture.
Why it matters: This new funding package highlights a global commitment to nature-based solutions, directly linking land and sea health, and empowering local communities in the process.
Do this next: Investigate if your country or region is among the 56 nations receiving GEF funding for 2025 environmental projects.
Recommended for: Policy makers, environmental organizations, and agricultural practitioners interested in globally funded regenerative and sustainable fishing initiatives.
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) announced a package of new funding for environmental initiatives spanning multiple countries in 2025, with programmatic priorities including efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and to support regenerative farming initiatives, particularly in vulnerable small island and coastal states. The GEF Council’s approval directs resources to projects in 56 countries, including 21 Small Island Developing States, to strengthen fisheries management, improve ocean governance, and deploy nature‑based agricultural solutions that enhance soil health, restore degraded lands, and strengthen food security. The GEF framing treats regenerative farming as a set of practices and landscape approaches that can be integrated into broader conservation and development strategies; funded activities may include capacity building for farmers, pilot demonstrations, and technical assistance to scale climate‑resilient and biodiversity‑friendly production systems. The announcement highlights co‑benefits across sectors—linking terrestrial regenerative agriculture to improved watershed health and marine resource sustainability—and signals increased multilateral financial support for nature‑based solutions that address both biodiversity loss and climate resilience. The GEF communication indicates that project design and country allocations will specify targeted interventions, implementation partners, and monitoring frameworks adapted to local ecological and socioeconomic contexts, and that engagement with governments and communities will be central to ensuring equitable outcomes and long‑term sustainability of investments.