Community Based Adaptation (CBA) Grant

About this grant

The GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP) Community Based Adaptation (CBA) initiative supports community-level projects that help vulnerable communities adapt to the impacts of climate change. Established in 1992 in the spirit of the Rio Earth Summit, SGP operates under the principle of 'thinking globally, acting locally,' providing financial and technical support to grassroots projects that conserve and restore the environment while enhancing people's well-being and livelihoods. The CBA focal area specifically addresses how climate change undermines development efforts and disproportionately impacts the poor who rely on natural resources for their livelihoods. Projects funded under CBA help communities build resilience to climate-related hazards such as droughts, floods, and shifting weather patterns, using locally appropriate solutions rooted in traditional and indigenous knowledge. SGP operates in over 130 countries across Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Arab States, and Europe and the CIS. The programme demonstrates that community action can maintain the fine balance between human needs and environmental imperatives, while contributing to global environmental goals under the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Beyond CBA, SGP supports work across biodiversity, land degradation, sustainable forest management, international waters, and chemicals, often integrating multiple focal areas within a single community-driven project. Technical support, capacity development, and knowledge management complement the financial grants to help communities scale up and replicate successful approaches.

Eligibility

Grants are available to community-based organisations (CBOs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and other civil society groups working at the local and community level in eligible countries. Applicants must be operating in one of the more than 130 countries where SGP is active. Projects should directly involve and benefit local communities, with a focus on the poor and vulnerable, including women, indigenous peoples, and youth. Specific eligibility criteria may vary by country programme; applicants are advised to contact their national SGP coordinator for country-specific requirements.

How it's scored

Applications are assessed based on their potential to deliver measurable environmental and social co-benefits, community ownership and participation, replicability and potential for scaling up, integration with national and global environmental priorities under the GEF, and the degree to which the project addresses poverty reduction and gender equity. Country-level SGP coordinators and national steering committees review applications and make funding recommendations in line with the programme's strategic priorities.

Key requirements

• ✓Community-driven and locally-led adaptation projects
• ✓Integration of local and indigenous knowledge with sustainable livelihood approaches
• ✓Focus on building resilience to climate change impacts

Frequently asked questions

How much funding does GEF Small Grants Programme offer?

Community Based Adaptation (CBA) offers $50K.

Who can apply for Community Based Adaptation (CBA)?

Eligibility covers organisations in GLOBAL; nonprofit, community-group, indigenous-community, local-authority. See the eligibility criteria above for the full conditions.

Relevant sectors

About this sector

Climate adaptation funding helps communities, infrastructure and businesses prepare for heat, flooding, drought and sea level rise. Most of it is public and multilateral money, often targeted at vulnerable regions and delivered with local government. Calls usually ask for a climate risk assessment and evidence that local people shaped the plan.