Geeta Batra- Director Of World Bank’s GEF

• Geeta Batra, an Indian economist, has been named as the new Director at the Independent Evaluation Office of the World Bank’s Global Environment Facility.
• This makes her the first-ever woman from a developing country to hold the coveted post.

ABOUT GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY

• The Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.
• The GEF is a unique partnership of 18 agencies — including United Nations agencies, multilateral development banks, national entities and international NGOs — working with 183 countries to address the world’s most challenging environmental issues.
• It has a unique governing structure organized around an Assembly, the Council, the Secretariat, 18 agencies, a Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel, and the Evaluation Office.
• It is a financial mechanism for five major international environmental conventions:
  • the Minamata Convention on Mercury,
  • the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs),
  • the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD),
  • the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and
  • the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• Secretariat- Washington DC
• GEF Council is main governing body, comprises 32 members appointed by constituencies of GEF member countries (14 from developed countries, 16 from developing countries, and two from economies in transition).
  • The Council meets twice annually.
  • The Council develops, adopts and evaluates the operational policies and programs for GEF-financed activities.