News: China has made territorial claims over Sakteng wildlife sanctuary in eastern Bhutan at an online meeting of the Global Environment Facility(GEF).
Facts:
- Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary: It is located in Trashigang District, Eastern Bhutan.
- It is listed as a tentative site in Bhutan’s Tentative List for UNESCO inclusion.
- The sanctuary represents the easternmost temperate ecosystems and is part of the Eastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests ecoregion.
Additional Facts:
- Global Environment Facility(GEF): It is a Trust Fund established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.
- Aim: To help developing countries and countries with economies in transition to meet the objectives of the international environmental conventions and agreements.
- Trustee: World Bank serves as the GEF Trustee administering the GEF Trust Fund (contributions by donors).
- Financial Mechanism: GEF is a financial mechanism for five major international environmental conventions:
- Minamata Convention on Mercury
- Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants(POPs),
- United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity(UNCBD),
- United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification(UNCCD)
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
