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Good practice Imported

GAMS — Gums for Adaptation and Mitigation in Sudan

Sudan · El Obeid · See the Sudan profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 40% 47/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

A $10M Green Climate Fund grant backing FAO-led gum-arabic agroforestry and rangeland restoration across Sudan's Kordofan states, targeting 275,000 hectares and 1.58 million beneficiaries, now proceeding amid the country's 2023 civil war.

9,975,000 USD
Green Climate Fund grant financing (2020 approval)
275,000 hectares
Land restoration target (agroforestry + rangeland) (2021-2028 target)
9.23 million tonnes CO2e
Projected CO2e avoided (2021-2028 target)
1.58 million people
Beneficiaries targeted (2021-2028 target)
~20 %
Financing disbursed to date (as of latest GCF tracker)
GAMS — Gums for Adaptation and Mitigation in Sudan

Details

Promoter
FAO & Sudan Forest National Corporation (FNC), financed by the Green Climate Fund
Period
2021–2028
Keywords
agroforestry, land restoration, climate adaptation, rural livelihoods

Context

Gums for Adaptation and Mitigation in Sudan (GAMS) is a $10.0 million project (USD 9,975,000 in Green Climate Fund grant financing) approved by the GCF Board on 13 November 2020 and made effective on 25 November 2021, implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in partnership with Sudan's Forest National Corporation and Higher Council for Environment and Natural Resources, covering North, West and South Kordofan — the heart of Sudan's traditional gum arabic belt, part of Africa's Great Green Wall.

Objectives

The project targets climate-resilient gum-arabic agroforestry and reforestation on 125,000 hectares plus restoration of 151,000 hectares of degraded rangeland (275,000 ha total), rehabilitation of livestock corridors, and capacity-building for 500 gum arabic producer associations, aiming to avoid an estimated 9.23 million tonnes of CO2e and benefit 1.58 million people by its 2028 completion date.

Results

As of the most recent public GCF disbursement tracker, only around 20% of financing had been disbursed. Implementation now runs through Sudan's civil war, which began in April 2023 and has severely disrupted state institutions and rural livelihoods nationally — a major, still unquantified risk to delivery that is not reflected in GCF's public reporting. No independent (non-FAO/GCF) field verification of on-the-ground progress was found.

Implementation
Indicative cost
High (€500k–€5M) — USD 9,975,000 in Green Climate Fund grant financing, approved 2020, effective November 2021.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Seven-year implementation window, 2021-2028, now overlapping Sudan's civil war (from April 2023).
Staffing & skills
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), implementing UN agency, Sudan Forest National Corporation (FNC), Sudan Higher Council for Environment and Natural Resources, 500 gum arabic producer associations (GAPAs), local delivery partners

Conditions for success

  • Formal Green Climate Fund accreditation and public disbursement tracking
  • Named UN implementing agency (FAO) with established government counterparts
  • Existing economic base: gum arabic trees already provide up to 38% of smallholder income in the region

Common failure modes

  • Sudan's civil war, beginning April 2023, has severely disrupted state institutions and rural livelihoods nationally, a major risk not reflected in GCF's public reporting
  • Only around 20% of financing had been disbursed as of the latest public tracker
  • No independent, non-FAO/GCF field verification of on-the-ground progress was found

Where it fits

Governance type
UN-agency-implemented with national government counterpart institutions
Scale
regional (three Kordofan states)
Income level
low-income, conflict-affected

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