The GEF has been replenished four times since its inception in 1991: $2.02 billion in 1994, $2.75 billion in 1998, $2.92 billion in 2002, and $3.13 billion in 2006. The GEF unites 181 countries in partnership with international institutions, civil society, and the private sector to address global environmental issues in the context of national sustainable development. Both developed and developing countries participate in the GEF’s governing structure. An independently operated, international financial facility, the GEF provides grants for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer, and persistent organic pollutants. GEF funding is channeled to recipient countries through a variety agencies, including multilateral development banks, such as the World Bank, and UN agencies. The GEF also is the Secretariat for the Least Developed Countries and Special Climate Change Funds, which help some of the world’s most vulnerable populations to meet development challenges associated with climate change, including adaptation and transfer of technology. To date, the GEF has provided $8.7 billion in grants for more than 2,400 environmental projects in over 165 developing countries and emerging economies.