The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), through its Small Grants Programme, has launched a call for proposals to finance environmental initiatives in Cuba with funding of up to $75,000 for equipment and supplies.
The goal is to promote the implementation of projects on the Island that generate environmental benefits and contribute to improving the quality of life of communities through local actions.
However, the UN agency itself imposes a condition that makes the regime the absolute arbiter of the funds: no organization can access the money directly without the approval of a Cuban institution that is aligned with the state.
The requirement that reveals the true functioning of the program is explicit: the proposals "must be endorsed by a Cuban institution specialized in the subject matter, which will be responsible for presenting the project to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment (MINCEX)."
This means that the government acts as a mandatory filter before any funds reach the hands of those working on the ground.
In fact, the announcement specifies that community-based organizations can apply, including local councils, agricultural and non-agricultural cooperatives, and "legally registered non-governmental organizations." This means that independent environmental organizations or those not aligned with the government are effectively excluded.
The call, disseminated by Cubadebate, focuses on four areas: sustainable management of terrestrial, coastal, and marine landscapes; food security, sustainable agriculture, and fisheries; energy transition towards renewable sources; and urban environmental sustainability.
Applicants must also declare a commitment to co-financing in Cuban pesos to ensure the implementation of the initiatives.
The initiative, implemented by UNDP in Cuba with financial support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), will be open until September 18, and the selected projects will have a maximum duration of two years.
The announcement comes as Havana is going through an unprecedented garbage crisis, with only 44 out of 106 collection trucks operational due to a lack of fuel, leaving between 13,000 and 23,814 cubic meters of waste uncollected each day.
Neighbors are burning trash in the public thoroughfare, and the Food Monitor Program has already alerted to a health emergency that threatens the food security of the capital.
This is not the first time that international funds allocated for the Cuban environment have ended up being channeled through the state apparatus.
The Basque Country allocated 250,000 euros in June 2026 to sustainability projects in Havana, also through the UNDP.
Last week, PNUD itself launched a project for managing plastic waste in the Havana neighborhood of San Isidro, carried out in collaboration with the Office of the Historian of the City.
The PPD has been operating in Cuba for over 20 years and has supported 182 projects throughout the country. The Global Environment Facility has invested approximately 44 million dollars in 19 national projects since 1992 on the Island, mobilizing around 240 million in co-financing, with UNDP as the primary channel.
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