The Global Environmental Management Support Project (GEMS) provides on-demand environmental compliance, management, capacity-building and sound design support to USAID's Environmental Officers, to USAID Missions and other operating units, and to their projects and programs.
This support strengthens development outcomes by helping USAID and its partners to better design and implement environmentally sound development activities in compliance with the agency's mandatory environmental procedures.
GEMS is global in scope. Its services are available to any USAID mission or operating unit that elects to incrementally fund the contract. GEMS effectively replaces certain USAID environmental compliance support programs, such as the Africa Bureau's long-running ENCAP project, the Asia/Middle East Bureau's EMCB project, and the Global Health Bureau's EMCAB project. GEMS I ran from September 2011-March 2014. The current GEMS II award runs through September 2018.
GEMS provides services in 3 broad areas:
- Training. General and sector-specific 1-5 day training events in environmental compliance/environmentally sound design and management. Development of traditional and distance learning.
- Technical and Analytical Support. Development and review of 22CFR216 environmental review documentation; development of environmental management and compliance guidance; support for development and implementation of program- and project-level environmental management plans; support for post-disaster environmental management; technical backstopping for USAID environmental officers.
- Knowledge Management, Learning, and Communications, including environmental management monitoring and evaluation; environmental compliance assessments; transfer and dissemination of best practices.
The Cadmus Group, Inc. is the GEMS prime contractor. Cadmus, Sun Mountain International and The Cloudburst Group, together provide the primary USAID environmental compliance/environmentally sound design and management expertise. Other core team members are Eurasia Environmental Associates, Neptune and Company, Mott MacDonald, World Education, and Battelle Memorial Institute.* A number of on-call local partners may be engaged depending on the location of programmed activities.
*Cloudburst is a Contractor Teaming Arrangement (CTA) partner. All others team members are Cadmus subcontractors.
Download the GEMS Factsheet. PDF (133KB)
Access GEMS Services
Bureau Environmental Officers (BEOs) from participating Bureaus serve as Activity Managers for GEMS activities within their region/sector. In this capacity, they are “gatekeepers” for the GEMS work plan, in consultation with the COR.
Operating units interested in accessing GEMS services, whether funded by the participating Bureaus or with their own buy-in funds, should first contact the relevant BEO/Activity Manager and the COR. (See contact list below.)
For more information, the GEMS Pricing and Ordering Guide is available from the COR. COR & Bureau Activity Managers (Bureau Environmental Office rs)
Bureau Activity Managers (Bureau Environmental Officers)
| COR | Teresa Bernhard, E3 tbernhard@usaid.gov |
| Deputy COR | Brian Hirsch, AFR bhirsch@usaid.gov |
Bureau Activity Managers (Bureau Environmental Officers)
| AFR | Brian Hirsch, AFR bhirsch@usaid.gov |
| Asia | Mary Melnyk mmelnyk@usaid.gov |
| Food Security | Ron Greenberg rgreenberg@usaid.gov |
| LAC | Victor Bullen vbullen@usaid.gov |
| DCHA | Erika Clesceri eclesceri@usaid.gov |
| E3 | Teresa Bernhard tbernhard@usaid.gov |
| E&E | Mark Kamiya mkamiya@usaid.gov |
| GH | Rachel Dagovitz rdagovitz@usaid.gov |
| Middle East | John Wilson jwilson@usaid.gov |