Lead Partner: EdF/ACCESS
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Africa Summary: The objective of the Initiative is to pool the resources of the participants in order to develop models to meet the needs for modern energy services in rural areas of Africa, including their business, institutional, technological, financial and social aspects.
Through this objective, AREA will contribute to achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in the following ways:
* Poverty reduction. The operation of rural energy service systems will create income and jobs:
* directly, at the village level, in the operation and maintenance of the energy service systems;
* indirectly, by increasing the opportunity for village level craft and agro-alimentary activities (wood processing, food processing, welding, ...);
* in the manufacture and assembly of system components;
* Health. The energy systems will contribute to better health in rural areas in the following ways:
* pumping of potable water;
* water for irrigation, thus increasing the food supply;
* refrigeration and lighting in health clinics;
* reduction of indoor air pollution, through the improvement of domestic fuel quality the through better stoves;
* Gender equality. Free women and girls from time consuming tasks such as carrying water (through motorised water pumping), collecting firewood (through improved fuels and stoves for cooking) or from milling grains (mechanical milling);
* Natural resource management. The biomass needed for energy production will be produced through sustainable forestry management techniques and through use of waste products. This will permit better management of land and forest resources, and aid in the fight against deforestation. [more]
Lead Partner: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), BIOTRADE Initiative - Andean Community (CAN) - Andean Development Corporation (CAF)
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Andean region Summary: The general objectives of the Andean Programme are:
* To promote trade and investment in biological resources in the Andean region with the aim of supporting the objectives of the Andean Biodiversity Strategy and contribute to sustainable development in the region.
* To support the development of 'biotrade' in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela through regional actions that complement the national BIOTADE programmes.
The Andean BIOTRADE programme has the following specific objectives:
* Support the establishment of an adequate institutional economic environment for the development of products and services derived from biodiversity;
* Develop regional activities that promote and facilitate access to bio-businesses to finance;
* Promote the exchange of experiences and good social and environmental practices in bio-businesses within the Andean region and with other regions;
* Coordinate the activities of different partners under the Andean BIOTRADE programme. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Australia - National Oceans Office
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Arafura and Timor Seas Summary: The Arafura Timor Seas Expert Forum (ATSEF) provides opportunities to improve information-sharing arrangements between the littoral states of the Arafura and Timor Seas. It provides an opportunity to identify cooperative research agendas and arrangements to enhance the capacity to sustainably manage the Arafura Timor Seas. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Japan - Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Asia and the Pacific Summary: CDM projects potential in Asia need to be realised through institutional streamlining, wide spread expertise knowledge, national strategy on promising areas, and support by industrial sector. CDM-related capacity building program is to address these agenda by utilising Japanese experience and tools of international co-operation and energy policy.
Expected results are:
Smooth start of CDM projects will be foreseen/encouraged and green house gas emission reduction will be achieved. As a result, it will contribute host countries' sustainable development. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Indonesia - Ministry of Forestry - Government of Japan - Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan - The Nature Conservancy (TNC) - Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Asia and the Pacific Summary: Asia Forest Partnership(AFP) promotes sustainable forest management in Asia through addressing the following 5 urgent issues;
- Good governance and forest law enforcement
- Developing capacity for effective forest management
- Control of illegal logging
- Control of forest fires
- Rehabilitation and reforestation of degraded lands
The partnership acts as a catalyst for already existing initiatives by increasing synergies and reducing duplication between programs and ongoing efforts. At this stage the AFP provides a formal framework for the exchange of information and experiences. Beyond strengthening existing programs this will facilitate joint identification of new programs and research needed.
[more]
Lead Partner: Programme Solidarité Eau (pS-Eau)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The aim of this initiative is to define an innovative mechanism for mobilizing financial resources and broaden the financial resources indispensable to provide the poorest with water and sanitation services.
This initiative must profile the legislative, institutional, legal, financial recommendations for action and the guidelines for reform strategies within the French partners of the initiative, to build the operational framework of this new solidarity mechanism. Besides, this initiative should present how to raise awareness among the water users in France/Europe to have them contribute to and support this new fund raising model. In parallel, this action will aim at generating political support for the "cent per m3" concept.
Moreover, during this initiative of action identification, partners will constitute a platform. These cooperation linkages will serve as primary network for supporting the awareness raising actions later on. [more]
Lead Partner: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Capacity 2015 is a new and important initiative. It will build upon experience gained during the ten years since UNCED to help countries to move from strategic planning for sustainable development to effective implementation.
Capacity 2015 is timely and necessary, as it will:
* Help countries to reap the benefits of globalization;
* Ensure that processes of sustainable development put in place during the 1990s are utilized to face the challenges of the 21st century;
* Strengthen the capacities needed to achieve or exceed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The MDGs are a set of integrated and inter-related goals that contribute to sustainable development. Capacity 2015 will provide the enabling capacities to help countries progress towards the MDGs. [more]
Lead Partner: UNEP-UNCTAD Capacity Building Task Force
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Enhance human and institutional capacity of developing countries to deal with issues arising at the intersection of trade liberalization, environmental protection and economic development. The overall aim is to assist beneficiary countries in developing mutually supportive policies that would maximize the net benefits of trade for sustainable development. It also seeks close correlation with the Doha Work Programme as well as the related technical assistance programme administered by the WTO secretariat.
CBTF II is meant as the main vehicle for capacity building activities by UNCTAD and UNEP in trade, environment and development in support of the decisions to be taken by the WSSD. It has a regional emphasis, which accords with the expected outcomes of WSSD with regard to implementation of its work programme. [more]
Lead Partner: United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) - International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Africa Summary: In preparation for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), and in the framework of the New Partnership for Africa's Development, the partners of this initiative have agreed to jointly develop a capacity building programme on the applications of Information and Communication Technologies for the establishment of Environmental Information Systems for Sustainable Development in Africa.
This partnership aims at initiating a national and sub regional capacity building programme, on the applications of the new information and communication technologies for the establishment of environmental information management and monitoring systems in Africa. It aims at generating adequate conditions for the establishment of a coherent and efficient institutional framework, and the development and appropriation of technological tools for the accessing, exchange and circulation of useful information.
Significant efforts are being made to manage natural resources and the environment, involving scientific and technical research, the implementation of appropriate programmes and projects in the field, and the harnessing of local know-how. The results, in the form of products, information and data, represent a unique scientific, technical and cultural heritage for sustainable development and the fight against poverty in Africa.
However, it has to be recognized that this information heritage is often dispersed on account of sectoral compartmentalization at the inter-institutional level, resulting of an apparent lack of information at the local level which contradicts the existence in reality of an information heritage within national and international institutions or bodies specializing in Africa throughout the world. This loss of "institutional memory" is now recognized as being one of the major obstacles to sustainable development in Africa.
The general objective of this initiative is to provide countries and regional organizations with systems for the validation, circulation and harnessing of relevant environmental information with a view to strengthening the participative approach at the different decision-making and operational levels and thereby promoting enlightened decision-making.
Specific objectives of the partnership are to respond to the needs expressed by a large number of environmental stakeholders in developing countries. As well as being a technological tool, it seeks to encourage the environmental community to share experiences and information heritage, balancing information supply and demand.
This approach aims to create a synergy of both human and financial resources, establishing environmental information systems within national programmes such as national development plans, national environmental action plans, poverty eradication plans, etc. It will also catalyze the development of National and Regional Spatial Data Infrastructures (NSDI and RSDI) for use in planning and decision making for sustainable development [more]
Lead Partner: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Drylands Development Centre
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: To reduce poverty in drylands areas by 50% over the life of the project.
Secondary objectives
To strengthen the capacities of drylands communities to manage their natural resources and farming systems.
To improve livelihoods and food security of drylands communities.
To review and revise the legislative basis for access to land and other resources.
To improve access to markets.
To create the enabling environment needed to improve rural livelihoods.
To improve the access of communities to information through the media (print, radio and television).
To bring about legal and institutional reform to support the socio-economic development of rural communities. [more]
Lead Partner: Central Asian Interstate Commission on Sustainable Development (ICSD CA), Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia (CAREC)
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Central Asia Summary: The Central Asian Initiative (CAI) main goal is building favorable political, institutional, economical, information and other conditions for achieving the sustainable development goals in Central Asia.
The major objectives of the Central Asian Initiative are focused on addressing the problems of poverty, ecosystem degradation, other issues of Agenda 21 and Millenium Declaration.
To address priority environmental, social and economic problems in the sub-region through establishing partner relations between governments and sectors in the process of development and implementation of the Central Asian Sustainable Development Strategy and Convention.
Expected results:
To facilitate resolution of environmental, economic and social problems, including transboundary issues, through joint activities aimed at situation analysis, prioritizing, sub-regional projects and programs, institutional capacity building and training programs. [more]
Lead Partner: Royal Institute of International Affairs (RIIA) - Royal Institute of International Affairs (RIIA)
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Africa Summary: The objectives of the partnership will be discussed and agreed at the initial partnership workshop, to be held in the last quarter of 2002. The overall objective of the partnership is to bring together universities and governments from Africa and other countries, along with intergovernmental organisations, businesses and civil society groups to design and establish a network of Centres of Excellence for Technological Innovation for Sustainability in Africa (CETISA).
The work done by the centres is expected to include world-class sustainable development related scientific and technological research, collaborations with the private sector to bring technologies to market, and the development of integrated technological innovation strategies for meeting the needs of the poor. African stakeholders will lead the process of setting the specific objectives and identifying the priorities for the individual centres, with strong input and support from universities and other institutions with expertise in technological innovation from both Northern and Southern countries.
Building on existing initiatives and networks, the specific objectives of the partnership are to:
Develop a shared analysis of the potential roles that African universities can play in supporting the development and implementation of effective strategies for technological innovation to meet sustainable development needs;
Develop a shared analysis of the current capacity of African universities to contribute to the development of such strategies;
Develop proposals for strengthening the capacity of African universities to support the development and implementation of effective strategies for technological innovation to meet sustainable development needs, through establishing centres of excellence for technological innovation for sustainability in Africa, drawing on best practice models from around the world, and based on participative assessments of technology needs and opportunities;
Improve African universities' access to world-class expertise and best practice on technology research and policy making through creating strong linkages with universities in both developed and developing countries;
Facilitate the development of research partnerships and other collaborations (e.g. staff and student exchanges, joint implementation projects etc.) between African Universities and other universities and expert institutions in both developed and developing countries;
Engage host and donor governments in the design of the centres of excellence, and encourage investment in building the technological capacity of African Universities. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of United States of America - U.S. Agency for International Development - The Coca-Cola Company
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have created a unique partnership to address community water needs in developing countries around the world. In conjunction with local USAID Missions and Coca-Cola system partners (foundations and bottling facilities), and with support from the Global Environment and Technology Foundation (GETF), the “Water and Development Alliance” (WADA) has committed $14.3 million (2005-2010) thus far to achieve the following objectives in countries where both partners work:
- Establish participatory, sustainable management of water and watershed resources for domestic and productive use and conserve the ecosystems and biodiversity they support;
- Increase the level of access to sustainable, improved sources of water and sanitation services in communities around the world;
- Increase institutional capacity and investments in basic infrastructure;
- Foster improved behaviors in human sanitation and hygiene for positive health impacts.
WADA makes a conscious effort to maximize its impact by aligning multiple goals and pooling diverse resources in creative ways. The alliance makes strategic value-added investments that complement existing long-term development programs of USAID in collaboration with other donors and host country governments. Through engagement with WADA, TCCC also promotes long-term changes in water stewardship within the production facilities of Coca-Cola, as local bottlers are increasingly engaged and demonstrate their commitment to corporate principles by making their own investments to improve water use and management. Building on this, Coca-Cola foundations are able to enhance the positive benefits of their charitable contributions by aligning their community development efforts with WADA projects. The result is a combined partnership impact that is far more than the sum of the parts. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Japan - Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. - Government of United States of America - U.S. Enivronmental Protection Agency (USEPA) - CLASP Secretariat - UNDP-GEF - United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) - United Nations Foundation (UNF)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Energy efficiency standards and labels (S&L) for appliances, equipment and lighting are the most cost-effective means to help countries limit energy demand while stimulating economic growth. The overall result of S&L is to reduce required investments in power plants and reduce fuel consumption for their operation with powerful economic gains (e.g., freeing up capital for investments in non-energy social infrastructure like schools, roads or hospitals) and environmental benefits (e.g., avoiding carbon emissions).
CLASP seeks to serve as the primary international voice and resource for policymakers and practitioners of energy efficiency standards and labeling for residential, commercial and industrial equipment and lighting in South and North countries worldwide. It promotes the cost-effective adoption of S&L throughout the world. The overall development objective of CLASP is to transform the manufacture and sale of appliances, equipment and lighting worldwide by the application of energy efficiency standards and labels so that countries develop in a more environmentally sustainable and economically efficient manner. This application engenders several steps including: 1) deciding whether and how to implement energy efficiency standards and labels, 2) developing a testing capability, 3) designing and implementing a labelling program and analysing and setting standards, 4) communicating with all stakeholders, 5) maintaining and enforcing compliance, and 6) evaluating the labelling and standards-setting program.
Worldwide, the use of energy in human activities related to buildings (including use of appliances, equipment and lighting) accounts for 34 percent of total energy consumption.
The direct outputs of the partnership are designed to lead to the adoption of energy efficiency standards and labels in the partner countries. In the process of achieving these outputs the project will build:
* institutional capability for developing, maintaining, and continuously upgrading efficiency standards and labels by providing direct technical assistance in at least 35 developing countries; and
* a network of collaborators around the world with a common mission, bringing attention and high priority to efficiency standards and labels within key development institutions. CLASP is open to all organizations and individuals who have the ability and interest to serve CLASP's mission and are willing to abide by CLASP's published Guiding Principles. CLASP is comprised of a small secretariat and a worldwide assembly of Sponsoring Partners who fund CLASP activities, Country Partners who are the recipients of CLASP services, Implementing Partners who provide CLASP services, and interested stakeholders as Affiliates.
[more]
Lead Partner: Government of United States of America - U.S. Department of State - Government of United States of America - U.S. Department of State
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Central Africa- Congo Basin Summary: The Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) aims to promote the sustainable management of the Congo Basins' forests and wildlife by improving communication, cooperation, and collaboration among all the partners. It does not intend to create new institutions, but through the partnership forum and transparency and information sharing to assist partners and their associates to work better. Principal objectives include the preservation of the biodiversity and ecology of the forest and wildlife, placing their protection and use on a sustainable basis for the long-term benefit of the region's inhabitants. Examples of support contemplated or extended by partners include support for community-based sustainable forest and wildlife management, better timber harvesting and processing technologies, ecotourism, increasing capacity in public and private sectors, improvement of law and law enforcement infrastructures, realizing their contributions to the alleviation of poverty. Target themes are provided by an updated regional master plan being developed by the Conference of Ministers of Forests of Central Africa (COMIFAC).The Congo Basin forest is the second largest intact tropical forest in the world. It purifies the air and it catches, cleans, and sends to the ocean the waters from millions of hectares of pristine forests upon which the Congo Basin's inhabitants depend for their livelihood and survival. Within their forests are an incredible number of species of plants, trees, animals, and insects. The forest is a global treasure whose resources must be protected and conserved for the environmental and economic good of the citizens of the Congo Basin, of Africa, and for mankind. The forest is concentrated in six countries in the Congo Basin Region.
The framework for the Congo Basin Forest Partnership is the Yaounde Declaration which was agreed to in 1999 by central African heads of State. That framework aims to protect forests through the harmonization of forest policies, protected areas, regulations against poaching and the adoption of practices for sustainable forest use. It recognized the ecological significance of key mixed landscapes which are critical to longer term forest conservation and sustainable management
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Lead Partner: Government of Australia - Department of Environment and Heritage - Government of Japan - Ministry of the Environment - Wetlands International
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Asia and the Pacific Summary: This partnership provides a cooperative framework for conservation of migratory waterbirds and their inland and coastal habitats across the region. The partnership is guided by the Asia-Pacific Migratory Waterbird Conservation Strategy and associated Action Plans for conservation of Anatidae (Ducks, Swans and Geese), Cranes and Shorebirds. Each of these Action Plan calls for recognition of internationally important habitat for the relevant species group through inclusion in 'Site Networks'. The site network concept links internationally important sites across country boundaries and provides for exchange of information and training opportunities. It provides a powerful tool for cooperation to ensure that the chain of sites required by migratory birds along their migration route is conserved.
In order to achieve their potential, the site networks need to include at least 25% of internationally important sites across the migratory flyways. At present the networks include approximately 10% of internationally important sites. The WSSD partnership provides for expansion of the site networks across the region. [more]
Lead Partner: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Geographical Scope: National Summary: The main objective of this partnership is to design and demonstrate the application of a systematic and comprehensive approach for developing Country Profiles on Sustainable Energy Development (CPSEDs). Country leaders, policymakers and energy analysts are faced with the major challenge of assessing their energy systems within a sustainable development framework. Projects, plans, programs and policies need to be developed in a comprehensive manner taking into consideration not only economic issues but also social and environmental impacts as well as institutional and infrastructure requirements. The assessment represents a dynamic exercise in which country experts review past and current energy development and trends while exploring, at the same time, consistent images of future scenarios consonant with their specific sustainable development criteria and goals. This partnership initiative is a first attempt to produce such a comprehensive assessment.
While the CPSED approach could be applied to any country, the initial demonstration phase is being conducted in Brazil, Cuba and South Africa. In Brazil, the IAEA is working with CENBIO from the University of Sao Paulo and COPPE from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. In Cuba, the IAEA is working with CUBAENERGIA and in South Africa with the Energy Research Center of the University of Cape Town. International organizations cooperating in this partnership include UNDESA, OLADE and ECLAC.
At the national level, the partnerships are resulting in an overall assessment of the energy systems of participating countries, a review of potential future energy demand and supply scenarios and the definition of a comprehensive set of sustainable energy strategies specifically designed to help policy makers pursue their sustainable energy development objectives. Indicators for sustainable energy development (ISED) are being used to monitor each country's progress towards meeting national development goals.
Research and governmental organizations will have increased expertise in using energy planning tools and evaluation methodologies for the integrated assessment of energy systems and corresponding strategies and programs. The modelling framework and guidelines developed will permit other countries to construct systematically their country profiles on sustainable energy development.
[more]
Lead Partner: La Plate-Forme pour le Commerce Equitable
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Europe and North America - Africa Summary: After decades of implementation and maturation as well as entirely positive development over the past several years, it is now necessary to move on to the sales volume growth phase, since we know that fair trade is driven by downstream demand, i.e. that increasing the numbers of producers who benefit from this type of trade depends directly on market growth.
Targeted at developing a trade structure capable of delivering higher and more stable incomes for producers, this project improves living conditions in those communities that benefit from it, contributes to strengthening the way these producers organize themselves and helps democratize the way such organizations are run. It is totally consistent with a strategy of reducing inequality and combating poverty in the context of sustainable development built around humanity and effective management of resources.
The project has two interlinked objectives:
- to increase the market shares held by fair trade products in the French consumer market;
- and therefore to increase the number of African producers involved in fair trade.
The project hinges on expanding the market for fair trade goods in France, thus increasing the number of producers in African countries.
There already exists a wide range of fair trade products which are either organized or in the process of being organized, but which lack outlets. Equally, there is strong consumer demand, but the difficulty lies in being able to convert this desire into the act of purchasing. The main underlying cause of this problem is the weakness of distribution networks. The project therefore proposes to concentrate on bringing these networks to life. [more]
Lead Partner: Kent State University
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Middle East: Euphrates-Tigris Basin Summary: ETIC is a riparian initiative that aims to effectively facilitate cooperation for technical, social and economically sustainable development within the Euphrates-Tigris system and in the riparian countries. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of European Community - European Commission, Directorate General Environment
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The initiative provides a platform for strategic partnerships to implement the programmes of action for the WSSD and to contribute to meeting the Millennium Development Goals on water. Under the initiative, the EU seeks to work with its partners to:
* Reinforce political will and commitment to action
The global water crisis is not on the agenda of many political leaders of the world. The initiative seeks to support governments in understanding the links between water, poverty and sustainable development and to help translate this into firm commitments for action. In particular, the initiative seeks to provide a mechanism to develop joint action plans to implement the programmes of action of the WSSD.
* Make water governance effective and build institutional capacity
Making water governance effective is an essential step in supporting healthy and productive lives and safe-guarding the environment. The initiative seeks to promote better water governance arrangements and good practice centred on the principles of integrated water resources management. Capacity to plan, manage and implement programmes of action at all levels is central to achieving the desired outcomes and the initiative seeks to build capacity by providing expertise and knowledge and by facilitating access to information. Research co-operation should form an import part of such these activities.
* Improve co-ordination and co-operation
A vast range of water-related activities are currently underway or planned but their inter-relationship is not always apparent. The initiative seeks to provide a platform to co-ordinate and streamline activities and to establish multi-stakeholder processes to bring partners together, including south-south collaboration and co-operation. The initiative seeks to support regional and sub-regional activities where clear commitment to collaboration exists. As a contribution to peace and security it seeks specifically to support the build-up of river basin organisations and to assist in the development and application of river basin approaches in transboundary waters.
* Increase the efficiency of existing EU aid flows
Meeting the Millennium Development Goals will require considerable financing efforts and although no exact estimates are available it is evident there is a major financing gap. The initiative seeks to make the most of available funds and to increase the effectiveness of existing and future EU aid flows. It seeks to use official development assistance as a lever for other forms of finance, including user finance and private finance, and to encourage the development of innovative funding mechanisms to create higher efficiencies. It also seeks to finance water projects with a particular focus on meeting the needs of poor customers and a sustainable environment. [more]
Lead Partner: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) - European Space Agency (ESA)
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Africa Summary: The TIGER-SHIP partnership aims at developing sustainable earth observation information services for integrated water resources management in developing countries, with a particular focus on Africa as special contribution to the NEPAD/AMCOW process and the achievement of WSSD goals.
Specific Objectives include:
* To establish a network of multidisciplinary experts and institutions for the identification and definition of space technology applications and contribution to the sustainable water resources management in Africa.
* To promote the integrated assessments of water resources availability and use in Africa.
* To identify several case studies and support multidisciplinary experts teams to conduct detailed projects in Africa.
* To learn, from case studies the issues relevant to sound management of surface and groundwater resources in Africa.
* To raise the awareness of policy and decision makers of the significance and importance of space technology for water resources management.
* To set up training facilities and disseminate the lessons learnt from case studies.
* To contribute to the improvement of the socio-economic situations of African countries.
* To contribute to the formulation of strategies to cope with water scarcity.
* To develop a pre-operational information services on water resources management in Africa using space technology. [more]
Lead Partner: European Commission
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Development Objectives: The Initiative aims to facilitate the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people in extreme poverty and other MDGs by 2015, through the provision of adequate, affordable, sustainable energy services. This will be achieved within the context of beneficiary country driven activities.
Immediate Objectives: Through the Initiative the EU proposes to establish "Energy Access Partnerships" with developing countries, with the involvement of the private sector and civil society, that will develop in response to the energy needs of developing countries and regions. Through these Partnerships, donors will work with developing countries to help identify energy needs and necessary assistance to create the economic, social and institutional conditions that will enable their energy needs to be met.
The aim of the Partnerships is to enable the EU and its developing country partners, and other stakeholders, to work together to improve efforts for increasing access to energy services, particularly for poor women and men, based on their specific circumstances and requirements. Gender issues will be mainstreamed in all aspects of the Initiative. The Partnerships will ensure that existing energy activities and other initiatives will be well co-ordinated to provide coherent packages. They will be based on existing organisations, structures and procedures. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of France - Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Western Africa Summary: In Rio, the concept of sustainable development renewed this general-interest idea. It added the environmental variable to those of economics and social concerns. The regional integration of energy systems is a factor in sustainable development and in regional political stability.
This is especially true for the ECOWAS countries. In these countries, reforms in the energy sector, carried out within the framework of liberalization programmes, have ensured the autonomy of businesses and, because of this, have deprived governments of their means of supervising and directing the market. Several of these countries also have shortfalls in their capacity for electricity production. This may be structural (a lack of investment) or due to conditions (the effects of drought on the water levels behind dams).
Joined together in the West African Power Pool (WAPP), these countries are planning to reinforce the interconnections between their networks in order to optimize the use of their installed capacities, eliminate emergency purchasing of thermal units, make the most out of their regional resources, and increase energy efficiency.
Called upon to support the WAPP project, France intends to participate in order to:
- Help restore to the Member States a capacity for the design and coordination of energy policy;
- Assist the ECOWAS in acquiring the institutional and technical capacity needed to enable it to stimulate a regional policy, with complete independence;
- Contribute to setting up a legal infrastructure, which is an indispensable prerequisite to any physical investment;
- Promote, by means of investment programmes of any type that may emerge from the initiative (electricity production, especially those utilizing water or gas resources, transport and regulation equipment, etc.), an approach that respects the role of the Member States in environmental, social, and territorial development terms. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Japan - Ministry of Environment
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Asia and the Pacific Summary: Greenhouse gases emissions from the Asia-Pacific region are increasing while climate change can have serious impact on some countries in the region. In order to implement the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol, which is a first step for addressing climate change, the region requires fruitful policy dialogues among countries. Further, it needs to develop and implement a regional strategy addressing climate change. The Asia-Pacific Network on Climate Change (AP-Net) aims to facilitate policy dialogue, exchange of experiences, data, and information among all relevant actors in the region to build institutional capacity. The AP-Net has been operational since 1998, as both a gateway website and an individual website. The partnership will be formed to elaborate the AP-Net cooperatively and utilize it for implementation of joint activities among participant countries and organization. [more]
Lead Partner: Secretariat of the 3rd World Water Forum (WWF3)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The 3rd World Water Forum is a golden opportunity for governments, experts, and NGOs to exchange knowledge, experiences and information on proven ¿Actions¿ to solve water problems in the world as well as to discuss wisdom, experiences, and information from each country.
Therefore, making use of this Forum can result in making a ¿commitment¿ to networking partnership among activities which have been conducted separately so far, building networking partnerships regarding water in the world, and establishing the framework for cooperation and collaboration.
In terms of technology, sharing experiences and knowledge can facilitate capacity building of each other. In terms of financing, sharing information can realize the investment effectively and intensively. Furthermore, this initiative will build the networking partnership, which will make it possible to use the initiatives as a means to disseminate, communicate and share information. [more]
Lead Partner: Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) - Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Southern Africa Summary: The Expanded OUZIT Project is an integrated tourism development strategy aimed at establishing a comprehensive tourism and resource development zone in SADC.
The agreed project roll out would see the Expanded OUZIT project proceed on two parallel tracks:
a) As an integral part of the WSSD - focused on presenting SADC's TFCA's (Transfrontier Conservation Areas) - proposed and existing, as a unifying theme demonstrating the region's commitment and leadership in the preservation of bio-diversity, the conservation of two of the region's last remaining and largely untapped river systems (i.e. Okavango, and Zambezi), and as a vehicle for the upliftment and sustainable development for the rural poor.
b) The second track for progressing the Expanded OUZIT will be project driven and draw upon the TFCA scoping study.
Accordingly the agreed project roll out will:
1. Identify and prepare documentation for at least three (3) new large-scale investments in Resort Hubs around which to network TFCAs.
2. Support Capacity Building in the management and expansion of Gateway/Resort Hubs in participating member states.
3. Identify high profile and active global investors (including airlines and major tour operators) and organize a programme to engage them.
4. Address bottlenecks (infrastructure, policy, financial, load factors) impeding the provision of long haul and inter-regional air transport services. [more]
Lead Partner: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Regional Bureau for Europe and CIS - United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Danube - Black Sea Basin Summary: The Global Environment Facility Strategic Partnership on the Black Sea and Danube Basin is an initiative aimed to address the root causes of environmental degradation in this region and promote investments and capacity building to return the Black Sea/Danube Basin environment to its 1960s condition. The GEF funded Partnership has been established with the cooperation of the World Bank, UNDP, UNEP and other multilateral and bilateral financiers and basin countries.
The elements of the Partnership are two UNDP Regional Projects and the WB Investment Fund:
* The Danube Regional Project (DRB): Strengthening the Implementation Capacities for Nutrient Reduction and Transboundary Cooperation in the Danube River Basin
* The Black Sea Ecosystems Recovery Project (BSERP): Control of eutrophication, hazardous substances and related measures for rehabilitating the Black Sea ecosystem
* World Bank Investment Fund for Nutrient Reduction in the Black Sea/Danube Basin
[more]
Lead Partner: Government of Italy - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate General for Development Cooperation (DGCS) - Government of United States of America - U.S.A - The World Conservation Union (IUCN) - I.A.O. - Istituto Agronomico per l'Oltremare
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Main objectives: To make geo-referenced data and projects on the environment and natural resources worldwide more accessible, with emphasis on developing countries, as a contribution to consolidating the capacities of both institutional and private decision-makers to effectively and sustainably address their development pursuits. This important objective focuses on relevant planning and management challenges which emerge within the framework of current sustainable development constraints, as summarized hereafter.
Global concerns about food security for the growing populations in developing countries, environmental degradation, and climate change or variation, and civil unrest have underscored the need for consistent and timely biophysical and socio-economic geo-information. Technological approaches are now available to quantify, document, and disseminate information on fluctuations and trends in the environmental parameters and natural resources, climate, changes in vegetation cover, surface waters, wetlands, land quality (including degradation), desert margins, settlements and other land cover features at local, national, regional and global levels.
A number of land cover classification projects have been developed to provide for the growing demand for information at global and regional levels. For example, recent products include the global land-cover dataset (IGBP-DIS for coarse resolution information) and Africover in East Africa for detailed high-resolution assessments. These and other more localized projects produce potentially valuable information on the current status of the environment and natural resources which could help assess trends through time or predict and model future development scenarios. This information from diverse sources, however, can be applied more effectively toward meeting sustainable development needs especially relative to capacity building and applications.
There is a great need to bridge the digital and knowledge divide by consolidating the capacity of both institutions and local-level users to actually manage the technical implications of accessing, integrating, up-dating, and adding local value to geo-information that is used in decision-making. Specific regard must be given to the local and sub-national as well as regional and/or global levels in the provision of on-the-job training, the development of integrated databases, model development, networking, and remote sensing testing and interpretation. [more]
Lead Partner: International Steering Cttee for Global Mapping (ISCGM)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Global Mapping is an international collaborative initiative through voluntary participation of national mapping organizations of the world, aiming to develop globally homogeneous geographic data set at the ground resolution of 1km, and to establish concrete partnership among governments, NGOs, private sectors, data providers and users to share information and knowledge for sound decision-making. Primary objective of Global Mapping is to contribute to the sustainable development through the provision of base framework geographic dataset, which is necessary to understand the current situation and changes of environment of the world. [more]
Lead Partner: Energy Sector Management Assistance Program - United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: GVEP brings together developing and industrialized country governments, public and private organisations, multilateral institutions, NGOs, civil society organizations, consumers, and others to increase access to energy services for those unserved and underserved in a manner that enhances economic and social development, and reduces poverty.
GVEP objectives are fourfold:
· To catalyse country commitments to energy for poverty reduction projects and programmes, and to guide policies and investment in this area.
· To bridge the gap between investors, entrepreneurs, and customers in the design, installation, and operation of replicable rural and peri-urban energy projects.
· To serve as a one-stop-shop for information, best practices, and lessons learned on the effective development and implementation of energy for poverty reduction projects and programmes.
· To create and maintain an effective Global Village Energy Partnership organisational structure.
[more]
Lead Partner: Global Water Partnership Secretariat
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The Global Water Partnership is a working partnership among all those involved in water management: government agencies, public institutions, private companies, professional organizations, multilateral development agencies and others committed to the Dublin-Rio principles.
Today, this comprehensive partnership actively identifies critical knowledge needs at global, regional and national levels, helps design programs for meeting these needs, and serves as a mechanism for alliance building and information exchange on integrated water resources management.
The mission of the Global Water Partnership is to "support countries in the sustainable management of their water resources."
The GWP's objectives are to:
- Clearly establish the principles of sustainable water resources management,
- Identify gaps and stimulate partners to meet critical needs within their available human and financial resources,
- Support action at the local, national, regional or riverbasin level that follows principles of sustainable water resources management,
- Help match needs to available resources.
Although it is widely understood that water should be holistically managed, it was not until the Dublin Conference on Water and the Environment in 1992 and the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 that a more comprehensive approach to water management was judged necessary for sustainable development. This awareness, together with the need for participatory institutional mechanisms related to water, called for a new coordinating organisation. In response to this demand, the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) created the Global Water Partnership (GWP) in 1996.
This initiative was based on promoting and implementing integrated water resources management through the development of a worldwide network that could pull together financial, technical, policy and human resources to address the critical issues of sustainable water management. [more]
Lead Partner: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The overall goal of the project is to identify and safeguard Globally Important Ingenious Agricultural Heritage Systems and their associated landscapes, agricultural biodiversity and knowledge systems through catalyzing and establishing a long-term programme to support such systems and enhance global, national and local benefits derived through their dynamic conservation, sustainable management and enhanced viability.
To achieve this goal, the main objectives are to:
1) Leverage global and national recognition of the importance of GIAHS and institutional support for their safeguard;
2) Build capacity of local farming communities and local and national institutions to conserve and manage GIAHS, generate income and add economic value to goods and services of such systems in a sustainable fashion;
3) Promote enabling policy, regulatory and incentive environments to support their conservation, evolutionary adaptation and viability.
The project will be implemented in 10 pilot systems worldwide. The long term programme will build on the experiences and lessons learnt in up to 10 pilot systems/sites.
The project development phase (PDF-B) (18 months 2004-2005) will
- select the 10 initial systems/sites;
- develop a methodological framework and a step by step approach for the participatory development and implementation of the framework strategy and actions for a ¿dynamic conservation¿ of the pilot systems;
- establish participatory mechanisms and processes and design Pilot Frameworks in each pilot system and country
- develop a communication strategy and plan;
- leverage global and national support and co-funding arrangements for the full scale project
- develop the full project executive summary and project document. for the implementation of the programme.
The fullscale project (2005-2010) will develop and test the methodologies for dynamic conservation and sustainable management of GIAHS in 10 pilot systems through implementation of the pilot frameworks. [more]
Lead Partner: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), GPA Coordination Office
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The H20 Partnership aims to further the environmental, economic and social importance of oceans, coasts, and islands, and to facilitate the realization of the Montreal commitment by governments to mitigate water pollution and resource degradation from the hilltops to the oceans.
The overall objectives of the H20 Partnership include:
* To facilitate Governments and the international community recognition of the linkages between the freshwater and marine environments and to foster closer collaboration and partnerships between river basin authorities and coastal managers since action must be taken on land to reduce, remediate and prevent pollution and degradation of the coastal and marine environment.
* To assist countries and regions in making better use of existing domestic resources and in raising new and additional financing, particularly within the context of the regional seas
* To assist countries and regions in evaluating alternative options for funding projects that address priority problems of river, coastal and marine pollution.
* To assist Governments and intergovernmental organisations in identifying opportunities for effective partnerships, including through the establishment of specific cooperative activities, alliances and networks with financial institutions.
* To assist the public sector in involving the private sector and the civil society in addressing priority problems of river, coastal and marine pollution.
* To involve civil society further in the implementation of the Global Programme of Action Wastewater Emission Targets (WET) [more]
Lead Partner: Healthy Environments for Children Alliance Secretariat- World Health Organisation (WHO) - World Health Organization
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: HECA'S DRAFT MISSION STATEMENT: A world-wide alliance to intensify global action on environmental risks to children's health that arise from the settings where they live, learn, play and sometimes work, by providing knowledge, increasing political will, mobilizing resources, and catalysing intense and urgent action.
The aim of HECA is to build a global alliance to tackle key environment and poverty-related risks to children's health that are responsible for the loss of millions of healthy years of life each year. The Alliance will focus on, and catalyse action within the environments where children spend their time (i.e., the home, the school, and the community). Particular attention will be given to improving the home environment - traditionally neglected - but where children spend a major part of their young lives, and where the most significant health threats converge. In each setting, the alliance will focus on health risks associated with lack of access to clean water, to sanitation and to clean indoor air and outdoor air. It will also act to reduce risks associated with disease vectors, hazardous chemicals, and non-intentional injuries. Addressing the multiple risks in each setting will necessitate taking a holistic, integrated approach, as health risks are complex, and often interconnected. This approach also provides a framework to highlight the links between issues, and to facilitate action, in an integrated fashion, on the range of health risks in a given setting.
The Alliance will catalyze action that is both participatory and effective, stimulating a world-wide movement. It will concentrate initially on areas where it can add the most value - broadening in scope as it develops.
The Alliances core functions include:
* Ensuring advocacy and awareness raising;
* Providing knowledge, information exchange and expertise for decision-making;
* Promoting effective policies and action, at all levels, in all sectors;
* Supporting countries and communities in creating and maintaining healthy environments for children;
* Monitoring and evaluating progress. [more]
Lead Partner: National Disaster Management Institute (INGC)
Geographical Scope: National Summary: The overall goal is to strengthen the institutional capacities in Mozambique in the field of Disaster Preparedness and management. The country's weak economic infrastructure is aggrevated by the frequent natural disasters such as floods, cyclones, droughts, bush fires, and various epidemics etc. and Mozambique has to deal with complex emergency situations.
The primary aim of this partnership is a capacity-building program for prevention and management of natural disasters with the aim to strengthen the institutional capacity of INGC and its cooperating authorities by identifying the training needs of the different target groups and develop awareness-raising programs, knowledge transfer, and training skills for multiplicators. This regional pilot project is based on three pillars: strengthening the coordination and management capacities in terms of awareness, knowledge and skills of national institution; enhancing the existing cross-border cooperation and in the long-run reduce the obstacles and difficulties imposed by different political and administrative cultures ; lead to closer cooperation within the region and contribute to disaster management and prevention; support and strengthen regional assistance such as, information and communications systems with respect to early warning and alert; and mapping risk areas, raising awareness and organizing population, training multi-disciplinary rescue teams, technical assistance and logistical resources for preventing and fighting disaster as well as good network of database centres to analyse pertinent information and act as the source for disseminating information related to impending disasters. [more]
Lead Partner: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The overall goal of this initiative is to increase provision of sustainable energy services for SIDS over a ten-year period, in order to reduce the outflows of foreign exchange and to protect the environment, in keeping with the Millennium Development Goals.
Secondary Objectives:
The secondary objectives are as follows:
* Transfer of appropriate technology.
* Develop new technology based upon indigenous know-how.
* Promote sustainable energy use through improved sustainable development policies.
Expected results include:
* Reduced dependence by SIDS on imported energy sources, in particular fossil fuels.
* Increased availability of reliable cost effective and sustainable energy supplies.
* Increased development of adequate human and institutional capacity to plan and manage the energy sector in SIDS.
* Realization of cost savings in the medium- to long-term (5-10 years), from investments made in environmentally safe technologies resulting in more efficient use of national resources for social and economic development.
* Inter-regional cooperation and collaboration among SIDS, building on experiences, expertise and indigenous know-how.
* Increased focus on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as established in National Communications on Climate Change, submitted by the majority of SIDS, as obligations under the UNFCC. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Indonesia - Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources - Spie Entertains
Geographical Scope: National Summary: The initiative aims to develop financial and institutional arrangements so that the private sector can invest on development of renewable sources, in relay of public funding, in developing countries.
The final expected benefits are mainly:
Socio-economical : Reducing the country's energy bill and saving the oil resources of the country. Draining private funds to energy supply of rural/remote areas. Fostering local development by providing cheap energy to the areas.
Ecological : Avoiding emission of several million tons of CO2 at the global level. The local environment will be preserved with a priority given to sites with good hydrology and not requiring high dams and flooding of large areas.
Institutional : Development of a regulatory, contractual and financial framework for securing private investments in the rural energy sector. This implies to devise a simple and sufficient structure in order not to overburden investments of small size units. Thus the approach consists of developing a cluster of sites through a programmatic approach, in order to reach a sufficient size to mobilize the financial community and developers. [more]
Lead Partner: United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The main objective of the programme will be to provide significant opportunities and scope for the deployment of energy efficiency technologies in developing countries.
Expected results include:
That developing countries and economies in transition integrate energy efficiency strategies for can GHG emissions reduction and control in a way it enables their participation in CDM and JI. [more]
Lead Partner: International Association of Hydrogeologists
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: WIDER OBJECTIVE
To contribute to the multifaceted efforts in global cooperation through providing for the planets needs in sustainable environments, economy, social and political security, based on integrated water resource management, including internationally shared aquifers.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
To establish a network of multidisciplinary experts for identification and definition of internationally shared aquifers
To promote scientific, legal, socio-economic, institutional and environmental assessment of internationally shared aquifer resources
To identify several Case Study internationally shared aquifers and support experts teams of multidisciplinary experts to conduct detailed projects
To learn, from Case Studies, the issues relevant to good management of internationally shared aquifers resources
To raise the awareness of policy and decision makers of the significant and importance of transboudary aquifer resources, forming a critical component of the world freshwater resources
To disseminate the lessons learnt from Case Studies and encourage policy and decision makers to incorporate appropriate internationally shared aquifer management
To promote cooperation among nations that share internationally shared aquifers, through making available scientific tools, water resource management options and methodologies that apply to such aquifers [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Italy - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate General for Development Cooperation (DGCS)
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Asia and the Pacific Summary: General Objective: to contribute to social and economic development of the populations of the Hindu Kush - Karakorum - Himalaya mountain complex and to the environmental conservation of the region by consolidating institutional capacity for systemic planning and management of the territory, focusing on:
1. reduction of poverty
2. conservation of biodiversity
Specific Objective A: provide instruments (knowledge of the territory, the populations and the technologies for systemic data management) to facilitate the consistency of various national-level actions in area-based planning and management, within the framework of regional level systemic planning and monitoring.Specific Objective B: establish a process of application of the acquired capacities and Decision Support System (DSS) by individual countries in systemic planning and management of mountain areas at a local/national or transboundary level, within the framework of sustainable mountain development.Individual components of these objectives include:* Create a coordinated system for collection and analysis (monitoring) of natural resource data;* Provide decision makers of competent national and local administrations with an instrument (DSS) for systemic territorial planning and management;* Build local institutional capacity to study, analyze and manage natural resources, favoring local community involvement in these processes. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of France - Foreign Affairs Ministry International Cooperation and Development (DGCID)
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Mediterranean Summary: The proposed initiative aims to inform and make managers and businesses in Industrial Zones in Morocco, the Maghreb and developing countries aware of the potential and method of action for modernization tested on the Sidi Bernoussi case. The project aims to facilitate improvement of energy usage and competitiveness of industrial zones, based on an organization that represents the interests of local operators.The specific aim is to successfully implement the pilot phase and its extension throughout Morocco from the sub-region. [more]
Lead Partner: Partnership for Environmental Management of Seas East Asia (PEMSEA)
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional East Asia Summary: Main objectives of the Partnership/Initiative
The overall objective of the partnership initiative is to implement the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA). The objective will be achieved with the accomplishment of the following:
1. Endorsement of the SDS-SEA by national governments;
2. Development and adoption of complementary national coastal and ocean strategies and policies;
3. Formulation and implementation of national action programs, putting national ocean and coastal strategies and policies into operation; and
4. Creation of a sustainable financing mechanism to support the implementation of action programs focusing on transboundary concerns at the sub-regional and regional levels.
The main result of the partnership initiative will be the establishment of a non-convention, partnership arrangement among governments of the East Asian Seas region for the implementation of improved coastal and ocean governance of their shared sea areas and resources. [more]
Lead Partner: The City of Knowledge Foundation - The City of Knowledge Foundation
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The Panama Center for Sustainable Development is proposed as a strategic solution to the need for an integrated knowledge management system that take into account ecosystems behavior, the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainability, and the relationship between local, regional and global processes and actions. The initiative will develop around five major objectives:
1. Promote and conduct interdisciplinary and interinstitutional research programs and activities aimed at supporting plans, policies, and the overall decission-making processes of sustainable development
2. Promote the exchange of experiences and the development of information systems necessary to spur sustainable development
3. Develop scientific and technical capabilities through specific educational and training programs aimed at the formulation and implementation of sustainable development plans, policies and actions
4. To provide a platform that integrates scientific, technological, institutional, legal, and other aspects required to support the decision making processes of sustainable development
5. To contribute to the analysis of trends in the global network of production, dissemination and utilization of knowledge for sustainable development
[more]
Lead Partner: Cap-Net - United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) - Global Water Partnership (GWP)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Many developing countries have not yet been able to develop and integrate the requisite suite of human and institutional capacities into an effective water management regime.
What is urgently needed is a new water paradigm, one of integrated, holistic capacity development based on country ownership, adaptive homegrown policies, inclusive stakeholder participation and greater equity in the North-South development relationship.
Through partnership with national and regional capacity building networks in integrated water resources management, and as GWP's spearhead for capacity building, with support of IHE, UNDP/Cap-Net supports the establishment of networks and facilitates their access to global information. It also facilitates the exchange of information between the regions and responds to demands from regional and country networks. It aims to improve access to capacity building materials and in partnership with the networks to develop new tools and materials based on capacity building needs analysis. UNDP/Cap-Net strongly advocates local ownership of networks and capacity building activities and materials being developed for integrated water resources management. At the global level Cap-Net takes the role of ensuring access to information and experience for local practitioners. Local adaptation must then take place to ensure cultural and technical relevance to specific country situations. This way local ownership and responsibility is being enhanced. In collaboration of specialized international agencies, UNDP/Cap-Net develops adequate tools and materials to be put at the disposal of regional and country networks based on their demands and to improve their capacities in addressing capacity building for integrated water resources management. [more]
Lead Partner: International Coastal and Ocean Organization (ICO) - International Coastal and Ocean Organization (ICO) - Coastal States Organization (CSO)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: There is a need to:
Provide a technical support network for ICM, by identifying best practices, model program efforts, by encouraging "lesson-drawing" and interaction between practitioners and academics
Identify areas of mutual cooperation among academic institutions for research, exchange of faculty and students, "lesson-drawing" of successful ICM experiences, and organization of cooperative initiatives with governmental partners at both national and local levels to assist in the implementation of local coastal plans and in the formulation and implementation of national ocean/coastal policies in Exclusive Economic Zones.
Organize and carry out a program of exchange among subnational authorities in ICM to improve local practice
Monitor international treaty/agreement negotiations and other international fora relevant to ICM and identify issues impacting subnational ICM programs.
Influence key international treaty/agreement negotiations and other international fora through development of joint recommendations on the part of subnational ICM authorities [more]
Lead Partner: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) - United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The Mountain Partnership is a voluntary alliance of partners dedicated to improving the well-being, livelihoods and opportunities of mountain people and the protection and stewardship of mountain environments around the world. The Mountain Partnership taps the wealth and diversity of resources, knowledge, skills and expertise of its members to support positive change in mountain areas. The Partnership was launched as a type-2 outcome of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in September 2002: the basic concept and guiding principles of the Mountain Partnership resulted from a consultative process that took place during the preparatory sessions of the WSSD with its core document (known as the Bali Document) finalized at the Fourth Session of the Preparatory Committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Bali, Indonesia, 27 May - 7June 2002). Commitment to the Mountain Partnership has increased rapidly at the country, regional and international levels and concrete action is now underway to improve the lives of mountain people and protect mountain environments around the world. By March 2009, 50 countries, 16 intergovernmental organizations and 96 major group organizations (e.g. civil society, NGOs, private sector) had already joined the Mountain Partnership. A Mountain Partnership Secretariat, with financial support from the governments of Italy and Switzerland, is hosted at the central level by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Decentralized hubs of the secretariat have also been established in Latin America (hosted by CONDESAN), Asia Pacific (hosted by ICIMOD) and North America (hosted by the Banff Centre) and an Environmental Reference Centre is hosted by UNEP to provide guidance and support on environmental issues related to the Mountain Partnership.
The Mountain Partnership facilitates the effective and efficient implementation of Chapter 13, Agenda 21 and promotes, inter alia, joint initiatives based on paragraph 42 of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and other related instruments regarding mountains, by enhancing on-the-ground action and by working at the policy, programme and project levels. Specific partnership initiatives have been identified by members and are focussing on priority areas of action, such as biodiversity, education, gender, policy and law, research, sustainable livelihoods, sustainable agriculture and rural development in mountains (SARD-M) and watershed management. Additionally, geographically-focussed Initiatives have been launched and are operational in the Andes, Central Asia, Europe, the Hindu Kush Himalaya and other regions. New initiatives are developed as new priority areas are identified by members. Linkages between partnership initiatives are being encouraged at the local, national, regional and global levels, with members entering into specific initiatives according to their priorities, needs and capacities.
[more]
Lead Partner: UNEP DTIE
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The Partnership's objective is to provide coherent and authoritative scientific assessments on the environmental impacts of resource use over the full life cycle. This will contribute to a better understanding of how to decouple economic growth from resource use and resource use from environmental degradation, and in particular of ways to increase resource-efficient economic growth, of ways to reduce the identified impacts, and of ways to stimulate sustainable innovation. [more]
Lead Partner: International Land Coalition
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Land Alliances for National Development, or LAND Partnerships, constitute a global initiative to alleviate rural poverty by strengthening country-level collaboration between state, civil society, bilateral and international stakeholders. This collaboration is needed to: a) achieve participatory dialogue; b) improve policy formulation; c) establish joint action to secure resource tenure for households with user rights; and d) increase access to land by the landless and near-landless.
While the resource poor seek a more active role in decision-making, many governments are also recognizing the benefits of robust, stakeholder discussion and, in some cases, collective decision-making. In many countries, this requires new arenas and mechanisms for dialogue. LAND Partnerships respond to this challenge by helping countries to create new ways and means for both those affecting and those affected by decisions about land to work together. LAND Partnerships will help to widen participation, foster open debate and facilitate negotiation at both the national and the community levels.
Furthermore, LAND Partnerships are a means to replicate the best practices learned in one community to other communities for wider benefit. Also, where scaling-up is accomplished, it may be more likely that this experience can be validated as a basis for national policy consideration. More importantly, LAND Partnerships are an opportunity for all parties to move from individual to collective roles, and thereby capture potential synergy.
Since the launch in 2002, the Coalition has been actively promoting LAND in the over 35 countries where it has programmes. The initial goal is to establish LAND Partnerships in a geographically balanced range of pilot countries. These pilot LAND Partnerships are envisioned as focal points to stimulate extension of the concept into surrounding countries.
LAND Partnerships will be developed in response to invitations from governments together with an expressed interest by civil society. The Coalition will support local implementation capacity for all stakeholders involved ¿ civil society, governments and intergovernmental partners. LAND Partnerships will build upon existing and emerging initiatives and activities.
In addition, the Coalition's role will be to foster collaboration and the sharing of lessons with other countries in order to either launch LAND Partnerships in these countries, or to help create the conditions conducive to the subsequent establishment of LAND.
[more]
Lead Partner: Danish University Consortium for Environment and Development
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The universities of LUCED-I&UA partnership cooperate through a partnering arrangement with the aim to increase and link teaching and research capacity in environmental management at the universities with environmental management practices in environmental administrative units, organisations and the private sector in the participating countries. The main cooperating activities are human resource development through exchange of students, researchers and teachers; course and curriculum development; improved teaching methods; research networking; continued education, and joint research. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Italy - Ministry of Foreign Affairs - The World Conservation Union (IUCN) - CESVI- Working for Water
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Limpopo Corridor Summary: This partnership supports participation of communities living in areas adjacent to the Great Limpopo Trans-frontier Park (GL-TFP) in the TFP establishment process. The TFP is being establishment by the Governments of Zimbabwe, RSA and Mozambique as a first step in the process of developing a broader TFCA: this in its broad concept encompasses a vast area of almost 100.000 km2, including two National Parks and a Reserved Hunting Area in Mozambique (Banhine NP, Zinave NP and Limpopo NP), Kruger NP in South Africa and Gonarezhou NP in Zimbabwe.
This partnership programme focus on poverty alleviation and the conservation of biological diversity and ecosystem functioning through institutional capacity building, and the involvement and livelihood enhancement of local communities. Its components target selected rural areas mediating nodal ecosystemic and economic fluxes (e.g. wildlife and commercial corridors and buffer zones) within the programmed large scope multipurpose cross-boundary conservation area. the Great Limpopo Trans-frontier Park (GL TFP). Ecosystem management in these areas holds the potential to make or break the GL TFP and, at the same time, to make or break the economic future of its own rural communities. With appropriate land use planning and development, the target areas can act as links between the components of the Transfrontier Park, can enhance their ecological and economic values and can provide an ecologically sound economic engine for the disadvantaged target areas.
The partnership programme will be based on two components:
1. Foundation component: this will build on a pilot project implemented in the southeast lowveld of Zimbabwe (1998-2003) by CESVI in cooperation with the Rural District Councils of Beitbridge, Chiredzi and Chipinge: this pilot component has promoted community-based natural resource management in communal lands in the Limpopo and Save valleys, along the border with South Africa, Mozambique and Botswana. The target areas of the project include, inter alia, rural areas bordering the Gonarezhou National Park which have strong historical and social links with neighboring areas in Mozambique and South Africa.
2. New partnership component: this component will comprise two projects (sub-components), which will address country specific issues in a coordinated manner:
* The South African sub-component, to be implemented in cooperation with the Department of Water Affairs and SANP in areas adjacent to Kruger NP.
* The Mozambican sub-component, to be implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism to address the requirements of a vast rural area between the Limpopo NP, Banhine NP, Zinave NP and the border with Zimbabwe. [more]
Lead Partner: United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The Decentralized Cooperation Programmes (DCP) objective is to encourage lasting South-South city-to-city cooperation for sustainable and economic development. For this purpose, DCP has established a global network of 11 associated training centres (as of Feb. 2006), which are located in Atlanta / United States; Barcelona and Bilbao / Spain; Curitiba / Brazil; Divonne-les-Bains and Lyon / France; Durban / South Africa; Kuala Lumpur / Malaysia; Ouagadougou / Burkina Faso; Plock / Poland and Shanghai / China. Each of these International Training Centres for Local Authorities and Local Actors is a hub for capacity building and knowledge sharing between local and regional authorities, international organizations, the private sector and civil society to enhance local public services. The training sessions for local authorities focus on four main areas:
- Environment and sustainable development
- Urban services
- Economic development and local governance
- Human security.
[more]
Lead Partner: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), DPDL - United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Strengthening the capacities of local authorities and their public, private and community partners to achieve more sustainable urban development, socially, economically and environmentally;Reducing poverty by working on sustainable urbanisation through more efficiently and equitably use of environmental resources and control of environmental hazards in urban development planning. [more]
Lead Partner: International Maritime Organization (IMO)
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Straits of Malacca and Singapore Summary: Development of a Regional Marine Electronic Highway (MEH) in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore - Demonstration Phase: In partnership with the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners and the International Hydrographic Organization
The ultimate goal of this initiative is the use of innovative maritime and environment management technological tools to create network and maintain a marine information infrastructure for enhancing maritime services, improving the safety of navigation and integrated management of the coastal and marine areas of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.
The Marine Electronic Highway (MEH) is an innovative marine information and infrastructure system that integrates environmental management and protection systems and maritime safety technologies for enhanced maritime services, higher navigational safety standards, integrated marine environment protection and sustainable development of coastal and marine resources. The backbone of the MEH is precision navigation and will utilize a network of electronic navigational charts (ENCs) in conjunction with Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS), Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) and other maritime technologies.
This initiative is part of a two-stage MEH Project for the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. This initiative, which is a demonstration project, will cover parts of the Straits, mainly the area of the Traffic Separation Scheme. The second stage or full-scale project, which will follow after this initiative, will cover the whole Straits including the coastal waters of the littoral States.
The general objectives of this initiative are to delineate options for the implementation of the MEH system in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore and assess the technical, financial, economic, social, institutional, political and legal aspects of the identified options, assess the integration of marine environment protection system with precision navigation, and develop sustainable financial mechanisms and a managing tool to operate, manage and administer the MEH system. The implementation will also cover the evaluation on the benefits of the system and financing requirements to implement the identified activities leading to the establishment of the MEH system in the Straits. Overall, the development objectives of this initiative are the following:
* Establish the MEH and demonstrate its technical functionalities on maritime safety and marine environment protection for the Straits of Malacca and Singapore;
* Facilitate the integration of marine environment systems and data flow and information exchange through the MEH system;
* Develop the operational and administrative mechanisms for the sustainable management of the MEH system;
* Evaluate the financial, social and economic benefits and legal aspects of the MEH system;
* Promote awareness and participation of relevant stakeholders to support the MEH system; and
* Strengthen national and regional capacity in maritime safety and marine environment protection for the sustainable management of the MEH system; [more]
Lead Partner: Government of United States of America - City and County of Honolulu - Government of United States of America - City and County of Honolulu
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Asia and the Pacific Summary: The APUI Mayors' Commitments Program is a leadership capacity-building program. It will provide a comprehensive capacity-building service to local political leaders (e.g., Governors, Mayors) and city management executives (e.g., Municipal Commissioners, utility executives) in the Asia-Pacific region who wish to implement more sustainable, pro-poor development (SD) and service strategies for their jurisdictions. The APUI aims to work as a parallel and complementary partner to other programs and institutions, such as Local Agenda 21 and City Development Strategies, that are assisting city administrations in developing SD strategies.
A biennial, regional Summit of participating Governors, Mayors and city executives will be held to report and reward achievements, build new implementation partnerships, and prepare recommendations for policy reforms to provide a better enabling environment for Commitment implementation
The APUI believes that leadership to implement SD strategies involves more than individual skill and will. Leadership is the mobilisation of a community's diverse resources to address a common challenge or to achieve a common strategy. Leadership, therefore, is the product of both personal/professional abilities and an operating environment that enables innovation and sustained collaboration.
Partnership results would include:
- Improved local input into the design of infrastructure, housing, and service systems for their communities, including better consideration of long-term financial sustainability;
- Stronger involvement of sub-national and local political leaders in the preparation and implementation of local strategies and initiatives for sustainable development;
- Development of a tradition, within in the regional community of local government, to base political leadership on clearly defined commitments, objectives and reportable results;
- Improved national-level support and enabling conditions for bottom-up sustainable development initiatives;
- Identification and clarification of policy barriers to the effective participation of local communities in the implementation of Agenda 21 and related sustainable development agreements;
- Stronger representation and voice for sub-national and local government in national and regional processes for pro-poor sustainable development;
- Improved co-ordination of capacity-building support for sub-national and local leaders in the region;
- Increased partnerships between local authorities and national/regional/international NGOs and Major Group organisations to support implementation of local sustainable development strategies. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of France - Agence Française pour le Développement (AFD)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The main objectives of this initiative are the reduction of poverty by providing access to energy services, especially to rural populations, and the fight against climate change by controlling the growth of energy consumption and by increasing the share of energy from renewable resources in the energy mix of the developing countries. The initiative falls within the scope of reinforcing technical and institutional cooperation efforts to facilitate the structuring of national energy policies and the setting-up of the necessary structures for the proper design and realization of projects. In particular, it aims:
- To develop renewable energy markets and energy efficiency through the better use of the existing financial mechanisms, public-private partnerships, and the encouragement of "ethical" savings.
- To coordinate - in a structured, simplified way via creation of a common platform - the main financing steps for projects and programmes: identification and preparation of projects by ensuring consistency with activities supporting the reinforcement of capacities (and, in particular, urban/rural solidarity organizations in developing countries) and investment in the projects.
This initiative is characterized by the involvement of the private sector in all phases. [more]
Lead Partner: Observatoire Méditerranéen de l'Energie (OME)
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Africa Summary: The Southern Mediterranean region is facing high demographic and socio-economic development growths. In this context, energy demand is expected to increase. Presently, 83% of TPES in the region is satisfied by hydrocarbons. According to the OME BAU scenario, this will continue (annual increase of about 4.3% during 2005-2020). Consequently, CO2 emissions are expected to rise by 240% over the same period. This is unsustainable and many options do exist allowing the region evolving in a more sustainable energy development path. The region is indeed endowed with high potential of energy efficiency and renewable energy that need to be better exploited. Indeed, in addition to security of supply concerns, SEMCs need to address urgently climate changes as recent studies (GIEC…) confirm the vulnerability of the region and the important damages of their effects on their economies and development.
The aim of MEDITEP, a think tank on energy in the Mediterranean region, is to pursue and deepen the work already initiated within the “Summer Mediterranean University” (UMET) on the shared concerns adopted from the start: how can energy scenarios in the Mediterranean be followed up and evaluated? How is the situation evolving, how is it placed with respect to the initial and alternative scenarios? Are these scenarios acceptable and what are their impacts? and then to continue exploration of more specific topics: territories and sustainable development, globalization and new energy markets, investments & financing tools, technological innovation, technology transfer, research and development, regional cooperation, climate change, etc.
Several organisations and initiatives already work on these issues, but link and dialogue are missing. These are very important and need to be established in a stable way in order to allow better cooperation and facilitate convergence of efforts and achieve a sustainable development in the region.
Thus, the objectives of MEDITEP are to:
- Create a common framework for dialogue among all stakeholders from decisions makers to civil society on sustainable energy prospect in the region with particular focus on energy efficiency, access to energy and renewable energy;
- Investigate emerging concerns that need to be addressed and promote the dialogue and research on them;
- Make proposals to decision makers, international organizations, etc. on how to enhance sustainable energy in the region and to continue to instill a sense of urgency as to the decisions to take;
- Exchange experiences, knowledge and best practices;
- Promote networking on specific topics to be defined;
- Foster research, training, expertise and capacity building;
- Broad dissemination of information and awareness;
- Provide a single window information as a strong tool allowing update and exhaustive information on energy and sustainable development in the Mediterranean region, linking together institutions and initiatives working on these issues on the region. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Italy - Ministry for the Environment and Territory
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Mediterranean Summary: The two principal objectives of the programme are:
- to provide modern energy services particularly to rural populations;
- to contribute to the climate change mitigation by increasing the share of renewable energy technologies in the energy mix in the region.
In this perspective, the programme aims at developing a sustainable renewable energy market system in the greater Mediterranean Region, removing project, policy and trade barriers.
With a view to linking capabilities and market between developed and developing Countries throughout the Region and beyond, the program is built on three main sub-projects:
- tailoring of financial instruments and mechanisms to support projects;
- strengthening of policy frameworks and removing barriers to projects development;
- building a stronger private sector infrastructure, considering the positive role of ¡§Tradable Renewable Certificates¡¨ and ¡§Certified Emission Reductions¡¨.
These sub-projects aim to strengthen existing networks while favouring the creation of new relations between stakeholders.
Specific objectives:
delivering electricity to isolated rural populations, based on village-scale mini-grids;
accelerating the integration of REs on the national electricity grids with the objective of reaching grid stabilisation and meeting supply-demand balance;
addressing the global approach of REs introduction (mainly solar but also geothermal energy) in the building sector in coherence with the energy efficiency policy (the results of the MEDA/Solar thermal technologies Dissemination programme in the building sector will be integrated);
desalinating sea water, in order to increase drinking water supply and water availability for irrigation;
increasing agricultural water pumping by solar, wind and biomass powered water pumps;
disseminating cooling systems for the food conservation, powered by renewable, in farms and fisheries;
addressing, in the grid-connected urban and tourist areas, the household and the community demand for lighting, food and drugs cooling, access to the communication networks, using solar home systems, small wind turbines, biogas and biomass power technologies;
creating joint ventures and other manufacturing, assembly and distribution/installation capabilities in developing countries, so that they gain the maximum economic benefit from the Initiative; promoting certification / standardisation programmes for RE equipments.
These objectives will be reached by the implementation of innovative pilot projects to be considered a catalogue of best practices to be replicated, increasing the share of RE options available through already feasible RE power plants like wind farm, biomass co-combustion and hydro plants.
[more]
Lead Partner: United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: This initiative seeks to revive south-south transfers of know-how, expertise and technology to address critical social, economic and environmental issues associated with urbanisation and globalisation. A key indicator of success will be the revival of institutional programmes and support mechanisms for South-South cooperation. It also seeks to enhance the collective efficiency of international support programmes through harmonised approaches and the systematic sharing and exchange of working tools and instruments.
Expected results
(i) More effective and operational transfers of know-how and technology in sustainable urban development between cities and their civil society partners based on the matching of supply with demand for knowledge, expertise and experience;
(ii) More coherent and efficient support systems for city-to-city cooperation based on collective sharing of tools, methods and support mechanisms;
(iii) Renewed mechanisms for international support programmes for south-south city-to-city cooperation, technology transfers and exchange of expertise. [more]
Lead Partner: French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The Partnership aims at putting into place a specific technological and institutional model for meeting the needs for modern energy services in rural areas, using locally available renewable biomass resources, and through South-South technology cooperation.
The Partnership will be based on the following major components:
institution of sustainable mechanisms for collection and processing of biomass for energy production, through:
specific energy plantations, applying sustainable forestry management techniques, or;
collection and processing of forestry/agricultural waste products (rice hulls, wood chips, ...). [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Canada - Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Andean region Summary: The current project was made possible as a result of the strong institutional bonds created by a previous four Andean country multi-national initiative (funded through CIDA and NRCan, 1996-2002). The Project goal is to improve the quality of life for peoples of the Andes by reducing the negative impact of natural hazards (volcanoes, earthquakes and landslides). Through the project, updated and integrated geoscience and geospatial information on natural hazards will be provided for: 1- land use planning and, 2- natural hazard mitigation.
The Project will transfer technologies to the National Andean Geoscience Institutions of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela to enhance their capacity to efficiently and effectively provide on a continuous basis the required services:
1. To provide to the governments, communities, and planners geoscientific information fundamental to good decision making with respect to the placement of public works (infrastructure), and human settlements;
2. To contribute to mitigation of the effects of natural hazards on the local population and public works (infrastructure), to support sustainable development with more disaster resistant communities;
3. To increase the capacities of the Geoscience Agencies in the evaluation of geological hazards; and
4. To assist other government organizations such as Civil Protection agencies to incorporate geoscience information into emergency plans. [more]
Lead Partner: Association of American Geographers
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The general goal of My Community, Our Earth -- Geographic Learning for Sustainable Development is to build geographically literate generations able to use this knowledge in their everyday lives to bring about true sustainable development. In particular, the Program seeks to provide students and international leaders with the opportunity to discover and address real issues in their communities and their regions with respect to sustainable development issues, particularly Agenda 21, WSSD topics, UNCSD themes, and the Millenium Development Goals. [more]
Lead Partner: United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Building nationally the capacities of local and central governments, associations of local authorities, and training institutions to routinely integrate the lessons of experience from local demonstrations into national sustainable urbanisation and poverty alleviation policies, up-scaling strategies, and associated legal frameworks. In other words: Developing institutional frameworks and national networks for sustained EPM support. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Italy - Ministry of Foreign Affairs - University of Trieste - Southern African Development Community Forestry Sector Technical Coordination Unit (SADC-FSTCU)
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional SADC Summary: Building upon regional development potentials and institutional consensus of the SADC Secretariat and its member states, the capacity building and development contribution of the previous DGCS_SADC cooperation project (SECOSUD I) represents a solid foundation for the present partnership initiative.
The general aim of this partnership is to produce and establish a network of management oriented spatial decision support systems (SDSS) to promote the sustainable use of natural resources by private and public stakeholders while ensuring the durable social and economic development of rural areas situated in the SADC region affected by strong growing human pressure. The SDSS will be addressed specifically to Sustainable Management of Biological Resources (SMBR) by promoting the conservation of native plants economically useful compatibly with the long-term equitable economic growth and enhancement of productive capacity in rural areas. The network will comprise informatics tools with nodes located at selected Institutions that will:
- help understand the interactions between economically useful plants and the environment where they spontaneously grow and where they are cultivated,
- provide services to improve plant productivity without compromising the biological diversity of the region. [more]
Lead Partner: Novartis
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: State-of-the-art biomedical research institute for tropical diseases. Objective is to develop novel compounds and find partners for clinical development, manufacturing, marketing and distribution. No profit from poor people in developing countries, but potential for profitable operations in developed markets (re-financing the research costs). Initial focus on Dengue-fever and treatment-resistant tuberculosis. [more]
Lead Partner: International Association of Scientific Technical and Medical Publishers - United Nations Environment Programme - Yale University
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Through Online Access to Research in the Environment (OARE), a new international public-private partnership, the world’s most prestigious scientific publishers, societies and associations are now offering one of the world’s largest collections of peer-reviewed natural and environmental science literature to more than 1500 national institutions in 106 least-developed nations of Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and Eastern Europe.
Launched October 30, 2006 in New York, OARE has a mission to improve the quality and effectiveness of natural and environmental science research, education and training in low-income countries. In doing so, OARE will help achieve four primary development objectives:
• Growth in the number of national scholars and experts who will, through their knowledge and reputation, integrate into and facilitate the development of more progressive science-driven policy development processes, regulatory frameworks, and governance structures.
• Strengthen the intellectual foundation of universities and research institutions so as to enable faculty to perform research on a par with peers in industrialized countries, develop their own publishing record, and enable students to conduct research and seek education in new and emerging subjects.
• Build the capacity of independent national organizations to gather, interpret, and disseminate and use global scientific research. Local rather than foreign organizations will engage/empower end-users of information.
The average annual US institutional subscription fee of each title provided through OARE is approximately $1,500. Each institution enrolled in OARE will receive access to more than 1200 serial titles and search engines with a US annual retail subscription value of more than $1 million. The total US annual retail subscription value of scholarly literature and scientific search engines to be provided through OARE to all enrolled institutions is more than $200 million per year.
Research is provided in a wide range of disciplines, including biotechnology, biology, botany, climate change, wildlife conservation, ecology, energy, environmental chemistry, environmental economics, environmental engineering and planning, environmental law and policy, environmental toxicology and pollution, forest and fisheries sciences, geography and population studies, geology, meteorology, natural disaster prevention, natural resource management, oceanography, urban planning, water and hydrology, zoology, and many others. In addition to obtaining direct access to vast quantities of scientific findings, developing countries will be provided access to the world’s most powerful scientific abstract and information databases and indexes, critical intellectual tools the scientific community uses to identify information located in tens of thousands of articles across thousands of international publications.
[more]
Lead Partner: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environmental Programme (SPREP)
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Pacific Summary: The overall goal of this initiative is "to minimise environmental and health impacts from solid and hazardous waste generation and disposal in the Pacific region¿. This will be addressed through the following objectives:
- To raise awareness in Pacific Island countries at the community, government and political levels, and in the wider international community (especially industry), about the need for positive actions in solid and hazardous waste management in Pacific island countries
- To achieve significant reductions in the quantities of wastes currently sent to landfills, through effective waste minimisation programmes including elimination of wastes at source, enhancement of current recycling activities, and the development of recycling/disposal options for other wastes
- To upgrade current waste collection and disposal systems through incremental improvements to existing systems and adoption of best regional practices in all new disposal operations.
- To implement regional clean-up and disposal programmes for those wastes which cannot be dealt with effectively at a national level
- To assess current financial, regulatory, institutional and social barriers to effective waste management in Pacific Island countries and assist governments in developing strategies and systems for overcoming these barriers
- To develop and improve current institutional capacities for effective waste management in Pacific Island countries through targeted national and regional training programmes, and the development of on-going programmes within the relevant tertiary institutions, and the development and maintenance of appropriate information networks
Expected Results
- Significant reductions in the quantities of wastes that need to be disposed by landfill or other means
- Sustainable waste minimisation programmes established in all Pacific Island countries
- Reduced potential for adverse environmental and health impacts from on-going waste collection and disposal activities
- Current environmental and health impacts eliminated through clean-up and disposal of existing waste stockpiles and contaminated sites
- Permanent waste management positions established in relevant government agencies within each country, and staffed with appropriately qualified personnel
- Financial, regulatory and other relevant mechanisms adopted within each country to ensure effective and on-going waste management systems
- On-going community awareness programmes and activities in waste management [more]
Lead Partner: South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC)
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Pacific Summary: The main objective of the Initiative is to achieve sustainable water and wastewater management in Pacific island countries through:
* the establishment of a regional water network of persons and organisations, inclusive of country governments, development agencies, professional associations and donors, that work in the different fields of water resources management and service delivery in the region, to improve regional coordination and collaboration;
* the implementation of the Pacific Strategies for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene that aim to build and increase the capacity in Pacific Island Countries to deliver sustainable management of water and wastewater as a means to contributing to poverty alleviation. Sustainability has to be achieved in the technical, institutional, financial, environmental and social-cultural areas. SOPAC Member Countries have endorsed these strategies during the 30th SOPAC Annual Session (Majuro, October 2001), which are complimentary with the efforts towards the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the 3rd World Water Forum;
* implementation of the ¿Regional Action Plan for Sustainable Water Management¿, as agreed upon by Ministers, Heads of Delegation and representatives of civil society groups with responsibilities for water affairs from 16 small island countries in the Pacific, as well as East Timor and the Maldives as part of the regional consultation and preparation for the ¿Water in Small Island Countries¿ and ¿Dialogue on Water & Climate¿ themes of the 3rd World Water Forum, during the ¿Pacific Regional Meeting on Water in Small Island Countries¿, held in Sigatoka, Fiji from 29 July to 3 August 2002. The consultation process included the identification of national priority actions as determined by the participating countries on the basis of their national water strategies, national assessments and stakeholder consultations undertaken for WSSD and the 3rd World Water Forum, and the development of agreed regional actions through the consultation meeting process of plenary discussion, working group review and delegation approval.
[more]
Lead Partner: South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) - University of South Pacific (USP)
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Pacific Island Countries Summary: Main objective: Provide long-term community based capacity-building activities to fully integrate environmental and development needs, using people and customs as the central parameters for decision-making, management, fostering social cohesion and the promotion of sustainable community livelihoods.
Principles:
- People are at the core of the pursuit of sustainable development;
- Sustainable community lifestyles for Pacific Island communities and nations are dependent on the sustainable use of terrestrial, freshwater and marine biodiversity and the protection and application of traditional knowledge of this biodiversity.
- Traditional and local knowledge enhances scientific knowledge and can guide future directions to ensure pragmatic and mutually beneficial efforts;
- Environmental and sustainable development are for the people and communities and therefore their aspirations and needs should dominate policies, plans, decision making, management and practice;
- Sustainable development requires Environmental justice, and preservation of human rights.
- Early community involvement and partnering with government in the development and project pipeline presents the best means to suit people¿s aspirations, values, issues and priorities to socio-economic progress.
- Integrating environment and socio-economics in the development process provides the means for better decision making for sustainable development;
- Ensuring equity in development processes and environmental management, with social justice and empowerment through community development frameworks - will assist poverty eradication and improve people¿s quality of life.
Purpose: To develop local and national capacity to institute community development frameworks to assist with partnering, prudent anticipation and decisions regarding the planning for environmental change, as well as the pursuit of sustainable development to enhance the quality of life for all communities. [more]
Lead Partner: Partners for Water and Sanitation (PAWS) Secretariat
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Africa Summary: Partners for Water and Sanitation's aim is to help improve access to safe water and sanitation for people in four African countries, using expertise from the UK water industry.
PAWS is a not-for-profit partnership whose members come from government, private sector and civil society. PAWS uses the wide range of skills from these partners to provide advice and support to projects on the request of our partner countries.
PAWS works on projects that aim to build capacity through knowledge transfer in the water and sanitation sector to help to provide a sustainable solution.
Mission Statement: Helping others, in partnership, to promote sustainable water and sanitation provision through our sector expertise.
Lead Partner: World Resources Institute (WRI)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The Partnership for Principle 10 seeks to improve national public participation systems to ensure access to information, public participation, and justice in decision-making that affects the environment. Improved public access to information, participation, and justice in decision-making makes decisions more fair, legitimate, and sustainable. At the national level, a working public participation system enables individuals and groups to make informed choices and integrate social and environmental objectives in decisions on economic policies and specific development activities. As such, a public participation system is an essential mechanism for sustainable development.
National systems for public participation have many common elements, including policies, supporting legislation, institutional infrastructure, methods of dissemination, and timing of participation. Diverse national systems of public participation share areas of achievement as well as weaknesses and gaps. Recent assessments conducted by The Access Initiative of national public participation systems in nine countries, including Chile, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand, Uganda, and the United States, provide a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation of the strengths in these countries as well as specific needs for improvement in both policy and practice.
The Partnership for Principle 10 will work to address these implementation gaps and strengthen public access in areas identified as weaknesses. Based on independent assessments of national public participation systems, the Partnership will provide a vehicle for stakeholders to work together to strengthen areas of weakness.
The Partnership for Principle 10 is built around a set of common commitments, to which all partners agree. These common commitments serve as a statement of the Partnership's values and principles. The common commitments set the parameters for the scope of work of the Partnership. All partners, by joining the Partnership for Principle 10, commit to support the accelerated implementation of Principle 10 in their country and in their own practices. They also:
* Recognize that national public participation systems have common elements, and should be regularly and independently assessed by civil society organizations using a common framework of indicators-such as those developed by The Access Initiative-to identify strengths and weaknesses in implementation.
* Commit to collaborate across sectoral boundaries to identify implementation gaps, prioritize needed actions, and implement programs to strengthen capacity and improve performance.
* Commit to promote implementation of Principle 10 internationally through engagement with regional and international organizations, international trade agreements, and financial institutions, as appropriate. [more]
Lead Partner: Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Asia and the Pacific Summary: The objective of the initiative is to promote public participation effectively. Among other activities, it would develop guidelines to enhance access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters in countries in Asia and the Pacific.
Expected results include:
Enhanced public participation in the protection of the environment and promotion of sustainable development. The initiative is expected to deliver the following specific outputs:
(a) A study on institutional and legal arrangements for public participation in selected countries in Asia and the Pacific.
(b) A set of guidelines on public participation, access to information and access to justice in environmental matters for use in training programmes [more]
Lead Partner: UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs - Asian Development Bank
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Transport in developing countries is the one of the largest, and fastest growing, source of GHG emissions. Transport related CO2 emissions are expected to increase 57% worldwide in the period 2005 – 2030, and it is estimated that transport (passenger and freight) in developing countries will contribute about 80 percent of this increase. At the same time transport is largely missing in climate change mitigation policies and actions worldwide and in particular those aimed at the developing countries. Growing GHG emissions from the transport sector in developing countries are inextricably linked to an overall lack of sustainability expressed by poor urban planning, increased motorization, increased air pollution and noise, growing congestion and decreasing road safety.
Technological improvements by themselves will not be enough for the transport sector to make a significant contribution to mitigation of GHG; a sector wide re-orientation to low carbon sustainable transport is required which combines policies and measures to (a) avoid/reduce the need for travel, (b) shifts to, or keeps transport at the most efficient mode, and (c) improves efficiency of motorized modes of transport.
Developing countries should seize the opportunity to make their transport systems and infrastructure low carbon and more sustainable through a combination of: increased public awareness, low-carbon, sustainable transport policies, supportive policy instruments, institutional capacity development, appropriate pricing mechanisms and mobilization of financial resources.
The Partnership has as its overarching goal to mobilize global support to reduce the growth of GHG emissions generated by land transport in developing countries by promoting more sustainable, low carbon transport. The partnership has four specific objectives:
a. The integration of sustainable, low carbon transport in climate negotiations, as well as national and local climate policies and programs,
b. The integration of climate considerations in regional, national and local transport policies,
c. Mainstream Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport in strategies and operations of international development organizations,
d. Contribute to sustainable development and the millennium development goals especially providing access to or for goods and services by lower income groups.
The thematic scope of the Partnership is on land transport in developing countries and includes freight and passenger transport. Both motorized and non-motorized transport is included. The geographical scope of the Partnership is developing countries. The Partnership will initially focus on Asia, Latin America and Africa.
The Partnership builds on previous work on sustainable transport by UN-DESA within their mandate as defined by Agenda 21 and the CSD and a large series of events on sustainable transport and climate change by the members of this Partnership in both Asia and Latin America.
[more]
Lead Partner: World Agrofrestry Centre
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Asia and the Pacific Summary: Institutional mechanisms will be developed for recognising and rewarding environmental services generated by upland poor communities who implement sustainable production systems. New methods for transfer payments to upland communities will tested and monitored through action research; working models or best practices of successful environmental transfer payments adapted to the Asian context will be built.
The Program will develop an international partnership/consortium of research and development institutions, local community groups, government institutions, national and international NGOs, the private sector and funding institutions to create the knowledge to deploy rewards to upland, poor, communities who supply environmental services. The rewards for environmental services may include: secure land rights, secure resource user rights; access to markets; public infrastructure; revenues from environmental trust funds and carbon credits; financial incentives. Payments for environmental services by beneficiaries may include: payments to trust funds; user fees for recreation, hydropower and watershed protection; payments for carbon credits; budget allocation by national and local governments for environmental protection. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Italy - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate General for Development Cooperation (DGCS) - United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) - United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Goal: improve living standards among islands¿ residents while sustaining conservation of unique biodiversity.
Main challenge: foster the role of residents in setting planning agendas and participating fully in their islands' development.
Objective 1: provide opportunities for horizontal know-how transfer among relevant professional staff from both archipelagos, and to promote the involvement of the islands' residents in planning processes together with their participation in the sustainable development of the islands.
Low levels of awareness on the relationships linking the conservation of ecosystems, natural resources and biological diversity and the generation of concrete and sustainable development opportunities, is an issue to be addressed, at different levels, in both archipelagos. This extends to officials, community leaders as well as the local business community. There is an urgent need to strengthen the capacities of relevant institutions and society to work in a systemic and cross-sectoral fashion to improve the overall management of the island's resources.
Objective 2: contribute to the consolidation of relevant institutional capacities in the systemic planning and management of sustainable development, by promoting inter-linkage and information exchange between relevant institutions and administrations, as well as boosting their capacity to dialogue with local communities, NGOs and the general public. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Sweden - Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) - East African Community (EAC) Secretariat - East African Community (EAC) Secretariat
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Lake Victoria Basin Summary: In the Partnership Agreement between EAC and the Development Partners the following objectives are set out:
* To exploit the opportunities for development in the Lake Victoria Basin in a sustainable manner and address the present problems relating to economic and social development, poverty and environment
* To identify and investigate specific aspects of threats and obstacles to sustainable, economic, social and environmental development, and their underlying causes and propose relevant interventions
* To assist in the formulation of policies to guide the various actors involved with activities relevant to sustainable development in the region
* To build capacity through the development and strengthening of local institutions and organizations concerned with these issues
* To promote co-ordination of the development efforts undertaken by various authorities, institutions and bodies established within EAC with an interest in supporting the developments in the Lake Victoria Basin
* To provide consultative fora and focal points for various actors with an interest in the developments in the Basin
* To broaden the co-operation between EAC, the EAC member states and donor agencies
* To identify investment opportunities and work to create a climate conducive to investments
* To mobilize resources for the implementation of identified Programmes
* To promote the involvement of a broad spectrum of actors in the development process [more]
Lead Partner: Tropical Forest Foundation (TFF)
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Asia and the Pacific Summary: On a pilot demonstration basis, this initiative will seek to:
* Identify forest management units (FMU) or companies committed to the achievement of sustainable forest management.
* Integrate key aspects of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) principles into Forest management through introducing and verifying chain of custody arrangements.
* Provide reporting mechanism of SFM and chain of custody arrangements in order to satisfy USA distributors of forest products
* Ensure that Indonesian producers can be assured of market access for sustainably managed and produced forest products.
* To foster responsible and sustainable development through the encouragement and stimulation of sustainable forest management using a market orientated mechanism. [more]
Lead Partner: International Model Forest Network Secretariat
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Latin America and the Caribbean Summary: This collaborative initiative supports the development and establishment of a Regional Network of Model Forests in Latin America and the Caribbean. Model Forests are about translating higher-level policy goals into achievable and locally relevant models of sustainable use and best practices for the conservation of all forest resources. They use locally-based partnership to find working solutions to forest resource management issues through capacity building, improved decision-making and governance systems, economic diversification, integrated resource management, and poverty alleviation.
The Regional Centre:
- provides technical support to promote and strengthen model forest development in the region;
- documents and demonstrates best practices for sustainable forest management and sustainable economic development opportunities for local communities;
- substantially strengthens the transfer of technology from Canada to the region and among countries and projects in the region;
- secures new country and institutional partners and donors. [more]
Lead Partner: REEEP International Secretariat
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Accelerate a global market for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficient Systems (REES).
Tremendous financial resources from the private and public sector will be needed to meet developing and transition countries' future energy demand in a sustainable way. Obstacles prohibiting this development include a lack of reliable policies and regulatory measures, and the perceived high risk and low return investments in REES.
The removal of the obstacles to sustainable energy is urgently needed:
- Robust policies and favourable, transparent and stable regulatory frameworks are required to attract private investors and to guarantee affordable energy services to the consumers.
- New forms of financing, risk mitigation and guarantee models will be necessary to make small sized renewables and energy efficiency projects bankable and economically attractive.
REEEP aims to work as an enabler, multiplier and catalyser of institutional change, and to have a real impact over the next decade with the following objectives:
1. Significant global increase of investments in renewable energy
2. Significant global increase of energy efficiency measures
3. Significant increase in access to sustainable energy services for the poor
[more]
Lead Partner: Regional Institute for Environmental Technologies - Asian Productivity Organisation (APO)
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Asia and the Pacific Summary: SIGN3-Asias central aim is to promote sustainable investments and to assist in: developing synergies between private capital, institutional investments and Official Development Assistance (ODA). Bringing the broad financial resource streams together is the principal of synergies, which is primarily designed to boost sustainable investments in Asia addressing sustainable development and resource productivity along the global value chain. Shouldering responsibilities between Governments, International Institutions, Transnational Corporation, Local Entrepreneurs will help to leapfrog development and reduce investments risks while addressing the specific needs of each sector developing synergies with existing initiatives in Asia, supported by Asian Governments and interested parties, the UN the EU, USA, International Organisations, i.e., Development Banks, the OECD, Export Credit Agencies, AsRIA and a coalition of progressive business SIGN3-Asia means Sustainable Investment Global Network for Asia. The N3 in the term echoes the need to consider the triple bottom line of sustainable development economic prosperity, social equity and environmental protection in all investment decisions. SIGN3-Asia is a not-for-profit regional network.
SIGN3- Asia's Catalytic Role. There are a number of initiatives aimed at promoting FDI in Asia or affecting the form it takes. No initiative has so far been identified which addresses - sustainable foreign direct investment for a whole region and which attempts to bring the main stakeholders together. SIGN3 needs to build on these initiatives and encourage synergies instead of duplicating efforts. A priority for the initial stages of SIGN 3 is to make contact with the secretariats of all these initiatives and discuss how the synergies between the various initiatives can be exploited. [more]
Lead Partner: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The main objective of this partnership initiative is to facilitate and enhance advanced scientific and technological methodologies such as the Isotopes Techniques to the sustainable use of water resources and coastal zone management.
Expected results include:
* Improved understanding of the groundwater discharge to the ocean and sea water intrusion in the coastal aquifer processes by the application of wide spectrum of isotopes techniques.
* Increased capacity of coordination among experts in hydrogeology, oceanography, coastal resources management
* Improved capacity for efficient water resources and coastal zone management and related policy development achieved by more effective collaboration between the partner agencies.
* Increased capacity of national scientific and technical institutions to use advanced techniques such us Isotopes applications in relation to water resources and coastal zone management.
* Increased capacity for long-term sustained training capability on isotopes techniques applications through development of academic centers. [more]
Lead Partner: Stakeholder Forum for Our Common Future - Stakeholder Forum for Our Common Future
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Africa Summary: SEAL is a South-South partnership of civil and academic organizations that recognizes the importance of intra-Southern co-operation in promotion sustainable development.
The Secure and Equitable Access to Land (SEAL) partnership aims to secure equitable access by
* Furthering a pragmatic and programmatic approach to land development for food security in Africa
* Sharing the experience from other regions of Asia and Latin America, strengthening the networking structure of civil society in Africa
* Facilitating the adoption and replication of Southern initiative projects on securing access to land for the promotion of poverty eradication and food security within Southern countries with similar climatic and socio-political conditions
SEAL is the result of organizations agreeing to develop a unique collaborative programme to strenthen the networking structure of African civil society and share experiences from Asia and Latin America.
SEAL is a pragmatic networking partnership that is receptive and prepared to work with other networks in partnership for development
Specific Objectives include
* To strengthen civil society initiatives on land
* Strengthening community groups to form a cooperative society for food production and the diversification of land and agricultural resources
* To empower girl-child and women's groups, given the salience of gender equity and the advancement of women in promoting optimal
* To encourage best practices on land use issues, strengthening levels of mutual support and assistance through institutional training and exchange programs. [more]
Lead Partner: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The purpose of UNDP's Shared Rivers Governance Project is to build on and complement existing activities to:
- Support regional dialogue and build political will among decision makers in developing countries to jointly address integrated management and development of shared rivers, and
- Build capacity and provide support for the development of legal mechanisms and associated institutional structures for shared rivers management
The development objective of the Shared Rivers project is to improve natural resource management, improve the livelihoods of poor people, maximize benefits across the basin and promote regional stability. This will be achieved by providing strategic support for improved water governance of international rivers to advance socially equitable, environmentally sustainable and economically efficient management and development of the water resources. [more]
Lead Partner: Sister Cities International (SCI)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Sister Cities International is creating a network of sister city partnerships committed to implementing the concepts of sustainable development, as outlined by the international community. Through innovative, cross-cultural projects, sister city partners will demonstrate that locally based actions can: (a) be a catalyst for advancing sustainable development concepts throughout the world; (b) improve the quality of life for citizens within their communities; (c) advance the knowledge and practice of sustainable development through long-term, sustainable relationships; (d) mutually reinforce and integrate the goals of good governance, sustainable economic development, social development and environmental stewardship; and (e) achieve concrete results through partnerships with the public and private sector.
The Sister Cities Network for Sustainable Development will involve sister city communities and their citizens, international and U.S. non-governmental organizations, multilateral organizations, corporations, foundations and other major donors to address a variety of issues related to sustainable development as outlined in the United Nations' Agenda 21, the Plan of Implementation adopted at the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) and the Millennium Development Goals. Using the Sister Cities Internaitonal "model," sister city partnerships will promote the participation of local citizens in all levels of program development, including identifying project areas, suggesting and designing solutions, overseeing implementation and evaluating results. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Australia - Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID)
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Pacific Summary: The aim of this initiative is to enable Pacific Island countries to adapt to the future impact of climate change, climate variability and sea-level rise. Consistent with the objectives of the Pacific Island Framework for Action on Climate Change, Climate Variability and Sea Level Rise, the initiative aims to strengthen regional collaboration between relevant multilateral and regional technical agencies and other bilateral donors, and to enlist the support of key government, community and private stakeholders. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of El Salvador - El Salvador National Territorial Studies Bureau
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Central America Summary: The main objective is to contribute to risk reduction in Central America through the effective implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) and the action points of Agenda 21.
Given the frequency, variety and magnitude of the adverse natural phenomena that affect the Central American isthmus, and the vulnerability of its inhabitants, risk reduction is a key prerequisite to achieving sustainable development in the subregion.
Agenda 21 contains significant action points for hazard and risk reduction, particularly in the chapters on Sustainable Human Settlements, Environment and Development, the Planning and Management of Land Resources, Drought, and Protection of the Quality and Supply of Freshwater. The International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) can help to systematize the activities underway to meet these challenges and consolidate the many efforts aimed at risk reduction and environmental protection in Central America. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Indonesia - Ministry of Environment
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Asia and the Pacific Summary: At present many countries especially developing countries are facing increased growth in the mining industry. One shared issue facing countries having mining activities is the deterioration of its environmental quality such as surface and ground water, air, coastal and sea areas. Countermeasures taken to deal with the situation are the introduction of clean technology in carrying out processing and best mining practices in the mining products. These practices have been applied in developing countries with various results achieved.
Most developing countries have already environmental standards for emission, effluent, groundwater contamination in place as well as hazardous and toxic management guidelines. Nevertheless, mining industry still do not comply due to weak law enforcement, lack of monitoring capability and skilled human resources. One effective tool that can be applied is to improve the mining industries environmental performance and management through harmonization of environment standards within the developing countries.
This partnership aims to improve environmental performance and management of the mining industry through harmonization of environmental standards within the ASEAN countries which produce mining products.
Expected results include:
a. Create a demand from the public for environmentally mining process in complying with effluent, emission standards and hazardous and toxic management;
b. Pressurize mining industries to comply with existing environmental standards;
c. Heightened public awareness on mining industries that pollute;
d. Ensure openness and transparency in the implementation of environmental standards for mining industries;
e. Obtain reliable information on performance of mining industries; [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Italy - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate General for Development Cooperation (DGCS)
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional MAP area ( bordering regions of Madre de Dios (Perù), Acre (Brasil), Pando (Bolivia) Summary: The general objective of the programme is to improve the living conditions of the local communities while ensuring the conservation of biological diversity and other ecosystem resources and services of the Amazon forest. This will be achieved by improving the relationships among the different administrative, scientific, conservation and social groups present in the area toward the sustainable and harmonious development of the three neighbouring countries sharing the same ecosystems and, hence, planning and management problems and development opportunities.
More specifically, this objective will be achieved by jointly designing and carrying out a strategy, commonly agreed upon by, and with the contributions of public and private organizations, and the key groups of the three countries, toward the conservation and the sustainable use of the natural resources and of the biodiversity in the south-western Amazonian forest ecosystems.
The above target will be pursued by establishing a systemic transnational framework in support of the integration of existing relevant inter-institutional and information networks and attracting the involvement also of the international donors focussing on other sectors indirectly related to sustainable development and preservation of the biodiversity, such as the fight against drug production, poverty alleviation and food security, access to basic services like health and education, and the strengthening of equitable systems and processes and of social participation. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Italy - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate General for Development Cooperation (DGCS) - The World Conservation Union (IUCN)
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional WESCANA - West/Central Asia and North Africa Summary: This partnership reflects the spirit and supports the endeavours of the EU Water Initiative. It aims at contributing to sustainable, ecosystem-based freshwater management on the basis of an integrated, systemic approach linking two of the core development components related to water. The first component, water resource, refers to aspects such as water supply and storage, and their related technologies, institutional and policy frameworks and networks (e.g. on the development of dams, embankments, irrigation, schemes, etc.). The second component, water quality, pertaining to the maintenance of the freshwater ecological balance, biodioversity, and environmental and human health, etc, and related institutions, policies and networks (e.g. on land use planning, pollution control, biological requalification including biological and chemical monitoring and treatment, etc). The project will contribute to facilitating effective and informed policy and decision-making on integrated freshwater management by supporting the above interlinking through the creation of a strong regional systemic network of networks of national excellence and expertise. Further, this initiativ
Expected results include:
* Regional Water Programme Centre Jordan consolidated as focal point for the regional network of networks of sustainable water management expertise;
* Capacity of network partners built with the support of the Regional Water Programme Centre (including access to on-line information as well as regional training and monitoring), in propping up national systemic planning and management processes and, in turn, providing services to the partner countries of WESCANA;
* Institutional set-ups and legislative foundations analysed and synthesised as a basis for the development of sustainable water management policy in the WESCANA;
* Water conservation and sustainable use techniques inventorised, classified and analysed against sustainable, integrative water management;
* A number of pilot planning and management action implemented, jointly and/or in coordination, by two or more partner countries on transboundary/regionally shared management problems and/or development potentials, such as in water catchments/watersheds, groundwater basins, etc.e will support the implementation of partnership pilot planning and management action at transboundary/regional level. [more]
Lead Partner: Steering Committee on Transport, Environment and Health
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Europe and North America Summary: Transport, Health and Environment Pan European Programme (THE PEP) aims at making progress towards the achievement of transport patterns that are sustainable for health and the environment by focusing work at the Pan-European level on those priorities where further work of the international community is most needed and could make the biggest impact: integration of environmental and health aspects into transport policies and decisions; shift of the demand for transport towards more sustainable mobility; urban transport issues. In addition, special attention will be given to the needs of the Newly Independent States and South-Eastern European countries as well as to areas, which are particularly sensitive from an environmental point of view.
THE PEP streamlines and consolidates the WHO and UNECE activities on transport, environment and health with a view to a more effective use of resources and better co-ordination of efforts at the international as well at the national level. [more]
Lead Partner: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) - European Space Agency (ESA)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The principal objectives of the Integrated Global Observing Strategy are to address how well user requirements are being met by the existing mix of observations, including those of the global observing systems, and how they could be met in the future through better integration and optimization of remote-sensing (especially space-based) and in situ systems.
The Integrated Global Observing Strategy serves as guidance to those responsible for defining and implementing individual observing systems. Implementation of the Strategy, i.e. the establishment and maintenance of the components of an integrated global observing system, remains with those governments and organizations that have made relevant commitments, for example, within the governing councils of the observing systems' sponsors.
The "Theme" approach is a step-wise internal process based on perceived priorities towards the development of the integrated global observing strategy.
The IGOS Partnership brings together the efforts of a number of international bodies concerned with the observational component of global environmental issues, both from a research and a long-term operational programme perspective. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Italy - Department of Environmental Research and Development - UNESCO- IHP- International Hydrological Progra
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The objectives of the UNESCO-IMELS project “Water Programme for Environmental Sustainability (WPA II- Towards Adaptation Measures to Human and Climate Change Impacts)” are to:
- Set up best practices in remediation of climate variability and change impacts on water resources.
- Enhance capacity in managing water resources and protect groundwater resources.
- Develop methodologies that contribute to the management of surface and groundwater dependent ecosystems in coastal zones.
- Develop North-South cooperation taking benefits from the experience gained by Italian experts.
- Set up examples of coordination and management of transboundary aquifers. Facilitate the coordination between selected countries for the sustainable sharing of water resources. Develop case studies that can provide best practices for fostering cooperation in developing conflict resolution measures.
- Provide adequate training. Publication and dissemination of best practices.
- Improve wetlands sustainable management.
- Improve coastal management and training. [more]
Lead Partner: Caribbean Community Secretariat (CARICOM)
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Summary: The limited fresh water resources and high dependence on rainfall make water resource management a growing priority for Caribbean SIDS.
Specific objectives of the partnership are to:
* Assist in strengthening regional training capacity to provide the professional skills and the institutional capacity for more efficient management of water resources.
* Establishment of a regional network of persons and organisations whose responsibilities either interact with water resources supply or demand in a way that influences fresh water quality of quantity. The actors are often unrelated, where they should be integrated. Through the partnership, stakeholders that are important players, who, however, are not actively involved in water management, can effectively participate in improving management efficiency by exchanging views and experiences and helping lay the foundation for the full integration of the management of water resources.
* Improve access to safe water by poor communities.
* Increase availability and efficient utilization of water to the agricultural sector.
* Minimize pollution of water resources through capacity building and transfer of technology.
* Enhancing public awareness emphasising the need for better watershed area, water and wastewater management. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of India - Karnataka Urban Development Infrastructure and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC) - Government of United States of America - USAID
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Purpose: The Alliance Watergy Program works with local and regional partners in developing countries to develop sustainable strategies for increasing energy efficiency within municipal water supply systems. While water provision is the immediate concern of water utilities, energy for water pumping and treatment is one of the main components of a water utility¿s costs. In many developing countries the energy used for the basic service of water provision to urban residents accounts anywhere from 40 to 70 percent of a municipality¿s total budget. The fact that large numbers of people in the developing world still lack ready access to water places more pressure upon decision makers to develop sustainable energy and water management strategies. The Alliance Watergy Program¿s efforts are based upon a holistic model that incorporates the participation of important stakeholders involved in sustainable development of the urban area, and the sustained development of their technical, managerial and financial capacities to overcome the energy inefficiencies in municipal systems. This is done by systematically addressing a range of issues that affect municipalities such technical and managerial capacities, education and awareness, team building, equipment rehabilitation and maintenance, non-revenue water reductions, proper pressure management, effective demand side management, pre-paid water metering, etc. Through these efforts, the Alliance Watergy Program aims to achieve the larger purpose of providing local and regional institutions and organizations with a sustainable framework and the proper tools for addressing the long-term water and energy needs of their peoples.
Goals: The Watergy program evolves and changes as efficiency models are developed and new opportunities emerge. Goals for the program include:
- Build institutional capacity to improve water and energy resource management
- Advocate and assist in the integration of energy efficiency considerations in developing countries, primarily in the efficient operation and maintenance of systems supplying water services
- Promote energy-efficient technologies and practices, especially in optimizing and modernizing municipal water supply systems
- Increase education and awareness concerning energy efficiency and environmentally sound water and energy systems
- Develop innovative financing mechanisms to implement projects aimed at improving energy use in water delivery
- Develop centers of excellence on energy for sustainable development to support and promote capacity building efforts and technology transfer activities and serve as information clearinghouses [more]
Lead Partner: WAWI Secretariat
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional West Africa Summary: The West Africa Water Initiative (WAWI) works with communities and governments in Ghana, Mali, and Niger:
1) To increase the access to sustainable, safe water and environmental sanitation for poor and vulnerable communities in rural and peri-urban settings.
2) To reduce the prevalence of water-borne and sanitation-related diseases, particularly trachoma, guinea worm and diarrheal diseases through the promotion of personal hygiene and environmental sanitation practices.
3) To ensure ecologically, financially, and socially sustainable management of water quantity and quality.
4) To foster a new model of partnership and institutional synergy to ensure technical excellence, programmatic innovation, and long-term financial, social and environmental sustainability in water resources management that may be replicable in other parts of the world. [more]
to collapse the Summary of Partnerships.