Lead Partner: Government of United Arab Emirates - Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The Main objectives of AGEDI are:
Ø To achieve more cost-effective and relevant environmental data collection and assessment,
Ø To strengthen and enhance environmental capacity to collect, analyze, use and update multi-sectoral environmental data and information in the decision making process,
Ø To develop and strengthen means of ensuring that planning for sustainable development in all sectors is based on, inter alia, quality, timely, reliable, and usable environmental data and information,
Ø To make relevant environmental data and information accessible to all stakeholders in the form, and at the time, required to facilitate its use,
Ø To strengthen existing national and international mechanisms of information collection, exchange and processing,
Ø To strengthen mechanisms for incorporating environmental information in decision making,
Ø To strengthen national capacities, including capacities within governments, NGOs and private sector, in data/information collection, handling and communication, particularly in developing countries, and
Ø To ensure full participation of developing countries in the collection, analysis, assessment, use and update of environmental data and information.
Lead Partner: City of Ancona
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Europe and North America Summary: The Aap2020 project will support and manage the implementation of Agenda 21, involving all local governments of the two sides of the Adriatic region, through a participative process meant to encourage:
* urban and coastal development in all sustainability fields;
* sustainable approach to environmental resources and ecosystems, i.e. rational energy and water supply consumption, promotion of renewable energy and so on;
* improvement in the transport, information and communication fields;
* cooperation in the juridical and administrative field;
* cooperation among citizens and institutions;
* contribution to the fulfilment of European integration of all countries involved, to support human rights defence and to encourage same opportunities for men and women.
All these themes have been approached involving all regional and local stakeholders in a "shared process" oriented to define scenarios, objectives, indicators and actions for the Adriatic Region. The final step of the process will be given by the implementation of the Adriatic Action Plan 2020.
The Adriatic Action Plan 2020 will pursue the following results:
* Dissemination of sustainable development practices through methods of "shared governance";
* Improvement of integration and exchange among communities, searching for a conscious and sustainable life style, efficacious in satisfying necessity of collective and individual development;
* Intensification of economic and business exchange to increase commercial potential of sustainable products;
* Development of local markets and autochthonous productions with valorisation of typical products and local cultures;
* Improvement of standards of environmental quality for all concerned communities;
* Increase of global efficiency in using resources, particularly in the production of consumer goods, services and commodities,
* Closing of material production and consumption cycles with matter recycling and recovery of energy incorporated in products no more used. [more]
Lead Partner: Advisory Committee on Protection of the Sea (ACOPS)
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Sub-Saharan Africa Summary: * To identify areas, sites or living resources that are either suffering measurable degradation (i.e. hot-spots) or threatened with future degradation (sensitive areas) and to determine, through root-cause analysis, the leading causes of these impacts, taking into consideration scientific, technical and socio-economic factors.
* To design a programme of interventions, including demonstration projects and pre-investment studies, addressing problems of regional priority. Some projects are regional in scope, and focus on groups of countries united by geographic location or identified common problems. Site-specific projects of priority for the participating countries are also included.
* To strengthen existing regional institutions, in particular the Nairobi and Abidjan Conventions, and to establish synergies with relevant programmes and projects.
* To provide a framework for facilitating the mobilization of resources for the sustainable development of the marine and coastal environment, given that available funds for such projects are very limited.
* To produce a self-sustaining model that can be replicated in other regions or thematic areas in order to develop interventions that contribute to the goals of sustainable development. [more]
Lead Partner: Environment General Agency - Environment General Agency - Environment General Agency
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Africa Summary: The main objectives of the initiative are:
♦ To critically assess successes and failures in implementing Rio decisions in each member AU country
♦ To focus on the identification of accomplishments and areas where further efforts are needed to implement Agenda 21.
♦ To ensure that all members of African Union must have a safer more prosperous future by dealing with environment protection economic development and social development issues inbalanced manner.
♦ Accelerated economic and social development of Africa with better care for environment
♦ Awareness raising at regional, national and local level and further promote Agenda 21 in Africa. [more]
Lead Partner: The High Institute of Tourism, Hotels and Computer
Geographical Scope: Local Summary: The Alexandria Academy Association For Science (AAAS) is a non-profit non-Governmental organization registered in Alexandria- Egypt for educational and charitable purposes. AAAS is the owner of the High Institute for Tourism, Hotels, and Computer ( HITHC), which was established with the objective of promoting education in community sustainable development. The Institute activities include: education, development of model training programs, applied research, seminars, workshops, academic programs, and university partnerships.
Both AAAS and HITHC are concerned with activities that promote the following aspects:
a) Individual and community social and economical development.
b) Community Service
c) Community self -determination
d) Sustainable Tourism development.
e) Effective natural sources management
f) Poverty eradication
g) Rural development through introducing and promoting countryside tourism. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Costa Rica - Costa Rican Tourist Board (ICT)
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Latin America and the Caribbean Summary: The Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST), is one of the first systems, if not the first, to achieve the integration of the principle elements of sustainable tourism, analyzing good management practices, the environmental and social impacts of services, as well as the client's perception of image and the congruence between the service offered and the product's promotion. In its four years of operation in Costa Rica, CST has been able to objectively measure sustainability of operating businesses, improve business environmental and social practices, and motivate businesses to improve practices and clients to choose sustainable tourist businesses.
The main objective of this proposal is to transfer CST and make it fully applicable in other countries, in such a way that these countries can share a common foundation for promoting sustainability in tourism. This will achieve a number of goals: economies of scale, greater market recognition of the standard, increasing consumer awareness, and substantial improvement in the environmental and social impacts of tourism.
The widespread implementation of CST will produce direct individual benefits to businesses (reduced costs, increased occupancy, and better image) while offering substantial environmental and social guarantees to the local population. At a regional level, it serves as a unifier and a common basis for the promotion of sustainable tourism. [more]
Lead Partner: The Water Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean (CATHALAC) - The White Water to Blue Water Initiative (WW2BW)
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Latin America and the Caribbean Summary: The development objective of this project is to promote sustainable water and environmental management and human sustainable development. This will be achieved through capacity building, organizational strengthening, direct public participation, decentralized local governance, and small business development. Thus, the project proposes a participatory and bottom-up methodological framework to jointly address the water and environmental management issues, find feasible solutions and suggest new environmentally sound economic activities. Furthermore it is conceived as a project belonging to the local governments with which a protocol of cooperation has been established with CATHALAC. The application of participative strategies is expected to contribute to the strengthening of democracy and give a prominent role to achieving sustainable development, improving the quality of life of the population as a whole and especially the weaker strata including the indigenous Emberá tribe and women, and empowering them as stakeholders of their own destiny. [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
[more]
Lead Partner: ECOTRANS e. V. - United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) - Production and Consumption Branch - European Environment Agency (EEA) - World Tourism Organization (WTO) - UN Agency
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Europe Summary: DestiNet http://destinet.ewindows.eu.org - is a portal that provides information on sustainable tourism, and is primarily targeted at tourist destinations. Started in 2002 by the EEA the portal is now expanded to include Partner inputs from a wide range of tourism disciplines, via the ECOTRANS network of European sustainable tourism interests. The information provided on DestiNet includes tips on best practice in resource management, links to relevant websites and uploaded reports and articles.
The Partners intend to enhance the effectiveness of their multilateral efforts to protect the environment by focusing on improving communication and knowledge exchange among themselves and their stakeholders The effort will optimise decision making on issues relevant to developing, enhancing, and evaluating, policy measures, and the success of regulatory and voluntary actions concerning tourism and tourism destinations.
DestiNet website shall represent the leading communication and information dissemination platform for partners and relevant tourism communities to collaborate on information development and publishing Additionally the website will be used to organize events, select indicator methodologies, report on best practices, compare service eco-efficiency statements and labels, post news and announcements, propose models and tools for managing technologies and natural resources. [more]
Lead Partner: EVE-olution Foundation
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: OUR SOLUTION:
To increase the number and profit of women entrepreneurs in developing nations with the help of retired executives from developed nations to coach them.
OUR MISSION:
To sustain women entrepreneurs in developing countries to emerge successfully in the global market by embracing the ¿Export Fever¿®
OUR PROCESS:
We are capitalizing potentials and selecting them by MBAs worldwide and in site tutors
We are coaching women selected with the help of motivated retired executives
OUR GOAL:
To challenge their new influence and position with their country leaders to build a healthier and secure Planet for our kids. [more]
Lead Partner: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) - Uppsala University
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional The Baltic Sea region (Europe) and the Great Lakes region (USA & Canada) Summary: The goal is to develop a new educational package on Ecosystem Health and Sustainable Agriculture and transfer knowledge on sustainable agriculture, land use, rural development, ecosystem health and management to teachers, students and professionals in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR in Europe) and in the Great Lakes Region (GLR in USA & Canada). The Baltic Sea is affected by many different environmental problems from different sources. Discharges of nutrients from agriculture and waste-water treatment plants, as well as discharge from industries, and waste facilities leads to eutrophication and other forms of pollution. It is important to increase the knowledge of and improve the management of land and land use to prevent pollution from agriculture from reaching the Baltic Sea or the Great Lakes. It is also of great importance to use the whole ecosystem health concept to understand and prevent problems for the future. As the need of knowledge regarding ecosystem health, sustainable land use in rural areas, rural development and sustainable agriculture will be a precondition for our future, it is of great importance that this knowledge can be offered to students, teachers, experts and people working in government offices, ministries, municipalities and as agricultural advisors and agricultural managers in the Baltic Sea region and in the Great Lakes region.
The goal of the project is to transfer knowledge through a series of seminars and training courses and at the same time to develop a new educational package on sustainable agriculture, land use, rural development, ecosystem health and management to teachers, students and people working in government offices, ministries, municipalities and as agricultural advisors and agricultural managers.
This partnership cooperation is unique, as it not only represents the Baltic Sea region (Europe) and the Great Lakes region (USA and Canada) but it also represents a cooperation between agronomists, veterinarians, nature geographers, biologists, chemists, animal scientists, wildlife biologists, public health professionals, economists, business and policy experts etc. It also elaborates a new concept on sustainable agriculture and its part in the rural ecosystem. In this course package not only will sustainable agriculture from the different aspects represented by the above mentioned professions be covered, there will also be substantial knowledge on such subjects as land use and rural development, climate change, ecosystem health and the interactions between the wild and domestic animal populations, as well as public health components and poverty alleviation.
The EHSA project contributes to the implementation of the Baltic 21 Agricultural sector action programme, where education, training and information for farmers, future experts and advisors, policy makers and consumers figure as one of the most important actions. It is also a Baltic 21 Lighthouse project since March 2007. [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: 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 Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) - United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Great Apes Survival Project (GRASP)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Main objective of the Partnership is to lift the threat of imminent or medium term extinction faced by the four main kinds of great apes (bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans.
The immediate objectives leading to the achievement of the Partnership's goal include;
- To promote the Global Strategy for the Survival of Great Apes and Their Habitat;
- To determine the potential of sites, monitor populations of great apes and establish a database of great ape population information;
- To collate and analyse existing projects and initiatives at different levels, in order to identify gaps and set priorities in action and to encourage coordination and cooperation;
- To encourage range States to prepare and implement national action plans for the survival of great ape populations and their habitat and ensure that they have the necessary resources to do so;
- To prioritize the use of resources for optimum effectiveness and identify funding areas that are currently neglected and underfunded;
- To promote and enforce a legal framework for the survival of great apes and their habitat in the countries concerned;
- To identify and support income-generating initiatives for the benefit of communities living in and around great ape habitat and protected areas, with due consideration for indigenous communities and to ensure, where it becomes imperative to resettle indigenous people in conformity with United Nations guidelines, that compensation is paid with international support;
- To educate and raise awareness among local populations;
- To help generate new and additional funds for the survival of great apes and their habitat and to ensure that the international community in the widest sense (donor States, international organizations and institutions, non-governmental organizations and representatives of private business and industry) provides effective and coherent support to the efforts being made by the great ape range States.
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: Government of Malta - Malta Environment and Planning Authority - Government of Malta - Malta Environment and Planning Authority
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The aim of this partnership is to undertake international research to develop an integrated framework for assessing and selecting policy tools and technological options necessary to implement sustainable development in small islands. A secondary objective of this proposal is to ensure the involvement of stakeholders in the research process and to transfer this framework to policy-makers in government, in order to ensure the quality and implementation of the research carried out.
It is increasingly recognized that islands and island regions exhibit ecological, geographical, social and economic constraints that demand particular attention. At the same time, while it is generally recognized that a coordinated, integrated and ecosystem approach is needed to address sustainability issues in islands, there is a lack of well-developed policy tools to facilitate this. This project aims to fill this gap by providing integrated tools and policy approaches for implementing sustainability in island regions. [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: International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN) - International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The main objective of ICRAN is to halt and reverse the decline in health of the world 's coral reefs. ICRAN is an innovative and dynamic global partnership of many of the world's leading coral reef science and conservation organizations. The partnership draws on its partners' investments in reef monitoring and management to create strategically linked actions across local, national and global scales. ICRAN is thus the first partnership to respond to conservation needs at the global scale by recognizing both traditional and scientific perspectives of coral reef dynamics and respective social dependency. It seeks to put financial mechanisms in place that support the translation of findings into direct on-the-ground action throughout the world's major coral reef regions.
ICRAN is proposing:
* To expand its scope and its range of global partners
* To extend its field action to new regions (including three regional seas in the Indian Ocean area) not presently included in the network
* To focus on tourism by raising awareness on responsible holiday-making [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: 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: 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: 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: Government of Spain - Government of the Basque Country - Nrg4SD Secretariat
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Nrg4SD Network was formed by the "regional governments" -understood as the largest and first level of political subdivision within an individual state represented at the UN but which is above de municipal level- that attended the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development, to share information and experience about sustainable development policy-making at the regional level of governance. They agreed the `Gauteng Declaration' which is the founding document of the Network. Nrg4SD promotes understanding, collaboration and partnerships in sustainable development and seeks greater international recognition of the importance of the contribution which regions make to sustainable development. Nrg4SD aims to be a voice for, and to represent, regional governments at the global level, promoting sustainable development at regional level around the world. Nrg4SD has members from the five United Nations (UN) regions of the globe and focal points in each of them. [more]
Lead Partner: South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO)
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Pacific Summary: * Address and achieve the priorities of sustainable Tourism development in the Pacific, including income generation and equitable distribution, poverty alleviation, environmental conservation, a means to address good governance and gender disparities
* Achieve sustainable tourism operations throughout the Pacific
* Maintain the pristine environment and cultural diversity which facilitates the promotion of PICs
* Mobilisation of resources to ensure sustainable tourism practices
* Improved waste management related to tourism activities [more]
Lead Partner: Government of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia Summary: Mission statement: To contribute to the protection and improvement of the environment, an improvement in quality of life, and the promotion of sustainable development in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia, through partnership projects involving the public and private sectors and civil society.
[more]
Lead Partner: Government of Mexico - SEMARNAT: Subsecretaría de Fomento y Normatividad Ambiental - Rainforest Alliance - United Nations Environment Program - DTIE
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Sustainable tourism works to protect the environment and the rights and livelihoods of local communities. Tourism businesses – including hotels, lodges, and tour operators -- can demonstrate their commitment to sustainability by meeting the standards for social and environmental practices that have been created by leading national and international certification programs. These objective, third-party organizations offer an authoritative “seal of approval” to those businesses meeting standards that conserve biodiversity and promote the well-being of workers and communities. There are more than 50 certification programs worldwide that have created national and international standards for sustainable tourism and ecotourism, and more are being created every year. However, key questions arise about them:
How can the public tell which of these programs are credible?
How can tourism businesses choose which sets of standards will have legitimacy?
Which programs can show that they are making a difference – that certified tourism businesses have tangible impacts on workers, communities, and the environment and that businesses benefit from being certified?
And how can tourists be confident that the programs audit, certify, and provide continuous monitoring of those businesses that are serious about social and environmental sustainability and accountability.
In response to these challenges, a coalition of tourism industry associations, nonprofit civil society organizations (NGOs), private foundations, and U.N. and government agencies has been working to create a global Sustainable Tourism Stewardship Council (STSC) -- an umbrella organization that would set universal minimum standards for certification programs and accredit those that meet them. This effort is currently being led by a board of directors that includes 17 organizations including representatives from international NGOs and the private sector and a Technical and Scientific Council that with participation of the United Nations Environment Program, the UN World Tourism Organization, and Rainforest Alliance, the international conservation organization that has provided technical and administrative leadership for the effort since 2001.
[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 Indonesia - Ministry of the Environment
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Asia and the Pacific Summary: Main objective of the partnership/initiative:
1. Increase the benefit from sustainable tourism resources for the population in the host communities.
2. Enhancing the protection of conservation area by environmental education.
3. Explore and utilize of depth environmental friendly technologies.
4. Develop technology of cleaner production for supporting sustainable tourism activities. [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: Yachay Wasi - Yachay Wasi
Geographical Scope: Local Summary: Surging from a pressing environmental need, this Partnership was implemented by the Indigenous NGO Yachay Wasi (based in New York City, USA and in Cuzco, Peru) to assess and stop the growing chemical contamination of 4 Andean mountain lakes, one of them affecting the village of Acopia in Peru, birthplace of Luis Delgado Hurtado, Yachay Wasi co-founder and president, who now resides in Cuzco, Peru.
This environmental and educational project is geared to the recovery of the circuit of 4 lakes located in the provinces of Acomayo and Canas, Dept of Cuzco, in the Peruvian Andes (altitude: 3,600 meters (11,811 feet)). There are several Indigenous communities living near these lakes with a 2002 estimated population of 25,518 inhabitants.
Lakes are: Laguna Acopia near the village of Acopia, Lagunas Pampamarca and Asnacocha (Mosoqllaqta) near the village of Mosoqllaqta, Laguna Pomacanchi near the village of Pomacanchi.
The inhabitants of these respective Indigenous villages and many other smaller Indigenous communities rely on these waters. The contamination of these lakes has been a growing problem over the past few years. The lakes waters are not used for drinking, but the fish, a daily staple from these lakes, can become a potential health hazard.
The Project has the goal to clean the waters and banks of these four lakes and to recover the biological diversity, flora and fauna representative of this important site; to educate and assist the communities on ways to prevent future contamination, which will include recycling of solid waste, building/upgrading septic tanks and laundry facilities in some villages.
One way of recovering the biological diversity of this area was initiated in May 2008: planting Native Trees around lakes and communities.
[more]
Lead Partner: United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS) - United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) - International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) - Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) - United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The main objective of the partnership is to provide technical assistance and build the capacities of SIDS for the integration of comprehensive risk management including disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness into sustainable development planning and help relieve the consequences of disasters, extreme weather events and other emergencies.
Expected results include:
Sustainable Development Plans prepared and implemented to reduce vulnerability to natural disasters generally and in key sectors such as agriculture, tourism and fisheries.
Greater use of financial instruments and incentives for risk reduction.
Necessary legislation, planning, building and development standards and codes established and systematically enforced.
Public education and awareness improved, including the development of participatory approaches to disaster reduction planning and activities.
Regional networks strengthened including sharing data, best practice examples, early warning, coordinated emergency response systems and other co-operation mechanisms.
Enhanced inter-regional co-operation and information and technical expertise exchange.
SIDS vulnerability to hazards fully incorporated into environmental, social and economic vulnerability indexes and indicators.
A special SIDS fund established to support incorporating disaster mitigation, preparedness into sustainable development planning and to ensure better emergency response and co-ordination of donor support to activities. [more]
Lead Partner: Department of Economics and Social Affairs Small Island Developing States (SIDS) UNIT - Global Coral Reef Alliance
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional AIMS, Caribbean and Pacific Island Regions Summary: The SIDS Partnership for Implementation of New Technologies for Sustainable Development, brings together United Nations Agencies with a focus on Small Island Developing States (SIDS), SIDS Governments, Non Governmental Agencies, and the Private Sector to raise awareness and funding for the implementation of new, underutilized, but proven technologies for climate change adaptation and mitigation, renewable energy production, restoration of coral reefs and fisheries habitat, restoration of soil fertility, aquaculture, and waste recycling for SIDS. The partnership focuses on critical, low cost, highly effective, but little known, new technologies that are applicable on small to large scales, and which have not been covered by other venues at UN Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD).
[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: Youth for Sustainable Development Assembly-Pilipin - Youth for Sustainable Development Assembly-Pilipin
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Southeast Asia Summary: This initiative aims to pilot at the sub-regional level a self-sustaining capacity development mechanism for the continuous and direct involvement of local and national youth organizations in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of community-level (village level) sustainable development efforts (eco-village initiatives) in 10 pilot communities in each of the following target countries in the South East Asia Sub region: Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.
The initiative will link both information and community organizing technologies to facilitate through capacity development interventions, the transformation of existing local community groups supported by national youth networks to self sustaining and politically strong youth cooperatives or enterprises engage in sustainable livelihood in such eco-preneurial (conservation-based) enterprises as: a) community-based coastal resource management, b) community-based forest management, c) community-based sustainable agriculture, d) community based ecological solid waste management and e) community-based eco-tourism.
The information generated and manage through an electronic information system once transformed into non-electronic forms of information sharing tools useful and usable at the community level can then be used both for accessing relevant information and opportunities and as a marketing & promotions mechanism for the products and services that will eventually be developed out of the expected community youth-led eco-enterprises to sustain the respective operations of the target community youth groups. [more]
Lead Partner: Southern Caucus Of NGOs For Sustainable Development
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: THE PARTNERSHIP SHALL:
1. Establish Five Multi Regional Centers to assist in recruitment, mobilization and development of human resources and strengthen Southern Major Group NGO Institutions on Local, National and Regional Levels and increase their Capacity to participate in and contribute to the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation Locally, Nationally and Regionally.
2 Seek resources to implement National NGO Action Plans to Eradicate Poverty, complementary to Government Plans
3 Report on the impact of reduction of poverty programs using UN CSD measurements and report on NGO Sustainable Development achievements and obstacles to participation in Local, National and Regional Sustainable Development.
4 Increase participation of Southern Major Group NGO¿s as observers and experts at Government Regional Meetings with feedback to local communities.
5 Replicate to NGOs in the countries served by the Centers best practices and expert programs developed by National and Regional NGO Major Groups that contribute to Sections IV to VIII of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, including the following:5a Reduce digital divide problems through Digital Divide Centers linked to Distance Learning, Technology Exchange, Higher Education, Research, Technical Assistance and Communications Programs,
5b Provide .
5c Participate in Monitoring and Management of Watersheds, Forests and Carbon Exchange programs [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Benin - Ministry of Planing, Beninese Centre for Sustainable Development (CBDD) - Government of Bhutan - Ministry of Finance, Sustainable Development Secretariat (SDS) - Government of Costa Rica - Ministry of Energy and Environment, Fundecooperation
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: To promote sustainable development on a south-south basis through long term partnership between Benin, Bhutan and Costa Rica by implementing Agenda 21, program for further implementation of Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of implementation based on the principles of equality, participation and reciprocity. Recognizing that lasting poverty alleviation will be achieved only in the context of sustainable development, the partnership will seek to catalyze the transition to sustainability by supporting innovation in the policies, seeding initiatives and replicating success stories. As the first step to translate the vision and objectives of the partnership into concrete projects, a program for south-south co-operation (PSC) was launched in May 2005. Biodiversity conservation, sustainable tourism, sustainable chains of production and consumption and sustainable energy are the key themes with gender equality as cross cutting issue. The partnership will be implemented through policy dialogues, consultation and participation of the multi-interest groups with focus on pilot and reciprocal projects. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of South Africa - Eskom (South Africa National Electric Utility)
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Africa Summary: Eskom proposes to facilitate the establishment of a NEPAD Funding Commission ("NFC"), a body proposed to be aligned with both NEPAD and the Investment Advisory Council ("IAC"), an alliance of the United Nations Council on Trade and Development and the International Chamber of Commerce. The intention of the NFC is to create a facilitating body for the investment of funding by donor and development agencies into infrastructure projects in Africa. This is consistent with one of the aims of the New Partnership for Africa's Development ("NEPAD"), which is increased overseas development assistance ("ODA") through a reformed ODA delivery system, to ensure that flows are more effectively utilized by recipient African countries.
The aim of the Fund would be to harness and leverage financing from Eskomr, together with funds made available by various international development and financing agencies, such as the South African Industrial Development Corporation ("IDC") and the Development Bank of Southern Africa ("DBSA"), to maximize the benefits of new energy and electricity infrastructure projects undertaken in Africa, whilst minimizing the risks associated with such projects in Africa, to private investors.
The intention of this initiative is to assist in the creation of economic sustainability, so that, while the focus is on energy, the intention is to seek integrated projects, which cover a longer value chain, through the integrated approach assisted by the NFC. One of the key features of NEPAD is the promotion of value-added processing on the African continent. the initiative will support job creation as one of the most important determinates of economic growth for the African continent. The Fund will not only generate jobs in the energy sector, but will greatly influence sectors such as construction, telecommunications, information technology and financial services. Associated economic opportunities are to be investigated in the areas of transport, mining, manufacturing, agricultural processing and tourism.
The purpose of the fund is to promote sustainable socio-economic development in Africa. Projects to be funded must adhere to the principles of best practice. They must also identify related social and environmental initiatives in order to realise synergies [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Canada - Industry Canada
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: By partnering with cities in developing and emerging economies, the SCI helps cities define their sustainable development objectives and implement projects to improve the environmental and human health of their community. Multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder city teams (Canadian private sector, government and NGOs) combine forces and resources with local authorities to develop and implement city sustainable development plans. The SCI's main areas of focus are all priority areas for sustainable urban development: clean water, waste management, clean energy, transportation, housing, capacity-building, urban planning, telecommunications, urban infrastructure projects, and waterfront development. By showcasing Canada's expertise in sustainable development technologies and services, the SCI demonstrates the important role the private sector can play in reducing poverty, enhancing quality of life and promoting the principles of good governance. [more]
Lead Partner: Caribbean Community Secretariat (CARICOM)
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Caribbean Summary: The overall goal of this initiative is to develop capacity to address the current threats to the environmental quality of the Caribbean Sea. This growing threat endangers the sustainable provision of goods and services that is the basis of the economy of the majority of countries across the region. A healthy Caribbean Sea is essential to the livelihood and aspirations of Caribbean people.
The special initiative is intended to assist with the implementation of the Plan of Action for sustainable development of the Caribbean Sea. The initiative will help harmonize and build upon ongoing programs being implemented within the region, and to implement priorities identified at the first ever meeting between leading environment and sustainable development actors from government, academia, NGOs and donors from Central America and the Caribbean, at which sustainable development of the Caribbean Sea was identified as the priority for collaboration and partnerships. [more]
Lead Partner: Caribbean Community Secretariat (CARICOM) - University of the West Indies
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Caribbean Summary: The overall goal of this initiative is more sustainable management of land resource across the region in order to reverse land degradation and desertification. Current management of land resources need significant improvement in order to address loss of fertility, reduction in fresh water resources, loss of biological diversity, and degradation of coastal ecosystems that are part of the unintended consequences of current land use and management practices. To increase the capacity for sustainable land use (including agriculture, settlement development, tourism, forestry and livestock) in the region, a partnership of national, regional, and international organisations with farming and forestry communities is being proposed. The components of the partnership will be integrated land use management, appropriate technologies, food security, economic development, and environmental protection. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Burkina Faso - Regional Agency for Support and Consulting on Tourism and Development (ARTODEV)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The project's purpose is to use experiments currently being carried out in various countries in order to analyze the conditions conducive to developing forms of tourism in line with the stated sustainability criteria, and to suggest methodologies for implementing these new approaches as well as for their follow-up and evaluation. This will involve transforming experimentation into development programmes for emerging countries and offering validated methodological tools to national authorities.
The first phase will consist of identifying experiments in progress, selecting the "best practices," and analysing and evaluating them in order to identify the appropriate model-building parameters. This "expertise" will be able to make use of comparative data from similar experiments carried out in developed countries, particularly in fragile rural areas.
The financial and methodological assistance for these experiments will make it possible to verify, during a second phase, the feasibility of their increased use and of their ability to have a greater impact on the diversification and qualitative improvement of tourism in these countries.
The project will directly benefit village communities involved in developing this form of tourism as well as local authorities, who should enjoy an increase in revenues from tourism and a greatly enhanced image abroad. It will indirectly benefit customers, who will have access to better information about the products available and a more diversified offer, and who, because of the labels that can be used, will have greater confidence in the redeployment of monetary flows towards local populations. [more]
Lead Partner: EON Foundation
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Greater Mekong region Summary: Project Goal: Globally communicative high school students able to take individual and cooperative actions for an economically prosperous and environmentally sound future for all societies in and around the Mekong River.
Project Objectives:
1) train teachers at local, and regional levels
2) develop ongoing student English for Sustainability projects in Thailand, Laos,
Cambodia, China and Vietnam
3) link projects through student generated website
4) empower students to develop their local communities through responsible individual and
cooperative actions
5) document projects for schools in other areas to adapt to local needs
Project Educational Themes:
1) poverty reduction through employable skills (English Language / computer literacy)
2) environmental protection through adoption of sustainable business practices
3) capacity building through delivery of English for Sustainability curriculum, pedagogy
and innovative technological transfer
Lead Partner: Government of South Africa - Department of Environment and Tourism (DEAT) - Government of South Africa - Statistics South Africa (StatSA)
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Africa Summary: The Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) system, which is a statistical tool that measures the total economic impact of tourism, was developed by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) in 1995 with the objective of defining a new statistical instrument to assist government officials, business executives and stakeholders within the tourism industry to make informed decision.
The benefits of a Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) are numerous and enable a country to measure the following:
The proportion of a country's GDP i.e. the total output of all goods and services the country produces annually that are attributable to tourism activity
The size of the tourism industry relative to other sectors of a country's economy
The number of jobs generated by tourism activity
The value of public and private investment related to tourism
The effect of international tourism on a country's balance of payments
The value of government income generated by tourism in the country
The importance of a TSA for African countries is that it will provide the vital information required to assist African countries in policy formulation, decision-making and strategic planning to boost tourism growth on the continent. The information produced from a TSA would also ensure that tourism development on the continent takes place in a sustainable manner.
This initiative will result in:
* Financial investment in establishing appropriate infrastructure for the collection of tourism statistics.
* The knowledge base of officials in African countries would be greatly enhanced in as far as the application of TSA is concerned.
* The measurement of the economic impact of tourism through the provision of accurate information of African countries
* Development of policies and strategies in African countries to boost tourism growth will be informed by accurate information. [more]
Lead Partner: The Travel Foundation - The Travel Foundation - The Travel Foundation
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: To create a step-change in the implementation of sustainable tourism practices by the UK outbound tourism industry, and to build the foundation for an ongoing process of continual improvement and engagement, by:
- Increasing the economic benefits from tourism by promotion of sustainable livelihoods for local communities from meeting the needs of the tourism industry.
- minimising the use of scarce resources - land, soil, energy and water.
- reducing pollution, waste, noise and congestion
- conserving of plants, animals, ecosystems and landscapes including protected areas
- respecting the integrity of the local cultures and avoiding negative effects on social structures of communities affected by the tourism industry
- encouraging responsible behaviour by tourists [more]
Lead Partner: Government of United States of America - Department of State
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The Clean Energy Initiative (CEI) is an umbrella energy partnership comprising U.S. activities in the Global Village Energy Partnership, Cleaner Fuels and Vehicles Partnership, Partnership for Clean Indoor Air, and Efficient Energy for Sustainable Development. Collectively, these components will increase access to modern energy services, promote clean transportation fuels, indoor cooking and heating practices, and improve the productivity and efficiency of current energy systems reducing waste, saving money, and improving reliability. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of United States of America - U.S. Department of State
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Caribbean Summary: The White Water to Blue Water Partnership designed to promote integrated watershed and marine ecosystem-based management in support of sustainable development, is underway in the wider Caribbean.
Objectives:
1. To increase coastal state and regional capacity for cross-sectoral approaches to management of watersheds and marine ecosystems.
2. To develop a framework for regional management programs that will promote a common vision, the efficient use of program resources, and address the entire scope of watershed and marine ecosystem management from forests to the sea.
3. To reverse the downward trend in fisheries.
[more]
Lead Partner: Huxley College of the Environment (Western Washington University)
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Mediterranean Summary: AWISH - Hellas - Mesogeiou is a nonprofit registered in Greece and in the United States (Washington State) for educational and charitable purposes. AWISH's objective is to promote understanding and education in community sustainable development. The Corporation's activities include the development of model programs, applied research, seminars, academic programs and university partnerships, workshops and activities which demonstrate sustainable community development that promote a community's social, economical, and environmental well being, including activities that promote: a) individual and community mental, social, economical and spiritual health, wellness and wellbeing, b) community social-interaction, c) community service, d) social, economical and environmental justice, e) community self determination, f) environmental education and human and natural resources protection, g) community energy sustainability and recycling, h) biodiversity, i) environmentally sound economical development, j) culture and architectural resources protection and enrichment, and k) creative artistic and endeavors including fine and performing arts. [more]
Lead Partner: Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbz)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Partnership for the creation of an international communication and information platform on sustainable consumption (SC) for youth.
The partnership will consist of a platform for capacity building on sustainable consumption for schools, local authorities and consumer organisations. Capacity building will be facilitated through the provision of pedagogical materials as well as a of a space ( meetings and a electronic forum) for the exchange of experiences among youth. The project attaches importance to the language used: the concepts and issues related to sustainable consumption as well as sustainable development will be transmitted using visuals, text, youth icons, concrete examples in order to bring closer to the day to day reality of young people. The partners believe that to stimulate critical thinking in young consumers one has to talk to them a language understandable to them and icons they recognise as their own and provide critical material and reliable information rather than "already packaged dos and don'ts"and will operate with the following objectives:
The partnership is based on a awareness raising and training web-site www.yomag.net and will operate with the following objectives:
* Provide reliable and integrating information about the concept of sustainable consumption at global level. In particular, provide a critical insight in the global environmental and social impacts and challenges of the current consumption patterns of affluent societies.
* Offer an online platform" for the exchange of ideas, visions and projects to youth from all over the world.
* Provide youth, communicators, teachers and consumer organisations with the tools to efficiently communicate about sustainable consumption.
* Through teachers ans students workshops, allow youth from all over the world to meet, exchange perspectives and experiences on their different consumption patterns and to envision concrete solutions to the imbalances to goods and resources.
* Establish and link networks of education authorities and other relevant institutions in the field of education and consumer organisations to enable capacity building, awareness raising and mutual understanding of the problems and imbalances linked to current consumption patterns and the solutions to overcome them. [more]
to collapse the Summary of Partnerships.