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: 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: International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Development objective: To increase the productivity of water for food and livelihoods, in a manner that is environmentally sustainable and socially acceptable.
The immediate objectives of the Challenge Program on Water and Food:
1. Food security for all at household level.
2. Poverty alleviation, through increased sustainable livelihoods in rural and peri-urban areas.
3. Improved health, through better nutrition, lower agriculture-related pollution and reduced water-related diseases.
4. Environmental security through improved water quality as well as the maintenance of water related ecosystem services, including biodiversity.
These form the four key dimensions in which progress towards the overall goal is measured. [more]
Lead Partner: World Business Council for Sustainable Development
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Begun in 1999, the Cement Sustainability Initiative is a contribution of 10 major cement companies working with the WBCSD toward sustainable development. The purpose of the initiative is to:
¿ Explore what sustainable development means for the cement industry
¿ Identify and facilitate actions that companies can take as a group and individually to accelerate the move toward more sustainable practices
¿ Provide a framework through which other cement companies can learn and participate
¿ Provide a framework for engaging external stakeholders
The partnership will extend over a number of years as the cement industry develops, implements, and communicates a series of guidelines and good practices to be applied to the areas of (1) climate change management, (2) use of fuels and raw materials, (3) employee health and safety, (4) emissions reduction, (5) land use and local impacts, and (6) internal business processes. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of United States of America - U.S. Enivronmental Protection Agency (USEPA)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Child survival hinges on having the basic needs to support life; among these, a safe and healthy environment is fundamental.However, children everywhere are negatively affected by adverse environmental conditions. Each year, at least 3 million children under age five die due to environment-related illnesses. Acute respiratory infections annually kill an estimated 2 million children under the age of 15 and as much as 60% of acute respiratory infections worldwide are related to environmental conditions. Diarrheal diseases claim the lives of nearly 2 million children every year; 80 to 90 percent of diarrhea cases are relates to environmental conditions, especially contaminated water and inadequate sanitation.
The United States is committed to improving children's health through increased collaboration among governments, non-governmental organizations, inter-governmental organizations, the private sector, communities, and UN agencies to protect children from environmental health threats. These environmental health threats include early childhood exposure to chemicals and toxic substances, unsafe and inadequate quantity of drinking water, lack of sanitation infrastructure and inappropriate hygiene, polluted indoor and outdoor air, and vector-borne diseases.
Such threats may lead to health effects ranging from developmental disorder and perinatal diseases, diarrhoeal diseases, respiratory diseases (e.g. asthma), insect-borne diseases (e.g. malaria) and unintentional injuries.
The goal of this multi-year initiative is to develop and use children's environmental health indicators to improve children's environmental health at global, regional, national and local levels. These indicators are similar to economic indicators and their development and reporting will help fill gaps between information on environment and information on health, putting into focus the special vulnerabilities of children. Ultimately, these indicators will help guide environment, health and development policy. Global children's environmental health indicators are effective tools to:
- Improve the quality of information available in order to facilitate the ability of policy-makers to improve environmental conditions for all children;
- Assess children's environmental health and monitor the success or failure of interventions to address children's environmental health problems; and
- Measure progress and contribute towards the achievement of the Millennium Development goals.
[more]
Lead Partner: WIP Renewable Energies
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Africa Summary: The objective of the Competence Platform on Energy Crop and Agroforestry Systems - Africa (COMPETE) is to stimulate bioenergy implementation in Africa. COMPETE will establish a platform for policy dialogue and capacity building in the major multi- and bi-lateral funding organisations and key stakeholders throughout the bioenergy provision and supply chains.
As global fossil energy resources become constrained, bioenergy is emerging as a major potential resource to supply the energy services currently provided by these fossil fuels. Africa and Latin America have, in theory, very large areas of land resources ‘available’ for bioenergy production. However, the production of biomass for energy on the scales necessary to supply significant shares of national and global energy provision, will result in very substantial impacts (positive and negative) on the ecosystems and cultures of these target regions. The protection of biodiversity, rural livelihoods and management of scarce water resources are critical considerations in any analysis of the potential for sustainable bioenergy provision.
Therefore, a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary, assessment of current land use, energy demand and technology innovation focused on Africa, will be carried out to identify pathways for the sustainable provision of bioenergy, which will:
• improve the quality of life and create alternative means of income for the rural population in Africa
• aid the preservation of the critical functions of arid and semi-arid regions in Africa as intact ecosystems
• enhance the equitable exchange of knowledge between EU and developing countries
[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: The World Conservation Union (IUCN)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: There is high demand for information on environmental law. Various Governing Council decisions of UNEP recognise the need to make this information available and accessible, a task now included in the Montevideo Programme, adopted by UNEP/GC in 2001 and endorsed thereafter by UN/GA. Linguistic barriers must be overcome. The information is fragmented and changing constantly as new laws are being drafted and entering into force.
The objective of this ongoing initiative is to increase access to authoritative information on environmental law by establishing a single gateway on the Internet (ECOLEX) and publishing a range of products on specific topics.
The main beneficiaries will be policy-makers in developing countries and countries in transition. Policy-makers drafting new legislation have a need to obtain information on the law (national and international) existing in relevant thematic areas in other countries. NGOs, academics and advocacy groups are also important beneficiaries.
Business and industry also need information on environmental law in particular on legal mechanisms dealing with waste, pollution and EIA, etc [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: 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: Earth Charter Youth Initiative, Earth Charter International
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Vision
From Earth Charter International Council, October 2006:
“We envision the Earth Charter becoming the most widely shared ethical framework for sustainable living and exercising a growing influence on human affairs.
We envision recognition and endorsement of the Earth Charter by an ever-increasing number of national and international institutions, including UN agencies, leading to the embrace of the Earth Charter by the United Nations General Assembly.
We envision individuals, organizations, businesses, governments, and multilateral institutions throughout the world adopting the values and principles of the Earth Charter and working collaboratively to build just, sustainable, and peaceful communities.”
ECYI Goal:
Inspire hope within and through the Earth Charter Youth Initiative (ECYI) and support this global youth network in embodying, promoting, and applying the principles of the Earth Charter.
ECYI Objectives:
1. Raise awareness of the Earth Charter among key youth leaders and networks.
2. Grow, empower, and support Earth Charter Youth Groups (ECYGs) that are engaged in local action projects.
3. Facilitate the engagement of ECYI members in global sustainable development decision-making processes. [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: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: - Building awareness on the importance of Education for rural people as a crucial step to achieve the Millennium goals of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education , gender equity and sustainable natural resources management
- Contributing to achieve the Education for All goals,
- Overcoming the urban/rural gap in education.
- Increasing access to basic Education for Rural People
- Improving the quality of basic Education for Rural People
- Fostering the national capacity to plan and implement ERP as part of National Education for All and Rural Development Plans.
- Building awareness on the importance of ERP as a crucial step to achieve all the Millennium Development Goals, and particularly, eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education and promoting gender equity.
[more]
Lead Partner: The EOLSS Publishers Ltd. - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), EOLSS Joint Committee
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), the world biggest web-based archive as transdisciplinary knowledge base of sustainable development.
It is, in fact, a global partnership among thousands of scholars aimed at creating an integrated knowledge base in support of sustainable development efforts. Thus, the EOLSS Project is a project in support of all other projects related to sustainable development irrespective at the level they have been carried out: local, governmental, regional or global.
* It addresses the issue of knowledge and education for sustainability
* It is a unique archive created as a valuable source of knowledge to help other projects related to sustainable development.
* It provides a basis for inspiration. In the words of Leon M. Lederman, Nobel Laureate in Physics, the EOLSS is 'the theme of humanity, embedded in nature and constrained to find ways of maintaining a relationship with nature based on understanding and respect'
* The EOLSS has been regularly updated to be a living encyclopedia, not merely a replicated publication.
* It is innovative project- a global effort towards the creation of an integrated knowledge base in support of sustainable development
* It need not be replicated but it should be continued to enhance and update the knowledge base it develops
* It is first to inform decisions in the process of development and to inspire leadership. It is innovative in the sense that it is aimed at developing a base of integrated knowledge that addresses the contemporary issues of the world. [more]
Lead Partner: The World Conservation Union (IUCN), Environmental Law Programme
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Effective implementation will not occur without capacity building and 'good governance'. This initiative provides a framework for environmental law capacity building for sustainable development at all levels, one that serves to forge links between existing institutions and processes, and to facilitate 'good governance' for sustainable development.
The long term objective of this initiative is: 'In every country governments and stakeholders have the capacity to actively participate in the international policy debate, to implement what is agreed through co-ordinated policies, laws and institutions that respect the rule of law and to ensure effective compliance.'
To be effective, such a programme requires global coordination, regional and national delivery and effective collaboration through a partnership of leading international, regional and national organizations.
IUCN's Environmental Law Programme is the world's oldest and largest environmental law network. It has the ability to mobilise and co-ordinate the efforts of the best environmental lawyers and organisations from countries all over the world. This includes a rich network of partners drawn from UN agencies, IGOs, NGOs and academic instiutions, in addition to the 900 volunteers in 130 countries who comprise the IUCN Commission on Environmental Law.
The development of this co-ordinated programme provides a context within which to develop and promote specific projects, including ECOLEX, the web based access to FAO, IUCN, and UNEP environmental law and policy information, the IUCN International Academy on Environmental Law, and targeted publications and training projects.
This partnership programme for capacitiy building integrates the broad suite of partnerships that comprise the IUCN Environmental Law Programme, with a view to achieving maximum leverage and to get resources 'on the ground' as effectively and efficiently as possible. Identified partners (other than the IUCN CEL, ELC and Academy) are involved in specific projects rather than the entire initiative ie FAO, IUCN and UNEP re ECOLEX.
[more]
Lead Partner: Mata Amritanandamayi Mata (MA Math) - Mata Amritanandamayi Mata (MA Math) - Mata Amritanandamayi Math (MA Math)
Geographical Scope: Local Summary: The Farmers' Empowerment Project aims at helping the poorest farmers (and their families) in India gain economic security through sustainable practices and diversifying their means of support.
Specifically, the Farmers' Empowerment Project seeks to reduce the suicide rate among poor Indian farmers suffering from debt and crop failure in the states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnatika through providing scholarships for educating children, vocational training for women and helping the farmers make the transition to more sustainable practices.
[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: Global Alliance - Global Alliance for Building Sustainability
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The Global Alliance for Building Sustainability was formed to accelerate the achievement of sustainable development in the land, property, construction and development sectors. The focus of GABS' work is on building and strengthening partnerships between policy makers and practitioners to promote participation and learning amongst the many stakeholders involved in these sectors.
Our shared vision is:
To create an operating environment throughout the four sectors of land, property, construction and development in which practitioners are enabled, and able, to implement partnerships, processes and practices that deliver sustainable development.
Key Objectives
* To bring together a truly global alliance of organisations committed and signed-up to actions for sustainable development. GABS members will sign-up to a Charter document.
* To provide a platform and communications hub for GABS members:
o To enhance their ability to work in partnership and promote their efforts with other stakeholders.
o To facilitate wider access to existing information, research, guidance, tools and best practice publications developed by member organisations and international agencies
o To create a global learning network through building partnerships that contribute to sustainable development across the 4 sectors
* To develop a set of tools and guidance material aimed at policy makers and practitioners to enhance working environments and partnership practices across the 4 sectors
* To develop a compendium of good practice examples of stakeholders working in partnership
* To establish performance benchmarks relating partnership practices and sustainable development to performance indicators for business, environment, government and communities
* To provide a platform for practitioners in land, property, construction and development to contribute to the World Summit for Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 26 August - 4 September 2002)
* To provide a mechanism for ongoing progress to be monitored and reported to international agencies, national, regional and local governments, communities and business
* To develop a business plan for self-reliance in 18 months through a series of activities [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Italy - (Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea); - United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Rome
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The purpose of the Global Bioenergy Partnership is to provide a mechanism for Partners to organize, coordinate and implement targeted international research, development, demonstration and commercial activities related to production, delivery, conversion and use of biomass for energy, with a particular focus on developing countries. GBEP also provides a forum for implementing effective policy frameworks, identifying ways and means to support investments, and removing barriers to collaborative project development and implementation.
The Partnership's main objectives are to:
1. Create a global high-level policy dialogue on bioenergy, support national and regional bioenergy policy-making and market development, and facilitate international cooperation.
2. Favour more efficient and sustainable uses of biomass and develop project activities in the bioenergy field.
3. Foster the exchange of information, knowledge skills and technologies by identifying and promote potential areas of bilateral and multilateral collaboration.
4. Facilitate bioenergy integration into energy markets by tackling specific barriers in the supply chain.
5. Act as a cross-cutting initiative, working in synergy with other relevant activities, avoiding duplications.
[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: United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The Global Land Tool Network’s (GLTN) main objective is to contribute to poverty alleviation and the Millennium Development Goals through land reform, improved land management and security of tenure. The GLTN originates from requests made by Member States and local communities world-wide to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), who initiated the network in cooperation with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the World Bank, in 2006.
The core values of the GLTN are pro poor, governance, equity, subsidiarity, affordability, and systematic large scale approach as well as gender sensitiveness.
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: 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 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: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The project on Indicators for Sustainable Energy Development (ISED) has three major objectives: (1) to fill the need for a comprehensive and consistent set of energy indicators that can be used in an effective manner to assess progress towards a sustainable energy future, (2) to assist countries in energy and statistical capacity building necessary to induce energy sustainability and (3) to supplement the general indicators effort being undertaken by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development.
The project consists of two phases. The major objective of the First Phase was to identify and define a set of indicators for sustainable energy development applicable worldwide.
The Second Phase of the project aimed to demonstrate the practical applicability and utility of the ISED set as a policy tool in a variety of analytical cases. The objectives of this phase include: (1) to test the original set of energy indicators in a number of countries; (2) to provide assistance to countries in the implementation and use of the ISED for the formulation of their energy strategies in conformity with their sustainable development criteria; and (3) to incorporate the ISED into the relevant databases and analytical tools so that energy indicators can be used in on-going statistical analyses (capacity building). [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 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: Government of Canada - Natural Resources - Government of South Africa - Department of Minerals and Energy
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The objective of the Intergovernmental Forum is to enhance and promote the contribution of the mining, minerals and metals sector to sustainable development.
The functions of the Intergovernmental Forum are consultative and advisory based on the principles of voluntary partnership. The Forum provides governments with a framework in which to discuss the opportunities provided by mining, minerals and metals and to respond to the challenges they pose. The Intergovernmental Forum will meet to share experiences and information, to consider and to provide advice and, where appropriate, make recommendations for consideration by governments, intergovernmental bodies and others. The Intergovernmental Forum will meet at high level or officials level, as appropriate. [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
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Lead Partner: Government of Japan - Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The objectives of IFNet are to help break the vicious cycle of poverty, assist developing countries to achieve sustainable development and contribute to economic stability by improving the coordination and effectiveness of measures to manage flood and reduce the loss of life and property damage that they cause. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Canada - International Development Research Centre - Government of Canada - Natural Resources Canada - Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The International Model Forest Network (IMFN) is a voluntary association of partners from around the world working toward the common goal of sustainable management of forest landscapes and natural resources. The IMFN is based on an innovative approach that combines the social, cultural and economic needs of local communities with the long-term sustainability of forest landscapes. The more than 40 model forests operating around the world make up the international network.
Model forests are primarily about people, the communities they live in and the sustainable management of the landscapes and resources they rely on. They provide the geographic foundation upon which people of differing values can meet, build a partnership and define what sustainability means in their particular context. The partnership plans its own program of activities and sets its own sustainability goals, and then works together to achieve those goals.
The International Model Forest Network Secretariat (IMFNS, the Secretariat) was established in 1995 in Ottawa, Canada, to support the development of a global network of model forests that would:
-Foster an international exchange of ideas on the concept of sustainable forest management (SFM)
-Facilitate international cooperation in the application of SFM at the field level
-Use these concepts and applications to support ongoing international discussions on the principles, criteria, and policies related to SFM
[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.
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Lead Partner: Government of United States of America - USDA Invasive Species Coordination Program - CAB International
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Globally, the cost of damage caused by invasive species has been estimated to be £1 trillion per year - close to 5% of global GDP. In developing countries, where agriculture accounts for a higher proportion of GDP, the negative impact of invasive species on food security as well as on economic performance, can be even greater.
Globalisation through increased trade, transport, travel and tourism (4Ts), will inevitably increase the intentional or accidental introduction of organisms to new environments, and it is widely predicted that climate change will further increase the threat posed by invasive species.
The partnership:
1) will develop a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge base that will be applied as a powerful reference source improving access to knowledge to assist in the identification of invasive species (IS), determine their impacts, help achieve rapid response to their effects, and deliver management and policy solutions;
2) enhance global knowledge of the threat of invasive species to native species and to native ecosystems;
3) develop a global, web-based Invasive Species Compendium (ISC);
4) commission and compile comprehensive global knowledge on invasive species covering all taxa found in agroecosystems and natural ecosystems;
5) promote and make accessible the ISC to train students and extension staff within national systems so they can manage invasive species more efficiently and effectively;
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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.
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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 Environment Programme (UNEP) - United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Developing local capacities and mechanisms for adapting and implementing global principles and norms of sustainable urbanisation (including related MEA¿S e.g. on climate change; air quality; water management, biodiversity);Strengthening the capacities of local (and national) actors for contributing local experiences and expertise to the formulation of global principles and norms. [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 Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The development of management tools that integrate resource management is a crucial step in helping local government achieve sustainable public administration. The official Local Government Dialogue Paper for The World Summit on Sustainable Development Accelerating Sustainable Development: "Local Action Moves the World", published by the UN Economic and Social Council, 14. December 2001, (E/CN.17/2002/PC.2/6/Add.5) identifies Integrated Resource Management as a key "strategy for the future" to strengthen local government by public mechanisms for local sustainable development.
The partnership will support a global pilot program of Integrated Resource Management, starting from concept and program development through to pilot implementation in various municipalities throughout the world. The programme shall be driven by local government in partnership with supranational and intergovernmental organisations and support from national governments. The partnership will bring together skills, experience and capacity from the full spectrum of environmental management and from the other resource management fields, namely financial and human resource management. Being international in scope, the IRM concept will be implemented under different regional and national conditions. The main objectives of the Implementation Partnership "Piloting Integrated Resource Management" are to:
* demonstrate the applicability of IRM at the international level, as identified in the official UN Local Government Dialogue Paper.
* support the integration of resource management approaches which facilitate sustainable development
* demonstrate the value of IRM as an implementation tool to support "Local Action 21"
* develop a management tool which enables sustainability to drive priority setting
* establish capacity world wide in IRM by launching a network of regional hubs/centres of excellence
* exchange experiences in resource management approaches at an international level. [more]
Lead Partner: International Center of Resources and Innovation for the Sustainable Development-CIRIDD (former Association Agora 21) - Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (IEPF - Institut de la Francophonie Numérique - Unité Jeunesse)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The aim of the project is to create an information and discussion platform for sustainable development that is accessible to the various groups concerned (States and public administrations, local governments and international bodies, associations, the economic sector, scientists and the academic community, and ordinary citizens) by facilitating exchanges and integration of the available data on a network of Internet sites distributed throughout the French-speaking world.
The second objective is to develop the use of French regarding these topics for the sake of linguistic plurality at the international level, thereby helping to reinforce the capacities of French-speaking participants, especially in the organization of preliminary debates for major conferences. This platform is also an experimental ground for research and development into new tools and approaches that will be transferred to the partners. It will be an extension of various projects and actions. [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: Earth Rights Institute - Earth Rights Institute - Earth Rights Institute - Center for Geoclassical Economics
Geographical Scope: National Summary: Due to corruption and poor governance, oil royalties have not been distributed to the people of the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. Our project will work with NGOs and ethical government officials to form and implement the Niger Delta Fund, similar to the Alaska Permanent Fund, which will be a transparent legal mechanism whereby oil royalities will be distributed directly to the people as dividend checks and/or made available as low interest revolving loan funds for sustainable development. Additionally, this project will assist in the development of a sustainable development plan for the Niger Delta, with an initial focus on the eco-restoration of the town of Odi and Bayelsa State.
Our partnerships began in June, 2002, and in February, 2003 and as of November 2003 we are planning to hold a conference in early 2004 to develop a strategy for implementation. [more]
Lead Partner: Nile Basin Initiative Secretariat
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Nile Basin Summary: (Vision); To achieve sustainable socioeconomic development through the equitable utilization of, and benefit from the common Nile Basin water resources.
Objectives;
1. to develop the Water resources of the Nile in a sustainable and equitable way to ensure prosperity, security and peace for all its people
2. to ensure efficient water management and the optimal use of the resources
3. to ensure cooperation and joint action between the riparian countries, seeking win-win gains
4. to target poverty eradication and promote economic integration
5. to ensure that the program results in a move from planning to action
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Lead Partner: Government of Australia - Government of Australia
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The key OneCoast objective is to create a coastal management knowledge ecosystem. Thorugh an integrated framework of leading technologies, OneCoast will provide the infrastructure in which ideas, information and the sharing of knowledge will facilitate capacity building and in turn foster the sustainable development of the world¿s coasts.
A key outcome for OneCoast is the establishment and ongoing support of sustainable communities of users. In the context of OneCoast `community of users¿ applies equally to collectives of interested individuals interacting through actual local communities and to communities where related groups of individuals and organizations involved in common goals interact online through OneCoast.
Furthermore, where geographically related or unrelated groups come together with specific subject expertise to solve problems - they in turn define a community of practitioners and through their interactions a common practice. OneCoast seeks to diffuse capacity from the context of local communities of coastal management practice using existing knowledge and creating new knowledge through experience.
Coastal management practice has expanded rapidly around the world over the last decade, with growing involvement of the private sector, civil society, and local governments. Donors have diversified their partnerships, increasingly working together with international NGOs, the private sector, governments and foundations. As a result new challenges have surfaced, including:
¿ Uncoordinated, overlapping, and sometimes ineffective use of available donor and governmental resources;
¿ Inaccessible, fragmented coastal management knowledge;
¿ Limited opportunities for participation by civil society;
¿ Untapped opportunities for the private sector;
¿ Untapped knowledge transfer benefits between professional coastal managers; and
¿ Untapped potential for using Internet technologies for sustainable coastal development.
Through OneCoast there are opportunities to help provide answers to the above challenges. Opportunities such as the need to create linkages between projects that will sustain investment in coastal management projects and, most importantly, opportunities to link the many stakeholders, into one integrated knowledge-based environment.
[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.
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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.
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Lead Partner: Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
Geographical Scope: National Summary: The Belgian partnership with the CGIAR includes an important part devoted to the education and training of young scientist of the South in highly specialised laboratories for agricultural research in Belgium and in other developed countries.
The main objectives of the agricultural research activities for development, in the frame of this partnership and of the CGIAR in general, are to contribute to food security and poverty eradication in developing countries through research partnerships, capacity building, and policy support, promoting sustainable agricultural development based on the environmentally sound management of natural resources.
Expected results:
* contribute to the promotion of sustainable agriculture and rural development through an increase of the food production and a better organisation of local and regional markets
* contribute to the well being of poor farmers in the South so that they take part, effectively and in a socially acceptable way, in the economic development of their countries while conserving biodiversity and the environment
* strengthening the involvement of all the partners in international agricultural research for development especially those of the Southern countries
* capacity building and participatory approaches to sustainable development [more]
Lead Partner: UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The mission of the Partnership for Water Education and Research (PoWER) is to combine the strengths of all partners and enhance the capacity of each partner in order jointly to:
- Deliver capable professionals in the water and environment sectors.
- Find innovative solutions for water and environmental challenges.
- Build up the capacity of institutions and communities with respect to better management of water and environmental resources.
In the process of combining strengths and levelling the capacities of the individual partners (visualized in the figure below), joint products in the field of education, training and collaborative research will be developed in a multi-disciplinary manner. These shall be demand-responsive, duly accredited and approved through UNESCO-IHE.
By stimulating global connectivity for life-long learning through the generation and sharing of knowledge a partnership will be created that will address priority educational and research issues.
The PoWER partners will be an integral component of the UNESCO-IHE operating environment, and as such, collaborating partners keep ensure that organisational processes are redesigned in alignment with the mission and objectives of this partnership. [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: PhytoTrade Africa Executive Office
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Africa Summary: PhytoTrade Africa, the Southern African Natural Products Trade Association is a regional trade association, involving members from six countries in Southern Africa (Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe). Its primary objective is to supplement the income of poor rural communities, particularly those living in marginal dryland areas, through the commercialization of a range of natural products, derived from sustainably managed, indigenous floristic resources. PhytoTrade operates as a conventional trade association with a substantial set of additional functions as a development institution. It is a regional not-for-profit service provider, acting as a mechanism for community-based natural product producers and traders to generate business for themselves. It also provides an operational focus for development interventions on behalf of the sub-sector. PhytoTrade does not itself engage in trade or in financing the business of members, but facilitates the trade of members and other community-based operators in the natural products sector.PhytoTrade has been developed within the context of the WSSD, and will use the Summit as a platform to expand its membership, strengthen its financial resource base, and forge new and complementary partnerships with governments, inter-governmental agencies, the private sector and NGOs. [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: The Asia-Pacific Regional Technology Centre
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: APRTC's Web-based online eLearning programme agLe@rn - uses modern information, communication and educational technologies to provide individuals working with small holder farmers with the updated knowledge and skills they need to be effective agents of change for sustainable agriculture. The value and feasibility of eLearning is proving itself and has a demonstrated potential to help bridge the knowledge and technology gaps that exist between what is known in centers of learning and what information and knowledge is needed among the millions of the developing world's rural population. [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: Rainforest Alliance - Sustainable Food Lab
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Africa Summary: 1. To develop a set of business models that support sustainable smallholder and rural laborer inclusion in high-value, formal export and domestic markets in four distinct product clusters (dried beans, fresh vegetables, bananas, cocoa).
2. To apply these new business models (through value chain analysis and upgrading) in sub-Saharan Africa.
3. To expand these validated business models through existing and new supply chain partnerships that provide direct benefits to 158,000 smallholders and 301,000 laborers while using project results to influence existing standards.
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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.
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Lead Partner: ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The goal of the Resilient Communities & Cities Partnership Program is to support the development of greater resilience in the institutions, infrastructure, and social and economic life of cities and towns worldwide through urban management and participatory governance. A Resilient Community is a city, town or neighbourhood that reduces its vulnerability to dramatic change or extreme events and responds creatively to economic, social and environmental change in order to increase its long-term sustainability.
Guided by the formula "Sustainability=Resilience/Risk," the program seeks to develop a methodology for local resilience management, which will increase the resilience of a city or community to a range of shocks, crises, and disasters including environmental emergencies, industrial accidents, outbreaks of epidemics, economic shocks, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and social conflict. In the Resilient Communities & Cities Partnership Program, the concept of resilience encompasses both the resilience of cities (the natural and built environment, including infrastructure) as well as the resilience of communities (social and political structures).
The program will focus on introducing policies, tools and methods developed in the disaster management community into the established worldwide movement for sustainable communities, thereby linking preventative disaster management know-how with established local methods for participatory sustainable development planning (also known as Local Agenda 21 planning).
The Partnership Program is composed of eight elements: partnership program management and capacity building; documentation and promotion of good policies and best practices; inventory and review of mechanisms for local resilience management; recruitment of pilot cities; methodology, modeling and system development; pilot projects in six municipalities; project learning and experience; and project documentation and products. [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).
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Lead Partner: Desert Development Foundation
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Using the 40,000 kilometers of desert seacoast for a new agriculture - that of seawater instead of fresh water - promises wealth generation of jobs and products, future food security, drought relief for ruminant feed and atmospheric carbon sequestration. [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: 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: 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: The Global Mechanism of the UNCCD
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Southern Africa Summary: This partnership seeks to link inter-governmental processes in Southern Africa with activities of the Non-governmental Organizations and Community Based Organizations. The partners commit to prepare and implement, disseminate information about, and follow-up to, activities supporting the implementation of the Convention to Combat Desertification. In particular, the partnership is, on a long-term basis, focusing on activities following-up to the WSSD. The partnership will additionally provide a series of constructive input to the process of establishing the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).
Specifically, the partners will seek to engage in complementary activities, joint meetings, enhanced communication, information exchange and co-ordination, which will:
* Enhance the resources available for the implementation of the CCD;
* Promote desertification issues following-up to the Legislators'Conference and WSSD in 2002;
* Create awareness among politicians and legislators about the implementation of the CCD in SADC;
* Establish linkages between the three Conventions of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, 1992;
* Assist communities affected by land degradation and poverty in building capacity for resilience and improved livelihood; and
* Enhance capacity within the NGO community to assist in implementing the Sub-regional and National Action Plans of the CCD. [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: Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)
Geographical Scope: Regional
Summary: The overall goal of this initiative is "Sustainable Land Resources Management" for the Pacific region. To increase the capacity for sustainable development (including agriculture, forestry, livestock and mining) in the Pacific through a partnership of national, regional, and international organization with particular attention to participatory strategies with rural communities that will focus on appropriate technologies, food security, and poverty eradication & economic development that takes into account the fragile SIDS ecologies.
* Based on the regional and national priorities, the initiative will provide long-term funding for programmes and/or specific proposals to increase the capacity for sustainable agricultural development.
* Based on regional priorities from the UNFF process, the intiative will work in arease of forestry and trees
* In terms of mining, the overall objective will be to develop a mineral policy strategy which would contribute to the sustainable development of PICs by improving the governance in the minerals sector, through national capacity building and the formulation of legislation and policies consistent with national economic, environment and social policies, strategies, plans & guidelines. [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: The GAIA-Movement Trust Living Earth Green World Action (The GAIA-Movement)
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional Southern Africa Summary: The overall goal of the Total Water Programme (TWP) is to improve the livelihood of people by mobilising the communities to greater care of and better use of water and the natural resources influencing the water cycle.
The two year TWP mobilises communities for activities that improve conditions for both people and environment in the project area:
- The land degradation component assists the local communities in reducing land degradation and enables them to safeguard the local resources for sustainable use ¿ also for future generations
- The deforestation component will benefit the ones, mostly women and girls, who collect firewood for household energy. In the long run this also improves local water balances.
- The restoration component starts restoration of selected degraded nature areas, thus reducing erosion and siltation of rivers, increasing the recharge of groundwater so less wells run dry.
- The safe water component reduces the workload of fetching water and reduces water related diseases
- The sanitation component reduces the number of diseases and child mortality. Furthermore the compost produced by the ecolatrines improve tree and food production.
- The component of water efficient farming improves food security and reduces the loss of valuable nutrients. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Italy - Ministry for the Environment and Territory
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional North Africa, Horn of Africa, Middle East, East Asia Summary: The overall aim of this partnership is to contribute to the achievement of three principal objectives in the perspective of the Millennium Development Goals:
(1) to contribute to the achievement of water security in water-stressed environments by providing rural and urban populations with fresh water;
(2) to satisfy water needs for nature and food production by a more efficient integrated water management;
(3) to alleviate poverty by providing adapted water and sanitation services particularly to rural populations.
With the view that this Project is focusing on developing countries in arid and semi-arid the following objectives have been identified:
- Improved alternative water resources use and management;
- Improved health conditions reducing vulnerability to water related diseases and water scarcity;
- Improved productivity through identification of wise practices using both traditional knowledge and scientific expertise
- Improved efficiency of water services and treatment systems with the renewable energy. [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]
to collapse the Summary of Partnerships.