A new African initiative to combat desertification and strengthen resilience to climate change

 

Photo credit: GEF

CEO Naoko Ishii expressed GEF support for the initiative as a founding member

African drylands initiative launched at TICAD summit

A new African initiative to combat desertification and strengthen resilience to climate change in the Sahel and Horn of Africa was launched at TICAD VI in Nairobi last month. On the margins of the Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI), the GEF joined the  the governments of Kenya and Senegal, together with the Japan International Cooperation Agency to announce a new effort to confront the challenges of Africa’s drylands.

Speaking at the launch, GEF CEO Naoko Ishii said, “There are already a wide range of opportunities, frameworks, and ideas proposed for addressing resilience in the drylands, but translating these into tangible actions will not happen without a coordinated approach by all stakeholders, and alignment of resources and financing opportunities.” The new African initiative aims to promote measures for combating desertification by the countries in the region and supports efforts of development partners through knowledge-sharing and improving access to finance. The initiative will also seek to harmonize ongoing efforts by partner countries and organizations for effectively addressing the regions desertification challenges.

In the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, much of the land, consisting of desert and drylands, is estimated to be degraded. However, drylands are home to millions of people whose livelihoods are intertwined with the natural environment. In many countries, they are considered “bread baskets” because of their importance for production of major staple foods. But droughts have affected people’s livelihoods in the region in recent years, with the added impact of climate change making droughts more frequent and their effects more profound and severe.

Read the full article: GEF

Irreversible groundwater depletion

Photo credit: FAO

A Senegalese farmer transfers well water into a holding container.

Global agencies call for urgent action to avoid irreversible groundwater depletion

New vision and global framework for action on groundwater governance released

EXCERPT

FAO, UNESCO, the World Bank, GEF and the International Association of Hydrogeologists have today called for action by the global community to manage the increasingly urgent depletion and degradation of limited groundwater resources.

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Groundwater is indispensable to poverty reduction and shared prosperity. It accounts for more than a third of municipal and industrial supply and services some 40 percent of the planet’s irrigated agriculture. Groundwater has the potential to provide an improved source of drinking water for millions of urban and rural poor people. Many poor farmers and their families depend on it to irrigate their crops and sustain their livelihoods.

The 2030 Vision and Framework for Action provides an enabling framework and guiding principles for coordinated action among governments and organizations.

“Sustainable management of groundwater is key to maintaining ecosystems and adapting to climate change,” said Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). “We can no longer take this invisible but vital source for granted; urgent action is needed to ensure its long term availability. We look forward to joining hands with partner agencies and countries to ensure water for drinking, food, cities, energy and industrial uses is available for generations to come.”

In response to the urgency of the situation and a product of four years of consultations with stakeholders from more than 100 countries, these principles focus on legal and institutional frameworks, policies, and plans as well as information and incentive structures for sound and effective groundwater management.

This process signals strengthened collaboration across the international community to understand the barriers to better groundwater governance and address key regional challenges.

Read the full article: FAO

Drought Adaptation, Climate Change in Africa (Land-l.IISD)

Read at :

http://land-l.iisd.org/news/undp-gef-progam-tackles-drought-adaptation-climate-change-in-ethiopia-kenya-mozambique-zimbabwe/

UNDP, GEF Progam Tackles Drought Adaptation, Climate Change in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Zimbabwe

Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique and Zimbabwe are addressing drought-adaptation and climate change through an ongoing UN Development Programme (UNDP) and Global Environment Facility (GEF) program, titled “Coping with Drought and Climate Change.” The three-year program aims to increase the use of drought-adaptation farming techniques and coping mechanisms and to facilitate sharing of experience and knowledge among the four countries.

The program trains farmers on how to implement drought-adaptation measures, including through using high-yield, drought-resistant seeds and employing early warning systems to predict the rainy season and to plan crop cycles. These strategies have increased crop yields and resulted in more stable crop yields during periods of erratic rainfall, according to UNDP. In Ethiopia, for example, where erratic rainfall patterns have increased vulnerability to climate-related shocks and increased food insecurity in already fragile communities, the introduction of drought-resistant seeds have increased farmers’ adaptive capacity and income and decreased reliance on food aid.

(continued)

GEFSEC video on Sustainable Land Management (GEF / UNCCD)

Splendid VIDEO seen at :

http://youtu.be/H1cwl1ZWUzE

UNCCD Sustainable Land Video

Keeping GEF stakeholders abreast of developments relating to GEF strategies, policies and procedures (Google / Solomon Star)

Read at : Google Alert – desertification

http://www.solomonstarnews.com/sports/national/12286-global-environment-workshop-starts-tomorrow

Global environment workshop starts tomorrow

The Government of Solomon Islands through the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management & Meteorology and in partnership with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) secretariat (Washington DC), is hosting the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Expanded Constituency Workshop (ECW) in Honiara, Solomon Islands, from 27-29 September 2011.

The ECW will take place in Solomon Kitano Mendana Hotel.

The GEF ECW will bring together GEF political and operational focal points, focal points from the main Conventions of Biodiversity, Desertification, Climate Change and Persistent Organic Pollutants, representatives from civil societies and representatives from GEF Implementing Agencies.

The purpose of the meeting is to keep GEF stakeholders abreast of developments relating to GEF strategies, policies and procedures and to further enhance stakeholder coordination.

Around 80 participants will come from Cook Islands, Fiji, Indonesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

The GEF serves as a financial mechanism to the Rio-conventions of which Solomon Islands is a party to, namely: United Nations Convention of Biological Diversity (UNCBD); United Nations Convention of Combating Desertification (UNCCD) and United Nations Framework on Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) unites 182 member governments — in partnership with international institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector — to address global environmental issues.

An independent financial organization, the GEF provides grants to developing countries and countries with economies in transition for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer, and persistent organic pollutants.

These projects benefit the global environment, linking local, national, and global environmental challenges and promoting sustainable livelihoods.

(continued)

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Role of Spatial Technology (GIS and RS) in Sustainable Management of Land Resources (Google / Trading Markets)

Read at : Google Alert – desertification

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/news/stock-alert/pcd_workshop-on-land-management-held-1357322.html

Workshop on land management held

ISLAMABAD, Dec 07, 2010 (Asia Pulse Data Source via COMTEX) —

A two-day workshop on Role of Spatial Technology (GIS and RS) in Sustainable Management of Land Resources started here Tuesday to highlight significance of spatial technology for monitoring the extent of land degradation and sustainable management of land resources.

Organized by the Ministry of Environment, UNDP and GEF, the objectives of the workshop are to introduce GIS and RS tools and highlight usefulness of spatial technology, share findings and recommendation of the study with the stakeholders and partners, examine spatial data gaps and reliability of various data sets on desertification monitoring in Pakistan and forage linkages and networking with agencies using GIS and RS for managing land resources.

Great Green Wall (Google / Greenandclean.org)

Read at : Google Alert – desertification

http://greenandclean.org/great-green-wall-of-trees-for-africa/

Great Green Wall of Trees for Africa

by Zachary Shahan in Climate Change/Global Warming

The Global Environment Facility (GEF), in an effort to lessen desertification and drought in Africa, is helping to plant a living wall of trees across Africa. The “wall” will be huge — 9 miles (14 kilometers) thick and 4,400 miles (7,081 km) long.

The “Great Green Wall” will go through 11 countries in the Sahel-Saharan region.

The GEF is an independent financial institution that unites governments from 182 countries as well as international institutions, NGOs, and the private sector to tackle key environmental issues around the world.

It made an announcement to help build the Great Green Wall on “World Day to Combat Desertification,” which is a day sponsored by the United Nations to bring more awareness to these critical issues and to help in the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

The plan for the Great Green Wall was adopted by the African Union three years ago, but the $119 million the GEF is putting forth is to actually get that plan moving.

The countries in the plan include Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. The amount of money each country receives will depend on its size.

(continued)

MEA Bulletin – Issue No. 73 (IISD)

Read at : Earth Negotiations Bulletin <enb@iisd.org>

Bulletin des Négociations de la Terre <bnt@lists.iisd.ca>

MEA Bulletin – Issue No. 73

IISD RS is pleased to announce that the newest issue of MEA Bulletin is now available. To access the 73rd issue directly, visit: http://www.iisd.ca/mea-l/meabulletin73.pdf . To read past issues and to sign up to receive the PDF version, visit: http://www.iisd.ca/email/mea-l.htm

The guest article was authored by the Knowledge Sharing Officers of the AfricaAdapt initiative, and is titled “Knowledge Sharing for Climate Change Adaptation in Africa: Opportunities and Challenges.”

The 73rd issue of MEA Bulletin includes reports on recent meetings of the Global Environment Facility Council and contributors towards the Fifth Replenishment of the GEF Trust Fund, the Adaptation Fund and the Marine Environment Protection Committee of the International Maritime Organization.

MEA Bulletin is a publication created by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme’s Division of Environmental Law and Conventions (UNEP DELC).

– http://www.climate-l.org – A knowledgebase of International Climate Change Activities, provided by IISD in cooperation with the UN Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB) Secretariat
– Subscribe to IISD Reporting Services’ free newsletters and lists for environment and sustainable development policy professionals at http://www.iisd.ca/email/subscribe.htm

KENYAN VILLAGERS TO TEST OUT UN CARBON BENEFITS PROJECT (UNNews)

KENYAN VILLAGERS TO TEST OUT UN CARBON BENEFITS PROJECT

New York, May 11 2009 11:00AM

Villagers in western Kenya are the latest participants in a project carried out by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and its partners to calculate how much carbon can be stored in trees and soils when the land is managed in sustainable, climate-friendly ways.

The <“http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=585&ArticleID=6159&l=en”>Carbon Benefits Project was launched today in communities in and around Lake Victoria by UNEP and the World Agroforestry Centre, along with a range of other key partners.

Pakistan most vulnerable to climate change (Google / The News)

Read at : Google Alert – desertification

http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=159301

Pakistan most vulnerable to climate change

Tuesday, January 27, 2009
By By Our Correspondent
LAHORE

THE Global Environment Facility’s National Dialogue Initiative (NDI), being organised by the Ministry of Environment, starts here on Tuesday (today) to provide an opportunity for consultation on global environmental management and national development issues.

Federal Minister for Environment Hameedullah Jan Afridi will inaugurate the NDI and government agencies, international organisations, academics, non-governmental organisations and research institutions will participate in the event.

Giving the details, Ministry of Environment Additional Secretary Imtiaz Inayat Elahi said the NDI was being organised as one of the major activities of the National Year of Environment 2009. He said the two-day event was designed to facilitate dialogues on the GEF-related issues.

Library : Land degradation (UNEP / GEF 2005)

MEA Bulletin – Issue No. 46 (ENB / IISD)

IISD RS is pleased to announce that the newest issue of MEA Bulletin is now available.

To access the 46th issue directly, click here http://www.iisd.ca/mea-l/meabulletin46.pdf .

To read past issues and to sign up to receive the PDF version, click here http://www.iisd.ca/email/mea-l.htm .

The 46th issue of MEA Bulletin includes reports on recent meetings of the Global Environment Facility Council and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests.

Luc Gnacadja, Executive Secretary, UN Convention to Combat Desertification, authored the guest article, which examines “The Downside Risk to Developing Countries of Drought, Land Degradation, and Desertification.”

MEA Bulletin is a publication created by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme’s Division of Environmental Law and Conventions (UNEP DELC).