Annual Report 2003

2003\ activities and achievements

GRID-Arendal’s Capacity Building Program

and UNDP at the “Environment for Europe” Con- ference in Kyiv, Ukraine in 2003. For this purpose, GRID-Arendal developed a “mapping” methodology for defining national and regional priorities in an interactive and participatory process. GRID-Arendal is cooperating with the World Resources Institute (WRI) on the next World Re- sources Report (WRR2005) focusing on Poverty, Environment and Governance. This will comple- ment our existing work supporting the CGIAR centers and UNEP on poverty-environment assess- ment and mapping. Learning is best achieved through practice; thus our capacity building activities are integrated with the development of training tools and with design and dissemination of written and graphical publications. In 2003, a beta version of the GEOkit for integrated environmental assessment was launched and used. This is based on UNEP’s GEO report ( Global En- vironment Outlook ). GRID-Arendal has become a leader in environmental cartographic products with an annual output of hundreds of maps, graphs and illustrations covering key environmental issues and appearing in major publications of UNEP and its partner organizations. In 2003, a collection of up- dated Eastern European State of the Environment reports were published on a CD-ROM. With our 13 Environmental Stories from Central Asia booklet, we have also launched a publication appealing to a broader audience.

GRID-Arendal’s Capacity Building Program focuses on Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, and also support’s UNEP’s activities in Africa. It aims to strengthen environmental information management capacities of developing countries and the UNEP GEO collaborating network. We have successful partnerships with the European Environ- mental Agency (EEA) and the UN Economic Com- mission for Europe (UNECE), amongst others. Besides facilitating environmental reporting and establishing environmental information networks, activities are increasingly focusing on environmental journalismand themedia, including the organization of media roundtables, virtual and real media tours, which in 2003 covered Albania, Bor (Serbia), the Car- pathians, the Caucasus and Central Asia. GRID-Aren- dal was also the lead organizer of UNEP’s workshop for African Environmental Journalists in Addis Ababa in December and has developed and distributed a “media kit”. Work with local authorities, for instance in NorthWest Russia, is also increasing. The Capacity Building Program is also, together with UNEP, taking a lead in analyzing and produ- cing information on cross-cutting issues, such as Environment and Poverty, Environment and Secu- rity, Environment and Health and making this avail- able to wider audiences.

A report on Environment and Security in Central Asia and the Balkans was launched by UNEP, OSCE

The Capacity Building team serving customers at the 5th Ministerial Conference Environment for Europe in Kyiv, 2003. On the “Moloko Bar” menu were various environmental information products.

Population groups in South Eastern Europe , one of several maps produced by GRID-Arendal in 2003 for the UNEP/UNDP/OSCE report Environment and Security: Transforming risks into cooperation .

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GRID-Arendal Annual Report

2003

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