Annual Report 2007

The UNEP Shelf Programme, which assists develop- ing coastal and island countries all over the world in their coastal zone delineation process, achieved major international interest and credit in 2007. The Norwegian Minister of the Environment and International Develop- ment and the Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs visited GRID-Arendal and identified the UNEP Shelf Programme as an ideal platform for the development of a larger marine environmental programme for UNEP. Prominent conferences organised by GRID-Arendal in 2007 in Arendal, including Linking Tourism and Conser- vation – A Finance-Initiative for Protected Areas and the UN Carbon-Neutrality Goal conference, resulted in con- crete commitments of the participating stakeholders to engage in meaningful relationships with GRID-Arendal. The municipality of Arendal and the Norwegian Gov- ernment aim for the city and ultimately, the country, to become the first to be “climate neutral”. GRID-Aren- dal’s commitment to sustainability, as demonstrated by our investment in an energy-efficient office building and our endeavour to become carbon neutral, has po- sitioned the organization as a role model and to take on a more significant role as a facilitator of emerging related initiatives.

Peter Prokosch Managing Director