GRID-Arendal Biennium Report 2010 - 2011

vention. With 2012 funding provided by BP 71 , the CIC is also designed to satisfy the need for public disclosure and outreach. Ministerial Statement and Decisions of the Third Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea - 10-12 0 August Aktau, Republic of Kazakhstan: “The Ministers of Natural Resources and Environment and High-Level Officials of the Governments of the Parties to the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea… 10. Welcome the presentation of the first State of the Environment report as a comprehensive document to implement the activities of the Caspian Environment Program and the Tehran Convention; decide that the next State of the Environment report should be issued in four years time, and request the (interim) Secretariat to develop for submissionanddecisionby theConference of theParties at its fourth Meeting, a format for future state of the environment reports with major indicators and networks of institutions capable of measuring the quality of the waters of the Caspian Sea.” At national level an Integrated Environmental Assessment of Lake Sevan , was carried out in collaboration with the Associ- ation for Sustainable Human Development in Yerevan. 72 The work was intended to guide policy on protection of the most important inner water body of the Republic of Armenia. First Deputy Minister of theMinistry of the Environment of the Republic of Armenia Mr. S. Papyan on the impact of the Lake Sevan assessment: “The group of experts has collected, analyzed and systematized the information materials on the issue, available in the country as well as the new results obtained in the course of special expeditions. The elaborated suggestions and recommendations require special attention. I use this opportunity to thank GRID-Arendal for the support of this extremely relevant project”. i The assessment had the intended effect as certain recommendations were adopted by the Armenian Ministry of Nature Protection and, subsequently, incorpo- rated in the 2012 Programme of Work of the Lake Sevan Commission (see box above). This includes the establish- ment of a special working group comprising government officials and civil society representatives (an environmen- tal coalition) tasked with investigating the impact of min- ing on the water quality. 73 Further sensitisation at the poli- cy level was demonstrated by the decision to discuss the results of the environmental assessment at a meeting of the National Council for Sustainable Development in Oc- tober 2011 attended by the Prime Minister.

The CB&A Programme has embarked on developing a new area of work, focusing on chemical safety. A project proposal related to combating Persistent Organic Pollut- ants (POPs) in the food chain of indigenous peoples in the Russian Arctic (particularly the Nenets) has been pre- pared and submitted for funding to the Norwegian Min- istry of Health and Care Services. The Centre for Environ- ment and Sustainable Development (Eco-Accord) and the International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN) would be key partners. Further joint projects are under discus- sion and a concept note on a project on POPs and climate change in the Arctic has been outlined prior to a joint GEF proposal in 2013. In 2011, GRID-Arendal strengthened its standing within UNEP as a key partner in raising awareness about Green Economy issues through publications, dissemination and active outreach. The most visible illustration of GRID- Arendal’s growing engagement is the production 74 of UNEP’s milestone report, Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradi- cation , which highlights the critical importance of shifting the world’s economies towards a more resource-efficient, low-carbon and socially inclusive economic paradigm, the so-called ‘green economy’. The report has received atten- tion from governments, industry and civil society organi- zations worldwide, although it is too early to attribute to this work any country-level progress in adopting ‘green economy’ or ‘green business’ or ‘green growth’ policies. 75 9.3 Green economy and capacity building 71. BP funding is part of a growing global pattern of public-private col- laboration in the oil and gas sector. Currently Caspian states are in the process of appointing National Environmental Information Officers to serve as the CIC liaison persons. The kick-off meeting was hosted by BP 72. The full report, the Integrated assessment of ecological state of Lake Sevan, is available for download at http://www.grida.no/publications/ lake%2Dsevan/ 73. Ref. ministerial order (N5-A, 18.01.2012), Ministry of Operations. 74. GRID-Arendal completed the graphics and layout for the online publication prior to the soft launch held in Nairobi on 21 February 2011. Following an extensive review process, GRID-Arendal then undertook a complete revision of the full report in preparation for its additional launch in Beijing on 16 November 2011. 75. In the recent past, announcements of reform by a growing number of countries illustrate the type of impact that the report is intended to generate – they are plausible evidence of the global shift to which the UNEP report alludes. For instance, China recently announced that it would invest a total 468 billion dollars in green business developments over the next 5 years. Other countries like Barbados, Cambodia, Indo- nesia, Korea and South Africa have made plans for inclusion of green economy in national policies. South Africa has also developed a green economy strategy in the last year. Yet more countries – such as Arme- nia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Kenya, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Senegal and Ukraine – have introduced policies to support a green strategy in various sectors, including agriculture, renewable energy, tourism and clean technology.

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