Programme Cooperation Agreement 2010 – 2011

7.2 Management of the marine environment

During 2011, the following Blue Carbon-related activities were initiated: • Arabian Peninsula Assessment Project – Under con- tract to the Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Ini- tiative (AGEDI), GRID-Arendal undertook a first level policy and science exploration of Blue Carbon for the Arabian Peninsula. Over 40 meetings were held with local, national, and regional authorities and organisa- tions throughout the region, including in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, and Jordan. The Blue Carbon - First level Exploration of Natural Coastal Carbon in the Arabian Peninsula report 12 was launched at the Eye on Earth Summit in Abu Dhabi in Decem- ber 2011. It focuses on opportunities to advance Blue Carbon in Abu Dhabi and the UAE and also explores the concept in a regional context. • Eye on Earth Summit – In partnership with AGEDI and the Washington DC-based non-profit, Blue Climate Solutions, GRID-Arendal put the spotlight on Blue Carbon at the Eye on Earth Summit, a major interna- tional event held in December 2011 and jointly hosted by the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD) and UNEP. The summit promoted the theme of knowl- 10. The MEM currently has 5 focus areas: Shelf + Blue Carbon; Sus- tainable Seas Programme; EbM/Spatial Planning; Green Economy in a Blue World; Natural Resources 11. Marine data and information management, marine assessments, outreach and communication, green economy, and offshore oil and gas environmental management 12. http://www.grida.no/publications/blue%2Dcarbon%2Darabian%2 Dpeninsula/

The focus that the extended continental shelf work has given to sustainable marine management, and the con- tacts established through that programme, will underpin the Marine Ecosystem Management (MEM) part of the Marine Programme going forward. 10 In this context, the Sustainable Seas Programme is a follow up of the UNEP Shelf Programme targeting “downstream” activities to support developing states in the sustainable management of the marine environment. A partnership is envisioned with UNEP, IOC, Norwegian institutions and others and, building on the network of contacts developed through the UNEP Shelf Programme, the first phase will focus on the same geographic areas. A Memorandum of Under- standing has already been signed with the Abidjan Con- vention and a pilot workshop is planned in West Africa to identify capacity development priorities and needs in five thematic areas. 11 The aim of GRID-Arendal’s Blue Carbon Initiative , a sig- nificant strategic outgrowth of the MEM since 2010, is to integrate Blue Carbon-related ecosystem management into national and regional policy design. There is a great need to assist coastal and island states to meet UN Mil- lennium Development Goals, promote the sustainable management of coastal Blue Carbon ecosystems through climate change adaptation and mitigation, recognise and value coastal ecosystem services, and strengthen institutions and capacity for sustainable management practices.

Peter Prokosch, MD of GRID-Arendal, in Blue Carbon debate at Eye on Earth Summit in December 2011 (photo by Robert Barnes)

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