Programme Cooperation Agreement 2014: Final Report for the Period 01 January 2014 to 01 March 2015

3 Support to ODA Countries in Environmental Management

3A Keeping the environment in Africa under review

In an attempt to secure long-term funding for the project, a medium-sized proposal was jointly developed with UNEP and submitted to GEF. There is been no decision on the proposal other than an acknowledgement of receipt.

The Africa Environmental Information Network (AfricaEIN) 13 supports African countries as they keep their state of the environment under review. One application is the development of country environment profiles. In 2014 10 countries published their profiles online: Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. To enable countries to actively upload their contributions, they were assisted by a User Guide prepared by GRID-Arendal on how to input data into country environmental profiles. In order to better profile the AfricaEIN, a stand-alone website is being developed. In addition, a simpleshow video explaining the network was also produced in English and French. 14 The Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) (http://www.necz.org.zm/) was given an award in October 2014 for their work on the Zambia Atlas (published in 2013) (http://www.grida.no/publications/zambia-atlas). The Zambia Atlas was a joint effort of GRID-Arendal, ZEMA and UNEP. The research benefited from the FK Norway Exchange (http://www.fredskorpset.no/en/) whereby Joel Simwinga of ZEMA was seconded to GRID-Arendal and Bernardas Padegimas, a GRID-Arendal staff member, was seconded to ZEMA. Additional support was received from GRID-Sioux Falls. ZEMA received the Best Public Sector Campaign Award, in recognition of the collaborative approach used in producing the Atlas and its influence on the public, from Zambia Public Relations Association (ZAPRA), a professional association for communication and public relations specialists. (http://www.zambiapra. org/news/2014-zapra-public-relations-awards) SIGNIFICANT OUTCOME EM Zambia: Atlas of Our Changing Environment

3BResourceUseEfficiency inAfrica“Water grabbing”

This project profiles the extent of large-scale land investments in Africa, as well as highlighting their impact on livelihoods and on water ecosystems. A summary of the project’s initial findings was published and distributed at the World Water Week in late August/early September 2014, and the findings were also presented in two plenary sessions. The full report was finalised in December and publication is expected in early 2015. The project was well received by the African Ministerial Conference on Water, and funding options for a future phase are now being explored. 3+ Support to ODA countries in environmental management funded from other (non-MFA) sources A joint study with UNEP, Food Wasted, Food Lost , was undertaken to establish the contribution of ecosystems restoration in meeting the food needs of the world’s growing population. The study was premised on the understanding that food producing ecosystems, including agro-ecosystems, forests and water ecosystems are reaching their full potential, and are therefore not the only solution to the world’s increasing food needs. The study argues that ecosystem degradation is a major cause of loss in potential food production, while human practices and preferences are blamed not only for food loss but also food waste. It calls for investment in better management of food producing ecosystems. The publication is part of the Think.Eat.Save campaign by UN agencies in response to the 2014 Zero Hunger Challenge by the UN Secretary General.

13. http://www.grida.no/publications/africa-ein 14. http://www.grida.no/news/default/6227.aspx

2014 PUBLICATIONS ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN ODA COUNTRIES

FAO, UNEP, GRID-Arendal and IWMI. 2014. Project: Analysis of impacts of large-scale investments in agriculture on water resources, ecosystems and livelihoods; and development of policy options for decision makers . Summary of project findings. http://www.grida.no/publications/water-grab Formo, R.K., H. Jørstad, C. Nellemann, C. Mafuta, R. Munang, J. Andrews, and J.N.Hval. 2014. FoodWasted, Food Lost – Food security by restoring ecosystems and reducing food loss . United Nations Environment Programme and GRID-Arendal, Nairobi and Arendal.

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