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

During 2014 GRID-Arendal was also heavily engaged in preparing ICIMOD’s annual flagship conference which was entitled ‘Mountain People Adapting to Change: Solutions beyond Boundaries Bridging Science, Policy and Practice’. 18 GRID-Arendal took the lead with ICIMOD in designing the programme for the conference, which took the form of interactive dialogues and panel sessions - very different from the more traditional formats of previous years. Apart from the overall conference design, two panel sessions were developed by GRID-Arendal: one on ‘Mountain to Mountain’, which examined how the Himalayan region could learn from other mountain regions, and the other on ‘Connecting the Dots’, which examined the effectiveness of communications and where these could be strengthened. The well-known GRID-Arendal project Many Strong Voices (MSV) helps to raise the profile of people in the Arctic and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and their struggle against climate change. Following submission of the final report on the previous MSV project, GRID-Arendal submitted a new MSV proposal to the Norwegian Government in April 2014, and has lined up partnerships with many institutions for the new work that would be undertaken. Based on the strength of the MSV programme, GRID- Arendal was asked to lead on a submission to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) with partners in Canada, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, and Kiribati. This is the first step in submitting a full proposal for USD 500 000 to USAID to develop a transboundary adaptation plan in South Pacific countries. The proposal was submitted in February 2015.

Cartographic and editorial contributions were similarly made to the ICIMOD report Women’s Empowerment at the Frontline of Adaptation: Emerging Issues, Adaptive Practises and Priorities in Nepal . HICAP is taking another pathway to create awareness in order to generate change. One of the most effective and inclusive approaches to building public awareness is communication through the media. Very often, however, the media are unfamiliar with environmental issues, and at times lack experience for investigating stories. Through HICAP, GRID-Arendal and partners have been working to strengthen the capabilities of journalists to investigate and report on environmental issues. Hands-on training gives participants direct exposure to the most recent information on key environmental problems while working with senior environmental reporters and experts. Following the success of the regional training workshop in 2013, GRID-Arendal trained 12 Indian and Nepalese journalists in Assam, northeast India in February 2014. The workshop focused on climate and flood issues within the Brahmaputra river basin and led to the publication of numerous articles in the local, national and international press. 17 In addition, GRID-Arendal and ICIMOD have launched a journalist grant programme in the region. The grant provides opportunities for journalists to report from remote areas directly affected by climate change. Such opportunities rarely exist for local environmental journalists, who are generally confined to writing about such events from a news desk. In 2014, the grant helped three journalists to carry out innovative reporting projects. GRID-Arendal, in collaboration with UNEP/Vienna, has had considerable success in pushing forward the mountain agenda within the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals process through a series of Mountain Policy Briefs on why mountains matter for Energy, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction, Forests and Biodiversity, and Water (http://www.grida.no/publications/mountain-policy-briefs). Partly as a result of the briefs and related outreach efforts, mountains have been included in the post-2015 Open Working Group’s thematic paper on Water and Biodiversity. Our partner in the HICAP programme, ICIMOD, has congratulated GRID-Arendal on this effective policy work and wishes to engage further with GRID-Arendal on mountain issues that can connect the Himalayan region to global discussions and processes on mountain sustainable development. SIGNIFICANT OUTCOME CC Policy recognition of why mountains matter

17. http://www.icimod.org/?q=10364 18. http://www.grida.no/news/default/6209.aspx

SIGNIFICANT OUTCOME

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MSV recognition from a business perspective

In the samemonth that the newMSV proposal was submitted to the Norwegian Government, Sir Richard Branson , founder of Virgin Airlines, endorsed the project, saying “organizations like Many Strong Voices collaborate, act and innovate to achieve lasting change. Their critical work fills the gap between those affected by adverse climate impacts and the political and business leaders focused on creating big picture solutions. ” Sir Richard’s endorsement was reported in an e-mail received from Tricia Keller, Partnerships Director, Virgin Unite on 18 April 2014. In the same message Ms Keller stated: “We’re big fans of the work you’re doing and your significant impact.”

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