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

10. Assessment of effectiveness

September 25th 2014 saw the seven West African countries of Cabo Verde, The Gambia, The Republic of Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Senegal and Sierra lodge a joint continental shelf submission to the United Nations. This was the climax of the Norwegian- led efforts of the Shelf Programme in West Africa. The submission is a testament to the combined commitment and skills of the national experts and decision makers from the seven countries, and the effectiveness and value-added of Norwegian support to GRID-Arendal for the implementation of the Shelf Programme over the past decade. There was strong evidence during the year that GRID- Arendal continues to be seen by UNEP as a valuable member of the ‘UNEP Family’. Request from UNEP for a Rapid Response Assessment of the Environmental Crime Crisis reached a global audience and a series of countries and agencies are now engaging internationally to address the threat of illegal trade in wildlife. Another example of requests for innovative, high quality publications are Atlases of the Changing Environment which are received on a regular basis. A total of 26 publications were produced for and with UNEP and with other partners in 2014. In addition to the publications stream, various UNEP divisions consistently approach GRID-Arendal for support on training and capacity building activities and the development of new initiatives. The Environmental Crime programme in particular evolved and diversified in 2014 to cover issues including electronic waste, illegal fisheries, illegal logging, and the poaching of wildlife and other resources. Developed jointly with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), it receives

project funding from a range of donors. GRID- Arendal’s skills, networks and partnerships are clearly adding value to UNEP’s Programme of Work and are routinely called upon by UNEP to help deliver desirable outcomes. This includes projects as varied as continued support to the Tehran Convention, collaboration with the UNEP Vienna office on assessment of climate change challenges in mountain regions, and a partnership with the Abidjan Convention (UNEP Regional Seas). It also includes support to the Green Economy efforts of UNEP DTIE and the UNEP Regional Office for Europe and our collaborative efforts in three transboundary river basins in Africa with UNEP DEWA. Beyond our support toUNEP, GRID-Arendal continued to strengthen key partnerships with regional organizations. With SPC/SOPAC (Pacific Islands region), we delivered capacitybuildingsupport onmarine spatial planning, deep sea mining issues and maritime boundary delineation. Working with the German Development Agency (GIZ) we helped identify, communicate and replicate best practices or ‘Blue Solutions’ related to marine and coastal settings. We also supported the European Union in developing a seafloor map of EU waters and informing policy makers on the environmental considerations linked to potential deep sea mining. For the Hindu-Kush mountain region we assisted ICIMOD in its efforts to assess and build capacity for adaptation to uncertain climate futures. And on Polar issues, we provided technical support to workgroups of the Arctic Council on monitoring changes in the Arctic Environment and secretariat support to the University of the Arctic to enable a vibrant pan-Arctic academic collaborative platform. These diverse activities exemplify how our support to UNEP is also leveraged in a variety of directions, and further demonstrates the far- reaching impacts and effectiveness of Norwegian support to GRID-Arendal.

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