The 5th Biennial GEF International Waters Conference, hosted by the
Government of Australia in Cairns, North Queensland October 26 through
29, 2009, offers an exciting menu of participative learning
opportunities. Pre-conference technical workshops on October 24
and 25 will feature leading Australian experts in complex basin
and marine systems, dealing with resolving conflicting demands among
diverse stakeholders, and coping with water scarcity and the technical
as well as societal impacts of climate change. GEF-IW:LEARN's
partnership with the Coral Triangle Initiative and the Global Forum on
Oceans, Coasts and Islands, aims to help GEF IW projects exchange
practical experience in linking freshwater and marine management, and a
key objective of this portfolio learning event is to promote
sustainable development in basin and coastal communities sharing
natural resource systems, to achieve MDGs through the benefits of
transboundary cooperation in ecosystem-based management. With an eye to
integrated-ecosystem based management and mainstreaming climate
variability and change, this meeting is meant to build on 2009's key
freshwater and marine meetings with an eye to preparing the GEF IW
portfolio for the future. To that end, participants are encouraged read
both the
Ministerial
Statement from the World Water Forum and the Manado
Ocean
Declaration.
