Portfolio Bulletin Issue 2020.04
GEF IW Portfolio News |
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[GEF-UNEP/UKCEH INMS] During his statement at the United Nations Summit on Biodiversity on 30 September 2020, H.E. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka, urged world leaders to direct more efforts towards improved management of nitrogen as it is imperative not only to protecting biodiversity but sustaining life itself.
[GEF-UNDP/UNOPS Yellow Sea LME Phase II] With the strong commitments of PR China and RO Korea Governments, the updated Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) for the Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (YSLME) or YSLME TDA 2020 was endorsed by the YSLME Interim Commission Council (ICC) during its 5th meeting held on 19 October 2020. This was also made possible with the support of UNDP, GEF, UNOPS and other partner organizations. The YSLME TDA was first published in 2007 and the YSLME TDA 2020 provides an update to the summary of the state of the YSLME and reports on the impacts of governance, legislative, and regulatory change put in place since 2007, as well as changes in awareness of the impacts of climate change and emerging pollutants, based on recently collected and analyzed scientific data.
[GEF-UNDP/PEMSEA ATSEA-2] The Indonesian village of Karey may not be located in the Aru Tenggara (or Southeast Aru) Marine Protected Area (MPA), but their petuanan (or territories where customary communities collect/manage resources from land and marine areas) spreads across half of the MPA. Because of this, the Southeast Aru MPA, set in the Aru Islands Regency, Maluku Province, is a key source of livelihoods for all of its neighboring communities.
[GEF-UNEP/SEAFDEC Fisheries Refugia] The short mackerel (Rastrelliger brachysoma), also known as Indo-Pacific Mackerel, is among the most economically important small pelagic fishes, contributing to approximately 38% of the Southeast Asian Region’s total small pelagic fisheries production or 11% of total capture fisheries production in 2010. The decline in landing catch of the short mackerel in South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) zooms in to a crucial issue.
[GEF-World Bank/SADC-GMI Sustainable Groundwater Management] COVID-19 has set new rules for us—regular handwashing, wearing of masks, and frequent sanitation. All these have become the ‘new normal’ as we embrace physical distancing with the hope of preventing infections and protecting human health. During this pandemic, one thing is clear; the need for safe water is essential to adjust to the ‘new normal.’ But what about those who lack access to clean, affordable and frequent supply of water?
[GEF-UNEP/Nairobi Convention WIO-SAP] Water, essential to all life, plays a particularly important role in the lives of Tanzanians residing near the Mbarali River, part of the larger Rufiji River basin. Here, farmers use water from the river to irrigate their crops. Cattle herders guide their animals to its banks to drink and graze. Fishers make a living catching fish from its waters. Still others use it as a place to wash laundry or quench their thirst. Yet all of these different demands on the river come at a price.
[GEF-UNDP/UNEP Nairobi Convention SAPPHIRE] Private sector enterprises are some of the main users of the ocean. From local tourist operators and fishers selling their products on the side of the road all the way to multinational oil, mining, shipping, large tourism and transport companies, these actors rely heavily on marine and coastal resources for their livelihoods and profits. And yet they are rarely involved in efforts to promote and protect these same ocean assets. This is despite the fact that there are many ways that the private sector can contribute to ocean protection.
[GEF-UNDP/SFP Global Marine Commodities] “BUSINESS AS USUAL.” It was not long ago that we used this expression. However, the COVID-19 global pandemic has required us to rethink its meaning. The crisis has had profound impacts on the seafood sector, and on the livelihoods of industrial and small-scale fishers as a result. The food system has been disrupted all along the supply chain, from demand and supply to production. The pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of communities dependent on fisheries as a result of the informal status of the fishing activity.
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) mourns the loss of a true ocean champion, Biliana Cicin-Sain. Biliana, who founded and led the Global Ocean Forum, was actively engaged in multiple GEF projects, including the Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction programs and the CTI IW:LEARN project. |
GEF IW:LEARN Partner Updates |
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[WWF, ICPDR] 2020 October 9 - The Partnership of the Year Award goes to Coca-Cola for its Living Danube Partnership with WWF-Central and Eastern Europe (WWF-CEE) and the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR). The award was presented at today’s online Reuters Responsible Business Awards 2020.
[GEF, WWF] More than 60 Heads of State and Government, including the leaders of five of the world’s largest economies, endorse the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature, committing to decisive action on nature to protect human and planetary health.
[IOC-UNESCO] Proponents of endorsed Decade Actions will have the opportunity to join a highly visible, shared, global effort that builds on decades of achievement in ocean science. There will be opportunities to create new collaborations across disciplines, geographies and generations, as well as opportunities to access new sources of support. |
WEBINARS, CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES |
From the GEF IW Portfolio
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From GEF IW:LEARN Partners
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From other water-related organizations
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| We are open for submissions! Please visit https://iwlearn.net/news/newsletter/guide-storysubmission for guidance on how to prepare and send an IW:LEARN News story. |
