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The UNEP Shelf Programme, which assists develop-
ing coastal and island countries all over the world in
their coastal zone delineation process, achieved major
international interest and credit in 2007. The Norwegian
Minister of the Environment and International Develop-
ment and the Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs
visited GRID-Arendal and identified the UNEP Shelf
Programme as an ideal platform for the development
of a larger marine environmental programme for UNEP.
Prominent conferences organised by GRID-Arendal in
2007 in Arendal, including
Linking Tourism and Conser-
vation – A Finance-Initiative for Protected Areas
and the
UN Carbon-Neutrality Goal
conference, resulted in con-
crete commitments of the participating stakeholders to
engage in meaningful relationships with GRID-Arendal.
The municipality of Arendal and the Norwegian Gov-
ernment aim for the city and ultimately, the country, to
become the first to be “climate neutral”. GRID-Aren-
dal’s commitment to sustainability, as demonstrated
by our investment in an energy-efficient office building
and our endeavour to become carbon neutral, has po-
sitioned the organization as a role model and to take
on a more significant role as a facilitator of emerging
related initiatives.
Peter Prokosch
Managing Director