33
vention. With 2012 funding provided by BP
71
, the CIC is also
designed to satisfy the need for public disclosure
and outreach.
Ministerial Statement
and Decisions of the Third
Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the
Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine
Environment of the Caspian Sea - 10-12
0
August Aktau,
Republic of Kazakhstan:
“The Ministers of Natural Resources and Environment
and High-Level Officials of the Governments of the Parties
to the Framework Convention for the Protection of the
Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea…
10. Welcome the presentation of the first State of the
Environment report as a comprehensive document to
implement the activities of the Caspian Environment
Program and the Tehran Convention; decide that the next
State of the Environment report should be issued in four years
time, and request the (interim) Secretariat to develop for
submissionanddecisionby theConference of theParties at its
fourth Meeting, a format for future state of the environment
reports with major indicators and networks of institutions
capable of measuring the quality of the waters of the
Caspian Sea.”
At national level an
Integrated Environmental Assessment of
Lake Sevan
, was carried out in collaboration with the Associ-
ation for Sustainable Human Development in Yerevan.
72
The
work was intended to guide policy on protection of the most
important inner water body of the Republic of Armenia.
First Deputy Minister of theMinistry of the Environment
of the Republic of Armenia Mr. S. Papyan on the impact
of the Lake Sevan assessment:
“The group of experts has collected, analyzed and
systematized the information materials on the issue,
available in the country as well as the new results obtained
in the course of special expeditions. The elaborated
suggestions and recommendations require special
attention. I use this opportunity to thank GRID-Arendal
for the support of this extremely relevant project”.
i
The assessment had the intended effect as certain
recommendations were adopted by the Armenian
Ministry of Nature Protection and, subsequently, incorpo-
rated in the 2012 Programme of Work of the Lake Sevan
Commission (see box above). This includes the establish-
ment of a special working group comprising government
officials and civil society representatives (an environmen-
tal coalition) tasked with investigating the impact of min-
ing on the water quality.
73
Further sensitisation at the poli-
cy level was demonstrated by the decision to discuss the
results of the environmental assessment at a meeting of
the National Council for Sustainable Development in Oc-
tober 2011 attended by the Prime Minister.
The CB&A Programme has embarked on developing a
new area of work, focusing on chemical safety. A project
proposal related to combating Persistent Organic Pollut-
ants (POPs) in the food chain of indigenous peoples in
the Russian Arctic (particularly the Nenets) has been pre-
pared and submitted for funding to the Norwegian Min-
istry of Health and Care Services. The Centre for Environ-
ment and Sustainable Development (Eco-Accord) and the
International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN) would
be key partners. Further joint projects are under discus-
sion and a concept note on a project on POPs and climate
change in the Arctic has been outlined prior to a joint GEF
proposal in 2013.
9.3
Green economy and
capacity building
In 2011, GRID-Arendal strengthened its standing within
UNEP as a key partner in raising awareness about Green
Economy issues through publications, dissemination and
active outreach. The most visible illustration of GRID-
Arendal’s growing engagement is the production
74
of
UNEP’s milestone report,
Towards a Green Economy:
Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradi-
cation
, which highlights the critical importance of shifting
the world’s economies towards a more resource-efficient,
low-carbon and socially inclusive economic paradigm, the
so-called ‘green economy’. The report has received atten-
tion from governments, industry and civil society organi-
zations worldwide, although it is too early to attribute to
this work any country-level progress in adopting ‘green
economy’ or ‘green business’ or ‘green growth’ policies.
75
71. BP funding is part of a growing global pattern of public-private col-
laboration in the oil and gas sector. Currently Caspian states are in the
process of appointing National Environmental Information Officers to
serve as the CIC liaison persons. The kick-off meeting was hosted by BP
72. The full report, the Integrated assessment of ecological state of Lake
Sevan, is available for download at
http://www.grida.no/publications/lake%2Dsevan/
73. Ref. ministerial order (N5-A, 18.01.2012), Ministry of Operations.
74. GRID-Arendal completed the graphics and layout for the online
publication prior to the soft launch held in Nairobi on 21 February 2011.
Following an extensive review process, GRID-Arendal then undertook
a complete revision of the full report in preparation for its additional
launch in Beijing on 16 November 2011.
75. In the recent past, announcements of reform by a growing number
of countries illustrate the type of impact that the report is intended to
generate – they are plausible evidence of the global shift to which the
UNEP report alludes. For instance, China recently announced that it
would invest a total 468 billion dollars in green business developments
over the next 5 years. Other countries like Barbados, Cambodia, Indo-
nesia, Korea and South Africa have made plans for inclusion of green
economy in national policies. South Africa has also developed a green
economy strategy in the last year. Yet more countries – such as Arme-
nia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Kenya, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Senegal
and Ukraine – have introduced policies to support a green strategy in
various sectors, including agriculture, renewable energy, tourism and
clean technology.