Publication Name

The objective of MAIN was to bring together expertise,

knowledge, and local experiences in a common network

that empowers communities across the globe to create,

share, use, and store knowledge to support sustainable

living. Although it has since been decided to bring the

project to a close, MAIN continued to feature as part of

GRID-Arendal’s Work Programme through to July 2011.

Associated activities and outputs are therefore summa-

rized below.

‘Developing a Knowledge Base for Energy Efficiency and

Decentralized Renewable Energy in India’ was a project

under the umbrella of MAIN implemented by Develop-

ment Alternatives (DA), India, with support from GRID-

Arendal. The overall goal of the project was to build

knowledge in the area of decentralized renewable energy

by creating a learning platform for the implementation

of projects that capitalize upon local skills and resourc-

es, with women in key operational roles. The knowledge

base, including case studies, interactive maps and a De-

cision Support System, was launched June 2011.

Devel-

opment Alternatives continue to work with and develop

the knowledge base in liaison with local partners, helping

communities to scale up renewable energy solutions. Al-

together 7 publications have been produced in the frame-

work of the MAIN-DA activities in India, with another five,

plus two short documentaries, related to MAIN work in

Africa (see Annex 1).

Under the umbrella of

Sustainable Tourism

GRID-Arendal

is supporting relevant projects of UNEP DTIE including

using tourism as a channel to promote UNEP’s Green

Economy work. GRID-Arendal is also pioneering some

initiatives under the dual banner of Green Economy and

Marine Ecosystem Management –

Linking Tourism and

Conservation (LT&C)

. The LT&C highlights worldwide ex-

amples of tourism best practices that support the devel-

opment and management of protected areas in line with

the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), map

and monitor their further development and increase un-

derstanding of good LT&C models and how they could be

replicated.

In the context of global sustainable tourism alliances,

GRID-Arendal’s role encompasses:

• Advisory Member of the

Global Partnership for Sus- tainable Tourism (GPST) 8

launched in 2011 to inject

sustainability principles into the mainstream of tour-

ism policies, development, and operations. The Sec-

retariat is hosted by UNEP DTIE and there are cur-

rently 83 partners. The GRID-Arendal LT&C initiative

is an official project of the GPST;

• Substantive contributions to

DestiNet 8

, a multi-stake-

holder sustainable tourism observatory, knowledge

networking tool, best practice database and global

green market-place; and

• Membership in the IUCN’s

Tourism and Protected ar- eas Specialist Group (TAPAS) 8

, which envisions a fu-

ture where tourism in protected areas has a positive

impact on biodiversity, and where tourism is environ-

mentally, socially and economically sustainable.

As part of the GPST, GRID-Arendal developed and

launched a survey at the end of 2011 to collect informa-

tion on existing sustainable tourism projects, businesses

and concepts that support protected areas.

Distributed

to over 500 direct contacts and a number of networks, the

survey data will be analysed, visualized, and disseminated

in 2012-2013.

Communicating environmental knowledge through expe-

riential training reinforces the understanding of the posi-

tive role that sustainable tourism can play in greening

the economy. In this spirit, and in partnership with and

funded by the British Council, GRID-Arendal operates a

regular training programme for young professionals be-

tween the ages of 20 and 30 years who have a proven

commitment to climate change. In 2011 young profes-

sionals participated in the

Svalbard Climate Training Pro-

gramme

, during which GRID-Arendal shared its scientific

and social expertise in the areas of climate change, polar

environments, green economy and sustainable tourism

while utilizing the environment of Svalbard as a powerful

training arena.

9.4

Communication and

outreach

The Communications and Outreach team of GRID-Aren-

dal, comprising 9 staff (including two interns), provides

cross-support to GRID-Arendal’s programme areas

span-

ning a range of specialisations, such as cartography, lay-

out, publications support and dissemination, web design

and development, content management, rich media and

graphics design, and digital integration. These speciali-

sations are integral components of each product or ser-

vice delivered by GRID-Arendal operational staff and, as

such, cannot in practical terms be assessed in isolation.

The Communications team also has responsibility for

certain core functions that underpin the operations of the

organisation as a whole, such as ICT administration and

systems development, outreach, and website and media

management.

79.

http://www.devalt.org/knowledgebase/

80.

http://www.globalsustainabletourism.com/Members/39-UNEP-

GRID-Arendal.html

81.

http://destinet.eu/countries/EUR/no/unep-grid-arendal

82.

http://www.iucn.org/about/union/commissions/wcpa/wcpa_what/

wcpa_capacity/wcpa_tourismtf/