4 / 32
4
Amazonia
SouthWest
Atlantic
Andes
area
Beri
Se
North
America
Our work
Environmental crime
INTERPOL and UNEP released a GRID-Arendal Rapid
Response Assessment (RRA) report The Environmental
Crime Crisis in June, 2014. The report highlights how
environmental crime is used to finance criminal, militia
and terrorist groups and how it threatens human security
and sustainable development.
Transboundary Waters
GRID-Arendal’s support for the Interim Secretariat of
the Tehran Convention focused on the preparation of
key documents to inform the Fifth Conference of the
Parties (COP5) and further development of the Caspian
Environmental Information Center.
Adaptation to Climate Change
GRID-Arendal continued its involvement in the Himalayan
Climate Change Adaptation Programme (HICAP) which
aims to enhance the resilience of mountain people,
particularly women, by improving the understanding of
vulnerability to change and identifying opportunities and
potentials for adaptation.
Marine and Coastal Environment
The West African States of Cabo Verde, Gambia, Guinea,
Guinea Bissau, Mauritania, Senegal and Sierra Leone
filed their submission for their continental shelf beyond
200 nautical miles in New York on 25 September 2014.
GRID-Arendal was one of the Norwegian institutions that
had provided support to the West African States for the
preparation of their submission, along with the Norwegian
Petroleum Directorate and the Legal Department of the
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
2014 PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS
For GRID-Arendal, 2014 was a year marked by success,
new beginnings and transition. Major events included the
successful completion of six years of work when seven
West African countries submitted extended continental
shelf claims to the United Nations Commission on the Law
of the Sea (UNCLOS); the publication of the successful
Rapid Response Assessment of the Environmental Crime
Crisis launched in June; the commencement of a new
Green Economy programme and a “Blue Forest” UNEP/
Global Environment Facility (GEF) programme involving
12 international partners; a change in Managing Director;
and the re-structuring of GRID-Arendal.
Broadly speaking, GRID-Arendal’s 2014 work can be
grouped under five main themes: Environmental Crime,
Transboundary Waters, Supporting Environmental
Management, Adaptation to Climate Change, and Marine
and Coastal Resources. GRID-Arendal is also UNEP’s
Centre of Excellence on Polar Issues.
Naturally, we don’t work alone. GRID-Arendal’s
success is in a large part due to its partners. The global
environmental challenges we face will not be solved by any
one organization, no matter how dedicated and talented
its staff might be. At GRID-Arendal experience has shown
us that the rapid environmental change our planet faces
means we need to act in unison. While national level
action is important, there is a need for concerted global
action. In the coming years, GRID-Arendal will be well
placed to help meet that need.