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September 25th 2014 saw the seven West African
countries of Cabo Verde, The Gambia, The Republic
of Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Senegal and
Sierra lodge a joint continental shelf submission to the
United Nations. This was the climax of the Norwegian-
led efforts of the Shelf Programme in West Africa. The
submission is a testament to the combined commitment
and skills of the national experts and decision makers
from the seven countries, and the effectiveness and
value-added of Norwegian support to GRID-Arendal for
the implementation of the Shelf Programme over the
past decade.
There was strong evidence during the year that GRID-
Arendal continues to be seen by UNEP as a valuable
member of the ‘UNEP Family’. Request from UNEP for a
Rapid Response Assessment of the Environmental Crime
Crisis reached a global audience and a series of countries
and agencies are now engaging internationally to address
the threat of illegal trade in wildlife. Another example
of requests for innovative, high quality publications are
Atlases of the Changing Environment which are received
on a regular basis. A total of 26 publications were produced
for and with UNEP and with other partners in 2014.
In addition to the publications stream, various UNEP
divisions consistently approach GRID-Arendal for
support on training and capacity building activities and
the development of new initiatives. The Environmental
Crime programme in particular evolved and diversified
in 2014 to cover issues including electronic waste, illegal
fisheries, illegal logging, and the poaching of wildlife
and other resources. Developed jointly with the UN
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International
Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), and the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), it receives
10.
Assessment of effectiveness
project funding from a range of donors. GRID-
Arendal’s skills, networks and partnerships are clearly
adding value to UNEP’s Programme of Work and are
routinely called upon by UNEP to help deliver desirable
outcomes. This includes projects as varied as continued
support to the Tehran Convention, collaboration with the
UNEP Vienna office on assessment of climate change
challenges in mountain regions, and a partnership with
the Abidjan Convention (UNEP Regional Seas). It also
includes support to the Green Economy efforts of UNEP
DTIE and the UNEP Regional Office for Europe and our
collaborative efforts in three transboundary river basins
in Africa with UNEP DEWA.
Beyond our support toUNEP, GRID-Arendal continued to
strengthen key partnerships with regional organizations.
With SPC/SOPAC (Pacific Islands region), we delivered
capacitybuildingsupport onmarine spatial planning, deep
sea mining issues and maritime boundary delineation.
Working with the German Development Agency (GIZ) we
helped identify, communicate and replicate best practices
or ‘Blue Solutions’ related to marine and coastal settings.
We also supported the European Union in developing a
seafloor map of EU waters and informing policy makers
on the environmental considerations linked to potential
deep sea mining. For the Hindu-Kush mountain region
we assisted ICIMOD in its efforts to assess and build
capacity for adaptation to uncertain climate futures.
And on Polar issues, we provided technical support to
workgroups of the Arctic Council on monitoring changes
in the Arctic Environment and secretariat support to the
University of the Arctic to enable a vibrant pan-Arctic
academic collaborative platform. These diverse activities
exemplify how our support to UNEP is also leveraged in
a variety of directions, and further demonstrates the far-
reaching impacts and effectiveness of Norwegian support
to GRID-Arendal.