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A new Rapid Response Assessment report on waste crime
told the story of the illegal trade of hazardous waste.
Called Waste Crime – Waste Risks: Gaps in Meeting
the Global Waste Challenge the report found that huge
amounts hazardous waste is illegally traded or dumped
each year. Prepared by GRID-Arendal for UNEP, Waste
Crime highlighted the fact that the illegal e-waste trade is
estimated to be worth US $19 billion a year.
To tell a story in a different way, GRID-Arendal launched
its first story maps last year. This is part of a new
initiative that uses an old technology (maps) merged with
new techniques and social media to attract attention to
important stories. This innovative approach combines
maps, graphics and video to communicate complex ideas
in a simple story format. A good example is the story
map about Sargassum seaweed produced for a Regional
Expert Group Meeting held in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in
November. In recent years Sargassum has been seen as
a pest, washing up in vast quantities on beaches on both
sides of the Atlantic. It is a major problem in West Africa.
GRID-Arendal’s staff, consultants and interns have worked
hard over the last year to bring our stories to the attention
of politicians, policy makers and the general public. While
our work is divided into eight different programmes, our
small communications, finance and administration teams
support all of our efforts. I want to acknowledge everyone
for his or her dedication and initiative in 2015.
It is now a year since GRID-Arendal made a number of
internal changes that have made us more efficient and
helped focus our work with our most important partner,
the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Among these changes are regular meetings of a new
UNEP–GRID-Arendal Steering Committee that ensures
even closer collaboration and better coordination of
our work.
Of course none of GRID-Arendal’s work would be
possible without the continued support and trust of the
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of
Climate and Environment and many other contributors
and funders. Other important collaborations include
the University of Agder, the network of UN related
organizations in Norway, the Municipality of Arendal and
the County of Aust Agder.
Our goal is a more peaceful world where environmental
values are a natural part of decision-making – whether
those decisions are by government, business or
individuals. Linking the global trends to national, regional
and local concerns is an important element of our work.
I want to thank all those we have worked with – staff,
partner organizations, governments and many others –
for a successful year. Our collective efforts are making
a difference. We look forward to continued cooperation
and success in 2016.
