Publication Name

GEF/UNEP Blue Forests Project

One of the Marine Division’s most significant strategic

project developments is the proposal for the GEF Blue

Forests Project. This four-year project, expected to begin

in the first quarter of 2014, will be implemented by UNEP

and executed by GRID-Arendal. It aims to provide a bet-

ter understanding of natural coastal carbon sequestration

and storage and other coastal ecosystem service values,

and explores how these values can be utilized for im-

proved and sustainable ecosystem management.

Core project partners

held their first formal meeting in

January 2013. The responsibilities and expectations of each

project partner and component were discussed, and a plan

of action for incorporating them into the project proposal

was agreed. Project consultations continued through 2013,

and the Full-Sized Proposal (FSP) has now been finalized

for submission by UNEP to the GEF. Additional project

partners and funding were secured during 2013, including

the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

(NOAA)

and the Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data

26.

http://www.unep.org/

27.

Blue Ventures, Conservation International

Duke University

GRID-Arendal, the

Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries,

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC),

and the

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)

28.

http://www.noaa.gov/

Initiative (AGEDI),

which together bring approximately

USD11 million in co-financing to the project.

AGEDI’s co-

finance includes the entire Abu Dhabi Blue Carbon Demon-

stration Project managed by GRID-Arendal (see below), as

a ‘featured intervention’ of the GEF project. Other interven-

tions of the Blue Forests Project include those planned in

Indonesia, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Ecuador. Rep-

lication and up-scaling activities are planned globally with

targeted activities planned in Central America and Kenya.

During 2013 GRID-Arendal represented the GEF Blue

Forests Project in the monthly Eye on Oceans and Blue

Carbon

partner calls, a Special Initiative of the Eye on

Earth Summit,

managed by AGEDI and UNEP. Since July

2013 GRID-Arendal has produced ‘Bluepages’, a bi-weekly

newsletter for the Blue Forests Project intended to keep all

partners updated on the progress of the project and up to

date with relevant news and events.

29.

http://www.agedi.ae/

30. Other partners brought into the Blue Forests Project in 2013

include the

South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA)

Stockholm University

Charles Darwin University

, and

Blue Climate Solutions

(a project of

The Ocean Foundation

). Also, in September

2013, GRID-Arendal engaged with Washington,DC-based GEF

Blue Forests Project partners and Blue Carbon interests, including

UNEP-RONA

World Bank’s Global Partnership for Oceans

NOAA

U.S. Department of State,

The Ocean Foundation

Restore America’s Estuaries

, and the

Marine Conservation Institute.

31.

http://www.eyeonearthsummit.org/special-initiative-blue-carbon

32.

http://www.eyeonearthsummit.org/

Geographic reach of the GEF/UNEP Blue Forests Project though the small-scale interventions, replication and

up-scaling activities, and other project components.