9
Several climate-related publications have been produced.
The
Green Carbon, Black Trade
RRA on
Illegal Logging
fo-
cused on the tactics being deployed in illegal logging
and options for reducing both deforestation and carbon
emissions.
Clean Energy Postcards
are concise and easily
accessible sources of information for the general public,
journalists, NGOs and policy-makers worldwide, enabling
them to easily grasp and effectively communicate clean
energy concepts. The postcards were produced for the
UNFCCC COP18 in Doha in December 2012. The
Short–
lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs) Vital Graphics
are pro-
duced to support UNEP’s activities in the Climate Clean
Air Coalition (CCAC).
GRID-Arendal continues to be an active partner in the
Himalayan Climate Adaptation Programme (HICAP),
which aims to enhance mountain communities’ resilience
to change, particularly climate change, by improving the
understanding of vulnerabilities and opportunities for ad-
aptation.
Marine and coastal resources
The continental shelves contain among the greatest natu-
ral resources available for developing coastal states and
mapping their boundaries is critical for future planning.
For coastal nations, the continental shelves contain valu-
able minerals, hydrocarbons, and living resources critical
to tourism, fisheries, food security, coastal livelihoods,
health and culture.
The Shelf Programme, one of the “flagship” programmes
of GRID-Arendal, is seen (as expressed by high officials of
governments) as one of the most important Norwegian
programmes supporting developing countries. Particular
focus of GRID-Arendal’s programme was on West Afri-
can countries. In 2012, GRID-Arendal as part of a tech-
nical partnership, completed a major a major sea-floor
mapping programme providing the most comprehensive
seafloor geophysical data set ever collected in the region.
Technicians and specialists from seven West African
countries (Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau,
Mauritania, Senegal and Sierra Leone) participated in
regular capacity-building workshops held at GRID-Aren-
dal during 2012-13, where interpretation and analysis of
the marine geophysical data collected in the West African
region was carried out. These workshops have not only
built technical capacity for the participants, but have also
built bridges and professional networks among African
experts, fostering regional collaboration, sharing of infor-
mation and dialogue.
In the Pacific region, the Maritime Boundaries partnership
contributed to regional stability and improved ocean gov-
ernance opportunities. The partnership has played a key
role in making this happen alongside that almost 30% of
the shared maritime boundaries in the region have been
resolved and appropriate legislation enacted.
In support of the United Nations World Ocean Assess-
ment (WOA), GRID-Arendal has created a dedicated web-
site and helped to organize capacity-building workshops.
The new website provides information for the general
public as well as an editorial system to assist members
of the WOA Group of Experts to compile information and
draft their report by the end of 2014. The workshops have
enabled developing countries in South East Asia and West
Africa to conduct their own State of the Marine Environ-
ment reporting and to thus be able to participate in and
contribute to the WOA.
Major outputs have been completed in regard to the Pacif-
ic Deep Sea Minerals Assessment. The Secretariat of the
Pacific Community-European Union Deep Sea Minerals
in the Pacific Islands Region: A Legal and Fiscal Frame-
work for Sustainable Resource Management Project is be-
ing implemented in 15 Pacific countries. The Pacific Deep
Sea Minerals Assessment, which is part of this project,
has been completed by GRID-Arendal and was launched
in December 2013. The two-volume report provides the
first integrated examination of the key aspects of miner-
al extraction for policy-makers, including the geological,
biological, technical, social, economic, and fiscal com-
ponents. These volumes have, for the first time, brought
together international experts with a broad range of skills
and backgrounds relating to deep sea minerals. Consoli-
dating this information to support decision-making, and
the regional development of a legislative framework to
underpin resource development, both within and beyond
national jurisdictions, places the Pacific Island states at
the forefront of responsible management of their non-
renewable resources.
To illustrate that the ecological health and economic pro-
ductivity of marine and coastal ecosystems, which are
currently in decline around the globe, can be boosted
by shifting to a more sustainable economic paradigm,
GRID-Arendal published, in fulfillment of a UNEP request,
the
Green Economy in a Blue World
report in 2012. The report
describes how generating renewable energy and promoting
eco-tourism, sustainable fisheries and transport are more
compatible with sustainable and inclusive economies.
Building on experience with the Shelf Programme for de-
veloping coastal countries, GRID-Arendal has engaged
with several Regional Seas Conventions to support capaci-
ty development for sustainable management of the marine
environment, including the Abidjan Convention (coast of
West Africa), the Nairobi Convention (coast of East Afri-
ca), the Barcelona Convention (Mediterranean Sea) and
the Tehran Convention (Caspian Sea). GRID-Arendal has
entered into special cooperation with the Abidjan Con-
vention, and participated in their meetings and activities.
Coastal populations in the 22 member states (the Atlantic
coast of Africa, from Mauritania to South Africa) are to
a large extent dependent on the marine environment for
food and socio-economic development. As unsustainable