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On Tuesday morning, 20 October 2015, Naoko Ishii, Global Environment Facility (GEF) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co-Chairperson opened the 49th GEF Council meeting. She praised the new centrality of environmental sustainability in global policy discussions, noting the GEF’s participation in SDG-related discussions and its role as financial mechanism for the Rio Conventions and other MEAs. CEO Ishii highlighted the GEF Secretariat’s reorganization, which will enhance integrated programming and GEF implementation and pointed to the potential for the Non-Grant Instrument (NGI) to mobilize funding for natural resource management. She said this meeting’s discussions will affect the GEF’s future and noted the GEF’s 25th anniversary in 2016. The Council elected Anyaa Vohiri, Council member for Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo consistency as Co-Chair of the meeting and adopted the agenda (GEF/C.49/01/Rev.02).
In the morning a panel discussion on the Amazon took place. Tom Lovejoy, Scientist and Amazon Expert highlighted the need to view and manage the Amazon as a system and presented a comprehensive map created by National Geographic publication, which could help improve integrated systems planning and management. Christian Samper, CEO, Wildlife Conservation Society, discussed research related to the Amazon. The Report of the Chairperson of the Scientific and Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel was presented was also presented.
In the afternoon, Richard Kinely, Deputy Executive Secretary, UNFCCC spoke on preparations for UNFCCC COP 21. He expressed optimism for COP 21, depending on its outcomes on finance. He noted consensus to include the GEF in the post-Paris financial mechanism, commending the GEF’s record on adaptation finance. The agenda item on Future Directions on Accreditation was also considered. |
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» GEF-C49
