Highlights and images for 19 December 2018

Summary

A red-shanked lengur, sometimes called the "costumed ape" for its extravegant appearance, is native to Southeast Asia.

On Wednesday, 19 December 2018, the GEF Council meeting opened with a presentation from Rosina Bierbaum, Chairperson of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP), on the STAP’s recent and upcoming activities, including:

her role as a science advisor to the new Global Adaptation Commission and work that is expected during 2019 on adaptation issues;
phase 3 of STAP work on climate risk screening, looking at how Agencies screen and develop appropriate guidance;
recently completed papers on novel entities and on innovation and GEF, noting the latter has resulted in STAP recommendations to the GEF Partnership regarding defining their risk appetite;
issues that STAP will cover in a forthcoming paper on local commons for global benefits;
how lessons learned from the Integrated Approach Pilots (IAPs) are being used in the design and review of the GEF-7 Impact Programs (IPs) documents that will be submitted to the June 2019 meeting of the GEF Council; and
possible future STAP work, including: an advisory on the use of Earth observation data to improve project planning and programming; further work on land degradation neutrality (LDN); work with the scientific community and Global Adaptation Commission to develop adaptation metrics; an examination of issues in aquaculture; and guidance on multi-stakeholder engagement.

During a discussion on Relations with the Conventions and Other International Institutions, representatives from the multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) for which the GEF serves as a financial mechanism reported on recent or upcoming decision-making events related to the GEF and its programming directions. Members highlighted the role of the GEF in identifying synergies among the Conventions, as well as the importance of cooperating with the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
The Council also discussed the: GEF-7 Non-Grant Instrument Program; Semi-Annual Evaluation Report November 2018 and Management Response; Options for a Responsible Investment Strategy; Policy on Access to Information; Report from the Ad-hoc Working Group on Governance; and Strengthening Consultations with Civil Society: Proposed Topic for Discussion at the Consultations of the 56th GEF Council Meeting.

IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage from the 55th Meeting of the GEF Council. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary report of the meeting in HTML and PDF.

Photos by IISD/ENB | Leila Mead

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