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IISD Reporting Services (IISD RS) Coverage
IISD RS is providing daily web coverage (including photos and videos from selected side events) and daily reports of the 46th meeting of the GEF Council. In addition, IISD RS will produce 750-word web summary of the CSOs Forum as well as daily web coverage and daily reports of the 5th GEF Assembly. A combined summary report of the GEF Council meeting and Assembly will be available on Monday, 2 June 2014. Highlights for Tuesday, 27 May 2014. |
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Forty-sixth meeting of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) Forum, 16th meeting of the Least Developed Countries Fund and the Special Climate Change Fund (LDCF/SCCF) Council, and 5th GEF Assembly
25-30 May 2014 | Cancún, Mexico
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Daily Web Coverage (click on the following links to see our daily web pages)
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Highlights for Tuesday, 27 May 2014
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| Group photo after the opening ceremony of the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) Forum. L-R: Jorge Legorreta, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), Mexico; León Gutiérrez Ferretiz, President of the Regional Consultative Council on Sustainable Development for the South-South East of Mexico; Rodolfo Lacy Tamayo, SEMARNAT; Naoko Ishii, GEF CEO and Chairperson; and Chair Faizal Parish, GEF CSO Network Central Focal Point. |
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GEF Council Meeting
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On Tuesday morning, participants convened in plenary to conclude consideration of GEF Council agenda items, including: appointment of the Director of the Independent Evaluation Office and other business. The Least Developed Country Fund (LDCF) and Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) meeting also took place in the morning. In the afternoon the closing plenary of the GEF Council convened. The Civil Society Forum convened throughout the day.
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| GEF Council members met for the last day of the meeting |
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| The dais during the closing of the meeting |
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| Juha Uitto (center), Finland, was appointed as the new Director of the GEF’s Independent Evaluation Office. |
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CSOs Forum
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CSO Forum Summary: The Civil Society Organizations Forum Partnerships for the Future took place on Tuesday, 27 May 2014. Introductory remarks were provided by Jonathan Ryan, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT); Rodolfo Lacy Tamayo, Mexican Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources; Naoko Ishii, GEF CEO and Chairperson; Faizal Parish, Central focal point GEF CSO Network; Jorge Legorreta, SEMARNAT; and Leon Gutierrez Ferretiz, Regional Consultative Council on Sustainable Development for the South-South East of Mexico.
Keynote Session on Strategic Issues: Parish opened the session. Lorenzo Rosenweig, Fondo Mexicano para la Conservacion, discussed key social drivers for successful interactions with local communities, highlighting that they are in need of basic financial knowledge.
Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, Conservation International, emphasized the importance of moving towards a "re-use and recycle" approach and to radically rethink our current method of assessing economic growth. He called on GEF to enhance partnerships with CSOs beyond the SGPs, while noting the relevance of successfully achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and a future global climate agreement.
Showcasing CSO Achievements and Contributions to the Forum and Assembly Themes: During the session participants learned about several successful experiences regarding CSOs' work.
Rosa Maria Vidal, Pronatura Sur, Mexico, presented on the sacred orchids of Chiapas, stressing the intangible value of biodiversity and the vitality of building capacity at the local level to improve stakeholder engagement.
Arturo Arreola, IDESMAC, Mexico, presented the case of “El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve,” which demonstrated the benefits of using GEF resources for empowering local communities in the Chiapas in the process of organic coffee certification.
Kemi Fadojutimi, Bright Generation Community Foundation, Ghana, showcased the successful development of bamboo bikes as an innovative solution for clean transportation and livelihood improvement.
Paul Raja Rao Valaperla, Bharati Integrated Rural Development Society, India, highlighted the role of CSOs in helping local communities to better respond to climate change in India.
David Olvera, Conservation International, Mexico, talked about the importance of partners’ commitment beyond the environmental community, while discussing biodiversity mainstreaming at the sub-watershed scale in Chiapas.
Noel Resurreccion, Haribon Foundation for the Conservation of Natural Resources, Philippines, stressed the role of communities in adequate biodiversity assessment and conservation and said that partnerships should strive for simple communication approaches.
Colin Herron, TNC, Mexico, built on his experience of a public-private partnership regarding water funds affirming that it is crucial to move beyond philanthropy to find a good "business case" when trying to engage the private sector.
Maria Leichner, Fundacion ECOS, Uruguay, described a successful engagement of CSOs in promoting biodiversity and climate change plans in Uruguay, underscoring the importance of integrated approaches for long-term policies.
Delfim Ganapin, GEF SGP, and Essam Nada, Global Network of CSO for Disaster Reduction, presented CommunitiesConnect, a project funded by the GEF SGP that aims to facilitate the exchange of good practices between CSOs.
Parallel Sessions and Panel Discussion - feedback: This session was moderated by Essam Nada, Regional Focal Point North Africa, and Tanveer Arif, GEF CSO Network.
Kakha Bakhtadze presented the outcomes of the session “Implementation of GEF Public Involvement Policy,” which recommended, in particular, updating guidelines for CSOs engagement under GEF-6 and further engaging CSOs in project execution.
Samuel Dotse, Regional Focal Point West Africa, presented the results of discussions of the session “Best Practices for CSO Involvement in GEF Focal Areas and Multi-Stakeholder Engagement” saying it is key to showcasing CSOs’ capacity to undertake project execution, while noting the continuous need for CSO capacity-building.
Alancay Morales Garro, Foro Indigena de Abya Yala, Costa Rica reported on “Partnerships with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities for Safeguarding the Global Environment” recommending, inter alia, the launch of a tool to better communicate with indigenous peoples and greater support for indigenous advisory groups.
Maximo Cirio, Sustainable Development Society, reported on the session “Women and Youth as key GEF Partners” stressing that plurality must be promoted and that women and youth must be included in key decision-making processes at the GEF.
Discussion of the Draft Communique to be presented to 5th GEF Assembly: Fiu Elisara, Director of Ole Siosiomaga Society (OLSSI), Gunther Mitlacher, WWF Germany, and Maria Leichner, Fundacion ECOS, Uruguay, were co-moderators of this session. Leichner and Elisara outlined a draft document, inviting comments from participants. Participants commented extensively on the draft, which drew on discussions throughout the day and which was organized under four broad themes: implementation of GEF public involvement policy; CSO involvement in GEF focal areas and multi-stakeholder engagement; partnerships with indigenous peoples and local communities; and women and youth as drivers in transformations.
The Forum eventually agreed to convene a small drafting group to summarize the draft Communique as a focused high-level message for the Assembly. The Forum also determined that the draft Communique, reflecting the revisions discussed during the session, would form the basis of a formal report of the day’s proceedings.
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| The dais during the opening of the CSOs Forum. L-R: Jorge Legorreta, SEMARNAT; León Gutiérrez Ferretiz, President of the Regional Consultative Council on Sustainable Development for the South-South East of Mexico; Rodolfo Lacy Tamayo, SEMARNAT; Naoko Ishii, GEF CEO and Chairperson; and Chair Faizal Parish, GEF CSO Network Central Focal Point. |
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| L-R: Lorenzo Rosenzweig, Executive Director, Fondo Mexicano Para la Conservación de la Naturaleza; Chair Faizal Parish, GEF CSO Network Central Focal Point; and Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, Conservation International |
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| L-R: Colin Herron, The Nature Conservancy, Mexico; Noel Resurreccion, Haribon Foundation for the Consservation of Natural Resources; David Olvera, Conservation International, Mexico; Rosa María Vidal, Pronatura Sur, Mexico; Chair Faizal Parish, GEF CSO Network Central Focal Point; Co-Chair Brian James, Regional Focal Point for the Caribbean Region, GEF CSO Network; Arturo Arreola, Instituto para el Desarrollo Sustentable en Mesoamérica A.C. (IDESMAC), Mexico; Paul Raja Rao Valaperla, Bharati Intgrated Rural Development Society, BIRDS, India; María Leichner Kindsvater, Regional Focal Point for the South American Region and GEF-NGO Network/Fundación ECOS, Uruguay; and Kemi Fadojutimi, Bright Generation Community Foundation, Ghana |
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| CSO participants during the morning session |
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| The dais during the parallel session on “Partnerships with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities for Safeguarding the Global Environment” |
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| Parallel Session on “Best Practices for CSO Involement in GEF Focal Areas and Multi-stakeholder Engagement” |
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| The dais during the feedback from parallel sessions |
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Around the Venue
| Funding for coverage of this event has been provided by the GEF |
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