Uruguay

Naoko Ishii, GEF CEO and Chairperson, is interviewed for #GEFlive. GEF Council Consultation Meeting with CSOs The Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council Consultation with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) took place on 16 December 2019, at World Bank Headquarters in Washington, DC. It was organized in collaboration with the GEF CSO Network, the GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP), the Indigenous Peoples Advisory Group (IPAG) and the GEF-funded Global Wildlife Program (GWP) led by the World Bank. Participants discussed how civil society can engage in the GEF’s proposed Private Sector Engagement Strategy and how the Strategy can enable more meaningful engagement within the GEF architecture at global, regional and country levels. They also focused on issues related to combating the illegal wildlife trade, such as the role of communities in the management of conservation areas and in law enforcement, and the benefits of a wildlife economy for local communities.   CSO Dialogue with the GEF CEO Participants wait for the GEF Council consultation with civil society organizations to begin. Akhteruzzaman Sano, Chair, GEF-CSO Network, stressed CSO willingness to work with governments and the GEF, suggested that future CSO consultations invite government ministers and address resilience and indigenous peoples’ knowledge, and called for establishing a capacity-building baseline before GEF-8. GEF CEO and Chairperson Naoko Ishii emphasized the importance of multi-stakeholder coalitions to promote the massive economic transformation needed to respect planetary boundaries. Responding to interventions, she expressed hope that the Council would approve the proposed inclusive conservation initiative, denoted CSOs as key actors on the ground which can help design sustainability in GEF projects, and called for mainstreaming resilience into all GEF projects and programs. Ornela Cuci, Alternate Council Member for Albania, stressed the importance of supporting sustainable capacity building at the university level and making projects results-oriented.   GEF's Private Sector Engagement Strategy L-R: Yoko Watanabe, GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP); Matthew Reddy, GEF Secretariat; Maria Leichner, Vice-Chair, GEF-CSO Network; Akhteruzzaman Sano, Chair, GEF-CSO Network; and Ariuntuya Dorjsuren, Council Member, Mongolia Maria Leichner, Vice Chair, GEF-CSO Network moderated a panel on the GEF’s proposed Private Sector Engagement Strategy. Matthew Brian Reddy, GEF Secretariat, highlighted: how to transform markets; the evolution of and increasing expectations on the private sector; engaging the private sector on product innovation and sourcing; increasing private sector ambition and commitments; and structuring its delivery on these to increase accountability. Yoko Watanabe, GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP), described the SGP’s approach, including stocktaking, case studies on good practices, and strategy development and operationalization. She cited SGP work on scaling up and developing civil society capacity, and announced a new SGP publication on community wildlife conservation. Ariuntuya Dorjsuren, GEF Council Member for Mongolia, described the Global Opportunities for Long-term Development in Artisanal and Small Scale Mining Programme (GEF GOLD) in Mongolia to improve economic development and sustainable consumption of natural resources by engaging multiple stakeholders to develop similar goals on co-benefits and co-contributions. In ensuing discussion, Lalit Mohan, Regional Focal Point, South Asia, CSO Network, stressed dividing responsibilities among stakeholders and contributing to existing multi-stakeholder dialogues. Reddy highlighted varying opportunities for private sector involvement depending on country conditions, institutions, and industry sectors. Watanabe stressed strengthened networks for better coordination.   CSOs and the Sustainability of GEF Funded Projects L-R: Maria Leichner, Vice-Chair, GEF-CSO Network; Sonja Sabita Teelucksingh, GEF Secretariat; Patricia Turpin, Regional Focal Point, Caribbean, GEF-CSO Network; and Lalit Mohan, Convener, GEF-CSO Network Secretariat Sonja Sabita Teelucksingh, GEF Secretariat, shared a framework for, and key factors that influence, the durability and sustainability of GEF-funded projects. She highlighted four aspects of the framework which should be incorporated throughout the project cycle: a theory of change, a multi-stakeholder process, stakeholder involvement, and adaptive learning. During ensuing discussion, CSO representatives highlighted key successes in enhancing durability of projects on community-based natural resource management and wildlife conservation, including: building an adaptive management model; obtaining local communities’ consent during project initiation and throughout implementation; engaging the private sector; providing alternative livelihoods; educating women and youth; and ensuring all actors have defined roles and benefit from projects’ added value.   Combating Illegal Wildlife Trade: A Civil Society Perspective A presentation by TRAFFIC shines a spotlight on illegal wildlife trade. This session opened with a video discussing Gorongosa National Park’s conservation model involving the local community in Mozambique. Steven Broad, Executive Director, TRAFFIC, said illegal wildlife trade results from overexploitation driven by demand. He suggested enlisting local communities as the first line of defense, showing benefits from managing instead of exploiting wildlife, and modifying and reducing consumer demand. Kaddu Sebunya, CEO, African Wildlife Foundation, discussed Africa’s wildlife trade, raising several questions for consideration, including how to: involve and empower local communities and CSOs; improve enforcement against illegal wildlife trade; mainstream conservation into Africa’s development agenda; and involve youth, who constitute 60% of Africa’s population. Two roundtables convened on: the role of communities in the management of conservation areas and in law enforcement; and the benefits of a wildlife economy for the local communities. In the first roundtable, moderated by Mujon Baghai, Mujon Baghai Consulting, Maxi Pia Louis, NACSO, Namibia, suggested working with communities on efficient monitoring and anti-poaching strategies that provide them with co-benefits. John Kamanga, SORALO, Kenya, highlighted the role of communities as the custodians and stewards of wildlife. Patricia Turpin, Environment Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago, described a co-management plan for five newly established protected areas and called for scaling up law enforcement. Aili Kang, WCS Asia Program, called for extending project duration to build trust and collaborating with communities for measurable impact. Elisson Wright, Global Wildlife Program, World Bank, introduced the second roundtable. He highlighted that the private sector can create, influence and scale up markets, and called for linking products to paying consumers. Leonidas Nzigiyimpa, Conservation and Community of Change, Burundi, described a project that has improved the quality of coffee and livelihoods while protecting chimpanzees, noting that protecting one umbrella species can also bring other values. Clara Sierra, ASOCAIMAN, Colombia, described a project providing benefits to former crocodile hunters for monitoring the species, which increased crocodile numbers by 200% in 20 years. Divya Khandal, Dhonk, India, highlighted the success of Tiger Watch in reforming a tiger poaching tribe through training community members in native crafts. Rodgers Lubilo, Zambia CBNRM Forum, said human-wildlife conflict must be addressed by giving local communities rights and added value from wildlife protection. In ensuing discussion, participants said long-term solutions require generational change, through increasing incentives and education, and urged government approval of autonomous community utilization of income from wildlife. Moderator Wright stressed that poverty cannot be criminalized. Other discussions focused on benefits for women and youth, land use planning to reduce conflicts, scaling up projects and individual benefits, and support to communities not benefiting otherwise. Rosie Cooney, Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP), summarized the discussion, noting that illegal wildlife trade is “big, complex and harmful,” will get worse, and must be stemmed by empowering and benefiting communities through inclusive wildlife management. Participants then watched a video of a GEF project in Uruguay, and Leichner thanked all participants for the active dialogue.

Delegates gather outside plenary before the start of the high-level segment. On Tuesday, the Chile/Madrid Climate Change Conference transitioned into a more political mode. Ministers arrived with considerable work ahead of them, aiming to reconcile difficult issues and to raise the profile - and ambition - of the conference. After the subsidiary bodies’ late close in the early morning hours of Tuesday, several issues were left for consultations to be co-facilitated by ministers: Article 6 (market and non-market approaches) will be discussed in consultations led by Minister Barbara Creecy, South Africa, and Minister James Shaw, New Zealand; Review of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts (WIM) will be discussed in consultations led by Minister Simon Stiell, Grenada, and Minister Ola Elvestuen, Norway; Outcome decision of the conference will be discussed in consultations led by Minister Masagos Zulkifli, Singapore, and Minister Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, Spain; and Response measures will be discussed in consultations led by ministers, to be announced. The COP Presidency will facilitate discussions on the periodic review of the long-term global goal, the Consultative Group of Experts (CGE), and gender. Ministers around the venue were busy sharing statements in the high-level segment and at a ministerial dialogue on adaptation ambition. Opening the high-level segment, COP 25 President Carolina Schmidt set the tone for holistic discussions on climate action, stressing how climate change exacerbates existing inequalities and that climate action needs to be fair for all. Thanking youth activists, Minister Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, Spain, called on all “to be climate activists, and to do more.” In the afternoon, the COP Presidency convened a high-level ministerial dialogue on adaptation ambition. One minister noted that “no country is safe” from the impacts of climate change, and all must therefore redouble adaptation efforts. Ministers from Japan, Botswana, Fiji, Uruguay, and the Netherlands, among others, presented on their countries’ efforts to build adaptation ambition, discussing: the use of nature-based solutions; climate finance for developing countries; and lessons learned. The Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action held events throughout the day. Roundtables convened on circular economy principles in the construction and packaging sectors. Participants also discussed resilience and SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy). With many discussions now occurring at higher political levels, and behind closed doors, many delegates welcomed the break after an intensive first week. They also wondered how the many divides across the issues would be bridged. For more details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB).