Arctic Ecosystem Risk and Remediation AAAS Meeting, St. Louis, MO 18 Feb 2006

1. Arctic Ecosystem Risk and RemediationAAAS Meeting, St. Louis, MO 18 Feb 2006 An Ecosystem-Based Approach to Management of Arctic LMEs: Experience of the Global Environment Facility Andrew Hudson Principal Technical Advisor, International Waters United Nations Development Programme – Global Environment Facility

2. What is the Global Environment Facility (GEF)? • Financial mechanism for major MEAs: • UNFCC, CBD, UNCCD, Stockholm, Montreal Protocol, • Focal areas: Biodiversity, Climate Change, International Waters, ODS; New: POPs, Land Degradation • Partnership between UN agencies and Int’l. Financial Institutions • UNDP, UNEP, WB = Implementing Agencies • EBRD, IADB, ADB, AfDB, IFAD, FAO, UNIDO = Expanded Executing Agencies • GEF Secretariat • ~$8 billion in grants since 1991 • ~40% CC, ~35% BD, ~12% IW, ~5% ODS, ~5% LD, ~3% POPs

3. GEF - Threats to International Waters & People, Ecosystems, and Development • Pollution: Water unusable, ecosystem impacts, human health • Inefficient Water Use & lack of integrated water resources management: Inter-state conflicts, loss of livelihoods, ecosystem impacts, climate change imprint • Overfishing/Depleted Oceans: Ecosystem disruption, species extinction, livelihoods & $ 60 billion/year in trade in jeopardy • Aquatic Habitat & Species Loss: Loss of spawning & nursery areas, storm surge protection, livelihoods, carbon sinks, etc. • Invasive Aquatic Species: Global economic damage est’d. $100 billion/year; ship ballast water a key vector • Challenge to meet MDGs & WSSD targets because of fresh water and marine resource mismanagement/conflicts • Peace, stability, security, economic development at risk

4. Why Transboundary Waters? • 261 large river/lake basins cross boundaries of two or more countries • 145 countries have territory within one or more of these international basins • ~85% of world’s 64 LMEs shared by two or more countries • E.g. transboundary the ‘norm’, not the exception, for world’s waters • Weak or non-existent regional governance arrangements (institutions, policies, legal frameworks) for most shared waterbodies

5. GEF International Waters Operational Strategy (1995) “International waters” includes the oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed seas and estuaries as well as rivers, lakes, groundwater systems, and wetlands with transboundary drainage basins or common borders GEF Strategy: • Assist groups of countries to better understand the environmental concerns of their international waters and work collaboratively to address them; • Build the capacity of existing institutions (or, if appropriate, developing the capacity through new institutional arrangements) to utilize a more comprehensive and integrated approach for addressing transboundary water-related environmental concerns • Implementing measures that address the priority transboundary environmental and water resources concerns, utilizing full range of technical, economic, financial, regulatory, and institutional measures needed to operationalize sustainable development strategies for international waters.

6. GEF International Waters Portfolio~$275 m. to 15 LME programmes

8. Innovative Approaches to Regional Cooperation in Transboundary Waters Management • Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) • Prioritize transboundary environmental and water resource issues, environmental & socioeconomic impacts, root causes • ~25 completed • Strategic Action Programme (SAP) • Policy, legal, institutional reforms & investments to address priority issues in TDA • ~25 completed • Strong consonance with 5 LME Modules • Productivity, Fish & Fisheries, Pollution & Ecosystem Health, Socioeconomics, Governance • TDA/SAP course prepared by GEF agencies to codify experience and best practice; now available for global delivery

9. Linkages between TDA/SAP & 5 LME Modules

10. DEVELOPMENT OF THE TDA • Initial identification and prioritization of transboundary environmental and water resources problems • Socioeconomic analysis of impacts/consequences of agreed transboundary problems • Final prioritization of transboundary problems • Identify immediate, underlying and root causes of problems (Causal Chain Analysis – CCA) • Undertake a governance analysis • Draft the TDA

11. THE STRATEGIC ACTION PROGRAMME • The Strategic Action Programme is a process of reaching political consensus on the policy, legal and institutional reforms, investments and capacity building requirements needed to address the priority transboundary issues identified in the TDA. • It requires the best possible technical advice and is based on the principle of collaborative problem solving • Requires broad intersectoral participation (IMCs) to facilitate addressing sectoral issues at root cause level

12. STEPS FOR DEVELOPING THE SAP • Develop a long term vision for the shared waterbody including Ecosystem/Water Resource Quality Objectives • Brainstorm ways to attain the Eco/WR QOs • Assess the acceptability of the options, including: technical feasibility, as well as economic and political • Set short-term targets and priority actions • Develop M & E indicators • Draft the SAP

13. SAP IMPLEMENTATION • Adoption of the SAP – Ministerial Conference • Donors Conference & other SAP resource mobilization • Development of SAP implementation interventions by GEF & other donors • Monitoring of SAP implementation – adoption and monitoring of GEF Process, Stress Reduction and Environmental Status Indicators • Adaptive Management • Strategic Partnerships between GEF agencies and donor partners

14. GEF LMEs - Regional Ocean Governance progress • SAPs/equiv completed/advanced (11) • Black Sea, Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Pacific Warm Pool LME, South China Sea LME, Yellow Sea LME, East Asian Seas (SDS/SEA), Benguela Current LME, Guinea Current LME, Baltic Sea, Caspian Sea • SAPs in preparation (6) • Bay of Bengal LME, Agulhas/Somali Current LMEs, Caribbean LME, Gulf of Mexico LME, Humboldt Current LME, Canary Current LME

15. The Danube - Black Sea Basin Strategic Partnership for Nutrient Pollution Reduction • UNDP, UNEP, World Bank, EU • 17 basin countries • $70 million Investment Fund (WB) already approved by GEF Council in 3 tranches, ~12 investments • 2 UNDP-UNEP regional projects (Danube, Black Sea): Technical assistance, policy/legal reform & institutional strengthening • Comparative advantages each IA • Black Sea ecosystem recovering: • $3.3 billion in nutrient reduction investments • N, P loads reduced by 6, 33% resp. relative to 2000 baseline • 70s & 80s NW shelf benthic hypoxia virtually eliminated • Benthic species diversity doubled from 1980s levels; Phyllophora returning

16. SAP Example

17. GEF Benguela Current LME Programme • Countries: Angola, Namibia and South Africa • Duration: 2002 - 2007 • Implementing agency: UNDP • Executing agency: UNOPS • GEF: US$ 15,000,000.00 • Co-finance: US$ 18,000,000.00

18. BCLME SAP: Sustainable Management & Utilization of LMR • Regional institutional structure established • Joint surveys and assessments of shared stocks • Harmonizing management of shared stocks • Assessment of non-exploited species • Development of regional mariculture policy • Socioeconomic analysis • Harmonization of national protected area policies • Regional commitment to FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing

19. BCLME SAP: Management of Mining & Drilling • Regional consultation framework including Code of Conduct for Responsible Mining • Harmonization of mining policies • Cumulative impact assessment w/industry involvement • Coordination of offshore oil and gas exploration and production actions

20. BCLME SAP: Assessment of Environmental Variability, Ecosystem Impacts & Improvement of Predictability • Development of early warning system for monitoring major environmental events • Establishment of environmental baseline against which to measure future variability/change • Improve predictability of extreme events to strengthen resource management • Establish Harmful Algal Bloom reporting network • Collaborate with the international community to assess the CO2 source/sink status of the BCLME

21. BCLME SAP: Management of Pollution • Harmonizing environmental quality objectives (incl. pollution control, monitoring, enforcement) • Harmonization of oil pollution contingency plans and regional policy • Common regional strategy for implementation of MARPOL 73/78 in BCLME region • Regional harmonization of marine litter legislation and enforcement

22. BCLME SAP: Maintenance of Ecosystem Health and Protection of Biodiversity • Regional assessment of most vulnerable species and habitats • Regional policy on ballast water management • Development of regional marine biodiversity conservation management plan

23. BENGUELA CURRENT COMMISSION (BCC) Ministerial Conference Joint Management Board Secretariat Joint Management Committees Ecosystem Health and Pollution Living Marine Resources Environmental Variability WORKING GROUPS

24. GEF in Arctic LMEs - Options • E/W Bering Sea LMEs (GEF-4: UNDP) • Chukchi Sea • Barents Sea • Oyashio Current • Sea of Okhotsk • E. Siberian Sea • Laptev Sea • Kara Sea (All involve Russian Federation as GEF-eligible country)

25. Thank you!