Simplified Vicious Circle of Cross-effects of
Climate change, Desertification and Biodiversity Loss
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CC, LDD (including water quantity and quality problems) and BD Loss:
 Complex Interlinkages;
 The greatest challenges to Sustainable Development; and
 A huge threat to Life on Earth
They Impact each other Directly or Indirectly & through their Interactions
Important Linkages between BD Loss, CC, LDD
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Unsustainable use of resources
 Impacts on BD, CC, LD
 Climate change
 Exacerbates Current Situations of LDD and BD Loss  Increased vulnerability
 Carbon and Water Cycles:
 Are two large-scale processes crucial for life on Earth; and
 Depend on biodiversity
Biodiversity can help:
 Enhance resilience to the effects of climate change;
 Combat land degradation and desertification;
 Alleviate poverty to which it is strongly linked.
Huge opportunity for Proactive, Coherent, Holistic and Integrated Strategies
and Measures: Joint Projects on the ground and Policy fora...
Individual/Isolated Activities and Response Measures
 Many Global Environment Treaties & Goals Developed in a Fragmented way;
 Isolated Activities and Responses unless necessary, tend to lead to:
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Less cost-effectiveness;
Burden for Parties in terms of fulfilling obligations and reporting;
Possibilities of unintended negative indirect impacts and externalities;
Failure to account for changing population size and dynamics.
Reduced contribution/impact to global environmental goods and services...
Need for Synergy and Integrated Projects wherever Possible
Vision of Coherent, Holistic and Integrated Projects
 Vision: Efficiently enhance multiple benefits by synergistically:
 Combining activities and efforts of the Conventions; and
 Meeting the Conventions’ overall objectives:
 Without wastage of resources; and
 In a way that produces synergistic value-added benefits at local, national and
global levels;
 With appropriate institutional arrangement and communication protocols with
respect to NAP, NAPA, NBSAP…
 Reverse the Vicious Circle of Cross-effects and Meet the Objectives and Strategic
Plans, and fulfil the mandates.
 The UN recognizes:
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The interdependence of the Conventions;
The strong synergies between their efforts; and
The complementary nature of their activities that underpins the need for a holistic,
coordinated and integrated approach.
Rationale for Integrated Projects and Challenges
 Rationale for Synergy and Integrated Projects: Very well known!
 Coordinated Management;
 Sharing Tools (M&E, indicators, tracking) and Information;
 Reduction of duplication of effort and unintended negative impacts;
 Cost Efficiently and Cost and Risk Sharing;
 Participation of indigenous and local communities without undue burden;
 Effective provision of support, capacity building, and enabling activities;
 Multiple benefits at local, national and global levels…
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Challenges:
 Design and implementation of Integrated Projects/Activities
 To realize the principles laid out in Rio+20;
 To Meet the Strategic Goals, Targets and Plans of the Conventions
 In line with GEF’s Strategic Goals and its Guidance to COP...;
 Linking to local actor’s activities, accounting for best practices and gender focussed
traditional knowledge;
 Involving relevant stakeholders without undue burden and fatigue, establishing
institutional arrangements…
 Myriad of Benefits but Little Clear Guidance Available!
Coordinated, Holistic and Integrated Projects
UNCCD Projects : LDD
Strategic Objectives & Plan
2008-2018; Rio approved plan..
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UNFCCC Projects : CC
Strategic Objectives, NAPs,
NAPAs, NAMA’s
CBD Projects: BD Aichi
Targets & Strategic Plan
& ABS and Biosafety
Other MEA, National...
Projects: various
Strategic objectives
 A synergistically Integrated Project helps achieve selected objectives of the
Conventions simultaneously (Intersections) – Linkages between the Conventions
become substantial where the need for enhanced cooperation is crucial to maximize
the potential implementation of the Conventions;
 Individual/Isolated projects require measures to avoid unintended negative
impacts on each other’s objectives and facilitate co-benefits
Identification of Area and Integrated Projects
for Implementation
 Integrated Project Selection
 Where & which CC, LD or BD loss impacts are most critical to address?
- Priority to areas of high vulnerability and critical for environmental integrity for the provision of
ecosystem goods and services;
- Projects of high potential multiple benefits/co-benefits & Alleviation of Poverty
 Human potential response, participation… (Gender, Traditional Knowledge, Best Practices…)
 Identify goals and possible benefits and expected outcome (Short, medium and long-term
results);
 Address current data/knowledge gaps (for baseline, indicators, M&E tools)
 Estimate resource requirements: Feasibility, cost and source of funding
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Availability of resources accounting for all sources...
Funding sources (ex. GEF and co-financing) and Partnerships possibilities;
Domestic sources of funding?
 Main Risk Condition: Lack of efficient management and life cycle project reviews, clear
objectives, and M&E tools and outcome indicators...
 Main criteria: Equity consideration; Institutional compatibility of policy combinations; cost and
long-term environmental effectiveness.
Identification of Area and Integrated Projects (Cont.)
 Example 1. Drylands (Global issues)
 41.3% of land surface of the Earth;
 8 of 25 global hotspots;
 36% of Global Population (2.1 billion people) – (90% in Developing Countries, 84 % in Grasslands
and Rangelands and 50% below poverty line);
 44% of the World’s cultivated Systems
Climate change mitigation
•Drylands Huge Carbon Storage
•46% of global carbon
•36% of total carbon stocks in
terrestrial ecosystems;
•53% of global soil carbon
•14% of global biotic carbon
• High Carbon storage capacity
of grasslands and rangelands;
•Reduction of Carbon sink from
Dryland mountains 300Mt /yr...
Land Degradation and
Desertification
• Globally 24% of the lands are
degraded (20% in croplands, 20-25%
in rangelands and 42% in forests);
•Income loss due to LDD: $42 billion
US/year (20% in rain-fed areas, 26% in
croplands and 55% in rangelands
•Land lost annually could produce
20 Million Tons of grain...
Biodiversity
• Huge reservoir of very resilient
plants and species known as
drought escapers, evaders,
resistors, endurers
• Dryland Mountains have strategic
value as Tower of water to dry
lowlands as well;
• Huge biodiversity in Rangeland and
grasslands
• 8 of 25 hotspots...;
Identification of Area and Integrated Projects (Cont.)
 Example 2: Peatlands (Global issues):
 3% of the Earth surface- 4 million km2 (with peat of 30cm);
 5-10 million km2 (with peat < 30cm);
 10% of global freshwater resources;
Healthy Peatlands/wetlands provide myriad benefits
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Nutrient & toxicant assimilation and carbon storage
Flood attenuation, erosion control, sediment trapping;
Water, harvestable resources and cultivated foods…
Adaptation to CC – Buffer to natural disasters.
Climate Change and Peatlands
Degradation and Peatlands
Biodiversity and Peatlands
 Peatlands store about twice the carbon of
the entire Earth’s forest systems; 550Gt
in their peat; 30% of global soil and 75%
of atmospheric carbon
 Natural peatlands are destroyed at the
rate of 4,000 km2/year (reduction of peat
by 20km3 globally;
 High biodiversity value;
 Significant roles in sustaining ecosystem
services e.g.:
 Most of the loss in natural peatlands:
- 50% due to agriculture; 30% to Forestry
and 10% due to peat extraction
- water cycling; protection against
flooding; provision of food, fodder, …
 Peatlands drainage leads to substantial
emissions of carbon dioxide and nitrous
oxide:
- Global CO2 emission from drained
peatlands increased by 20%
 Peatlands rewetting may globally reduce
greenhouse gas emissions with several
hundred Mt CO2-eq/yr
Source: Various sources
 Investment in Peatlands may be 100
times more cost effective than other
mitigation measures;
 Paludiculture = Paludi-future agriculture
on wet and rewetted peatlands promising.
 Several agencies involved (forestry,
agriculture, environment);
 Need for new legislation to protect
peatlands in a coherent and coordinated
way through the Rio Convention, NBSAP,
NAP, NAPA is an opportunity;
Efforts to Enhance Coordination and Synergy
 The three Rio conventions foresee and promote the creation of synergies
between them for their harmonized implementation;
 A joint Liaison Group (JLG) between UNFCCC, CBD UNCCD since 2001
 An ad Hoc technical expert group (AHTEG) on CC and BD …since 2001
 The GEF’s Efforts while fulfilling its own Mandate and COP Guidance:
(numerous projects)
 MANY WORKSHOPS, COP DECISIONS, AHTEGs AND PRESENTATIONS
BUT VERY LITTLE RESULTS ON THE GROUND
Exercise session on Synergy between the Conventions
 Stakeholders will be invited to present the reality on the ground:
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How the Conventions are implemented;
What actions are taken to promote synergies both at institutional
(between the ministries involved in implementation of the Conventions)
and operational levels (concrete projects and programmes);
What are the hindrances to the effective materialization of such
synergies;
What best practices can be identified…
 GEF –ECW gives unique opportunity to discuss Synergy among the Rio
Conventions as it gathers
 Rio Convention Focal Points,
 GEF Operational Focal Points, and
 Representatives of the Civil Society
 Huge opportunity to discuss cross-cutting issues for all Conventions
Objectives and Expected Outcome of the Exercise
Session on Synergy
 OBJECTIVE:
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To have concrete recommendations coming from the main actors of the
implementation of the Rio Conventions present at this ECW on how to
develop concrete synergies between the Rio Conventions;
 EXPECTED OUTCOME:
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Recommendations that Focal Points will take to their Ministries;
Record of the recommendations in the ECW minutes for use in other
ECWs.
 The Secretariats will compile all of the recommendations on how to
achieve synergies from all ECWs and make them available for use by
all stakeholders
How the Exercise Session will take place
 First Part: Work groups, the participants are divided by countries.
Identifying similarities, duplications, opportunities for synergies in
NAP, NAPA and NBSAP.
 The focal points present priorities of their respective NAP, NAPA and
NBSAP and how the foreseen actions are implemented and financed.
(10mn each)
 Discussion to identify the main and pressing similarities, duplications,
overlapping activities what could be jointly implement, what are the
hindrance to such joint implementation.
 Wrap-up of the discussions identifying and writing on papers
 Part Two: Wrap-Up and Clustering of issues
 Part Three: Presentation and Approval of recommendations
 THE PRACTICAL EXERCISE ON SYNERGY FOLLOWS
Thank you
Picture credit: Dubrovsky, 1990