Mid-Term Development Strategy (MTDS) 2014-2017
and
Biennial Work Plan (BWP) 2014-2015
Approved August 2013, updated May 2014
Beijing, China
UNEP-IEMP: Mid-term Development Strategy and Biennial Work Plan
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary ..................................................................................................... 1
1. Introduction, why UNEP-IEMP? ......................................................................... 2
1.1.
UNEP-IEMP as a global centre on ecosystem management ....................... 2
1.2.
UNEP-IEMP in a post Rio+20 era............................................................... 4
1.3.
UNEP-IEMP contributes to South-South Cooperation initiatives............... 5
2. The Mid-term Development Strategy of UNEP-IEMP (MTDS 2014-2017) ..... 7
2.1.
The niche and Mid-term Development Strategy (MTDS)........................... 7
2.2.
Three Programmes (Expected accomplishments) of MTDS ....................... 8
2.3.
Links with UNEP’s Mid-term Strategy (MTDS, Annex 1) ....................... 10
3. The Biennial Work Plan of UNEP-IEMP (BWP 2014-2015) ........................... 12
3.1.
BWP, Expected Accomplishments and Indicators of Achievement .......... 12
3.2.
Outputs of the BWP and Their Respective Contributions to UNEP
Programme of Work (POW, Annex 2) ................................................................. 13
4. Risk analysis and innovative approaches for implementation ........................... 20
4.1. Risk analysis ................................................................................................. 20
4.2. Innovative approaches for implementation ................................................... 21
4.3. Timely and high-quality delivery of services to build credibility ................. 22
5. Enabling conditions and activities ........................................................................ 23
5.1. Human Resource Development .................................................................... 23
5.2. Working with partners ................................................................................... 26
5.3. Resource Mobilization .................................................................................. 27
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5.4. Communication Strategy .............................................................................. 28
Annex 1: Introduction to UNEP Mid-term Strategy .............................................. 30
Annex 2: Introduction to UNEP Programme of Work (PoW) 2014-2015 and its
relevant sub-programmes.................................................................................... 33
Annex 3 Communication Strategy ........................................................................... 36
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Executive Summary
The signing of the UNEP-CAS Agreement in December 2012 marked the successful
transition of the United Nations Environment Programme - International Ecosystem
Management Partnership (UNEP-IEMP) from an international programme to a UNEP
Collaborating Centre. UNEP-IEMP is the first UNEP initiative in the South and for the South
mobilizing science to support policy setting for sustainable ecosystem management in
developing countries. With its three programmes of Capacity Building and Technology
Transfer, Making the Case through Assessment and Demonstration, and Enhancing
Science-Policy Interface, it aims to become an international think tank, a technology and
knowledge hub, and a centre for capacity building on ecosystem management for developing
countries.
The inception phase since 2010 has been successful in achieving the expected
accomplishments of UNEP-IEMP. Key to this is the strong support from CAS, together with
partnerships with the Ministry of Environment Protection (MEP), the National Development
and Reform Commission (NDRC), and National Natural Science Foundation of China
(NSFC). Under the 2010-2012 Work Plan, UNEP-IEMP has mobilized essential funds of $15
million for project activities including $5 million from GEF-SCCF with co-financing of
another $5 million from NDRC, to support UNEP’s Ecosystem-Based Adaptation Flagship
Programme in Africa and Asia-Pacific with Mauritania, Nepal, and Seychelles as pilot
countries. With financial support from NSFC and CAS, UNEP-IEMP has established the first
forest monitoring and research station in Rwanda to support its national programme on
ecosystem conservation and restoration. In support of Rio+20 and its follow up actions,
UNEP-IEMP has completed eight policy papers on ecosystem management and green
economy and organized two high-level fora engaging officials from governments, scientists,
business leaders, and principals from international and UN organizations.
UNEP-IEMP anticipates on becoming a fully operational global centre in the near future. The
three phased approach from inception (2010-2012), development (2013-2015) and operation
(2016 onwards) has been designed for such a purpose. To refine the goals and objectives of
UNEP-IEMP in the development phase, a visioning exercise was carried out during the 2013
annual retreat to produce a Mid Term Development Strategy (MTDS 2014-2017) and a
Biennial Work Plan (BWP 2014-2015).
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The MTDS coincides with and contributes directly to UNEP’s Mid-term Strategy (2014-2017)
focusing on Ecosystem Management, Climate Change and Environment under Review
sub-programmes. It is the main document that guides the development and implementation of
UNEP-IEMP’s Annual Planned Activities from 2014 to 2017. The strategic focus is on three
key elements: i) strengthening UNEP’s role in a post Rio+20 era; ii) contributing to global
South-South Cooperation initiatives; iii) complementing UN country team in its environment
and development programs.
The BWP is an integral part of the UNEP Programme of Work (2014-2015). Using
knowledge and experiences on ecosystem management and biodiversity conservation from,
inter alia, the Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN), the BWP includes
continuation with on-going and funded projects in Annual Planned Activities in 2014, and
seeking partnership arrangements for Pipelined and Targeted Projects. During the BWP
period, UNEP-IEMP plans to cover all the developing regions Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin
America and Caribbean, and West Asia and to increase the number of pilot countries to at
least 10.
In terms of institutional development, UNEP-IEMP plans to increase the staff size from 25 to
60, composing 10 core team members, 20 project team members and 30 associate team
members. UNEP-IEMP will endeavour for its sustainability as a global centre with sustained
core funding, core staff and sound governance.
This document is founded on the niche of UNEP-IEMP which rests on the integration of
ecosystem management, South-South Cooperation and science-policy interface.
This document is a living framework which requires further refinement, prioritization and
annual review, taking into account the needs from both UNEP and its collaborating partners
in China. This updated version is based on guidance and comments of the 1st Steering
Committee meeting of UNEP-IEMP in 2013.
1.
Introduction, why UNEP-IEMP?
1.1. UNEP-IEMP as a global centre on ecosystem management
In December 2012, Mr. Achim Steiner, the Executive Director of the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP), and Prof. Chunli Bai, the President of the Chinese
Academy of Sciences (CAS), signed an agreement on the UNEP-International Ecosystem
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Management Partnership (UNEP-IEMP). The agreement recognized UNEP-IEMP as a global
centre hosted by CAS in the field of ecosystem management, and also as UNEP’s first
collaborating centre in the South and for the South on ecosystem management.
Under this agreement, UNEP and CAS will collaborate to define the work programme
priorities of UNEP-IEMP and the allocation of appropriate resources to effectively address
these priorities, and to ensure the practical implementation of activities that deliver
significant measurable impact.
The agreement marked the successful conclusion of UNEP-IEMP’s 2010-2012 inception
phase. It also commenced UNEP-IEMP’s development phase which will last for three years,
from 2013 to 2015. UNEP-IEMP is anticipated to be a full operational global centre from
2016 onwards. This three phase approach inception-development-operational will ensure
UNEP-IEMP to become a fully functional global centre. A UNEP-IEMP strategy for the next
four years from 2014 to 2017, which coincide with UNEP’s Mid-term Strategy of the same
period, is critical to refine the goals and objectives of the centre.
During its inception phase, UNEP-IEMP made significant progress on its core mandates of
capacity building and policy support for ecosystem management in developing countries.
With strong backing from CAS, together with support from the Ministry of Environment
Protection (MEP) and National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and National
Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), it has developed a multi-national team of 15
fulltime and 11 part time staff. Under the 2010-2012 Work Plan, UNEP-IEMP has mobilized
essential funds for project activities including $5 million from GEF-SCCF to support UNEP’s
Ecosystem-Based Adaptation Flagship Programme in Africa and Asia-Pacific with
Mauritania, Nepal, and Seychelles as pilot countries, with co-financing of another $5 million
from NDRC. With financial support from the NSFC, UNEP-IEMP has established the first
forest monitoring and research station in Rwanda to support its national programme on
ecosystem conservation and restoration. In support of Rio+20 and its follow up actions,
UNEP-IEMP completed eight policy papers on ecosystem management and green economy
and organized two high-level fora engaging ministers, parliamentarians, eminent scientists,
world business leaders, and principals from international and UN organizations such as
UNEP, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the UN Department of
Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
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These endeavours have laid the solid foundation for UNEP-IEMP to develop and implement
its Mid-term Development Strategy (MTDS 2014-2017) and Biennial Work Plan (BWP
2014-2015).
1.2. UNEP-IEMP in a post Rio+20 era
World leaders at Rio+20 committed to strengthening the role of the United Nations
Environment Programme as the leading global environmental authority. As a collaborating
centre of UNEP in the South and for the South, UNEP-IEMP can contribute to the
strengthening of UNEP in the following activities highlighted in the Rio+20 outcome
document “The Future We Want”:

To promote a strong science-policy interface;

To disseminate and share evidence-based environmental information and raise public
awareness on critical as well as emerging environmental issues; and

To provide capacity building to countries as well as support and facilitate access to
technology.
“The Future We Want” devoted about 10% of its 283 paragraphs to the theme of ecosystem
resilience and the link to people’s livelihoods, especially the poor. It also reiterated support
for South-South cooperation and called for the continued and focused implementation of the
UNEP Bali Strategic Plan for Technology Support and Capacity Building.” World leaders at
Rio+20 are committed to working with and fostering collaboration among academic,
scientific and technological community, in particular in developing countries, to close the
technological gap between developing and developed countries, strengthen the science-policy
interface as well as to foster international research collaboration on sustainable development.
UNEP-IEMP is well positioned and prepared to play an increasingly important role in
consolidating UNEP’s leadership in meeting the above demands. Firstly, from South-South
Cooperation perspective, UNEP-IEMP, as a joint initiative of UNEP and China, understands
both what developing countries need and what emerging economies such as China could offer,
and could provide technical support to developing country governments to translate Rio+20
outcomes into national plans for ecosystem management. Secondly, with its team backed by
CAS and its partners, UNEP-IEMP has the technical capacity to provide practical support for
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enhancing capacities of developing countries which contribute to the implementation of
UNEP’s Bali Strategic Plan. Thirdly, in its inception stage UNEP-IEMP conducted relevant
projects and initiatives that have laid a solid foundation.
1.3. UNEP-IEMP contributes to South-South Cooperation initiatives
Developing countries face dual challenges in reconciling economic development and
ecosystem conservation, and share similar lessons and experiences in ecosystem management.
That is why South-South Cooperation plays an increasingly important role in ecosystem
management and is becoming a critical component in implementation of UNEP’s Strategies
and Programmes.
On the other hand, developing countries–especially the emerging economies such as Brazil,
China, India and South Africa–have become more capable of supporting South-South
Cooperation in terms of financial support, capacity building and science and technology. For
instance in 2011, China-Africa bilateral trade volume reached US$166 billion and ranked
world number one trading partner with Africa. At Rio+20, Brazil and China announced
appreciably their respective $6 million contributions to UNEP Trust Fund. The 2010
UNESCO Science Report disclosed that developing countries contributed more than 30% of
world publications in 2008, and China ranked second of the world after the USA in terms of
total R&D investment, numbers of researchers and publications.
China is an active advocate and practitioner to South-South Cooperation. Over the past 60
years, China has been supporting and participating in South-South Cooperation in various
fields, providing substantial resources for capital, technology transfer, and capacity building
to more than 120 other developing countries. Released in March 2011, the “Outline of the
12th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development” states that China will
“…increase economic and technical aid to developing countries in the areas of livelihood and
social welfare, public facilities, and capacity building…” and “…provide help and support to
developing countries in confronting the challenges of climate change”. Under these policies,
many ministries and agencies of China have stepped up their efforts in South-South
Cooperation, including, the NDRC, MEP, NSFC, CAS, the Ministry of Science and
Technology (MOST) and the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), to mention but a few. Several
of them such as NDRC and NSFC have started substantive collaboration with UNEP.
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China possesses a wealth of experiences, good practices, knowledge, and technology in the
domain of ecosystem management that can be shared with other developing countries. For
example, the Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN), part of CAS and arguably the
largest national ecosystem research network in the world–is undertaking ecosystem
monitoring, research, demonstration, and policy support. The unique approach of integrating
monitoring and research with demonstration and national policy setting directly serves
decision-making for ecosystem management. This is of particular importance to other
developing countries in bridging science and policy gaps.
China has recently decided to promote ecological civilization and incorporate it into the
country's overall development plan. This opens a new window of opportunity for
UNEP-IEMP. As the largest developing country and the second largest economy, this
decision will not only shift its own path towards a more environmentally sound and more
sustainable development, but will also have a profound exemplary effect on the rest of the
world, in particular other emerging and developing economies.
UNEP-IEMP has comparative advantage to work with China to assist in facilitating
South-South Cooperation on Ecosystem Management. The UNEP-IEMP serves as a platform
to share knowledge, experiences and capacities in ecosystem management between China and
other developing countries. Hence the establishment and development of UNEP-IEMP
provides such a value-added opportunity.
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2.
The Mid-term Development Strategy of UNEP-IEMP (MTDS
2014-2017)
This Mid-term Development Strategy of UNEP-IEMP provides strategic direction and covers
the next four years (2014-2017), encompassing part of the development phase (2013-2015)
and the first two years (2016-2017) of full operational phase of the Centre. This strategy is
based on the UNEP-IEMP’s accomplishments during its inception phase (2011-2012) and
contributes to UNEP’s MTS 2014-2017 (Annex 1).
2.1.
The niche and Mid-term Development Strategy (MTDS)
UNEP-IEMP is the first UNEP collaborating centre in the South and for the South to
mobilize science to support policy setting for sustainable ecosystem management of all
developing countries. The niche of UNEP–IEMP rests on the integration of ecosystem
management, South-South Cooperation, and the science-policy interface in pursuing
sustainability in developing countries. The mission of UNEP-IEMP is to provide science,
technology and capacity support to developing countries to integrate ecosystem management
approach into their national policies and development plans to enhance the delivery of
ecosystem services for human wellbeing. It has three mutually supportive and inter-related
programmes contributing to the above mission: capacity building and technology transfer,
making the case through assessment and demonstration and enhancing science and
policy interface.
The main user groups of UNEP-IEMP’s services and products include national governments,
regional and global intergovernmental bodies and programmes, UN agencies, development
agencies, the science community, and the private sector.
China is the largest developing economy and second largest world economy in the world with
a very strong political will to help other developing countries through South-South
Cooperation. China ranks number 2 in the UNESCO demography of world science and
technology, including its work on ecological related issues. Having access to such a vast pool
of expertise, knowledge and technology, UNEP-IEMP does have the comparative advantage
to anchor itself to the three pillars of its niche, ecosystem management, south-south
cooperation and science policy interface.
As a UNEP collaborating centre, UNEP-IEMP complements and contributes to the work of
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UNEP divisions, sub-programmes, regional offices, and other collaborating centres. It focuses
its activities on three sub-programmes of Ecosystem Management, Climate Change, and
Environment under Review, and promotion of ecosystem approaches in green economy in
developing countries as well as providing support to cooperative programmes and projects
agreed by UNEP and relevant organizations in China.
The Mid-term Development Strategy of UNEP-IEMP (MTDS) is to become a true global
centre for ecosystem management in the south and for the south, capable of providing
knowledge, technology, and capacity services to all developing countries for decision-making
on ecosystem management. This means that the Centre will not only expand its geographical
coverage from Africa and Asia-Pacific to West Asia and Latin America and Caribbean, but
also will increase its domain of services such as transfer of ecosystem restoration
technologies.
Through the implementation of its MTDS 2014-2017, UNEP-IEMP aims on becoming an
international think tank, a technology and knowledge hub, and a centre of capacity building
for ecosystem management in developing countries. It will assist developing countries in
setting policies and decision-making on ecosystem management through synthesis of
cutting-edge scientific findings and by building related capacities including monitoring,
research, assessment and demonstration.
2.2.
Three Programmes (Expected accomplishments) of MTDS
Based on the above analysis, the following programmes are proposed to form the backbone
of UNEP-IEMP’s MTDS.
1） Capacity Building and Technology Transfer to assist implementation of the UNEP
Bali Strategic Plan for Technology Support and Capacity Building and the IPBES capacity
building component. Working with the Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN) and
other key national and international technical institutions, this programme aims to provide
direct support to UNEP’s Bali Strategic Plan to developing countries. Implementation of this
programme will help promote South-South Cooperation. As one of the key programmes of
UNEP-IEMP, this programme works to:
i.
Support and facilitate access to green technology for ecosystem monitoring,
assessment and management of cropland-, forest-, grassland-, wetland-, and
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urban-ecosystems in key developing countries and regions;
ii.
Promote development and transfer of environmentally-sound technologies and
innovative ecosystem management approaches and best practices in and to
developing countries;
iii.
Undertake training of researchers, managers, and policy-makers of ecosystem
management in developing countries through South-South Cooperation.
2） Making the Case through Assessment and Demonstration to provide data,
knowledge and good practices to bring ecosystem conditions in developing countries under
review and contribute to IPBES regional assessment initiatives. This programme will
collaborate with key national and international partners, and work to:
i.
Generate, collect and process data and information acquired from space and
on-the-ground sources;
ii.
Collect, develop and improve assessment methods and tools, models and scenarios;
iii.
Undertake national and regional assessments of ecosystem conditions and services
and propose management strategies;
iv.
Disseminate and share vital and emerging signs of critical ecosystems resulting from
ecosystem assessments.
3） Enhancing Science Policy Interface to support the integration of ecosystem
management and biodiversity conservation into national policy setting and planning
processes, multi-lateral and transboundary agreements and regional strategies in the
developing world. Collaborating with key partners such as CGIAR, Centres and Institutes of
the Chinese Academy of Sciences, IPBES and UN agencies, this programme will:
i.
Undertake economic analyses of the status of ecosystems and biodiversity and their
services, and synthesize key scientific findings to enhance interface between science
and policy;
ii. Produce policy briefs and reports to national governments, inter-governmental bodies
and processes and the general public, and promote public awareness;
iii. Conduct national, regional and global policy consultations on ecosystem
management, and organize high-level science and policy for a;
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iv. Support implementation of the work programme of IPBES.
4） Institutional Development to transform UNEP-IEMP from an international programme
into a true global centre of ecosystem management with sustained core funding, core staff,
and governance. This would involve institutional setup, staff development, resource
mobilization and outreach. An overall framework is presented in Figure 1 to illustrate the
MTDS.
E.A.1 Capacity Building
and Technology Transfer
(CBT)
Thematic Areas:
 Ecosystem services
 Biodiversity
E.A.2 Making the Case
through Assessment and
Demonstration (MCAD)
 Climate change
adaptation
 REDD+
E.A. 3: Enhancing
Science Policy Interface
(SP)
E.A. 4 Institutional Development (ID):
fund, staff, management, partnership, communication
Figure 1 Overall framework of UNEP-IEMP
2.3.
Links with UNEP’s Mid-term Strategy (MTDS, Annex 1)
UNEP-IEMP recognizes the increasing demand on an upgraded UNEP from its member
states in the post Rio+20 era. To this end, UNEP-IEMP has designed its Mid-term
Development Strategy 2014-2017 to bridge gaps between science and policy, policy
intentions and capacity for implementation, and supply and demand of viable technologies,
especially with South-South solutions. This MTDS will focus on contributing to the
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implementation of UNEP sub-programmes of ecosystem management, climate change and
environment under review, in particular in promotion of UNEP Ecosystem-based Adaptation
(EBA) flagship and the IPBES. Meanwhile, it also assists cooperative programmes and
projects that are in agreement between UNEP and its collaborating partners in China.
Since the expected accomplishments of UNEP’s MTS are thematic while the MTDS of
UNEP-IEMP’s are cross-cutting, a simplified matrix approach is used below to explore their
non-linear and multi-faceted inter-linkages.
Table 1 Programme of UNEP-IEMP and its relevance with UNEP
Sub-programme Climate
UNEP
Change (CC)
Ecosystem
Environment
Management (EM) Under Review
[Aichi
Targets]
(EUR)
Programme IEMP
Capacity Building and
Technology Transfer
(CBT)
E.A. 1
E.A. 3
E.A. 3
2, 5, 6, 7,
10, 11, 14,
15
Making the Case through
E.A. 1
E.A. 1, 2
E.A. 1
E.A. 1
E.A. 1, 2
E.A. 2
Assessment and
Demonstration (MCAD)
Enhancing Science Policy
Interface (SP)
Note: E.A.: Expected Accomplishment
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3.
3.1.
The Biennial Work Plan of UNEP-IEMP (BWP 2014-2015)
BWP, Expected Accomplishments and Indicators of Achievement
The Biennial Work Plan (BWP 2014-2015) of UNEP-IEMP is guided by and supportive to its
Mid-term Development Strategy (MTDS). It will not only contribute to UNEP’s PoW
2014-2015, but also to cooperation between UNEP and its partners, including those in China.
Most importantly, it will guide the development and transformation of UNEP-IEMP into a
true global centre. This two-year period of BWP is the dominant and critical period of
UNEP-IEMP. Based on experiences and lessons learned from the inception phase, and from a
wide range of consultations within the UNEP-IEMP team and with its stakeholders, four
expected accomplishments have been identified in MTDS. The following are the indicators of
achievement planned for the BWP:
Table 2 Indicator of achievement during 2014-15
Expected accomplishments
Indicators of achievement
a) Capacity Building and Technology Transfer (CBT):
5 national and 2 regional and/or global
technology and capacity support are provided to a number
institutions are supported by UNEP-IEMP
of national and regional institutions in developing countries
with appropriate ecosystem management
for ecosystem management, through promoting technology
technologies and training initiatives.
development and transfer, and capacity building.
b) Making the Case through Assessment and
At least 3 sub-global assessments are
Demonstration (MCAD): ecological data, information,
conducted and associated databases
knowledge and good practice are provided to a number of
established in support of IPBES regional
governmental and intergovernmental agencies and
initiatives. Meanwhile, good practices are
processes, such as the IPBES, through generation,
shared across the 3 sub-regions.
collection, and dissemination of data, methods, tools,
models, scenarios, multi-scale ecosystem assessments and
demonstration.
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c) Enhancing Science Policy Interface (SP): policy support
At least 5 countries and 2 regions
is provided to a number of countries and regional and
incorporate key findings of UNEP-IEMP
global agreements/mechanisms to incorporate new
into their national ecosystem management
approaches of ecosystem management such as
policies and regional strategies
ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) into their policy setting
respectively.
and planning processes through research, demonstration,
and economic analysis as well as high-level science and
policy fora.
d) Institutional Development (ID): UNEP-IEMP is
UNEP-IEMP is fully operational and
developed as a global centre of ecosystem management
capable of covering the work of all
with sustained core funding, core staff, and governance.
developing regions: Africa, Asia-Pacific,
West Asia, and Latin America and
Caribbean.
3.2.
Outputs of the BWP and Their Respective Contributions to UNEP Programme of
Work (POW, Annex 2)
UNEP-IEMP has in its inception phase gone through wide-range consultations with its main
stakeholders, and obtained their initial support to enable kicking off a few important
initiatives in line with its mandates set out in its Strategy and Work Plan 2011-2013. This has
paved the way to develop the Expected Outputs which will mainly contribute to respective
Expected Accomplishments of UNEP PoW 2014-2015, specifically to its sub-programmes of
ecosystem management, climate change and environment under review. Meanwhile, these
outputs also support substantively UNEP’s collaboration with the National Development and
Reform Commission (NDRC), National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC),
Ministry of Environment Protection (MEP) and Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) under
the umbrella of South-South Cooperation.
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Table 3 Specific Expected Outputs, their respective contributions to UNEP’s PoW and to South-South Cooperation.
Outputs planned in pursuit of E.A.: a) Capacity Building and Technology Transfer , technology and capacity support are provided to a number of
national and regional institutions in developing countries for ecosystem management, through promoting technology development and transfer, and capacity
building
PoW Output (Project)
Funding status and
Contribution to UNEP PoW outputs
Contribution to SSC
CC EA (a)-2: Technical support provided to countries to
UNEP-China-Africa-Asia
implement ecosystem- based adaptation demonstrations and
Coop
timelines
1. Enhancing capacity, knowledge and
technology support to build climate
GEF-SCCF+NDRC
$ 5 + 5 million,
resilience of vulnerable developing
countries, EBA-SSC (Yun Huang,
supporting adaptation approaches, and to scale these up
2013-2017 On-going through partnerships at the regional and national levels
Guoqin Wang)
2. Study on soil erosion and
NSFC RMB 3
EM EA (a)-2/3: Tools, technical support and partnerships to
UNEP-China-Africa
demonstration of rainfed agriculture on
million ($500k)
improve food security and sustainable productivity/integrated
Coop
slope land in upper reaches of River Nile
2015-2018 Pipelined
(Guobin Liu, Fadong Li)
water resource management in agricultural landscapes through
the integration of the ecosystem approach
3. Ecosystem monitoring, assessment
CAS-IGSNRR RMB
EM EA (a)-1: Methodologies, partnerships and tools to
CAS-IGSNRR
and management strategies in the source
3 million ($500k)
maintain or restore ecosystem services and integrate the
China-Africa Joint
ecosystem management approach with the conservation and
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of River Nile (Xiubo Yu)
2012-2015 On-going management of ecosystems
Research Initiative
4. Assessment of Capacity Needs for
MEP $300k
UNEP-China-GMS
Ecosystem Management in the Greater
Mekong Subregion (Jian Liu, Xiubo Yu)
2014-2015 Funded
EM EA (c)-3: Technical and capacity-building support is
provided to countries to exchange knowledge, assess the
impact of alternative development options and scenarios and
make science usable for the effective management of
biodiversity and ecosystem services
5. Dust Storm Corridor Project West
ROWA, XIEG
CC EA (a)-3: Support provided to integrate ecosystem-based
South-South Cooperation
Asia
+GEF, Targeted
adaptation and supporting adaptation approaches into national
in West Asia
with seed fund $30k
and sectoral development policies, plans and strategies, and to
in place through
develop legal and regulatory frameworks
SSFA
Outputs planned in pursuit of expected accomplishment b) Making the Case through Assessment and Demonstration, ecological data, information and
knowledge are provided to a number of governmental and intergovernmental agencies and processes such as the IPBES through generation, collection and
dissemination of data, methods and tools, models and scenarios, and multi-scale ecosystem assessments
PoW Output (Project)
Funding status and
Contribution to UNEP PoW outputs
timelines
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Contribution to SSC
UNEP-IEMP: Mid-term Development Strategy and Biennial Work Plan
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1. Assessment on capacities of ecosystem
NSFC: RMB 3
EM EA (c)-3: Technical and capacity-building support is
UNEP-China-Africa
monitoring, research and management in
million ($500K),
provided to countries to exchange knowledge, assess the impact
Coop
Africa (Bingfang Wu, Jian Liu)
2011-2014 On-going
and to close in 2014
of alternative development options and scenarios and make
science usable for the effective management of biodiversity and
ecosystem services
2. Study on the change of water and land
NSFC RMB 3 million CC EA (a)-2: Technical support provided to countries to
UNEP-China-Mekong
use and ecosystem- based adaptation in
($500k)
implement ecosystem- based adaptation
countries Coop
2015-2019 Pipelined
demonstrations and supporting adaptation approaches, and to
the Greater Mekong River basin (Heqing
Huang, Ermira Fida)
scale these up through partnerships at the regional and national
levels
3. Integrated Knowledge and Information
MEP $300k (China
EM EA (c)-3: Technical and capacity-building support is
System including an IPBES database for
Fund, 2015-2016
provided to countries to exchange knowledge, assess the impact
ecosystem management in developing
Pipelined
of alternative development options and scenarios and make
countries
UNEP-MEP-IPBES
science usable for the effective management of biodiversity and
ecosystem services
4. Assessment on tropical ecosystem in
NSFC: RMB 3
EM EA (c)-3: Technical and capacity-building support is
UNEP-China-Brazil
Amazon (Jianchu Xu,… )
million ($500K),
provided to countries to exchange knowledge, assess the impact
Coop.
To apply 2015, start
of alternative development options and scenarios and make
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2016
science usable for the effective management of biodiversity and
ecosystem services
5. Ecological Responses to
NSFC RMB 3 million CC EA (a)-1: Technical support provided to countries to develop
UNEP-China-Central
Hydro-climatic Change and Land-cover
($500k)
Asia Coop.
Change in the Core Area of Central Asia
during the Past 500 Years (Xi Chen,
2014-2018 Funded
and pilot methods and tools and dissemination of these through
knowledge networks along with research results, lessons learned
and good practices
Catherine McMullen)
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Outputs planned in pursuit of expected accomplishment c) Enhancing Science Policy Interface (SP), policy support are provided to a number of
countries and regional and global agreements/mechanisms to incorporate new approaches of ecosystem management such as EBA into their policy setting and
planning processes through research, demonstration, and economic analysis as well as high-level science and policy fora.
PoW Output (Project)
Funding status and
Contribution to UNEP PoW outputs
Contribution to SSC
CC EA (a)-2: Technical support provided to countries to
UNEP-China-Mekong
implement ecosystem-based adaptation demonstrations and
Coop.
timelines
1. Ecosystem-Based Adaptation (EBA) in
Greater Mekong Sub-region (Jian Liu,
GEF-SCCF+NDRC
$ 6 + 6 million
Linxiu Zhang et al)
supporting adaptation approaches, and to scale these up
2014-2018 Pipelined
through partnerships at the regional and national levels
2. China’s Action Plan for South-South
NDRC RMB 1 million
CC EA (a)-4: Technical support provided to countries to
China and developing
cooperation on climate change (Linxiu
($160K)
address adaptation planning and reporting requirements
world Coop.
Zhang, Chao Fu)
2013-2014 On-going
under the Framework Convention on Climate Change
and to close 2014
3. Ecosystem Services Assessment and
NSFC RMB 3 million
EM EA (c) -2: Biodiversity and ecosystem service values
UNEP-China-Kenya
Management in Protected Areas East
($500k)
are assessed, demonstrated and communicated to
Coop
Africa (Linxiu Zhang, M. Abdel- Monem)
2014-2018 Funded
strengthen decision-making by Governments, businesses
and consumers
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4
Conference on South-South
NDRC-UNEP,
CC EA (a)-4: Technical support provided to countries to
China and developing
Cooperation on Climate Change
2014/2015, pipelined
address adaptation planning and reporting requirements
world Coop.
under the Framework Convention on Climate Change
Outputs planned in pursuit of expected accomplishment d) Institutional Development, UNEP-IEMP is developed as a fully operational global centre of
ecosystem management with sustained core funding, core staff and governance.
PoW Output (Project)
Funding status and timelines
Contribution to UNEP
Contribution to
PoW outputs
China SSC
1. Development of UNEP-IEMP as a global centre of ecosystem
CAS RMB 3 million ($500K)
EUR EA (c): The
Enhancement of
management through securing core staff (10) and fund ($1m) (Linxiu
2013-2015, On-going
capacity of countries to
UNEP-IEMP’s
generate, access, analyze,
overall capacity for
South-South
Zhang)
2. Development and operation of UNEP-IEMP Governance- Steering
CAS RMB 900k ($150k)
use and communicate
Committee and Science Advisory Group (Guoqin Wang)
2013-2015, On-going
environmental information Cooperation
3. Fellowships for senior and young scientists from developing countries
CAS RMB 4.5 million ($720k)
(Linxiu Zhang, Yu Ma)
2013 to 2015, to be funded
4 Premises, programme and logistic support (Xigui Huang)
CAS-IGSNRR
and knowledge is
RMB 3 million ($500k)
2013-2015, to be funded
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4. Risk analysis and innovative approaches for implementation
UNEP-IEMP is the first trial for UNEP to collaborate with a developing country in
such a substantial way to mobilize both financial and human resources to support its
programmes in the rest of the developing world. It is also the first time that China
hosts such a global centre in its territory. It both poses challenges and provides
opportunities to UNEP and China such as those of institutional arrangement for
operations outside China. Therefore, innovative and adaptive approaches must be an
integral part of the development and operation of UNEP-IEMP.
4.1. Risk analysis
A risk analysis is used to identify the potential risks (external-threats and
internal-weakness) that would be in the way of implementing the MTDS and BWP of
UNEP-IEMP. These risks are listed in Table 5.
Table 4 Risks of implementing the MTDS and BWP of UNEP-IEMP
External risks (Threats)
Internal risks (Weakness)


Planned core fund and/or staff not in
place

and core staff

Change of policy on South-South
Cooperation of China


Personal shifts of stakeholder/partner

Partners become competitors over

Political upheaval in beneficiary
Insufficient collaboration with ROs
in the four developing regions

Natural disaster in beneficiary
countries

Lack of adequate communication
with peers in UNEP
countries

Potentially ‘out-of-the-loop’ in
shifting priorities in UNEP
shrinking financial resources

Lack of recognition of its role in
promoting SSC in China
organizations

Lack of sustainability of core fund
Scant record of substantial
publication contribution

Complications from international
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diplomacy failures

partners and banks

Rules and regulations for funding
become impossible to accommodate

Few opportunities for brainstorming
among partners and allies

When mistakes are made (inevitable),
Vulnerable to reputational damage
reputational damage control
via cultural differences and remote
difficulties
location
4.2. Innovative approaches for implementation
To address the issues identified through the risk analysis, innovative approaches must
be sought to accomplish the targets set in the MTDS and BWP. To date, both UNEP
and CAS have provided initial funding for the operation and development of
UNEP-IEMP. Other ministries such as NDRC and NSFC have provided substantial
project funding. However, there are limitations in their institutional setup as they are
not in a position to directly transfer funds to UNEP; MEP is in a very good position to
do so through the China Fund to UNEP and need to be motivated. Most of these
supports to UNEP-IEMP are mainly channelled through its host institute IGSNRR or
collaborating partners. Yet, 100% of these funds support the UNEP-IEMP MTDS and
BWP which respectively contributes to the UNEP MTS and PoW. These generous
contributions must be recognized and the projects funded by China should be seen as
UNEP projects and incorporated into UNEP PoWs.
UNEP-IEMP will continue to push for the recognition of its international status in
China and the application of core fund as donation from the Chinese government to
UNEP specifically for the operation of UNEP-IEMP. But this would need
breakthrough in the current government financial rules and regulations and better
coordination amongst the supporting partners, in particular CAS and MEP. Hopefully
resolve of this matter can be expected during this BWP period.
In the next biennium 2014-2015, finance and staff management of the Centre falls
under the management principles and procedures to be approved by its Steering
Committee. With regards to financial management, all fundraising activities shall be
strict to rules and procedures of the UN and the Chinese Government. Project funds
supported by UNEP will be transferred to UNEP-IEMP through a Project Cooperation
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Agreement (PCA) with its host organization, Institute of Geographic Sciences and
Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR-CAS). For projects supported by other funding
sources than UNEP, the rules of CAS shall prevail. In addition, the Centre together
with its host institution responds to inquiries and monitoring of all donors on its
annual expenditures, and shall in its annual report list all incomes and expenditures in
detail.
During this period, UNEP-IEMP will explore with its co-sponsoring organizations,
innovative ways to maintain the best talented expertise coming from around the world,
in particular those from and working in developing countries.
4.3. Timely and high-quality delivery of services to build credibility
Efficient delivery of project results is the only way to build the credibility of
UNEP-IEMP as a reliable service provider not only to donors and sponsors, but also
to recipient countries and communities.
For those projects that are to be concluded within 2014 such as the NDRC project on
South-South Cooperation and NSFC project on Africa Assessment, timely conclusion
of these projects with high quality and visible results will help lay the foundation for
UNEP-IEMP to get continuous support. Both policy papers and journal articles shall
be published to address the concerns of national and international clients as well as
the science community.
For those projects that are funded and on-going, clear milestones set in their
multi-year work plans must be achieved.
Pipelined projects are those with a funding commitment from donor agencies, but
with some uncertainties. These include ecosystem-based adaptation in the Greater
Mekong Sub-region (GMS-EBA) to be co-funded by GEF-SCCF and China, capacity
building and assessment projects contributing to the IPBES, and China South-South
Cooperation initiatives to be funded by CAS and NDRC. For these projects, proposals
must be completed with high quality and submitted timely. In this process, not only
project teams must be in place to be able to prepare various ProDocs, but also
multilateral stakeholder consultation undertaken successfully to reach consensus. This
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is particularly true when a project proposal addressing transboundary issues is
developed.
Targeted projects are those with strong demand from some specific developing
countries and strong interests from partners of UNEP-IEMP, such as the West Asia
Dust Storm Corridor Project.
Current focal regions of UNEP-IEMP’s BWP 2014-2015 implementation are Africa
and Asia-Pacific, with high likelihood of extending to West Asia in 2014 and Latin
America and Caribbean in 2015. Pilot countries will be extended from the current 5
countries China, Mauritania, Nepal, Rwanda and Seychelles to at least another 5
countries such as Benin, Brazil, Cambodia, Kenya, Lao’s Republic, and Tanzania,
making it more than 10 countries that could be technically supported by UNEP-IEMP
on ecosystem management related issues.
5. Enabling conditions and activities
5.1. Human Resource Development
Except for the Director who is appointed by UNEP, UNEP-IEMP currently has a team
of approximately 25 people, composed of part-time and full-time staff on various
contractual statuses mainly with IGSNRR-CAS. This is an interim arrangement due to
the lack of core funding support for hiring core staff. The current team has been
formed drawing expertise from and taking advantage of various international staffing
programmes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. All the programme coordinators
are part time, working as in-kind support from CAS. With project funding in place,
UNEP-IEMP has started hiring post-doctoral research fellows, consultants and project
officers through existing channels of CAS.
Maintaining the sustainability of UNEP-IEMP requires first and foremost staff
sustainability. According to the UNEP-CAS Agreement, both co-sponsors, UNEP and
CAS, will provide essential staff to meet the needs of UNEP-IEMP, with the majority
coming from the host institute, CAS-IGSNRR. In the next BWP 2014-2015,
pending on the needs for effective functioning of UNEP-IEMP, we aim to
increase the staff size to 60, composing 10 core team members, 20 project team
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members and 30 associate team members.
The core team (10) will be formed to carry out the core functions, including
management for the three proposed programmes and large projects. Project team
members (20) are those to be hired through project funds and perform project
functions as officers, specialists and consultants. Associated team members (30) will
include doctoral candidates, post-doctoral researchers, Junior Professional Officers,
and visiting scholars with arrangements flexible with the rules of CAS and other
partner organizations. All staff members will be hired through international
recruitment processes. Staff development will take a step-by-step approach. As
indicated in the Agreement, CAS, through IGSNRR, will contribute to the staff
recruitment and management process. For instance, it is anticipated that in the coming
two years, CAS/IGSNRR will recruit around 5 core staff for project coordination and
research and another 5 core staff the following BWP 2016-2017 including programme
coordinators. It is also expected that CAS will continue to fund around 4-8
international scientists per year through its “Visiting Professorships Programme,”
“Fellowships for Young International Scientists Programme” and “Visiting Fellowship
for Researchers from Developing Countries Programme.” UNEP-IEMP also
welcomes national and international interns as well as exchange students. UNEP will
continue to support UNEP-IEMP by out-posting a Director to provide leadership and
strategic direction to the organization. UNEP may further second staffs to meet the
increasing staff needs of the Centre. UNEP-IEMP will recruit project staff and
consultants as per individual project requirements, and based on the procedure set by
respective projects.
Given the increasing number and size of the projects to be executed in 2014, team
work supporting and complementing each other must be enhanced in order to
maximize the absolute comparative advantage of its expertise. This means that
UNEP-IEMP will mobilize a group of established researchers and young talents to
work on the projects with their competencies to ensure quality products to win the
hearts and minds of its stakeholders and donors. In the BWP 2014-2015,
UNEP-IEMP will invest significantly on enhancing its internal capacity to ensure
a competent and effective team. Adequate time and resources will be spent in
making sure that staffs are well trained and competent to implement assigned
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activities. In this regard, team building activities will be carried out regularly. We will
use resources available from UNEP and CAS to train our staff on project development
and management, results-based management, website and communication and
human-resources procedures to mention but a few. For facilitating South-South
Cooperation, we will conduct workshops for our staff to understand the resources,
technology, knowledge and expertise available in China and the whole developing
region. In addition, taking into account that UNEP-IEMP is based in China and
keeping in mind that we have international staff, basic Chinese language training will
be provided to ensure their smooth transition and adaptation into the new working
environment in an effort to translate into increased productivity. Regular team
building events for improving team work such as retreats, internal seminars,
brainstorming sessions, and culture events will be organized.
Although UNEP-IEMP is a small team in size, it has a wealth of expertise ranging
from management to research, from ecological to economic sciences, from
communication to partnership building, and from understanding the key strength of
China to the needs of other developing countries such as those of Africa. However,
given the increasing number and size of the projects to be executed, UNEP-IEMP will
mobilize a group of established researchers and young talents to work on the projects
of their competencies to ensure quality products to win the hearts and minds of its
stakeholders and donors.
The UNEP-IEMP team has been formed drawing mainly expertise of CAS Institutes
and through various international fellowships of CAS. All the programme
coordinators are part time, working as in-kind support from CAS. These programme
coordinators have not only brought in the expertise of their own but also those of their
teams and their network of partners into the broad picture of UNEP-IEMP. Most
importantly, it has enabled UNEP-IEMP accomplish so many timely demanding tasks
including project objectives in the inception phase. It must be recognized and highly
appreciated that it is to a significant extent their restless endeavour over the last three
years which made what UNEP-IEMP is today.
However, it must be also understood that these programme coordinators are part time
and have many other obligations beyond the increasing demand of UNEP-IEMP. As a
way of transition to ensure that their expertise and networks are maximized and not
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weakened, it is suggested that each programme manager is assisted by a deputy
coordinator who is a fulltime staff to enhance daily operation of the UNEP-IEMP and
project delivery. With more project funding in place, the Centre plans to hire more
fulltime staff (up to 3 in 2014, and 10 in total during MTDS as IGSNRR staff).
Even this arrangement is far from adequate to meet the increasing demands from the
stakeholders. Therefore, research fellows, post-doctoral candidates, consultants and
project officers must be hired through existing channels of both CAS and UNEP.
5.2. Working with partners
UNEP-IEMP works closely with UNEP Beijing Office, ROAP and other regional
offices, collaborating centres, as well as relevant divisions such as DEWA. It will also
support collaborating initiatives between UNEP and other UN agencies as well as
development agencies bilateral and multilateral alike.
UNEP-IEMP pursues its strategic role to assist and facilitate South-South Cooperation
initiatives of CAS, MEP, NDRC, and NSFC. It can provide additional assistance to
the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, in
particular its cooperative efforts with other developing countries. Further
UNEP-IEMP can facilitate a potential tripartite partnership between CAS, UNEP and
TWAS (Third World Academy of Sciences).
Currently, UNEP-IEMP is assisting CAS institutes as a multilateral platform to work
in developing countries, such as the Institute of Geographical Science and Natural
Resource Research, Institute of Earth Observation and Remote Sensing Application，
Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Institute of Urban Environment,
Institute of Botany, Chengdu Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment,
Institute of Science Policy and Management, and Eco-Environment Research Centre.
Through more joint projects and initiatives, increasing demand will come from other
CAS Institutes who have the passion to work in other developing countries.
UNEP-IEMP will collaborate with the CGIAR centres, IUCN, WWF, and other
international, regional and national research institutions as deemed necessary. Other
potential partners include but not limited to, IISD, ICIMOD, ACPC and development
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agencies like DIFD, SIDA, ADB and World Bank. Meanwhile, cooperation with
private sectors and local governments will also be sought.
5.3. Resource Mobilization
As a UNEP Collaborating Centre hosted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the
operation of UNEP-IEMP needs a core budget for the core services, with a core team
to deliver those services. Without a dedicated operational budget during the time
period covered by this MTDS, project budgets–including various fellowships and
grants–will continue to be the main source of funding for delivering services and
products. However, a core budget or trust fund must be established during this
MTDS period to secure long-term sustainability of the Centre. This strategy is not
without solid basis. UNEP-IEMP has in its inception phase (2010-2011) secured GEF
funding of US$5 million with another US$5 million co-financing from NDRC for
implementation of the GEF-SCCF project. Under the UNEP-NSFC cooperation
project guideline for the next 5 years, RMB 10 (approx. US$1.5) million /year will be
provided for joint projects, of which RMB 6.6 million will be allocated to projects on
ecosystem management and climate change adaptation. Commitment of other funds
from CAS, MEP and UNEP has been made to support various projects listed in the
BWP Expected Outcomes. Very likely, the pipelined project GMS-EBA could be
funded by GEF-SCCF with an investment of $ 6 million, with real cash co-financing
$6 million from NDRC, ADB and WWF. In total, these projects will mount to at least
$20 million during the BWP period 2014-15. According to project implementation
requirements and estimates, a core fund of $1 million/year for international staffing
and operation shall be pursued.
Since the beginning of the inception phase, UNEP-IEMP has been consulting with
CAS and MEP in pursuit of a core funding of US$1 million/year from the Ministry of
Finance. As an interim arrangement before the core fund form Ministry of Finance is
in place, CAS has committed at least RMB 2 (US$0.33) million/year for the next
three years (2013-2015) to enable effective program implementation. These will form
the basis for sustaining UNEP-IEMP as a UNEP collaborating centre based in China.
UNEP-IEMP sets the target for 2014 to raise project fund of more than $10
million from various sources. This shall be more than 50% of the total fund to be
raised during the BWP 2014-2015. These funds will be secured mainly from
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multilateral and bilateral funding mechanisms including the GEF and several relevant
agencies of China such as NSFC, NDRC, and CAS. In addition, UNEP-IEMP will
continue working with other partners to prepare for new initiatives to be funded by
other donors such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, foundations and
private sectors. In the future, a wider range of funding sources shall be sought to
enable the Centre to deliver much needed services to developing countries, with
prospects of forging a trust fund for its long-term operations.
5.4. Communication Strategy
The communication strategy sets out a roadmap for communicating our overall
programme and work to a range of target audiences guided by the core sets of
management principles. The main objective is to establish coherence and focus in
UNEP-IEMP’s internal and external communications in order to provide policy
relevant information to decision-makers in developing countries. Specific objectives
include:
i.
Ensuring that UNEP-IEMP’s operations, priorities, activities and values are
clearly and better understood both internally and externally.
ii. Improving understanding of internal communication procedures by all staff to
effectiveness and ensure smooth implementation of our programmes as well as
effective execution of our external communication.
iii. Strengthening and improving the use of existing internal communication
structures in an effort to enhance programme/project delivery and promote a
friendly working environment.
iv. Enhancing UNEP-IEMP’s public image as an efficient and reputable
international centre providing science for policy on ecosystem management.
v. Disseminating our messages in an open, honest, clear, consistent, timely and
simple manner. These will serve as the benchmark for all communications
materials used.
vi. Empowering our target audiences to better address environmental challenges
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especially in relation to ecosystem management through the materials we
disseminate.
The targeted audience is both diverse nationally and internationally and includes
various tools and mechanisms in its dissemination and knowledge mobilization.
Communicating with UNEP divisions, offices and centres shall be a norm which is
essential to obtain their understanding and support. Equally important is
communication with Chinese government agencies, research institutions, private
sectors and even the mass media to convey an important message that UNEP-IEMP is
in the best position to enhance China’s South-South Cooperation with the rest of the
developing world. Communication with key partners including development partners,
those from the UN and CGIAR systems, and international, regional and national
research institutions are also important to forge collaborating initiatives.
Communication is an integral part of the UNEP-IEMP MTDS. Most if not all the
outreach activities will be through the implementation of its concrete projects and
high-level fora. Additional to the Bulletins and Policy Series, UNEP-IEMP plans to
launch its own website to serve as an interactive platform working with developing
country partners and to disseminate in a timely manner project activities being
undertaken in different parts of the developing world.
Details of the communication strategy can be seen as Annex 3.
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Annex 1: Introduction to UNEP Mid-term Strategy
The key goal of UNEP MTS for the period of 2014–2017 is to catalyze a transition
towards low carbon, resource efficient, and equitable development. This transition is
based on the protection and sustainable use of ecosystem services, coherent
environmental governance, and the reduction of environmental risks for the wellbeing
of current and future generations. To support this key goal, seven sub-programmes
have been identified:
(a) Climate change;
(b) Disasters and conflicts;
(c) Ecosystem management;
(d) Environmental governance;
(e) Chemicals and waste;
(f) Resource efficiency;
(g) Environment under review.
Out of the above sub-programmes, UNEP-IEMP contributes directly to expected
accomplishments of three: Climate Change, Ecosystem Management, and
Environment under Review.
The objective of the climate change subprogramme is to strengthen the ability of
countries to move towards climate-resilient and low emission pathways for
sustainable development and human wellbeing. UNEP-IEMP aims to support
Expected accomplishment 1: climate resilience. Ecosystem-based and supporting
adaptation approaches are implemented and integrated into key sectoral and national
development strategies to reduce vulnerability and strengthen resilience to climate
change impacts.
The objective of the ecosystem management subprogramme is to promote a transition
to integrating the management of land, water and living resources, with a view to
maintaining biodiversity and providing ecosystem services sustainably and equitably
among countries. UNEP-IEMP contributes to all its three Expected Accomplishments:
1) Production. Increased use is made of the ecosystem approach in countries, with
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a view to maintaining ecosystem services and the sustainable productivity of
terrestrial and aquatic systems;
2) Marine issues. Increased use is made of the ecosystem approach to sustain
ecosystem services from coastal and marine systems;
3) Enabling environment. Services and benefits derived from ecosystems are
integrated with development planning and accounting, particularly in relation to
wider landscapes and seascapes and the implementation of biodiversity-related
multilateral environmental agreements.
The objective of the environment under review subprogramme is to empower
stakeholders in their policy and decision-making by providing scientific information
and knowledge and keeping the world environment under review. UNEP-IEMP
supports all the three Expected Accomplishments under this subprogramme:
1) Assessment. Global, regional and national policymaking is facilitated by making
environmental information available on open platforms;
2) Early warning. Global, regional and national assessment processes and policy
planning are informed by emerging environmental issues;
3) Information. The capacities of countries to generate, access, analyze, use and
communicate environmental information and knowledge is enhanced.
The UNEP MTS is particularly supportive to the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity for
2011–2020, an overarching international biodiversity framework for the engagement
of all stakeholders with the purpose of inspiring broad-based action in support of
biodiversity over the next decade. The Plan promotes the coherent and effective
implementation of the three objectives of the Convention on Biodiversity and its
overall vision is to ensure that by 2050 biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored and
wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and
delivering benefits essential for all people. The UNEP MTS contributes to particular
targets (Aichi Targets) set in the Plan, such as:
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Target 2: Biodiversity values integrated;
Target 5: Habitat loss halved or reduced;
Target 6: Sustainable management of marine living resources;
Target 7: Sustainable agriculture, aquaculture and forestry;
Target 10: Pressures on vulnerable ecosystems reduced;
Target 11: Protected areas increased and improved;
Target 14: Ecosystems and essential services safeguarded;
Target 15: Ecosystems restored and resilience enhanced
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UNEP-IEMP: Mid-term Development Strategy and Biennial Work Plan
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Annex 2: Introduction to UNEP Programme of Work (PoW) 2014-2015
and its relevant sub-programmes
UNEP PoW sets out the proposed biennial programme of work and budget for the
biennium 2014-2015. It is guided by and will contribute to the UNEP MTS
2014-2017. The Rio+20 outcomes–in particular deliberations on upgrading UNEP,
capacity building and technology support, and the green economy–are key
considerations in the development of UNEP’s PoW. Lessons learned from UNEP’s
current MTS 2010-2013 have been taken into account as well.
Out of UNEP’s seven sub-programmes, detailed in Section 2.1, three are identified as
the priorities that concern UNEP-IEMP contributions in particular: climate change,
ecosystem management, and the environment under review. However, given the
inter-linkages within UNEP-IEMP’s three programmes, Technology and Capacity
Development, Monitoring and Assessment, and Science for Policy, its work will also
relate to the accomplishments expected under UNEP sub-programmes of Disasters
and Conflicts and Resource Efficiency. Detailed expected accomplishments and
indicators of achievement of the UNEP sub-programmes relevant to UNEP-IEMP are
listed below:
Climate Change (CC—EA (a) adaptation only)
Expected accomplishments
Indicators of achievement
(a) Ecosystem-based and
(i) Increase in the number of countries implementing
supporting adaptation approaches
ecosystem-based and other supporting adaptation
implemented and integrated into
approaches as a result of UNEP support
key sectoral and national
development strategies to reduce
vulnerability and strengthen
resilience to climate change
(ii) Increase in number of countries incorporating
ecosystem-based and supporting adaptation
approaches in key sectoral and development plans with
the assistance of UNEP
impacts
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UNEP-IEMP: Mid-term Development Strategy and Biennial Work Plan
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Ecosystem Management (EM—all EAs)
Expected accomplishments
Indicators of achievement
(a) Use of the ecosystem
(i) Increase in the number of countries integrating the
approach in countries to maintain
ecosystem approach with traditional sector-based natural
ecosystem services and
resource management
sustainable productivity of
terrestrial and aquatic systems is
increased
(b) Use of the ecosystem
(i) Increase in the number of countries using the
approach in countries to sustain
ecosystem approach to sustain ecosystem services from
ecosystem services from coastal
coastal and marine systems
and marine systems is increased
(c) Services and benefits derived
(i) Increase in the number of countries that integrate the
from ecosystems are integrated
ecosystem approach in development planning
with development planning and
accounting, particularly in
relation to wider landscapes and
(ii) Increase in the number of countries that integrate
priority ecosystem services into their national accounting
and budgeting processes
seascapes and the implementation
of biodiversity- and ecosystem
related multilateral environmental
initiatives
Environment under Review (EUR—all EAs)
Expected accomplishments
Indicators of achievement
(a) Global, regional and national
(i) Increase in the number of United Nations agencies
policymaking is facilitated by
and MEAs using data on environmental trends identified
environmental information made
through UNEP to influence policy
available on open platforms
(ii) Increase in the number of national, regional and
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UNEP-IEMP: Mid-term Development Strategy and Biennial Work Plan
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global forums and institutions using data on
environmental trends identified through UNEP to
influence policy
(b) Global, regional and national
(i) Increase in the number of stakeholders surveyed that
assessment processes and policy
acknowledge the uptake of scenarios and early warning
planning are informed by merging on emerging environmental issues in their assessment
environmental issues
and policy development processes
(ii) Number of registered participants in organizations for
children and young people, sports organizations and
World Environment Day that undertake activities on the
UNEP website or report through UNEP networks as a
result of targeted messaging on emerging environmental
issues
(c) The capacity of countries to
(i) Increase in the number of countries that take the lead
generate, access, analyze, use,
in generating, analyzing, managing and using
and communicate environmental
environmental information in comparable formats and
information and knowledge is
making such information and knowledge available to the
enhanced
public and policymakers
(ii) Increase in the number of countries making available
credible, nationally generated data and providing access
to country-specific environmental information in
comparable formats on public platforms
(iii) Increased number of major groups and stakeholders
surveyed that acknowledge their involvement in the
generation of, access to and use of environmental
information available on public platforms
(iv) Increase in the number of major UNEP publications
in languages other than English made accessible through
UNEP developed online platforms
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UNEP-IEMP: Mid-term Development Strategy and Biennial Work Plan
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Annex 3 Communication Strategy
This communication strategy sets out a roadmap for communicating our overall
programme and work to a range of target audiences. This strategy covers both internal
and external communication.
SWOT Analysis as the basis: The following table is a summary of the strengths and
opportunities that arise with a communication strategy that is well implemented and
adhered to, both internally and externally. Likewise, the absence of a strategy or poor
implementation of one may result in certain threats and weakness that may affect
UNEP-IEMP’s image and credibility.
Strengths
Weaknesses

Deliverables achieved


Common understanding of tasks/project
activities
Information not shared in multiple
forms for better understanding

Cultural misperception of
information exchange

Technical jargons that reduce
understanding of key messages by
target audience

Trust not built with key partners in
developing countries within a short
time

Better working environment

Strengthens team work and builds
confidence

Respect for individual contribution and
team outputs

Better understanding of rules,
procedures, policies etc…

Better implementation of activities
Opportunities
Threats

More room for up-scaling of successful
programme implementation

Reputational risk – in terms of
failure to meet deadlines etc.

More funding opportunities

Unattainable operational outcomes

Good media coverage/highlights

Poor programme deliverables

Renewed & new partnerships

New research collaborations

Increased stakeholder/public
involvement
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UNEP-IEMP: Mid-term Development Strategy and Biennial Work Plan
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Communications Objectives: The communication strategy includes both internal
and external communication. The main objective is to establish coherence and focus
in UNEP-IEMP’s internal and external communications in order to provide policy
relevant and neutral information to decision-makers in developing countries.
Specific objectives include:
vii. Ensuring that UNEP-IEMP’s operations, priorities, activities and values are
clearly and better understood both internally and externally.
viii. Improving understanding of internal communication procedures by all staff to
effectiveness and ensure smooth implementation of our programmes as well as
effective execution of our external communication.
ix. Strengthening and improving the use of existing internal communication
structures in an effort to enhance programme/project delivery and promote a
friendly working environment.
x. Enhancing UNEP-IEMP’s public image as an efficient and reputable
international programme providing science for policy on ecosystem
management.
xi. Disseminating our messages in an open, honest, clear, consistent, timely and
simple manner. These will serve as the benchmark for all communications
materials used.
xii. Empowering our target audiences to better address environmental challenges
especially in relation to ecosystem management through the materials we
disseminate.
Target audience include UN and other inter-governmental organizations, research &
academic institutions, government agencies with a focus on developing countries,
policy-makers and managers for ecosystems and natural resources, private sectors,
mass media, civil society and international organizations, donor Communities, and
general public and global youth.
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UNEP-IEMP: Mid-term Development Strategy and Biennial Work Plan
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Communication Tools: UNEP-IEMP will employ a number of communication tools
to communicate with its staff (internal) and its target audiences (external). Means of
internal communications include email, telephone, internal seminars, staff meetings,
informal discussions etc.
Means of external communication includes website, reports, publications, policy
briefing and working with public media etc.
Website Development: UNEP-IEMP has recently developed an independent website
(www.unep-iemp.org) that is user-friendly and contains detailed up-to-date
information on UNEP-IEMP’s activities.
Reports (annual report, bulletins, brochures, posters, etc…): Bulletins will be
produced on a quarterly basis to keep target audiences regularly informed about the
work we are undertaking. Annual reports will be produced at the end of every
calendar year that will provide detailed highlights of our work and achievements
throughout the year. UNEP-IEMP will need to update the current brochure to reflect
on the achievements made to date.
Policy Briefs/Journal papers: As frequently as possible, policy briefs and journal
papers will be developed on various issues related to ecosystem management that will
aim to influence policy-makers to make more informed decisions in relation to the
environment.
Events (conferences, seminars, side-events, etc…): Events both nationally and
internationally provide a good platform to showcase our work to a wide audience and
serve as an opportunity to strength and build new partnerships and networks.
Additionally, opportunities for our staff to present at various events will further
enhance UNEP-IEMP’s visibility.
High-level fora: One of UNEP-IEMP’s key initiatives is science for policy. To
effectively convey scientific findings on ecosystem management to policy makers,
UNEP-IEMP will organize policy fora once every two years to mainstream key
concepts of ecosystem management in policy relevant topics.
Working with the media: Press releases will be issued and distributed by
UNEP-IEMP to existing media channels such as the IIED mailing lists and UNEP
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UNEP-IEMP: Mid-term Development Strategy and Biennial Work Plan
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website. Where possible, the media will also be invited to various events as they play
a key role in relaying event outcomes to the wider public in a concise and informative
manner.
Evaluating Success: Developing a communication strategy is an important first step,
but without an evaluation plan, we will have no way of knowing whether our plan is
working effectively and what area needs improvement. Knowing the effects of our
communication activities and addressing the gaps as they arise will enable us to
efficiently reach our communication objectives. It is inevitable that new opportunities
and threats that will affect our work will arise and regular evaluation of our
communication strategy will enable us to remain current. Below are examples of
some key aspects of our communication that will be evaluated:

Brand awareness – how do our target audiences perceive us? How well do
they know about us and the work we do?

Message dissemination – how well are our messages spread?

Media relations – are we receiving enough coverage in the media?
Some of the evaluation tools that will be explored include; monitoring website visits
to our web portal, number of publications disseminated including the number of views
on the website, number of press releases developed, new partnerships and/or networks
developed, etc.
39

Slides

SEEA-EEA - United Nations Statistics Division

Ecosystem Services and Resilience Poster

OGT Review updated

Elastic Connectivity

Emissions Gap

Kenya Green University Network Informal Consultative

Jim Wharfe

Communicating with the Elephant in the Data Center

20141001113754 - Science With Ms. Ortiz