Environment and Sustainable Development - United Nations ...

A field meeting of PLEC expert farmers in
Baihualing, Baoshan, following the national
meeting of PLEC China held in Kunming in
January 2002.
hundred participating farmers.
The PLEC approach is to collaborate with farmers and
local communities in identifying appropriate conservation
approaches that are environmentally, socially and
financially sustainable, and which sustain biodiversity. By
integrating locally developed knowledge of soil, climate,
and other physical factors with scientific assessments of
their quality in relation to crop production, a set of
sustainable agricultural technologies that will maintain
crop diversity and management diversity can be devised.
With UNEP approval, the conclusion date of the
present 4-year phase of GEF-funded PLEC was extended
to 31 October 2002. PLEC made significant progress
towards winding up the present phase and developing new
projects at national, regional and international levels. The
final external evaluation in May-June 2002 concluded that,
although goals and progress varied among clusters, PLEC
had successfully achieved all four of its original project
objectives. PLEC teams at all levels have made progress in
building on past experiences for new follow-up projects.
The Fourth General Meeting on “Working with
Farmers for the Cultivation of Biodiversity while
Improving Livelihoods” was held at Columbia University,
New York, in April. Participants reviewed and shared the
project findings, experiences and lessons learned over the
past four years among all PLEC groups. A workshop on
“Agrodiversity in Development” was held in Paris in
August to discuss the PLEC final evaluation outcomes and
review a proposal on a new international initiative. This
workshop, attended by representatives of all 12
participating countries, also served as a final meeting of
the Management Group of the present phase. The
Management Group decided to use a new project name –
“People, Land Management and Ecosystem Conservation”
– to better reflect the new priorities of future PLEC
activities.
African Center for Aquatic Research
and Education
The Government of Malawi and UNU/INWEH have
reached formal agreement to collaborate in the
establishment of the African Center for Aquatic Research
and Education (ACARE) at an existing inland fisheries
research facility on the shores of Lake Malawi.
UNU/INWEH will be responsible for its establishment and
operation as part of the larger Lake Malawi Ecosystem
Management Programme (LMEMP). The mission of
ACARE will be to undertake basin-scale monitoring,
freshwater ecosystem research, capacity development, and
dissemination of scientific information and knowledge,
thereby contributing to the resolution of pressing transboundary
environmental issues that threaten the Lake
Malawi watershed.
A highly successful UNU/INWEH mission to Malawi
in April 2002 confirmed the technical and institutional
feasibility of ACARE; adequacy of the premises, facilities
and communications; availability of ship support; and the
legal basis. A subsequent World Bank LMEMP Appraisal
Mission recommended that LMEMP proceed and
reaffirmed ACARE as a critical element of the programme.
Key stakeholders from government ministries and
agencies, universities and other organizations have agreed
on the proposed research and education themes for
ACARE, and have accepted UNU/INWEH’s leadership in
its establishment and operation. There is broad consensus
that ACARE will bring meaningful benefits to the region
as a permanent, regional, African-based institution,
responsive to African perspectives and aspirations.
The riparian countries of Mozambique and Tanzania
are essential partners for a basin-wide LMEMP
programme. In mid-2002, GEF issued a planning grant to
develop the LMEMP framework for these two countries
and agreed to release funding for the Malawi component
when this was completed. Planning missions traveled to
Mozambique and Tanzania in November and December.
In parallel with the implementation of LMEMP, the
Government of Malawi and the UNU, with the assistance
of the World Bank, have begun to seek permanent
endowment funding for ACARE. UNU/INWEH held
initial discussions with the GEF and, following an
exploration of how ACARE might be broadened in scope
to address region-wide water issues, GEF officials
expressed enthusiasm for an endowment fund and offered
to provide a planning grant to elaborate the concept and to
seek out the necessary co-funders. If successful, this would
become the first-ever endowment from the GEF’s
International Waters programme. UNU/INWEH, with
World Bank assistance, is preparing a preliminary project
proposal for GEF consideration.
The research and capacity-development programme of
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