In accordance with the priorities set out in the GIWA Project Document, GIWA activities during the first six months of operation have focussed on the following issues:

• Setting up of the GIWA Co-ordination office in Kalmar, Sweden, including necessary administrative structures and routines;
• Recruiting staff to the Core Team;
• Preparing and arranging the first meeting of the GIWA Steering Group;
• Establishing the GIWA Network of Megaregional Host Institutions and Task Teams, Subregional Focal Points, Thematic Task Teams, and other co-operating partners;
• Developing the GIWA Assessment Protocol (i.e., the GIWA Methodology, including root cause and causal chain analysis);
• Fundraising efforts to secure the additional necessary co-financing of GIWA.

The first meeting of the GIWA Steering Group

The first meeting of the GIWA Steering Group was held at the GIWA Co-ordination office in Kalmar, Sweden, 27-28 September, 1999. Items on the agenda included the GIWA Work Plan and Management Plan; Terms of Reference for the Steering Group; fundraising; development of the GIWA Network; preparation of the GIWA Assessment Protocol (GIWA Methodology); data management, information and communication; and co-operation with other relevant organisations such as GESAMP.

The GIWA Network

According to the GIWA Project Document, the network to be established to accomplish the work of GIWA (the GIWA Network) will consist of national experts and institutions, regional and global collaborating bodies. These will be organised around the geographic units of assessment and grouped into nine major regions (megaregions):

During the autumn of 1999, Terms of Reference for and a list of appropriate GIWA Megaregional Host Institutions have been identified and approved by the Steering Group. Concrete discussions about co-operative agreements have been initiatied with, among others, AMAP, PICES, ICES, the UNEP regional offices, CCAMLAR/SCAR, and the Secretariat for the Cape Town Process.

At the regional/subregional levels, contacts have been made with a wide range of potential focal points. These include the regional co-ordinating units for the UNEP Regional Seas Programme; ICES; HELCOM; OSPAR; the many UNDP/GEF, UNEP/GEF and World Bank/GEF International Waters Projects (indlucing the Large Marine Ecosystem Projects); the South Pacific Environmental Programme (SPREP); several regional fisheries bodies; a number of institutions in Australia; and ACOPS.

Negotiations are also ongoing with HELCOM and ICES in the Baltic Sea Region, and with potential partner organisations in the Gulf of Thailand Region/Lower Mekong River Region, concerning partnership for the pilot area testing of the GIWA Assessment Protocol (GIWA Methodology).

A number of organisations which hold comprehensive data sets of importance to GIWA has also been approached concerning exchange of data and information. These include FAO; GEMS/Water; ICES; IOC; EEA; LOICZ; ICLARM; WRI; and the GRID offices in Sioux Falls, Bangkok, Geneva and Arendal.

Discussions about co-operation have also been held with the UNEP/GPA and the UNEP Chemicals Division (and particularly the recently approved UNEP/GEF project on regionally-based assessment of persistent toxic substances).

The objective is to have the GIWA Network of Megaregional Host Organisations, and Subregional Focal Points, established and fully operational by 1 August 2000, so that the start of the subregional assessment work can be timely co-ordinated with the delivery of the GIWA Assessment Protocol (GIWA Methodology).

The GIWA Assessment Protocol (GIWA Methodology)

An agreement has been reached with the Plymouth University to develop the GIWA Assessment Protocol (GIWA Methodology). The university has the main responsibility for the work, assisted, however, regarding socio-economic aspects by the University of East Anglia. A Methodology Task Team, chaired by Professor Lawrence Mee, will be set up. A number of consultants will be contracted for specific tasks. The team will include senior marine, freshwater and socio-economic experts from developed as well as developing countries.

Protocol development work is expected to be concluded during the first half of the year 2000. During the development phase, the GIWA Assessment Protocol will be tested in two pilot areas, the Baltic Sea Region and the Gulf of Thailand/Lower Mekong River Region, respectively.

Data management, communication and external information

A draft data management, communication and information strategy was elaborated and submitted to the first Steering Group Meeting. As part of the implementation of this strategy, the GIWA web site (www.giwa.net), which also includes an open mailing list, has been launched to provide a forum for dialogue with the international water community and the public. The site is continuously updated to provide the most recent information about progress in the implementation of GIWA. In addition, an information brochure about GIWA has been published and widely distributed.

Furthermore, substantial resources and time have been spent on informating about GIWA at a number of major international conferences and meetings, and through bilateral contacts. Examples of such events where GIWA has been represented include the Meeting on Regional Seas (arranged by UNEP); the Stockholm Water Symposium; the ICES Annual Science Conference; the Large Marine Ecosystems Symposium; a meeting of the GESAMP/MEA working group; the LOICZ Open Science Meeting; the Adriatic Workshop on Nutrients and Trophic Dynamics; and the Nordic Annual Freshwater Conference.

Fundraising

The need for additional funding for the successful execution of GIWA was envisaged already in the project document, approved by the GEF Council. However, the project document does not give any detailed indication on the additional resources that the project planning group might have estimated to be required for the completion of the GIWA project. Securing the additional co-financing needed is identified as one of the priority tasks for the GIWA Core Team during the first year of operation.

In order to secure the necessary additional financing, the GIWA Core Team has during the autumn of 1999 approached a number of potential donors to solicit their interest to contribute to the funding of the GIWA work programme. Further contacts with other potential donors that have expressed an interest in GIWA will be pursued during the coming months.