In response to UNEP/GC Decision 23/1 I, which requested the Executive Director of UNEP to give the highest priority to the effective and immediate implementation of the Bali Strategic Plan (BSP), UNEP embarked on several practical activities in the context of implementing the South-South Coordination (SSC) component of the BSP:
Establishment of a South-South Coordination Unit in September 2005 charged with the overall responsibility of developing, coordinating and implementing UNEP’s policy and strategy on South-South Cooperation in environment.
Organisation of a high-level consultation in Jakarta, Indonesia in November 2005 to seek the guidance of senior government ministers, representatives of donor organisations, UN and other international organisations, G-77 and China as well as members of the Bureau of the UNEP Governing Council on potential approaches to guide UNEP in addressing SSC as a key implementation mechanism of the BSP. The consultation identified regional priorities that could be addressed through SSC arrangements, a range of options for increased coordination and cooperation, the development of new partnerships and the leveraging of resources both financial and technical including the sharing of best practices to provide the necessary grounding for SSC initiatives.
Incorporation of SSC in the revision of the UNEP programme of work for 2008-2009.
Development and implementation of start-up SSC activities in a number of UNEP areas in the 2006-2007 programme of work including:
South-South network of Global Environmental Outlook (GEO) collaborating centres for integrated environmental assessment and reporting in the context of GEO report series;
Triangular Cooperation Initiative in support of the Africa Environment Information Networking Initiative and Africa Environment Outlook (AEO) reporting process;
Capacity enhancement strategy for the production of the third edition of the Africa Environment Outlook report (AEO-3) and related ancillary products;
Asia-Africa Environment Law initiative to strengthen institutional capacities and national regulatory frameworks for effective implementation of international environmental law and policy in the countries of Asia and Africa.
Technical inputs in the implementation of the pilot project in Africa.
Development of a clearing-house for the BSP and SSC to serve as a global mechanism for the exchange of a wide range of information on available technologies, expertise, experiences, opportunities, best practices, methodologies, advisory services, training particularly in countries and regions of the South.
Support to the development of a multi-year plan of action for SSC in biodiversity specifically to enhance the capacities of developing countries to implement the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the achievement of the 2010 biodiversity target.
Collaboration with UNDP Special Unit for South-South Cooperation and other UN agencies to produce a chapter on South-South Cooperation in Environment for incorporation in a global report – the South Report – to be published in 2007. The report will provide a comprehensive analysis of cooperation among developing countries, opportunities for partnership, priorities and challenges for further action and options for coordinated strategic action in advancing SSC.
The SSC Coordination Unit continues to conduct discussions with external partners to establish strategic partnerships, identify opportunities for collaboration including the development of joint programmes of support, leveraging of technical and financial resources and implementation of specific capacity building and technology transfer projects. In particular, the on-going discussions are with:
UNDP Special Unit for South-South Cooperationin Johannesburg and Bangkok to identify potential joint SSC support activities including linkages to the UNDP knowledge base and UNEP intervention in Africa and Asia-Pacific regions;
China-Africa Cooperation Forum to identify further opportunities for tapping into the technical and financial resources of the forum to support capacity building and technology support needs identified by countries of the region;
Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to identify opportunities for establishing strategic alliances that will serve as the umbrella frameworks for identifying, formulating and implementing specific capacity building and technology support projects with technical and financial support from Brazil. The discussions are conducted in the framework of the broader cooperation mechanism comprising emerging economies represented by India, China and South Africa.
Core group of heads of environment management agencies in Africa with the aim of establishing a network ofAfrican Environment Protection Agencies to foster greater cooperation and collaboration in support of environmental management and sustainable development in Africa.
