Bonn, 1 October 2012 - The
African
Initiative of
AEWA aimed at promoting the implementation of AEWA in
the African region - continues to bustle with activity. Among
the current points of focus are the recently adopted AEWA
Plan of Action for Africa 2012-2017; the 2012 cycle of the
AEWA Small Grants Fund; species action planning workshops;
capacity-building activities targeting National Focal Points
and other experts in Africa; and improving awareness on the
African Initiative and on AEWA in general.
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New Plan of Action for Africa
Adopted
An operational guideline for the implementation
of the African Initiative - the Plan of Action for Africa
2012-2017 - was recently adopted through Resolution
5.9 at the 5th Session of the Meeting of the Parties to AEWA
(MOP5), which took place in La Rochelle, France, in May 2012. The Plan of Action was developed through a highly consultative process involving the African countries, other AEWA Parties and partners, and was finalized and validated by delegates from 25 African AEWA Range States at an African regional preparatory workshop preceding the AEWA MOP5.
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Small Grants Fund 2012 Cycle
Another
important AEWA tool, the Small Grants Fund (SGF)
has meanwhile entered its third year of operation
and project proposals for the programme’s 2012
cycle are currently under evaluation. This year’s
call for submissions has attracted 23 project proposals
from 15 African countries. The submission period
is now closed. The AEWA SGF which aims to facilitate
the implementation of AEWA in developing countries
and countries with economies in transition currently
focuses exclusively on countries in the African region.
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Promoting the AEWA African Initiative at the 13th Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN)
AMCEN, established in 1985, is a permanent forum through
which the Ministers responsible for environment in
Africa promote environmental protection, sustainable
livelihood and socio-economic development in the region.
It thereby provides guidance on key political issues
related to the environment, including advocating membership
to and the implementation of regional and international
Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), as clearly
stressed in the outcomes of the “Bamako Declaration
on the Environment for Sustainable Development" resulting from the 13th Ordinary session of AMCEN.
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Action Planning Underway for AEWA Species in Africa
The
development of Single Specie Action Plans (SSAPs)
for eight globally threatened
AEWA species occurring
in Africa is one of the activities highlighted in
the AEWA Plan of Action for Africa 2012-2017.
To this effect, an AEWA action-planning workshop
aimed at developing an International Single Species
Action
Plan for the Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex), will take
place in Entebbe, Uganda, from 9 – 12 October
2012. This workshop is being organized in the framework
of AEWA, with the support of the Government of Uganda
and the BirdLife Partner in Uganda, NatureUganda.
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Improving
the Capacity for the National Implementation of
AEWA in Africa
The need for improved capacity at the national
level for the implementation of AEWA in Africa
is undeniable
and has been highlighted as one of the priorities
in the AEWA Plan of Action for Africa 2012-2017,
where
it cross-cuts all the key activity areas in this
Plan of Action.
In this regard, the current project on the “effective
implementation of CMS, AEWA and other CMS-Family instruments
across various regions and languages through capacity
building”, jointly led by the UNEP/CMS and
UNEP/AEWA Secretariat, contributes significantly
to addressing
this issue. [read
on]
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