Earth System Governance Project

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Earth System Governance Project is a long-term, interdisciplinary social science research
[1]

programme originally developed under the auspices of the International Human Dimensions
Programme on Global Environmental Change. It started in January 2009.
[2]

The Earth System Governance Project currently consists of a network of ca. 300 active and about
2,300 indirectly involved scholars from all continents. The project has evolved into the largest social
science research network in the area of governance and global environmental change. The Earth
[3]

System Governance Project Office is hosted at Lund University, Sweden.

Contents
[hide]

1Aims

2Conceptual framework

3Origin and history

4Global research network

5Conferences

6Research output

7Education programmes

8Task forces

9Policy influence

10context

11Related projects

12See also

13References

14External links

Aims[edit]
The Earth System Governance Project aims to contribute to science on the large, complex
challenges of governance in an era of rapid and large-scale environmental change. The project
seeks to create a better understanding of the role of institutions, organizations and governance
mechanisms by which humans regulate their relationship with the natural environment. The Earth
[1]

System Governance Project aims to integrate governance research at all levels. The project aims to
examine problems of the global commons, but also local problems from air pollution to the
preservation of waters, waste treatment or desertification and soil degradation. However, due to
natural interdependencies local environmental pollution can be transformed into changes of the
global system that affect other localities. Therefore, the Earth System Governance Project looks at
institutions and governance processes both local and globally. [4]

The Earth System Governance Project is a scientific effort, but also aims to assist policy responses
to the pressing problems of earth system transformation Is very good.
[5][6]

Conceptual framework[edit]
Main article: Earth system governance
The Earth System Governance Project organizes its research according to a conceptual framework
guided by five analytical problems. These are the problems of the overall architecture of earth
system governance, of agency beyond the state and of the state, of the adaptiveness of governance
mechanisms and processes, of their accountability and legitimacy and of modes of allocation and
access in earth system governance. [7]

The concept of Earth System Governance is defined as:

... the interrelated and increasingly integrated system of formal and informal rules, rule-making
systems, and actor-networks at all levels of human society (from local to global) that are set up to
steer societies towards preventing, mitigating, and adapting to global and local environmental
change and, in particular, earth system transformation, within the normative context of sustainable
development. [1]

Origin and history[edit]

In 2001, the four then active global change research programmes (DIVERSITAS, International
Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, World Climate Research Programme, and International Human
Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change) agreed to intensify co-operation through
setting up an overarching Earth System Science Partnership. The research communities
represented in this Partnership contend in the 2001 Amsterdam Declaration on Global Change that [8]

the earth system now operates well outside the normal state exhibited over the past 500,000 years
and that human activity is generating change that extends well beyond natural variabilityin some
cases, alarmingly so and at rates that continue to accelerate. To cope with this challenge, the four
global change research programmes have called urgently for strategies for Earth System
management. [1]

In March 2007, in response to the 2001 Amsterdam Declaration, the Scientific Committee of the
International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP), the
overarching social science programme in the field, mandated the drafting of the Science Plan of the
Earth System Governance Project by a newly appointed Scientific Planning Committee. The Earth
System Governance Project builds on the results of an earlier long-term research programme, the
IHDP core project Institutional Dimensions of Global Environmental Change (IDGEC). In 2008, the
[9][10]

Earth System Governance Project was officially launched.

In 2009, the Science and Implementation Plan of the Earth System Governance Project was
published. In the science and implementation plan, the conceptual problems, cross-cutting themes,
[1]

flagship projects, and its policy relevance are outlined in detail. The Science Plan was written by an
international, interdisciplinary Scientific Planning Committee chaired by Prof. Frank Biermann, which
drew on a consultative process that started in 2004. Several working drafts of this Science Plan have
been presented and discussed at a series of international events and conferences, and numerous
scholars in the field, as well as practitioners, have offered suggestions, advice, and critique.
[2]

Since then, the project has evolved into a broader research alliance that builds on an international
network of research centers, lead faculty and research fellows. After the termination of the IHDP in
2014, the activities of the Earth System Governance research alliance are supported by an
international steering group of representatives of the main Earth System Governance Research
Centres and the global group of lead faculty and research fellows. [11]

Global research network[edit]

For its activities and implementation, the Earth System Governance Project relies on a global
network of experts from different academic and cultural backgrounds. The research network consists
of different groups of scientific experts. The Earth System Governance Project operates under the
direction of a Scientific Steering Group chaired by Frank Biermann. The role of the Scientific
Steering Committee is to guide the implementation of the Earth System Governance Science Plan.
The Lead Faculty of the Earth System Governance Project is a group of individual scientists who
take over (shared) responsibility for the development of research on particular analytical
problems. Earth System Governance Fellows are scientists who link their own research projects with
the broader themes and questions raised by the Earth System Governance Science and
Implementation Plan.
An important element in the project organisation is the global alliance of research centres that brings
together the VU University Amsterdam; the Australian National University; Chiang Mai
University; Colorado State University; Lund University; University of East Anglia; University of
Oldenburg; the Stockholm Resilience Centre; the University of Toronto; the Tokyo Institute of
Technology and Yale University. In addition, strong networks on earth system governance research
exist in China, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, and Russia.

Conferences[edit]
Since 2007, the Project has organized major scientific conferences addressing the topics of
governance and global environmental change, including:

2007 Amsterdam Conference on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change.

'Earth System Governance: Theories and Strategies for Sustainability'

2008 Berlin Conference on the Human Dimension of Global Environmental Change. 'Long-
Term Policies: Governing Social-Ecological Change'

2009 7th International Science Conference on the Human Dimensions of Global

Environmental Change. 'Social Challenges of Global Change'

2009 Amsterdam Conference on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change.

'Earth System Governance: People, Places, and the Planet'

2010 Berlin Conference on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change. 'Social
dimensions of environmental change and governance'
 2011 Colorado Conference on Earth System Governance. 'Crossing Boundaries and
Building Bridges'

2012 Lund Conference on Earth System Governance. 'Towards Just and Legitimate Earth
System Governance'

2013 Tokyo Conference on Earth System Governance. 'Complex Architectures, Multiple

Agents'

2014 Norwich Conference on Earth System Governance. 'Allocation and Access in the
Anthropocene'

2015 Canberra Conference on Earth System Governance. 'Democracy and Resilience in the
Anthropocene' [12]

Research output[edit]
The network of researchers affiliated with the Earth System Governance Project has brought out
many reports and books, and has published in journals such as International Environmental
Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics; Ecological Economics; Global Environmental Change;
[13] [14]

Environmental Science & Policy Global Environmental Politics and Current Opinion in
[15] [16]

Environmental Sustainability Recurring research topics of the Earth System Governance Project
[17]

are water governance, climate governance and fragmentation of global environmental governance. [18]

A related MIT Press Book series is designed to address the research challenge of earth system
governance. Additionally, the Project publishes regular Working Papers, which are peer-reviewed
[19]

online publications that broadly address questions raised by the Projects Science and
Implementation Plan.
Several special issues of topics related to earth system governance have been published in scientific
journals over the last years.

August 2010: Special Issue on: Transparency in Global Environmental Governance, Global
Environmental Politics

November 2011: Special issue on Earth System Governance, International Environmental

Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics

February 2011: Special Issue: Agency in Earth System Governance, International

Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics

September 2011: Special Issue on Accountability in Earth System Governance., Ecological

Economics

February 2012: Transforming governance and institutions of global sustainability: key

insights from the Earth System Governance Project, Current Opinion in Environmental
Sustainability

March 2012: Navigating the Anthropocene: Improving Earth System Governance, Science

March 2013: Sustainable development goals for people and planet, Nature
 March 2014: Special issue: Sustainable Development in a Globalized World, The Journal of
Environment and Development

May 2014: Earth System Challenges and a Multi-layered Approach for the Sustainable
Development Goals Post2015/UNU-IAS Policy Brief. Nr. 1

May 2014: Linking Education and Water in the Sustainable Development

Goals Post2015/UNU-IAS Policy Brief. Nr.2

May 2014: Integrating Governance into the Sustainable Development Goals Post2015/UNU-
IAS Policy Brief. Nr. 3

Education programmes[edit]
Earth system governance as a research object is quickly emerging, and as a consequence, the
number of education programmes on bachelor, master and doctoral level related to earth system
governance steadily increases. A number of institutes and universities currently collaborate in a
Global Alliance of Earth System Governance Research Centres, including: [20]

Ecosystems, Resilience and Governance, University of Stockholm and Stockholm Resilience

Centre, Sweden

Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science, LUMES, International Masters

Programme, Lund University, Sweden

Environment and Resource Management, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Global Environmental Governance, Specialization track in MSc Political Science, VU

University Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Lund University Centre of Excellence for Integration of Social and Natural Dimensions of
Sustainability, LUCID, Research School, Lund University, Sweden

Sustainability Economics and Management, MSc Programme, University of Oldenburg,

Germany

Environmental Governance related Programmes, MA, MSc, and PhD Programmes, Colorado
State University, United States of America

Environment and Development Programmes, MSc, MRes, and MBA Programmes, University
of East Anglia, United Kingdom
A substantial number of the workshops and other events of the project are capacity-building
activities. The project also organizes, endorses and provides teaching to summer schools and
capacity building events and programs. In addition, members of the Scientific Steering Group and
staff of the International Project Office give guest lectures around the world.
[21]

Task forces[edit]
The Earth System Governance Project organizes Task Forces, international networks of senior and
early career scholars with a series of working groups focused on particular ideas or idea clusters.
There are currently two active Task Forces:

Task Force on Conceptual Foundations of Earth System Governance [22]

This Task Force aims to explore key concepts with regard to Earth System Governance, such as
planetary boundaries, green economy, resilience and the Anthropocene. It aims to critically examine
and further refine these novel governance ideas.

Task Force on Methodology for Earth System Governance Research [23]

This Task Force seeks aims to advance quantitative earth system governance research by
promoting new international research collaborations, fostering interaction and dialogue among
existing research projects, and developing architectures to promote the building and sharing of
datasets.

Policy influence[edit]
In 2011, the Earth System Governance Project launched an initiative on International Environmental
Governance. This initiative aims to provide a forum for discussion of current and ongoing research
on international environmental governance and the institutional framework for sustainable
development, in the period leading up to the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development in Rio de Janeiro, also known as Rio + 20. In addition, the initiative aims to target
decision-makers and to contribute not just to a better understanding but also to actual improvements
in international environmental governance towards an institutional framework that enables
sustainable development. [24]

context[edit]
There is widespread support for the Earth System Governance Project in the scientific community,
which is reflected in the size of the research network and in various publications by experts.
[25]

However, criticisms of the Earth System Governance Project have also been made.
[26]

In an internal report of the International Human Dimensions Programme it is stated that the steering
group of the Earth System Governance Project is too much dominated by experts from OECD
countries. Since then, the Earth System Governance Project has actively sought ways to involve
experts from different regions of the world. [27]

The idea of earth system governance has also been criticized for being too top-down, for placing too
much emphasis on global governance structures. According to Mike Hulme, earth system
governance represents an attempt to geopolitically engineer our way out of the climate crisis. He[28]

questions whether the climate is governable and argues that it is way too optimistic and even
hubristic to attempt to control the global climate by universal governance regimes. This
[29]

interpretation of the novel concept, however, has been rejected by other scholars as being too
narrow and misleading [30]

More Information: http://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/research_types/projects/

Global Environment Facility

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Global Environment Facility

 Founded October, 1991

Type Fund

Focus Environment

Location
Washington, District of Columbia,United States of

America

Area served Worldwide

Key people Dr. Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson

Slogan Investing in Our Planet

Website Official website

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) unites 183 countries in partnership with international
institutions, civil society organizations (CSOs), and the private sector to address global
environmental issues while supporting national sustainable development initiatives. Today the GEF
is the largest public funder of projects to improve the global environment. An independently
operating financial organization, the GEF provides grants for projects related to biodiversity, climate
change, international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer, and persistent organic pollutants.
Since 1991, the GEF has achieved a strong track record with developing countries and countries
with economies in transition, providing $12.5 billion in grants and leveraging $58 billion in co-
financing for over 3,690 projects in over 165 countries. Through its Small Grants Programme
[1]

(SGP), the GEF has also made more than 20,000 small grants directly to civil society and
community-based organizations, totaling $653.2 million. [2]

The GEF also serves as financial mechanism for the following conventions:

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)

 Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

Minamata Convention on Mercury

The GEF, although not linked formally to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the
Ozone Layer (MP), supports implementation of the Protocol in countries with economies in
transition.
The Instrument for the Establishment of the Restructured GEF is the document that established the
GEF after an initial pilot phase. It was accepted by the member countries and adopted by the
Implementing Agencies in 1994. The Instrument may be considered the statutes and by-laws of the
GEF, and contains provisions for the governance, participation, replenishment, and fiduciary and
administrative operations of the GEF. It also lays out the roles and responsibilities of different actors
in the GEF.

Contents
[hide]

1Structure

2History

3Areas of work

4See also

5Notes and references

6External links

Structure[edit]
The GEF Assembly is the governing body of the GEF in which representatives of all member
countries participate. It meets every three to four years, and is responsible for reviewing and
evaluating the GEF's general policies, the operation of the GEF, and its membership. The Assembly
is also responsible for considering and approving proposed amendments to the GEF Instrument, the
document that established the GEF and set the rules by which the GEF operates.
Ministers and high-level government delegations of all GEF member countries take part in the
meetings. The Assembly combines plenary meetings and high-level panels, exhibits, side events
and GEF project site visits. Prominent environmentalists, parliamentarians, business leaders,
scientists, and NGO leaders discuss global environmental challenges within the context of
sustainable development and other international development goals.
The GEF Council is the main governing body of the GEF. It functions as an independent board of
directors, with primary responsibility for developing, adopting, and evaluating GEF programs.
Council members representing 32 constituencies (16 from developing countries, 14 from developed
countries, and two from countries with transitional economies) meet twice each year for three days
and also conduct business by mail. All decisions are by consensus. Council meetings are attended
regularly by civil society organizations.

List of GEF Constituencies, Council Members & Alternates

Council Meetings & Documents

 Rules of Procedure for the GEF Council
The GEF Secretariat is based in Washington, D.C. and reports directly to the GEF Council and
Assembly, ensuring that their decisions are translated into effective actions. The secretariat
coordinates the formulation of projects included in the work programs, oversees its implementation,
and makes certain that operational strategy and policies are followed.
The GEF CEO and Chairperson, Dr. Naoko Ishii heads the Secretariat.
The GEF Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) provides technical and scientific advice
on the GEFs policies and projects.
An independent GEF Evaluation Office is also in Washington, D.C. and reports directly to the GEF
Council. Its goal is to improve accountability of GEF projects and programs and to promote learning,
feedback, and knowledge sharing.
The Office has responsibilities in three main areas:

Evaluation independently evaluating the effectiveness of GEF projects and programs

Norms establishing monitoring and evaluation standards

Oversight - providing quality control for monitoring and evaluation by Implementing and
Executing Agencies of GEF projects and programs.
GEF Agencies are responsible for creating project proposals and for managing GEF projects. GEF
Agencies play key roles in managing GEF projects on the ground. More specifically GEF Agencies
assist eligible governments and NGOs in the development, implementation, and management of
GEF projects.
GEF Agencies are requested to focus their involvement in GEF project activities within their
respective comparative advantages. In specific cases of integrated projects that include components
where the expertise and experience of a GEF agency is lacking or weak, the agency is invited to
partner with another agency and to establish clear complementary roles so that all aspects of the
project can be well managed (GEF Instrument, Paragraph 28). The list below describes 10 GEF
agencies that currently operating and their comparative advantage specifically related to adaptation
to climate change:

United Nations Development Programme

United Nations Environment Programme

World Bank

Food and Agriculture Organization

Inter-American Development Bank

United Nations Industrial Development Organization

Asian Development Bank

African Development Bank

 European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

International Fund for Agricultural Development

World Wildlife Fund

United Nations Industrial Development Organization

Conservation International

History[edit]
The Global Environment Facility was established in October 1991 as a $1 billion pilot program in the
World Bank to assist in the protection of the global environment and to promote environmental
sustainable development. The GEF would provide new and additional grants and concessional
funding to cover the "incremental" or additional costs associated with transforming a project with
national benefits into one with global environmental benefits.
The United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Environment Program, and the
World Bank were the three initial partners implementing GEF projects.
In 1992, at the Rio Earth Summit, the GEF was restructured and moved out of the World Bank
system to become a permanent, separate institution. The decision to make the GEF an independent
organization enhanced the involvement of developing countries in the decision-making process and
in implementation of the projects. Since 1994, however, the World Bank has served as the Trustee of
the GEF Trust Fund and provided administrative services.
As part of the restructuring, the GEF was entrusted to become the financial mechanism for both the
UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. In
partnership with the Montreal Protocol of the Vienna Convention on Ozone Layer Depleting
Substances, the GEF started funding projects that enable the Russian Federation and nations in
Eastern Europe and Central Asia to phase out their use of ozone-destroying chemicals.
The GEF subsequently was also selected to serve as financial mechanism for three more
international conventions: The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (2001), the
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (2003), and the Minamata Convention on
Mercury (2013).

Areas of work[edit]
The GEF work focuses on seven main areas, including biodiversity, climate change (mitigation and
adaptation), chemicals, international waters, land degradation, sustainable forest
management/REDD+,Ozone layer depletion.
Biodiversity: Biodiversity is under heavy threat. Reducing and preventing further biodiversity
loss are considered among the most critical challenges to humankind. Of all the problems the world
faces in managing global goods, only the loss of biodiversity is irreversible. The GEF supports
projects that address the key drivers of biodiversity loss which focus on the highest leveraging
opportunities to achieve sustainable biodiversity conservation.
Climate change: Climate change from human-induced emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse
gases (GHGs) is a critical global issue, requiring substantial action. These actions include
investment to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, and adaptation to climate changes including
variability. The early impacts of climate change have already appeared, and scientists believe that
further impacts are inevitable. Many of the most serious and negative impacts of climate change will
be disproportionately borne by the poorest people in developing countries. The GEF supports
projects in developing countries .

Climate change mitigation: Reducing or avoiding greenhouse gas emissions in the areas of
renewable energy; energy efficiency; sustainable transport; and management of land use, land-
use change, and forestry.

Climate change adaptation: Aiming at developing countries to become climate-resilient by

promoting immediate and longer-term adaptation measures in development policies, plans,
programs, projects, and actions.
Chemicals: Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are pesticides, industrial chemicals, or unwanted
by-products of industrial processes that have been used for decades but have more recently been
found to share a number of disturbing characteristics, including:

Persistence they resist degradation in air, water, and sediments;

Bio-accumulation they accumulate in living tissues at concentrations higher than those in

the surrounding environment;

Long-range transport they can travel great distances from the source of release through
air, water, and migratory animals, often contaminating areas thousands of kilometers away from
any known source.
The GEF supports projects in eliminating the production and use of specific POPs, taking measures
to ensure that POPs wastes are managed and disposed of in an environmentally sound manner,
identifying the sources and reducing releases of POPs byproducts.
International waters: Diversions of water for irrigation, bulk supply, and potable use, together with
the pollution of common water bodies are creating cross-border tensions. These tensions also
persist across the oceans, with three-quarters of fish stocks being overfished, fished at their
maximum, or in a depleted state. The GEF supports projects in helping countries work together to
overcome these tensions in large water systems and to collectively manage their transboundary
surface water basins, groundwater basins, and coastal and marine systems in order to share the
benefits from them.
Land degradation: Land degradation is a major threat to biodiversity, ecosystem stability, and
societys ability to function. Because of the interconnectivity between ecosystems across scales,
land degradation triggers destructive processes that can have cascading effects across the entire
biosphere. Loss of biomass through vegetation clearance and increased soil erosion produces
greenhouse gases that contribute global warming and climate change. The GEF supports projects in
reversing and preventing desertification/land degradation and in mitigating the effects of drought in
affected areas in order to support poverty reduction and environmental sustainability.
Sustainable forest management / REDD+: Forests cover almost one-third of the worlds land area.
They have a unique potential to produce multiple global environmental benefits such
as biodiversity conservation,carbon sequestration, and protection against desertification. Sustainably
managed forests can enhance the provision of wood and non-timber forest products for about 1.6
billion people depending on forests for their livelihoods. Forest ecosystems are also expected to play
a key role in helping people in developing countries to adapt to the effects of climate change. The
GEF supports projects in forest conservation (primarilyprotected areas and buffer zones),
sustainable use of forests (forest production landscapes, sustainable forest management), and
addressing forests and trees in the wider landscape.
Ozone depletion: Increased UV-B radiation reaching the Earth would pose risks to human health
and the environment. In response, countries negotiated and adopted the Vienna Convention for the
Protection of the Ozone Layer in 1985, and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the
Ozone Layer in 1987. The GEF supports projects in developing countries and countries with
economies in transition (CEITs) that are not eligible for funding under the Multilateral Fund of the
Montreal Protocol, to implement activities to phase out ozone depleting substances (ODS) in a
manner consistent with these countries obligations under the Montreal Protocol.
Beside the seven focal areas, the GEF also works on several cross-cutting issue and programs:

Results and learning

Earth fund and public-private partnerships

Capacity development

Small grants programme

Country support programme

Gender Mainstreaming

Small Island Developing States

More Information-Web address: https://www.thegef.org/