Download PDF

Proceedings of the Workshop on Making Mainstreaming Work: Driving National Action to Address Marine and Coastal Challenges

PUBLICATION DATE:

Sunday, November 01, 2009

PUBLICATION TYPE:

Meeting Documents

STATUS:

Only Available Online

DESCRIPTION:

This publication summarizes the results of one of the workshops held during the East Asian Seas Congress 2009 on Making Mainstreaming Work: Driving National Action to Address Marine and Coastal Challenges. During the Second Intergovernmental Review of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA), held in Beijing in October 2006 the Governments asked the UNEP/GPA Coordination Office to provide assistance to countries in assessing how the conservation of marine and coastal ecosystems contributes to poverty alleviation and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The UNEP/GPA Coordination Office was also requested to support countries in mainstreaming the sustainable development of oceans and coasts into international development frameworks and national planning and budgetary processes. In response to this call, the UNEP/GPA Coordination Office has developed an Analytical Framework, Guidelines and Checklist for the Mainstreaming of Marine and Coastal Issues into National Planning and Budgetary Processes, and organized a series of regional meetings to promote this approach. The workshop aimed to contribute to the understanding of how to reconcile development pressures with protection objectives. The sharing of experiences will seek to provide answers to a number of questions namely; what a policy should contain, what policy choices a nation can afford and how to foster collaboration with various organs of the government and other non-state stakeholders to ensure sustainable management of our coastal and marine ecosystems as a contribution to poverty alleviation and the achievement of the MDGs. During the workshop, speakers from Asia, Africa and Wider Caribbean explored the links between the management of coastal and marine resources, poverty reduction and economic growth, based on their country experiences, with a particular focus on policy development and implementation processes. Countries that have embarked on the development of a coherent policy framework to address these challenges shared their mainstreaming experiences. The Chair, Mr. David Osborn, facilitated open interactions among presenters and the audience to seek clarity and promote dialogues to identify and highlight critical success factors for effective mainstreaming in the context of different political and governance systems, and to develop a plan of action to assist countries in their efforts on mainstreaming coastal and marine issues into national planning and budgetary processes.