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From Kagera TAMP

Submission of full project proposal to GEF
8 December 2006 Approval and funding of Kagera TAMP has again been deferred to the GEF Council meeting of 4 to 8 June 2007.

27 September 2006 The Project documentation was slightly revised in accordance with GEF-4 strategic guidance and GEF Secretariat review criteria and resubmitted to GEF Secretariat for consideration for approval and entry in the December work programme (GEF Council meeting, 4 to 8 December 2006).

26 March 2006 The full Kagera TAMP proposal, including the Executive Summary, Project Brief (project document), letters of endorsement by the 4 countries, a co-funding plan and responses to GEF/STAP reviews. The expected review by the GEF Council in June for entry into work programme was deferred to its December meeting.

Extension of PDF-B phase until full project start-up
The submission of the Project Development Facility B (PDF-B) progress report up to March 2006 was accompanied by a request to GEF/UNEP for an extension (zero budget increase) of the PDF-B phase until start up of the full project.

Guidance of the Regional Project Steering Committee
Second meeting of the Regional PSC (Kigali, 22 February 2006)
The aim of this meeting of the regional PSC was to review, obtain endorsement and finalize the full TAMP project document with the four beneficiary countries, for submission to GEF Secretariat in March 2006. The meeting allowed country representatives to discuss the draft document section by section ensuring a participatory review process, particularly on issues related to the project logframe, institutional arrangements, co-funding, coordination and collaboration with other relevant regional programmes and overall policy issues.

First meeting of Regional PSC (Entebbe, 29 November 2005)
The aim of the first meeting of the regional PSC was to discuss and develop recommendations on the various policy and institutional issues requiring attention in the full project by delegated representatives of the concerned countries. Click here for the minutes and recommendations of this meeting.

Burundi joins Kagera TAMP
As the 4th participating country Burundi joins the Kagara TAMP with approval of and warm welcome by the regional PSC at its first meeting in November 2005. With Burundi on board the whole of the Kagera watershed is included in the full project proposal. In view of the very large and diverse land area, activities will start in representative pilot communities, micro-catchments and other selected land areas (wetlands, highlands, etc.) focusing on demonstrations and capacity building and will subsequently gradually scale up across the basin.

Project Formulation Workshop- Kagera TAMP, Entebbe 28 to 29 November 2005
During this workshop national policy makers, regional and district representatives and planners, the PDF-B team, FAO, GEF/UNEP and other resource persons from projects and NGOs, developed the project framework, log frame and institutional arrangements for the full Kagera TAMP. This was a very valuable participatory process building on experiences and lessons from the preceding workshop. For more information on the workshop activities and participants check milestones and events during PDF-B.

Regional Workshop “Experience Sharing on Land and Water Management from Farm to River Basin Levels: A Focus on Agricultural Ecosystems”, Entebbe, 23-26 November 2005
Representatives from all 4 TAMP countries presented relevant case studies and lessons learned to share their experience on Land and Water Management from Farm to River Basin Levels as a basis for guiding the full project formulation. The rich experiences can be found in the case studies section of this website. For more information on workshop activities and participants, go to the section on milestones and events.

Other News and Events

Regional

Third Executive Committee Meeting of TerrAfrica (Cape Town, South Africa)
With almost a year having passed since the launch of TerrAfrica, this two-day event, from 31 August to 1 September 2006, provided a timely opportunity to share information on the progress of the partnership, which aims to address land degradation by scaling up harmonized support for effective and efficient country-driven Sustainable Land Management (SLM) practices in sub-Saharan African countries. The meeting also allowed the Executive Committee members to review the development of specific work programme products, such as the SLM Knowledge Base, the TerrAfrica Technical Vision Paper and the SIP Program Brief.

October 2006
Market Access for Africa's Agricultural Products (MAAAP) 2006 (Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa, 11 to 13 October 2006)
This conference will focus on market access for Africa's agricultural products - one of the key areas which will require attention during Kagera TAMP to incentivate wider adoption by users of land resources of SLM practices across the basin.

Conference of African River and Lake Basin Organisations (Kampala, Uganda, 19 to 20 October 2006)

November 2006
Committee for Inland Fisheries of Africa: 14th Session (Accra, Ghana, 22 to 25 November 2006)

Biofuels Markets Africa (Cape Town, South Africa, 30 November to 1 December 2006)
This two day conference brings together CEO's from leading African Biofuels corporations to investigate all the key issues relevant to Biofuels in Africa.  With speakers from all stakeholder areas of the industry this is an essential event for all parties both within Africa & globally.

Conference Announcement Nile Development Forum 2006 (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 30 November to 2 December 2006)
The immediate objective of the conference is to create and promote awareness on the Nile Basin Initiative, among international, economic and social development decision-makers, their policy advisers and development management actors, of the benefits of good practices in the utilization and management of the Nile Waters.

December 2006
African Regional Workshop on Sustainable Use (Nairobi, Kenya, 11 to 15 December 2006)
The workshop will address: Ecosystem services assessment and financial costs and benefits associated with conservation of biodiversity, and sustainable use of biological resources. Moreover, it will provide a forum for government officials and practitioners to enhance their awareness and understanding of the Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines for the Sustainable Use of Biodiversity as well as other relevant CBD guidelines, and promote the use of these guidelines in an integrated manner, as a contribution to facilitating the achievement of the 2010 target, sustainable development and poverty alleviation. The workshop will in particular focus on the applicability of the Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines to agricultural biodiversity in Africa as a contribution to the review of the work programme of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) by the 13th meeting of SBSTTA (Subsidiary body for scientific, technical and technological advice).

2007
4th African Soil Science Society Conference (Accra, Ghana, 7 to 13 January 2007)
This 4th International Conference aims to gather specialists interested in land use and sustainable land management in Africa, in the context of serious emerging issues such as climate change, global trade and biotechnologies including GMO uses. Emphasis will be on strategies and policies for better preparedness to global issues, advise on norms and standards, risks assessment in the domain of land use and sustainable land management for better livelihoods and food security in Africa.

International Conference on Agricultural Innovation in Dryland Africa (AIDA): what are the key drivers for success? (Accra, Ghana, 22 to 24 January 2007)
This International Conference is the launching event of the INCO project ‘Unlocking the Potentialities of Agriculture in the Drylands of Africa to fight hunger (AIDA)’. The expected outcomes of the conference are: Shared experience on best-bet approaches to sustainable agricultural development in Africa’s drylands; Shared experience on monitoring and evaluation mechanisms of interventions aimed at improving rural livelihoods; Identification of knowledge gaps and development research needs; Increased awareness of policy makers and donors about successes in dryland agriculture in Africa.

Conservation and Development for the Developing World; Africa in the Spotlight (Kampala, Uganda, 6 September 2007)
Contact: cecoda_@_yahoo.com

Global News and Events

Third GEF Assembly (Cape Town, South Africa, 29-30 August 2006)
During the Third Assembly of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in Cape Town, ministers and high-level officials from GEF member States reviewed the policies and operations of the GEF and progress over the four years since the previous assembly. Over 1,200 participants attended, representing governments, UN agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academia and the private sector.

UNFCCC African Regional Workshop on Adaptation (Accra, Ghana, 21-23 September 2006)
The workshop aimed at facilitating exchange of information and integrated assessments in order to assist in identifying Africa’s needs and concerns related to adaptation. Some 60 participants, including representatives of 33 African Parties, 10 Annex I Parties and a number of international, intergovernmental and NGOs participated in the workshop.

November 2006
Second International Conference on Environment and Sustainable Development (Gurabo, Puerto Rico, 3 to 4 November 2006)

United Nations Climate Change Conference (Nairobi, Kenya, 6 to 17 November 2006)
The conference will also include, from 6 to 14 November 2006, the twenty-fifth sessions of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA 25) and of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI 25), and the second session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG 2).

December 2006
EESD 2006: "International Conference on Ecosystems, Environment and Sustainable Development” (Cairo, Egypt, 8 to 10 December 2006)
Aiming to exchange and share experiences, new ideas and research results about all aspects of Ecosystems, Environment and Sustainable Development, and discuss the practical challenges encountered and the solutions adopted.

The Ravage of the Planet 2006 - First International Conference on Management of Natural Resources, Sustainable Development and Ecological Hazards (Bariloche, Argentina, 12 to 14 December 2006)
This conference is essentially a trans-disciplinary meeting in order to find appropriate sustainable solutions, i.e. those involving collaboration across a wide range of disciplines.

UNCCD/WMO International Workshop on Climate and Land Degradation (Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania, 11 to 15 December 2006)

The international scientific conference on "Integrated River Basin Management in Contrasting Climate Zones" (Hohenheim, Germany, 14 to 15 December 2006)
The goal of the conference is to review current and forth-coming approaches which could be suitable for establishing integrated water resources management at the river basin scale. The workshop should issue in recommendations for a successful planning and implementation of basin-wide water resources management under contrasting ecological and socio-economic conditions.

International Forestry and Environment Symposium 2006 (Colombo, Sri Lanka, 22 to 23 December 2006)
This symposium is a forum for researchers in the fields of Natural Resources Management, to present their research findings, and networking with policy makers and industry.

2007
River Basin Management 2007: Fourth International Conference on River Basin Management Including all aspects of Hydrology, Ecology, Environmental Management, Flood Plains and Wetlands (Kos, Greece, 23 to 25 May 2007)
The conference will aim to communicate recent advances in the overall management of riverine systems, including advances in hydraulic and hydrologic modelling, environmental protection and flood forecasting. This conference is particularly aimed at bringing together practising engineers, environmental managers and academics in the field, with an interest in discussing the conference topics. In particular, case studies are encouraged where delegates can share their problems and solutions with a wider international community.