Update: GEF-PAS and Sustainable Integrated Water Resources

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SUVA 000549 SIPDIS SIPDIS BANGKOK FOR REO AND USAID COMMERCE FOR NOAA STATE PASS TO INTERIOR FOR USGS AND OIA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV EAID XV FJ GEF UNDP SUBJECT: Update: GEF-PAS and Sustainable Integrated Water Resources and Wastewater Management (IWRM) REFS: A) Suva 245 B) Suva 463 C) Suva 532 ¶1. Summary: The Regional Environmental Specialist (RES) from Embassy Suva's Pacific Environmental Hub participated in the 3rd steering committee meeting for the GEF Sustainable Integrated Water Resources and Wastewater Management (IWRM) Pacific regional project in Suva, Fiji, from November 5 to 8. Despite recent major changes in the way GEF operates in the region, South Pacific Geosciences Commission (SOPAC) staff decided to go ahead with this meeting to further develop the IWRM regional project proposal, since, according to SOPAC, at least 7 countries have identified IWRM as a GEF Pacific Alliance for Sustainability (GEF-PAS) regional priority. Nevertheless, many meeting participants seemed confused by the GEF-PAS process and its implications for the IWRM proposal. Participants also had questions about how the call by Pacific leaders at the Forum meeting in Tonga in October to dissolve SOPAC will affect the project. End summary. ¶2. SOPAC organized this meeting using GEF project development funding to provide countries with an update on the status of the IWRM proposal (introduced in reftel A),which now will be reformulated to meet GEF-PAS requirements (reftel B); to review and agree on demonstration project design and regional components of the project; and to provide information on the practicalities of executing the project. -------------- Participation -------------- ¶3. Meeting participants included representatives from IWRM country focal points, UNDP (Suva and Bangkok offices),UNEP (Nairobi Office) and SPREP. Embassy Suva-based RES Sandeep K. Singh was invited to present national-level lessons learned from the previous GEF/UNDP International Waters Project, which she had coordinated for Fiji prior to her joining the embassy. Other participants included NGOs and academics working in the Pacific on water issues, although overall NGO and private sector participation was not strong. -------------- Overview -------------- ¶4. Meeting sessions included presentations, working groups and discussions on the IWRM, lessons learned from previous regional projects and how IWRM fits into the GEF-PAS framework. SOPAC, SPREP and UNDP-Bangkok representatives made presentations on the GEF-PAS process but many participants did not appear to fully understand and left the meeting with unanswered questions. ¶5. The SPREP representative, Pacific Islands Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC) Chief Technical Advisor Taito Nakalevu, told participants that, while most countries have identified climate change adaptation and IWRM as regional priorities under GEF-PAS, PNG has opted for a climate mitigation project. According to SOPAC's IWRM Advisor, SOPAC has received 7 country priority listings, all of which have identified IWRM and climate change adaptation as regional priorities. SOPAC and SPREP are hopeful that the remaining countries would also identify climate change and IWRM as their priority areas. ¶6. SOPAC representative Marc Overmars reported that, out of the 14 countries that are part of the IWRM project, 3 (Fiji, Tuvalu and Nauru) have yet to finalize their demonstration project proposals. He said that most of the countries have managed to identify co-financing. Responding to queries by country representatives on the Pacific Islands Forum leaders' call to dissolve SOPAC and transfer its functions to SPREP and SPC (reftel C),Overmars assured participants that this move would not have any serious implications for the future of the IWRM project. ¶7. Comment: SOPAC activism may have secured a place for IWRM as a regional priority in the GEF-PAS submission to the GEF Council next April. It is unclear, however, whether SOPAC's lobbying of governments actually translates into increased national ownership of SUVA 00000549 002 OF 002 the project. What is clear is that there remains considerable confusion about the GEF-PAS process among Pacific island governments, particularly as it relates to initiatives such as IWRM that were in the pipeline or under development before GEF-PAS was launched. End comment. DINGER