Poverty-Environment Partnership meeting: Minutes and Presentations now available

The 13th meeting of the Poverty-Environment Partnership was hosted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on 9-11 June 2008 in Manila, Philippines.  Representatives from the Facility, the Asia Regional PEI team and PEI country programmes in Asia joined over 70 multilateral and bilateral donors and representatives of NGOs in attending the meeting.

1. Learning from regional experience on linking environmental management to poverty reduction
2. Mainstreaming climate change adaptation and emergence of climate funds

Additionally, participants discussed the implications of current issues including biofuels and food prices.  The Facility also held a meeting of the PEI Strategic Advisory Group, which was attended by Danida, DFID, US Dept of State, Swedish EPA, WRI, IUCN and Grid-Arendal

The next PEP meeting will be hosted in Geneva by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and UNEP, most likely in November 2008.

13th Annual Poverty-Environment Partnership Meeting, 9-11 June, Manila, Philippines

The 13th Annual Poverty-Environment Partnership (PEP) meeting will be held in Manila, Philippines from 9-11 June, 2008. The meeting is being hosted by the Asian Development Bank.

Participants will discuss the following key topics at the meeting:  

• Follow-on discussions regarding climate change adaptation,
• Payment for ecological services, including pro-poor REDD models, and
• Other ongoing debates relating to climate change, biodiversity conservation or other topics.

A number of professionals who work on poverty-environment issues around the world will attend the meeting. The UNDP-UNEP Poverty Environment Initiative will be showcasing country programmes from the Asia and Pacific Region. Representatives from PEI country programmes in Viet Nam, Bhutan, and Bangladesh will attend the meeting.

For more information on the 13th Annual PEP meeting, please visit: http://www.povertyenvironment.net/pep/

UN and Government Officials attend Poverty-Environment Initiative Regional Mainstreaming Workshop in Bhutan
In order to develop knowledge and share ideas on how to implement PEI programs and how best to support countries in putting into practice innovative strategies for poverty-environment mainstreaming, practitioners attended the PEI Regional Mainstreaming Workshop from 9th to 11th April, 2008 in Thimphu, Bhutan.

The workshop was followed by a one-day field trip to Phobjikha valley for interested participants to have a first-hand look at some of the conservation-based livelihood activities practiced by the local communities.

Forty-seven participants attended the workshop. Participants included UN Staff from

• UNDP country offices,
• The UNDP Regional Centre in Bangkok
• The UNDP/GEF Regional Office in Bangkok
• The UNDP/GEF Small Grants Programme in Bhutan
• The UNDP/UNEP Poverty PEF in Nairobi, and
• The UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.

Participants from various organizations involved in development planning, finance and environmental management in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Nepal, and Vietnam also attended the workshop.

The twp-day workshop was a valuable experience for participants who shared experiences and learned from another in the beautiful Bhutan.

For more information, please see the full report of the workshop...