UN SIDS Partnership for Implementation of New Sustainable Technologies
Notice of Apology
Date: July 29, 2008
We regret to inform you that due to technical difficulties, every email that was sent to us has been inadvertently deleted from our system. We, hereby, apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you and therefore we would like to encourage you to re-initiate contact with our partnership in order that we may be able to assist you. Again, our deepest apologies and we thank you for your patience and understanding.
"Your Charitable contribution will serve to promote sustainable development at the grass root level, resulting in poverty alleviation, environmental protection, and food security...thankfully realized with your donation." - Erik Hagberg, Regional Director
Expected Timeframe
January 2007 – Open Ended
Partners
Recipients / Benefactors:
Local Governments of Marshall Islands Aelinglaplap, Arno, Bikini, Maloelap, Namdrik, and Wotho
NGOs:
Pan African Movement (NGO)
Panamerican Panafrican Association (NGO)
Southern Caucus of Developing Country NGOs for Sustainable Development
Indigenous People’s Groups:
Arno Kobamaron; Alliance of traditional leaders of Arno Atoll (Republic of the Marshall Islands)
Ratak Kobamaron; Alliance of traditional leaders of the Ratak Chain of Islands (Republic of the Marshall Islands)
Non Profit Partners:
Global Coral Reef Alliance
Solar Electric Light Fund
EPRIDA, Inc.
Full Belly Project
Linking Individuals to Nature Conservation (LINC)
CoralsAsia
GAIA (Global Alliance For International Advancement)
Private Sector Implementing Partners:
Natural Currents, Inc.
Magnefuels Inc.
Pacific Aquaculture Cooperatives International (PAC) Inc
PAC RMI Inc. (Republic of the Marshall Islands)
Ecocean, SAS
Thematic Focus: "Cooperative Partnerships Resulting in Multi-Faceted Implementation of New Sustainable Technologies"
Primary Themes:
Protecting and managing marine and terrestrial natural resource by providing proven sustainable development solutions as alternatives to existing practices
Provide remote communities with access to new sustainable technologies that will better their life at home and allow them to participate in a globalizing world if they choose
Address the food security issues of decreasing global natural fish stocks by developing new sustainable aquaculture programs in pristine atoll and island communities which have enormous unrealized productive capacity
Provide equitable development solutions, where locals have a vested interest in each operation, in the form of equity participation in new sustainable development projects. This will give individuals a reason to adopt and nurture new sustainable technologies and practices.
Develop the cash productivity of sustainably developing marine and terrestrial natural resources using best practices of agriculture, agroforestry, and aquaculture.
Empower individuals to employ adaptive technologies to Climate Change in the most threatened low lying atoll and island communities and islands.
Secondary Themes:
Coral Reef Restoration
Sea Cucumber Farming
Agri-Char (soil enhancement using charcoal)
Tidal Energy
Waste Management
Solar Power
Hydrogen Fuel
Fisheries Habit Restoration using the BioRock Process
Large Scale Aquaculture
Mangrove Restoration
“Corporate Cooperative Business Model” local communities become stock holders and a get an employee stock ownership program
Communities pledging natural resources to long term sustainable management, creates new source of “green collateral” to facilitate loans and investment
Sustainable farm land and sea to produce local abundance and exportable crops instead of just harvesting from the wild
With jobs, earnings, and assets, local people employ technologies to survive climate change.
These include buffers, modern sanitation and water purification
Waste management
Institutional framework for sustainable development
Disaster management and vulnerability
Land
Water
Tourism
Geographic Coverage
Geographic Scope: Global Country(ies) where the partnership is being implemented: Marshall Islands, Bahamas, Fiji, Maldives, , Philippines, Mauritius , St. Kitts and Nevis, Panama
National Focal Points
This partnership has made contact with the Municipal Governments, and land owners as the focal points for sustainable development in the countries involved
Geographic Coverage
Geographic Scope: Global Country(ies) where the partnership is being implemented: The Federated States of Micronesia, Bahamas, Fiji, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Philippines, Mauritius , St. Kitts and Nevis, Panama
National Focal Points
This partnership has made contact with the Municipal Governments, and land owners as the focal points for sustainable development in the countries involved.
Summary of the partnership's goals and objectives
This objective of this partnership is to help SIDS implement proven sustainable technologies in local government jurisdictions and in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples groups throughout SIDS. Projects will be developed and implemented by partnering NGOs and Private Sector Technologists, in a way that promotes awareness, education, usage, and the development of associated businesses enterprises that build capacity, buffer climate change,and empower remote communities through utilization of new sustainable technologies.
Implement low cost, highly effective, but little known new technologies in SIDS.
Renewable Energy Production – (Natural Currents, SELF, Magnegas)
Restoration of Coral Reefs and Fisheries Habitat (Global Coral Reef Alliance)
Restoration of Soil Fertility and Agroforestry (EPRIDA)
Aquaculture, Large Scale Sea farming (PAC)
Waste Recycling. ( Magnegas)
The solutions being addressed by this partnership focus on critical, new technologies that are applicable on small to large scales:
Goals for the Partnership:
Develop a sound management team and governance structure
Announcing the locations and natures of new development initiatives
Attract funding for various projects sponsored by the partnership
Having certain new language pertaining to sustainable development, included in the UN framework for recognizing these types of projects forreview, funding, and implementation.
Targets and Progress
Partnership targets
*Fund Raising:Event Friday February 16th, 2007 for coral reef restoration in the Marshall Islands.
*Implement first coral reef restoration projects in the Marshall Islands
*Solidify a technological alliance providing a suite of technologies, that when employed in tandem,provide solutions for outer island communities
*Expand Partnership to other SIDS;
.
Progress against targets
*Successfully raised $8,000 and built the first BioRock structures in the Marshall Islands during March and April of 2007
* Four BioRock structures were built in the Marshall Islands in April and May of 2007 with the funds raised from the February 16th event. Three of the four structures are operating successfully and are clearly demonstrating the utility of the technology for large scale implementation in the RMI.
*Currently, the technology portfolio consists of coral reef restoration, large scale aquaculture of sea cucumbers, capture and culture of larval fishes, tidal energy, waste management technology, soil enhancement, and solar technology. Additional key technologies are currently being considered.
* Six Municipalities are already partners in the Marshall Islands and foundation of new operations is taking place in the Solomons
*Communications currently under way with Mauritius,the Solomon Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, the Maldives, Tuvalu and other SIDS
Capacity-Building and Technology Transfer
Arrangements for Capacity-Building and Technology TransferS
Extended manager in training program beginning in March of 2007
Invite international trainees after CSD 15
Invite every native Marshall Island Citizen to collect shares of their national cooperative corporation, PAC RMI, and distribute significant ownership to traditional land owners and municipal governments having jurisdiction of natural resources.
Technology transfer/exchange by partnering technologists through field work and local community participation as employees or through training seminars.
Relationship to International Agreements on Sustainable Development
1. Agenda 21 and the Programme for Further implementation ofAgenda 21 2. JPoI 3. MSI (if available as an option) 4. BPoA (if available as an option)
Thematic Discussion:
“Helping SIDS to implement the Mauritius Strategy for Implementation”.
How the partnership contributes to the implementation of Agenda 21, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation
Agenda 21 (Chapter 17, Section G) calls for (1) the sustainable development of small islands with special reference to the sustainable utilization of marine and coastal resources, in order to meet essential human needs, maintain biodiversity, and improve the quality of life for island people; (2) Adoption of measures that will enable islands to mitigate against threats to their marine and coastal resources.
The Johannesburg Programme of Implementation (JPoI) calls for (1) Implementation of sustainable fisheries management and improved financial returns from fisheries; (2) Assistance to SIDS in managing coastal areas, to effectively reduce, prevent and control waste and pollution (3) Assistance to SIDS in mobilizing adequate resources and partnerships for their adaptation needs relating to the adverse effects of climate change, sea level rise and climate variability, (4) Strengthening and supporting new efforts on energy supply and services, (5) Developing and promoting efficient use of sources of energy, including indigenous sources and renewable energy (6) Reduction and management of waste and pollution and building capacity for maintaining and managing systems to deliver water and sanitation services, in both rural and urban areas; (7) Efforts to implement initiatives aimed at poverty eradication
Capacity-Building and Technology Transfer
Arrangements for Capacity-Building and Technology Transfers
Technology transfer/exchange by partnering technologists through field work and local community participation as employees or through training seminars.
Relationship to International Agreements on Sustainable Development
1. Agenda 21and the Programme for Further implementation of Agenda 21 2. JPoI 3. MSI (if available as an option) 4. BPoA (if available as an option)
Coordination and Implementation
Coordination Mechanism of the Partnership
-January 19th, Strategy Meeting at UN Church Center attended by Major Partners.
-PAC, Global Coral Reef Alliance, Southern Caucus for Developing County NGOs, Co-Sponsors of Fund Raising Event
-Second Strategy Meeting of SIDS Partnership for New Sustainable Technologies, February 19th, March 1 elect planning committee.
-Field Work:March-April, June -December
Implementation Mechanism of the Partnership
-Email Invitations, telephone coordination, and a successful meeting resulting in partnership formation.
-This event will raise funds for implementation of stated technologies, with a portion pf the proceeds going towardspreparations for the CSD Partnership meeting on May 7th.
-Email invitation, Discuss construction of web site with a new domain for the partnership www.sidspnst.org
-Ongoing communications with funding sources by all partners.
Resources
Funding Currently Available:
Non-financial resources available
Type(s): Computers - Office space - Staff
Source(s): Private sector - NGO Southern Caucus of Developing Country NGOs for Sustainable Development, Global Coral Reef Alliance, Pacific Aquaculture Cooperatives
Additional Information
Additional Relevant Information
MISSION STATEMENT:
SIDS are inherently the most vulnerable of all countries to global climate change, and their remoteness and underdeveloped economies leave them inadequately equipped to address this problem that essentially, was not their making. The major part of SIDS fisheries, tourism, and shore protection from rising sea level, increased tropical storm frequency and intensity is entirely dependent on healthy coral reefs…and these are the most climatically threatened of all ecosystems from global warming. SIDS have already lost most of their corals, and the rest are imminently endangered by rising global temperatures, and most daunting of all,low-lying island nations are threatened with extinction by submergence from global sea level rise.
New technologies are critically needed by SIDS to provide food from land and sea, restore their fisheries and coral reefs, protect their beaches and shorelines from rising sea level, provide clean and affordable energy for development, and increase the productivity of their soils. The thematic focus of this partnership is a collaborative approach for implementation of proven technologies that meet these critical needs, and which are not being currently applied due to lack of knowledge of their potential, lack of funding, and lack of organization to implement them.
New funding partnerships are necessary to allow SIDS to begin taking advantage of their vast potential.
PARTNERSHIP SYNOPSIS
The SIDS Partnership for Implementation of New Sustainable Technologies, brings together United Nations Agencies with a focus on Small Island Developing States (SIDS), SIDS Governments, Non Governmental Agencies, and the Private Sector to seek funding for new, underutilized, but proven technologies for renewable energy production, restoration of coral reefs and fisheries habitat, restoration of soil fertility, aquaculture, and waste recycling for SIDS. The partnership focus on critical, low cost, highly effective, but little known, new technologies that are applicable on small to large scales, and which have not been covered by other venues at CSD.
NEW SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGIES FOR SIDS
OCEAN TIDAL ENERGY
Tidal energy is the largest sustainable and non-polluting energy resource of Pacific and Indian Ocean island nations, Cape Verde, some sites in the Caribbean, and many coastal Least Developed Countries such as Guinea-Bissau and Guyana, but is totally unutilized. Cost-competitive turbines to turn tidal currents into electrical currents are already available but are not being used. This is perhaps due to the fact that tidal energy is yet to be recognized as a viable renewable energy technology, most likely because of lack of adequate information and advocacy to become recognized by funding agencies, even though it is far cheaper than solar energy and more abundant than wind, hydro, or geothermal power. These turbines can also be used for river power without dams in land locked countries that are not dry and flat.
BIOMASS ENERGY
New kilns are available that allow any biomass, not just plant oils, to be converted into biofuels. This is a process distinct from the biodiesel that can be made from palm oils or alcohol from sugar cane, and allows non-agricultural land biomass to be used to make fuels, avoiding conflict with food production.
CARBON SEQUESTRATION
The new kilns produce carbon negative energy, because they produce more black carbon char than biofuels. If this char, instead of being burned like charcoal, is buried, it turns into very low cost and permanent carbon sequestration, unlike the high technology carbon sequestration currently being examined.
SOIL FERTILITY RESTORATION AND WASTE RECYCLING
Carbon char in soils not only increases soil carbon sinks (about 4 times larger than global vegetation, but unfortunately not included in the Kyoto Protocol and the Clean Development Mechanism), it simultaneously greatly increases the capacity of soil to hold water and nutrients as long as the deficient nutrients in soils are added. This can be mostly cheaply done by using char to absorb and recycle waste water effluents and using them to increase soil productivity, instead of allowing them to flow into the seas and kill coral reefs and fisheries. This can turn poor soils into rich soils and allow crops to flourish that could not previously be grown.
AQUACULTURE
New methods now exist to propagate some of the most valuable and over harvested marine invertebrates for large-scale cultivation for food and pharmaceuticals. These include sea cucumbers, algae, sponges, corals, oysters, lobsters, and fishes. Unlike conventional mariculture, which reduces biodiversity, promotes diseases and parasites, and pollutes surrounding waters, the new methods are free of these serious defects.
CORAL REEF AND FISHERIES HABITAT RESTORATION
New technology increases the growth rates of corals several times faster than normal, greatly increases survival of corals under conditions of extreme high temperature stress, and greatly increases the buildup of fish and shellfish populations. This allows reefs to be kept alive where they would die, and new reefs and fisheries habitat to be grown in a few years in places where they cannot recover naturally. Because reef fisheries are collapsing due to habitat destruction, control of fishing activities cannot restore fisheries without large-scale habitat restoration. This restoration process is powered using tidal, solar, and wind energy.
SHORE PROTECTION
New methods to grow reefs in front of shorelines turn severely eroding beaches into rapid growth in a few years. In the Maldives, the lowest country on earth, a beach that was being piled high with sandbags to keep trees and building from falling into the sea, grew 15 meters in a few years after a reef was grown in front of it. This technology is the only hope for low lying shorelines to protect themselves from sea level rise while restoring their beaches, fisheries, and ecotourism resource, and uses non-polluting local renewable energy resources to grow reefs at a fraction the cost of seawalls that provide none of these benefits.
Recommendation of Additional lead partners to Dr. Tom Goreau and Erik Hagberg:
Erik Hagberg (Pacific Aquaculture Cooperatives Int'l) pac@sidspinst.org
