Workshop on sustainable development in Latin America, January 2012: The Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam, is holding a 2-day, high-level workshop as part of its dialogue project "Cultural Prerequisites for Sustainable Development – Latin American Experiences“. I am working with Institut EBUS, Hannover, to facilitate the meeting, which offers an intense process of reflection and dialogue among 25 leading researchers, politicians and intellectuals from Latin America and Europe.
Dialogue, Analysis and Good Practice Exchange in Local Climate Change Mitigation: I am leading a project that adelphi is conducting on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), focusing on local climate change mitigation in Germany. The policy analysis will be based on interview series, focusing on local authorities, organisations and stakeholders engaged at national, regional and local level. The results of the analysis will inform the elaboration of a longterm learning, exchange and strategy process to further improve mitigation strategies and support schemes for climate mitigation activities at the local level.
Climate protection has become a central theme for local authorities throughout Germany. The number and the variety of local approaches towards climate change mitigation are growing. Programmes, such as the National Climate Initiative (“Nationale Klimaschutzinitiative”), kick-started a large number of activities. As part of the new project “Climate Change Mitigation at the Local Level – Dialogue, Analysis, Good Practices” adelphi analyses the field of local climate change mitigation. Furthermore the project aims to promote the exchange of good practices at regional, national and international levels.
I facilitated a side event on the importance of climate mitigation activities at the local level was held on Dec 1, 2011, during the 17th UNFCCC Conference of the Parties in Durban, co-hosted by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment and Climate Alliance. (Climate Studio Interviews with panelists and facilitator (see 16:00, 16:20, 16:40).
EcoAgriculture Partners: I am serving as Chair of the Board of Directors. The term "ecoagriculture" refers to sustainable agriculture and associated natural resource management systems that embrace and simultaneously enhance productivity, rural livelihoods, ecosystem services and biodiversity. Ecoagriculture includes a wide range of systems and practices that integrate productivity goals (for crops, livestock, fish, trees and forests) with provision of ecosystem services including biodiversity and watershed services at a landscape scale. Ecoagriculture Partners is an independent non-government organisation, a node in a network of farmers, non-government organizations, governments and international organisatins, research institutes, agribusiness, and conservationists. After taking shape at the Stakeholder Implementation Conference in 2002, Ecoagriculture Partners held its first international conference in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2004. Our second international conference is scheduled for early 2012.
GenderCC - Women for Climate Justice: Having co-founded an organisation that serves to facilitate and coordinate an international network of women and gender experts working on climate change. I am Vice-Chair of the Board, and mostly working to develop, and help implement a multi-pronged strategy aiming to increase gender responsiveness of international climate change policies under the UNFCCC process. Coordinated a number of activities at UNFCCC conferences since 2005. Having achieved the official "observer constituency" status for women and gender experts in the UNFCCC process, GenderCC became the focal point for the constituency, facilitating the connections between women worldwide and the political process. We are continuing to raise women's voices in the process at international and national levels, but we also focus on implementing projects with local women around the world.
Stakeholder Engagement Process of the Kuoni Group: This globally active tour operator headquartered in Switzerland, has in 2010 embarked on a long-term process of engaging with its stakeholders. I work on process design and facilitation, as a consultant to adelphi. As a starting point, the Corporate Responsibility team at Kuoni has been organising a stakeholder engagement process on freshwater issues, with an initial focus on Egypt. Dialogue, joint learning, and the balancing of interests between very different groups is being facilitated internally and with external stakeholders. A number of pilot activities are being identified in early 2011, to be implemented and evaluated for future strategy, and supporting the sustainability of the company. A small Inner Circle of internal and external stakeholders and experts is helping to guide the process; a Wider Circle of stakeholders on water and tourism issues was convened in February 2011 to identify suitable activities for Kuoni. Next steps include pilot projects and their monitoring; as well as identifying future focus areas on the basis of the upcoming CR Report 2011.
I enjoy supporting people's capacity development, e.g. on designing and facilitating multi-stakeholder processes:
March-April 2011: Teaching a course on Stakeholder Engagement for PhD students at the Plant Science Center at ETH / Technical University Zurich, Switzerland.
October 2011: Teaching a course on Multi-stakeholder Processes for Sustainable Development at the World Peace Academy, at the Advanced Study Centre of the University of Basel, Switzerland.
I have also recently written a brief article on "What It Takes - Competencies for designing and facilitating MSPs" for Capacity.org (Dec 2010).
I am participating in the Change Alliance
as a member of the support group that helps guide and develop this
learning and action network on multi-stakeholder processes for systemic
change.
I have been supporting the development and implementation of the Leadership for Conservation in Africa initiative (LCA) whenever I can, since its inaugural meeting in August 2006. The LCA is a partnership between the conservation agencies of 15+ African countries and African and international businesses. Initiated by South African National Parks, Gold Fields, and IUCN Southern Africa, the LCA aims to further conservation-led development across Africa through creating enabling environments, building capacities, and brokering strategic exchange and investment.
I have been serving as a member of the Jury for Swiss Re's International ReSource Award for Sustainable Watershed Management since 2003. Swiss Re's Resource Award is designed to recognise projects that preserve the ecological, social and economic value of water resources. The global reinsurer supports water projects across the world and is committed to creating feasible and binding conditions to protect this vital resource. For more information, including about the current ReSource Award round, criteria and application deadlines, please visit the website.
In 2008-2010, I worked on a Re-envisioning Process with The Access Initiative (TAI), an international network working to increase access to information, participation and justice in environmental matters, hosted by the World Resources Institute. I have also been facilitating TAI Core Team meetings.
I have helped facilitate the dialogue process Towards a Low Carbon Economy, initiated by the Government of Germany and implemented by InWent - Capacity Building International and Adelphi Research. A number of key emerging countries have been participating: Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and South Africa. A preparatory workshop held in December 2008 was followed by a first Dialogue Forum in April 2009. Subsequent dialogues are being held in participating countries, focusing on sustainable energy supply, energy consumption in cities, and land use & forest protection.
Previously, I was a member of the UN DESA Expert Group "Dialogue in the Social Integration Process: Building peaceful social relations - by, for and with people", convened in November 2005, and a subsequent Expert Group Meeting convened by UNDESA, UN Habitat and UNESCO, in September 2007 in Paris.
SD2 Partners - Stakeholder Dynamics for Sustainable Development: I am a partner of SD2 Partners Ltd, which is a ‘young consultancy’ made up of ‘old hands’ in their respective fields of international business, environmental management systems, socially responsible investment, and stakeholder dialogue and partnership brokering. SD2 Partners helps companies to understand, adapt to, and use their dynamic stakeholder environment, enabling clients to act rather than re-act, using a targeted approach that focuses on identifying economic consequences in relation to stakeholder engagement, leading to improved corporate strategy and risk/opportunity management.
I have participated in the work of the UN ECE / Arhus Convention Expert Group / Task Force on Public Participation in International Forums, developing the Almaty Guidelines for the Parties of the Convention (UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, Arhus Convention), and reviewing participation practice in other forums. I was able to engage in the process several times since 2004.