Fact sheet – Climatology and Climatic Variability of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden

Fact sheet – Sustainable Development Indicators for the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Region

Title of the course Training workshop on Sustainable Development Indicators for Marine and Coastal Ecosystems of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.Rationale

The Consolidated Jeddah Convention (1982)The Action Plan For the Conservation of the Marine Environment and Coastal Areas in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden - 1982“Article 17- Continuous socio-economic development can be achieved on a sustainable basis if environmental considerations are taken into account. To assist the Governments of the Region in the development of the appropriate policies and strategies for conservation of the marine environment of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, the Action plan should aim to carry out the following preparatory activities:17-2- Assessment of present and future development activities and their major environmental impact in order to evaluate the degree of their influence on the environment and to find appropriate measures to either eliminate or reduce any damaging effects which they may have.”

The PERSGA Framework and Operational Programme calls for mainstreaming environment into sustainable approaches to coastal/marine management and development in the RSGA Region. Sustainable management and use of marine and coastal ecosystems will be reflected in reduced threats to the environment, improved livelihoods of participating coastal communities and improved institutional, legal and financial arrangements. PERSGA aims to help create a situation where environmental stewardship becomes embedded in both practice and policy within the RSGA Region. To do so successfully, PERSGA must address the overlapping issues affecting the environment, including the human-environment interaction, and accordingly develop mechanisms to monitor the Region’s performance and extent of sustainability in these regards.Sustainable use of coastal and ocean areas and their resources must involve the consideration of governance, ecological (including environmental) and socioeconomic dimensions, as well as the interaction between them. Therefore, monitoring and evaluation of sustainable management rely on the use of indicators classified as governance, ecological and socioeconomic indicators, reflecting the three dimensions of ICZM. ObjectivesThe workshop will train participants on how to develop a set of Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Region’s specific Sustainable Development Indicators. As a starting point, participants will review existing models of environmental and sustainable development assessment, primarily those outlined in the 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index (Yale Centre for Environmental Law and Policy) and A Handbook for Measuring the Progress and Outcomes of Integrated Coastal and Ocean Management (of the UNESCO International Oceanographic Commission IOC). Based on this, participants will then identify and consolidate a Regionally-responsive list of indicators that can be used to design indices for the marine/coastal Ecosystems of the PERSGA Region. Establishing Regional Indicators is critical to assessing the sustainable development and environmental stewardship of the PERSGA Member States, to allow for monitoring and evaluation of effectiveness and progress, and to identify priority actions and options in the sustainable management and environmental protection strategies and plans. ParticipantsParticipants of this meeting will be selected based on their qualifications. The Participants should be representatives from local authorities and agencies in the Region who work in the field of coastal and marine resources management as well as in the private sector. The total expected number for this course is not to exceed 25 participants. Date and DurationThe duration of the training will be three working days, and it will be conducted during October 2-4, 2010.LocationPERSGA HQ, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.OrganizersPERSGA and ISESCO, in collaboration with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission-United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (IOC-UNESCO)Language The training language will be English. Arabic will be used as an auxiliary medium where neededTraining Materials/ReferencesDetails to be provided at a later stageInstructors/Keynote speakers