Capacity Building

Mujeres en Kenia
Capacity Building, Freshwater Sources

Session 3 of the 'Transformative Global Experiences on Water Governance' Webinar Series

Integrated and inclusive water management: Experiences of community resistance to harmful investment projects with a watershed approach in Kenya The Transformative Water Pact (TWP) is an innovative framework for water governance. It consolidates vital principles and an action framework to guide decision-making toward transformative change in water management. This is achieved through an alternative vision based on principles of environmental justice, equity, and water stewardship.The proposed vision of the TWP is a comprehensive approach that addresses the current water crises caused by unsustainable human activities. It promotes governance and justice models that sustain life on Earth. It recognizes that the flourishing of water bodies and ecosystems and the diversity of social, cultural, and natural values must be prioritized as an end in itself.This webinar series aimed to facilitate a dialogue among the TWP co-authors and their allies, focusing on global South countries' water governance and justice challenges. The goal was to highlight the impact of sharing valuable global experiences in advocacy, litigation, local solutions, campaigning, and research that have contributed to advancing the protection of the right to water worldwide.Each session addressed specific challenges and share lessons learned from experiences in water governance and justice in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Co-authoring organizations invited experts and/or organizations to present actual cases on water governance and the protection of water ecosystems in their respective areas.This third and final session explored how community organizing, capacity building, and progressive policies can improve sustainable water conservation in Kenya, focusing on transparent, inclusive governance at the basin level and the role of community networks in managing shared water resources. Special attention was given to the challenges of water privatization and the involvement of foreign entities with local governments, aiming to build a shared understanding of water as a common good and foster solutions for equitable access. PanelSebastián Abad Jara, attorney with the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA).Violet Matiru, Executive Director of Millennium Community Development Initiatives (MCDI).Gituanja Gachie, founder of Community Action for Nature in Githunguri.Halinishi Yusuf, PhD Candidate in New Castle University and former Managing Director of the Makueni County Sand Conservation and Utilization Authority. Recording  

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Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta in Colombia
Climate Change, Human Rights, Capacity Building

Session 1 of the 2024 GCF Watch International Webinar Series

Operating the financial mechanism of the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement: Applying lessons learned from the GCF experience for strengthened CSO engagement  For the fourth consecutive year, we invite all civil society members following the GCF and other funds under the UNFCCC to attend two dynamic sessions on October 9th and December 4th.This year, we are excited to introduce a more interactive format, featuring presentations and live interviews between a moderator and CSO representatives. In this first session, relevant CSO representatives discussed the architecture of financial mechanisms under the UNFCCC, with the GCF at the center, exploring their similarities and differences, and the opportunities for civil society engagement in each. PresentersErika Lennon, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL): The GCF as the center of the architecture of the financial mechanisms under the UNFCCC and its relationship with the other funds.Ira Guerrero, Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC): The GCF Watch and its resources. IntervieweesKairos Dela Cruz: ICSC.Faizal Parish: Global Environment Centre; Chair 2024-2030, GEF CSO Network.Julia Grimm: Germanwatch.Liane Schalatek: Heinrich Böll Foundation. Moderation: Camila Bartelega, Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA). Recording 

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Climate Change, Human Rights, Capacity Building

Session 1 of the 2023 GCF Watch International Webinar Series

The CSO network and the way it works In this first session, we will provide a brief introduction to the GCF, the Updated Strategic Plan for 2024-2027, and the second replenishment process, which is currently underway; we will talk about the GCF Watch Platform and the opportunities it provides; and we will have a conversation with two of our active observers before the GCF, to better understand the work they do, in alliance with the civil society observer network which follows on the GCF.  PanelistsFlorencia Ortúzar, Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA): Introduction to the webinar series and moderation.Jei Edora, Asian Peoples' Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD): Intro on the GCF, the new Updated Strategic Plan and the second replenishment process (GCF-2).Ira Guerrero, Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC): The GCF Watch Platform.Erika Lennon, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and Liane Schalatek, Heinrich Boell Foundation.A conversation with active observers of the GCF, on the way we work and why we do it.Camila Bartelega, AIDA: Interactive session to learn from our audience.​Recording 

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Transición energética justa y justicia climática
Climate Change, Human Rights, Capacity Building

Session 3 of the AIDA’s 25th Anniversary Webinar Series

A dialogue to build a path toward climate justice and a just energy transition In this third and final session we discussed, starting from a place of hope, the path towards a just energy transition and climate justice in the region. We explored what both concepts mean, what is needed to achieve them, and the tools and successes at our disposal.   Panelists Felipe Pino Zúñiga, lawyer and Project Coordinator at NGO FIMA (Chile). Bernie Bastien-Olvera, interdisciplinary researcher on climate change at the University of California, communicator and media producer (Mexico). Tania Ricaldi Arévalo, researcher at the Centro de Estudios Superiores Universitarios of the Universidad Mayor de San Simón (Bolivia). Moderator: Florencia Ortúzar, senior attorney, Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA). Closing: Anna Cederstav, AIDA's Deputy Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer.   Recording  

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Indigenous Rights, Capacity Building, Freshwater Sources

Session 2 of the AIDA’s 25th Anniversary Webinar Series

Takeaways for preserving biodiversity and safeguarding the communities that protect it In this second session we discussed the current state of biodiversity in Latin America and the communities that care for it, examining the main threats and opportunities, as well as the urgent measures needed to effectively address the biodiversity crisis and safeguard the rights of indigenous and traditional populations.   Panel Ana Di Pangracio: Director of Biodiversity, Environment and Natural Resources Foundation (Argentina). Robinson Mejía Alonso: Forest engineer and human rights and land defender, Socio-Environmental Youth Collective of Cajamarca (Colombia). Viviana Tinoco Monge: Minister Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the United Nations in Geneva. Moderators: Claudia Velarde and María José González-Bernat, Coordinators of AIDA's Ecosystems Program.   Recording  

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Capacity Building, Freshwater Sources, Mining

Towards just water governance in Colombia: A dialogue on the Transformative Water Pact

UN 2023 Water Conference virtual side event Ecosystems such as wetlands, paramos, rivers and other hydrosystems, as well as the people who inhabit them, are fundamental to mitigate the water crisis. However, the growing socio-environmental conflicts over competition for water uses are evidence of the strong pressure on water resources exerted by large-scale mining and other extractive industries in Colombia and Latin America. Indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, peasant communities and urban dwellers continue to demand judicial protection of their human rights to water and environmental participation due to the impacts generated by human activity. This event presented The Transformative Water Pact (TWP), an innovative framework for water governance that has been developed by environmental justice experts from around the world. The TWP served as a starting point for dialogue between representatives of the government of Colombia, academia, regional and international NGOs in relation to Colombia’s current ambitions in multi-scalar water governance. Specific attention was given to the ways in which indigenous, ethnic and bio-cultural approaches can be used to create stronger synergies between communities and formal institutions within the context of water governance. We also discussed challenges that still remain in protecting strategic ecosystems in the region and the lessons learned from the environmental movement in Colombia, linking them to policy recommendations for transformative water governance at the regional level.   speakers Murtah Shannon, Policy Advisor, Both ENDS. Yeny Rodríguez, Attorney, Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA).  Fabián Caicedo, Director de Gestión Integral del Recurso Hídrico, Ministerio de Ambiente de Colombia.  Violet Matiru, Executive Director, Millenenium Community Development Initiative (MCDI), Kenia. Bhanumathi Kalluri, Director, Dhaatri Trust, India.   Recording   More info Learn more about the Transformative Water Pact.  

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Human Rights, Capacity Building

Session 1 of the AIDA’s 25th Anniversary Webinar Series

Reflections and perspectives on the right to a healthy environment In this webinar, the first in a series of three, we kicked off AIDA's 25th anniversary celebrations with a brief introspection of our origins, victories, growth, and vision for the future. In addition, we hosted a panel discussion on the progress, lessons learned, and challenges of protecting the human right to a healthy environment in the Americas, an area of work that has been fundamental since our inception.     PANELISTS Panel 1: 25 years of history Gladys Martínez de Lemos, AIDA’s Executive Director. Anna Cederstav, AIDA’s Deputy Director and CFO. Manuel Pulgar Vidal, Global Leader of Climate and Energy at WWF International and an AIDA Board member. Moderator: Laura Yaniz Estrada, Consultant with AIDA's communications team.   Panel 2: In defense of a healthy environment David Boyd, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Environment. Yolanda Zurita, petitioner in the case "Community of La Oroya v. Peru" before the Inter-American Human Rights System. Xavier Martínez, Operational Director of the Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental (CEMDA) and an AIDA Board member. Moderator: Liliana Ávila, Coordinator of AIDA's Human Rights and Environment Program.   RECORDING  

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Climate Change, Human Rights, Capacity Building

Session 3 of the 2022 GCF Watch International Webinar Series (part two)

Important topics around the GCF (part two) This session focused on key issues identified by CSOs during the series initial webinar. It addressed key aspects of the proposals that are presented by accredited entities to the GCF to become approved projects, including tips on how to review them. We also talked and reflected upon the critical aspects of gender and indigenous peoples at the GCF. PanelistsFlorencia Ortúzar, Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA): Reviewing funding proposals.Liane Schalatek, Heinrich Böll Stiftung (HBS): GCF project types, approaches & relationship to false solutions.Helen Magata, Tebtebba (Indigenous Peoples' International Centre for Policy Research and Education): Indigenous Peoples at the GCF.Natalia Daza, GCF Gender Monitor for Latin America: Gender at the GCF.Moderator: Bertha Argueta, Germanwatch. Recording Presentations1. Florencia Ortúzar, AIDA: 2. Liane Schalatek, Heinrich Böll Stiftung (HBS): 3. Helen Magata, Tebtebba (Indigenous Peoples' International Centre for Policy Research and Education): 4. Natalia Daza, GCF Gender Monitor for Latin America: 

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Climate Change, Human Rights, Capacity Building

Session 2 of the 2022 GCF Watch International Webinar Series

CSO-led monitoring and evaluation of GCF-approved projects As civil society organizations that follow on the GCF we have put a lot of attention in the review of funding proposals presented to the Board. During this session we looked further on, into the basic aspects of the implementation of the projects and programs that are approved by the Board.  PanelistsBertha Argueta, Germanwatch: The role of different actors in the implementation of projects approved by the GCF.Peter Carlson, Communications Associate of the IRM: The role of the Independent Redress Mechanism (IRM).Said Chakri, Association of Teachers of Life Sciences and Earth of Morocco (AESVT): Monitoring implementation of projects in Africa.Titi Soentoro, Aksi! for Gender, Social and Ecological Justice: Monitoring implementation of projects in Asia.Tara Daniel, Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO): The implementation of Gender Action Plans.Moderator: Claire Miranda, Asian Peoples' Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD). Recording Presentations1. Bertha Argueta, Germanwatch: 2. Peter Carlson, Independent Redress Mechanism (IRM):  3. Titi Soentoro, Aksi! for Gender, Social and Ecological Justice: 4. Tara Daniel, Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO): 

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Coral reefs, Capacity Building, Oceans

Webinar "From the seabed to the high seas: How international negotiations can save the ocean's future"

This event aimed to present the general characteristics of ongoing international negotiations that seek to improve the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans and their resources. Through a panel discussion, the event highlighted the obstacles, developments and expectations of negotiations related to ocean mining, fisheries subsidies, and protection of the high seas. PanelistsErnesto Fernández Monge, The Pew Charitable Trusts: Fishing subsidies.Matthew Gianni, Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC): Deep-sea mining.Mariamalia Rodríguez, High Seas Alliance: High seas treaty.Facilitator: María José Gonzalez-Bernat, Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA). Recording Presentations1. Ernesto Fernández Monge, The Pew Charitable Trusts: 2. Matthew Gianni, Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC): 3. Mariamalia Rodríguez, High Seas Alliance: 

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