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GLOBAL INTERNATIONAL WATERS ASSESSMENT
NEWSLETTER
Issue No. 1, Dec 2000
Introduction
Our aim is that the General Assembly meeting will glue
the GIWA Network together and can promise that it will
Welcome to the first edition of the
be of high interest to institutional and network partici-
UNEP/GEF GIWA Newsletter. The
pants thereby strengthening the overall GIWA process.
newsletter will be issued regularly in
At the Assembly there will also be a possibility to join a
the future giving highlights and up to
scientific session chaired by the University of Kalmar.
date news to readers on the develop-
Invitations and a draft agenda will be ready for distribu-
ment of the GIWA project. It will also
tion in March.
be available on our web site
The GIWA project has gained incred- Project Manager
ibly momentum during the last Dag Daler
GIWA Methods ready for Peer Review
months and is now progressing ahead
The GIWA Assessment Methodology and Assessment
at full speed. Being the Project Manager I am proud of
Protocol, developed in co-operation with University of
the effort done by the GIWA Co-ordination Office in
Plymouth, University of East Anglia and individual con-
Kalmar. I also invite all of our readers to visit us on the
sultants, is now ready for a thorough peer review.
GIWA web site http//:www.giwa.net. You will find us
As the assessment methodology constitute a key compo-
under the GIWA Team heading.
nent in the GIWA process, the GIWA Core Team needs
In this newsletter you will also find the latest news on
to feel fully confident that it is meeting the requirements
the development of the GIWA Network and the GIWA
needed and that it is scientifically credible. It is also cru-
Methodology and the Methods Peer Review process
cial that the methodology is acceptable to the Global
which is now started.
Environment Facility (GEF) and in accordance with the
Finally I would like to welcome our new staff:
instructions given in the GIWA Project Document.
Dr. Elina Rautalahti-Miettinen who has joined the
GIWA Core Team in Kalmar as the Northern
A team of peer reviewers have been appointed and is at
Hemisphere Co-ordinator, and Dr. Kim Prochazka who
present working. An international Peer Review Board,
has joined the University of the Western Cape host of
chaired by the University of Kalmar, will in cooperation
Sub-regional Task Force for The Benguela Current
with the GIWA Core Team compile the result of peer
Region.
reviewers and bring these back to the Methods Task
Team. The Peer Review Board will meet on 2 March.
Dag Daler, GIWA Project Manager
(See also Open Peer Review on following page)
Cooperation with UNESCO and
1st GIWA General Assembly
WWAP/WWDR
The 1st UNEP/GEF GIWA General Assembly will be
held in Kalmar on 16-18 June 2001. The meeting will
Dr Klaus Topfer, Executive Director of UNEP and Dr K
gather Megaregional and Subregional groups involved in
Matsuura, Director General of UNESCO have agreed to
the assessment work, institutions and actors interested in
start a process to achieve collaboration on Water pro-
the GIWA work. It gives unique opportunities to explain
grams. GIWA has therefore met with representatives of
and resolve questions about the GIWA methodology and
the World Water Assessment Program and agreed to
will also provide a platform for discussions and problem
cooperate within fields of mutual interest. In particular,
solution regarding International Waters issues. UNEP,
GIWA will be a contributing partner to the World Water
GEF, co-operating agencies, donors and stakeholders
Development Report. GIWA and WWAP will also col-
will be given presentations of the GIWA achievements
laborate on case studies, and GIWA will take the lead in
and assessment results so far. The meeting will give spe-
one or more case studies. GIWA and WWAP will keep
cial emphasis to GIWA's role on the international waters
transparent lines of communication on progress of our
arena and the cooperation with UN system and ongoing
respective programs.
assessments.

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Status of the GIWA Network
The GIWA web site is designed to enable smooth down-
loading even in areas poorly connected to Internet. Our
First Contract Signed
strategy is that further web site development should be
co-ordinated in close co-operation with the UNEP.net
An agreement covering the GIWA Subregional assess-
initiative.
ments for a substantial part of the Subregions in
Australia and Southeast Asia has been signed between
We expect a rapid development of the GIWA web site in
Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) based at the James
the near future with additional region specific informa-
Cook University (JCU), and GIWA. CRC has been set up
tion, interactive maps with socio-economic and environ-
to undertake integrated programs of applied research
mental information, the final methodology and informa-
and development, training and extension. It has close
tion on the GIWA Network, the GIWA Catalogue etc.
links with the research community in Australia, in par-
You are all welcome to have a look and to contribute
ticular the JCU and Australian Institute of Marine
information to the web site.
Science (AIMS). CRC has agreed to coordinate and,
together with scientists and institutions in Indonesian
and other countries in Southeast Asia, carry out the
assessments in the South China Sea Region, Sulu-Celebes
Open Methods Peer Review on GIWA
Seas Region and Indonesian Seas Region. In addition,
web site
CRC will carry out the assessments in North Australian
On Tuesday 11December a special Open Peer Review
Shelf Region, Coral Sea Basin Region, Great Barrier Reef
Site was opened to enable individual specialists, scientist
Region, Great Australian Bight Region and Tasman Sea
NGOs and others to view and comment on the devel-
Region as in kind contributions.
oped GIWA methodology. The Open Peer review site
Through this agreement, the assessments in a substantial
holds the full assessment methodology and the instruc-
number of Subregions in the Megaregion are underway.
tions for its application. The GIWA Core Team invites
all to participate in the methods peer review!
Subregional Task Force No 44, The Benguela
Current Region
An agreement has been reached with Prof Derek Keats
GIWA Research School
International Ocean Institute at Southern Africa
The University of Kalmar has appointed an interdiscipli-
University of the Western Cape to be Focal point and
nary group within the university to do the detailed plan-
undertake the GIWA assessment in Region No 44, the
ning for a Research School focusing on GIWA issues.
Benguela Current Region.
International PhD and master level programs will con-
stitute backbones of the Research School. For more
information contact Dr Ulf Lidman, Director of
GIWA Methods applied in GEF Projects
Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences at
ulf.lidman@hik.se.
On request the GIWA Causal Chain Methodology has
been made available to two GEF projects for application
in two regions. The projects needed methodology input
GIWA Events and Milestones
for analysing the societal root causes to environmental
problems and the GIWA Core Team decided to make the
In October 2000 major up-dates were made of the
Causal Chain methodology available.
GIWA web site www.giwa.net. In particular region spe-
cific information was added to
As the GEF projects will have the results already before
March 2001 they will be able report to GIWA on their
In November 2000 the GIWA Assessment
experiences before the Peer Review Board meeting. This
Methodology Peer Review started
means that results and experiences from GEF projects
In December 2000 the Casual Chain part of the test-
could be used as an input to the Methods Peer Review.
ing of the GIWA Methodology in Gulf of Thailand
The GIWA Core Team is looking forward to the reports
Region and Baltic Sea Region will be ready and
from the GEF projects applying the draft Causal Chain
reported.
methodology.
The GIWA Methods Peer Review Board will meet in
Kalmar on 2 March 2001 under leadership of the
University of Kalmar
News on the GIWA web site
The GIWA Steering Group will meet in Kalmar on 3-5
The GIWA Core team has gradually up-dated the GIWA
March 2001
web site. New in early autumn Region-specific links
First UNEP/GEF GIWA General Assembly will be held
were added to respective Subregion and a new global
in Kalmar in June 2001
map of the GIWA regions was presented in October.
GIWA Co-ordination Office
Visit the GIWA Web Site: www.giwa.net
Postal Address: Global International Waters Assessment
E-mail to GIWA Co-ordination Office: info@giwa.net
GIWA, SE- 391 82 Kalmar, Sweden
Telephone Secretariat: +46 480 447350 Fax: +46 480 447355

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