Implementing
United Nations Development Programme
Agency
Region
Global
Focal Area
International Waters
Project Title
Support for Regional Oceans Training Programmes
GEF Allocation
US$2.6 million
Cofinancing
US$2.6 million
Total Financing
US$5.2 million
Dates
December 1991- June 1995
Environmental
· Need for increased capability in ocean management and protection in developing countries to address
Problem
increasingly serious pressures on the world's oceans
Project Goals
· Establish operational centers for an international oceans training institute in four developing countries
Oceans cover nearly three-quarters of the earth's surface and supply humanity with protein, fiber, metals,
minerals, and energy. The importance of the seas is growing. Total fish catch worldwide continues to grow.
Offshore drilling provides more than 20 percent of all petrochemicals and natural gas, a proportion that is
increasing. Some 15 million of 230 million square kilometers of total ocean area can be tapped for oil and
natural gas. International shipping is also expanding rapidly. World merchant fleet tonnage grew from nearly
80 million tons in 1948 to 425 million tons in 1992.
This intensive use and the resulting pollution are threatening fragile marine and coastal environments and
contributing to global warming, stratospheric ozone layer depletion, and loss of biological diversity. The
United Nations Law of the Sea convention, established in 1982, brought nearly a third of the world's oceans
under national jurisdiction and created exclusive economic zones and, in some cases, widened them over
adjacent continental shelves. Several coastal states-- many are developing countries-- have acquired access to
resources of significant economic value from seabed minerals, petrochemical deposits, and fishing grounds
within their exclusive economic zones. The challenge for many developing countries lies in devising
integrated management skills and technologies to exploit these marine resources, while protecting the ocean
environment for the benefit of future generations.
The Project
This project reinforced the capacity of developing countries to manage their ocean resources by assisting the
International Ocean Institute (IOI) in setting up four new operating centers in developing countries. The
centers-- in Colombia, India, Fiji, and Senegal-- will develop curricula and train scientists and officials from
their respective regions. IOI covered institutional expenses and used the GEF grant to enable these centers to
meet the needs of policymakers, institutions, and nongovernmental organizations in each region. More
specifically, the project worked to (a) define specific plans for each center and an initial working agreement,
(b) improve IOI's management infrastructure to support the new operational centers, and (c) strengthen the
network of IOI alumni to facilitate "marketing" of training programs in the new centers and dissemination of
IOI's international research.
Activities
· Creation of an institutional structure for training and research. This component involved establishing
self-sustaining operational centers in Colombia, Fiji, India, and Senegal and reinforcing links-- through,

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for example, distance learning and library hookups-- with academic institutions and others in the IOI
network associated with marine affairs.
· Improving existing and creating new IOI training programs. This component (a) involved revising
current and developing new courses and (b) pursued research that was policy-oriented, related to marine
affairs, and was interdisciplinary and nonproprietal in nature. Each research program was germane to a
particular center.
The new centers focused attention on local and regional issues through research programs and trained
personnel to manage their national exclusive economic zones. Establishing the centers allowed IOI to double
its annual number of trainees and to improve and expand its transnational training programs. These
operational centers have proved both useful and desirable. They have encouraged local participation and
ensured continuity.
Benefits
The project has built international expertise, particularly in developing countries, to manage and protect ocean
ecosystems and marine resources.
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a financial mechanism that provides grants and concessional funds to developing countries for projects and
activities designed to protect the global environment. GEF resources address climate change, biological diversity, international waters, and depletion of the
ozone layer. Activities concerning land degradation, primarily desertification and deforestation as they relate to the four focal areas, are also eligible for funding.
GEF is a joint venture of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the World Bank.
These three agencies implement GEF projects.
For more information on this project, contact:
For more information on GEF:
International Ocean Institute
GEF Headquarters
1818 H Street NW
United Nations Development Programme
Washington DC 20433 USA
Mahenau Agha
Tel: (202) 473-0508
Information Officer
Fax: (202) 522-3240/522-3245
One United Nations Plaza
Internet Home Page: www.gefweb.org
New York NY 10017 USA
Tel: (212) 906-6112
Chief Executive Officer:
Fax: (212) 906-6998
Mohamed T. El-Ashry
E-mail: mahenau.agha@undp.org
Internet Home Page: www.undp.org/gef
Senior External Relations Coordinator:
Hutton G. Archer
E-mail: harcher@worldbank.org

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