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The implementation of COMDEKS

2011.06.28

The Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ), the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United Nations University (UNU) jointly launched the Com munity De velopment and K nowledge Management for the S atoyama Initiative (COMDEKS) under the agreement on promoting biodiversity-friendly natural resource management practices for the benefit of biodiversity and human well-being on 24 June 2011.

COMDEKS, implemented by UNDP and supported by MOEJ, SCBD, and UNU comprises two components. One focuses on community development through grants for communities in developing countries by using the existing small grants delivery mechanism implemented by UNDP. The other focuses on the management of knowledge to be eventually used for capacity building, replication and up-scaling.

In the initial phase of the programme, 11 countries will participate in knowledge sharing, and communities in these countries will be eligible for small grants: Cambodia, India, Nepal, Fiji, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Slovakia, Turkey, Brazil, and Grenada.

In support of the Satoyama Initiative, the Government of Japan is initially allocating $2 million for the first year of the 5-year programme through the Japan Biodiversity Fund established in the SCBD. Small grants will be disbursed to community organisations through UNDP-implemented schemes including the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme.

The implementation of COMDEKS is expected to help in slowing the escalating loss of biodiversity worldwide, with the dual impacts of conservation of biodiversity found in human-influenced natural environments and the promotion of sustainable use of natural resources while improving human well-being.