NEWS FROM UNISFÉRA

Integrated Financing Strategy for Development

02 / 19 / 2021

Unofficial Repository of UNCCD Global Mechanism Documents

The concept of Integrated Financing Strategies (IFS) was developed by the Global Mechanism (GM) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in 2005 – 2006 as a response to the international call for better coordination between governmental institutions in developing countries, civil society, the private sector as well as the bilateral and multilateral development partners as a means to increase financial resources at the country level.

The goals of the UNCCD are geared at sustainable land management and land rehabilitation and, therefore, are positioned at the interface between rural development, sustainable livelihoods, food security and economic growth. These goals thus call for cross-sectoral coordination and mutual agenda setting by all relevant actors and institutions.

In keeping with the principles of the OECD Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (2005), the IFS concept was designed as a process-oriented approach to guide resource mobilization efforts within the context of national development planning and programming.

New and additional financing instruments and sources of finance are now available for adapting to climate change and mitigating emissions, as documented in the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) of the UNFCCC Paris Agreement. Climate resilience through sustainable land management is a major driving force for enhanced investments in UNCCD priorities. In order to meet the NDCs, it is therefore paramount to establish sustainable land management in agriculture and forestry as development priorities in fighting climate change. The IFS, with all its facets, responds directly to that challenge in development agenda setting. As blended finance needs to be complemented by a related bundle of progressive policies, the IFS concept also provides interesting guidance in this regard.

This webpage (https://docs.unisfera.org/gm-documents/) seeks to share useful references for those involved and interested in advancing innovative financing approaches in support of development priorities that need a coordinated agenda setting, institutional collaboration and blended finance for effective national programming and budgeting. Are notably included: an overview of the IFS concept; a practical guide to designing IFS; a results-based impact assessment methodology; and examples of country-specific IFS.

Further to making the IFS material once again available to the international development community, this page is also a testimony of the successful partnership between the Global Mechanism of the UNCCD and Unisféra in developing progressive instruments on the quest for sustainability.

iA Financial Group to become carbon neutral

01 / 18 / 2020

2018-01-18

iA Financial Group recently announced its commitment to offsetting its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through the purchase of carbon credits. Beginning in 2020, the company will work to become carbon neutral.

Carbon-neutral company certification certifies that all GHG emissions that cannot be eliminated by iA Financial Group’s reduction measures have been calculated and offset. Offsetting does not give the right to pollute nor does it seek to make GHG emissions more acceptable. Instead, offsetting is a mechanism that allows iA Financial Group to take concrete action by investing voluntarily in climate-related projects by reducing GHG in the atmosphere.

By purchasing carbon credits, iA Financial Group will invest in three projects in Canada and the U.S. chosen in conjunction with its partner, Planetair, a leader in the fight against climate change. Read more:

https://ia.ca/newsroom/2019/decembre/ia-financial-group-becomes-carbon-neutral

UNISFÉRA kicks off sustainable housing project in Burkina Faso with AVN

12 / 27 / 2017

Canada and Burkina Faso, September 2017

The project, which started in September 2017, promotes an ancestral construction technique that relies on raw earth bricks and mortars, called Nubian Vault. This low-cost technique relies on readily available local materials and allows for the construction of buildings better adapted to climate change. The buildings also contribute to climate change mitigation. The buildings built with this method are more resilient to rainfall and extreme climate conditions while offering improved thermal comfort. The technique also contributes to reducing greenhouse gases (GHGs), notably that resulting from the production and transport of cement and corrugated iron. It also reduces deforestation resulting from timber production. Nubian Vaults have a lifecycle of 50 years, compared to 10 years for more conventional buildings built in the region.

Focused on capacity building and market creation for sustainable housing, the project is implemented by the Association Voûte Nubienne (AVN), a well-established organisation in Burkina Faso, with a view to ensuring local ownership of the project and of climate adaptation and mitigation efforts. Between now and the project’s end in 2020, it is forecast that the entrepreneurial and technical capacity of 400 masons will be enhanced so that 900 new buildings can be built.

The project is supported in part by the Government of Québec in the context of the 2013-2020 Climate Change Action Plan financed by through Québec's Green Fund.

To learn more about the project, please contact: Andréanne Grimard, Project Director.

2016 UN report on water: water and jobs

03 / 22 / 2016

March 22, 2016

An estimated three out of four jobs that make up the global workforce are either heavily or moderately dependent on water. This means that water shortages and problems of access to water and sanitation could limit economic growth and job creation in the coming decades, according to a UN report. The 2016 edition of the United Nations World Water Development Report, Water and Jobs, also notes that half of the world's workers - 1.5 billion people - are employed in eight water and natural resource-dependent industries.

Produced by the World Water Assessment Programme, hosted by UNESCO on behalf of UN-Water, the report is partly co-written by Marc Paquin, CEO of UNISFÉRA, and Richard Connor, UNISFÉRA’s Chief Scientist, is the Editor-in-Chief of the report.

“Water and jobs are inextricably linked on various levels, whether we look at them from an economic, environmental or social perspective. This edition of the World Water Development Report breaks new ground by addressing the pervasive relationship between water and jobs to an extent not yet seen in any other report”, said the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova.

Launched on World Water Day, and in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the report demonstrates the key role water will play in the transition to a green economy. From its extraction to its return to the environment, via numerous uses, water is a key factor in the creation of jobs.

The document also underlines that many jobs will be created in the water sectors per se in the coming years.

The report is available in English at the following address: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/water_drives_job_creation_and_economic_growth_says_new_un_report/#.VvFTqBLhCCR

See also World Water Day 2016: http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday

7th edition of the HEC Montréal Sustainability Challenge

03 / 17 / 2016

Montreal, March 18, 2016

The HEC Montréal MBA Student Association holds the seventh edition of the Sustainable Development Challenge. The competition invites MBA students from around the world to come up with business decisions compatible with sustainable development. Marc Paquin (UNISFÉRA) is part of the jury that will evaluate the practical solutions the teams will submit. http://hecaemba.org/en/events/sustainability-challenge-2016/