AGEDI
CLIENT: Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD)
LOCATION: Abu Dhabi, UAE
STARTING YEAR: 2008
GPC has been supporting the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi in the conceptualization and implementation of the Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI) since 2005. The AGEDI program was originally conceived in 2001 by the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) as a means of participating as an active and visible participant in international environmental affairs, with an emphasis on “closing the environmental gap between developed and developing nations”. The program was initially fashioned around the United Nations World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) Type II Partnership Initiative, as a tool to support the environmental provisions of Chapter 40 of Agenda 21 and the Millennium Development Goals. The program has been through several stages of development and evolution over 5 years, and a new AGEDI Plan 2007-2012 was formulated to provide the roadmap that was used to guide the Program into its second phase of development. A comprehensive program assessment was carried out by GPC and the University of Redlands. The findings of that effort are documented in the AGEDI Program Status Review, November 2006. A program assessment workshop was then held in Abu Dhabi UAE from March 19-21 2007 to review the previous assessment, and to help identify other issues, priorities and considerations for taking the AGEDI program forward. The workshop included the participation of over 70 representatives from 37 organizations that are considered to be primary stakeholders in the AGEDI program.
GPC was subsequently commissioned to work with EAD staff to develop the AGEDI 5 Year Plan 2007-2012. This Plan comprised of a variety of discrete but interrelated activities and projects, organized according to three Tracks of highly related projects, including:
Track 1 – Program Organization, Mobilization and Operations
- Program Coordination Group Formation and Mobilization
- International Advisory Committee Formation and Mobilization
- Technical Coordination Committee Formation and Mobilization
- Task Force Formation and Mobilization
- Support Ongoing Operations
- Support Special Projects
Track 2 – Sub-National/National Project Development
- Sector Paper Review and Knowledgebase
- State of Environment Review and Refinement
- Environmental Atlas
- Geospatial Portal Enhancement
- Website Refinement
- EPI for Abu Dhabi
Track 3 – Regional/International Project Development
- Programs Alignment Strategy