Home | Introduction to WFED WFED was established in 1992 to provide a platform to carry out an international research project on the role of the United Nations (UN) in the field of international environmental conflict resolution. With initial support received from the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Norwegian Research Council in Oslo, the National Institute for Dispute Resolution (NIDR) in Washington, and the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) in Geneva, the project generated a great deal of interest. The project also benefitted from the increasing prominence of international environmental issues that resulted from the UN Conference on Environment and Development that was held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. The Rio Conference publicized numerous international conflicts over contentious environment and development issues. At the same time, it signaled the importance of global environmental issues to sustainable economic development and impressed upon the world community the need to approach environment and development issues more comprehensively and more cooperatively. The results of WFED’s initial research activities were first published in 1993 in the book entitled International Environmental Conflict Resolution: The Role of the United Nations (with substantive focus on international river systems, coastal areas, forestry, biological diversity, land resources, and human migration and displacement triggered by environmental degradation). The title phrase of the book, 'international environmental conflict resolution' -- which also describes WFED’s substantive focus -- struck a responsive chord with many persons worldwide. Since initial publication inquiries about the book and WFED’s work have been received from individuals and organizations from more than 100 countries around the world. Growing Opportunities
WFED also responded to other requests for cooperative assistance in 1993, which resulted in environmental conflict assessments in Eastern Europe and the Horn of Africa, examinations of the institutional roles of the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in international environmental conflict resolution, participation in forums in Europe, Africa, and North America concerning people displaced as a result of environmental stress (so-called 'environmental refugees'), and an early examination of various institutional approaches to structuring negotiations on the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources (with special focus on the prospects for negotiating efficient and equitable benefits-sharing arrangements between biological resource conservation and user communities). The 1993 missions to Jerusalem and Nairobi underscored the early emphasis placed by WFED on the importance of institutionalizing processes and resources to further the successful replication of international conflict resolution efforts, to deliver cooperative problem-solving services more efficiently, and so that the benefits of such approaches to conflict resolution are more widely appreciated by the international community. Shortly after the Norwegian-brokered peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians was signed in Washington in September 1993, WFED developed a project proposal for developing a database relevant to negotiations on water resources in the Middle East. In 1995, WFED cooperated in the establishment of the Centre for Environmental Studies and Resource Management (CESAR) at the University of Oslo so that the initial project on water resources in the Middle East might benefit from expanded Norwegian support. In 1995, WFED also began to explore ways to strengthen instututional mechanisms designed to facilitate negotiations over access to, and use of, biological resources. WFED was first attracted to the work of Costa Rica's National Biodiversity Institute (Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad -- INBio) mainly because of the innovative 'bioprospecting' agreement first negotiated between INBio and Merck (the world’s largest pharmaceutical company) in 1991. The precedent-setting INBio-Merck agreement triggered widespread public and corporate curiosity about ways to structure negotiations that relate to access and use of biological resources. The entry into force of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity highlighted even more the need to promote the negotiation of equitable and efficient benefits-sharing arrangements that provide for the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources worldwide.  Working in cooperation with INBio, WFED elaborated a series of pilot educational materials designed for use by INBio in connection with its own rapidly expanding international education and training efforts. Subsequently revised and expanded by INBio, the educational pilot materials first prepared by WFED have been used in biodiversity management and 'bioprospecting' workshops hosted by INBio for many institutions and countries from around the world. In furtherance of its commitment to develop innovative educational opportunities, WFED also has initiated a pilot program in cooperation with several schools that provides an interdisciplinary introduction to the issues associated with the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources. Participants in WFED's Educational Excursions have opportunities to explore the scientific, social and political dimensions of biodiversity conservation and use issues from various perspectives within a developing country context. Program themes highlight important issues for successful North-South cooperation so that lessons learned might have valuable application internationally. WFED’s early program activities grew out of the initial research project and interest in the role of selected international institutions in international environmental conflict resolution and preventive diplomacy. Thereafter, the willingness to undertake initiatives that explored new approaches to the resolution of highly challenging international environmental problems set a tone for WFED’s approach. To maximize benefits from its program initiatives, WFED understands the need to focus its efforts on those projects that have widespread impact in important issue areas. A sound appreciation of the critical importance of the private sector’s role in international environmental problem solving also continue to shape the focus of WFED initiatives. Conflicts relating to global climate change and biodiversity management -- with special focus on opportunities for enhancing the role of the private sector -- have dominated WFED’s project development portfolio since 1995. Activities Implemented Jointly (AIJ): To encourage increased private sector involvement and improved North-South cooperation on energy efficiency and related climate change mitigation activities, WFED worked with UNEP to develop and launch a global consensus-building initiative on 'activities implemented jointly' (AIJ; also known as 'joint implementation' or, JI) -- a mechanism proposed under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). AIJ projects encourage the development and implementation of public-private international partnerships aimed at energy efficiency and carbon sequestration measures. By focusing on putting information in the hands of potential project developers and other key decisionmakers, the initiative is intended to encourage expanded participation in the pilot phase for AIJ, which was announced at the first Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC in Berlin in March/April 1995. Activities Implemented Jointly: A Sourcebook for North and South was published in 1997 as an information tool designed to meet the needs of participating parties worldwide. Bioprospecting: The importance of expanding private sector participation in the development of biodiversity service industries around the world led WFED to explore ways to facilitate negotiations on issues relating to access and use of biological resources worldwide. WFED is currently facilitating negotiations relating to a 'bioprospecting' program at Yellowstone National Park in cooperation with park management, the scientific community, biotechnology development interests and other interested parties. This initiative has already led to the signing of the first ever bioprospecting agreement between a U.S. National Park and a private company providing for additional resources for microbial biodiversity conservation. Please click here for additional information about these and other activities under the the Yellowstone Thermophiles Conservation Project coordinated by WFED. In recognition of its "efforts to preserve Yellowstone for future generations," WFED was named 'A Protector of Yellowstone' on the occasion of the Park's 125th Anniversary celebration this past August 17th, 1997. Copyright © 1997 World Foundation for Environment and Development (WFED) |
Shortly after publication of International Environmental Conflict Resolution: The Role of the United Nations, WFED was asked to explore possible application of some of the lessons learned from the research project. In February 1993, WFED was invited by UNITAR and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to conduct a workshop in Jerusalem for senior Palestinian negotiators concerning environmental negotiations and dispute resolution. Shortly thereafter, WFED was invited by UN Under-Secretary-General Elizabeth Dowdeswell to visit the Nairobi headquarters of the United Nations Enivornment Programme (UNEP) and to undertake a review of UNEP activities in the field of international environmental conflict resolution and preventive diplomacy.
The early 1993 missions to Jerusalem and Nairobi presented WFED with a remarkable set of opportunities for action. The Jerusalem workshop underscored the importance of issues relating to shared water resources in the ongoing Middle East peace negotiations. The UNEP assessment identified several important ways that UNEP and other international organizations could facilitate international consensus-building efforts relating to contentious environmental problem areas, which were outlined in a 
The project was launched in early 1994 by WFED’s office in Oslo and resulted in the establishment of a high-level technical working group on water resource management comprised of representatives from Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian authorities. The project facilitated talks on regional cooperation in water management by providing the participating parties with a comprehensive overview of alternative institutional arrangements for water management and relevant legal and economic issues. 