Greening the Coast and Blueing the Sea for a Resilient Georgia

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A virtual event on climate change and marine pollution, with the cooperation of the World Bank, the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation andthe Government of Georgia.

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• OVERVIEW
• AGENDA
• SPEAKERS

• This event focuses on the findings and recommendations of two recent World Bank reports: Impacts of Climate Change on Georgia's Coastal Zone: Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Options and The Cost of Coastal Zone Degradation in Georgia: A Tool for the Coastal Zone Adaptation and the Nationally Determined Contributions.

  The reports identify key climate risks and vulnerabilities, and the costs of environmental degradation of the coastal zone due to pollution, flooding, coastal erosion, and agricultural soil and forest degradation. Climate adaptation through resilient use of water resources and bringing back tourism to coastal areas after the COVID-19 pandemic are among the recommended priority coastal adaptation interventions.

  The event also initiates consultations on Blueing the Black Sea, a World Bank and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation supported new regional initiative to tackle marine pollution and catalyze Blue Economy investments in the Black Sea region. Recognizing the critical importance that environmental rehabilitation of the Black Sea has for the entire region, the World Bank supports Georgia, as well as other countries of the region, in their collaboration for effective pollution prevention, reduction, and control in the Black Sea.

  The Blueing the Black Sea consultations contribute to strengthened national and regional dialogue to address marine pollution and provide Georgia with a valuable opportunity to integrate the Black Sea into the country's strategies for climate adaptation and mitigation.

• Thursday, 25 February 2021
  17.00 - 17.20	WELCOME ADDRESS
  	H.E. Amb. Michael B. CHRISTIDES, Secretary General, Permanent International Secretariat (PERMIS), Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Mr. Sebastian Molineus, Regional Director for the South Caucasus, World Bank Mr. Steven Schonberger, Regional Director, Sustainable Development for Europe and Central Asia, World Bank Ms. Nino Tandilashvili, Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia Moderator:Ms. Paola Agostini, Lead Environmental Specialist, World Bank
  	FAMILY PHOTO
  17.20 - 17.50	SESSION 1. THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE COASTAL ZONE OF GEORGIA AND THE COST OF INACTION
  	The plenary session will present two recent reports prepared by the World Bank in collaboration with the Government of Georgia: Impacts of Climate Change on Georgia's Coastal Zone: Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Options and The Cost of Coastal Zone Degradation in Georgia: A Tool for Coastal Zone Adaptation and Nationally Determined Contributions. The recommendations provided in these two reports seek to raise the level of urgency needed to reduce the impact of climate change on the coastal zone and the escalating cost of inaction, and focus on Blue Economy, as a vehicle for accelerating climate change adaptation and mitigation measures and for contributing to Georgia's and the region's socioeconomic development, tourism, and environmental conservation. Speaker:Ms. Darejan Kapanadze, Senior Environmental Specialist, World Bank Moderator: Ms. Paola Agostini, Lead Natural Resources Specialist, World Bank Q & A Session
  17.50 - 18.10	SESSION 2: BLUEING THE BLACK SEA PROGRAM (BBSEA): TURNING THE TIDE OF POLLUTION IN THE BLACK SEA (ASA)
  	This session will present theconcept of the Regional Blueing the Black Sea Programme (BBSEA-GEF) to introduce the World Bank-led effort to establish an up-to-date diagnostic of the state of play and the issues at stake regarding marine pollution in the Black Sea on the example of the efforts of the coastal countries. Through a targeted discussion, the panel will aim to identify the sources, impacts and prevention efforts (information and institutional gaps) related to marine pollution, as well as the key pollution challenges in Georgia. The findings will feed into an in-country pollution diagnostic paper, which, in turn, will inform the BBSEA-GEF architecture. Speakers: Mr. Owen McIntyre, Director LLM, University College Cork Mr. Nicola Bertolini, Manager, Ambiente SPA Moderator: Ms. Iryna Makarenko, Pollution Monitoring and Assessment Officer, Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution Q & A Session
  18.10 - 18.45	SESSION 3: BLUEING THE BLACK SEA PROGRAM: BBSEA GEF PROJECT, FOCUS ON GEORGIA
  	The working session will present the planned BBSEA-GEF project and will aim to gather feedback on its key components. The discussion will contribute to the understanding of the priorities of public authorities and private stakeholders with respect to the overall project and its parts, and to the promotion of eco-sustainable business practices, innovation, and finance that support pollution reduction. The session will touch upon avenues to involve financial institutions in funding and promoting green technology investments, focusing on pollution reduction. Speaker: Ms. Rositsa Stoeva, Executive Manager, Permanent International Secretariat (PERMIS), Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC); BBSEA Project Manager Moderator: Mr.Svetoslav Stoyanov, Blue Economy Expert; BBSEA Program Officer Q & A Session
  18.45 - 19.00	WRAP-UP OF THE DISCUSSIONS AND CLOSING REMARKS
  	Speakers: Ms. Rositsa Stoeva, Executive Manager, BSEC PERMIS; BBSEA Project Manager Ms. Bérengère Prince, Lead Natural Resources Management Specialist, World Bank

• Ambassador Michael B. Christides

  Secretary General of the Permanent International Secretariat (PERMIS), The Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC)

  Ambassador Michael B. Christides is the Secretary General of the Permanent International Secretariat (PERMIS) of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey. Born in Thessaloniki, Greece, Ambassador Christides joined the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in 1976 as first in his Class and served with distinction until his retirement in August 2014. Among other assignments, he served as Ambassador of Greece to Bulgaria, to Turkey, and to Argentina, and held senior posts in the Hellenic MFA as Political Director for South East Europe, as Director General for International Organizations, International Security & Cooperation and as Director General for International Economic Relations. After his retirement, Ambassador Christides was elected by the BSEC Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs as Secretary General of the BSEC PERMIS, assuming his duties on 1 July 2015. After the unanimous endorsement by all BSEC Member States on 15 December 2017, the same Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs reappointed Ambassador Christides for a second three-year term-in-office, from 1 July 2018 until 30 June 2021.

  Sebastian Molineus

  Regional Director for the South Caucasus, World Bank

  Sebastian Molineus is the World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus since 2019 where he is responsible for developing the World Bank's country strategies, managing the portfolio of lending, advisory, and convening services, coordinating with development partners, and engaging with other key stakeholders on economic growth and poverty reduction in the region. Sebastian joined the International Finance Corporation in 2002 where he managed corporate governance reform programs in Russia and across the Middle East and North Africa region, based in Moscow and then in Cairo. In 2008, he joined the World Bank in Washington as a Senior Operations Officer responsible for financial and private sector development and then became a Practice Manager for the Capital Markets Global Practice in 2012. Sebastian was appointed as Director to the Finance and Markets Global Practice in 2014, and in 2018, became the Director for the Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation Global Practice.

  Steven N. Schonberger

  Regional Director, Sustainable Development Department for Europe and Central Asia, World Bank

  Steven Navon Schonberger is Regional Director for the World Bank Group's Sustainable Development Department for the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region. In this role, he is responsible-inter alia-for oversight and support of the World Bank's sustainable development programs in agriculture, environment, urban, social, land and water. At his previous role as Water Director, he was encompassing water supply and sanitation, irrigation, transboundary waters and watershed management in the South Asia, East Asia and Pacific, and Europe and Central Asia Regions. An Agricultural Economist by training, Mr. Schonberger has worked on issues of water resources management, water utility reform, climate resilience, agriculture and irrigation, and finance in virtually all regions of the Globe.

  Nino Tandilashvili

  Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia

  Nino Tandilashvili has served at the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia since 2013 and has held the position of Deputy Minister for the last three years. She provides oversight of the Ministry's units responsible for international relations, legal affairs, European integration, biodiversity, forestry, environmental assessment, climate change, environmental information and education as well as the National Environmental Agency subordinated to the Ministry. She actively participates in the environmental lawmaking process aimed at the approximation of the national legislation of Georgia with the EU regulations. She has co-authored the 2017 Environmental Impact Assessment Code.

  Paola Agostini

  Lead Natural Resources Specialist, World Bank

  Dr. Paola Agostini is a Lead Natural Resources Economist in the World Bank's Europe and Central Asia Region Environment, Natural Resources, and Blue Economy Global Practice. Dr. Agostini leads programs and projects in Central Asia that help to reverse land degradation and increase resilience of people, ecosystems, and infrastructures. She also works in the Black Sea region on a program to reduce pollution and increase resilience to climate change. Additionally, Dr. Agostini is coordinating the ECCA30 partnership for the World Bank with a special focus to restore 30 million hectares of degraded landscapes by 2030 in Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. Previously, she was the Global Lead for Forests, Landscapes and Ecosystems for the World Bank, working on projects and programs that aim to improve connectivity of Protected Areas, forests, agroforestry, Rangeland, and agriculture land for increased productivity.

  Nicola Bertolini

  Manager, Ambiente SPA

  Nicola Bertolini started his career as Italian Permanent Representative at European Union-Environmental Department before serving as Environmental Consultant in the public and private sector. In the current position of International Development Manager at Ambiente SPA-a top-tier Italian environmental engineering company - Mr. Bertolini uses his extensive expertise in managing and coordinating multidisciplinary teams of professionals from different work experiences. As Project Director, he also has extensive expertise in sustainability, environmental and energy sectors with hands-on experience in project planning, development, management, and contractual and administrative issues.

  Darejan Kapanadze

  Senior Environmental Specialist, World Bank

  Dr. Darejan Kapanadze is a Senior Environmental Specialist in the World Bank's Europe and Central Asia Region Environment, Natural Resources, and Blue Economy Global Practice and is based in the South Caucasus Office of the World Bank in Tbilisi, Georgia. In the past 23 years with the World Bank, she has managed projects aimed at the development of Protected Areas, forestry, integrated coastal management, and adaptation to climate change. Dr. Kapanadze has worked in many other sectors guiding the World Bank's clients in the application of environmental safeguard policies and standards to investment operations. She holds a master's degree in Environmental Policy and Regulation from Columbia University in the City of New York, and a PhD in Biology from Tbilisi State University.

  Iryna Makarenko

  Pollution Monitoring and Assessment Officer, Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution

  Ms. Iryna Makarenko is a Pollution Monitoring and Assessment Officer (PMA Officer) at Permanent Secretariat to the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution (Bucharest Convention), an international intergovernmental organization and the Regional Sea Convention for the Black Sea based in Istanbul, Turkey. Before moving to Turkey, she worked as a diplomat in the Mission of Ukraine to the European Union in Brussels as well as Advisor to Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine on European Integration and as a diplomat at the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. She holds a master's degree in Environmental and Energy Law (Faculty of Law, Catholic University of Leuven, Kingdom of Belgium), Certificates on Water Law (University of Dundee, Scotland), Environmental Diplomacy (University of Geneva, Switzerland), and Regional Economics (University of Genoa, Italy).

  Owen McIntyre

  Director LLM, University College Cork; Professor, School of Law, University College Cork; Director, LL.M. (Environmental & Natural Resources Law) Programme; Co-Director, Centre for Law & the Environment

  Prof. McIntyre's principal interest is the field of Environmental Law, with a particular research focus on International Water Law. He is the General Editor of the Journal of Water Law and has served as the inaugural Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law's Specialist Group on Water and Wetlands, as a panel member of the Project Complaints Mechanism of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and as a member of the Scientific Committee of the European Environment Agency. He holds visiting positions at the University of Dundee, Charles University Prague, Xiamen University, and Wuhan University.

  Bérengère Prince

  Lead Natural Resources Management Specialist, World Bank

  Ms. Bérengère Prince, Lead Natural Resources Management Specialist, has joined the World Bank in 2010. Over the past decade, she has led several blue engagements in Africa, Europe and Latin America. Since her transfer to the World Bank's Europe and Central Asia Region Environment, Natural Resources, and Blue Economy Global Practice in March 2020, she has been leading the preparation of a new regional program for the Black Sea and serves as a technical lead for teams working in the blue space in Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Russia. Since September 2019, she also led the preparation of the World Bank report: Realizing the Blue Economy Potential of Albania. Ms. Berengere started her career at the fisheries department of the French Ministry of Agriculture during the French rotating chairmanship of the EU Council in 2000. She is a French national with an MSc in Agronomy, Natural Resources Management, and Fisheries Economics, as well as an LL.M in International Business Law.

  Rositsa Stoeva

  Executive Manager, BSEC PERMIS; BBSEA Project Manager

  Ms. Rositsa Stoeva serves as Executive Manager at the Permanent International Secretariat (PERMIS) of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey. Born in Dimitrovgrad, Bulgaria, Ms. Stoeva joined the Bulgaria Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2003. She served in Istanbul and Skopje. Before joining the BSEC PERMIS in 2017, she held a position of Head of Regional Cooperation Department at the Southeastern Europe Directorate, Counsellor, at the Bulgaria Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ms. Stoeva has spent nearly two decades addressing Southeastern European and Balkan issues and travelling extensively in the region.

  Svetoslav Stoyanov

  Blue Economy Expert; BBSEA Program Officer

  Mr. Svetoslav Stoyanov is the Program Officer for the preparation phase of the Blueing the Black Sea Regional Project managed by the Permanent International Secretariat (PERMIS) of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC). Prior to joining the team, Mr. Stoyanov worked as a policy officer for the European Commission (Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries) where he had acquired nearly a decade of hands-on experience in strategic policy development and portfolio management (e.g., Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea, Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda for the Black Sea, Atlantic Action Plan 2018 evaluation and 2020 update), regional cooperation (the Black Sea, EU Atlantic Area, EU Outermost Regions), financial planning, and funding instruments. He coordinated the organization of the annual Black Sea Blue Economy Stakeholder Conference in 2015-2018. Mr. Stoyanov is a lawyer by training and has worked in the public and private sectors in Germany and Belgium (circular economy, competition law).