17 October 2014: The International Partnership on Mitigation and MRV (measuring, reporting and verification) hosted a workshop on preparing biennial update reports (BURs) for African countries. The ‘African Regional Workshop: Peer-to-Peer Exchange on BURs,’ organized in cooperation with the Environmental Protection Agency of Ghana, was the second such experience-sharing event for African Parties preparing national communications under the UNFCCC.

The workshop served to disseminate knowledge developed under the International Partnership on Mitigation and MRV and provided a platform for exchanging ideas and practices among the participants who hailed from Egypt, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In addition to presentations from a range of African countries on their institutional arrangements and national experiences in preparing BURs, experts from the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), UN Development Programme (UNDP), and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) offered their approaches, templates and other relevant information to inform the BUR preparation process. Given the importance of MRV to the process, speakers also presented the latest developments in MRV systems.

The workshop was held in Berlin, Germany, from 15-17 October 2014. The International Partnership, launched within the framework of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue by South Africa, the Republic of Korea and Germany in May 2010, supports a practical exchange on mitigation-related activities and MRV between developing and developed countries. [International Partnership on Mitigation and MRV Press Release]