A  new online database to strengthen partnerships between sustainable development projects in developing countries and enable communities to better manage their natural resources and local environment has been launched. The first online portal of its kind, the South-South Cooperation Exchange Mechanism will feature a host of initiatives – such as a biomass project at a Kenyan sugar factory and sustainable mining in Sierra Leone – and provide a forum where various actors working on environmental issues in developing countries can submit content, as well as share their expertise and experiences with peers. Launching the platform was Kenyan diplomat and the Deputy Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Amina Mohamed. "This new initiative is the latest development in UNEP’s ongoing efforts to support South-South cooperation and capacity-building,” she said in a statement sent to The New Times.Central among these is UNEP’s Green Economy initiative, which has assisted and encouraged developing countries to embed sustainability within their national economies – from organic agriculture in Cuba to solar energy in Barbados,” she added. "These are projects which have the potential to be scaled-up and replicated elsewhere in the global South.” South-South cooperation refers to the exchange of technology, skills, resources and information between governments, organizations and individuals in the developing world. Currently, around 30 case studies on the website, available at: www.unep.org/south-south-cooperation.