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Linkages Update
Editor's Note
As the international sustainable development community converges on Poznań, Poland, for the 2008 UN Climate Change Conference, it is remarkable to consider all of the inputs that delegates must strive to take into account as they work their way along the Bali Road Map, toward the 2009 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. … article continues

Lynn Wagner, Ph.D.

Editor, Linkages Update and
MEA Bulletin
 

Comings and Goings
APPOINTMENTS
Assistant Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction Named
GEF Council Reelects CEO
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New Reports and Resources
World Development Report 2009: Reshaping Economic Geography
Atmospheric Brown Clouds: Regional Assessment Report with Focus on Asia
Reducing Threats to Protected Areas: Lessons from the Field
Integrating Biodiversity into Business Strategies: The Biodiversity Accountability Framework
The State of Wildlife Trade in China
Industrial Livestock Production and its Impact on Smallholders in Developing Countries
Oil Spill in the Kerch Strait
Gender and Equity in the Protected Areas of West Africa
Pretending to be Guided by Science – Timeline of a Fishery Failure
Forestry Carbon Standards 2008
Beyond the Village: The Transition from Rural Investments to National Plans to Reach the MDGs – Sustaining and Scaling Up the Millennium Villages – Synthesis Report
Safe Water as the Key to Global Health
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Climate Change Policy & Practice

Latest News - Friday, 28 November 2008
MONTREAL PROTOCOL PARTIES TAKE DECISIONS TO MAXIMIZE CLIMATE BENEFITS OF OZONE PROTECTION
Doha, 21 November—The eighth Conference of the Parties to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the 20th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer convened in Doha, Qatar, from 16-20 November 2008. At this first "paperless" meeting, parties adopted a Doha Declaration and 29 decisions, including on: ratification; compliance; destruction of ozone depleting substances (ODS); essential- and critical-use exemptions; process agents; and financial and administrative matters. Parties agreed to replenish the Multilateral Fund for the triennium 2009-2011 with US$490 million, and to request the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund to commence pilot projects on the destruction of ODS and the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) to undertake a cost-benefit analysis of ODS destruction, taking into consideration both climate and ozone benefits. More.
Photo: A bird's eye view of the plenary room.
UNCCD SUBSIDIARY BODIES CONSIDER WORK PLANS AND INDICATORS
Istanbul, 15 November—The first Special Session of the Committee on Science and Technology (CST S-1) and the seventh session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC7) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) convened in Istanbul, Turkey, from 3-14 November 2008. Delegates reviewed the two-year work programmes and four-year work plans that the Convention's bodies were asked to develop, as well as indicators and reporting guidelines, to set in place the mechanisms through which implementation of the ten-year strategic plan, which was adopted in 2007, would be executed and assessed. Delegates also conducted informal consultations to develop a process through which the CST Bureau would work during the coming year to identify a minimum set of indicators to monitor and assess desertification. More.
Photo: Participants watched a live video feed of Turkish officials and high school students planting trees in honor of CST-S1 and CRIC 7, including 193 trees to represent the 193 parties to the Convention and ten trees per delegate.
BANGKOK WORKSHOP ADDRESSES AIR QUALITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN ASIAN CITIES
Bangkok, 15 November—A workshop addressing the theme "Air Quality and Climate Change: scaling up win-win solutions for Asia" convened in Bangkok, Thailand, from 12-14 November 2008. The event sought to generate consensus on how Asian cities can take a more active part in climate change mitigation by adopting a co-benefits approach that integrates urban air quality management activities, energy management and climate change mitigation activities. More.
Other News
IFPRI co-hosts agriculture development workshop in DRC
APEC economic leaders adopt declaration
FAO Special Session adopts "immediate plan of action"
Brazil convenes international biofuels conference
Sustainable Development News

Human Development
UNDP workshop develops gender-based guidelines for climate change finance decision-makers
Sixth African Development Forum calls for closing the gender gap
New UN report shows cultural sensitivity critical to successful development strategies
More Development News

Trade, Finance and Investment
GEF Council and climate fund councils convene
World Bank moves ahead with energy for the poor initiative
More Trade News

African environment ministers prepare for Poznan and beyond
US governor's global climate summit brings together climate leaders
More Climate News

Global indigenous peoples consultation adopts strategy on REDD
CBD expert group on biodiversity and climate change convenes
CMS holds technical meeting on saiga antelope
International mountain biodiversity conference focuses on climate change impacts
CITES rhino task force to tackle rhino poaching
CITES-supervised ivory auctions finalized
More Biodiversity News

European Parliament backs pesticides ban
More Chemicals News

Chair's summary of UNFF expert group meeting available
EU forest law enforcement, governance and trade information available
More Forests News

Intergovernmental Organizations
UNGA adopts climate change resolution First carbon neutral airline joins UNDP's Climate Neutral Network
UNGA adopts climate change resolution UN Secretary-General highlights linkages in addressing climate, financial, food and energy issues
UNGA adopts climate change resolution UNEP launches green star awards
More IGO News

International conference on water resources and arid environment addresses impacts of climate change
International conference seeks to improve water management in central Asia
First world conference on marine biodiversity highlights rapid migration of invasive species
More Water News

Key meetings in the next two weeks
Follow-Up International Conference on Financing for Development to Review the Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus: 29 November-2 December 2008. Doha, Qatar.
CMS COP 9: 1-5 December 2008. Rome, Italy.
UN Climate Change Conference – Poznań: 1-12 December 2008. Poznań, Poland.
Econcern Sustainable Energy Event: 1-12 December 2008. Poznań, Poland.
CBD Expert Group on ABS Concepts, Terms, Working Definitions and Sectoral Approaches: 2-5 December 2008. Windhoek, Namibia.
Stockholm Convention Expert Meeting to Further Develop the Standardized Toolkit for Identification and Quantification of Dioxin and Furan Releases: 3-5 December 2008. Geneva, Switzerland.
Forest Day 2: 6 December 2008. Poznań, Poland.
Development and Climate Days: 6-7 December 2008. Poznań, Poland.
Poznań Business Day: 9 December 2008. Poznań, Poland.

IISD Reporting Services will be reporting in December 2008 from:
Forest Day 2
; Development and Climate Days; and Poznań Business Day
 

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