DECEMBER 2006
IOC ACTS TO IMPROVE TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM
A new partnership between the UN Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC)
and the global satellite communications leader, INMARSAT, was announced
on 26 December 2006. The partnership provides free satellite
communication links to 50 sea-level sensors in the Indian Ocean, making
this part of the tsunami warning system the most advanced real-time
network in the world.
Link to
further information
UNESCO press release, 26 December 2006
UNGA CONSULTATIONS ON ENVIRONMENTAL
GOVERNANCE RESUME
On 6 December 2006, at UN Headquarters in New York,
the Co-Chairs for the environment-related commitments in the World
Summit Outcome document, Peter Maurer (Switzerland) and Enrique Berruga
(Mexico), resumed the consultations of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on
environmental governance. These consultations constitute a separate
process from that of the High-level Panel on System-wide Coherence,
which also addressed environmental governance. This is the second round
of the UNGA consultations. The first round was concluded in July 2006
and the results from these consultations will serve as the starting
point for the upcoming discussions. To ensure that all delegations have
a chance to express their positions, at least two meetings are scheduled
to take place. The first meeting will be held in New York in mid-January
2007. Delegations were asked to prepare their responses to a
questionnaire that covers four areas: implementation at the country
level; enhancement of global governance; funding; and partnerships. It
was also announced that the Co-Chairs will share member states'
positions on environmental governance at the Global Minsterial
Enrivonment Forum in Nairobi in early February 2007. The second round of
consultations is expected to be concluded in May or June 2007.
Links to further information
Reform the UN press release, 19 December 2006
Environmental Governance Questionnaire, 6 December 2006
Co-Chairs Summary, 6 July 2006
UNDP AND UNEP JOIN FORCES TO ASSIST CLIMATE CHANGE
ADAPTATION
On 15 November 2006, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN
Environment Programme (UNEP) announced a partnership to assist
developing countries to adapt to climate change. The partnership is a
contribution to the "Nairobi Framework," an initiative to help
developing countries, especially in Africa, to participate in the Kyoto
Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). It will focus on reducing
the vulnerability of poor countries and build their resilience to the
effects of climate change, in addition to enhancing the capacity of both
the public and private sectors in sub-Saharan Africa to successfully
access the CDM and participate in emerging carbon finance funds.
Link to
further information
UNDP press release, 15 November 2006
UNEP LEADS COTE D'IVOIRE CLEAN UP
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has launched an international
mission to support the Cote D'Ivoire in finalizing its strategic plan
for dealing with the toxic waste dumped in that country in August 2006.
UNEP's 14 December 2006 announcement indicated that the finalized waste
plan will address current concerns and, in cooperation with other UN
entities and the international community, provide a basis for long-term
remediation. A Trust Fund will also be established to provide a
mechanism for governments to immediately assist the Cote D'Ivoire
financially. UNEP's Green Customs initiative is also organizing a
workshop in West Africa in early 2007 to provide training on
environmental issues for customs officials.
Link
to further information
UNEP News Release, 14 December 2006
VIET NAM BECOMES
PILOT COUNTRY IN UN REFORM PROGRAMME
Viet Nam has been selected as the first pilot country in the "One
UN" reform programme, which will seek to avoid fragmentation and
duplication of work between different UN agencies and ensure coherency
and efficiency by consolidating a single UN presence in the countries in
which it is involved. The Viet Nam pilot programme will comprise six
participating agencies: the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN
Development Programme (UNDP) the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN
Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), UN Volunteers (UNV) and the Joint
UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). The first joint programme is
scheduled to be running by the end of January 2007. Later in December
2006, six other pilot countries will be announced.
Link to further information
Alert press release, 8 December 2006
UNGA PRESIDENT
ON STATUS OF UN REFORM
In a letter to all Member States, dated 1 December 2006, UN General
Assembly President Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa outlines the current
status of the different UN reform agendas. Regarding System-wide
Coherence, she intends to begin informal consultations on how to proceed
with consideration of the High-level Panel's report. She also emphasizes
that the recent adoption by the UNGA of a resolution strengthening the
Economic and Social Council was a significant step forward.
On
Environmental Governance, she refers to a letter sent on 22 November
2006 from the two Co-Chairs, Ambassador Berruga (Mexico) and
Ambassador Maurer (Switzerland), which outlines plans to resume
consultations in mid-January 2007.
Link to
further information
Letter from UN General Assembly President, 1 December 2006
UNGA CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION TO SUSTAINABLY MANAGE FISH STOCKS
The UN General
Assembly (UNGA) discussed draft resolutions on oceans and the law of the
sea and on fisheries on 8 December 2006. In the latter, which was
adopted by consensus, the Assembly called on States to take immediate
action, individually and through regional organizations, to sustainably
manage fish stocks and protect vulnerable deep sea ecosystems from
harmful fishing practices. The UNGA also called on all States to act in
a precautionary manner and apply an "ecosystem approach" to the
conservation, management and exploitation of fish stocks. The Assembly
identified bottom trawling and illegal, unregulated and unreported
fishing as the most destructive fishing practices and threats to
vulnerable marine ecosystems, to the detriment of sustainable fisheries,
as well as the food security and the economies of many States,
particularly developing States. A
number of countries and conservation organizations expressed
disappointment that the text did not include a moratorium on high seas
bottom trawling, but highlighted that contains provisions that could
bring an end to the destruction of deep sea ecosystems on the high seas
by bottom trawl fishing over the coming years.
The omnibus text on
oceans and the law of the sea includes: definitions of the terms "marine
genetic resources" and "maritime security and safety;" a call to
reconvene the Ad Hoc Open-ended Informal Working Group on marine
biological diversity beyond national jurisdiction in 2008, and to
complete, within two years, the "assessment of assessments," which would
lead to a regular process for global reporting on the state of the
marine environment; and a request to the Secretary-General to prepare a
study on assistance available to help developing States realize the
benefits of sustainable development of marine resources.
Links to further
information
UN News Service, 8 December 2006
UN Press Release, 7 December 2006
Deep Sea Conservation Coalition Press Release, 8 December 2006
UNEP LAUNCHES RESPONSIBLE PROPERTY INVESTMENT
GROUP
The UN Environment Programme's Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) has
launched a working group on responsible property investment. The group
will seek to "embed environmental thinking in the heart of
property
investment portfolios" with the aim of encouraging the financial
services sector to play a pivotal role in halting climate change and
supporting sustainable investment. The new group was launched in Paris
on 8 December.
Link to further information
UNEP FI information
NOVEMBER 2006
SECRETARY-GENERAL
ANNAN PROPOSES WAY FORWARD ON PANEL REPORT
In a note on 20 November 2006,
Secretary-General Kofi Annan transmited the High-level Panel's report on
System-wide Coherence to the UN General Assembly (UNGA), advocating a
process of informal consultations to build a broad understanding of the
report's objectives, contents and proposals. While UNGA will play a
critical role in this process, he recommended that the Economic and
Social Council and its commissions, the governing bodies of UN
organizations, as well as conferences and meetings of regional groupings
be given the opportunity to contribute to the discussions. Annan
suggested that the consultations conclude in a formal plenary meeting of
UNGA, some time in 2007, and that the UNGA President subsequently
initiate consultations in "a working group" mode, in order for UNGA to
consider a resolution on the Panel's report.
Link to further information
Report by the High-level Panel on System-wide Coherence preceded by a
Note by the UN Secretary-General, 20 November 2006
ENVIRONMENTAL NGOs TO CONSULT ON UN
COHERENCE REPORT
Environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have reacted to the
environmental reforms proposed by the High-level Panel on UN System-wide
Coherence and have launched a process for a coordinated civil society
response.
WWF praised the Panel's
recommendations on environmental integration at the country and
headquarter level, commenting that this "promises to put environment
firmly at the centre of development decision making." WWF also agreed
with the recommendations to establish a
UN Sustainable Development Board and upgrade the UN Environment
Programme, and considered the Panel's report as "a step in the right
direction."
The Stakeholder Forum commented that "to
a certain extent, the Panel's recommendations could be described as
'management by re-labelling,'" noting that the suggestion by NGOs to
establish a Council in the General Assembly for sustainable development
– rather than a Sustainable Development Board – had not been taken up by
the Panel.
In the
absence of a formal consultative process to engage NGOs in the follow-up
to the Panel's report, the UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service, the
Stakeholder Forum and the Brazilian Forum of NGOs and Social Movements
for the Environment and the Development have called for a coordinated
civil society response to the Panel's recommendations. NGO views will be
consolidated by the end of December 2006 on options for: a strengthened
UN Environment Programme; the roles of UN agencies, programmes and funds
for environment and sustainable development; efficiencies and
substantive coordination of major MEAs; the Global Environment Facility;
an independent and authoritative assessment of the current UN system of
international environmental governance; and ECOSOC, the Commission on
Sustainable Development and the proposed UN Sustainable Development
Board.
Links
to further information
Webcast of Panel meeting with NGOs, 9 November 2006
WWF press release, 9 November 2006
Stakeholder Forum press release, 9 November 2006
Stakeholder Forum opinion article, BBC News, 11 October 2006
Stakeholder Forum website on UN reforms
HIGH-LEVEL PANEL RECOMMENDS REFORMING THE
UN GENDER ARCHITECTURE
A major outcome of the United Nations
Secretary General's High-Level Panel on UN System-Wide Coherence was the
recommendation in its report, "Delivering as One," to consolidate the
existing UN women's agencies into a new organization. The report calls
for combining the UN Office of the Special Adviser to the Secretary
General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAG), the Division
for the Advancement of Women (DAW), and the UN Development Fund for
Women (UNIFEM) in a new organization for women's issues. The news was
welcomed by women's groups around the world, which had actively lobbied
governments and Panel members for this outcome. They expressed hope that
the agency would strengthen the UN's capacity, leadership and resources
to mainstream gender equality.
Links to further information
UN Department of Public Information Press Conference, 9 November
2006
WEDO Press Release, 9 November 2006
Delivering As One Press Release, 9 November 2006
FAO TEAMS UP WITH MAURITANIA TO FIGHT LOCUSTS
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has joined forces with
the Mauritanian government to test an environmentally friendly organic
product to fight locusts. Should the new product, called "Green Muscle,"
prove successful, advocates anticipate a reduction in the use of
chemical pesticides on agricultural land.
Link to
further information
IRIN press release, 13 November 2006
UNEP LAUNCHES TREE PLANTING CAMPAIGN, RELEASES
RAINWATER REPORT
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has launched a tree planting
campaign and unveiled a report on rainwater during the negotiations on
climate change held in Nairobi from 6-17 November 2006. A UNEP-led
campaign was launched to plant one billion trees in 2007 to help
mitigate the build-up of carbon dioxide. "The Plant for the Planet:
Billion Tree Campaign" highlights the importance of voluntary collective
action to fight climate change and will encourage all sectors of society
to take small but practical steps to this end. The campaign is backed by
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai, Prince Albert II of Monaco
and the World Agroforestry Centre-ICRAF. UNEP also released a report,
compiled with the World
Agroforestry Centre, that shows the enormous
potential in harvesting rainwater in Africa. The report concludes
that the rainfall contribution in Africa is "more than adequate to meet
the needs of the current population several times over," and it also
underlines the importance of harvesting rainwater as a buffer against
climate change related extreme weather events.
Links to further information
UNEP press release, 8 November 2006
UN news release, 13 November 2006
UNDP WORKS IN CHINA, SHARES COMMUNICATIONS TOOL
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has announced a new partnership for
environmental activities in China, and has made available an online tool
on projects. Norway and UNDP have announced a new partnership to support
China in promoting environmental protection, awareness and biodiversity.
The US$1 million partnership framework is designed to raise public
awareness and build knowledge on environmental challenges facing China
by reinforcing two ongoing UNDP programmes – the China Environmental
Awareness Programme and the EU-China Biodiversity Programme.
A new communications tool consisting of
project write-ups featuring 35 projects from the UNDP-GEF portfolio is
available on the UNDP-GEF website. The write-ups provide project
descriptions, facts and figures, and selected results. The aim is to
eventually present some 200 project write-ups on the website, covering
all the GEF focal areas, regions and size of projects.
Link to further information
UNDP Environment and Energy News Update # 15, Oct-Nov 2006
UNITAR
TO SUPPORT EFFORTS TO STRENGTHEN CAPACITIES FOR DEMOCRATIC ENVIRONMENTAL
GOVERNANCE
The United Nations
Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), within the framework
of its cooperation with the Central American Commission on
Environment and Development (CCAD), will be in a position to support
three Central American countries to prepare a National Profile,
organize a National Priority Setting Workshop and priorities and to
develop a draft National Action Plan to strengthen capacities for
democratic environmental governance. The projects are meant to make
a contribution to the implementation of Principle 10 of the 1992 Rio
Declaration, and the deadline for submitting applications is 30
November 2006.
Link to further information
Information and Application Information
OCTOBER 2006
UNEP PUTS
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH ONLINE
The UN Environment Programme
and other partners have unveiled an initiative to spread environmental
research. UNEP, Yale University, and leading science and technology
publishers unveiled on 30 October 2006 an initiative to make global
scientific research in the environmental sciences available online to
the developing world. Through this initiative – Online Access to
Research in the Environment (OARE) – peer-reviewed environmental
journals will be made available to public and non-profit environmental
institutions in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the
Caribbean, and Eastern Europe. Access for institutions in the 70 poorest
countries will be free, and at a nominal charge for 38
lower/middle-income countries.
Link to further information
UNEP press release, 30 October 2006
UNDP, ENERGY COMPANY LAUNCH ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
INITIATIVE
The United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the multinational energy
company Total S.A. have agreed to collaborate in Asia and the Pacific
region to provide access to clean and sustainable energy. The
partnership will also promote a better business environment through
transparent governance, including improving governments' managerial
skills and practices, supporting entrepreneurship, training youth, and
sharing information and improving dialogue with civil society networks.
UNDP and Total have already worked together for four years in Latin
America and Africa on country-specific issues including sustainable
development, sustainable energy and promoting a good business
environment, but this is the first regional partnership agreement
between the two.
Link to further information
UNDP press release, 12 October 2006
The UN
scientific organization has signed a partnership agreement for the
creation of science parks in developing countries. On 2 October, the UN
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) signed a
tripartite agreement with the Korean International Cooperation Agency
and Daejeon Metropolitan City to create funds-in-trust to support
developing countries to manage science and technology parks,
particularly in the areas of communication technology and biotechnology.
A regional network and pilot projects will be developed in Africa, the
Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
Link to further information
UNESCO press release, 2 October 2006
SEPTEMBER 2006
UN SECOND COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS FINANCING FOR
DEVELOPMENT
Financing
for development, strengthening disaster relief efforts and the impact of
commodity prices on developing economies are among the topics the UN
General Assembly's Second Committee (Economic and Financial) will
consider during the Assembly's current sixty-first session. According to
the Committee's organization of work,
issues slated for review include macroeconomic policy questions, such as
those directed at the international financial system, debt and
commodities; follow-up to and implementation of the outcome of the
International Conference on Financing for Development; humanitarian and
disaster relief assistance; information and communication technology;
and globalization and interdependence.
Links to further information
UN
news release, 20 September 2006
UN General
Assembly 61st Session webpage, September 2006
UNESCO ANNOUNCES BBC LINK, WORK IN AFRICA AND
ASIA
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is
set to provide environmental education programmes to Asia and
Africa, and to continue its support to World Heritage in Lebanon.
UNESCO has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the British
Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to provide television programmes on
technology and science, including on ecology and earth sciences, in
Africa and Asia. Under the memorandum, UNESCO acquired the rights to
46 titles in the BBC Horizon series for distribution in 41 African
and nine Asian developing countries free of charge. In addition, the
most recent UNESCO expert mission to Lebanon concluded that the
country's cultural heritage was mostly spared during the recent
conflict, but called for urgent measures to protect the World
Heritage site of Byblos and its Phoenician ruins from the effects of
an oil spill. UNESCO announced that the World Heritage Fund could
set aside US$70,000 in emergency spending to support Lebanon.
Links to further information
UN news stories:
22 September 2006
18 September 2006
GRASSROOTS DESERTIFICATION INITIATIVES HONORED
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has recognized two grassroots
initiatives that combat desertification and land degradation in
developing countries. The 2006 Sasakawa Prize, sponsored by UNEP and
the Nippon Foundation of Japan, has been awarded to Rodrigo Vivas
Rosas, leader of the Inter-institutional Consortium for Sustainable
Agriculture, an alliance of 16 organizations and 6,500 people
promoting the sustainable use of water in Colombia; and to the
Tenadi Cooperative Group, which has ensured drinking water and
prevented the movement of dunes through forestation in Mauritania.
Links to further information
UNEP press release, 28 September 2006
Sasakawa Prize information
UNEP PARTNERS WITH GOOGLE EARTH
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has teamed up with Google Earth to
provide online images of the planet and its environmental hotspots. UNEP
has established a partnership with Google Earth, Google's 3D virtual
world browser, to offer online satellite images to illustrate the 2005
hardcover publication "UNEP: Atlas of our Changing Environment." UNEP
Executive Director Achim Steiner expressed the hope that the initiative
will provide "a new way of visualizing the dangers facing our planet
today" raising the awareness of millions of internet-users around the
world.
Link to further information
UNEP press release (September 2006)
UNICEF, BARCELONA FOOTBALL CLUB TEAM UP ON
CHILDREN'S DEVELOPMENT
UNICEF and Futbol Club Barcelona have
announced a global partnership to help children in the developing
world. The partnership will include donations from Barcelona of at
least 1.5 million per year, and Barcelona will feature the UNICEF
logo on its 2006-2007 jersey, the first time ever that the club has
featured a logo. The first beneficiaries of the partnership will be
children in Swaziland who are affected by HIV/AIDS.
Link to further information
UNICEF press
release (7 September 2006)
AUGUST 2006
UNESCO WORK IN LEBANON
The UN Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has sent an initial mission to assess
the status of cultural heritage and education in Lebanon. Following the
cease-fire between Israel and Hizbollah, four experts from UNESCO
undertook a mission to Lebanon to determine UNESCO's support to the
country's early recovery efforts, particularly with regard to cultural
heritage and education. Among other things, the experts will visit
Lebanon's World Heritage sites, including Byblos that has been affected
by the oil spill.
Links to further information
UN press releases (August 2006):
UNESCO experts arrive in Lebanon to plan early recovery efforts
UN environment agency set to begin aerial surveillance of Lebanese
oil spill
UN LAUNCHES ASIA-PACIFIC ENVIRONMENT CENTERS
The UN Environment
Programme (UNEP), along with several other organizations, has launched
two new environmental centers in Asia and South Pacific. In cooperation
with the Asian Development Bank, Asian Institute of Technology and the
UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, UNEP has
launched a new think tank on technology, good practices, policy strategy
and management promoting the sustainable use of natural resources and
environmental efficiency, which will be located at the Asian Institute.
As well, UNEP also recently launched a new center–The Eco-Peace
Leadership Center–to strengthen civil society networks in Asia and the
Pacific and enhance leadership skills for the conservation and
restoration of the environment in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The new
initiative was launched jointly with the Eco-Peace Leadership Center
Foundation, a collaborative effort of Asian Pacific universities, civil
society organizations, government and enterprises. The new center will
develop and provide environmental education programmes to strengthen
research, technical and managerial skills of civil society in the
region.
Links to further information
UNEP press release, 17 August 2006
UN News Center story, 7 August 2006
UNDP SEEKS NOMINATIONS FOR 2006 EQUATOR PRIZE
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has launched the
official call for nominations for outstanding community projects that
reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of
biodiversity in the developing world. The biennial Equator Prize honors
community-based organizations, biodiversity-based businesses, indigenous
groups and NGOs located within the equatorial belt and achieving
remarkable results in their grassroots efforts to promote sustainable
economic development and achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The
closing date for nominations is 31 October 2006.
Links to further information
UNDP website, August 2006
UNESCO CONCERNED ABOUT MIDDLE EAST WORLD
HERITAGE
The Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO), Koïchiro Matsuura, has expressed alarm at the
threatened heritage sites in Israel and Lebanon. This is the third
urgent appeal from UNESCO asking parties to the conflict to spare World
Heritage Sites and their surroundings. Matsuura guaranteed UNESCO's
assistance in assessing the condition of these sites and provide
expertise for their rehabilitation when the situation allows.
Links to further information
UNESCO press release
(11 August 2006)
JULY 2006
UNEP SUPPORTS POLAR EXPEDITION
The UN Environment Programme is supporting a scientific expedition
in the Arctic. As part of the International Polar Year (commencing
March 2007), UNEP supports the polar schooner Tara, which set out on
11 July 2006 from Lorient, France, on a two year expedition to the
Arctic, to carry out scientific observations on how the Arctic
environment is changing and make these findings available to
scientists, policy makers and the general public.
Links to further information
UNEP press release, July 2006
Tara website
NEW UN COMPLEX OPENED IN BONN
UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan participated in the 11 July 2006
opening of a new campus to house UN offices in Bonn, Germany. The
"Langer Eugen" formerly housed the west German parliament and will
now unite a number of UN agencies that are located in that city,
including the Secretariats of the Convention on Migratory Species
and the Convention to Combat Desertification.
Link to further information
UN News Report (July 2006)
JUNE 2006
UNEP LAUNCHES URBAN TRANSPORT PROJECT TO CUT CO2
EMISSIONS
The UN
Environment Programme (UNEP) has launched a project, funded by the
Global Environment Facility, that aims to curb greenhouse gas
emissions by at least 100,000 tonnes a year in some of the most
polluted cities on the globe. Announced on the day of the opening of
the World Urban Forum III in Vancouver, the project aims to bring
high-quality public transport to Concepción, Guatemala City and
Panama City, and to lead to the creation of modern bus networks,
cycle ways and pedestrian areas. The cities will work with others in
the region through a new information network called "NESTLAC"
–Network for Environmentally Sustainable Transport in Latin American
Countries.
Link to further information
UNEP press release (19 June 2006)
INCOMING UNEP HEAD STRESSES POVERTY-ENVIRONMENT
LINKS
Poverty, development and environment need to be addressed
collectively, according to an interview with incoming UNEP head
Achim Steiner by the BBC. The article, published online, also
considers the current political situation facing UNEP in light of
the current UN reform process.
Link to further information
BBC
article, 12 June 2006
UNESCO OFFERS POST-EARTHQUAKE SUPPORT FOR HERITAGE
SITES
UNESCO has offered to provide Indonesia with assistance in emergency
heritage preservation, education, post-trauma support for children
and communication, in the aftermath of the earthquake of 27 May 2006
that killed thousands of people on the island of Java. UNESCO's
participation in the international relief effort is included in the
Indonesia Earthquake Response, and will require US$930,000. Part of
the assistance programme will be devoted to assess damage and
remaining risks for the 10th century Prambanan Temple Compounds
which were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1991.
Link to further information
UNESCO press release (7 June 2006)
MAY 2006
UNESCO FUND FOR AFRICA'S HERITAGE LAUNCHED
UNESCO has launched a fund to support of sub-Saharan States to
improve the preservation of their cultural and natural heritage,
with US$3.5 million funding from South Africa The African World
Heritage Fund will support African States Parties to the UNESCO
World Heritage Convention prepare national inventories of their
heritage sites and prepare nomination dossiers for inscription onto
the World Heritage List, since sub-Saharan Africa is
under-represented on the list. Other activities eligible for funding
include conservation and management of heritage properties, and
rehabilitation assistance for properties on the List of World
Heritage in Danger. The Fund will be run by a Board of Trustees
including two experts for each of the African Union's five regions
and three additional members with permanent observer status, with
UNESCO and the African Union as observers.
Links to further information
UN Press Release (May 2006)
UNESCO website
APRIL 2006
UNDP LINKS BIODIVERSITY AND MDGS AT CBD COP-8
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) have been focusing its
environmental activities on ensuring that biodiversity
considerations are integrated in processes designed to achieve the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), according to a recent briefing.
At the same time, it has also been supporting the Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD), multilateral and bilateral
organizations, NGOs, other civil society organizations and the
private sector in incorporating the MDGs in their efforts.
During the eighth meeting of the CBD Conference of the Parties, held
in Curitiba, Brazil, from 20-31 March 2006, UNDP hosted a side event
on "Incorporating Biodiversity into National MDG Strategies: Lessons
from Experience," to share countries' lessons and insights on how to
integrate biodiversity targets and commitments into national
development plans and strategies, with a view to inform national MDG-based
national development strategies to be developed in response to
commitments made at the 2005 UN World Summit. UNDP also highlighted,
during the 20th Session of the Global Biodiversity Forum (24-25
March, Curitiba, Brazil), the importance of reducing the rate of
biodiversity loss to achieve not only MDG-7 – ensuring environmental
sustainability – but also all other MDGs, thus emphasizing the
opportunity to integrate the 2010 biodiversity target into the MDGs
at the next session of the General Assembly.
Links to further information
UNDP - Energy &
Environment
UNDP - Energy & Environment
MARCH 2006
WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE CONCERNED ABOUT LAKE
BAIKAL, RUSSIA
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has reiterated its alarm for the
conservation status of the World Heritage site of Lake Baikal. The
Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee, Ina Marãiulionytò, has
sent a letter to the Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin on
24 March 2006, urging the re-examination of the proposed routing of
an oil pipeline through the site. Lake Baikal is the oldest and
deepest lake in the world, contains 20% of the world's total
unfrozen freshwater reserve, and hosts one of the world's richest
and unique freshwater fauna.
Link to further information
UNESCO press release,
24 March 2006
UNEP SELECTS 2006 CHAMPIONS OF THE EARTH
The UN Environment
Programme (UNEP) has selected, for the second consecutive year, its
"Champions of the Earth," awarding individuals that UNEP credits with
making an impact at the policy level. UNEP's 2006 Champions of the
Earth are:
-
Tewolde Gebre Egziabher of Ethiopia,
who campaigns for community rights in Africa and against the
patenting of life forms;
-
Tommy Koh of Singapore, who chaired
the Earth Summit and the UN Conference on the Law of the Sea;
-
Mikhail Gorbachev of the Russian
Federation, who is prominent in the field of international
environmental politics;
-
Rosa Elena Simeon Negrin of Cuba, who
has worked on issues affecting small island developing states;
-
the Women's Environment and
Development Organization (WEDO), which promotes women's economic,
social and gender rights within sustainable development;
-
Mohamed El-Ashry of Egypt, former
head of the Global Environment Facility; and
-
Massoumeh Ebtekar, Iran's first female vice-president and a champion
of cleaner production in the petrochemical industry.
Link to further information
UNEP press release, 23 March 2006
FELLOWSHIP FOR WORLD HERITAGE SITE MANAGERS
LAUNCHED
UNESCO has launched a fellowship programme to build the capacity of
World Heritage Site managers. On 7 March 2006, UNESCO' World
Heritage Centre signed a partnership agreement with the French
not-for-profit organization "Vocations Patrimoine, l'Héritage du
Futur", aimed at enhancing the management capacities of professionals
currently working, or intending to work in the future, at World
Heritage sites.
Link to further information
UNESCO press release,
16 March 2006
ANNAN URGES "RADICAL OVERHAUL" OF UN MANAGEMENT
STRUCTURES, PRACTICES
UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called for a major overhaul of UN
management structures and practices. Annan warned that "years of
skimping on investment in staff and operating systems" and outmoded
management policies had taken their toll, leaving the UN "barely
able to conduct its work effectively and efficiently." However, he
argued that, in spite of the need for dramatic reform, the
organization was more efficient and effective than it was ten years
ago.
Link to further information
UN
press release, 7 March 2006
FEBRUARY 2006
RAPID RESPONSE FACILITY FOR NATURAL WORLD HERITAGE
SITES LAUNCHED
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre, United Nations Foundation, and
Fauna and Flora International have launched a Rapid Response
Facility (RRF) for natural sites inscribed on the World Heritage
List for biodiversity values. The Rapid Response Facility is
designed to make funds up to US$30,000 available within three weeks
from requests concerning sudden and significant threats and
emergencies affecting Natural World Heritage Sites and surrounding
areas of influence. In addition, the Facility aims to provide
bridging funds in sites where longer-term funding is being sought,
and catalyze innovative financing as part of long-term support
programmes. The Facility Secretariat is to be hosted by Fauna and
Flora International.
Link to further information
UNESCO press release,
23 February 2006
Rapid Response
Facility webpage
Facility Small
Grant application guidelines
UNEP LAUNCHES GREEN CONSTRUCTION INITIATIVE
UNEP's
Division of Technology, Industry and
Economics (DTIE) has launched a new initiative aimed at achieving
the worldwide adoption of sustainable construction practices. The
Sustainable Building and Construction Initiative (SBCI) will seek
to encourage major building companies to use natural resources
sustainably, utilize energy efficiently, reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and waste generation, and avoid the illegal plundering of
sand. The initiative will also seek to help ensure that buildings
are routinely designed, constructed and maintained from an
environmentally sustainable viewpoint over their entire life span
and to increase the inclusion of sustainability considerations and
requirements in legislation and building standards.
Companies that have already signed up to
the initiative include Lafarge, Skanska and Arcelor. UNEP DTIE will
host the SBCI secretariat.
Link to further information
UNEP Press Release, 21 February 2006
HIGH-LEVEL UN PANEL ON
DEVELOPMENT, HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT ESTABLISHED
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has
announced the formation of a high-level panel to explore how the
United Nations system could work more coherently and effectively in
the areas of development, humanitarian assistance and the
environment. The announcement, which was made on 16 February 2006,
follows the call in the Outcome Document adopted at the 2005 World
Summit for the Secretary-General to commission work on how to
improve United Nations system-wide coherence across the various
development and humanitarian-related agencies. The study is intended
to lay the groundwork for a restructuring of United Nations
operational work, complementing other major reform initiatives
currently under way at the United Nations. The 15 member panel will
be co-chaired by Pakistan's Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Luísa Dias
Diogo, Prime Minister of Mozambique, and Norway's Prime Minister,
Jens Stoltenberg. The panel is expected to complete its work by
mid-2006, to allow for formal presentation of its recommendations to
the UN General Assembly in September 2006.
Link to further information
UN press Release, 16 February 2006
JANUARY 2006
UNESCO CONVENTION ON
"INTANGIBLE" CULTURAL HERITAGE TO ENTER INTO FORCE
The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage is
set to enter into force following its thirtieth ratification in
January 2006. The treaty, which was adopted in October 2003 by the
UNESCO General Conference, will enter into force on 20 April 2006,
The Convention aims to safeguard oral traditions and expressions,
performing arts, social practices, rituals and festive events,
knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe, as well
as know-how linked to traditional crafts. The States Parties to the
Convention commit themselves to taking the necessary measures to
safeguard the intangible heritage present in on their territory and
to establish one or more inventories of this intangible heritage
with the participation of the communities and groups that create,
maintain and transmit this heritage. The Convention establishes two
lists: the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
of Humanity, and the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of
Urgent Safeguarding; as well as the creation of a Fund for the
Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Links to further information
UNESCO press release, 20 January 2006
Text of the Convention
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