DECEMBER 2008
UN DISASTER
MANAGEMENT EXPERTISE IN DEMAND
In a year-end summary, issued on 23 December 2008, the head of the
Emergency Services Branch of the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Arjun Katoch, highlighted that in 2008, UN
Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) – which helps
disaster-stricken countries to rapidly assess priority needs and
coordinate relief on-site –
experienced increased demand due to the
rise of natural disasters caused by extreme weather. He noted that 67
countries, including Spain
and the United Arab Emirates, have joined the UNDAC system to share
their expertise on how to better prepare for and manage emergency relief
after natural disasters. In 2008, UNDAC
sent disaster-management professionals to
16 areas, and organized
disaster-awareness training programmes in the Middle East and in Russia,
for members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In 2009,
UNDAC is expected to organize a training session for the West African
region.
Links to further information
UN News Centre, 23 December 2008
Reliefweb Press Release, 23 December 2008
UNGA PRESIDENT HOLDS
PRESS CONFERENCE ON WATER AS A HUMAN RIGHT
In a press conference held at UN
Headquarters in New York, US, UN General Assembly (UNGA) President
Miguel d'Escoto
Brockmann (Nicaragua) said one priority for the Assembly during
his tenure would be to define the role of corporations in the area of
water in a manner that does not contradict the human right to clean
water. Maude Barlow, Senior Adviser to the UNGA President on water
issues, underlined that more children die from water-borne disease every
day than from HIV/AIDS, war and traffic accidents combined. Speaking at
the 9 December 2008 event, on the eve of the celebration of the 60th
anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, she called for
honoring those with the original vision to create the Declaration, and
taking "the next step by adding water as a full covenant to it." She
urged the creation of a binding instrument that would declare water a
human right and public trust belonging to all people. Barlow stressed
that humanity's abuse of water through pollution and displacement was
among the major causes of climate change and has enormous human health
impacts.
Link to further information
UN Press Release, 9 December 2008
UNEP's Climate Neutral Network Gains Participants
The UN Environment Programme's (UNEP) Climate
Neutral Network (CN Net), a coalition of public, private and
governmental entities, has gained new participants. The new participants
include URBN Hotels, China's first carbon neutral hotel, Tesco Lotus,
Thailand's largest supermarket chain and Rios Tropicales, a Costa Rican
eco-adventure company.
Link to further information
UNEP Press Release, 7 December 2008
UNDP SENDS A MESSAGE FROM DOHA TO POZNAŃ
On 3 December 2008, UN Development Programme (UNDP)
Administrator Kemal Derviş commended the outcome document from the
Financing for Development Conference, held in Doha, Qatar, from 29
November-2 December 2008, for endorsing the call of the UN
Secretary-General to reaffirm international commitments to address
poverty reduction and achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
The UNDP Administrator highlighted that Doha recognized the centrality
of meeting developed countries' commitment made in Monterrey 2002 to
increase official development assistance (ODA) by 0.7 percent of GNP to
developing countries by 2015, as essential to resolve the triple crisis
posed by financial turmoil, global poverty and climate change. He
stressed that the crises are interconnected and called upon negotiators
at the UN climate change conference in Poznan to focus on opportunities,
such as establishing an effective carbon market and price of carbon, and
mechanisms for resource flows to developing countries to finance green
growth policies and poverty reduction. He noted that UNDP will continue
to support developing countries to build up the capacities required to
promote sustainable green growth, while reducing poverty.
Links to further information
UNDP Newsroom, 3 December 2008
UN News Centre, 4 December 2008
UNCCD AND UNU TO EXPAND RESEARCH ON
ENVIRONMENTALLY-INDUCED MIGRATION
The Secretariat of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
and the UN University (UNU) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to be
carried out as a joint work plan, beginning in 2009, to expand research
on forced migration due to desertification, land degradation and
drought. As a result of the 28 November 2008 MOU, a preliminary policy
position paper is expected to be prepared and presented at the 17th
session of the Commission on Sustainable Development in May 2009,
followed by a joint publication, to be prepared by October 2009 for the
ninth session of the UNCCD Conference of the Parties.
Link to further information
UNCCD Press Release
FAO RELEASES
PRELIMINARY FINDINGS OF CARBOAFRICA
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization
has issued preliminary findings of CarboAfrica, an international
research project gathering 15 institutions from Africa and Europe. The
project aims to quantify, understand and predict the carbon cycle and
other GHG gases in Africa. According to Riccardo Valentini, CarboAfrica
project coordinator, the evidence so far indicates that Africa seems to
be a relevant 'carbon sink,' meaning that it takes more carbon out of
the atmosphere than it releases. It is estimated that Africa's GHG
emissions from fossil fuels are less than 4% of the world's total. The
preliminary findings of the project were the subject of the Africa and
Carbon Cycle Conference held in Accra, Ghana, from 25-27 November 2008.
Links to further information
FAO Newsroom, 25 November 2008
CarboAfrica
NOVEMBER 2008
UNEP Releases Climate Change Survey Results
A new survey, in line with an earlier
poll of youth carried out by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) as a
part of UNite to Combat Climate Change campaign, suggests that the
environment remains a concern despite the financial downturn. Conducted
by the HSBC Climate Partnership, the poll of 12,000 people from 12
countries, including the US, China and Brazil, shows that: 43% of
respondents think climate change is a bigger problem than the economy;
75% or respondents want their countries to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions at least as much as other countries; and 55% of respondents
want their governments to invest in renewable energy.
Link to further information
UNEP Press Release, 27 November 2008
First Carbon Neutral Airline Joins UNEP's Climate
Neutral Network
The first carbon neutral airline,
NatureAir of Costa Rica, has joined the UN Environment Programme's (UNEP)
Climate Neutral Network (CN Net). NatureAir has been climate neutral
since 2004 and has improved its fuel efficiency by seven percent in
three years. It offsets its remaining emissions by purchasing carbon
credits from Costa Rica's payment for environmental services scheme.
Costa Rica itself aims to be climate neutral by 2021, and was among the
first four countries to join CN Net.
Links to further information
UNEP Press Release, 20 November 2008
UN News Centre article, 20 November 2008
UN Dispatch article, 20 November 2008
UN Secretary-General HIGHLIGHTS linkages in
addressing climate, financial, food and energy issues
In a series of recent speeches, UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has continued to highlight the
interconnectedness of the climate, energy, food and financial crises,
and has also underscored the importance of growing green economies to
address climate change. On the occasion of Africa Industrialization Day,
he called for strengthening African industry to help overcome the
current triple financial, food and climate crises. In remarks on his
first visit to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), he
reaffirmed WIPO's unique role within the UN system in promoting
intellectual property, innovations and investment in new technology,
which he noted are crucial to stimulate economic development and to
tackle the current financial, climate, food and oil crisis. In remarks
to the governing body of the International Labor Organization (ILO), he
stressed the ILO's role in the effort to address the financial crisis
and climate change by focusing on labor-intensive projects that reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and help communities adapt to global warming.
The Secretary-General further highlighted
the potential of green growth in his statement to the leaders assembled
at the Group of 20 (G20) Financial Summit, on 15 November 2008, in
Washington, DC, US. He said the green economy should play a role in
leaders' response to the financial downturn, and that renewable energy
has the potential to create millions of jobs and spur growth.
Links to further information
WIPO Press Release, 18 November 2008
Secretary-General's remarks to the ILO, 19 November 2008
UN News Centre article on Africa's industrialization, 20 November
2008
Secretary-General's message on Africa Industrialization Day, 20
November 2008
UN Press Release on G20 Summit, 17 November 2008
UNEP Launches Green Star Awards
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP),
with Green Cross International and the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs, has launched the Green Star Awards. Honoring
people along with public and private organizations, the awards will seek
to increase awareness of the need to reduce large-scale environmental
emergencies' impacts by rewarding extraordinary efforts to respond to
such emergencies. Speaking about the awards, UNEP Executive Director
Achim Steiner stated that, by investing in the planet's ecosystem
infrastructure, the initiative aims to increase the resilience of
communities at risk while increasing awareness of the need for
adaptation to climate change. The first Green Star Awards ceremony will
take place on 8 May 2009, in Brussels, Belgium.
Links to further information
UNEP Press Release, 17 November 2008
Greenstar Awards Website
UNGA
PROMOTES AN INTERACTIVE PANEL ON THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS
UN
General Assembly President Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann organized an
Interactive Panel on the Global Financial Crisis on October 30, 2008 at
UN Headquarters in New York. The Panel aimed to identify recommendations
for member states suffering from the global financial crisis, and to
provide guidance to the work of the Task Force that Professor Stiglitz,
2001 Nobel Laureate in Economics and Columbia University Professor, has
agreed to chair. UNGA President d'Escoto Brockmann stressed that
solutions must come not only from the G8 and G20 countries, but also
from the G192, referring to all UN member states and their
responsibilities to address the crisis. During the panel discussion,
Stiglitz said emerging markets and less developed countries are likely
to suffer from the current financial crisis and that any global solution
must pay due attention to impacts on these countries and hear their
voices. According to Stiglitz, the current crisis provides an
opportunity for reassessing and rearranging the global economic
arrangements. Other members of the Task Force are Professor Prabhat
Patnaik, Jawahawl Nehru University, India, and Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, New
School University, Japan.
Other
panelists were Pedro Páez, Minister of Economic Policy Coordination of
Ecuador and Coordinator of the Bank of the South; Calestous Juma,
Professor at the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University;
and, Francois Houtart, Chief Editor of the International Journal of
Religion Social Compass. The panel was moderated by Paul Oquist,
senior advisor to the UNGA President and Minister and Private Secretary
on National Policy to the President of the Republic of Nicaragua.
Link to further information
UN General Assembly
report
OCTOBER 2008
UNEP Launches Green Economy Initiative
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has
launched a Green Economy Initiative, which seeks to respond to the
global economic downturn by focusing economic growth and job creation in
environmental industries. The initiative, which was launched on 22
October 2008, in London, UK, is funded by the European Commission,
Germany and Norway. It builds on the G8+5 study on the Economics of
Ecosystems and Biodiversity, which emphasized the economic implications
of ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss, as well as their link to
poverty. The US$4 million Green Economy Initiative will look to clean
and rural energy and technologies, sustainable agriculture, ecosystem
infrastructure, reduced emissions from deforestation and forest
degradation, and sustainable cities to promote its priorities, which
include valuing and mainstreaming nature's services, generating
employment through green jobs and policy, and accelerating the
transition to a Green Economy via instruments and market signals.
Links to further information
The
Independent article, 12 October 2008
UNEP Press Release, 22 October 2008
UN News Centre article, 22 October 2008
Reuters article, 22 October 2008
Newsweek article, 25 October 2008
UNEP Children's Art Exhibit Focuses on Climate Change
The UN kicked off its "UNite to Combat Climate Change"
campaign on 23 October 2008 with the "Paint for the Planet" art
exhibition. The exhibition was followed by an auction on 25 October 2008
in New York and on eBay.com. The auction's proceeds will be donated to
the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), to be directed towards children
affected by climate-related disasters. The exhibit and auction mark the
beginning of the "UNite to Combat Climate Change" campaign, the UN's
campaign calling for a definitive agreement at the Copenhagen Climate
Change Conference in December 2009. The paintings will travel to climate
change meetings for the next 14 months, and will finally be displayed in
Copenhagen in December 2009.
In conjunction with the campaign, the UNEP
has released results of a survey it says highlights how concerned young
people are about climate change. The results show that youth worldwide
believe climate change to be a top concern.
Links to further information
Paint for the Planet website
UN News Centre article, 23 October 2008
CNN.com article, 24 October 2008
FINANCIAL CRISIS MUST NOT SLOW CLIMATE ACTION, SAYS
SECRETARY-GENERAL
Focusing on the financial crisis at the expense of addressing climate
change would result in a "double blow," according to UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
In his acceptance speech
for
the UN Association-New York Humanitarians of the Year
Award, the Secretary-General underlined the enormous benefits that could
accrue from making the transition to a low-carbon economy.
"Present circumstances make it
hard to talk about 'smart money.' But many scientists and other experts
believe fervently that clean energy will be the investment wave of the
future, and that there are fortunes to be made by putting resources
behind wind, solar, biomass and other renewables. Last year alone, this
part of the energy sector attracted nearly $150 billion in investments,"
he said.
The Secretary-General also
highlighted the great benefits of acting "for people, for the
environment and for the bottom line." He warned that delaying action on
climate change would make the world "poorer, more polluted, more prone
to natural disasters and less stable."
Link to further information
UN Press Release, 23 October 2008
UN
SECRETARY-GENERAL CONVENES EMINENT ECONOMISTS TO DISCUSS IMPACT OF
FINANCIAL CRISIS ON POVERTY
On 23 October 2008, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and
the head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Kemal
Dervis, met with five eminent economists to discuss the impact of the
global financial crisis on UN efforts to achieve the anti-poverty
targets known as the Millennium Development Goals, financing for
development, the international reserve system, trade issues and the
regulatory role of multilateral institutions. The participating
economists were Joseph Stiglitz and Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia
University; Kenneth Rogoff and Dani Rodrik of Harvard University; and
Nancy Birdsall, President of the Centre for Global Development.
Link to further information
UN News Centre, 23 October 2008
NEW CONVENTION ON SHARED
TRANSBOUNDARY AQUIFERS SUBMITTED TO THE UNGA
On 27 October 2008, the UN Educational
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) submitted to the UN
General Assembly (UNGA) the draft Convention on Transboundary Aquifers,
which applies to underground aquifers, most of which straddle national
boundaries, and that represent 96% of the planet's freshwater resources.
Many shared aquifers are under environmental threats caused by climate
change, increased population pressure, over-exploitation and
human-induced water pollution. The draft articles for an international
framework convention on transboundary aquifers were adopted by the
International Law Commission (ILC) in August 2008. These draft articles
represent six years of work by the ILC with the assistance of experts
from UNESCO's International Hydrological Programme, and are intended to
fill a gap in the law on the protection and management of groundwater
resources, which have been neglected as a subject of international law
despite the social, economic, environmental and strategic importance of
groundwater. The draft treaty requires that aquifer States cause no harm
to existing aquifers and cooperate to prevent and control their
pollution.
Link to further information
UNESCO Press Release, 22 October 2008
OVER 100 MILLION
PEOPLE 'STAND UP' WITH UN AGAINST POVERTY
From 17-19 October 2008, almost 117 million people mobilized under
the slogan 'Stand Up - Take Action' at events in more than 100 countries
around the globe, setting a new record. People gathered to demand that
world leaders not use the financial crisis as an excuse for breaking the
promises they made in 2000 to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The Stand Up Global Campaign, managed by the United Nations Millennium
Campaign, was first launched in 2006 and aims to raise awareness on
poverty and inequality to support the MDGs. Salil Shetty, Director of
the UN Millennium Campaign, noted that the new record indicates that
millions of people that took part of the campaign this year, almost 2
percent of the world's population, demonstrated they will not remain
seated in the face of poverty and broken promises.
Links to further information
UN News Centre, 22 October 2008
UN News Centre, 17 October 2008
Stand Up Against Poverty
UN Global Compact and UNEP Convene First Meeting of
'Caring for Climate' Initiative
Representatives of over 150 corporations, civil society
organizations, governments and UN agencies gathered in Geneva,
Switzerland, on 21 October 2008, for the first meeting of signatories to
'Caring for Climate,' a voluntary global action platform jointly
launched in 2007 by the UN Global Compact, the UN Environment Programme
(UNEP) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
The meeting aimed to produce business insights and develop a shared path
forward in support of an effective post-Kyoto policy framework on
climate change. A recent survey among Caring for Climate signatories
reveals that a majority of signatories are optimistic about their
ability to develop the internal capacity to set targets and reduce
climate impact, while expecting: similar leadership from governments;
long-term plans for emission reductions; and increased investments in
low-carbon technologies.
Link to further information
UN News Centre Story, 21 October 2008
UNWTO Summit: Responding to the Economic
Downturn and Staying on Course with the Climate and Poverty Reduction
Agenda
The UN World Trade Organization (UNWTO), in partnership with
the World Travel Market, will hold a Ministers' Summit at the World
Travel Market in London, UK, on 11 November 2008, under the theme
"Responding to the Economic Downturn and Staying on Course with the
Climate and Poverty Reduction Agenda." During the meeting, tourism
ministers will consider climate and poverty goals in the context of the
economic downturn. Items on the Summit's agenda include: tourism as a
driver of socio-economic progress and poverty alleviation; the UNWTO's
Davos Declaration Process on Climate Change; and TOURpact, the first UN
Global Compact Industry Sector Network, which calls on the tourism
sector to actively support UN objectives.
Link to further information
UNWTO Ministers' Summit website
UN AND EU PARTNERSHIP –
HIGHLIGHTS OF DEVELOPMENT SUCCESS
The UN Team in Brussels has released its third annual report, which
details UN/EU partnership achievements. The report is based on inputs
collected from UN Country offices around the world. Emphasis is placed
on the support that the UN and EU provide to national development
strategies and initiatives related to strengthening national capacities.
The report details how UN/EU cooperation has positively impacted people
in the areas of humanitarian assistance, sustainable livelihoods,
democratic inclusive processes and policy formulation. Special emphasis
is given to human rights, as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
celebrates its 60th anniversary, and the achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) vis-à-vis emerging challenges such as high food
and energy prices and climate change. The report also includes a section
on strengthening governance, which details the work of the European
Commission at different international fora, in particular the OECD/DAC
Environment Working Group. The report also recalls that the 2007
European Development Days focused on climate change, and takes stock of
such events.
Link to further
information
Improving Lives: Results from the Partnership of the United Nations and
the European Commission in 2007
UNEP AND UNWTO announce global sustainable tourism
criteria
The UN Environment
Programme (UNEP) and the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), with the
UN Foundation and the Rainforest Alliance, have established the Global
Sustainable Tourism Criteria. The criteria are targeted at establishing
a framework to aid tourists and the tourism industry in evaluating the
benefits of tourism to local communities, the impacts of tourism on
cultural heritage, the extent of harm to the local environment and
sustainability.
Links to further information
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article,
10 October 2008
UN Releases text
of system-wide coherence resolution
The UN has released the text of Resolution 277, the
resolution on system-wide coherence adopted at the end of the UN General
Assembly's (UNGA) 62nd session (A/RES/62/277). The operative paragraphs,
inter alia; decide the UNGA's continuing work will focus
exclusively on "Delivering as one," harmonization of business practices,
funding, governance and gender equality and the empowerment of women;
and request papers from the Secretary-General on funding and governance
and on the modalities of the institutional options for strengthening UN
work on gender equality.
Link
to further information
Resolution, 7 October 2008
UNEP ANNOUNCES
PROJECTS TO DEMONSTRATE RETURNS TO INVESTMENTS IN ECOSYSTEMS
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP), in
cooperation with governments, has announced the launch of large-scale
projects aimed at demonstrating that re-investing in damaged ecosystems
can generate significant economic, environmental and social returns. The
projects will take place in five countries during the run up to the next
meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity, in Nagoya, Japan, in
2010.
Link to further information
UNEP Press Release, 6 October 2008
NEW ONLINE TOOL ALLOWS
MONITORING OF WORLD'S PROTECTED AREAS
A new product allows scientists, environmentalists, park rangers as
well as tourists to monitor and explore over 100,000 protected areas via
Google Earth. The product, which has been developed by a partnership
between UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and IUCN,
has resulted in the complete redesign and relaunch of the World Database
on Protected Areas. The new system allows users to view information on
national parks and protected areas in their web browser, visualize them
in Google Earth, download data, and bring together other important data,
like species information, into the same portal.
Links to further information
UNEP press release, 6 October 2008
The
World Database on Protected Areas
Germany Increases Support to UNEP
During a meeting with UN Environment
Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Achim Steiner, at UNEP's
headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, German Federal Minister for the
Environment Sigmar Gabriel announced that his country will increase its
funding for the organization's work on clean energy and climate proofing
vulnerable economies.
Gabriel specified that the additional US$18
million will be raised by auctioning emission certificates on the
European carbon market, and will be provided over three years. The funds
will be used in UNEP projects supporting: developing countries' clean
energy and energy efficiency efforts; adaptation in vulnerable
economies; and developing countries' capacity in international climate
negotiations.
Link to further information
UNEP Press Release, 3 October 2008
UNEP HOSTS Global Forum for Sport and Environment
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP), with the Global Sports
Alliance of Japan and Volvo, hosted the 2008 Global Forum for Sport and
Environment in Alicante, Spain, from 4-6 October 2008. The theme for
this year's forum was "Climate Change: Changing our Carbon Footprint."
Participants focused on the connection between sport and climate change,
and considered how sport organizations and sporting events could reduce
their carbon footprints, as well as how sport could be used to raise
awareness of climate change.
Link to further information
UNEP Sport and Environment website
SEPTEMBER 2008
MDG SUMMIT ENDS
WITH US$16 BILLION IN NEW COMMITMENTS
On 25 September 2008, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the
President of the UN General Assembly convened a High-Level Event (HLE)
on the Millennium Development Goals at UN headquarters in New York. The HLE brought together Heads of State or Government, as well as leaders of
the private sector and civil society to reaffirm existing commitments
and announce new ones needed to achieve the MDGs by 2015. UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted that fresh contributions and
commitments to the MDGs could amount to around US$16 billion, which was
remarkable given the current financial crisis. Among the commitments,
some US$1.6 billion was pledged to enhance food security. Anew
initiative, "Purchase for Progress," to buy surplus crops directly from
poor farmers in Africa and Central America, was launched. US$3 billion
was committed to launch the Malaria Action Plan and new pledges of
almost half a billion dollars were committed for the Global Fund to
Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Commitments relating to child
mortality and maternal health reached almost US$2 billion next year,
rising to US$7 billion in 2015. The Global Campaign on Health has
committed to mobilize an extra US$30 billion by 2015, including the
training of more than 1 million health workers. Considering that MDG 5
on maternal health has the lowest record of achievement, an additional
US$12 billion was pledged to provide 21 million trained birth attendants
to prevent deaths in childbirth. Investments of US$2.2 billion were
committed to provide water and sanitation to 30 million people by 2015,
and US$4.5 billion was promised to launch the "Class of 2015: Education
for All" multi-stakeholder partnership, which aims to put children into
school by 2010. Attention was also given to the threat of climate change
in reversing the achievements made on the MDGs, and over US$750 million
was pledged by member States, along with renewed commitments to reduce
deforestation.
A formal summit on the MDGs to review
implementation in 2010 will convene and will monitor the commitments
made. The High-Level Event also sent a message to the Doha Review
Conference from the highest political level, on strengthening the global
partnership for development and building consensus on financing for
development. The Doha event will take place from 29 November to 2
December 2008, in Doha, Qatar.
Links to further information
High-Level Event on MDGs, 25 September 2008
UN News Centre, 16 September 2008
IISD RS
Coverage
Financing for Development Review Conference
FAO URGES GLOBAL FISHING
INDUSTRIES TO CURB SEABIRD KILLINGS
The UN Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) has urged regions using fishing
techniques such as trawl nets and gillnets, to implement safeguards in
areas where seabirds are at greatest risk. The call follows the success
of strategies to protect seabirds from longline fishing activities. The
FAO has indicated that
the number of birds killed as a result of
Chilean longline fishing dropped from 1,600 in 2002 to zero in 2006,
while the number in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica was reported to
have fallen from 6,500 in 1996 to zero last year. Following an expert
consultation held in Bergen, Norway, in September 2008, best practice
guidelines have been outlined that work to extend the International Plan
of Action for Reducing Incidental Catch of Seabirds
in Longline Fisheries – developed by FAO and approved by member
countries in 1999 – to include trawl and gillnet fisheries in
areas of high seabird density.
Link to further information
FAO Press Release, 22 September 2008
HIGH-LEVEL EVENT ON
AFRICA'S DEVELOPMENT NEEDS ADOPTS POLITICAL DECLARATION
The High-Level Meeting on Africa's Development Needs took place at
UN headquarters on 22 September 2008, under the theme "Africa's
development needs: state of implementation of various commitments,
challenges and the way forward." The President of the UN General
Assembly, Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, opened the plenary and noted that,
while official development assistance (ODA) has increased from 1.3 % of
GDP in 2005 to 1.8 % in 2007, levels of ODA should be further increased
to meet the commitments undertaken in Monterrey. He urged G8 members to
double ODA for Africa by 2010, as promised at the G8 Summit at
Gleneagles, Scotland in 2005. UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, pointed
out that no African country will achieve all of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, but that they remain achievable in
Africa. He emphasized that the MDG Steering Group assessed that US$72
million per year is necessary to achieve the goals by 2015. The
meeting ended with the adoption of a resolution entitled Political
Declaration on Africa's Development Needs (A/63/L.1). Leaders from
Africa expressed their determination to achieve the MDGs and reaffirmed
that NEPAD provides an agreed foundation. They noted that this framework
can only be implemented if the international community fulfills its
commitments to tackle the myriad challenges faced by Africa.
Links to further information
Africa's Development Needs, 22 September
IISDRS
Coverage
UNEP LAUNCHES
COLLABORATION ON CHEMICAL SAFETY
On 16 September 2008, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), China's
Ministry of Environmental Protection and Dow Chemical of China launched
a partnership on emergency preparedness and safety in the Chinese
chemical industry. The collaborative project, in line with UNEP's Bali
Strategic Plan on Technology Support and Capacity Building, will build
capacity in China's Ministry of Environmental Protection, as well as in
the chemical industry.
Link to further information
UNEP Press Release, 16 September 2008
World
Tourism Day focuses on Climate Change
The World Tourism
Organization's (UNWTO) World Tourism Day, which focused on the response
of the tourism industry to climate change and was hosted in Peru, was
observed on 27 September 2008. World Tourism Day kicked-off a year-long
campaign during which the UNWTO aims to: raise awareness of the positive
role of tourism in sustainable development; advance tourism in the UN
global response to the challenges of climate change and poverty
alleviation; promote the Davos Declaration Framework for the Tourism
Sector and encourage its implementation by all stakeholders at a global
level; encourage tourism stakeholders to adapt, mitigate and use new
technology; and secure financing for the poorest countries.
Link to
more information
World Tourism Day website
CLIMATE CHANGE TO BE A
PRIORITY DURING UNGA's 63rd SESSION
Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann, a former foreign
minister of Nicaragua and
the new President of the UN
General Assembly (UNGA), opened its 63rd session on 16 September 2008
with a call to democratize the UN in order to deal more effectively with
the world's most pressing problems, including
the impact of climate
change, widespread hunger and poverty, and unequal access to water. He
noted that the session's main objective would be to democratize the UN
and ensure the Assembly has the ability to fulfil its mandate. The
President added that UNGA would focus during this session on examining
the root causes of major problems, such as the current food crisis and
its effect on hunger and poverty.
The previous day,
outgoing
UNGA President Srgjan Kerim
closed the Assembly's 62nd session, noting that while Security Council
reform had been the most difficult issue of the session, climate change
and the
Millennium Development
Goals had been "the closest to his heart." He recalled the commitments
by member States to negotiate within the UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change to fix the common goals for future greenhouse gas
emission targets after the Kyoto Protocol expires. He also highlighted
the importance of the discussion of public-private partnerships to
tackle climate change, underlining that this challenge cannot be
resolved solely by intergovernmental negotiations.
Links to further
information
UN Press Release (new President's speech),
16 September 2008
UN Press Release (outgoing President's speech), 16 September 2008
UNGA CONSIDERS SYSTEM-WIDE COHERENCE AND
International
Environmental Governance
A draft resolution on System-wide Coherence (SWC) was
considered by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on 15 September 2008. The
draft resolution, which was circulated by Paul Kavanagh, Ireland, and
Augustine Mahiga, Tanzania, the SWC Co-Chairs, took into account
consultations held on 8 September 2008, which focused on the desire to
improve the UN system's capabilities on gender equality, and the
related financing requirements and need for leadership within the UN.
The draft decides that the UN's work on SWC continuing beyond the 62nd
session will focus on Delivering as One, Harmonization of Business
Practices, Funding, Governance, and Gender Equality and the Empowerment
of Women. Adoption of the draft would leave environment, human rights
and humanitarian assistance out of future SWC discussions. Building on
the Secretary-General's papers on gender equality, the draft calls for
similar documents from the Secretary-General on Funding and Governance.
In addition, the draft calls for a paper with further details on gender
equality from the Secretary-General, with a view to focusing on the
novel "Composite Entity" concept largely supported in consultations on 8
September 2008.
In other UNGA news, a draft resolution on International
Environmental Governance was considered by Member States on 12 September
2008. Discussions focused on the relationship between UNGA, the UN
Environment Programme (UNEP) and multilateral environment agreements (MEAs),
the institutional framework in the UN, and the implied financing
requirements.
Links to further information
ReformtheUN article on System-wide Coherence, 12 September 2008
ReformtheUN article on issues for end of 62nd Session, 9 September
2008
Letter from the Co-Chairs on Coherence, 3 September 2008
Revised Draft Resolution on Environmental Governance, 23 July 2008
AUGUST 2008
TOYOTA JOINS UNEP'S CLIMATE NEUTRAL
NETWORK
Toyota Motor Europe has become the first
car manufacturer to join the UN Environment Programme's (UNEP) Climate
Neutral Network. This initiative, launched in February 2008, aims to
bring together public and private entities that pledge to significantly
reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Additional companies that joined
the Climate Neutral Network in August included the Carbon Association
of Australasia, CO2focus, EcoSecurities, Green Cabs and Wairau River
Wines.
Links to further information
Climate Neutral Network release, 18 August 2008
UNEP Press Release, 18 August 2008
UNEP LAUNCHES PLAN TO
PROTECT BEES AND BIRDS
In a bid to protect pollinators, which play
a role in crop production and biodiversity, the UN Environment Programme
(UNEP) has launched a 5-year programme to disperse best management
practices worldwide. Partially funded by the Global Environment Facility
(GEF), the US$27 million project,
"Conservation & Management of Pollinators for Sustainable Agriculture
through an Ecosystem Approach," aims to develop local and national
capacities to protect these economically and environmentally important
species.
Link to further information
UNEP Press Release, 8 August 2008
UNGA
CONSIDERATION OF SYSTEM-WIDE COHERENCE MOVES FORWARD
Member States received a letter from the UN
Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro on the issue of the
institutional dimension of System-wide Coherence and UN work on gender
equality and women's empowerment and the report of the Co-Chairs on the
consultations on System-wide Coherence. The report of the Co-Chairs
emphasizes the urgency of the need for more coherence, the shared nature
of the vision for a coherent UN, and the progress of the "Delivering as
One" approach in the pilot countries. The report also commends the work
of the Chief Executives Board (CEB) towards harmonizing UN System
business practices and calls for: political impetus on "Delivering as
One;" empowerment of country-level agency representatives; funding
predictability; and improved UN and Bretton Woods Institutions
collaboration. On gender equality and the empowerment of women, the
report and the Deputy Secretary-General's letter are optimistic about
making a "conceptual breakthrough" on the institutional architecture of
the UN System.
Link to further information
Letter on System-wide Coherence
Letter on gender equality and the empowerment of women
JULY 2008
REVISED DRAFT
RESOLUTION ON INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE CONSIDERED
A revised version of the draft resolution
on strengthening the environmental activities in the UN system was put
forward on 23 July 2008. Among other changes, the new draft: focuses on
collaboration, rather than hierarchical relationships, between
Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), the UN Environment
Programme (UNEP) and the UN General Aassembly; proposes an "overview"
rather than a "strategy" with regard to research activities; highlights
UNEP's presence in the regions rather than on a need for resources;
drops the proposal that the Global Environment Fund (GEF) be the
financial mechanism for all global MEAs; includes new references to
requests for additional resources, as well as to the need to more
efficient use of existing resources; and asks for integratingthe
Environmental Management Group (EMG) in the Chief Executives Board (CEB).
Further consultations on the matter are expected in early September.
Links to additional information
Chairs' Talking Points, 23 July 2008
Draft Resolution, 23 July 2008
JUNE 2008
UNWTO EXECUTIVE COUNCIL FUNDS ST-EP PROGRAMME
The UN World
Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Executive Council held its 83rd Session
from 13-14 June 2008, in Jeju, Republic of Korea, following the
Sustainable Tourism – Elimination of Poverty (ST-EP) Foundation's Board
of Directors meeting, which convened on 12 June 2008. At the Executive
Council meeting, the Council agreed to allocate US$500,000 to fund the
ST-EP programme, which seeks to promote poverty elimination through
sustainable tourism development.
In other ST-EP
news, the first ST-EP project in China was launched in Guizhou province.
The project seeks to support micro-credit financing for local
handicrafts in the province.
Links to further
information
Conference website
China ST-EP Programme Launch press release, 26 June 2008
UNGA CONSIDERS GENDER ASPECTS OF SYSTEM-WIDE COHERENCE
The UN General
Assembly considered gender aspects of system-wide coherence on 16 June
2008, focusing on a Secretariat "Note on the UN System Support to Member
States on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment," which responded to a
request that came out of the 16 May 2008 meeting and outlined the work
on gender within the UN System. The meeting concluded with Co-Chairs
Augustine Mahiga (Tanzania) and Paul Kavanagh (Ireland) calling for a
second paper from the Secretary-General on institutional options to
improve the UN's performance in the area of Gender Equality and the
Empowerment of Women.
Link to further
information
Reform the UN article, 26 June 2008
UNGA PRESIDENT DISCUSSES 'CLIMATE REFUGEES'
UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Srgjan Kerim, speaking at the first
annual meeting of the Global Humanitarian Forum, which convened from
24-25 June 2008, in Geneva, Switzerland, discussed the populations being
forced from their homes due to climate-related events and environmental
changes. In his address, he emphasized the role of the private sector in
addressing climate change, and its need for predicable policy on which
to base business decisions. He also underscored the role of the UN in
responding to the related challenges presented by climate change and
sustainable development.
Links to
further information
UN News Centre article, 24 June 2008
Text of UNGA President's remarks, 24 June 2008
UNEP CONSIDERS ENVIRONMENTAL REFUGEES ON WORLD
REFUGEE DAY
On World Refugee Day, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) noted the high
proportion of refugees that are environmental refugees. Citing the
International Federation of the Red Cross, UNEP highlighted that climate
change is a bigger cause of population displacement than war and
persecution.
Link to
further information
UNEP press release, 20 June 2008
UNEP CHILDREN'S CONFERENCE AIMS TO INCREASE
AWARENESS
The seventh Tunza International Children's Conference convened from
17-21 June 2008, in Stavanger, Norway. 700 children attended the
biannual conference, which focused on Energy, Biodiversity, Water, and
Production and Consumption, and focused on building skills to promote
environmental projects in their communities.
Link to
further information
UN News Centre article, 17 June 2008
UNEP RELEASES ATLAS DOCUMENTING AFRICAN
ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
A new publication
containing photographs, satellite imagery and narrative illustrates
changes to the African global environment over the past 36 years. The UN
Environment Programme launched Africa: Atlas of Our Changing
Environment in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 10 June 2008 at the
12th session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN).
The publication documents deforestation, the effects of climate change,
and the impact of growing urban centers in Africa. Images highlight
dramatic changes, including the shrinking glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro
and in Uganda's Rwenzori Mountains.
Links to further
information
UNEP Press Release, 10 June 2008
Africa: Atlas of Our Changing Environment
RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS RECEIVE UNEP PRIZE
Projects from
Peru and Lao People's Democratic Republic received the Sasakawa Prize, a
prestigious award from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The Prize,
which aims to incentivize sustainable and replicable grassroots
environmental efforts, focused this year on "moving towards a low carbon
economy." Both of the winning projects, Sunlabob Rural Energy Ltd (Lao)
and Practical Action (Peru), aim to bring renewable energy to remote
villages.
Links to further
information
UNEP Press Release,
4 June 2008
UNEP Sasakawa Prize website
GPA
COORDINATION OFFICE TO RELOCATE
In a letter dated 30 May
2008, Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director, officially communicated
the relocation of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of
the Marine Environment from Land-based Sources (GPA) Coordination Office
from The Hague, the Netherlands, to Nairobi, Kenya. In his letter,
Steiner emphasizes the multiple benefits of this move and extends UNEP's
gratitude to the Government of the Netherlands for their invaluable
support. The move is expected to take place in August 2008 (IISD RS
Sources).
FAO
LAUNCHES WEBSITE ON URBAN FORESTRY
The Forest Conservation Service of the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) has launched a website on urban and peri-urban
forestry, entitled "Forests and Trees for Healthy Cities: Improving
Livelihoods and Environment for All." The website aims to promote
worldwide collaborative and participatory approaches by allowing users
to use interactive tools, such as discussion fora, as well as upload and
review documents and other sources of information.
Link to further information
The
website
WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY OBSERVED
In advance of World Environment Day, which is observed on 5 June, Ban Ki-moon,
UN Secretary-General, likened fossil fuel dependence to a "dangerous
addiction." World Environment Day 2008 was hosted by Wellington, New
Zealand, under the theme is "Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon
Economy."
Links to
further information
Text of Secretary-General's statement, 23 May 2008
Press Release on World Environment Day Event, 23 May 2008
World Environment Day 2008 website
IUCN RED LIST 2008 FOR
BIRDS SHOWS CLIMATE CHANGE PUTS BIRDS AT RISK OF EXTINCTION
Long-term drought and sudden extreme
weather put additional stress on habitats that many threatened bird
species depend on, found the 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species of
Birds. The publication established climate change as an accelerant to
many of the factors putting birds at risk of extinction, coupled with
habitat destruction. The list identifies 1,226 species of birds now
threatened, and eight species newly listed as Critically Endangered.
Links to further information
IUCN press release, 19 May 2008
Birds on the 2008 Red List
MAY 2008
UNEP
TREE-PLANTING CAMPAIGN RAISES TARGET TO SEVEN BILLION
On 13 May 2008, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
Plant for the Planet
- Billion Tree Campaign announced that
it has raised its target
from 1 billion to 7 billion trees. The campaign was initiated by
UNEP and the World AgroForestry Centre in November 2006 as a response to
the threats of climate change, as well as to the wider sustainability
challenges of water supplies and biodiversity loss, with the objective
of empowering individuals, organizations and corporations to embrace
these challenges. Since its inception, the campaign has catalyzed the
planting of more than 2 billion trees in some 150 countries. Trees and
forests play a vital role in regulating the climate since they absorb
carbon dioxide, making tree planting one of the most cost-effective ways
to address climate change.
Links to
further information
UNEP press release, 13 May 2008
Billion Tree Campaign website
YOUNSTERS
SAVING RUSSIAN PARK WIN 2008 VOLVO AWARD
The 2008 Volvo Adventure has announced that a
project to rescue and revive an environmentally-sensitive urban park in
Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, threatened with destruction from industry has
won the US$10,000 first prize. The winning Green Sail team consists of
five students that have worked tirelessly the past two years to save the
Dubky Park, its "residents" and ecosystems. This year's finalists
represent a range of countries including, Lebanon, Macedonia, India,
Turkey, Brazil, Egypt and Ecuador, and many of their projects are
associated with mitigating the effects of climate change. The Volvo
Adventure is a global Internet-based environmental competition for young
people aged 13 to16 years old. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
serves as the environmental endorsing body for the Volvo Adventure.
Links to
further information
UNEP press release, 13 May 2008
The
Volvo Adventure website
BUSINESS
LEADERS HIGHLIGHT WATER AND SANITATION CRISES
In a letter circulated by the UN Global Compact Office, the CEOs of 19
corporations have called on the Group of Eight (G8) countries to
urgently address the emerging global crisis in water and sanitation
during their upcoming Hokkaido Toyako Summit on 7-9 July 2008 in Japan.
The letter states that the lack of access to clean water and sanitation
in many parts of the world has major adverse humanitarian, social,
environmental and economic implications, and seriously undermines
development goals. In addition, the business leaders urge the G8 leaders
to work more actively with the international business community, through
initiatives such as The CEO Water Mandate. UN Global Compact's CEO Water
Mandate is a voluntary call to action, as well as a strategic framework,
for companies seeking to incorporate water sustainability in their
operations.
Link to
further information
The
UN Global Compact letter
The
CEO Water Mandate
DELIVERING AS ONE STOCKTAKING SUMMARY MADE PUBLIC
The UN Development Group has released Delivering as One 2007
Stocktaking Summary, which compiles the assessments provided by UN
Country Teams, national governments and UN agencies on progress,
emerging issues and lessons learnt in the eight pilot countries -
Albania, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tanzania,
Uruguay and Viet Nam. According to the summary report, the key lessons
learnt include the importance of: government leadership and involvement;
greater Resident Coordinator accountability; support from headquarter
level; resource mobilization; and sharing of country experiences.
Links to further information
Delivering as One 2007 Stocktaking Website
APRIL 2008
IAASTD REPORT SAYS
AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES MUST BE REVISED TO BENEFIT THE WORLD'S POOR
Modern agricultural practices must change
to better serve the poor if the world is to cope with a growing
population and climate change, according to the Synthesis Report of the
International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for
Development (IAASTD), released on 15 April 2008. The report is the
result of three years of cooperation between nearly 400 scientists.
Global and sub-Global "Summaries for Decision Makers" and an "Executive
Summary of the Synthesis Report" were approved at an Intergovernmental
Plenary that met from 7-12 April 2008, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Synthesis Report integrates the key findings from the Global and
five sub-Global assessments, and focuses on eight topics: bioenergy;
biotechnology; climate change; human health; natural resource
management; traditional knowledge and community based innovation; trade
and markets; and women in agriculture. The report primarily addresses
how agricultural knowledge, science and technology can be used to reduce
hunger and poverty, improve rural livelihoods, and facilitate equitable
environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable development. The
report suggests that the way to meet this challenge is to put in place
institutional, economic and legal frameworks that combine productivity
with the protection and conservation of natural resources, while meeting
production needs. The IAASTD was sponsored by several UN agencies,
including the Food and Agriculture Organization, UN Environment
Programme and World Bank.
Links to further information
The
IAASTD reports
UN news release, 15 April 2008
CLIMATE-HEALTH LINKS
HIGHLIGHTED ON WORLD HEALTH DAY
On the occasion of World Health Day 2008,
Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO),
issued a statement indicating that climate change will erode the
foundations of public health, and noting that "climate-sensitive impacts
on human health are occurring today." To address the health effects of
climate change, WHO is coordinating and supporting research on the most
effective measures to protect health from climate change, with specific
attention to vulnerable populations in developing countries.
Links to further information
World Health Day 2008 website
UNEP press release, 7 April 2008
GEF-FUNDED BIOMASS GAS
PLANT INAUGURATED IN RURAL INDIA
On 24 March 2008, a biomass gasifier plant that converts wood or
agricultural residues into a combustible gas mixture was inaugurated in
Boregunte, a remote village in the Karnataka region of southern India.
The plant was funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and
supported by the Ministry of Environment and Forests of the Government
of India, the Government of Karnataka, and the UN Development Programme.
It is the second plant commissioned under the Biomass in Rural India (BERI)
project, which seeks to promote remote communities' access to
electricity in an environment friendly, carbon neutral way, and it has
the capacity of delivering 250 kilowatt-hours of electricity. Additional
plants are scheduled to be commissioned in the same region during 2008.
Links to further information
UNDP press release, 24 March 2008
BERI website
CEO WATER MANDATE
MEETING RELEASES SUMMARY REPORT
The UN Global Compact and the Pacific Institute have issued a
summary report from the working conference of the CEO Water Mandate,
which convened from 5-6 March 2008 at UN headquarters in New York, US.
Some of the key points offered in the report include: that business
water strategies should entail innovation to increase product
efficiencies as well as invest in the restoration of ecological systems
that affect water flows. The report also underlines the challenges of
setting corporate-wide standards for implementation, due to countries'
varying hydrological, cultural and political environments. The CEO Water
Mandate was launched in 2007 by the UN Global Compact and is designed as
a learning and action platform for companies and other stakeholders
committed to making water sustainability a priority.
Link to further information
The
CEO Water Mandate summary report
The
CEO Water Mandate
MARCH 2008
FAO SUPPORTS PROJECT TO
MANAGE WATER RESOURCES IN AFGHANISTAN
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
has announced the launch of a new hydrological station at the Qargha Dam
near Kabul on 26 March 2008, as part of an effort to better manage water
resources in Afghanistan. The hydrological station is one of a network
of 174 hydrological stations and 60 snow gauges and meteorological
stations being erected around Afghanistan, attributable to a joint
endeavor of FAO, the World Bank and the national Ministry of Energy and
Water, to measure water levels, precipitation, temperature and water
quality.
Link to further information
The Frontier Post, 26 March 2008
UNDP SUPPORTS
PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP TO IMPROVE SANITATION IN RURAL CHINA
The first public-private partnership to improve water access and
sanitation in rural China, which is a joint initiative between the UN
Development Programme (UNDP), the Ministry of Water Resources, China
International Center for Economic and Technical Exchange and The
Coca-Cola Company, was launched on 20 March 2008. The project, entitled
"Water Resources Management and Drinking Water Safety in Rural Regions
of China," aims to improve policy mechanisms by demonstrating sound
water resource management approaches on water resources allocation and
drinking water safety technologies, such as rebuilding drainage
pipelines and using ecologically sustainable agricultural technologies
for water conservation. By August 2008, the project will have set up
pilots in four primary schools in rural Sichuan and Xinjiang provinces,
which will seek to improve sanitary conditions, as well as applying
health education on school health management.
Link to further information
UNDP press release, 20 March 2008
GLACIER MONITORING
CENTRE REPORTS RECORD THINNING
The world's glaciers continue to melt away
at record speed, according to findings from the World Glacier Monitoring
Service, a centre supported by the UN Environment Programme and based at
the University of Zurich in Switzerland. Data from close to 30 reference
glaciers in nine mountain ranges in Antarctica, Asia, Europe, North
America, Latin America and the Pacific indicates that, between
2004-2006, the average rate of melting and thinning more than doubled.
Links to further information
World Glacier Monitoring Service website
UNEP press release, 16 March 2008
UNDP RECEIVES US$
137 MILLION GRANT FROM JAPAN
With a view to strengthening its
partnership with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), Japan transferred
a grant of US$ 137 million to UNDP on 12 March 2008. According to UNDP,
the grant will support projects such as reconstruction assistance in
Afghanistan and the response to humanitarian crisis and peace-building
in Africa, with a particular focus on African countries that are
vulnerable to climate change. US$ 96 million will be earmarked for the
latter project.
Links to further information
UNDP press release, 12 March 2008
UNDP-SUPPORTED WIND
ENERGY FACILITY OPENS IN ECUADOR
Ecuador officially opened a US$ 10.8
million wind energy facility on the island of San Cristóbal on 10 March
2008, as part of an effort to end the oil dependence of its Galápagos
Islands. The San Cristóbal Wind Project is a partnership between Canada,
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the US, as well as the Government
of Ecuador, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and nine of the world's
largest electric companies. The Project is the first stage of a
programme called 'Renewable electrification of the Galapagos' (ERGAL),
which seeks to lower Ecuador's energy-related CO2 emissions by
introducing photovoltaic and wind energy. ERGAL also seeks to
substantially reduce the volume of diesel fuel shipped to the Galápagos
for electricity generation, to decrease the risk of an oil spill that
could damage the biodiversity in and around the coastal ecosystem of the
islands.
Links to further information
People and Planet.net, 10 March 2008
UNDP Ecuador website
UNEP LAUNCHES GREEN
PASSPORT CAMPAIGN
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
announced the start of its Green Passport campaign at the Berlin Tourism
Fair, on 7 March 2008. This internet-based campaign will seek to
reduce the
environmental footprint of tourists
by raising their awareness on how to
contribute to sustainable development. At the campaign
website, travelers will be able to find "green" travel tips, such
as choosing responsible service providers, reducing energy consumption
and buying locally-made, environmentally-friendly souvenirs. The "Green
Passport" campaign launch was co-sponsored by the French Ministry of
Ecology, Sustainable Development and Spatial Planning, and the Brazilian
Ministries of Environment and Tourism.
Link to further information
UNEP press release, 7 March 2008
Green
Passport web site
MDG CARBON FACILITY SET TO LAUNCH FIRST PROJECTS
The UN
Development Programme (UNDP) has announced an agreement with financial
services group Fortis to launch the first projects of the MDG Carbon
Facility. Three methane capture projects located in Uzbekistan,
Macedonia, and Yemen, and a renewable energy project in Rwanda, will aim
to use financing from carbon credits to benefit the environment, as well
as to further economic and social development.
"The MDG
Carbon Facility enables us to do two things at once: Support sustainable
development at ground level and also make a real contribution to
worldwide efforts to mitigate emissions," said Olav Kjørven, UNDP
Assistant Administrator and a member of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's
Climate Change Team. The partnership between UNDP and Fortis covers an
initial pipeline of projects that will generate 15 million carbon
credits during the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period (2008-2012).
Links to
further information
UNDP press release, 21 February 2008
MDG Carbon Facility website
FEBRUARY 2008
UNEP
ANNOUNCES CLIMATE NEUTRAL NETWORK
The Climate Neutral Network (CN Net), a new online initiative to
address climate change, has been launched by the UN Environment
Programme (UNEP), in cooperation with the UN Environment Management
Group. Four countries – Costa Rica, Iceland, New Zealand and Norway – as
well as four cities and five corporations, have teamed up to initiate
the CN Net in an effort to unite the growing number of nations, local
authorities and companies that are pledging to reduce their greenhouse
gas emissions. The aim of the initiative is to support the sharing of
ideas and lessons learned on greenhouse gas emissions reductions or
offsets that could help lead to zero net emissions. The initiative was
launched during the 10th Special Session of UNEP's Governing Council in
February 2008.
Link to further information
UNEP press release, 21 February 2008
BUSH, BAN TALK CLIMATE CHANGE; CHINA RULES OUT TARGETS
UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged US President George W. Bush to
take the lead in post-Bali talks to secure a global post-2012 agreement
on climate change. During their meeting in Washington, DC, US, on 15
February 2008, Ban reportedly told Bush that he was counting on US
leadership.
Meanwhile, a
senior Chinese official has reiterated his government's position that
China would not accept binding greenhouse gas emissions targets or
limits as part of the current multilateral negotiations. In an interview
reported by the Greenwire news service, Ambassador Yu Qingtai indicated
that China would continue domestic initiatives but would not be bound by
emissions targets.
Links to further
information
Reuters/PlanetArk news report, 18 February 2008
Greenwire/WBCSD, 14 February 2008
NORWAY
TO FUND CLIMATE CHANGE RESEARCH IN HIMALAYAS
The Norwegian Government
has announced that it will provide NOK 25 million in financial support
to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)
in Nepal and its work on climate change in the Himalayan region. The
Centre is facilitating the exchange of knowledge and information between
Himalayan countries, to improve nature conservation and to adapt to
climate change. Norway will also offer financial support for the
Norwegian research centres CICERO and UNEP/GRID-Arendal to convey their
competence and experience to ICIMOD and their partners.
Link to further information
Norwegian Government news release, 8 February 2008
UNDESA AND UNDP ORGANIZE e-DISCUSSION ON
ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
The UN Department for
Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and UN Development Programme (UNDP)
are organizing a moderated e-discussion on Achieving Sustainable
Development. The discussion, which will
take place from 4 February to 14 March 2008, is part of a
larger global consultation process for the 2008 Annual Ministerial
Review, which will take place in July 2008.
Link to further
information
e-Discussion website
JANUARY 2008
UNDP and Cadbury team up for sustainable cocoa farming
Cadbury has announced the establishment of
the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership, together with the UN Development
Programme (UNDP) and the Ghanaian Government, which will seek to secure
the sustainable livelihoods of a million farmers in cocoa-growing
communities across Ghana, India, Indonesia and the Caribbean. Cadbury is
expected to invest US$ 2 million in 2008 to establish the Partnership,
with annual funding levels rising to US$ 10 million by 2010. The
majority of the funds will be invested in Ghana, where the Partnership
is designed to help cocoa farmers increase their cocoa yields, as well
as introducing new sources of rural income through microfinance and
investing in community-led development ranging from schools to
biodiversity protection projects. This public-private partnership will
take on a bottom-up model, with farmers, non-governmental organizations,
governments and UNDP working together to determine how best to turn
plans into sustainable action.
Link to further information
UNDP News release, 28 January 2008
MicroCapital Press Release, 29 January 2008
Cadbury Press Release, 28 January 2008
ENVIRONMENTAL
LEADERS SELECTED FOR UNEP'S 2008 CHAMPION OF THE EARTH PRIZE
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has
announced the winners of the 2008 Champion of the Earth, which
recognizes individuals for showing extraordinary leadership on
environmental issues, ranging from protecting the biodiversity of
Yemen's islands to managing climate-proofing strategies in Sudan and
boosting conservation in Barbados. The seven winners from each region of
the world include: Atiq Rahman, the Executive Director of the Bangladesh
Centre for Advanced Studies; Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand;
Prince Albert II of Monaco; Timothy E. Wirth, former US Senator; Balgis
Osman-Elasha, a senior researcher at Sudan's Higher Council for
Environment & Natural Resources; Liz Thompson, the former Energy and
Environment Minister of Barbados; and Abdul-Qader Ba-Jammal, the
Secretary-General of the Yemen People's General Congress. The prize will
be formally awarded at a ceremony in Singapore on 22 April 2008.
Link to further information
UNEP Press release, 28 January 2008
TAKING STOCK OF 'ONE UN' PILOTS, UNGA PRESIDENT
APPOINTS NEW SYSTEM-WIDE COHERENCE CHAIRS
Key potential or emerging results, lessons
learnt and recommendations are being developed following the first year
of operation of the 'One UN' pilot projects, which include Albania, Cape
Verde, Mozambique, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uruguay and Viet Nam.
Several stocktaking reports note that the planning phase was more
demanding and time consuming than expected, but that the groundwork now
has been laid, with new structures for collaboration in place, including
the programmatic framework and the new 'One funding' mechanism. In 2008,
focus will shift to implementation of the 'One Programme' and
realization of substantial operational change.
The results of the stocktaking
exercise will feed into the UN consultations on the recommendations of
the High Level Panel on System-wide Coherence.
In
related news, UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Srgjan Kerim has
appointed Augustine Mahiga (Tanzania) and Paul
Kavanagh (Ireland) as new Co-Chairs for the consultations on System-wide
Coherence, which will resume on 8 February 2008. The focus of this
meeting will be taking stock of last year's developments. In his letter
to UN member States on 11 January 2008, Kerim stressed that "the
Co-Chairs should work towards an agreement on the modalities for
implementing greater coherence across the UN system," which calls for a
"thorough assessment" of the progress made to date, including the
implementation of the 'One UN' pilot projects. The Co-Chairs will report
their recommendations to Kerim at the beginning of June 2008.
Links to
further information
One UN pilot project website, including Stocktaking Exercise Factual
Table
UNGA President Srgjan Kerim's letter, 11 January 2008
GOOD REHABILITATION
FORECAST AFTER KOREAN OIL SPILL
A joint
UN-European Commission (EC) assessment team is reporting that, due to
the speedy reaction by Republic of Korea authorities, the rehabilitation
prospects after the oil spill caused by oil tanker Hebei Spirit on 7
December 2007, are good, says. The team has recommended continued
monitoring and analysis to determine the impact on the environment,
while confirming that emergency assistance is not required for the
clean-up activities. The UN Environment Programme and the EC will work
together on a "Post Disaster Needs Assessment" to help Korean
authorities establish an environmental monitoring methodology.
Link to
further information
UN News release, 27 December 2007
UNDP AND GEF INAUGURATE WIND FARMS IN ERITREA
The UN Development Programme (UNDP), in
cooperation with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Eritrean
Ministry of Energy and Mines, has inaugurated the first wind generated
electric power in Assad, Eritrea. The wind power project was initiated
in 2003 and it aims at transforming the market for wind energy
applications through investments in and replication of new technology.
Currently, the project is expected to generate electricity of 600 KWH
per annum with a potential up to 750 KWH, contributing to a lower
dependence on imported fossil fuels and reducing greenhouse gas
emissions through the partial displacement of diesel generating
facilities. An additional objective of the project is to help achieve
the Millennium Development Goals, especially the goal pertaining to "the
protection and sustainable use of the environment."
Link to
further information
UNDP Press release, 18 December 2007
UNEP TREE-PLANTING CAMPAIGN TO CONTINUE DURING 2008
The UN Environment Programme's (UNEP)
Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign, which successfully
reached its target to plant one billion trees worldwide during 2007, has
now expanded its objective to plant one billion more trees in 2008. It
thus continues to encourage communities, business and industry, civil
society organizations and governments to enter tree planting pledges
online.
Link to
further information
UNEP Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign website
BARCLAYS CAPITAL
LAUNCHES GLOBAL CARBON INDEX
Barclays Capital has launched a Global
Carbon Index that will track the performance of carbon credits
associated with the world's major greenhouse gas emissions trading
schemes, initially the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and the Kyoto
Protocol Clean Development Mechanism. Commenting on the launch, a
Barclays Capital representative said the index will offer investors
direct and transparent access to the global carbon arena, which has the
potential to become one of the world's largest and most important
commodities markets. Barclays Capital is a signatory to the UN
Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), a global partnership
between the UNEP and the financial sector.
Links to further information
ClimateBiz Press release, 10 December 2007
UNEP FI website
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