Search the site

Highlights for Thursday, 18 April 2019 Delegates in discussions with Deputy Executive-Secretary Giovanie Biha and Oliver Chinganya, UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) On Thursday morning, 18 April 2019, ARFSD 5 delegates heard reports from the parallel sessions discussing Africa’s input to the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):  SDG 4 (quality education), which noted the need to include sustainable development in school curricula, and improve educational material and methods for children with special needs; SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), which called for recognizing the contribution of the informal sector and further collaboration with private sector in job-targeted training; SDG 10 (reduced inequalities), which cautioned against inequalities caused by caste systems that encourage modern forms of slavery, and recommended ensuring hygiene facilities to enhance girl’s school attendance; SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions), which recommended conflict resolution through dialogue and greater involvement of human rights organizations; SDG 13 (climate action), which discussed mobilizing funds for climate-resilient policies; and SDG 17 (partnerships for the Goals), which recommended, in particular, the removal of trade barriers within Africa and the ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area. Delegates also heard recommendations of the First African Science and Technology Innovation (STI) Forum, which convened prior to ARFSD 5, including, inter alia: providing opportunities for young African innovators; financing research and development; developing STI infrastructure; good governance to ensure fair application of technologies; and scaling up institutional skills. Zimbabwe offered, and delegates accepted, to host the sixth session of the Forum in 2020 in Victoria Falls. They adopted the Summary and Key Messages of ARFSD 5, with any further edits and messages to be forwarded to the Secretariat for inclusion in the document. Delegates also adopted the Marrakech Declaration, which, among other things, reaffirmed the region’s commitment to SDG implementation and welcomed the establishment of the Congo Basin, Sahel and Island States Climate Commissions at the 2016 UN Climate Conference.During closing remarks, Giovanie Biha, deputy Executive Secretary, ECA, drew attention to the unprecedented large number of attendees, over 800 hundred participants from 51 countries, and praised the gender equality of the current Bureau. She concluded by reaffirming Morocco’s commitment, as the Bureau Chair, towards the progress of the SDGs and the Agenda 2063 in Africa.ARFSD 5 Chair El Ouafi brought the Forum to a close at 8:00pm. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage from ARFSD 5. In addition IISD Reporting Services has published a summary report from ARFSD 5, which is available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Sean Wu For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Parallel Panel Meetings for Indepth Review, Peerlearning and Dialogue on the Sub-themes of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development Morning Sessions Nezha El Ouafi, ARFSD 5 Chair, conferring with Oliver Chinganya, ECA, during discussions on strengthening the key messages of ARFSD 5. Sophie Nonnenmacher, International Organization for Migration H.R.H. Princess Abze Djigma, Special Envoy to the President of Burkina Faso for SDGs and Climate Change View of the room during a presentation by Rajae Chafil, Climate Change Competence Center of Morocco Oumarou Mahamadou, Niger Sidou Nouhou, Niger Participants during the morning session Jacqueline Amongin, Uganda Thierry Amoussougbo, ECA Ivan Gibson Dumba, Zimbabwe Sering Falu Njae, the Gambia The dais during the morning session Pedro Bayeme Ayingono, Central African Economic and Monetary Community Roseline Kihumba, HelpAge International Afternoon Session The dais during the afternoon session Ildephonse Niyomugabo, Rwanda Moctar Ba, Mali Closing Session Giovanie Biha, Deputy Executive-Secretary, ECA, giving closing remarks Nezha El Ouafi, ARFSD 5 Chair, delivering closing remarks Delegates congratulating Morocco for a successful ARFSD 5 Around the Venue The IISD RS team (L-R) Wanja Nyingi, Sean Wu, Kate Helfenstein-Louw, Nicole de Paula, and Charles Muraya, ECA

Highlights for Monday, 21 January 2019 Group photo at the opening of the conference The Intergovernmental Meeting on the Sixth Global Environment Outlook (GEO-6) opened on Monday, 21 January 2019, at the UN Environment (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. In the morning, Jorge Laguna-Celis, Secretary, Secretariat of Governing Bodies and Stakeholders, UNEP, opened the meeting. Delegates then listened to opening remarks from Co-Chair of the High-level Intergovernmental and Stakeholder Advisory Group (HLG) Paolo Soprano (Italy), Joyce Msuya, Acting Executive Director, UNEP, and Keriako Tobiko, Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Kenya. Delegates also addressed organizational matters including election of officers and listened to presentations on the GEO-6 process and the content and key messages of the draft GEO-6 Summary for Policymakers (SPM). Delegates thereafter shared their general views of the draft SPM, which will remain embargoed until its adoption by member states on Thursday, 24 January 2019. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary report from the Negotiation of the GEO-6 Summary for Policy Makers, which is available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. From L-R: Jian Liu, Chief Scientist, UN Environment (UNEP); Keriako Tobiko, Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Kenya; and Joyce Msuya, Acting Executive Director, UNEP Joyce Msuya, Acting Executive Director, UNEP, and Keriako Tobiko, Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Kenya Jian Liu, Chief Scientist, UNEP, with Stadler Trengove, UN Legal Officer Keriako Tobiko, Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Kenya Joyce Msuya, Acting Executive Director, UNEP Lori Dando, US Jorge Laguna-Celis, Secretary, Secretariat of Governing Bodies, UNEP Co-Chair Paolo Soprano, Italy Laksmi Dhewanthi, Indonesia Sebastian Gil, European Union Martin Gronda, Argentina, with Sergio Salazar Alzate, Colombia Marta Juárez Ruiz, Costa Rica Martin Gómez Bustillo, Argentina GEO-6 Assessment Co-Chair, Joyeeta Gupta, India GEO-6 Assessment Co-Chair Paul Ekins, UK Guri Sandborg, Norway Lonkham Atsanavong, Lao People's Democratic Republic Joyce Msuya, Acting Executive Director, UNEP, and Jorge Laguna-Celis, Secretary, Secretariat of Governing Bodies, UNEP Participants conferring before the opening session. Vanessa Lim, Singapore Pierre Boileau, Head of GEO-6 Unit, UNEP Matthew Billot, Regional Coordinator, UNEP Delegates from Argentina conferring during a break. Maribe Mujinga Nsompo, Democratic Republic of the Congo Elizabeth Taylor, Colombia Vincent Fleming, UK Co-Chair Marek Garztecki, Poland Sibylle Vermont, Switzerland Arthur Eijs, the Netherlands Anne Martinussen, Norway Ambinintsoa Noasilalaonomenjanahary, Madagascar Idrees Malyar, Afghanistan Around the venue

Highlights for Tuesday, 22 January 2019 View of the room during the morning session The Intergovernmental Meeting on the Sixth Global Environment Outlook (GEO-6) resumed on Tuesday, 22 January 2019, at the UN Environment (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. In the morning, delegates began a paragraph-by-paragraph reading of the Summary for Policymakers (SPM). They addressed the first section on “What is the Global Environment Outlook,” in the morning and the afternoon. In this section, they discussed definitions of the GEO including: the GEO as a consultative and participatory process for preparing an independent assessment of the state of the environment; and the GEO is a source of sound evidence-based information on the environment.  In the afternoon they addressed the second section on the drivers of environmental change, where they considered, inter alia: population dynamics; economic development; climate change; and urbanization. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary report from the Negotiation of the GEO-6 Summary for Policy Makers, which is available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. View of the dais during the morning session Dragan Županjevac, Serbia Tungalag Ulambayar, Mongolia Edoardo Zandri, UN Environment (UNEP) Fernando Coimbra, Brazil Aboua Gustave, Côte d'Ivoire Ulf Björnholm, UNEP Co-Chair Marek Garztecki, Poland Maribe Mujinga Nsompo, Democratic Republic of the Congo GEO-6 Assessment Co-Chair, Joyeeta Gupta, India Lori Dando, US Cheikh Fofana, Senegal Mohammed Mobarak Alshamlan, Saudi Arabia Scientific Advisory Panel Co-Chair Nicholas King, South Africa GEO-6 Assessment Co-Chair Paul Ekins, UK Zerubabel Getachew, Ethiopia Jamil Mtoor, Palestine The Ethiopian delegation Between Sessions Dinner reception hosted by UN Environment (photo by Nancy Williams) Around the venue

Highlights for Wednesday, 23 January 2019 From L-R: Fernando Coimbra, Brazil; Martin Gronda, Argentina; and Vinicius Trindade, Brazil The Intergovernmental Meeting on the Sixth Global Environment Outlook (GEO-6) resumed on Wednesday, 23 January 2019, at the UN Environment (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. Delegates met in the morning, afternoon, and into the evening, to complete the paragraph-by-paragraph reading of four sections of the Summary for Policymakers (SPM). On the section on drivers of, and responses to, environmental degradation they discussed the following issues: greenhouse gases biodiversity oceans and coasts land and soil freshwater, and the changing environment The section on effectiveness of environmental policies involved discussions on policy innovations, diffusion, and enforcement.On future pathways they conferred on: the need for urgent, sustained and inclusive actions pathways towards achieving sustainable development innovations and transformation required to achieve environmental goals, and benefits from following sustainable pathways IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary report from the Negotiation of the GEO-6 Summary for Policy Makers, which is available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. Luciano Donadio Linares, Argentina GEO-6 Assessment Co-Chair Paul Ekins, UK Co-Chair Edgar Gutiérrez-Espeleta, Costa Rica, with GEO-6 Assessment Co-Chair Paul Ekins, UK Sebastian Gil, European Union Anne Martinussen, Norway Stuart Mangold, South Africa Sibylle Vermont, Switzerland Delegates during the lunch break Miriam Ott, Germany Pascale Collas, Canada Lori Dando, US Vinicius Trindade, Brazil GEO-6 authors Anne Martinussen and Guri Sandborg, Norway Matthew Billot and Jason Jabbour, UNEP Gillian Bowser, Colorado State University, with Sibylle Vermont, Switzerland Zhuo Zhuang, China James Mathew, India Felipe Cortes, Chile GEO-6 Assessment Co-Chair Joyeeta Gupta, India Nobukazu Naniwa, Japan Cheikh Fofana, Senegal Isaac Dladla, Eswatini Co-Chair Aziza Geleta Dessalegn, Ethiopia Harouna Ramata Abba Kiari, Niger Muhammad Asif Sahibzada, Pakistan Co-Chair Edgar Gutiérrez-Espeleta, Costa Rica Afsane Moeeni, Iran Nino Gokhelashvili, Georgia Vincent Fleming, UK Jamil Mtoor, Palestine Around the venue

Highlights for Thursday, 24 January 2019 GEO-6 authors group photo The Intergovernmental Meeting on the Sixth Global Environment Outlook (GEO-6) resumed for its final day on Thursday, 24 January 2019, at the UN Environment (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. Delegates received the revised Summary for Policymakers (SPM) in the afternoon and met into the evening to review it, providing editorial changes to clarify and correct language discussed earlier in the week. They agreed that the key messages of the SPM would be incorporated in a Co-Chairs’ summary to be forwarded to fourth UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-4) in March 2019 alongside the GEO-6 and SPM. During the closing session, several delegations thanked the Bureau for their work to streamline the text. Delegates also adopted the report of the meeting, which was presented by meeting rapporteur Aziza Geleta Dessalegn, Ethiopia. In his closing remarks, Jian Liu, UNEP Chief Scientist, thanked delegates for all their work in approving the SPM. Co-Chair Paolo Soprano, Italy, closed the meeting at 10:14 pm. ENB+ Summary: The Earth Negotiations Bulletin summary of GEO-6 will be available on Sunday 27 January 2018. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary report from the Negotiation of the GEO-6 Summary for Policy Makers, which is available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. Participants negotiating text. Matthew Billot, UN Environment (UNEP), and Co-Chair Edgar Gutiérrez-Espeleta, Costa Rica GEO-6 Assessment Co-Chair Joyeeta Gupta, India, with Matthew Billot, UNEP Sebastian Gil, European Union Maribe Mujinga Nsompo, Democratic Republic of the Congo Delegates from India and China conferring before the start of the meeting. Thiyu Kohoga Essobiyou, Togo Stuart Mangold, South Africa From L-R: Pierre Boileau, Head of GEO-6 Unit; Idrees Malyar, Afghanistan; and Fintan Hurley, GEO-6 author Lori Dando, US, and Sebastian Gil, EU The Egyptian delegation Delegates from Ethiopia conferring. Delegates considering the new text. Miriam Ott, Germany, and Lori Dando, US Zhuo Zhuang, China, with Muhammad Asif Sahibzada, Pakistan Ahmed Saber, Egypt, and Mohammed Mobarak Alshamlan, Saudi Arabia Sibylle Vermont, Switzerland, and Estelle Halimi, France Pierre Boileau, Head of GEO-6 Unit, UNEP, and Pascale Collas, Canada Mohamad Afana, Jordan Alejandro Garofali, Uruguay Fernando Coimbra, Brazil Pierre Lamah, Guinea From L-R: Pierre Boileau, Head of GEO-6 Unit; Adele Roccato, UNEP; and Co-Chair Paolo Soprano, Italy Sibylle Vermont, Switzerland James Mathew, India Idrees Malyar, Afghanistan Vanessa Lim, Singapore Jian Liu, Chief Scientist, UNEP Mariela Chervin, Martin Gronda, and Luciano Donadio Linares, Argentina Edoardo Zandri, UNEP, with Ulf Björnholm, UNEP Pedro Garcia Brito, Dominican Republic Guri Sandborg, Norway Aboua Gustave, Côte d'Ivoire Mohammad Ichsan, Indonesia Around the venue