21 May 2013: The International Tropical Timber Organization published the first quarter Tropical Forest Update for 2013. The Update celebrates the entry into force of the International Tropical Timber Agreement 2006 (ITTA 2006), highlighting the objectives of improved trade of sustainably harvested tropical timber and the sustainable forest management (SFM) of tropical timber producing forests.
read more »
Organized by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), this online conference aims to continue the exchange of views and synthesis of information and experiences regarding socio-economic considerations arising from the impact of living modified organisms (LMOs) on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, especially with regard to the value of biological diversity to indigenous and local communities. Building on a series of previous online discussions, the conference is open to representatives from Parties, other Governments, relevant organizations and indigenous and local communities from the Latin American and Caribbean Region.
read more »
6 May 2013: The Adaptation Fund has released the meeting report from the 20th meeting of the Adaptation Fund Board (AFB), during which it approved a new project in Argentina, and placed projects in Belize, Ghana and Uzbekistan in the pipeline.
read more »
6 May 2013: The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Chinese actress, Li Bingbing, have recently undertaken activities to address wildlife crime and highlight the gravity of its impacts.
read more »
6 May 2013: As part of the 58th annual meeting of the Central American Cooperative Programme for the Improvement of Crops and Animals (Programa Cooperativo Centroamericano para el Mejoramiento de Cultivos y Animales (PCCMCA), held from 22-26 April 2013, working groups were established to address priorities and challenges in adapting to climate change in the region.
read more »
May 2013: Many Strong Voices (MSV) is developing a project on ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) to climate change, which is a priority area for MSV in 2013. The aim of this project is to reduce vulnerability to climate change by supporting an EbA methodology that integrates scientific and local/traditional knowledge.
read more »
30 April 2013: The Global Land Forum, organized by the International Land Coalition (ILC) and held in Antigua, Guatemala, from 23-24 April 2013, brought together farmers, indigenous peoples, women's organizations, NGOs, research centers, trade unions, multilateral institutions and governments to discuss the political, economic, environmental and societal linkages between land governance, food security, poverty and democracy.
read more »
The workshop on 'Land for Business – Business for Land: The Economics of Land Degradation' will serve as catalyst for private sector involvement in the Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) Initiative. Corporate strategists, leaders in sustainability and other representatives of the business community will be asked to outline their needs within the context of further development of the ELD private sector work programme. The objectives of the workshop are to: Understand companies‘ needs; Profile the economic valuation of land and ecosystems services within business strategy development; Identify business sectors most affected by land degradation and explore how to document the impact of unmitigated risk on business strategy and value chains; Raise awareness of options for managing land degradation risk; Explore examples of sustainable land use in specific sectors and showcase enterprises implementing scalable, win-win solutions; Identify barriers to scaling up good practices and explore options to enable the private sector to invest in sustainable land management; and Identify a programme of work and sector leaders to be integrated into subsequent stages of the ELD Initiative. The workshop will take place in the context of the BONN PERSPECTIVES, an initiative of the City of Bonn and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
read more »
26 April 2013: The UNFCCC Secretariat has released a compilation of 11 views presented by parties (FCCC/SB/2013/MISC.3) on issues related to activities described in paragraph 70 of decision 1/CP.16 (Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries- REDD+). Three submissions from NGOs were posted on the UNFCCC website.
read more »
22 April 2013: The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is providing a US$72 million loan to the Brazilian state of Acre to promote sustainable forestry and agroforestry to keep deforestation in check while contributing to economic growth and poverty reduction.
read more »