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7th
Session of the Conference of the Parties
to the United Nations Convention
to Combat Desertification
17-28 October 2005, Nairobi, Kenya |
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Earth
Negotiations Bulletin
- ENB |
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Click
on the above days to view previous
ENB Web coverage.
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Highlights
for Monday, 17 October 2005
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The Seventh
Conference of the Parties (COP-7) to the Convention to
Combat Desertification (CCD) opened on Monday afternoon,
17 October in Nairobi, Kenya. During the opening ceremony, delegates heard statements
from the representative of UNEP Deputy Executive
Director, the CCD Executive Secretary, Nobel Laureate Wangari
Maathai, and Moody Awori, Vice-President of the
Republic
of
Kenya.
In the opening plenary, delegates elected the COP-7
President and other officers including the Chairs of the
CST and CRIC, and adopted the agenda and the
organization of work. Parties also considered
accreditation of intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations, and the admission of observer organizations.
Above photo: View of the opening Plenary. |
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OPENING
CEREMONY:
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Above
photos: COP-7 opened with cultural performances.
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Above photos L-R: The dais during
the opening ceremony with Nobel Laureate Wangari
Maathai; Moody Awori, Vice-President of the
Republic
of
Kenya; Andrew
Kiptoon, Permanent Representative of
Kenya
to UNEP;
Hama
Arba Diallo, Executive Secretary of the UNCCD and Bakary
Kante, Director for Environmental Conventions, UNEP (DEC).
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Andrew
Kiptoon, (above left) Permanent Representative of
Kenya
to UNEP, opened COP-7 and welcomed
participants to Nairobi. He called for a minute of silence to commemorate the recent
passing of Rosa Elena Simeón Negrín, Cuba’s Minister for Science, Technology and the Environment and COP-6
President and Joke Waller-Hunter, Executive Secretary of the UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as the victims of
the recent natural disasters.
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On behalf
of UNEP Deputy Executive Director Shafqat Kakakhel, Bakary
Kante, (above left) Director for Environmental
Conventions, UNEP, welcomed participants to UNEP headquarters,
and thanked
Kenya
for offering to host COP-7.
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Hama
Arba Diallo, Executive Secretary of the CCD, expressed his
gratitude to the Government of Kenya for hosting COP-7, and
suggested that this may help to strengthen ties to UNEP in the
development of the Convention.
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Wangari
Maathai, (above left) the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate,
emphasized that if we want a peaceful world, we have to manage
our environment in a responsible, sustainable and equitable
manner. |
Moody Awori, (above rigth) Vice-President of the
Republic
of
Kenya
, welcomed delegates to
Kenya
. He reminded them that a large part of the country is arid and
fragile. |
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OPENING
PLENARY:
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José
Autonio Diaz Duque,
(above left) COP-6 President and Cuba’s Vice Minister for Science, Technology and the Environment,
reviewed the achievements made at COP-6 and said that the
decisions made at COP-6 strengthened the implementation of the
Convention and contributed to desertification control and
poverty reduction.
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Stephen
Kalonzo Musyoka, Minister of Environment and Natural
Resources of Kenya, thanked delegates for electing him as
COP-7 President, congratulated the outgoing COP-6 President and
other Bureau members on the contributions that they have made,
and expressed appreciation to the CCD Secretariat for the
excellent preparations for COP-7.
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ELECTION
OF OTHER OFFICERS:
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Above photos L-R: CRIC-3 Chair Mohamed Mahmoud Ould El Ghaouth
(Mauritania) sought clarification on whether two citizens of one country can be
elected to the Bureau;
Cherryl
Gordon, (Jamaica) proposed delaying the election of other Bureau
members pending resolution on this matter; following a short consultation, Viorel
Blujdea (Romania) has been nominated and elected as Chair of the Committee
on Science and Technology .
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This
service was prepared in cooperation with the UNCCD Secretariat
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