Delegates to
the eleventh session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development
(CSD), which met in May 2003, could not have known how timely their
decision would be to place agriculture, rural development, land,
drought, desertification and Africa on the agenda for the sixteenth
session, which will take place in a little under two weeks.
…
article continues
Lynn Wagner, Ph.D.
Editor, Linkages Update and
MEA Bulletin |
|
|
Want more in-depth news on key multilateral environmental agreements and their secretariats? Sign up to
receive our free publication,
MEA Bulletin. |
|
|
Want
more information on sustainable development decision-making in
Africa? Subscribe to
AFRICASD-L, a peer-to-peer mailing list for news
on our African Regional Coverage Project and sustainable development
issues in Africa. |
|
 |
|
CITES COMMITTEES CONVENE IN GENEVA |
|
 Geneva,
24 April—The
17th meeting of the Plants Committee of the
Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES), which met in Geneva, Switzerland,
from 15-19 April 2008, decided to include
bigleaf mahogany in the Review of
Significant Trade (RST), recommending that
the review be limited to parties with
implementation problems. On 19 April, a
joint session of the Plants and Animals
Committees addressed issues of common
interest, including: the revision of the
Terms of Reference of the Committees;
cooperation with advisory bodies of other
biodiversity-related multilateral
agreements; review of significant trade in
specimens of Appendix II species;
international expert workshop on
non-detriment findings; and transport of
live animals and plants. The 23rd meeting of
the Animals Committee, which met from
19-23 April, addressed, among other
issues, the sustainability of international
trade in sharks and sturgeons.
More. |
|
|
Photo: L-R: David
Morgan (CITES Secretariat); Milena Sosa
Schmidt (CITES Secretariat); and PC Chair
Margarita Celemente (Spain), during one of the
plenary sessions of the 17th meeting of CITES. |
|
|
AFRICAN MINISTERS ADOPT RENEWABLE ENERGY DECLARATION |
|
 Dakar,
19 April—African
ministers have endorsed a “Plan of Action”
and a “Dakar Declaration on Scaling Up
Renewables in Africa.” These agreements were reached at
the International Conference on Renewable
Energy in Africa, which was held in Dakar,
Senegal, from 16-18 April 2008. The
Conference focused on the theme “making
renewable energy markets work for Africa:
policies, industries and finance for scaling
up,” and was jointly organized by the
Government of Senegal, African Union (AU),
German Federal Ministry for Economic
Cooperation and Development and UN
Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
More.
|
Photo: President of
Senegal Abdoulaye Wade arrives at le Meridien
President Hotel for the Conference. |
|
|
|
CONFERENCE ADDRESSES OCEANS MANAGEMENT IN THE
CONTEXT OF CLIMATE CHANGE |
|
 Hanoi,
12 April—The
Fourth Global Conference on Oceans, Coasts,
and Islands, “Advancing Ecosystem Management
and Integrated Coastal and Ocean Management
by 2010 in the Context of Climate Change,”
has reviewed progress, or lack thereof, in
attaining the goals adopted by the world’s
political leaders at the 2002 World Summit
on Sustainable Development relating to
oceans management and conservation, in the
context of climate change. The Conference
brought over 400 participants to Hanoi, Viet
Nam, from 8-11 April 2008.
More.
|
Photo: Vietnamese
cultural presentation during the opening session of
the Fourth Global Conference on Oceans, Coasts, and
Islands. |
|
|
|
IPCC AGREES TO PREPARE FIFTH ASSESSMENT REPORT |
|
 Budapest,
11 April—The
28th session of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC), which met from
9-10 April 2008, in Budapest, Hungary,
discussed the future of the IPCC, including
key aspects of its work programme and the
future structure of the IPCC Bureau and the
Bureau of the Task Force on National
Greenhouse Gas Inventories (TFB). The IPCC
plenary agreed to prepare a Fifth Assessment
Report (AR5) and to retain the current
structure of its Working Groups. The Panel
also agreed to the preparation of a Special
Report on Renewable Energy to be completed
by 2010 and was presented with the Technical
Paper on Climate Change and Water.
More.
|
Photo: Tribute to
Bert Bolin, founding Chair of the IPCC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Twelfth Session of the UN Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD XII):
20-25 April 2008, Accra, Ghana |
|
GEF Council Meeting and NGO Consultation:
21-25 April 2008, Washington DC, US |
|
Seventh Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous
Issues:
21 April-2 May 2008, New York, US |
|
OECD-UNEP Conference on Resource Efficiency:
23-25 April 2008, Paris, France |
|
Forest Day: Shaping the Debate on Forests and Climate Change
in Central Africa:
24 April 2008, Yaound�, Cameroon |
|
Meeting of OECD's Environment Policy Committee at
Ministerial Level Focusing on �Environment and Global
Competitiveness�:
28-29 April 2008, Paris, France |
|
Second Meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Informal
Working Group on Marine Biodiversity beyond National
Jurisdiction:
28 April-2 May 2008, New York, US |
|
ITTO Expert Meeting Addressing Climate Change through
Sustainable Forest Management:
30 April-2 May 2008, Yokohama, Japan |
|
Sixteenth Session of the Commission on Sustainable
Development:
5-16 May 2008, New York, US |
IISD Reporting Services will be reporting from 3-5 June 2008
from:
Linkages Update
delivers the latest news and information on international
environment and sustainable development issues to your e-mail
inbox twice every month.
More information. |
|
