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Lynn Wagner, Ph.D.
Editor, Linkages Update and
MEA Bulletin |
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CBD COP9 OPENS IN BONN: BIOFUELS, FORESTS AND ACCESS
AND BENEFIT-SHARING HIGH ON THE AGENDA |
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 Bonn,
23 May—The
ninth Conference of the Parties to the
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD
COP9) opened on 19 May 2008 and will
continue until 30 May. During the two-week
meeting, the COP will consider, inter alia:
agricultural biodiversity, including
biofuels; the Global Strategy for Plant
Conservation; invasive alien species; forest
biodiversity; incentive measures; the
ecosystem approach; progress in
implementation of the Strategic Plan and
towards the 2010 target and relevant
Millennium Development Goals; and financial
resources and the financial mechanism.
More.
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Photo: During the
opening ceremony, CBD Executive Secretary
Ahmed Djoghlaf drew attention to the plight of
sharks and the impacts of climate change on coral
reefs. He underscored the essential role of
pollinators, highlighting their decline and its
potential devastating impacts on mankind, noting the
current food crisis should be a wake up call to
maintain diversity. |
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BIOSAFETY COP/MOP4 FOCUSES ON LIABILITY AND REDRESS |
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 Bonn,
17 May—The
fourth Conference of the Parties to the
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (COP/MOP4)
was held from 12-16 May 2008, in Bonn,
Germany, and was dominated by discussions on
liability and redress. While the meeting did
not complete its mandate to adopt an
international regime on liability and
redress in the context of the Protocol, it
achieved a political compromise that
envisions a legally binding supplementary
protocol focusing on an administrative
approach, but including a provision on civil
liability to be complemented by non-legally
binding guidelines on civil liability. The
meeting also established an ad hoc technical
expert group on risk assessment and risk
management.
More.
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Photo: View of the
opening plenary, presided over by Ambassador Raymundo
Santos Rocha Magno on behalf of
Marina Silva, Former Minister of Environment,
Brazil |
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CSD-16 COMPLETES REVIEW OF AGRICULTURE,
DESERTIFICATION, AFRICA |
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 New
York, 23 May—Delegates
to the sixteenth session of the UN
Commission on Sustainable Development
(CSD-16), which convened at UN headquarters
in New York, US, from 5-16 May 2008,
reviewed the thematic cluster of
agriculture, rural development, land,
drought, desertification and Africa.
Participants highlighted the connections
between the session’s thematic agenda and
both the current food crisis and climate
change. A Chair’s Summary outlines the
issues discussed, and delegates will negotiate
policy recommendations on these issues at
the May 2009 meeting of CSD-17.
More.
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Photo: CSD-16 Chair
Nhema (Zimbabwe) gavels the meeting to a close
as other Bureau members look on |
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G8 Environment Ministers’ Meeting:
24-26 May 2008, Kobe, Japan |
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High-Level Policy Dialogue on the Operationalization of the
UNCCD Ten-Year Strategic Plan:
27 May 2008, Bonn, Germany |
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Commission on Science and Technology for Development:
26-30 May 2008, Geneva, Switzerland |
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14th Session of the International Seabed Authority:
26 May-6 June 2008, Kingston, Jamaica |
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Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development
(TICAD IV):
28-30 May 2008, Yokohama, Japan |
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37th Meeting of the Ramsar Standing Committee:
2-6 June 2008, Gland, Switzerland |
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Bonn Climate Change Conference:
2-13 June 2008, Bonn, Germany |
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High-Level Conference on World Food Security: The Challenges
of Climate Change and Bioenergy:
3-5 June 2008, Rome, Italy |
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Fifth African Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and
Production (ARSCP-5):
4-6 June 2008, Johannesburg, South Africa |
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12th Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the
Environment (AMCEN):
7-12 June 2008, Johannesburg, South Africa |
IISD Reporting Services will be reporting from 3-5 June 2008
from:
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