Project Predator

INTERPOL's Environmental Crime Programme along with the World Bank and partners launched Project Predator during the 80th General Assembly. The project seeks to work with the 13 tiger-range countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar/Burma, Nepal, Thailand, Viet Nam and the Russian Federation to organize collaborative, high-level international efforts to improve political will, transform this will into departmental support, and train officers in the necessary skills. The Project also calls for countries to establish National Tiger Crime Task Forces, which it hopes will encourage the use of modern, intelligence-led enforcement practices for tiger conservation.

While not limited to the protection of tigers, it will also undertake initiatives and advocacy for all Asian “big cats,” including leopards, snow leopards, clouded leopards and Asiatic lions, which are are traded in the same manner as tiger parts.

  

UN/S-G Adresses REDD+

Speaking at a news conference in Indonesia, Ban Ki-Moon stated that, while REDD+ is a win-win-win situation for local communities, Indonesia and the world, it is no substitute for deep greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions in developed countries.
Full Statement

CTI-CFF/3rd Ministerial

The 3rd Ministerial Meeting of the Coral Triangle* Initiative on Coral Reefs Fisheries and Food Security concluded its meeting on October 28 with ministers from the six Coral Triangle states  – Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste - officially adopting agreements on the establishment of a permanent Regional Secretariat. Furthermore, ministers endorsed other decisions such as the CTI-CFF Secretariat Transition Roadmap that includes among others: recruitment of Secretariat staff and initiation of collection of country contributions within the 12-month period.

CTI-CFF Website


*The Coral Triangle is known as the "Amazon of the Seas" for being one of the world's most diverse and threatened marine ecosystems. It encompasses ocean areas of six states in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

Basel/COP-10 Outcomes

Delegates to COP-10 of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal tackled a substantial agenda and adopted decisions on strategic issues, including the new strategic framework and the Indonesian-Swiss country-led initiative (CLI) to improve the effectiveness of the Convention. The COP also adopted 25 decisions on, inter alia: - synergies;
- the budget;
- legal matters;
- Basel Convention Regional and Coordinating Centres (BCRCs);
- capacity building;
- the Partnership Programme; and
- technical matters.

The Cartagena Declaration(draft version) on prevention and minimization of hazardous wastes was also adopted and is predicted to alter the focus of the Convention, from the movement of hazardous wastes to their minimization.

Advance report
IISD RS Coverage
COP10 Website

UNEP: Forests and Orangutans

UNEP has released a report under the Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP), titled “The Orangutan and Economics of Forest Conservation in Sumatra.” It makes recommendations for conserving orangutan populations in Sumatra, including: - designating new forested areas in Sumatra for REDD+ ;
- further resource development, including palm oil plantations, should be concentrated on land with low current use value; and
- establishing income-generating alternatives for areas that are important for biodiversity, such as sustainable tourism.

Rio+20: "Making it Happen": Volume 2, Issue 11

The latest issue of the newsletter from the Secretariat of UNCSD (Rio+20), highlights ceremonies to mark the beginning of the one-year countdown until UNCSD takes place and also announces an upcoming high-level dialogue on the institutional framework for sustainable development (IFSD) organized by the Government of Indonesia and UN/DESA to take place from 19-21 July.

The newsletter also calls attention to Preparatory Meetings at the sub-regional level for SIDS, and notes that the three sub-regional preparatory meetings will be followed by a SIDS inter-regional preparatory meeting in September 2011.  

Rio+20: Making It Happen, Volume 2, Issue 11

REDD+: Initiative to Prepare National Laws

Senior legislators from Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia and Mexico met to launch the GLOBE Legislator Forest Initiative to develop complementary legislation to prepare the way for efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). During the meeting each group of legislators outlined the current status of their legislation that is relevant to forestry and the drivers of deforestation. Over the next year, GLOBE will work with legislators to identify how legislation could be amended or advanced to provide REDD+ with a stable foundation for success. The legislators involved in this new initiative will report back on their progress at the World Summit of Legislators prior to UNCSD (Rio+20).