Carpathian Convention: Implementation Committee

A meeting of the Implementation Committee of the Carpathian Convention (CCIC) took place on 17-18 January, 2011 in Vienna (Austria). Information and documentation is posted at: http://www.carpathianconvention.org/framework/CCIC-2011-01-17_18.htm

UNEP: Editorial from Achim Steiner regarding climate change

In an editorial published on UNEP's website, UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner stresses that the world is witnessing an extraordinary mobilization of national-level projects and policies that are shifting economies onto a low-carbon path.

SIDS Newsletter: December 2010

The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Unit has released the 8th issue of its "SIDS Newsletter."  It elaborates follow-up activities to the Mauritius Strategy for Implementation (MSI+5) and includes articles on: the UN Climate Change Conference in Cancun; the upcoming CSD-19, and SIDS preparations for UNCSD (Rio+20).

Argentina assumes chairmanship of G-77/China from Yemen

The topics of environment and sustainable development were afforded a good deal of attention in statements by the outgoing and incoming chairs of the G-77/China during the handover ceremony on 12 January, 2011.

SPREP: 21st Meeting

The SPREP Secretariat has published the report of the 21st SPREP Meeting, held from 6-9 September 2010 in Madang (Papua New Guinea). It includes the Madang Communiqué adopted at the meeting, according to which SPREP members adopted the 2011-2015 Strategic Plan as the guiding document for regional environmental work, including by SPREP, with four priorities on climate change, biodiversity and ecosystem management, waste management and pollution prevention, and environmental monitoring and governance.

Sustainable Development at the top of UN Secretary-General's priorities for 2011

During an address to the UN General Assembly on 14 January 2011, Ban Ki-moon identified his priorities for 2011.

UNCSD (Rio+20): UN Regional Commissions Calendar

In preparation for the UNCSD (Rio+20) process, a comprehensive regional calendar of meetings leading up to the Conference was prepared and shared among all the UN Regional Commissions at a meeting of the Executive Secretaries of the UN Regional Commissions hosted by the ECLAC in Santiago (Chile) from 13-14 January 2011.

ECOSOC 2011 session

The 1st organizational meeting of the Economic and Social Council’s 2011 session took place on 18 January at UN/HQ. The Council elected its new President, Lazarous Kapambwe (Zambia),  as well as four Vice-Presidents: Abulkalam Abdul Momen (Bangladesh); Miloš Koterec (Slovakia); Gonzalo Gutiérrez (Peru); and Jan Grauls (Belgium). Press Release featuring highlights and statement.

UNFCCC/COP-16: Bolivia contests outcome

There has been a great deal of media coverage regarding the position of the Plurinational State of Bolivia that the international principle of consensus was abandoned when UNFCCC COP-16 adopted its outcomes in spite of the country's objections. Ambassador, Pablo Salon, Permanent Representative to the United Nations was recently quoted in a number of publications saying "We will file a complaint with the International Court of Justice in the Hague against the text approved in Cancun". An Op-ed by Amb. Salon appeared recently in the Guardian.

UNCSD (Rio+20): Report from 1st Intersessional

IISD Reporting Services (IISD RS) has produced a summary and analysis from this meeting, which took place on 10-11 January 2011 at UN/HQ.

Go to: http://www.iisd.ca/uncsd/ism1/



Co-Chair John Ashe (Antigua and Barbuda)

 

Narinder Kakar, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

ESPOO: Implementation Committee

The 20^th session took place from 11-13 January. The Committee inter alia reviewed Members' strategies to fully implement recommendations from the MOP, considered replies regarding specific compliance issues, and finalized preparations for the upcoming MOP-5, to be held from 20-24 June 2011. The Agenda and Report are posted here.

UNESCO: Congo's World Heritage Sites

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and UNESCO organized a high-level meeting in Kinshasa on 14 January 2011, to discuss ways of strengthening protection of the five DRC sites inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Director-General and the Prime Minister signed the Kinshasa Declaration. Press Release

UN/DOALOS: State of the Marine Environment

DOALOS has updated its page on the regular process for global reporting and assessment of the state of the marine environment, including socio-economic aspects (regular process). Documents for the General Assembly Ad Hoc Working Group of the Whole from 14-18 February, 2011 will be posted here as soon as they are available.

CMS: South American grasslands conservation moving towards a legal framework

A new action plan adopted by parties of CMS, in collaboration with Birdlife International and and Asocion Guyra Paraguay, is one step in an effort to develop a legal framework for the conservation of grasslands in South America. The action plan seeks to ensure the conservation of habitats by identifying new protected areas, providing financial incentives, coordinating monitoring and research, conducting threat assessments, raising awareness, and enhancing international cooperation. Spanish language documents

CBD: COP/10 Official Report with Decisions

The CBD Secretariat has released the official report of COP-10, which includes all decisions and outcomes.

UNFCCC COP-16/CMP-6: Outcomes

Advance unedited versions of the decisions from UNFCCC COP-16/CMP-6 that took place in Cancun (Mexico) from 29 November - 10 December 2010 are online at: http://unfccc.int/meetings/cop_16/items/5571.php

Stockholm Convention: 2nd round of National Reports

The Secretariat has released National Reports submitted by 40 of the 172 parties to the Convention. They include information on the progress of implementing the Convention's requirements. Reports

ITTC-46: Outstanding issues concluded

The 46th session of the Interntional Tropical Timber Council convened from 13-18 December, 2010 in Yokohama (Japan) and concluded with compromises on two outstanding issues: the Collaborative Initiative between ITTO and CBD to conserve tropical forest biodiversity, and financial arrangements for hosting Council sessions outside of ITTO HQ in Yokohama. Decisions

It was announced during the closing of the session that additional funding of US$16.8 million had been pledged towards the conservation and sustainable management, use and trade of tropical forest resources, including $4.5 million for the implementation of its pilot thematic programme on Reducing Deforestation and Forest Degradation and Enhancing Environmental Services in Tropical Forests (REDDES) and US$12.3 million for other thematic programmes, new projects and activities.

UNDESA/UNDP: Support for LDCs in Rio+20 process

It has been reported that Least Developed Countries (LDCs) were not among those countries that responded to the UNCSD (Rio+20) Secretariat's solicitiation for technical inputs for the preparation of the Secretary-General’s report to be submitted to the 2nd UNCSD Preparatory Committee meeting (PrepCom) in March 2011.

In response, a Concept Note has been prepared by UNDESA and UNDP proposing a project that would seek to assist approximately 60 developing countries to "prepare for and contribute effectively to the UNCSD process based on their expression of demand and their particular needs." The inputs into the project would seek to build the capacity of relevant institutions and individuals to engage in the outcomes from UNCSD. The Concept Note indicates that the total resource requirement for the proposed project is US$2,809,820.

UNEP: Policy Series on Ecosystem Management

The second issue of the UNEP Policy Series on Ecosystem Management The role of ecosystems in developing a sustainable 'Green Economy' discusses how investing in ecosystems can deliver benefits to all levels of society in helping communities adapt to climate change.

Forest Forum: UNFF-9

The 9th Session of the UN Forest Forum will take place from 24 January - 4 February, 2011 at UN/HQ under the theme "forests for people, livelihoods and poverty eradication." UNFF-9  is expected to complete consideration of the means of implementation for sustainable forest management.   UNFF Homepage

CBD: Implementation of Plan of Action

The 1st meeting on the CBD Plan of Action on Sub-National Governments, Cities and Other Local Authorities for Biodiversity 2011-2020 will take place from 17-19 January in Montpellier (France). the Plan is intended to support parties and local authorities in implementing the CBD Strategic Plan 2011-2020, its targets and relevant decisions of the Conference of the Parties (COP).

ITPGR: 2nd Meeting of Compliance Working Group

In preparation for the 4th session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGR), to be held in March 2011 in Bali (Indonesia), the Ad Hoc Working Group on Compliance will continue deliberations on procedures and mechanisms to promote compliance and address issues of non-compliance from 17-18 January in Rome (Italy).  

Indigenous People and Forests: Expert Group Meeting

Coinciding with the 2011 International Year of Forests (IYF), this meeting will take place from 12-14 January, 2011. The findings are to be presented to the 10th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) scheduled to take place at UN/HQ from 16-27 May 2011. Documentation

Assessing biodiversity offset and compensatory mitigation programs

"State of Biodiversity Markets" takes stock of the status and trends of biodiveristy offset and compensatory mitigation programs by geographic region. The report summarizes the total active programs and developing activities, and broad metrics such as total known payments and land area protected or restored. Full report

UNEP/GC-26: Green Economy Report

The forthcoming “Green Economy Report”, presenting assessments of green sectors using economic analysis and modelling approaches, is due to be presented to the 26th UNEP Governing Council. Recent products of UNEP's Green Economy Initiative include: "Patents and clean energy: bridging the gap between evidence and policy," and "Fisheries Subsidies, Sustainable Development and the WTO."

Implementation of Nagoya Protocol: Seminar

The Institute of Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI), in collaboration with the Agence Française de Développement are organizing an international seminar on February 3, 2011 in Paris titled: "Towards the effective implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on ABS".

Participants aim to take stock and assess the implications of the ABS Protocol for the governance of biodiversity as well as its implementation challenges and potential contributions to the global sustainable development agenda. The focus will be on legal, policy and practical implementation challenges with the objective to contribute to the debate on outstanding issues, future research directions and technical assistance and training activities related to the implementation of the ABS Protocol.

More information

Establishment of UN Office for Sustainable Development (UNOSD)

An agreement was recently signed between the UN and the Republic of Korea to establish a new research and training facility. UNOSD will serve as a training and resource facility for developing countries on sustainable development, including in the preparations for the forthcoming Rio+20 Conference. It will organize training programmes and expert conferences, collaborate with a network of training institutions in developing countries, and undertake policy research on the progress and gaps in the achievement of sustainable development goals.

UNOSD will be housed in Yonsei University in the City of Inchon.  It will begin operations in April 2011 with a launch conference and expert meeting on the “Drivers, Risks, and Challenges in the Transition to a Green Economy”.

UNCSD (Rio+20): Ocean Briefing

The Pew Environment Group has issued a briefing and recommendations to the First Intersessional Meeting titled “Bringing the Ocean Back into the Earth Summit”.

Africa: Rabat Declaration on Solid Waste Management

As part of preparations for CSD-19, the Intersessional Meeting on Solid Waste Management in Africa took place on 25-26 November 2010, in Rabat (Morocco). The Chair’s summary of the meeting including the annexed Rabat Declaration has been released as an advance, unedited report.

Oceans in UNCSD (Rio+20)

The Pew Environment Group presented its briefing and recommendations titled: “Bringing the Ocean Back into the Earth Summit” to the 1^st Intersessional Meeting of UNCSD (Rio+20), which took place from 10-11 January at UN/HQ. Citing laggard international governance on behalf of the marine environment, a solution is proposed for UNCSD to initiate a negotiating process towards a comprehensive and legally binding implementing agreement under UNCLOS. Report

Environmental Policy and Law: The journal for decision-makers: December 2010

EPL , Volume 40, Number 6 includes the following contents:

Contents

Editorial                                                                      

UNITED  NATIONS  ACTIVITIES

FAO

–    Preventing, Deterring and Eliminating IUU Fishing      

      – Port State Measures –

      (Blaise Kuemlangan, Michael Press)

UN/GA / MDG Summit

–    Environmental Dimension of the MDGs                      

      – Progress Made? –

      (Elisa Morgera)

–    Sustainable Development and Biodiversity                  

      (Constanza Martinez)

High-level Event on Biodiversity

–    Selected Statements by Representatives of the          

      Member States

CBD / COP-10

–    Post-2010 Implementation                                        

      (Elisa Morgera)

–    Access and Benefit Sharing                                       

      – The Nagoya Protocol –

      (Elsa Tsioumani)

–    Liability and Redress

      – Supplement to the Cartagena Protocol –                  

     

OTHER  INTERNATIONAL  DEVELOPMENTS

State Responsibility / Liability                                      

      – Erga Omnes Obligations and Judicial Control –

      (Alfred Rest)

Elizabeth Haub Prize                                                                

–    2009 Prize for Environmental Law                              

Is Capacity Building Presently of Age?                        

      (Donald Kaniaru)

ICAO

–    Environmental Prospects for the Air Transport             

      Industry

      (Ruwantissa Abeyratne)

G-20

–    The Seoul Summit                                                    

      (Soledad Aguilar)                                                                 

REGIONAL  AFFAIRS

South Asia

–    Transboundary Waters on the Subcontinent                         

(Armin Rosencranz, Abhimanyu G. Jain, Raeesa Vakil)

Africa and Southeast Asia

–    Gorillas and Their Habitats – A Legal Review –            

      (Balraj Sidhu)

Pacific Island Countries

–    Regional Meeting for CBD COP-10                              

      (Ian Fry)

Alpine Region

–     Helicopters in the Alps                                              

      – International Legal Aspects –

      (Jennifer Heuck)

Alpine Convention

–    Switzerland: Not Ratifying the Protocols                      

      (Thomas Egger)

–    44^th Meeting of the Standing Committee                      

Arctic Council

–    Senior Arctic Officials Meeting                                    

OSPAR

–    The First High Seas MPA Network                              

      (Graeme Kelleher)

NATIONAL  AFFAIRS

Jordan

–    Dead Sea/Red Sea Canal Project                                

      (Hamaideh Arwa, Mohamed Abd El Jaleel Awabdeh)

USA

–    California and Climate Change                                     

      (Anna Frostic, Stephen C. McCaffrey)

Australia

–    Climate Change Policy Evaluation                                

      – Method and Criteria –

      (Evgeny Guglyuvatyy)

REFERENCES  TO  OTHER  TOPICS                              

SELECTED  DOCUMENTS

CBD / COP-10

–    Implementation of the Convention and Strategic Plan     

To order the issue or become a subscriber, please contact IOS Press (Netherlands) at: http://www.iospress.nl/.

UN/GA President: UN Role in Global Governance

In a statement to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences delivered in Beijing (China), on 11 January 2011, UN/GA President Joseph Deiss addressed the transition towards a green economy and the role of the UN in global governance.

Mauritius v. UK: Dispute related to 'Marine Protected Area' and Chagos Archipelago

Under Article 287 and Annex VII, Article 1 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Mauritius has served  a notification and statement of claim to the United Kingdom regarding the legality of the declared Marine Protected Area (MPA) around the Chagos Archipelago.

In seeking relief, "Mauritius requests the Annex VII arbitral tribunal of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to declare, in accordance with the provisions of UNCLOS and the applicable rules of international law not incompatible with the Convention that, in respect of the Chagos Archipelago:

(1) the ‘MPA’ is not compatible with the 1982 Convention, and is without legal effect; and/or

(2) the United Kingdom is not a ‘coastal state’ within the meaning of the 1982 Convention and is not competent to establish the ‘MPA’; and/or

(3) only Mauritius is entitled to declare an exclusive zone under Part V of the 1982 Convention within which a marine protected area might be declared."

The notification and statement of claim are available through the website of the American Society of International Law at: http://www.asil.org/interest-groups-public-files.cfm.

Satellite view of Diego Garcia Atoll, Chagos Archipelago



APEC: Focus on Green Growth in 2011

As host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 2011, the United States has announced that green growth will be among its priorities.

Press Release: http://www.apec.org/en/Press/News-Releases/2010/1213_isom.aspx

UNEP: Report on the Role of Ecosystems in Developing a Sustainable Economy

UNEP has released the second issue of its Policy Series on Ecosystem Management. The newest issue, titled "The role of ecosystems in developing a sustainable ‘Green Economy,’" discusses how investments in ecosystems can result in benefits at the local and global levels, while at the same time enhancing people's livelihoods.

Go to: http://intranet.unep.org/depi/noticeboard/Uploads/policy%20series%202%20-%20small.pdf

ECLAC: Pre-Rio+20 Expert Meeting

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) held a meeting of government-designated experts of Latin America and the Caribbean, preparatory to the UNCSD (Rio+20). The event convened under the title: "A green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication and the institutional framework for sustainable development."

Meeting Agenda and Presentations: http://www.cepal.org/cgi-bin/getProd.asp?xml=/dmaah/noticias/noticias/4/41684/P41684.xml&xsl=/dmaah/tpl/p1f.xsl&base=/dmaah/tpl/top-bottom.xsl

OAS: 2nd High-level Meeting on Sustainable Development

The 2nd Meeting of Ministers and High Authorities on Sustainable Development in the framework of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI) was held in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) on 17-19 November 2010. The Meeting adopted a Declaration recognizing that human beings are at the center of concerns for sustainable development and that poverty eradication is an integral part of sustainable development.

Declaration of Santo Domingo: http://www.oas.org/DSD/MinisterialMeeting/Documents/Declaracion_Santo_Domingo_eng.pdf

UNCSD (Rio+20): Advance Synthesis Report Released for First Intersessional

An advance, unedited copy of a synthesis report  (A/CONF.216/PC) has been released by the UNCSD Secretariat, in preparation for the First Intersessional Meeting on 10-11 January 2011.

The Report is online at: http://www.uncsd2012.org/files/intersessional/Synthesis-Report-Final.pdf

The Synthesis Report was prepared on the basis of responses to a questionnaire from Member States, Major Groups and United Nations System Organizations, IFIs and Other Stakeholders.

UNCSD (Rio+20): UN Secretary-General's report on objectives and themes

An advance, unedited copy of a Report of the Secretary-General, on the Objective and Themes of the UNCSD (A/CONF.216/7), has been issued ahead of the second session of the Preparatory Committee to be held from 7-8 March 2011.

Report: http://www.uncsd2012.org/files/prepcom/SG-report-on-objective-and-themes-of-the-UNCSD.pdf

CSD-19 Briefing

In preparation for the 28 February-4 March 2011 IPM and the 2-13 May 2011 CSD-19 sessions, an informal briefing was organized at UN Headquarters on 16 December 2010. The organization of work and preparations for each of these meetings was reviewed, including the intersessional meetings contributing to these sessions. It was noted that, on the final day of the IPM, a multistakeholder dialogues will discuss "advancing the implementation of sustainable development" and "expectations from CSD-19 within the context of Rio+20, given the apparent linkages between the themes of current cycle and green economy."

Summary of Briefing: http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/csd/csd_pdfs/csd-19/Summary-of-CSD-and-IPM-briefing.pdf

CSD-19 Preparations

Advance, unedited drafts of the Secretary-General's Background Reports for the Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting (IPM) and CSD-19 have recently been released, and a briefing on preparations for these events was recently held at UN Headquarters.

CSD-19 will take place at UN Headquarters from 2-13 May, 2011

Documents: http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/resources/res_docucsd_19.shtml

UNEP RONA: Webpage on Sustainable Consumption and Production in North America

This new webpage focuses on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) in the North American Region by highlighting success stories and providing information on key SCP activities, consultations and meetings in the region. 

Go to: http://www.rona.unep.org/about_unep_rona/scp/index.html.

UNEP: 26th Governing Council

The 26th session of the UNEP Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum (CSD/GMEF) will take place from 21-24 February in Nairobi (Kenya).

Ministerial consultations  will focus on emerging policy issues under the overall theme of contribution of UNEP to the preparatory process for (Rio + 20). Specific themes to be taken up at the session are “Green economy” and “International environmental governance”.

Documentats are available at: http://www.unep.org/gc/gc26/

EU and Cape Verde: Fisheries Protocol

On 22 December, the European Commission  initialled a new three-year protocol under the Fisheries Partnership Agreement (FPA) with Cape Verde setting fishing possibilities for EU vessels in Cape Verde's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), along with other conditions. The new protocol foresees a total EU financial contribution of EUR 435,000, and will come into force when the present protocol expires, on 1 September. Press Release