Right to Water and Sanitation

In July 2010, the UN/GA adopted a resolution recognizing the right to drinking water and sanitation as a human right. Then, in September, this resolution was affirmed by the Human Rights Council (HRC), explaining that the right to water and sanitation was derived from the right to an adequate standard of living. Catarina de Albequerque, Independent Expert for the Council stated that this “first step” could be turned into a reality by placing it at the core of MDG policy and implementation. UN/GA Resolution and HRC Decision

World Resources Report

The topic of the upcoming WRR Report will be “how national governments make decisions for a changing climate – and specifically how they integrate the risks posed by climate change into planning and policy-making processes.” The findings and recommendations will be published in April 2011. See www.worldresourcesreport.org.

ABS and Implementation

An international seminar organized by IDDRI and AFD took place on 3 February, 2011 where participants focussed on the legal, policy and practical challenges of the Nagoya Protocol. Objectives included contributing to the debate on outstanding issues, future research directions and technical assistance and training activities related to the implementation of the Protocol. An in-depth report on the outcomes will appear in Environmental Policy and Law: The journal for decision-makers. Programme and Presentations

European Commission: Sustainable Growth

With €105 billion available in the current EU budget for sustainable growth, the European Commission has issued a Communication titled "Regional Policy Contributing to Sustainable Growth in Europe 2020," urging the use of EU regional policy funds to finance sustainable growth projects.

Priorities for investment fall into three areas: energy efficiency, renewables and decarbonizing transport; protection of ecosystem services, biodiversity, adaptation to climate change, including screening for climate resilience, and natural disaster prevention; and eco-innovation through the deployment of information and communication technologies and "green clusters."

Sustainable Tourism: Launch of Global Partnership

UNEP and the UNWTO have launched the Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism aimed at influencing policies on sustainable tourism, developing projects, providing a global platform for communication, as well as facilitating a shift towards a green economy. The Partnership is made up of 18 governments, five UN organizations, the OECD, 17 international and business organizations, and 16 NGOs. Website

Global Compact LEAD Launched

The UN Secretary-General and a group of chief executives launched this new platform created by the UN Global Compact to enhance environmental, social and governance performance to set a new benchmark for corporate sustainability, at the World Economic Forum.

The executives represent a group of 54 companies, all participants of the UN Global Compact, that have made an ambitious commitment to work towards implementation of the Blueprint for Corporate Sustainability Leadership, a comprehensive roadmap outlining roughly 50 concrete actions businesses can take to achieve greater sustainability. Global Compact LEAD will be deeply integrated into other UN Global Compact engagement opportunities, including the six global working groups as well as the Caring for Climate and CEO Water Mandate initiatives. Website

Nagoya ABS Protocol: Signing Ceremony

In conjuntion with the launch of the International Year of Forests, the Nagoya ABS Protocol will be opened for signature by parties to CBD beginning on 2 February 2011, for one year, at UN/HQ.

2010 Arab MDG Report

UNDP, ESCWA and the League of Arab States have launched the "Third Arab Report on the Millennium Development Goals 2010 and the Impact of the Economic Crisis." With regards to environmental issues, the report inter alia indicates that while the Arab region as a whole only contributes about 5% of the global carbon dioxide emissions, the impacts of climate change on the region are of major concern to policy makers due to its dependence on climate-sensitive agriculture, as well as the concentration of population and economic activity in flood-prone urban coastal zones.

GEF: Endorsement of Biodiversity Projects

Monique Barbut, GEF CEO recently endorsed several biodiversity-related projects focusing on protected areas, biodiversity conservation in production lands and biosafety, taking the last step in GEF approval procedures. GEF Project Website

FAO: Report on World Fisheries and Aquaculture

The 2010 "State of the World's Fisheries and Aquaculture" includes a section on "climate change implications for fisheries and aquaculture," and also lists the major issues concerning international trade in fishery products in the past biennium, and which continue to affect international trade. It further outlines the various challenges ahead in terms of, inter alia: continuing trade globalization; heightened awareness for biodiversity protection; greater demand for public health and environmental protection; and the impacts of climate change.

Alps: Land Management

The current issue Alpine Research is running a feature on land management. Questions raised by the authors include what instruments are available to Alpine local authorities for land management and for weighing up private and public interests? Are new legal instruments required or a better co-operation between local authorities and the regions?

Challenges for Mountian Regions: New Publication

The Institute for Mountain Research at Innsbruck University (Austria) has published a book on man and the environment in mountain areas titled: Challenges for Mountain Regions - Tackling Complexity. Besides the Alps it also examines mountain areas in the Andes and Patagonia.

IUCN: Eastern Himalaya Freshwater Ecosystems

A recent study carried out by IUCN and Zoo Outreach Organisation, entitled "The Status and Distribution of Freshwater Biodiversity in the Eastern Himalaya," emphasized the need for extensive new research on freshwater species in the Eastern Himalaya region.

Report "World Economic Situation and Prospects 2011"

The UN has launched a report fiding that fiscal policies, in tandem with income and structural policies, will need to be reoriented to foster job creation and green growth.

Botwana: Judgement on Kalahari Bushmen's access to water

Survival International reports an important victory for the Kalahari bushmen in Botswana in their court case involving the right to water. 

In a momentous decision, Botswana’s Court of Appeal today quashed a ruling that denied the Kalahari Bushmen access to water on their ancestral lands.

With support from Survival, the Bushmen appealed a 2010 High Court judgment that prevented them from accessing a well which they rely on for water. The panel of five Appeal Court judges has found that:

·       the Bushmen have the right to use their old borehole, which the government had banned them from using

·       the Bushmen have the right to sink new boreholes

·       the government’s conduct towards the Bushmen amounted to ‘degrading treatment’.

·       the government must pay the Bushmen’s costs in bringing the appeal.

The full text of the final appellate judgement can be found at: http://assets.survivalinternational.org/documents/545/bushmen-water-appeal-judgement-jan-2011.pdf

Instrument on Mercury: 2nd session of the INC

The 2nd session of the Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee (INC) to Prepare a Global Legally Binding Instrument on Mercury agreed to negotiate the new treaty based on an elements paper prepared by the Secretariat (UNEP(DTIE)/Hg/INC.2/3), and offered initial responses to the paper element-by-element. By the end of the week-long meeting, delegates had achieved a full first reading of the elements paper, and mandated the Secretariat to prepare a new draft text, taking into account discussions at INC-2, for further negotiation at INC-3, scheduled to convene in October 2011.

Further information and documentation available at: http://www.unep.org/hazardoussubstances/Mercury/Negotiations/INC2/tabid/3468/Default.aspx

FAO/COFI: 29th Session

The 29th session of the FAO Council's Committee on Fisheries (COFI) will take place from 31 January - 4 February 2011, in Rome (Italy). Further Information 

LDC-IV: PrepCom-1

The 1st session of the Intergovernmental Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for the 4th UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC-IV) took place from 10-14 January 2011, at UN/HQ. The meeting adopted the draft report of its session (A/CONF.219/IPC/L.1). Conference Website

The second PrepCom will take place from 4-8 April 2011.

LDC-IV will take place in Istanbul, Turkey, from 9-13 May 2011.

EU Protected Area Network Enlarged

The network of protected areas of the EU - Natura 2000 - has been enlarged to include 739 new sites covering nearly 27,000 square kilometres with more than half of the area added comprising marine sites, mainly in France, Denmark and Spain. More Details

UNDP: Biodiversity in Latin America and the Caribbean

A new UNDP report titled "Latin America and the Caribbean: A Biodiversity Superpower" aims to inform policy-makers and businesses  about the economic risks and opportunities of undertaking productive activities that impact on and are influenced by biodiversity and ecosystem services. It is a tool to assist governments and stakeholders in analyzing the role of ecosystem services in order to incorporate these services into economic planning, policy and investment at the sectoral level.

FAO: Forests and Climate Change in the Near East

FAO has released a Working Paper with several recommendations, including: establishing a regional network of pilot projects on forest adaptation measures; developing more flexible policies and legal frameworks to restore and adapt communal management systems and forest property regimes; and developing effective forest landscape restoration and afforestation plans. It further recommends that climate change adaptation and mitigation be integrated in all development strategies and policies.

CBD: Guidance for 5th National Report

The CBD Secretariat has issued a notification encouraging Parties to initiate work as early as possible on the updating of the national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs) for the preparation of the 5th National Report.

FAO: Guidelines on Fisheries Discard

FAO has released the International Guidelines on Bycatch Management and Reduction of Discards, which will now be submitted to the Committee on Fisheries for endorsement when it meets in Rome (Italy)from 31 January-4 February 2011.

WTO: Trade and Environment

An informal meeting of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Committee on Trade and Environment in Special Session (CTESS) met on 10-14 January 2011 where members reviewed the various proposals on the table covering the Doha mandate related to environment. Press Release

SPREP: State of Marine Biodiversity

The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) has released a report, titled "Outlook Report on the State of the Marine Biodiversity in the Pacific Islands Region,"

FAO/ITPGR: 4th Session of Governing Body

A webpage cotaining meeting documents has been launched 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 from 14-18 March 2011, in Bali (Indonesia). It will be preceded by two days of regional consultations, from 12-13 March 2011. In addition, the Government of Indonesia has called for a high-level ministerial conference, to be held on 11 March 2011.

CBD Bureau Minutes

The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has circulated the minutes of the first meeting of the Bureau elected at COP-10) held on 19 December 2010.

World Bank: Linking Natural Resource Management and Wealth of Nations

As part of an initiative by World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick called the Global Partnership for Ecosystems Valuation and Wealth Accounting, the World Bank has released a book titled "The Changing Wealth of Nations," The book contends that most countries are relatively highly dependent on natural capital initially, and the ones that progress most successfully are those that manage their assets for the long term and reinvest in human and social capital as well as in building strong institutions and systems of governance.

International Forest Governance Report

The Global Forest Expert Panel on the International Forest Regime has released its assessment report  titled "Embracing Complexity: Meeting the Challenges of International Forest Governance,". The report and a policy brief will be presented at UNFF-9 on February 2.

European Commission: Sustainable Growth Initiative

The EC has launched "A resource-efficient Europe: Flagship initiative under the Europe 2020 Strategy," which sets out its views on a strategic framework towards  more sustainable use of natural resources and the shift towards resource-efficient, low-carbon growth in Europe. Publication: A Resource-Efficient Europe: Flagship Initiative Under the Europe 2020 Strategy

Journal of Environment and Development: December 2010

The newest issue of The Journal of Environment and Development includes the following articles:

The Usefulness of Sustainability Indicators for Policy Making in Developing Countries: The Case of Madagascar - Timothée Ollivier and Pierre-Noël Giraud

The Political Economy of Wildlife Conservation and Decline in Kenya - Ngeta Kabiri

The Use and Management of Mangrove Ecosystems in Pakistan - Bhim Adhikari, Saima Pervaiz Baig, and Usman Ali Iftikhar
See: http://www.journalenvdev.com/

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