UNEP-WCMC Latest News

New Study Finds World's Coastal Waters Are Vastly Under-Protected

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:53:00 GMT

A new study published in Conservation Letters finds that protection of marine habitats is lagging far behind that of terrestrial areas. While 12 percent of the world's lands are protected, only 4 percent of the world's coastal waters fall within "marine protected areas," a conservation tool used around the world to preserve ocean resources.

"Unfortunately, we found that great swathes of the world's coastal waters are unprotected, meaning coastal livelihoods, incomes and food supplies are all at risk as fish stocks fall and coastlines erode," said Mark Spalding, senior marine scientist at The Nature Conservancy and lead author of the study. "The good news is that marine protected areas can be a powerful tool to ensure that ocean habitats remain healthy and productive for future generations - but we need to expand and strengthen protection efforts now."

The study was a collaboration between The Nature Conservancy (TNC), UNEP-WCMC and IUCN. As part of this study, spatial analysis was conducted at UNEP-WCMC using the marine classification system of coastal ecoregions (developed by TNC, the World Wildlife Fund and other partners) and a global marine protected areas dataset. The study examined the protection status for each of the world's varied coastal ecoregions (geographically and scientifically similar areas), but also expanded its vision out to the open oceans.

To read more about this study please see the press release

The marine protected areas dataset used in this study is now part of the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), hosted and managed by UNEP-WCMC. A joint project of UNEP and IUCN, the WDPA is the most comprehensive global spatial dataset on marine and terrestrial protected areas available, see www.wdpa.org.

UNEP-WCMC Informatics Programme featured in Vector1Media

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:01:00 GMT

Click here for interview dialogue

Conservation Commons Workshop: Addressing the Barriers to Data Sharing

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:53:00 GMT

On Monday 6th October 2008, The Conservation Commons Secretariat organized an alliance workshop at the IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC) in Barcelona, Spain to address barriers to data sharing. The workshop was organized in collaboration with Conservation International, Global Biodiversity Information Facility, IUCN, National Geographic Society, The Getty Research Institute, The Nature Conservancy, and UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

The purpose of this workshop was to draw attention to the barriers faced by the conservation community which limit access to biodiversity data and information, and to identify efforts to collectively address these challenges. The workshop supported the "Safeguarding the Diversity of Life" Stream of the Forum.

Speakers and participants from sectors both within and outside the traditional conservation community were asked to consider key questions in relation to accessing biodiversity data or information; legal and technical data standards; and cultural challenges often faced in accessing the best available data and information. The audiences were challenged to think beyond current limitations and paradigms in order to develop innovative solutions to these challenges. The workshop concluded after a short open discussion.

For more information about Conservation Commons visit: www.conservationcommons.org

For background materials, presentations and full report of the meeting see the Conservation Commons Workspace: http://conserveonline.org/workspaces/commons

New publication, The World's Protected Areas

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Based on input from more than 100 experts, this book aims to provide the most detailed assessment ever of the worldwide distribution and conservation status of national parks and reserves. It examines the relationship between people and protected areas, investigates threats and opportunities, cites the history of protected areas, provides expert conservation advice and celebrates the success of protected areas around the world.

With 352 pages, The World's Protected Areas: Status, value and prospects in the 21st Century, which is published in associated with UNEP-WCMC by the University of California Press, contains 110 colour illustrations, 165 line illustrations and 39 colour maps. It is edited by Stuart Chape, Mark Spalding and Martin Jenkins, and includes a foreword by Achim Steiner and Julia Marton-Lefèvre.

Available from University of California Press: www.ucpress.edu

A copy of the press release is available here

Relaunch of the World Database on Protected Areas

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:12:00 GMT

Since 1981 what is now UNEP-WCMC has been managing the only global database on the world's national parks and reserves, working in close collaboration with IUCN and its World Commission on Protected Areas. This database has now been completely redesigned, and was relaunched on Monday 6th October at the World Conservation Congress in Barcelona.

The new online tool includes many new features aimed at increasing access to the maps and associated data on the world's protected areas, including employing Google Earth to help users to visualise sites. Additional features facilitate update and quality control, and the Centre is working with a range of other organizations to develop new tools making further use of the data.

Redevelopment has been supported by UNEP-WCMC's Proteus Partners, a coalition of oil, gas, mineral and mining and information technology companies, who have between them contributed more than US$2 million into the initiative.

To access the World Database on Protected Areas: www.wdpa.org

A copy of the press release is available here

New Biodiversity Target a vital part of achieving the Millennium Development Goals

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:39:00 GMT

On 25 September 2008 world leaders are meeting at UN Headquarters in New York to identify new actions to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which now include a new biodiversity target. The High-level Event, convened by UN Secretary-General BAN Ki-moon, aims to ensure that all countries can achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The seventh Millennium Development Goal, to ensure environmental sustainability, now includes the target, "reduce biodiversity loss, achieving by 2010 a significant reduction in the rate of loss", which is compatible with the '2010 Target' of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Environmental sustainability will be one of three themes discussed at the High-level Event.

"The world is waking up to the fact that environmental destruction and species extinction does real damage to peoples' lives and livelihoods," says Dr Matt Walpole, UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre. "Pledging to reduce biodiversity loss as part of the Millennium Development Goals demonstrates clear recognition by the World's governments that poverty reduction and sound environmental management go hand in hand."

The 2008 MDG report includes the new biodiversity target and a new indicator to monitor progress, called the proportion of species threatened with extinction. This indicator is calculated from the IUCN Red List Index, which is based on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™.

UNEP-WCMC has played a central role in promoting the inclusion of the new biodiversity target and indicator in the MDGs, working with IUCN, the Secretariat of the CBD, UNEP and UNDP. The IUCN Red List Index is presented for use by the United Nations through UNEP-WCMC, which is also responsible for reporting on the existing MDG indicator of coverage of protected areas, utilising the World Database on Protected Areas.

The biodiversity information in the 2008 MDG report shows that the proportion of land in protected areas is increasing, but only 0.7% of the world's oceans - about 2 million square kilometres - were protected, despite their importance to fish stocks and coastal livelihoods. At the same time the proportion of threatened species is increasing, which indicates the biodiversity on which the poor depend for their livelihoods may be degrading, since species are harvested and cultivated for food, medicines and fibres.

To view the official press release click here.

UNEP-WCMC supporting the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA)

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:00:00 GMT

From 15-19 September, the 4th Meeting of the Parties (MOP) to the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) will take place in Antananarivo, Madagascar (see http://www.unep-aewa.org/press/mop4_media_alert.htm for more information). The conference is expected to adopt, for the first time, an online format for national reporting. UNEP-WCMC is glad to have been able to develop the online reporting facility, through a grant from UNEP for a project on knowledge management for the biodiversity-related agreements. Parties to AEWA are requested to prepare for each MOP a report on its implementation of the Agreement. National reporting can be a burden for Parties, in particular as such reports are required for most multilateral environmental agreements. The online reporting facility is expected to make reporting easier and more straightforward for Parties.

In addition, UNEP-WCMC, under contract to the AEWA Secretariat, has produced for MOP 4 posters depicting the Madagascar Pond Heron and the Sociable Lapwing, two threatened species that have attracted specific attention of AEWA and the wider conservation community. The meeting in Madagascar is expected to adopt an Action Plan for the Conservation of the Madagascar Pond Heron and will review the implementation of the existing Action Plan for the Sociable Lapwing.

UNEP-WCMC is also supporting implementation of the Wings Over Wetlands (WOW) UNEP-GEF African-Eurasian Flyways Project - the largest "flyway-scale" waterbird conservation project in the AEWA region, through the development of the Critical Sites Network (CSN) Tool, in close partnership with Wetlands International and BirdLife International. The CSN Tool will provide a web-based portal integrating data from multiple sources, and will help improve site management along the entire African-Eurasian Flyways; see http://www.wingsoverwetlands.org.

UNEP-WCMC is part of the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Programme (CBMP) of the Conservation of Arctic Fauna and Flora (CAFF) programme of the Arctic Council that has taken a leading role in researching the responses of biodiversity to climate change in the Arctic (http://arcticportal.org/en/caff/cbmp). Consequently, for World Migratory Bird Day 2007, UNEP-WCMC released a news item on the threats from climate change to migratory waterbirds from the Arctic; see http://www.unep-wcmc.org/regions/arctic_climate.cfm for details.

IUCN World Conservation Congress

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:44:00 GMT

At the beginning of October the IUCN World Conservation Congress takes place in Barcelona. This will be a very significant event, with some 10,000 people participating, from all levels of governmental and non-governmental organizations, and from industry and academe. A large delegation from UNEP-WCMC will attend, lead by the Centre's Director, Jon Hutton. While UNEP-WCMC staff will be addressing a wide range of issues at the Congress, key items on our agenda include the launch of the redeveloped World Database on Protected Areas on 6 October, and opportunities for promoting both the 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership and the Conservation Commons - key partnership efforts in which UNEP-WCMC is centrally involved.

Further information on the congress can be found on the IUCN website.

2nd Meeting of the 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:27:00 GMT

The second meeting of the 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (BIP) was held at the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Montréal, Canada from the 25-26 June 2008. This meeting was crucial for determining the progress of the Partnership, as well as clarifying the expectations for the Partnership over the next two years in the run up to the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 10).

More than 30 participants from major biodiversity-related conventions, initiatives and networks attended the meeting. A variety of subjects were discussed by the numerous Indicator Partners including progress in developing the suite of 2010 BIP indicators and the linkages of indicators between focal areas. Future opportunities were identified for various Partnership products, including the contribution of the 2010 BIP to the 3rd edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-3).

The meeting also focused on the work of the BIP post 2010 and the further development of national and regional linkages. The latter will ensure that biodiversity indicators are widely used in broader policy initiatives and by national governments.

For more information, see the 2010 BIP website: www.twentyten.net.

UNEP Post-Conflict work presented at UNEP-WCMC

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:55:00 GMT

Silja Halle, communications advisor for the UNEP Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch in Geneva, presented an overview of the Branch's work at UNEP-WCMC on 26 June 2008.

The presentation highlighted the Branch's work in Lebanon and Sudan, and described how the Branch will develop as UNEP's Medium Term Strategies are implemented in the near future.

Presentation Part 1 (2.10MB)
Presentation Part 2 (28.8MB)

RALUCIAPA Featured on Google Earth Outreach Gallery

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:31:00 GMT

RALUCIAPA (RAPID ASSESSMENT OF LAND USE CHANGE IN AND AROUND PROTECTED AREAS ) does as it says on the tin and is a collaboration between KCL and UNEP-WCMC (the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre). It is a tool to assist in conservation monitoring and prioritisation and shows protected areas in green. In red it shows areas deforested between 2000 (when most of the NASA imagery used in Google Earth/Maps was taken) and 2005, based on the MODIS VCF data.

RALUCIAPA works best for large scale forest loss in areas of previously full forest cover (especially tropical forests) - it does not work so well in scrubland or in human dominated landscapes outside the tropics. It shows clearly the value of protected areas in preventing large scale forest loss but also where protected areas may be under threat.

The Earth and Earth-Plugin versions especially also provide a great deal of information on protected areas from the World Database on Protected Areas (2007, web download): particularly outlines, names and characteristics. This is a beta : in the next version, with the launch of the new UNEP-WCMC IUCN WCPA World Database on Protected Areas there will be links to tiled downloadable GIS data but these are inactive at the moment.

http://www.unep-wcmc.org/protected_areas/raluciapa/

Published it in Earth (all layers), Earth Plugin (all layers), Maps (some layers) and also VE (some layers)

http://earth.google.com/outreach/env_science.html

Africa: Atlas of Our Changing Environment

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:18:00 GMT

Senior UNEP officials presented an important new publication entitled "Africa: Atlas of Our Changing Environment" to the public on Tuesday during three simultaneous press conferences in Johannesburg, Nairobi and London.

UNEP-WCMC Deputy Director Monika MacDevette served on the panel at the launch of the publication in London, and along with Acting Director of the Division of Early Warning and Assessment Marion Cheatle and UNEP European Spokesman Robert Bisset. They gave numerous interviews to various UK-based media organisations on that day including the BBC, the Times and the Independent.

The Atlas was compiled by UNEP staff and other professionals at the request of ministers from the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment. South African President Thabo Mbeki was among those who presented the publication during the AMCEN meeting in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

The nearly 400-page publication features 316 satellite images, 319 ground photographs and 151 maps from every country on in Africa that illustrate environmental changes in 104 locations on that continent during recent years. While most of the images outlined areas of environmental degradation, a number of the photographs do show improvements to the environment in those areas where conservation efforts have been undertaken.

UNEP Interview MP3

Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation: Global Land-Use Implications

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:26:00 GMT

Conserving biodiversity must be considered when developing plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation, researchers from UNEP-WCMC and University of Cambridge warn in a special issue of Science. The scientists support the plan to reduce deforestation but urge initiatives to protect biodiversity in other ecosystems from displaced land use changes.

Resources:
Special issue of Science magazine on forests, including video interviews; Press release at University of Cambridge

2010 Biodiversity Indicator Partnership side event at CBD/COP-9

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 11:18:00 GMT

The 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (BIP) Secretariat held a side event at the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 9) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on Friday, 23 May 2008. Chaired by SBSTTA's Spencer Thomas of Grenada, with presentations from Linda Collette of FAO, Sarah Simons of Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP) and Gordon Sheppherd of WWF, it was well attended and provoked a lively discussion.

Canada stressed that parties are really counting on delivery of the project and that it is imperative that the project targets SBSTTA-14. IUCN noted that the suite of core indicators form a continuum ranging from indicators for which the baseline will be delivered in 2010 to indicators ready to show trends by 2010. The 2010 BIP Secretariat, represented by Dr Matt Walpole, added that 2010 BIP feeds into the preparation for GBO-3 and looks beyond 2010 to inform the process of setting the next target. Various participants emphasized the importance of a solid communication strategy and SwedBio asked specifically about possible development of indicators for ecosystem services. The 2010 BIP Secretariat responded that work on this with WRI has recently been initiated.

For more information on the 2010 BIP see: www.twentyten.net.

85% of terrestrial carbon unprotected

Tue, 27 May 2008 10:13:00 GMT

Earth's terrestrial ecosystems store 2,052 gigatons of carbon in their biomass and soil (to 1 m depth). Protected areas worldwide cover 12.85% of the land surface and help to maintain ecosystem services including climate regulation through carbon storage. The latest analyses reveal that an astonishing amount of terrestrial carbon, over 312 gigatons or 15.2% of its global stock, lies within the protected area network. Our assessment of carbon storage in protected areas integrates information from the most up-to-date studies to inform decision-making at global, regional and national level.

Protecting the Carbon

CBD COP 9 - The ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity

Fri, 16 May 2008 09:14:00 GMT

From 19-30 May 2008, delegations from governments, IGOs and NGOs, business and indigenous communities will gather in Bonn, Germany. The meeting will discuss issues such as agricultural and forest biodiversity, the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, invasive alien species, progress towards the 2010 biodiversity target, financial resources, and a proposed international regime for access and benefit-sharing.

UNEP-WCMC will be well represented, and will highlight various aspects of its work, including on the World Database on Protected Areas, forest protected areas, the 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership, the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, biodiversity and climate change, the International Year of the Reef, and national reporting to the biodiversity-related conventions. The Centre has a joint work programme with the CBD which focuses on support to the implementation of COP decisions, and a new version of the work programme is expected to be elaborated following COP 9.

Further information: http://www.cbd.int/cop9/ and http://www.iisd.ca/biodiv/cop9/

Wild Wonders of Europe

Thu, 08 May 2008 16:05:00 GMT

Today, the day before Europe Day, 'Wild Wonders of Europe' rolls into action. 55 of Europe's top nature photographers embark on 90 assignments to 44 countries.

The mission: To reveal the amazing natural heritage of Europe and to inspire a desire to save it. This project is endorsed by UNEP. To find out more, visit http://www.wild-wonders.com

UNEP-WCMC at the 9th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity

Sat, 03 May 2008 14:40:00 GMT

A strong team from UNEP-WCMC participated in the 9th Conference of the Parties (COP 9) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 19-30 May, in Bonn, Germany. The Conference adopted more than 35 decisions, among which a roadmap for the final rounds of negotiating an international regime on access and benefit-sharing, and an agreement on criteria for establishment of marine and coastal protected areas, were perhaps the most significant. At the Ministerial Segment, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced major financial commitments by Germany for forests and protected areas.

Among the COP decisions were new mandates for UNEP-WCMC's work, including on the 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership, protected areas, marine biodiversity, drylands biodiversity and harmonization of national reporting to biodiversity-related conventions. These will form the core of a new joint work programme with the CBD Secretariat. The Centre also organised COP 9 side events to present the redeveloped World Database on Protected Areas and the 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership, and participated in others on the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, marine biodiversity and harmonization of national reporting.

For further information see www.cbd.int/cop9 and www.iisd.ca/biodiv/cop9. COP 10 will be held in October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan.

UNEP-WCMC supporting CITES scientific committees

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:49:00 GMT

Seventeenth meeting of the CITES Plants Committee and Twenty-third meeting of the CITES Animals Committee

15-23 April 2008 | Geneva, Switzerland

UNEP-WCMC attended both meetings and provided information in relation to various agenda items. Chief documents discussed, and outcomes were:

Trade data, used as the first step in the selection of species for inclusion in the review of Significant Trade process.
The report from the South East Asia timber workshop and news on forthcoming Central and West African workshop, following which three recommendations for action were agreed.
Development of a Wiki type ID manual on the internet.
Contributions to discussions on species nomenclature.

Image: Harriet Gillett (UNEP-WCMC) presenting recommendations resulting from the technical workshop on "Strategies for Sustainable Use and Management of Timber Tree Species Subject to International Trade: Southeast Asia" held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 5-7 September 2007. © IISD Reporting Services

Biodiversity Loss - It Will Make You Sick

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:57:00 GMT

On Wednesday 23 April, SKY News visited UNEP-WCMC to record a message on the importance of biodiversity to human health and well-being. The news clip highlights the findings of the book Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity, written and edited by Harvard researchers Dr Eric Chivian and Dr Aaron Bernstein, along with contributions of over 100 leading scientists. The book, supported by the CBD, UNEP, UNDP and IUCN, was formally launched at UN headquarters in New York at a gala event on 23 April, and will be presented again at the Smithsonian Institute later in April. UNEP-WCMC staff members played a role in the review of several chapters in this book. Dr Chivian, who shared the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in working toward preventing nuclear war, will be in Cambridge on 2 June and participate in a programme of lectures jointly organised by UNEP-WCMC and the Zoology Department of Cambridge University. Monika MacDevette, one of UNEP-WCMC's two Deputy Directors, gave the interview on behalf of the Centre.

Sky News Press Release

Sky News Video Release

ITTO/CITES Regional Workshop on Afrormosia: Kribi, Cameroon 2-4 April 2008

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:44:00 GMT

UNEP-WCMC participated in a regional timber workshop to develop a participatory action plan to ensure that international trade in Afrormosia Pericopsis elata is consistent with its sustainable management and conservation in Africa. Afrormosia is listed in CITES Appendix II and is used in furniture making, interior and exterior work, flooring and boat-building.

The action plan agreed by the workshop included five thematic areas:

1 - Building capacity of exporting and importing countries on implementation of CITES.

2- Building capacity of exporting and importing countries to manage P. elata sustainably.

3- Improving the ecological and sylvicultural knowledge of P. elata

4. Promotion of support programmes for regeneration of P. elata

5. Governance and marketing of P. elata

Harriet Gillett attended on behalf of UNEP-WCMC and presented UNEP-WCMC's plans for the implementation of a Central and West African timber workshop. This is the third in the series of regional workshops that UNEP-WCMC is running to support the sustainable use of timber trees in international trade.

Monitoring Arctic Biodiversity

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 09:28:00 GMT

UNEP-WCMC works closely with colleagues in GRID Arendal as part of the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP). On March 6 - 7th, Tim Johnson and Christoph Zockler attended the CBMP International Workshop in Washington DC, United States, entitled "Building a Partnership for Enhanced Understanding and Conservation of Arctic Biodiversity".

The workshop launched the "implementation phase" of the CBMP after several years of substantive program development and planning. Participants discussed program priorities, and generated short term action plans and identified new partnerships to accomplish them. The event also managed to foster healthy debate regarding CBMP's opportunities for the next 5 years.

Mike Gill (CBMP Chair) summarized the events achievements "With the help of some of our existing partners, we were able to leverage new strategic partnerships in several key areas of the program. The program is very well positioned to deliver on the key products and activities planned over the next five years. We are confident that our vision of expanded and enhanced Arctic biodiversity monitoring and improved conservation and adaptation decisions for the Arctic will be achieved."

The Workshop attracted a large group of participants representing government agencies, academic insititutions, International NGO's, international organisations and funding foundations. The workshop was enabled through the generous support of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and Finland Ministry of Environment.

UNEP Knowledge Management workshop at WCMC

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:14:00 GMT

From 7-9 March 2008, UNEP held a workshop with the secretariats of biodiversity-related multilateral agreements on knowledge management in support of improved agreement implementation. The UNEP-WCMC-hosted workshop brought together staff from the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), Ramsar Convention, African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) and Indian Ocean South-East Asian Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding (IOSEA), as well as from the UN Environment Management Group (EMG) and Countdown 2010. Participants reflected on the results of the UNEP Knowledge Management project that WCMC has implemented over the past 18 months. The project developed an Internet portal that allows access to key agreement information as well as online tools for national reporting to CMS, AEWA and CITES. It also explored new options for harmonization of national reporting between these agreements. In addition, the workshop looked into potential links between the knowledge management tools and the issue-based modules that Tematea has developed. Participants agreed on ways forward, working towards developing further linkages between the information systems of the different agreements, with the support from UNEP. This will increase the capacity of secretariats to address issues of information management. Not least will it provide tools for parties to agreements that allow for easier access to information relevant for agreement implementation and will make reporting on implementation easier.

Holidays for a living planet

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 11:48:00 GMT

A global campaign including green travel tips for the world's growing number of international tourists have been developed and launched by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The internet-based campaign, "Green Passport", aims to raise tourists' awareness of their potential to contribute to sustainable development by making responsible holiday choices. Click here to visit the internet-based campaign.

IPCC Author to strengthen Climate Change work

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:51:00 GMT

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and California State University, Chico are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Jeff Price as Senior Fellow for Climate Change and Biodiversity at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge, UK. Paul Zingg, President of CSU Chico, said today "I am delighted with this new relationship with UNEP-WCMC because it will allow Jeff Price to inject an important new international perspective to his teaching and research".

Dr. Price, who was a lead author for the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC)'s Third and Fourth Assessment Reports, will work with UNEP-WCMC during 2008 to assist the Centre to assimilate the most recent information and research on climate change and its impacts on biodiversity, so that it can be used to better inform the development of international policy.

A central focus of the Centre's work on climate change is the linkage between policies and activities to reduce the rate at which tropical forests are destroyed. One aspect of this work is to address the increasing pressure on crops, agriculture and land to produce biofuels. Paradoxically, by encouraging the growth of biofuels to reduce greenhouse gases from fossil fuels, the international community is in danger of speeding up the rate of deforestation - which itself accounts for at least 18% of all greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.

The Director of UNEP-WCMC, Prof Jon Hutton, described the appointment of Dr Price to the Centre's new Fellowship in collaboration with CSU Chico as "just the sort of partnership we need to raise our game, bridge the divide between research and policy and speed up the response to human-induced climate change". Jeff Price brings to UNEP-WCMC 15 years of experience working on these issues. He lectures on climate change adaptation and was one of the lead authors of the IPCC's Third and Fourth Assessment Reports dealing with ecosystems, and the IPCC's Technical Paper on Climate Change and Biodiversity. He also contributed text to one of the reports underlying the Stern Review of the Economic Impacts of Climate Change in the UK, and the National Assessment on Climate Change Impacts on the United States. He was co-author of the Nature article "Fingerprints of global warming on wild animals and plants" and produced the popular 'Birdwatcher's Guide to Global Warming'.

Convention on Biological Diversity meetings in Rome

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 15:57:00 GMT

Eight staff members of UNEP-WCMC attended the meetings of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), held at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, Italy over the last two weeks. The Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Protected Areas, from 11-15 February, reviewed the CBD Programme of Work on Protected Areas as well as options for mobilizing financial resources for implementing the programme of work. The WCMC delegation worked with delegates and through side events to share progress to date on relevant protected area projects, demonstrating UNEP-WCMC's critical role in providing expertise and knowledge to biodiversity conservation, in particular through its joint work with the World Conservation Union (IUCN) to manage the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA). The recommendations of the meeting include a draft mandate for WCMC to work with IUCN on development of verification and data improvements in the WDPA, development of additional and complementary data sets, and the development of tools that assist in monitoring and reporting on the progress of implementation of the Programme of Work on Protected Areas. UNEP-WCMC contributed to side events related to protected area management effectiveness and livelihoods.

From 18-22 February, the 13th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) to the CBD reviewed the implementation of the CBD programmes of work on forests and agricultural biodiversity and also considered specific aspects of marine and coastal biodiversity, inland water ecosystems, invasive alien species, biodiversity and climate change, as well as the SBSTTA modus of addressing new and emerging issues. WCMC contributed a paper on an interactive map (IMAP) and a review of spatial databases on marine areas beyond national jurisdiction to the consideration of marine and coastal biodiversity. The meeting acknowledged this work and also invited the Ramsar Convention, UNEP and UNEP-WCMC to continue their work on a joint reporting framework on inland waters between CBD and Ramsar. UNEP-WCMC contributed to side events on the Global Biodiversity Outlook and the 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership, the forest-related CBD indicators, and a global bioregional classification for open oceans and deep seas.

Both meetings ended with lots of bracketed text as delegates were unable to agree on many issues. The 9th meeting of the Conference of the Parties, to be held in Bonn, Germany, in May this year, will have the onerous task of finding consensus on those issues as well as many other issues on the agenda. For further information, see the Convention on Biological Diversity and for a report on the meetings the earth Negotiations Bulletin.

One Ocean Programme

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:53:00 GMT

The International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) designated 2008 as the International Year of the Reef. As part of the ICRI secretariat, the One Ocean Programme is integral to the planning and coordination of IYOR 2008 through the IYOR ad hoc committee.

On the evening of January 24th, 2008, the International Year of the Reef was officially launched. Guests from international governments, organisations, embassies, private sector and the conservation / scientific community gathered at the World Bank hosted event, (Washington DC), to celebrate the beginning of this year's activities, which aim to draw attention to coral reefs as sentinels of the ocean environment.

Following this a mini-symposium was held at the Mexican Cultural Centre in Washington DC to celebrate the coming year through a showcase of IYOR 2008 activities taking place around the world. Opening remarks were given by Arturo Sarukhan, Ambassador of Mexico to the United States of America, who is an avid diver and lover of the ocean. Countries and organisations presented on regional launches and a wealth of planned activities.

To find out more about the launch or what is happening in your area, visit www.iyor.org

Forest Restoration Information Service

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:47:00 GMT

The Forest Restoration Information Service (FRIS) aims to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experience among forest restoration projects and practitioners; and the prioritisation, design and implementation of forest restoration efforts. The open-access resources available through the FRIS include a database of projects worldwide, case studies, definitions, maps & links.

The online survey is closed as of 11th February 2008; we extend our thanks to all those who responded.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 14:19:00 GMT

At the 13th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Bali in December, the topics included measures to address emissions from deforestation in developing countries. A Decision was approved on approaches to stimulate action on emissions from both deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, including indicative guidance for demonstration activities.

At the meeting, UNEP-WCMC released a paper on the factors that could influence the outcomes of such a decision for conservation and livelihoods, and a summary of related experience from protected areas.