Brussels, Belgium, 10th February 2015—the European Union (EU) met this week to develop an holistic strategy and plan its activities in support of wildlife conservation in Africa over the next decade.
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LOMÉ, Togo – Enhancing cooperation between West African countries to better tackle the illegal trade in timber across the region was the focus of an INTERPOL workshop in Togo. In addition to police and forest law enforcement officers from Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Togo, representatives from Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal also attended the two day (10 and 11 February) workshop aimed at developing and improving technical and law enforcement cooperation. Read more...
An international online FAO conference on the economics of climate change mitigation options in the forest sector begins today. The conference will run over 4 weeks with 6 sessions covering afforestation and reforestation, reducing deforestation and degradation, changing forest management practices, wood energy, green building, and sustainable packaging. Attracting over 1,600 registrants from 127 countries and 126 case studies from 47 countries, the response to the conference has been encouraging. The conference will explore how a wide range of interventions in the forest sector could help to mitigate climate change, based on country experiences and analyses of the costs and benefits of the various options. With 50 technical presentations, combined with panel and plenary discussions, the conference will provide an excellent platform for discussion and the sharing of experiences from around the world....
Read more...Rwanda has undergone a remarkable economic and social reconstruction in recent years and recorded consistent growth rates of 8 per cent a year between 2001 and 2012, according to the BBC's Country Profile. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank say that the country, along with many of its African neighbours, is entering an economic boom.
Read more...While price remains important and central, let's also include ecological elements in the price system. Prices continue to be at the centre of how economies work. Whatever the institutional arrangements and the messages coming from governments, whether something is expensive or cheap, will still be a large part of what counts, with both consumers and businesses. Read more...
When it comes to corporate sustainability, what really matters? It’s a tough question to answer, especially as the diversity and complexity of issues under the umbrella of “sustainability” continues to grow. There’s corporate governance, workers’ rights, carbon emissions, waste and much more, and – with government regulations up in the air – it can be exceedingly difficult to predict whether or not a sustainability play will pay off. Read more...
Economic sectors including food, housing and transport, and their embedded energy needs, account for 63% of the global ecological footprint. There are lots of new sustainable business models emerging around the world helping to transform these sectors. If they can be taken to scale the transition offers potential to build business value, create jobs and support more resilient communities. Investing 2% of GDP in green economies could create 9.6 million new jobs. Read more...
People and economies depend on nature for everything. Until now our economies have not reflected that dpendency. Re-valuing our natural systems in terms of the societal and economic, cultural benefits that they bring will help to drive investment towards them and create new opportunities for local communities. Read more...
...Development of ecosystem or biodiversity accounts (to be applied in national environmental statistics)...The ‘threatened species index’ proved to generate useful outcomes at the more aggregated levels (e.g. country level or sector level). Its usefulness could be enhanced substantially by making the IUCN threat categories more detailed in the sense that (1) threats should be immediately linked to economic activities, and (2) the importance of the threat should be described... Read more...
Larger than elephants - Inputs for the design of an EU strategic approach to Wildlife Conservation in Africa Volume 4: Central Africa DRAFT DOCUMENT... The strategic approach developed herein is primarily targeted at the conservation of large functioning ecosystems or landscapes supporting key African wildlife populations. It contributes to wider goals of biodiversity conservation by, for example, protecting many small areas of outstanding importance to particular threatened taxa where those small areas fall within larger conservation landscapes. A secondary tactic supporting wider biodiversity goals is to make conservation funds available to agencies and projects protecting small important sites that cannot be contained in the large key landscapes identified. Read more...
Dear Readers, Our General Assembly has kicked off the New Year with a gift for tropical forests. The new statutes our members have approved increase their accountability on environmental issues and responsible harvesting. At the same time, they empower the private sector to better carry out its role in close collaboration with key stakeholders...
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The present report introduces the main findings of the research study based on the interviews conducted. Inasmuch as the EUTR had been entered into application for a year when the research study started, further researches should be conducted in the coming months with the benefit of hindsight. Read more...
The 68th UN General Assembly declared 2015 the International Year of Soils (IYS) (A/RES/68/232). The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has been nominated to implement the IYS 2015, within the framework of the Global Soil Partnership and in collaboration with Governments and the secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification...The IYS 2015 aims to increase awareness and understanding of the importance of soil for food security and essential ecosystem functions. Read more...
The IUCN premises in Yaoundé, served as a venue for a high-level encounter between the CBFP and CEFDHAC regarding the platform’s current operations and possible ways of heightening CEFDHAC’s visibility to enlist financial partners’ support for CEFDHAC.
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The ATIBT Forum will be held in Milan during EXPO 2015 . The bottom line is development, driven by responsible actors throughout the value chain. Development that strongly contributes to improve food security and nutrition of the communities who play an active role in this value chain: be it forest dwellers or wood products traders. Read more...
The Treasurer General of the Parliamentarians’ Network for the Sustainable Management of Central African Forest Ecosystems, Hon. ADELI Edji, who also serves as the Chairman of the Finance Committee of Chad’s National Assembly, recently completed an audit mission to the REPAR headquarters in Yaounde, from January 19 to 23, 2015... Read more...
Uncontrolled poaching and illegal trade, often to supply the demands of a few, will push even more species to the brink of extinction. Although conservation practitioners recognize that long-term solutions must revolve around altering human behaviours, public education and enforcement of wildlife-related laws, there is still much discussion about the effectiveness of the carrot (rewards) and/or the stick (punishment).
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SEED is a global partnership for action on sustainable development and the green economy. Nairobi, 2 February 2015 - Enterprises that incorporate social and environmental benefits in their business model can apply from today for the 2015 SEED Awards. Nairobi, 2 February 2015 - Enterprises that incorporate social and environmental benefits in their business model can apply from today for the 2015 SEED Awards. Read more...
The Bushmeat Research Initiative (BRI) was established in 2011 as an integral part of the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry. The Bushmeat Research Initiative (BRI) was established in 2011 as an integral part of the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry. Since 2005 CIFOR and partner scientists have produced several theses and publications on the patterns and sustainability of bushmeat harvesting, consumption and marketing in tropical forests across Asia, Africa and Latin America... Read more...
..We studied links between human malnutrition and wild meat availability within the Rainforest Biotic Zone in central Africa. We distinguished two distinct hunted mammalian diversity distributions, one in the rainforest areas (Deep Rainforest Diversity, DRD) containing taxa of lower hunting sustainability, the other in the northern rainforest-savanna mosaic, with species of greater hunting potential (Marginal Rainforest Diversity, MRD).... Read more...
With new initiatives in the regions to track bushmeat hunting, this database represents an opportunity to synthesise current and future data on bushmeat hunting, consumption and trade in West and Central Africa, identify gaps in current understanding, and systematically target future monitoring efforts. Read more...
In this new edition of January, you'll find a well documented report on: A new tool to fight poverty and climate change; the contribution of wildlife sector in national economy; the agro-ecological and therapeutic benefits of vetiver; the white rhinoceros under threat of extinction. Also featuring is the interview of the French climatologist, Jean Jouzel, co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2007, who talks about the need to act to stabilize climate change. Read more …
The holding of this first intergovernmental negotiation on the post-2015 development programme at the UN Headquarters in New York, from 19 to 21 January 2015, was aimed at making a appraisal of the preparations for a new global sustainable development programme to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Read more …
12 to 17 January 2015, holding in Bonn, Germany, of the third plenary session of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBESS-3), which gathered over 300 participants representing IPBES member and non-member governments, UN agencies and convention secretariats, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, and various stakeholders groups. Read more …
FOA Headquarters in Rome, Italy, hosted from 19 to 23 January 2015, the fifteenth session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA 15), under the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). FOA Headquarters in Rome, Italy, hosted from 19 to 23 January 2015, the fifteenth session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA 15), under the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Read more …
This topic was at the center of the second meeting of the open-ended Special Intergovernmental Expert Group responsible for examining the International arrangement on forests (AHEG2) which held from 12 to 16 January 2015 at the UN Headquarters in New York and was attended by 162 participants, including representatives of 79 member States, nine members of the Collaboration Partnership on Forests, 10 major groups and two permanent observers. Read more …
