For the past few years, the African conservation group African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) has addressed the illegal wildlife trade by working to: (1) Stop the killing... (2) Stop the trafficking... (3) Stop the demand …
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This working paper sheds light on the impact of radio programs on the climate change knowledge of local populations in the Congo Basin. We provide an assessment of the change in knowledge of a rural village in the Congo Basin after inhabitants listened to one of the radio programs that were prepared on climate change...
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In this Edition: (1) International Day of Forests - Forests are ‘not only about the environment’ (2) Wildlife - Road plan could write dark chapter for storied ecosystem (3) Asian appetites for meat, medicine put wildlife at risk (4) Coming to Paris: The next global development agenda (5) Sustainable oil palm - Can private sector deliver on zero-deforestation promises? (6) Technology in Africa In an important first, emissions data ‘Made in Kenya’ (7) Publications...
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The Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan of the European Union was launched in 2003 to combat illegal timber and strengthen forest governance. FLEGT Week 2015 is a unique opportunity for the EC and its partners to reflect on the full scope of the Action Plan, including but not limited to VPAs and the EU Timber Regulation, learn from the achievements and challenges, and discuss technical aspects of FLEGT...
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On Wednesday morning, delegates reconvened in the Main Committee’s informal session to continue negotiations of the draft text of the post-2015 framework for DRR, after all-night meetings of the two informal working groups on climate change and international cooperation, and on technology transfer and other issues. Negotiations in the Main Committee continued through the day.
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On Tuesday, 24 February, a welcoming ceremony was held prior to the opening of IPCC-41. UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner highlighted the IPCC’s role in getting the world to act on climate change and stressed the links between the post-2015 development agenda and responses to climate change.
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The delayed start gave governments more time to consider the document that the co-facilitators had released on Thursday. Participants delivered statements on the document throughout the day.
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The Cameroonian government will be receiving financial support from the German cooperation to the tune of 80 million euros (about 52.5 billion CFA francs) as part of implementation of forests and wildlife preservation programs.
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For International Day of Forests 2015, ATIBT opens us the doors of tropical wood through a vimeo animation on the management and promotion of tropical wood.
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February 24 to 25 2015, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea : The 3rd Regional Steering Committee meeting of the "Harmonized regional approach to sustainable management of Congo Basin production forests" Project was held. The meeting drew COMIFAC National Coordinators, national project focal points in COMIFAC countries, representatives of COMIFAC, UNEP, ANDEGE, WRI and RA. Read more...
The city of Pointe Noire in Congo, hosted the 3rd meeting of the Decision-making and Guidance Committee (CDO) of the Programme for the Promotion of Certified Logging (PPECF) from February 19 to 20, 2015. Read more...
This article seeks to understand the evolution of corporate social responsibility (CSR) through two phases of privatisation: the acquisition of a Cameroonian state-owned public rubber company by a Singaporean firm, and the subsequent acquisition of the latter by a Chinese state-owned company. Read more...
Conflict timber—conflict financed or sustained through the harvest and sale of timber (Type 1), or conflict emerging as a result of competition over timber or other forest resources (Type 2)—poses serious problems in many countries in Asia and Africa. While forest resources, particularly timber, are far from the only commodities that spark or finance conflicts, they have certainly played a considerable role in sustaining many conflicts in these regions. Read more...
YAOUNDE, Cameroon.
The Congo Basin – covering 227 million hectares in Central Africa – is home to the second largest expanse of tropical forest on the planet, a veritable treasure trove of biodiversity and vital in global efforts to tackle climate change. Its potential for mitigating climate change is enormous, storing as it does an estimated 30 billion tonnes of carbon. Read more...
One of the main outputs of the UNFCCC COP 20 in Lima was significant progress on recognizing the importance of adaptation when responding to climate change. The National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process gained more interest, and how NAP can be supported by the GFC (Green Climate Fund) will be a subject of further discussions before the Paris talks in 2015. The Global Landscape Forum (GLF) organized by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and partners as a side event during the COP clearly states that adaptation and mitigation approaches can be combined and reinforced through “landscape approaches.” It is now time for countries and regions to turn the outputs of Lima into realities, both nationally and regionally.
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For the past few years, the African conservation group African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) has addressed the illegal wildlife trade by working to: (1)
Stop the killing on the ground by strengthening anti-poaching efforts around critical African wildlife populations; (2)
Stop the trafficking of wildlife parts out of the continent by establishing a best-in-class canine detection program that can be deployed to key African ports and by providing magisterial training to sensitize magistrates, prosecutors, customs agents and others around the issues and laws related to wildlife crime; and (3)
Stop the demand through a public awareness campaign in Asia to educate the public about the impact of their ivory and rhino horn demand...
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Wealthier nations protect biodiversity no better than poorer nations, suggests new research. The study found no link between national GDP and the effectiveness of countries at conserving the species for which they have responsibility... Read more...
Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) - February 18 to 20, 2015: The 2nd conférence of the Sahel and West Africa Program (SAWAP) was held at the African Union headquarters, in support of the Great Green Wall Initiative (GGWI) and the Building Resilience through Innovation, Communication and Knowledge Services (BRICKS) Project. It aimed to ensure consistent implementation of activities and strengthen support for SAWAP countries in the effective implementation of their projects... Read more...
In a bid to assess the quality and adequacy of services provided by the Regional Project for Enhancing Capacity to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (PREREDD +), the project administrator commissioned a beneficiary satisfaction survey, whose findings were presented at a feedback workshop held on Saturday, January 31, 2015, at La Falaise Hotel in Bonanjo, Douala... Read more...
Helping address threats to biodiversity in transboundary protected areas of the Congo Basin countries; such is the goal of the "Strengthening capacity for biodiversity conservation in transboundary protected areas of the Congo Basin countries, through sustainable forest management practices and the use of satellite and radar imagery, " Project whose financing agreement was signed Thursday, February 12, 2015 in Yaoundé, at the headquarters of the COMIFAC Executive Secretariat... Read more...
The future of the UN-REDD Programme was strengthened at the Programme's 13th Policy Board Meeting, with new donor pledges of approximately US$ 600,000 from Spain and US$ 11 million from Norway.
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The Ayoreo people of western Paraguay, who include the last uncontacted indigenous peoples south of the Amazon, have an enemy that they call the beast with metal skin and an attacker of the world. Their spears cannot penetrate its flanks, although they have tried. Read more...
The World Bank Group’s focus on climate change has resulted in significant financing to support low-emissions and resilient development. Some recent highlights include...Read more...
Green bonds have created a new way for investors to achieve the return they need while also supporting climate-friendly development projects. Many long-term investors today consider climate risk and sustainability in their investment choices. Read more...
MANILA, 26 Feb. 2015 — As one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world that are at-risk from climate change, the Philippines is among the main countries that could finance priority adaptation investments through the Green Climate Fund (GCF). This is one of the messages the Executive Director of the Fund, Ms. Héla Cheikhrouhou, conveyed to senior officials of the Philippine government as part of her participation in a high-level mission to the country led by French President François Hollande. Read more...
(Washington, DC, Jan. 14, 2015) The Adaptation Fund has received a contribution from the government of Flanders (Belgium) of EUR 1 million (US$ 1.2 million), which had been pledged to the Fund in 2013. This contribution, combined with the German government’s recent contribution of EUR 50 million (US$ 62.3 million), will enable the Fund to clear its‘pipeline’ of pending climate adaptation project proposals from multilateral implementing entities (MIEs), and to finance more projects by national and regional implementing entities (NIEs and RIEs). Read more...
Timber buying policies in Europe, ATIBT and WWF France place tropical wood firmly back at the heart of the action - (2) An increasing number of retailers and brand owners have started to require their suppliers to provide wood products from responsible sources (3) Many public procurement policies make certification a prerequisite for selecting suppliers of construction materials (4) ITTO's Tropical Timber Market Report: Trends over 2013-2014 in Europe (5) FSC Forum on 25th March 2015 at the DOMOTEX Asia/CHINAFLOOR Trade Show in Shanghai, China (6) Le Commerce du Bois officially appointed Monitoring Organisation for EUTR... Read more...
Douala (Cameroon): From February 23 to 24, 2015, the regional workshop for the validation of PIFs (Project Identification Form) from Cameroon, Congo and Gabon was held in preparation for submission of said forms to the Board of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The submissions would be developed based on achievements garnered by the TRIDOM project as recommended by the July 2014 Extraordinary Session of the COMIFAC Council of Ministers and the last TRIDOM project workshop which took place in December 2014...Read more...
The issue of global warming is and remains a worldwide concern. Various initiatives such as REDD have been launched by the international community to curtail greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and degradation. This initiative aims, among other things, to reward conservation efforts made by forest-possessing countries considering that they play a crucial role in carbon sequestration.... Read more...
Muldersdrift, South Africa, 26th February 2015—Ground-breaking community-led approaches to combating wildlife crime around the world will be shared at an international symposium taking place in Muldersdrift near Johannesburg from 26-28th February, attended by researchers, community groups, government officials, UN agencies and NGOs...Read more...
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, February 2015—Officials from wildlife and law enforcement ministries and agencies, magistrates, the private sector and civil society organizations met earlier this month to create a National Co-ordination Unit (NCU) to combat wildlife crime in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)...Read more...
Bangkok, Thailand, 23rd February 2015—Ivory traffickers be warned: the Thai authorities have a powerful forensic tool in the country’s drive to detect ivory of illegal origin entering its markets and ensure domestic traders are complying with new laws...
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Worldbanklogo27 January 2015: The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) announced a contribution of £40 million to the World Bank administered BioCarbon Fund (BCF). The funding will support the BCF Initiative on Sustainable Forest Landscapes (ISFL) in order to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from land use, deforestation and forest degradation...Read more...
Geneva, Switzerland, 8-13 February 2015 - At the eighth part of the second session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP 2-8), delegates agreed on a text that will serve as the basis for negotiating a new climate change agreement. This new agreement is anticipated to be adopted at the Paris Climate Change Conference in December 2015...Read more...
February 2015: The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has made available an 'Impulse Report' and a 'Book of Abstracts' in advance of the UNCCD 3rd Scientific Conference, which will convene from 9-12 March 2015, in Cancún, Mexico. The Conference will take place as part of the 4th special session of the Committee on Science and Technology (CST S-4)...Read more...
...The photos we see of crops withering in fields from lack of rain or of homes splintered by a storm provide only a glimpse of the damage climate change can do to the world’s poor...Read more...
The InforMEA E-Learning Tool aims at building knowledge and greater understanding of International Environmental Law (IEL). It provides educational and training materials on IEL concepts and the development and implementation of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). Learners can complete one or several courses at their own pace or access individual lessons according to their needs and interests in a non-linear mode at no cost. Read more...
IPCC24 February 2015: At the opening of the 41st session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 41), delegates were informed that, effective immediately, IPCC Chair Rajendra Pachauri had stepped down from his position. Pachauri sent a letter, dated 24 February 2015, to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon informing him of his decision to resign. Pachauri noted that the IPCC needs the time and full attention of the Chair in the immediate future, and that he is unable to provide this leadership at the current time. In response and prior to the opening of IPCC 41, the IPCC Bureau agreed to designate Vice-Chair Ismail El Gizouli as Acting IPCC Chair...Read more...
February 2015: Speaking at the International Forum on Agriculture and Climate Change, which was organized by the Government of France as the first in a series of events leading up to the December 2015 climate change conference, José Graziano da Silva, Director-General of Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), urged a “paradigm shift” in agriculture. He described today's predominant model of agricultural production as “not suitable for the new food security challenges of the 21st century.”..
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Governance of tropical forests at both the international and the national level is more and more fragmented because of the large constellation of actors, ideas and interests influencing forestland policies for their conservation or change. In public policy area, fragmentation is to some extent the result of competing interests and objectives that lead to a power play in policy-making between actor groups (both public and private), i.e., state bureaucracies, Intergovernmental organisations, nongovernmental organisations and private companies. Read more...
his report presents the state of progress of projects and initiatives to promote adaptation and REDD+ in the Congo Basin region and it analyses opportunities for synergies or trade-off between the two strategies. 94 national programs and activities on the ground related to REDD+ and 11 on adaptation have been identified in six countries of the Congo Basin.Read more...
This document describes the participatory methodology used for the regional baseline assessment conducted in five landscapes of the Congo Basin. It was developed in the framework of Climate Change and Forests in the Congo Basin: Synergies between Adaptation and Mitigation (COBAM) project, initiated and implemented by CIFOR under the African Development Bank grant to the Economic Community of Central African States for financing the Congo Basin Ecosystems Conservation Support Program. Read more...
