FOREST MANAGEMENT TRAINING FOR FORESTERS- BHUTAN

The ‘Training of Trainers’ held by SNV - the Netherlands Development Organization to train Bhutanese foresters on operating sustainable non-wood forest product business is anticipated to benefit farmers.  The foresters will train the farmers in their respective Gewogs. The training was held in collaboration with Social Forestry and Extension Division and Regional Agriculture and Marketing Office based in Mongar.

February 9

http://bit.ly/12N7hWL

SOLAR LAMPS FOR STUDENTS- PAKISTAN

More than 17,000 solar lamps are being given to students in Rawalpindi Division, while 11,000 lamps would be distributed among students of Rawalpindi District. The Solar lamps are being distributed to the students on the basis of merit. The government is spending Rupees 2.5 billion under this program. This will help students to prepare for their exams even during power outage.

February 8

http://bit.ly/YhJdE3

MACOUN MARSH IMAGES (CANADA)

Here are some recent images from our marsh in Ottawa. 

 Male cardinal

 

 Female cardinal (Hot lips!)

Common Redpoll

Maldives responds to Hyderabad Call for Biodiversity Champions

Entire country to become UNESCO Biosphere Reserve by 2017

Montreal, 18 February 2013 – In response to the call for champions in support of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, the Republic of Maldives has pledged to become the first nation where the entire country and its Exclusive Economic Zone will be a Biosphere Reserve.
 

 GNU Free documentation License

Whale Shark in the Maldives

“The whole country of Maldives will be a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve by 2017 – where public support for conservation of the country’s remarkable environment secures a vibrant green economy and a good quality of life for all Maldivians,” said Dr Mariyam Shakeela, Minister of Environment and Energy, Republic of Maldives.

The pledge by the Republic of Maldives, is in response to the call to Parties, partners and other
stakeholders to take urgent action towards achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, made at the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 11) in Hyderabad, India, and builds on the announcement made at the Rio+20 Conference.

The implementation plan, Maldives as a Biosphere Reserve: An Implementation Plan 2013-2017, sets a roadmap for 2013 to 2017, after which the plan will be updated based on progress and lessons learned. The plan will be implemented by and for different atolls in a stepwise fashion, based on their readiness to adopt the “Biosphere Approach”. The plan was endorsed by the cabinet of Ministers in January 2013, showing the commitment from all stakeholders to this plan.

The goal is to ensure that more than half of the country’s atolls are implementing the new approach by the end 2017, in order to trigger the application for Maldives as a Biosphere Reserve to be submitted to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Executive Secretary Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias said:
“This pledge from the Maldives is extraordinary in size and potential impact. We should expect that it will be an inspiration to other CBD Parties, including Small Island Developing States and donor countries, to work harder toward the achievement of all of the Aichi Targets.”

“Global progress in the development of marine protected areas and in the sustainable management of fish stocks is lagging considerably,” he added. “Although there are still more than seven years before the 2011-2020 Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and its 20 Aichi Targets are to be fully implemented, as agreed in Nagoya at CBD COP 10, we will only reach these targets by making ambitious pledges as the Maldives has now done.”

CALL TO CITES – STOP STIMULATING DEMAND FOR ENDANGERED SPECIES

LONDON: The campaigning Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) is calling on international policy-makers to Stop Stimulating Demand for critically endangered species.

 

The London-based NGO cautioned that conflicting decisions and top-level discussions regarding trades in the products of endangered species such as elephants, tigers and precious woods create consumer confusion and ultimately drive poaching/theft by criminals to supply rising demand.

 

EIA will be promoting its Stop Stimulating Demand message at the 16^th meeting of the Conference of Parties (CoP16) to the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Bangkok, Thailand, from March 3-14, 2013.

 

Executive Director Mary Rice said: “International criminal networks are decimating key species worldwide to feed a growing demand for wildlife products that is being stimulated by contradictory signals and messages which undermine existing prohibitions or fuel the anticipation of future legalised markets.

 

“Both actions serve to confuse consumers as to the illegality of a product, working against demand-reduction initiatives and effectively encouraging stockpiling by those speculating on future trade.”

 

The Stop Stimulating Demand message frames EIA’s key goals at CITES CoP16, pressing Parties on:

 

Elephants:

  = close down all ivory markets, both legal and illegal;

  = amend policies that currently stimulate demand for ivory products;

  = tackle the criminal networks behind the illegal ivory trade.

 

Tigers:

  = stop all trade in parts and products of captive-bred tigers;

  = commission an independent body to review implementation of existing resolutions and decisions relating to tigers and other Asian big cats;

  = enact trade suspensions against countries found to be in non-compliance with the letter and/or spirit of CITES resolutions.

 

Forests:

  = support the proposal by Thailand and Vietnam to list Siam rosewood on Appendix II of CITES to allow for more rigorous monitoring of regulated trade;

  =support proposals for listing Malagasy ebony and rosewood, Honduran rosewood, black rosewood and granadillo rosewood.

 

UN-Habitat launches call for Urban Youth Fund applications

Source: UN-Habitat, Nairobi, 29 Jan 2013 http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?cid=11853&catid=637&typeid=6&subMenuId=0

 

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) on Tuesday launched a call for applications for the Urban Youth Fund. In a press release, the agency announced that the Fund will for the fifth year in a row provide grants to projects led by young people aged 15-32 years who are piloting innovative approaches to employment, good urban governance, shelter and secure tenure. Small development initiatives are eligible for grants up to $25,000. These grants aim at promoting youth empowerment as the solution for better urban governance.

 

Indeed, of the one billion slum dwellers in the world today, it is estimated that more than 70% are under the age of 30. These young people have few resources available to improve their own living. Interestingly though, there are many youth-led initiatives in slums and squatter settlements around the world that require support in their efforts to transform their communities. This has led UN-Habitat to reconsider the youth as drivers for change. Through this Fund, UN-Habitat embraces the belief that youth are a solution for sustainable urban development.

 

The agency invites young people based in cities or towns from the developing world to apply for grants from the Fund.

The application will open from February 15th 2013 to April 15th 2013.

 

More information and details are available at www.unhabitat.org/youthfund

The CBD Alliance

The CBD Alliance is seeking an experienced individual from (March 2013 – Dec 2013) with a potential for renewal next year  based on potential funding available and performance. The successful candidate will work closely with the Board of Directors to manage the ongoing operations of the Alliance (including financial management, reporting, fundraising, proposal development); facilitate communication within the network and with the CBD Secretariat; and coordinate external communications during CBD processes and meetings.

Deadline: 15th March 2013
Please note that any application that does not meet these physical requirements will not be considered and any further communication from the CBD Alliance to the applicants will be only to the SHORT-LISTED candidates.

Coordinator CBD Alliance
Contact: www.cbdalliance.org