Invitation to Respond to UN General Assembly Dialogue on Harmony with Nature

Invitation to Respond to UN General Assembly Dialogue on Harmony with Nature.  View Maude Barlow's presentation on Rights of Nature and Harmony with Nature.
------------------------------------------------------------
http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=87ed6b2ba86c4cd4f1c93a720&id=267321affc&e=9b1de06201

2015 International Year of Soils Launch

The 68th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) declared 2015 as the International Year of Soils (IYS). The IYS will be formally launched in an event organized during the 69th session of the UNGA, on 5 December 2014, in New York, US. Concurrent launch events will be held at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) in Rome, Italy, as well as in Bangkok, Thailand, and elsewhere in the world. The launch date coincides with the World Soil Day (WSD). The IYS 2015 will promote awareness and understanding of the importance of soil for food security and essential ecosystem functions.  

Irreversible Climate Change Would Result from Continued Inaction

A pending U.N. report notes that a lack of fast action to combat global warming will lead to severe impacts

October 28, 2014 |By Lisa Friedman, Gayathri Vaidyanathan and ClimateWire

 

Continuing to pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere will trigger "severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts for people, species and 27 ecosystems," concludes a landmark draft U.N. science report expected to be approved this week. 

 

See the rest at http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/irreversible-climate-change-would-result-from-continued-inaction/ 

UN issues guidelines to minimize risk of invasive species- Guidance targets pets, terrarium and aquarium species and live bait

PyeongChang/Montreal, 10 October 2014 – The Convention on Biological Diversity today adopted new guidance to tackle the introduction of invasive species as pets, aquarium and terrarium species, and as live bait and live food.

The guidance addresses a major pathway for introduction and spread of invasive alien species, as a significant percentage of global invasive introductions result from pets, aquarium and terrarium species that escape from confined conditions and then get into the natural environment.

“This is an important step forward to prevent, and control the risks on biodiversity posed by non-native live animals, plants as well as pathogens and parasites attached to the live specimens that are in trade, including growing market on the Internet trade,” said Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
"Safe trade of live animals and plants and responsible conduct protects unique biodiversity in the varied biogeographic regions of the world while facilitating an international market. This contributes to sustainable development world wide,” he added.

The guidelines, which were adopted during the 12th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD (COP-12), fill a gap in the international guidance on prevention, control or eradication of invasive alien species. They are intended to apply to the import or transport of species to a country or distinct biogeographical area within a country, including trade via the Internet. The guidance is relevant to countries, relevant organizations, the industry and consumers, including all actors along the value chain, such as importers, breeders, wholesalers, retailers and customers. For the case of live food, this also includes restaurants and markets. It provides elements that national and other authorities may use for the development of regulations or codes of conduct, or that international organizations, industry and civil society organizations may use in voluntary codes of conduct and other
guidance.

In spite of countries’ efforts, the trend of invasions of alien species does not show signs of slowing down. The fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook 4, released earlier this week, re-affirmed that invasive alien species are a major threat to biodiversity and their introduction has accelerated as a result of growing international trade.

This guidance directly supports the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity target 9 which says that “By 2020, invasive alien species and pathways are identified and prioritized, priority species are controlled or Page 2 of 2 eradicated, and measures are in place to manage pathways to prevent their introduction and establishment.”

To download the guidance, please visit
http://www.cbd.int/doc/meetings/cop/cop-12/insession/cop-12-L-05-en.pdf
More information at: http://www.cbd.int/doc/publications/cbd-ts-48-en.pdf

UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE SUMMIT 2014

As global leaders and industry heads gather in New York for the UN Secretary-General’s historic climate summit, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) calls on governments and the private sector to commit to concrete action to eliminate hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a family of greenhouse gases which are hundreds to thousands of times more harmful to the climate than carbon dioxide.

 

EIA representatives are in New York today to deliver the message that time is running out to prevent the planet’s climate system from reaching a catastrophic tipping point.

 

“There are solutions to the climate crisis, including a phase-out of the consumption and production of HFCs under the Montreal Protocol,” said EIA US Executive Director Alexander von Bismarck. “Such a global commitment would mitigate more than 100 billion metric tonnes of CO₂-equivalent by 2050. It is crucial that world leaders use the Summit as an opportunity to announce ambitions such as this.”

 

“The political response to climate change to date has been wholly inadequate,” said Clare Perry, Head of EIA UK’s Climate Campaign. “The international community now stands at a crossroads  - in one direction lies political apathy, unstoppable climate change and massive disruption to life as we know it and in the other is affirmative action to rein in greenhouse gas emissions and an opportunity to bring the planet back from the brink. We urge all leaders to grasp this low-hanging fruit and support a global phase-out of HFCs under the Montreal Protocol in recognition of the substantial mitigation potential available.”

 

HFC emissions are the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, and are predicted to reach 5.5-8.8 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent by 2050, representing 9-19 per cent of global CO₂ emissions under a business-as-usual scenario.

 

EIA has been campaigning at regional, national and global levels for an end to ozone-depleting and climate-damaging chemicals for nearly a decade. 

For more information on EIA's HFC work, please view the Fact Sheet at http://eia-international.org/wp-content/uploads/HFC-fact-sheet-for-UNSG-FINAL.pdf

UN Major Group Children and Youth

Based on lots of requests by the focal points for training and capacity building -- the UN Major Group of Children and Youth have teamed up with the Earth Charter International (based in Costa Rica) to hold a set of webinars dedicated to build your capacity as young leaders in different management tools to help your initiatives.

To kick off things, we are starting with things like fundraising (writing a grant proposal), meetings and event planning. We are also going to continue to partner with other organisations in our network to ensure that our internal capacity is strengthened.

We hope you will all sign up and enter the different classes. We also hope you will disseminate it to your networks

 

Making meetings great! – April 24^th, 14:00 GMT

http://www.wiziq.com/online-class/1780706-1-making-meetings-great

 

Writing a grant proposal – April 30^th, 14:00 GMT

http://www.wiziq.com/online-class/1780711-2-writing-a-grant-proposal

Planning an event – May 8^th, 14:00 GMT

http://www.wiziq.com/online-class/1780723-3-planning-an-event

 

Please follow these links to enter each class.

 

Instructor: Alice Longstreth Swett, Expert with more than 20 years of experience in youth leadership training.

UN Major Group Children and Youth

The Children and Youth space in sustainable development negotiations at the United Nations. 
Website: www.childrenyouth.org, Facebook: www.facebook.com/UNMGCY, Twitter: @UNMGCY

UNDP Youth Strategy 2014-2017: ‘Empowered Youth, Sustainable Future’

‘UNDP supports policy and programming that aims to ensure that youth are informed, engaged and empowered to contribute to sustainable human development and resilience of their communities. The combination of youth and innovation has the potential to create solutions to development challenges and to transform societies.’ — Helen Clark, Administrator, UNDP

Today #UNDP is launching its Youth Strategy 2014-2017: ‘Empowered Youth, Sustainable Future’ during the Forum on Youth and Development in Tunis, Tunisia 31 March – 2 April 2014. The event is being live-streamed here: www.undp.org/live

International Year of Small Island Developing States launched at UN

The International Year of SIDS has been launched by the UN to put a spotlight on the special needs of island nations. SIDS need international support in their efforts to build resilient economies. Many face the threat of rising sea levels and what has been described as "total inundation" caused by global warming.

Website: http://bit.ly/1hLwtFR
Listen on UN radio: http://bit.ly/1fnIZK3

Call for partners: Join the global partnership for youth in the post-2015 development agenda

Do you want to help ensure that youth priorities are reflected in the post-2015 development agenda? Today, the Office of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, in partnership with ITU, UNFPA and UNMC, and with the support of the Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development’s Sub-Working Group on Post-2015,  the Major Group on Children and Youth and the International Coordination Meeting for Youth Organisations, is happy to announce the launch of the Global Partnership on Youth in the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

This partnership brings together UN agencies, international NGOs, youth-led organisations, national youth councils, and youth groups. Building on the five key thematic outcomes of theMyWorld2015 survey, the objective is to offer a platform for thousands of youth and youth-development stakeholders from around the world to identify and formulate what they think should be included in the post-2015 development framework pertaining to youth. Under the five thematic areas Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship, Health, Good Governance, and Peace and Stability, the partnership will work to identify youth priorities, and advocate for these to be reflected in the post-2015 development agenda.

On 17 February, a crowdsourcing platform will be launched to serve as a virtual space for young people to express their priorities – but you can get involved already now:
Join this partnership by filling out the registration form, available here, no later than 10 February 2014.

What does it mean to become a partner? By becoming a partner, you commit to:

Mobilize & Advocate
We want to ensure that every voice is heard; young people in rural areas, young women and girls, youth in conflict zones, youth with disabilities, youth with limited access to the Internet, and many more. Use your networks to reach the largest number of young people, ask them to share their input and help build a collective vision for youth in the post-2015 development agenda. Help promote outcomes at grassroots, and with local and regional officials and policy makers.

Participate
In the online conversation on any or all of the five thematic areas: Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship, Health, Peace and Security and Good Governance. Urge young people in your organisation to offer their thoughts and suggestions.

Empower
Youth in your organisation, company or network to not only participate in activities like this, but to realize the ideals outlined in the post-2015 development agenda.

Coordinate
The assigned focal point from your organisation will receive regular updates on the crowdsourcing process, possibly including invitations for virtual meetings, events and activities to coordinate the work of all members of the partnership.

Help us spread this call further – link to www.un.org/youthenvoy and share the flyer with your networks. More information about the partnership and crowdsourcing, as well as a full list of partners, will be available on this site shortly.

http://www.un.org/youthenvoy/news/call-for-partners-join-the-global-partnership-for-youth-in-the-post-2015-development-agenda/

 Crowdsourcing, development, Global Partnership on Youth, ICMYO, ITU, MGCY, Post-2015, UNFPA, UNMC

United Nations General Assembly decides to proclaim 3 March as World Wildlife Day

Geneva, 23 December 2013 – On 20 December 2013, the Sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly decided to proclaim 3 March, the day of the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), as World Wildlife Day, to celebrate and raise awareness of the world’s wild fauna and flora. Read more: http://www.cites.org/eng/news/pr/2013/20131223_world-wildlife-day.php

United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth

The United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, Mr. Ahmad Alhendawi, has just launched the Online Platform for Youth at: http://www.un.org/youthenvoy/ . The primary objective of this website is to be an information hub that provides news about the work of United Nations entities with and for young people.

"UNiting for Youth", kicking-off the celebration of this years International Youth Day!

Next Monday (August 5^th), it is all about ‪#‎Youth in the UN! Mark your calendars for the coming event: "UNiting for Youth", kicking-off the celebration of this years International Youth Day!

More than 700 youth connected from USA, Belgium, Brazil, India, Lebanon and Nigeria will discuss with Ban Ki-moon and Senior UN Officials‪ #‎YouthDevelopment and the UN initiatives for youth. Don’t miss the live broadcast of the event:  Webtv.un.org ‪#‎YouthDay. Follow the ‪#‎UNYouthEnvoy on Twitter: @AhmadAlhendawi. Follow the conversation using #YouthDay.

The event is scheduled for 10 am EDT on August 5^th – tune in through Webtv.un.org and get involved!

New UN report cites 'unprecedented climate extremes' over past decade

3 July 2013 – The world experienced “unprecedented high-impact climate extremes” between 2001 and 2010 and more national temperature records were broken during that period than in any other decade, according to a United Nations report launched today. 

The report, The Global Climate 2001-2010, A Decade of Extremes, says the first decade of the 21st century was the warmest for both hemispheres and for both land and ocean temperatures since measurements began in 1850. High temperatures were accompanied by a rapid decline in Arctic sea ice, and an accelerating loss of the ice sheets of the world's glaciers.