19 August 2008: In a message delivered by Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Secretary, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, to the Pacific Islands Forum summit meeting, which is taking place until 21 August 2008 in Alofi, Niue, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced the creation of an Inter-Agency Climate Change Centre for coordinated UN support to Pacific Island Countries and regional organizations, in partnership with the Government of Samoa.
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August 2008: The Global Partnership Initiative for Plant Breeding Capacity Building (GIPB), a platform and partnership of public, private and civil society institutions hosted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in collaboration with the FAO Inter-Departmental Working Group on Bioenergy, has called for expanded, up-to-date information on genetic resources and breeding of selected underutilized species, together with detailed analysis of their potential as bioenergy crops adaptable to sustainable smallholder production systems.
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12 August 2008: On the occasion of International Youth Day,
celebrated on 12 August, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Somalia Deputy
Representative, Hannan Sulieman, underscored the role young people can play in
helping to tackle climate change.
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August 2008: The Secretariat of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) has called for the submission of national information on the
implementation of the Non-Legally Binding Instrument on All Types of Forests
(NLBI) and progress towards the achievement of the four Global Objectives on
Forests.
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13 August 2008: A UN-backed expert group, the Steering Board on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB), has endorsed a draft sustainability standard that would evaluate the economic, social and environmental effects of biofuels over their entire life-cycle.
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7 August 2008: The Secretariat of the Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD) has notified organizations participating in the
Biodiversity Indicators Partnership about the timetable for preparing the third
edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-3) and has invited these
organizations to make the latest scientific information available for the
Outlook.
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6 August 2008: The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has invited submissions regarding experiences in the
development and application of tools relevant to the sustainable production and
use of biofuels, as well as relevant information from research on, and
monitoring of, the positive and negative impacts of the production and use of
biofuels on biodiversity and related socioeconomic aspects, including those
related to indigenous and local communities.
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12 August 2008: On the occasion of International Youth Day,
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon underlined that climate change is happening
and, if unaddressed, could hinder efforts towards the Millennium Development
Goals and threaten peace and security.
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12 August 2008: On the occasion of International Youth Day
(IYD2008), Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD), stressed the threat posed by climate change to biodiversity
and noted the relevance of the IYD2008 theme: “Youth and Climate Change: Time
for Action.”
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August 2008: In preparation for the 29th Session of
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), scheduled to take place
from 31 August-4 September 2008, in Geneva, Switzerland, the Secretariat of the
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) System and the
Government of Norway have submitted a proposal for an IPCC Special Report on
Managing the Risk of Extreme Events to Advance Climate Change Adaptation.
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