WMO's Voluntary Cooperation Programme Reports on 2012 Activities [viewed]
25 February 2013: The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has issued the January-December 2012 newsletter from its Voluntary Cooperation Programme (VCP) and Development and Regional Activities Department. The publication details, among other activities, new funding agreements to support climate service systems in West Africa, Haiti, Peru and Ethiopia, and summarizes the outcomes of past partnerships, including on drafting meteorology bills, installing automatic weather stations and updating a meteorological service strategic plan.
22 February 2013: The Governments of Burundi and Rwanda are collaborating on integrated water resources management (IWRM) as part of the Water, Climate and Development Programme (WACDEP), a Global Water Partnership (GWP) project. WACDEP aims to increase climate resilience and water security in the Kagera water basin catchment, which is part of the Rwanda-Burundi Cyohoha transboundary catchment area.
14 February 2012: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has issued US$1 billion through its Green Bond Program. As the largest finance bond scheme so far, IFC aims to engage large-scale investors from the private sector to support climate change projects in developing countries.
21 February 2013: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has released the Third African Environment Outlook (AEO-3) Summary for Policy Makers, commissioned by the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN). The report focuses on the links between environment and health, and includes subsections on: air quality; biodiversity; chemicals and waste; climate change and variability; coastal and marine resources; freshwater and sanitation; and land.
20 February 2013: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Global Environmental Alert Service (GEAS) has published the February 2013 issue of its bulletin, which focuses on harmful substances, hazardous waste, and ecosystem management. The newsletter addresses the potential environmental damage caused by dust storms, stressing the need to put in place effective early warning systems.
20 February 2013: The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has announced the launch of an online Course for Secondary Teachers on Climate Change Education for Sustainable Development (CCESD). The training kit, which features a series of six-day programmes, is designed to support secondary teachers in helping young people understand the causes and consequences of climate change.
16 February 2013: Representatives from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the International Council for Exploration of the Sea, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have presented their work to scientists, experts, educators and media at a one-day conference on “Stress, Sustainability and Development of Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) during Climate Change.”
15 February 2013: The UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), through its Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAP), has partnered with East Africa's Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to promote the use of geospatial technologies to improve disaster reduction in East Africa.
20 January 2013: The Energy, Environment and Climate Change Department (ONEC) of the African Development Bank (AfDB) released the second edition of the Bank's semi-annual report on its Climate Investment Funds (CIF) activities, which showcases expected results from projects underway in Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger and South Africa.
