5 June
2008: The UN World
Tourism Organization (UNWTO) launched two publications on World Environment
Day, 5 June 2008. The first, produced in collaboration with the UN Environment
Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), as well as
the University of Oxford's Centre for the Environment, focuses on “Climate
Change Adaptation and Mitigation in the Tourism Sector: Frameworks, Tools and
Practices.”
3
June 2008: Lennart Båge, President of the International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD), told the High-Level Conference on World Food Security, at
its 3-5 June 2008 meeting in Rome, Italy, that “complacency” with food
surpluses has led to underinvestment in agriculture, for which the world is now
“literally paying the price.” Drawing attention to the under-utilized capacity
of smallholder farmers, he called for investments in rural agriculture,
including: improved access to essential inputs, such as seeds and fertilizer;
microfinance institutions; rural infrastructure; market linkages and access to
market information; and food processing.
30
May 2008: The ninth Conference of the Parties (COP 9) to the Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD) was held from 19-30 May 2008, in Bonn, Germany. The
COP addressed a range of issues related to climate change, including ocean
fertilization, biofuels and biodiversity, and forest biodiversity. [Photo: COP 9 President Sigmar Gabriel gaveled the meeting to
a close at 9:00 pm]
29 May 2008: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Japan announced a new $92 million initiative to help Africa adapt to global warming.
29 May 2008: The World Bank announced a new
programme to address the impact of tropical glacier retreat in Bolivia, Peru, and
Ecuador. During the project launch in Lima, Peru, Carlos Felipe Jaramillo,
World Bank director for Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela noted that “Climate
change will heavily impact Andean countries' economies, particularly the poor.
Adapting to climate change is crucial given the severe and irreversible effects
it will have on the region.”
29 May 2008: Climate change poses “particularly serious macroeconomic, fiscal, and financial challenges for low-income countries,” said Takatoshi Kato, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV), which convened in Yokohama, Japan, from 28-30 May 2008.
May 2008: The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Global Mechanism of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) have jointly commissioned a report entitled “Mitigating the Impact of Climate Change and Land Degradation through IFAD's Country Strategic Opportunities Paper (COSOP) in Viet Nam.” The report examines the impact of climate change and land degradation on Viet Nam's agricultural and related sectors, to guide project design of COSOP priorities and to identify supplementary financing for IFAD projects from the UNFCCC and other carbon-related financing mechanisms.
June 2008: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) have released the latest edition of Agricultural Outlook. This edition covers the outlook for agricultural markets covering cereals, oilseeds, sugar, meats, and milk and dairy products over the period 2008 to 2017, and brings together the commodity, policy and country expertise of both organizations.
23 May 2008: Representatives from 40 donor and developing countries, meeting in Potsdam, Germany, reached an agreement on the creation of two international investment funds that will provide innovative financing for developing countries to pursue cleaner development paths and protect themselves from the impacts of climate change.
28 May 2008: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), jointly with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), have prepared a background paper on financial mechanisms for adaptation to, and mitigation of, climate change in the food and agriculture sectors. The paper was prepared for the High-Level Conference on World Food Security, which will take place in Rome, Italy, from 3-5 June 2008.
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