Event: Special Information Seminar: Biodiversity for food and agriculture: taking stock for the future [viewed]
The special information seminar aims to offer the opportunity for an exchange of views on the status and contributions of biodiversity to food and nutrition security, human well-being and sustainability, and on the challenges to biodiversity conservation and sustainable use. Participants will also reflect on the value of biodiversity for food and agriculture in all its different forms, and address challenges related to the preparation of the first ever report on The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture.
23 March 2013: Representatives from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), governments and the private sector met at the UNFCCC Technical Workshop on Ecosystem-based Approaches (EbA) for Adaptation to Climate Change. Addressing participants, UNFCCC Deputy Executive Secretary Richard Kinley provided an update on recent developments in the intergovernmental process on climate change, and highlighted relevant aspects relating to the work on adaptation to climate change.
March 2013: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has released a series of videos on forests in Algeria, Tanzania and the Mediterranean region in celebration of the first International Day of Forests, held 21 March 2013.
22 March 2013: This year's edition of World Water Day, celebrated on 22 March, was organized around the theme of water cooperation and within the framework of the International Year of Water Cooperation. The Day's celebrations were coordinated by UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in collaboration with the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), for UN-Water.
21 March 2013: The first Environment Council of the European Commission under the Irish Presidency, held on 21 March 2013, included policy debates on: the European Commission's proposal to minimize the climate change impacts of biofuels; proposed changes to the directive on environmental impact assessments; and access and benefit sharing of genetic resources.
21 March 2013: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity Business Coalition (TEEB for Business) has released a report on behavior change motivations for natural capital management (NCM), titled "Organisational Change for NCM: Strategy and Implementation." Based on data from 26 companies, the study identifies the availability of freshwater, renewable energy, climate regulation, fiber and food as the most important natural capital risks over the next 3-5 years.
21 March 2013: A number of high-level officials have issued statements in celebration of the first-ever International Day of Forests, including the UN Secretary-General, and the Heads of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), the UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF).
21 March 2013: A number of organizations have developed and released outreach and communications materials in support of the first International Day of Forests, an event to be held annually on 21 March. The materials focus on the key messages presented by the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) with regards to: forests and air; water; biodiversity; land; forests and resilience to natural disasters; forests as a key part of the climate change solution; healthy forests, healthy people; and forests are our livelihoods, wealth.
