Event: Inter-Ministerial and Experts Conference on Biosphere Reserves in the Caribbean Sub-Region [viewed]
Organized by the Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis and the UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Man and the Biosphere Programme, this meeting will convene under the theme "Tools for Sustainable Development and Growth." The objective of the event is to facilitate discussions on the identification of appropriate locations for new biosphere reserves as well as their integration with local/national sustainable development and adaptation to climate change plans.
1 March 2013: The newly-appointed Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP) of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention) held its 17th meeting (STRP 17) from 25 February-1 March 2013, in Gland, Switzerland, during which members established a draft work plan for the 2013-2015 triennium.
27 February 2013: The World Bank has granted the "Green Team Award" to the Sahel and West Africa Program in Support of the Great Green Wall Initiative (SAWAP/GGWI), in recognition of its work in 12 African countries to address land degradation, climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as biodiversity and forests.
28 February 2013: A new five year Memorandum of Understanding between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) has been signed to help the FAO provide the CGIAR with advice on agricultural research priorities.
27 February 2013: Naoko Ishii, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Global Environment Facility (GEF), noted the importance of a dialogue with the next generation of leaders regarding the GEF's role in transformational change during an address at the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). 
26 February 2013: The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reported on the impacts of the La Niña phenomenon in 2010-2011, which caused a massive ocean heatwave in the Indian Ocean, more than 10,000 km off of Australia's western coast.
25 February 2013: The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) has announced that it has signed a funding agreement with the Government of New Zealand for NZD4.5 million. The funding package will support programmes in Pacific Countries to improve the management of solid waste, protect biodiversity and encourage economic development through ecotourism, and assist Pacific countries in responding to climate change.
January 2013: The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) has published three reports on climate risk management (CRM) in Kenya, Niger and Uganda, as part of the UN Development Programme's (UNDP) Climate Risk Management (CRM) Technical Assistance Support Project (TASP). The reports illustrate how different communities in high-risk countries may have to adapt to a changing climate across a range of sectors.
21 February 2013: At the annual meeting of the Commonwealth Consultative Group on Environment (CCGE), ministers discussed progress on Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 7, on ensuring environmental sustainability, and considered options for prioritizing environmental protection and sustainability in the post-2015 development agenda.
