17 March 2009: UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Sha Zukang addressed several audiences at the fifth World Water Forum, which met from 16-22 March 2009, in Istanbul, Turkey. During the opening ceremony, he suggested “four strategic actions on bridging divides for water,” including engaging with other policy communities on the nexus between water challenges and climate change, accelerating progress in climate change adaptation, and improving human and institutional capacity backed by adequate financial resources.
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19 March 2009: The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is organizing an event on transboundary waters with the theme “Shared Water – Shared Opportunities” to celebrate World Water Day, which will take place on 25 March 2009. The event, which will take place in Bangkok, Thailand, will feature a panel discussion on “Energy Crisis, Food Crisis, Financial Crisis and Climate Change in Transboundary Rivers Opportunities and Challenges.”
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12 March 2009: The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has presented the UN World Water Development Report 3, which will be launched at the Fifth World Water Forum, scheduled to take place in Istanbul, Turkey, from 16-22 March 2009. The Report, coordinated by the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP), is the result of a cooperative effort by the 26 UN agencies and entities that make up UN-Water.
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26 February 2009: The First Ministerial Forum on Water of the Group of 77 met in Muscat, Oman, from 23-25 February 2009, and brought together delegations from 130 member States who agreed on 21 conclusions and recommendations.
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March 2009: The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), together with the European Water Partnership, the Dutch Ministry for Transport and Public Works, the World Water Council and the Cooperative Programme on Water and Climate, is organizing a Conference on Climate Change Adaptation and Water, which will take place from 12-13 March 2009, in Brussels, Belgium.
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February 2009: A discussion paper titled “Coping with Water Scarcity: What Role for Biotechnologies?” has been published in FAO's Land and Water Discussion Paper Series.
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27 February 2009: The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has released a study titled “Wood from Planted Forests.” The study underscores the critical role that planted forests play in securing future wood supply and in providing other ecosystem services. The report underscores that the importance of planted forests will increase in the future, given their ability to sequester carbon and contribute other services, such as soil and water conservation.
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February 2009: The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will organize a high-level roundtable event on World Water Day 2009, which is celebrated on 22 March, with the support of the UN Economic Commission for Europe and the UN-Water Secretariat.
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February 2009: The European Commission (EC) is funding the Transatlantic Dialogue on Climate Change and Security, which will be launched on 25 February 2009, by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in Washington DC, US.
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17 February 2009: At the opening of the 25th Session of the Governing Council of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which will run from 16-20 February 2009, at UN headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya called on world leaders to support a “Green New Deal” to address climate change and revitalize the global economy.
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