6 July 2012: The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) hosted an Inception Workshop for a US$5 million dollar Climate Change Adaptation Programme, which will be implemented from 2012-2017, with the guidance of the Pa Enua or outer island communities in the Cook Islands, targeting sectors such as the water, health, agriculture and marine resources.
The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States' (OECS) Reduce Risk to Human and Natural Assets Resulting from Climate Change (RRACC) project will host a seminar aimed primarily at government officials that will discuss: current issues and the state of coastal resources in the OECS; integrated coastal area and watershed management; impacts of climate change on the subregion's economy; and policy, legal and institutional arrangements for coastal areas management in the OECS.
20 July 2012: The EU has issued a list of new projects funded by the LIFE Programme, which is the primary fiscal instrument the EU uses to fund environment and conservation projects contributing over €2.5 billion to over 3500 projects since its inception in 1992. The newly funded projects cover, inter alia: biodiversity and endangered species conservation; waste management and recycling; ecosystem and habitat conservation; water systems; adaptation to climate change; greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation; renewable energy and energy efficiency; air pollution; green transportation; soil degradation; and oceans and coasts.
19 July 2012: Catarina de Albuquerque, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to safe drinking water, highlighted that the impacts of climate change are exacerbating water and sanitation challenges in Tuvalu. She recommend the Government of Tuvalu immediately adopt and implement its draft Water Act and its Sustainable and Integrated Water and Sanitation Policy.
10 July 2012: The Latin American Development Bank (CAF) launched Geopolis, a think tank/network aimed at strengthening institutional capacity, and building a culture of disaster prevention and management in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
13 July 2012: The 11th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP 11) to the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention) concluded with the adoption of 22 resolutions, including one on climate change and wetlands.
June 2012: The UN Economic and Social Council's (ECOSOC) Committee for Development Policy (CDP) has published a background paper reviewing the role of climate change vulnerability in identifying Least Developed Countries (LDCs). It argues that climate change should not be regarded as a new and separate handicap, but as a factor that could aggravate existing handicaps to development.
30 June 2012: The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism's (CRFM) scientific body evaluated major fisheries in the region to determine whether natural fish populations remain healthy and where fisheries management controls are necessary.
21 June 2012: The Ministerial Council overseeing the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) agreed to sharpen the focus of CRFM to improve the sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture in the region.
13 June 2012: The Executive Board of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) released a draft sub-regional programme document for the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) for 2013 to 2017. The programme includes support for accelerated action toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including on climate change, disaster risk reduction (DRR), and environmental management activities.
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| Conference Reporting Services (CRS) |
