5 July 2008: The Workshop on Biodiversity and Climate Change took place from 29 June to 4 July 2008, in Kushiro, Japan. It was co-organized by the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the Kushiro International Wetland Centre, in partnership with the Japan-UNDP Partnership Fund and the Secretariats of the Ramsar Convention and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
25 June 2008: Many Strong Voices (MSV), a collaboration between Arctic and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) that seeks to promote the well-being of these areas vulnerable to climate change, released a five-year action plan on 25 June 2008.
10 June 2008: The
European Project on Ocean Acidification (EPOCA) was launched on 10 June 2008.
This EU research project is a consortium of over 100 scientists from 27
organizations in nine countries to address ocean acidification. Its goal is to
document ocean acidification, investigate its impact on biological processes,
predict its consequences for the next 100 years, and advise policy-makers on
potential thresholds or tipping points that should not be exceeded.
6 June 2008: The Ramsar Standing Committee held its 37th meeting from 2-6 June 2008, in Gland,
Switzerland. The Committee was charged with making the final preparations for
the documents to be considered at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the
Parties (COP10), which will take place in Changwon, Republic of Korea, from 28 October to 4 November 2008. During the meeting, the Committee approved
for transmittal to the COP a draft Resolution (DR) on climate change and
wetlands, and one on wetlands and biofuels.
5 June 2008: As
part of the UN World Tourism Organization's (UNWTO) strategy to implement the
recommendations of the Davos Declaration, a project aiming to integrate the
Maldives' tourism into its climate change adaptation activities is underway.
June 2008: The 41st session of the
Intergovernmental Oceanic Commission (IOC) of the UN Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which will take place from 24 June-1 July
2008, in Paris, France, is scheduled to consider: the contribution of IOC
programmes to achieving the objectives of the UNFCCC; whether there is any need
to modify the present arrangements; and the IOC's intention to continue its
close cooperation with the UNFCCC Secretariat.
May 2008: A workshop on “Climate change and the offshore industry,” co-sponsored by the WMO, Met-Ocean Committee of the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission through the Joint Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology, and the World Climate Research Programme, will take place at WMO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, from 27-29 May 2008.
May 2008: The report of the regional preparatory meeting of Oceania parties, which took place in Samoa on 10-11 April 2008, has been released. Workshop participants discussed the draft resolution on climate change prepared by the Ramsar Scientific and Technical Review Panel in advance of the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Ramsar Convention (COP10), scheduled to take place from 28 October to 4 November 2008, in Changwon, Republic of Korea. In relation to the draft resolution on climate change, Australia called for a caucus of Pacific member States before COP10.
7 May 2008: Ramsar's Secretary General, Anada Tiéga, participated in the sixteenth session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD16), which took place in at UN headquarters in New York, US, from 5-16 May 2008.
2 May 2008: Participants to the Second meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Informal Working Group to study issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction have addressed the issue of environmental impacts of anthropogenic activities. A number of developing countries at the 28 April-2 May 2008 meeting in New York, US, organized by the UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, expressed concern with ocean-based climate change mitigation activities, highlighting uncertainties regarding their impacts.
Norway, Australia, Marshall Islands and Mexico argued that these activities should be subject to the carrying out of an environmental impact assessment (EIA).
Above - L-R: Co-Chair Ambassador Robert Hill (Australia) and Co-Chair Juan Manuel Gómez-Robledo (Mexico).
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