The World Radiocommunication Conference is organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to review and revise the Radio Regulations, which is the international treaty governing the use of radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits. The Conference will focus on, among other things, the changes required to the regulation of orbit/spectrum resources in the interest of the users of these scarce resources. Issues to be addressed will include the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to combat climate change and mitigate its effects, as well as to predict natural disasters and facilitate relief efforts.
dates: 23 January - 17 February 2012 location: Geneva, Switzerland
The intergovernmental meeting to negotiate and endorse the GEO-5 Summary for Policy Makers is scheduled to take place from 30 January-1 February 2012, in the Republic of Korea.
dates: 30 January - 1 February 2012 location: Republic of Korea additional: Gwangju
This biennial meeting of Environment Ministers is organized by the regional office of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The Preparatory Meeting of High-Level Experts will take place from 31 January-1 February 2012, and will be followed by the Ministerial Segment on 2-3 February. Among other things, the Ministers are to review the implementation of the Rio 1992 commitments and agreements, and deliberate on new, emerging and priority issues for the region and other issues on the road to the June 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20). The Ministers are also expected to discuss cooperation on sustainable consumption and production, environmental indicators, and the way forward in negotiating a regional framework agreement on atmospheric pollution that includes emissions of short-lived climate forcers (SLCFs) such as methane, black carbon, ozone precursors, and many hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
dates: 31 January - 3 February 2012 venue: Hilton Colon Quito Hotel, Amazonas N 1914 y Patria Avenida 1 location: Quito, Ecuador
This is the second of two climate change adaptation training courses developed based on a similar course that 14 Coral Triangle representatives attended in 2011 at the Coastal Resources Center at the University of Rhode Island (CRC). The University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute, the hub of Climate Change Adaptation Learning Network will be the lead trainer. The training, which will consist of the Climate Change Adaptation Course for Coastal Communities (8 days) and the Training of Trainers course (2 days), aims to: strengthen the ability of national and local governments, as well as organization teams, to identify climate change risks and assess adaptation options for critical coastal infrastructure, habitats and vulnerable segments of society; lead an integrated local early action planning process for climate change adaptation; plan a local vulnerability assessment and identify early actions for climate change adaptation in one or two priority/demo sites; strengthen a national resource team to support the national and local actions as the country teams move toward implementation and replication of the curriculum, adaption planning and implementation actions; promote the contribution of core team of national managers and resource persons from Malaysia and the Philippines to regional Coral Triangle Initiative capacity and future replication and sharing.
dates: 31 January - 9 February 2012 location: Cebu, Philippines
