Organized by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the Timber and Forestry Section of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the Federal Forestry Agency of the Russian Federation, the seminar will examine forests in the Russian Federation and the technologies required for the modernization of the country's forestry sector. The seminar will also explore the potential of the Russian Federation's forests with regard to climate change mitigation and the sustainable supply of timber and bio-energy.

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The first international day of forests was celebrated on 21 March 2013, in recognition of the key role that forests play in protecting biodiversity, storing carbon and achieving sustainable development. Over the past two decades, the relevance of forests has been increasingly acknowledged in the international arena, however, their consideration and regulation constitutes a geo-political jigsaw, whose pieces are dispersed throughout various processes. As a result, the forest policy framework is fragmented and discussions on forests span across different areas of negotiation.

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4 April 2013: The Co-Chairs of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP), Jayant Moreshver Mauskar (India) and Harald Dovland (Norway), released an information note for the second ADP session to be held in Bonn, Germany, from 29 April-3 May 2013. The note aims to assist delegates in preparing for the session and includes suggested goals, ideas and proposals for organizing the work.

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3 April 2013: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed sustainable development, climate change and protection of the marine environment in remarks in Monaco, on 3 April 2013, on the occasion of the principality's 20th anniversary of UN membership.

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4 April 2013: The UNFCCC published the progress report of the Eighth Meeting of the Consultative Group of Experts on National Communications from Parties not included in Annex I to the Convention (CGE), which took place in Bonn, Germany, from 25-26 February 2013. The report summarizes the meeting's outcome and includes the CGE's work programme for 2013.

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1 April 2013: The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has released a report that uses modeling and available data to develop future scenarios exploring the range of climate change consequences for agriculture, food security, and resource management in West Africa, and offers recommendations to national governments and regional agencies.

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29 March 2013: The World Bank Board of Executive Directors has approved a US$14.85 million grant for the Tajikistan Environmental Land Management and Rural Livelihoods Project, which aims to assist communities in Tajikistan to develop climate-resilient policies.

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18 March 2013: The UNFCCC Secretariat released the "Report of the individual review of the inventory submission of Turkey submitted in 2012," which was conducted by an Expert Review Team (ERT). The report states that Turkey's total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions decreased by 114.9% between 1990 and 2010.

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March 2013: The World Bank has released a study, titled "Economics of Climate Change in the Arab World," which presents case studies on the impacts of climate change in Syria, Tunisia and Yemen, highlighting the urgency of implementing adaptation measures.

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In September 2013, the biennial Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Science Forum will bring together scientists, practitioners, experts and leading thinkers to examine emerging challenges and recent scientific advances in the areas of nutrition, health and agriculture. The Forum seeks to identify key research areas where there is potential to deliver impacts and, critically, it aims to facilitate the formation of new partnerships to address them. The event will reach out to scientists and scientific communities who may not be part of CGIAR, but who have potentially important contributions to make to the CGIAR research portfolio, and therefore to the global agriculture research agenda for a food secure future.  

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