dates: 26-27 August 2010  
venue: UN Headquarters, New York  
location: New York (New York), United States of America  
contact: David Koschel  
e-mail: koschel@un.org  
www: http://www.unitar.org/ny/environmental_negotiations  

The US students, who will be assisted by three Swiss students and three American landscape architecture professors, will develop a sustainable landscape design that will be implemented over a five-year period. The US Mission building in Geneva is described as the ‘Flagship Post for Energy and Sustainability’ by the US State Department. Some of its features include the largest solar energy installation ever undertaken by the US Department of State abroad, and a unique magnetic levitation (MaglevTM) chiller air conditioning system that runs a virtually friction-free compressor. In 2009, the US Mission in Geneva was the first State Department facility to earn a certificate from the US National Wildlife Federation for Wildlife Habitat as a result of their conservation efforts.[Information on the Landscape Project] [Greening the Blue Press Release]

As part of the biodiversity project objectives, some 300 villagers across ten villages in the region were trained in new methods of agriculture and livestock husbandry to support sustainable and income-generating activities. The project resulted in the preservation of critical ecosystem services, such as water and carbon regulation, which helped Tanzania secure special funds under the international climate change programme to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD).

In order to develop a REDD Strategy for Tanzania, a stakeholders’ workshop was convened in January 2009 to develop a National REDD Framework to guide the formulation of the National REDD Strategy. In addition, the Tanzania UN-REDD Programme was approved in March 2009 and the budget allocation of US$4.5 million approved. The REDD Programme in Tanzania aims to achieve four outcomes: strengthen the national governance framework and institutional capacities to implement REDD activities; increase capacity for capturing REDD elements within national monitoring, assessment, reporting and verification systems; improve capacity to manage REDD and provide other forest ecosystem services at district and local levels; and build broad-based stakeholder support for REDD in Tanzania. A final National REDD Strategy for Tanzania is expected to be completed by the end of 2010. [UNDP Press Release][UN REDD Programme in Tanzania] [Tanzania REDD Initiative]

The article notes that the rains that ended the recent four-year drought have reduced yields because they came at an unusual time. The article highlights the potential for plant breeders to help farmers adapt to a changing climate. Another article on a “Marshall Plan” for capacity building in Africa underscores the need for targeted technological options to help African farmers adapt to climate change. IRRI is a member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). [Rice Today]

In a first effort to move toward climate neutrality, the office has concluded the calculation of the carbon footprint of its operational activities in 2009 and will disseminate and replicate the results using the UN GHG calculators in Nigeria. This will feed into the global UNDP initiative to develop a GHG Emission Inventory for the entire organization. The carbon emission profile of the Nigerian country office revealed that official air travel, on site fuel combustion, purchased electricity, and on-ground transportation accounted for the major elements responsible for carbon emission.

The UN House in Nigeria, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Ministry of Environment are also expected to follow the initiative. [UNDP Press Release]

The purpose of the programme is to strengthen the programmatic capacity in the area of climate change of select LDCs through the provision of focused expertise at the regional and national levels during 2010-2011. This initiative will provide focused climate change expertise, including senior-level national climate change specialists in 24 LDCs. These National Officers, currently under recruitment, will be the focal point for in-country climate change work.

Specifically, the programme will aim to build country’s capacities as it relates to climate change in the following areas: policy dialogue and awareness raising; capacity development for participating in the international negotiations process; national low-carbon and climate resilient strategy and action plan definition; cross practice and mainstreaming; climate change proofing; knowledge management; methodology coherence; and financing instruments. The participating countries in this initiative are: Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Djibouti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, Kenya, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Maldives, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Samoa, Senegal, Solomon Islands, Tanzania, Timor Leste, Togo, Zambia and Yemen.

UNDP currently works in 49 LDCs that will face various climate change challenges from risk of inundation as sea levels rise, increased flooding of low-lying coastal areas, increased variability in rainfall, and hotter and drier climates. Tropical diseases such as malaria could increase and fragile genetic species could face the risk of extinction as a result of climate change. [UNDP Climate Change]

The project, launched in September 2008, aims at the development of regional biomass action plans (RBAPs) in selected regions, to help the private sector and regional governments develop a coordinated approach to foster the integration of the regional biomass sector with the forestry, agricultural, electricity, municipal heating, waste and recycling sectors. The project has so far promoted a variety of initiatives in the use of biomass, including the conversion of boiler houses for municipal district heating to the use of biomass and the introduction of cofiring of biomass in coal-fired power plants.

The project is now to explore opportunities for the introduction of algae biomass production as part of its work to introduce RBAPs, which is expected to increase the number of regions that can be involved and give a new impetus for regional governments to work on capacity building, cooperate with the private sector and make further investments in the development of the biomass sector. [UNECE Press Release]

The aim of the process is to allow participants’ work to be incorporated into that of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other high-level bodies. The writeshop is scheduled to convene from 20-24 September 2010, in Bangkok, Thailand. Participants will produce a peer-review quality publishable article, while gaining enhanced awareness of the process of writing papers for academic journals. Papers should address topics relevant to climate change adaptation and the 2011 Global Assessment Report on DRR, under the themes of enabling environments, governance and ecosystem services. [The Call for Applications]

The three-week programme is organized by the UNU Institute for Sustainability and Peace (UNU-ISP) and developed under the framework of the University Network for Climate and Ecosystems Change Adaptation Research (UN-CECAR). The courses will cover a range of issues on sustainability and adaptation to climate and ecosystems change, including: climate and atmospheric science; impacts assessment; climate and society; ecosystems resilience; risk and uncertainty; integrated solutions for mitigation and adaptation; and mainstreaming adaptation into development planning and community-based adaptation.

Students will also receive practical training in the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and in downscaling rainfall forecasts. The deadline for applying to the programme is 15 July 2010 for overseas applicants, and 31 July 2010 for students currently residing in Japan. [UNU-ISP Website]

ECREEE, a specialized agency of ECOWAS, will help develop renewable energy and energy efficiency markets in West Africa. It will also provide support in policy and capacity development and quality assurance in designing financing mechanisms, and in implementing demonstration projects with potential for regional scaling-up. In addition, UNIDO has developed an energy programme for 18 countries in West Africa, including all ECOWAS member States, which aims to help focus on the energy access agenda and energy efficiency in key sectors of the economy. ECREEE will become the main implementing agency of this US$150 million programme, which is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Yoshiteru Uramoto, Deputy to UNIDO Director-General, highlighted that investment in renewable energy systems and introducing energy efficient technologies will contribute to the region’s economic and social development without harming the environment. He noted that the creation of ECREEE is a central milestone in efforts to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and energy efficient technologies and services in the region. [ECREEE Website]