4 February 2009: The UN Commission for Social Development is holding its 47th session from 4-13 February 2009, at UN Headquarters in New York, US.
read more »
4 February 2009: Speaking at the fourth World Congress on Conservation Agriculture (CA), held from 4-7 February 2009, in New Delhi, India, Shivaji Pandey, Director of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Plant Production and Protection Division, called on the world’s farmers to adopt CA practices to ensure sustainable yield growth and reduce agriculture’s carbon footprint.
read more »
2 February 2009: In an address to the Summit of the African Union (AU) taking place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon underlined that his consistent message to the developed world is not to lose sight of the most vulnerable while addressing the financial crisis, and to maintain their commitment to fight climate change.
read more »
30 January 2009: EU Ministers for Development Cooperation held an informal meeting from 29-30 January 2009, under the auspices of the Czech Presidency in Prague, Czech Republic. Ministers agreed that the EU’s development aid should focus on Least Developed Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, which will be hit particularly severely by the world economic slowdown.
read more »
29 January 2009: Joachim von Braun, Director of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), a center of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), received the Bertebos Prize of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry for his work in development economics and as the head of several development research institutions focusing on food, agriculture and rural poverty.
read more »
29 January 2009: Commenting on the message on climate change “Shaping an Opportunity Out of Crisis” issued to the participants at the World Economic Forum taking place in Davos, Switzerland, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) welcomed the emphasis placed on addressing climate change at this year’s edition of the event.
read more »
18 January 2009: Speaking at the 31st Summit of the League Arab States (LAS), held from 17-18 January 2009, in Kuwait City, Lennart Båge, President of the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), called for re-engaging the agricultural sector to meet the challenges of food security and climate change, with particular attention to energy efficiency, water scarcity and the environment.
read more »
27 January 2009: The High-level Meeting on Food Security for All, held from 26-27 January 2009, in Madrid, Spain, issued a statement that calls for a consultative process on options for a Global Partnership for Agriculture Food Security and Nutrition. Convened by the Government of Spain and the UN, and attended by representatives of 126 countries as well as UN agencies, civil society, trade unions, academia, donor agencies and the private sector, the meeting reviewed progress in addressing the global food crisis since the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) High-level Conference on World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy, held in June 2008.
read more »
21 January 2009: Ides Willebois, on behalf of Leonard Båge, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), delivered a statement to the German Bundestag outlining IFAD’s perspective on the risks and opportunities of agro-biotechnology and other agricultural technologies.
read more »
January 2009: The UN Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (UN-ESCWA) is organizing an Expert Group Meeting on “Best Practices and Measures for Promoting Renewable Energy Applications in ESCWA Region,” scheduled to take place from 3-4 February 2009, in Beirut, Lebanon. Back to back with the meeting, the UN-ESCWA Committee on Energy will convene its seventh session from 5-6 February.
read more »
