29 May 2008: The UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Japan announced, at the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV), a US$ 92.1 million programme for climate change adaptation in Africa. The UNDP/Japan adaptation programme is expected to be operational in August 2008.
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30 May 2008: Representatives from 51 African countries, including 40 Heads of State and Government, joined Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda from 28-30 May 2008, in Yokohama, Japan, to develop a framework for African growth at the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV).
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4 June 2008: At the UN Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) High-Level Conference on World Food Security, held in Rome Italy, from
3-5 June 2008, FAO, the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in
Africa (AGRA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to boost food
production in Africa’s breadbasket regions – regions with relatively good
rainfall, soils, infrastructure and markets – and to support smallholder
farmers.
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3 June 2008: Speaking at the FAO High-Level Conference on
World Food Security, which convened in Rome, Italy, from 3-5 June 2008, Emile
Frison, Chair of the Alliance of Centres supported by the Consultative Group on
International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and Director General of Bioversity
International, said that, among other factors, lack of investment in
agricultural research has contributed to the global food price crises. He
highlighted the importance of such investment, citing a World Bank report on
investment into agricultural development that found “an average internal rate
of return of 43 percent.”
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30 May 2008: This UN Food and Agriculture Organization study
examines the impact of biofuel production on the human rights to adequate food
and to be free from hunger. It was authored by Asbjørn Eide, senior fellow of the
Norwegian Center for Human Rights at the University of Oslo, and seeks to
contribute to the present discussion on soaring food prices, climate change and
biofuels.
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16 May 2008: The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights of the UN Economic and Social Council adopted a statement on the world
food crisis, during its fortieth session on 16 May 2008. The statement
(E/C.12/2008/1) calls on all States to address the immediate causes of the food
crisis and urges them to address its structural causes at the national and
international levels, including by: “implementing strategies to combat global
climate change that do not negatively affect the right to adequate food and
freedom from hunger, but rather promote sustainable agriculture, as required by
article 2 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.”
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3 June 2008: UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon urged “bold and urgent steps” to tackle the global food crisis in his
statement to the FAO High-Level Conference on World Food Security, which
convened in Rome, Italy, from 3-5 June 2008. Noting that food production will
have to rise by 50% by the year 2030 to meet rising demand, he said “it is
important that our longer term focus is on improving world food security - and
remains so for some years.”
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3 June 2008: In his opening statement to the High-Level
Conference on World Food Security in Rome, Italy, FAO Director-General Jacques
Diouf called on Heads of State to make urgently needed investments in
agriculture to address the global food crisis and ensure long term food security.
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3
June 2008: Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme
(WFP), speaking at the FAO High-Level Conference on World Food Security, which
convened from 3-5 June 2008, warned that the global food crisis is threatening
to “plunge another 130 million people into life threatening hunger.” She said
the world has the means to defeat hunger, but high fuel and food prices
threaten to “short circuit” this potential by undoing many of the achievements
made towards global food security. She endorsed the UN Task Force’s plan of
action and outlined the WFP’s contributions towards its implementation, including
working with governments to assess needs and vulnerabilities at the household
level and scaling up safety net programmes.
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5 June
2008: The International Labour Organization (ILO) rolled out its Green Jobs
Initiative, aimed at easing the transition to green business and jobs, on World
Environment Day. Speaking about the Initiative, Juan Somavia, ILO
Director-General, said “green
growth and avoiding dangerous climate change depend on greener enterprises and
green jobs.”
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