The World Council of Churches says it has reached an agreement with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon for the two international organizations to work more closely on several global issues, particularly climate change.
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has announced an agreement with financial services group Fortis to launch the first projects of the MDG Carbon Facility. 
The Thirty-first Governing Council Session of the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) focused on challenges and opportunities for smallholder farmers in the context of climate change and new demands on agricultural production, including the rising cost of commodities. 
The Expert Panel on Adaptation of Forests to Climate Change, convened as part of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, met from 11-12 February 2008 in New York, US. 
In her address to the 2008 First Regular Session of the UNDP/UNFPA Executive Board UNFPA, Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid said the organization will “follow-up on the Bali Conference on Climate Change by strengthening efforts in policy guidance, emergency preparedness and disaster risk reduction.” 
In a message to the Beijing International Conference on Combating Desertification, held Beijing, China, from 22-24 January, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the “impact of desertification is intensifying due to climate change, which is reducing the availability of freshwater, fertile soil, and forest and vegetation.” 
The Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) and the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the global campaign “Hospitals Safe from Disasters” at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. 
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has agreed to fund a US$ 42.2 million project in Yemen to help reduce rural poverty by reversing the accelerating trend of natural resource degradation in five of the country’s poorest areas. 
Funding for the Climate-L.org Project has been provided by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
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