Discussing the need to protect against the damaging effects of climate change, Michel Jarraud, Secretary General of the World Meterological Organization (WMO), emphasized the importance of “African National Meteorological and Hydrological Services … as actors of development… particularly with regard to evaluating and monitoring the environment, preparing for natural hazards, and… climate change.”
Speaking at the Conference of the African Ministers of Trade and Finance in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, held from 1-3 April 2008, he noted African countries’ particular susceptibility to extreme weather events and encouraged investment in observational networks to facilitate early warnings of natural disasters and climate predictions.
Before his speech to the European Parliament on climate change and global security, Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said during an interview that, the many looming security threats related to climate change include conflicts over water and changes in agricultural demands as weather changes and extreme events force mass movements of people. 
The Third Session of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (ICG/CARIBE EWS-III) convened in Panama City, Panama, from 12-14 March 2008. 
In commemoration of the entry into force of the World Meterological Organization (WMO) Convention, which created the WMO on 23 March 1950, the WMO and the meteorological community celebrated World Meteorological Day on 25 March 2008. 
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has called upon countries to participate in preparing the next Global Forest Resources Assessment, the most comprehensive data collection on the state of the world’s forests to date. 
Calling for a new business approach to African agriculture, the UN Economic Commission for Africa’s (UNECA) Director of Food Security and Sustainable Development, Josue Dione, said in Addis Ababa that climate change would aggravate the continent’s food insecurity and poverty. In a paper presented at the international conference on “Science with Africa,” Dione said Africa would experience a 10 percent decrease in rainfall in Southern Africa and the Horn of Africa by 2050. 
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Secretariat has posted the draft agenda and other details on its website for its upcoming 28th session. In letters addressed to IPCC focal points and to relevant organizations, dated 5 February 2008, IPCC Secretary Renate Christ, on behalf of IPCC Chair Rajendra Pachauri, provides details of the venue and focus of the session, which is scheduled for 9-10 April 2008, in Budapest, Hungary. 
Koïchiro Matsuura, UNESCO’s Director-General, will officially launch the International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE) during ceremonies on 12-13 February 2008 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. 
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A January supplement to Nature Journal celebrates the International Year of Planet Earth and explores recent developments and future directions in the Earth sciences. 
