27/06/2011
The Brazilian Environment Minister is in
New York City today (June 27) to participate
in the UNDP Global Management Meeting. Izabella
Teixeira speaks at the opening plenary at
9 a.m. (local time), after the speeches
of the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon,
and the UNDP Administrator, Helen Clark.
In her speech, Minister
Izabella will emphasize the preparatory
process of the UN Conference on Sustainable
Development, known as Rio+20, in June 2012
in Rio de Janeiro, and the work of the UN
High Level Panel on Global Sustainability.
About the meeting -
UNDP's 2011 Global Management Meeting (GMM)
will explore what it means for UNDP to truly
empower lives and help build resilient nations
in an increasingly dynamic development landscape.
It will tackle UNDP's role in addressing
the most pertinent development issues of
this moment. It will also set UNDP's vision
for the coming years and plot a practical
course into the future to turn this vision
into action.
Details on the event are available at www.undp.org.
+ More
Sustainable development
vital for populations in arid lands, Ban
says
17/06/2011
People living in the world's arid lands
are among those most vulnerable to hunger
and first to be affected by climate change,
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned today,
calling for sustainable development to ensure
those areas are productive enough to support
their populations.
"The management,
conservation and sustainable development
of dry forests are central to combating
desertification", Mr. Ban said in a
message marking World Day to Combat Desertification,
which is celebrated on 17 June.
He emphasized that degraded
land can be made productive through sustainable
practices.
The UN General Assembly
designated 2011 as the International Year
of Forests to bring attention to the value
of forests and the social, economic and
environmental costs of their loss. The theme
of this year's World Day to Combat Desertification
is "Forests keep drylands working".
In his message, Mr.
Ban advocated for investment in drylands
for the betterment of local communities.
"Too often, investing
in drylands has been seen as unproductive
or risky, instead of a necessary avenue
for improving the well-being of local communities
and national economies", he said.
Through the upcoming
events of the General Assembly's high-level
meeting on desertification, land degradation
and drought in September and the Rio+20
UN Conference on Sustainable Development
in June 2012, the Secretary-General urged
governments and their partners to "bring
greater focus to the quest for solutions
to this urgent challenge of sustainable
development".
The UN Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNCCD) is recognizing
this year's World Day to Combat Desertification
with an environmental non-governmental organization
(NGO) in Spain through a ceremony to designate
the soccer star Carlos Marchena as Drylands
Ambassador of the UNCCD.
In recognition of the
day, Lesotho is celebrating a successful
tree-planting effort and revival of previously
degraded land in Leribe district. In Senegal,
activities include a tree planting ceremony,
while events are also being staged in Egypt,
Argentina, the Republic of Korea, Iran and
Benin.
The Day, first observed
in 1995, is designed to serve as a reminder
that desertification is a problem that can
be addressed through community participation
and cooperation.
Source: UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
