Fri, Mar 22, 2013 -
The United Nations teams in Member States
are making sure that groups usually absent
from participation in global processes are
consulted on what they see as priorities
for development of their communities.
New York, 21 March 2013
- The United Nations presented today the
first findings from an unprecedented global
conversation through which people from all
over the world have been invited to help
Member States shape the future development
agenda that will build on the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) after their target
date at the end of 2015.
The snapshot report
of initial findings entitled "The Global
Conversation Begins" was delivered
to more than 100 representatives of Member
States who will negotiate the future development
agenda that is likely to build on the MDGs
and sustainable development agenda from
Rio+20.
"We are reinventing
the way decisions will be made at the global
level," said Olav Kjorven, UN Assistant
Secretary-General and Director of Bureau
for Development Policy at UN Development
Programme. "People want to have a say
in determining what kind of world they are
going to live in and we are providing that
opportunity by using digital media as well
as door-to-door interviewers."
Three emerging priorities
for the future development agenda, referred
to as 'the Post-2015 agenda,' can be identified:
First, the progress
on MDGs should be accelerated and adapted
to contemporary challenges, such as growing
inequalities within countries and the impact
of globalization.
Second, the consultations point to the need
for a universal agenda to address challenges
like environmental degradation, unemployment,
and violence.
Third, people want to participate, both
in the agenda-setting as well as monitoring
the progress in implemention of the Post-2015
framework.
"There is huge energy and appetite
to engage in these global consultations,"
said John Hendra, Co-Chair of the UN Development
Group MDG Taskforce and Deputy Executive
Director of UN Women, which co-led the discussions
on how to address inequalities with UNICEF.
"Of course this report is only preliminary,
but it's already clear that inequality is
a universal concern, and in that context,
people are calling for gender equality and
women's rights to be at the centre of the
Post-2015 agenda."
Hendra also noted that
the emerging priorities are broadly consistent
with the UN Task Team report Realizing the
Future We Want For All.
The United Nations engaged
so far more than 200,000 people from 189
countries through a mix of digital media,
mobile phone applications, conferences,
and paper ballot surveys in this initiative
officially launched last week in New York.
The United Nations teams
in Member States are making sure that groups
usually absent from participation in global
processes - for example, women, indigenous
communities, the youth, people with disabilities
- are consulted on what they see as priorities
for development of their communities.
In Peru and Ecuador,
the UN Country Teams are placing a particular
focus on consulting communities from the
Amazon region.
In Uganda, a mobile
phone text message campaign has reached
17,000 people who have voiced their opinions
on issues that they care about.
In Zambia, the Post-2015
agenda discussion is supported by the First
Lady, Christine Kaseba Sata and celebrities
from sports and arts.
There are several tracks
available for people to participate in framing
the next development agenda: there are almost
100 national consultations in Member States;
there are eleven thematic consultations
on issues such as inequalities, food security,
and access to water; people continue to
contribute their ideas through the World
We Want 2015 web site; and people vote for
six out of 16 priorities through the MY
World survey.
Findings from the global
conversation will be delivered to the UN
Secretary-General, Heads of State and Government
attending the 2013 UN General Assembly,
and the Open Working Group on Sustainable
Development Goals.
The "Global Conversation
Begins" report will be presented to
the High-level Panel on the Post-2015 Development
Agenda - chaired by Prime Minister of UK
David Cameron and Presidents Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
of Liberia and Susilo Yudhoyono of Indonesia
- in the panel's meeting in Bali at the
end of this month.
+ More
UN Secretary-General
Urges Greater Protection for World's Forests
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 -
Mr. Ban noted that there are several threats
to this ecosystem as urbanization and large-scale
agriculture can exacerbate the rate of forest
and biodiversity loss.
Grace, a farmer near the Mau Forest provides
both material support to kenya forest service
rangers and where possible gives information
to the authorities on the activities of
illegal loggers. © unep/riccardo gangle
New York, 21 March 2013
- Governments, businesses and civil society
must commit to protect forests by reducing
deforestation, preventing environmental
degradation, and providing sustainable livelihoods
for all of those who depend on this precious
ecosystem, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
said today.
"Forests are vital
for our well-being. They cover nearly a
third of the globe and provide an invaluable
variety of social, economic and environmental
benefits," Mr. Ban said in a message
marking the first International Day of Forests.
FURTHER RESOURCES
International Day of Forests
UNEP film 'Forests: We all Depend on Them'
UN-REDD Programme
Forests are the most biologically diverse
ecosystems on land, home to more than half
of the terrestrial species of animals, plants
and insects. Around 1.6 billion people -
including more than 2,000 indigenous cultures
- depend on forests for their livelihood.
In his message, Mr.
Ban highlighted the many functions that
forests have in the environment and their
benefits to humans. For example, they are
the source of three-fourths of freshwater,
stabilize slopes and prevent landslides,
and protect coastal communities against
tsunamis and storms. In addition, more than
three million people use forest wood for
fuel.
Forests also help combat
climate change as they store more carbon
than is in the atmosphere.
However, Mr. Ban noted
that there are several threats to this ecosystem
as urbanization and large-scale agriculture
can exacerbate the rate of forest and biodiversity
loss.
Some 13 million hectares
of forest are destroyed annually, and deforestation
accounts for 12 to 20 per cent of the global
greenhouse gas emissions that contribute
to global warming.
"As weather patterns
change due to climate change, many forested
areas are increasingly vulnerable. This
underlines the urgency of a global, inclusive,
legally binding climate change agreement
that will address greenhouse gas emissions
and encourage the protection and sustainable
management of forests," Mr. Ban said.
"We need now to
intensify efforts to protect forests, including
by incorporating them into the post-2015
development agenda and the sustainable development
goals," he added.
