The UNFCCC Secretariat has published a report on the technical workshop on ecosystem-based approaches for adaptation to climate change (FCC/SBSTA/2013/2), which was held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from 21-23 March 2013. The workshop sought to enhance parties’ and expert organizations’ understanding of ecosystem-based approaches for adaptation, share best practices and lessons learned, and identify areas for

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Shalini Dhyani: Writes about hill agriculture, agro-forest and such ecosystem practices from Indian Himalayan region. She emphasizes on improving the socio-economic condition of mountain people by adopting a range of animal husbandry, agro-forestry and traditional agriculture practices through better scientific and technical inputs. Entire Himalayan ecosystem is undergoing rapid land-use and climatic changes in last

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SciDev.net: The opposition street protests that have been damaging Bangladesh’s key textile sector and threatening the forthcoming O and A-level examinations have claimed another scalp: the field trips which were to precede the annual International Conference on Community-Based Adaptation (CBA7). In order to ensure the safety of participants the visits to projects on 19-21 April,

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Business Recorder: On Sunday, billions of people around the world celebrated the International Earth Day. The main purpose of the day is to save our mother Earth from the challenges, which are threatening its existence. The global theme for Earth Day 2013 is “The Face of Climate Change”. Earth Day history Earth Day first celebrated

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WWF-India recognizes organizations contributing towards addressing climate change with Climate Solver Awards. While political will to tackle climate change is still weak, the will of creative and energetic entrepreneurs working in the field of climate innovation is on the increase. WWF is encouraging small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that are developing innovative technologies and processes

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WWF: Coordination Group of the Summit for a Living Himalayas (SLH) comprising of delegates from four countries (India, Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh) met again on 23 February 2013. For the WWF LHGI, decisions taken by this Group in this meeting are a big step towards large scale regional action in the Eastern Himalayas. For the

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Dr. Madhav Karki discusses about sustainable mountain development- SMD agenda that was adopted during 1992 Rio Earth summit, and how the socio-economic and environmental issues were taken by countries in the Hindu Kush Himalayan- HKH region during last 20 years in terms of achieving the goals as envisioned in SMD document. He argues that mountain

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The Association ‘Mountain territories of Dagestan’, Mountain Partnership member from Russian Federation, has organized the drawing competition ‘Mountains through children’s eyes’, under the support of Mountain Partnership Secretariat, within its celebration acivities of the International Mountain Day 2012. More than 300 drawings were received from the children and the best ones were selected for the

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The Voice of Russia: The increasing use of biofuel to help meet the UKs commitment to renewable energy – is being hotly debated. Members of the Department for Energy and Climate Change are considering whether to accept plans – for new subsidies to burn trees in British power plants. But some scientists believe renewable energy

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RECOFTC’s Grassroots Capacity Building for REDD+ project team shares highlights from the recent national level expert seminar on Gender, Forestry, Climate Change and REDD+, organized jointly by RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests and the Department of Forestry, Lao PDR. Despite some well documented studies on the extensive knowledge, skills, and hands-on experience

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UNFCCC: Developing countries are forecast to represent over 60% of global GDP by 2030.  However, given growing environmental and resource challenges such as climate change and water security, the imperative for shifting development onto a resource-efficient growth pathway is increasingly clear. Governments can use strategically targeted public monies and policies to address the risks faced

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Dr. Madhav Karki writes about the commitments made by the member countries during Rio+20 summit on various sustainable development goals (SDGs) on low carbon green economy principles and good governance practices, in socio-economic and environmental perspectives. He argues that post Rio+20 actions should be more cohesive, participatory, multi-disciplinary and simple in approach, so that they

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During 25-27 February 2013, more than 40 international scholars and experts – among them authors from the IPCC SREX and AR5 reports – convened in Bonn for the scientific conference “Perspectives on loss and damage: Society, Climate Change, and Decision Making”. Participants grappled with the consequences of climate change impacts for human society and natural

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Dawn: Today, it is becoming increasingly clear that no country — whether rich or poor — can escape from the impacts of climate-related disasters. Hurricane Sandy, a late-season cyclone, swept through the Caribbean and up the East Coast of the United States in late October 2012, leaving dozens dead, thousands homeless and millions without power.

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The Tribune: The state of compilation of environmental data in Pakistan remained extremely poor, but with the introduction of the $2.1 million National Environment Information Management System (NEIMS), things might improve. The NEIM, a collaborative project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the climate change ministry, with the support from the Netherlands government,

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360 Yale: Renowned biologist George Schaller has been traveling to the Tibetan Plateau for nearly three decades, studying its unique wildlife. But with climate change and overgrazing taking a toll on the landscape, he reports, scientists and the Chinese government are working to preserve one of the planet’s wildest places. Chang Tang. It is a

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Preeti Soni, Advisor (Climate Change), UNDP India, talks to OneWorld South Asia, on the sidelines of an international conference held in New Delhi earlier this month. OneWorld South Asia: How do the challenges brought by climate change present an opportunity for better management of natural resources in India? Preeti Soni: Climate change is of course

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WED celebrations began in 1972 and have grown to become the one of the main vehicles through which the UN stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and encourages political attention and action. Mongolia, which is prioritizing a Green Economy shift across its big economic sectors such as mining and promoting environmental awareness among  youth, is

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International Mountain Day 2013, Proposed theme: Mountains – Key to a Global Green Economy The United Nations General Assembly has designated 11 December, from 2003 onwards, as “International Mountain Day”. FAO is the U.N. Organization mandated to lead the observance of International Mountain Day each year. In the follow-up to Rio +20 we would like

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Thenews: Global climate change is posing serious threats to agrarian countries despite the facts that majority of them are not the major contributor in global warming. However, they are facing decline in agricultural productivity and water resources.  Speakers, during presentations in a seminar to the Agricultural Journalists Association (AJA), said the climate change cannot be

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FIELD: The purpose of this guide is to assist developing country negotiators and others who are working on REDD-plus*. FIELD provides this information on a neutral basis. The guide is available in English, French and Spanish. Electronic versions can be found at www.field.org.uk This version has been updated in February 2013. Please note that final

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Environmental Expert: Four UN Agencies to Assist 30 Countries in Transition to a Green Economy.  Nairobi — A new partnership launched today by four UN agencies aims to support 30 countries over the next seven years in building national green economy strategies that will generate new jobs and skills, promote clean technologies, and reduce environmental

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Tribune: Speakers at a seminar held on Thursday called for tangible steps to fight climate change and provide potable water to as many as 1.2 billion people who, they said, lacked access to clean drinking water. The event was organised at the Government College University Faisalabad (GCUF) by its Department of Applied Chemistry and the

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SciDev.net: A sustainable development summit in India has endorsed the idea of making access to energy a new millennium development goal (MDG) after 2015. The Delhi Sustainable Development Summit, held 31January – 2 February, ended with the hope that a report resulting from the online consultations and meetings will be presented to the UN General

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K N Vajpai: This article is in the series of responses to ongoing discussion on ‘Mountain Perspective’ at Link . It looks in to the aspects of mountain perspective and specificities as mentioned by Dr. N. S. Jodha during 1992s, and compares them in present  context. For the reference of readers and forum discussants, I

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Decisions adopted by COP 18 and CMP 8 COP 18 CMP 8 Agreed outcome pursuant to the Bali Action Plan (216 kB) The Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol pursuant to its Article 3, paragraph 9 Advancing the Durban Platform (63 kB) Addressing the Implications of decisions -2/CMP.7 to -5/CMP.7 on the previous decisions on

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Alertnet: Good governance of natural resources and sustainable development must go hand in hand, or economies and nature are at risk, experts, diplomats and business leaders warned at a weekend summit in New Delhi. According to the experts at the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit, the growing impacts of climate change also is putting nations –

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The Tribune: Research, awareness campaigns and the integration of disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies in planning and development are essential to help Pakistan cope with future climate change challenges. These were the recommendations of a recently conducted survey by Save the Children to assess the impacts of climate change on children and their families in

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LCCCRSP: Local communities in Nepal participate in livestock climate change vulnerability study and field tour. On January 2, 2012, local communities in the Thulokhola watershed in Nuwakot gave the SLPS project research team a heartfelt traditional welcome with garlands and red powder, as well as flowers, fruits, coconuts and water jars adorned with flowers as

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Prevention Web: The World Economic Forum 2013 has spawned an impressive collection of reports that build a strong case for prompt and substantial action on climate change, development and sustainability. The Global Risks Report 2013 warns that stresses on economic and environmental systems are on a “collision course” that could pose “unprecedented challenges” to global

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ICTSD: Delegates representing 140 countries have clinched a deal to establish an international binding treaty to curb mercury pollution. The 19 January deal is the result of four years of negotiations on the subject. The Minamata Convention on Mercury – named after the Japanese town whose residents suffered the consequences of mercury poisoning some 50

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Environmental Expert: The weak wording of the Rio+20 summit agreement and delays in setting up the UN working groups on sustainable development have left progress on some of the post Rio+20 agenda in limbo, according to a science officer at the International Council for Science (ICSU), which represented the scientific community at the summit. The

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NYTimes: WHETHER in Davos or almost anywhere else that leaders are discussing the world’s problems, they are missing by far the biggest issue: the rapidly deteriorating global environment and its ability to support civilization. The situation is pretty much an endgame. Unless pressing issues of the biology of the planet and of climate change generated

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Alertnet: Muhammad Mushtaq moved his family and several neighbours to safety last September when their homes in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir, were flooded by an overflowing stream during heavy monsoon rains. Mushtaq, who lives in a three-room tin-roofed house perched on a steep river bank at risk of landslides and floods, put into

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SciDev.Net: Potato batteries, wind-powered mine detectors, smart waterpumps… SciDev.Net revisits some of the best inventions of 2012. Fascinating innovations come from around the world, and aim to tackle a range of development issues, from cutting the risk of disasters and disease, to helping people with disabilities access information and bringing energy to remote areas. Phase-changing

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WoTR: Recommendation to the Adaptation committee. Adaptation has been given short shrift – in terms of priority, focus, and resources, particularly finance. In spite of the much greater attention on mitigation, it has not delivered; nor is it likely that it will. This makes adaptation even more important an issue. Because of near-inaction on mitigation

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SDC: Improving market access for small Andean farmers and making more out of the biodiversity of their crops – that is the basic challenge underlying the Papa Andina regional project, launched in 1998 by the SDC and the International Potato Center (CIP). This innovative and sustainable solution won a prize announced on the occasion of

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Varad Pande, Officer on Special Duty to Jairam Ramesh, the rural development minister and former environment minister says more work is needed to break through the deadlocks. “We need to make negotiations an ongoing, rather than an episodic, process, with at least 120 to 150 days of active negotiations every year,” Pande wrote in India’s

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World Bank: -While South Asia is among the most densely populated regions in the world, it is also one of the least urbanized. -Its cities across all countries increasingly face development stresses in terms of congestion, pollution, and quality-of-life issues. -Students shared their vision of green growth in South Asian cities of the future at

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IISD: During the Doha Climate Change Conference, Costa Rica, with assistance from the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), presented seven examples of how agriculture can both mitigate and adapt to climate change. The presentations were made by Costa Rica’s Environment and Agriculture Ministers at a side event to COP 18. Agriculture Minister Gloria Abraham Peralta

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My Republica: Nepal is chairing the Least Developed Countries (LDC) group under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for the year 2013 and 2014. Recently, in one of the programs organised at the side-lines of the 18th Conference of Parties (COP 18) meeting held in Doha, Qatar, the outgoing chair Gambia handed

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New Scientist: Fifteen years after its painful birth in Kyoto, Japan, the world’s first legally binding agreement to limit emissions of greenhouse gases ended this week. For some it is a victorious conclusion. The 37 industrial nations that stuck with the protocol after the US pulled out in 2005 say they exceeded their promises, cutting

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Nepali Times: The climate conference in Doha last month was another missed opportunity to stop the catastrophic warming of the planet. Known by its wordy official name, the 18th Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), was also confined to just that: words.The Doha Climate Summit failed to set

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Suman K Apparusu: COP18, Doha participation and interfacing with several constituencies; especially the gender and women constituency was a great learning as well as a humbling experience. There were some women who braved difficult circumstances to make it to the COP18 and make their voices heard; some were there to push hard for climate justice;

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Nations: Global climate change regime evolved out of the Earth Summit of 1992, which gave birth to three conventions including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Since then 195 countries have become parties to the Convention including Pakistan that ratified the Convention in 1994. Parties to the Convention have met eighteen times

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The goal of the Forum is to further a market-based approach to the global adoption of clean cooking solutions, and to continue to drive innovations in research, market development, standards and testing, project finance, and policy development. The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is very excited to be holding the Forum in Southeast Asia –

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Suman K Apparusu: The warmth and the hospitality of Doha are truly unforgettable! A wonderful combination of the old and new, tradition and modernity, ambition and receptivity struck me in all that I experienced during my one week sojourn of COP18 at Doha. But as the plane touched the tarmac in India, I was left

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SciDev.Net: Forestry experts are calling for an increase in the use of native tree species in reforestation projects, arguing that they are better for biodiversity and can slow the pace of global warming. The recommendation appears in a report published by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) that was presented during the UN

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Down to Earth: The Doha climate conference stretched beyond deadline but ended in what can best be described a nail-biting finish. This was the 18th conference of parties (COP) to the climate convention, which meets once a year to push for action to cut greenhouse gas emissions, which are so intertwined with economic growth that

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CSE: The Doha outcome is all talk no action. In 2007, the Bali Action Plan had called for an urgent reduction in carbon emissions by developed countries to keep the average global temperature rise below 2°C. The threat of extreme weather events has since increased. The next round of climate talks will be under the

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Guardian: Food prices set to more than double if climate change not checked and developing countries not helped to adapt farming. Food prices will more than double and the number of malnourished children spiral if climate change is not checked and developing countries are not helped to adapt their farming, food and water experts warned

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Daily Pioneer: Climate change is a major challenge for developing countries like India which are exposed to greater risk from this phenomenon. The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) director general VK Bahuguna said this after inaugurating a training programme on climate change, forest ecosystem and biodiversity- vulnerabilities and adaptation strategies for scientists

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TIES: The UN Climate Change Conference (COP18) in Qatar starts today, and in the next two weeks discussions will be held to assess progress in dealing with climate change. The UN climate talks shed light to the urgent needs for bold climate action, and this is a perfect time for all of us in the

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Updated on 18 Dec 2012 The 3rd Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum will be held in Incheon, Republic of Korea, on 18-20 March 2013 www.asiapacificadapt.net/adaptationforum2013  South Asian Cities Summit; 17 – 18 April, 2013 at Hotel Imperial, New Delhi  www.southasiancitiessummit.com 12th International NCCR Climate Summer School “From Climate Reconstructions to Climate Predictionshttp://www.nccr-climate.unibe.ch/summer_school/2013/ Seventh International Conference

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RTCC: Much has been written about the inadequacies of the Doha Gateway – the outcome of COP18. Once again, decisions do not reflect the science of climate change, which says action is urgent and time is running out. And once again, financial pledges fell far short of documented needs, both for mitigation and adaptation. Yet

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World Bank: The UN climate conference in Doha this past week kept the fight to combat global warming alive – 194 countries agreed to extend the Kyoto Protocol and to put in place a new agreement by 2015. The extension avoids a major setback in climate negotiations, but it does not fully reflect the urgency

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CIFOR: The UNFCCC COP-18 in Doha worked overtime to finally agree not to disagree. The Secretariat was quick to make a release that declares success and highlights four results: Amendment of the Kyoto Protocol; Timetable for negotiating a 2015 agreement; Decisions on new UNFCCC institutions, including the Green Climate Fund; Reiterating the ambition for $100

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IPS News: To understand some of what is happening inside the UN climate talks here in Doha, watch this  83-second animation on the history of international climate change negotiations.   Source>>  

Guardian: The world’s two biggest emitters face political problems that will make the talks for the next few years difficult. China and the US are to be the clear focus of the next year of climate change negotiations, following a hard-fought climate conference that ended in Doha on Saturday night. The world’s two biggest emitters

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Scidev.net: As the UN climate change talks continue in Doha, Qatar, several reports over the past month have highlighted a sombre picture of the Earth’s changing climate, raising alarm bells in particular for the world’s poorest regions. A report from the World Bank launched last month (18 November) warns that the planet “is on track

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