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:: Global Environmental Headlines 2005 Over the past 50 years, humans have changed natural ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than in any comparable period in human history. This transformation of the planet has contributed to substantial net gains in health, well-being and economic development. But not all regions and groups of people have benefited equally from this process. WHO release: Human
health under threat from ecosystem degradation The entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on 16 February 2005 gave new impetus to ICAO’s work in addressing greenhouse gas emissions and reinforced ICAO’s leadership role on aviation and climate change. ICAO release: International
Civil Aviation Day calls for the greening of aviation The United Nations Climate Change Conference closed with the adoption of more than forty decisions that will strengthen global efforts to fight climate change. UNFCCC release: United
Nations Climate Change Conference agrees on future critical steps to tackle
climate change The Migratory Species Convention is "on the move" across geographical and political borders, moving swiftly to mobilize the necessary political and other resources to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on earth. UNEP release: CMS
on the Move to Conserve Biodiversity UNFCCC release: New
UNFCCC publication confirms decreases in greenhouse gas emissions from
developed countries, highlights the challenges ahead These are some of the key findings of The Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005 (FRA 2005), the most comprehensive assessment to date of forest resources, their uses and value, covering 229 countries and territories between 1990 and 2005. FAO release: Deforestation
continues at an alarming rate The six month clean up programme, which may start in December, will entail removing, storing and treating the cyanide wastes to reduce the public health risks currently considered to be ‘severe”. UNEP release: Toxic
Sites in Iraq to be Made Safe The Conference closed with the adoption of the Nairobi Declaration on Sport, Peace and Environment. UNEP release: Sport,
Peace & the Environment at Nairobi World Conference UNEP release: African
Lakes Atlas Launched at World Lakes Event UNEP release: Desertification
Among Central Challenges to Achieve MDGs UNEP release: "Natural
Accounting" Essential for Poverty Reduction The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and more recently Hurricane Katrina in the United States and the earthquake in Pakistan and India demonstrated once again that the poor usually suffer most from disasters occuring from natural disasters, as they often live and work in highly vulnerable locations. Microcredit is a useful tool for poverty reduction, but its potential to reduce the impact of disasters needs to be further explored. UN-ISDR release: Invest
to prevent disasters World Habitat Day which is celebrated in cities around the world, was spearheaded this year from the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, to remind the world that countless thousands of homes were destroyed last December by the tsunami killer wave that so devastated Indonesia’s Banda Aceh coastline and other Indian Ocean countries. UN-HABITAT release: Global Celebrations of World Habitat Day 2005 - MEDIA ADVISORY A new assessment report finalized on 26 September by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that capturing and storing the carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by power plants and factories before it enters the atmosphere could play a major role in minimizing climate change. UNEP release: CO2
Storage May Minimize Climate Change UNEP release: UNEP Warns of Trade Liberalisation Failure if Environment Forgotten The campaign, held in conjunction with UNEP has grown steadily since the inaugural event in 1993 and has recorded an estimated 18% increase in participation this year. UNEP release: Environmental Sustainability In Action – Nations Unite for a Greener World UNEP release: Two
Decades of Protecting the Ozone Layer to be Marked Leaders of a number of countries addressing the United Nations Summit in New York called for action against global warming, urging all concerned to ratify international treaties designed to stem the problem. UNEP release: Nature’s
Capital at Centre of Poverty Eradication UNEP release: Managing Wildlife Trade & Conservation: CITES at 30 Pollution hot spots and damaged habitats and ‘ecosystems’ are to be identified. Measures will be drawn up to reduce the threats and restore the damage. Other aims include moving to harmonized laws covering the management of the Amazon Basin. UNEP release: Amazon Waters Project Gets Green Light UNCTAD launched the BioFuels Initiative in Paris on 21 June. The aim of the initiative is to help developing countries make the most of their renewable energy potential. It was presented at a press conference organized during a seminar of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on "Assessing the bio-fuels option". The BioFuels Initiative focuses on these new trade and investment opportunities for developing countries, on implications for poverty reduction, on the supply-side constraints of increasing the production, use and trade of bio-fuels. UNCTAD release: UNCTAD LAUNCHES THE BIOFUELS INITIATIVE “The goods and services delivered by nature including the atmosphere, forests, rivers, wetlands, mangroves and coral reefs are worth trillions of dollars,” UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer said in Nairobi, Kenya, at a regional launch of a new report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that seek to halve many of the worlds ills, such as extreme poverty and hunger, by 2015. UNEP release: “Natural
Capital” at Centre of Poverty Eradication This year, the international community marks the 11th anniversary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), which plays a key role in the world’s efforts to eradicate poverty, achieve sustainable development and reach the Millennium Development Goals. This year’s celebration will constitute a special occasion for awareness raising on the issue of desertification as the international community prepares for the forthcoming celebration of the "International Year of Deserts and Desertification" in 2006. UNEP release: World
Day to Combat Desertification Recognizes Women’s Role FAO release: Cattle ranching is encroaching on forests in Latin America Produced by UNEP, "One Planet Many People: Atlas of our Changing Environment" compares and contrasts spectacular satellite images of the past few decades with contemporary ones, some of which have never been seen before. UNEP release: “One
Planet Many People” Atlas Launched to Mark World Environment Day
2005 Meeting this Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target would cost US $11.3 billion per year, a minimal investment compared with the potential to reduce human illnesses and death and invigorate economies. The report finds that every dollar invested in improved water supplies and basic toilets pays for itself many times over. . WHO/UNICEF release: Almost
2 billion more people need access to basic sanitation by 2015 to meet millenium
target The World Environment Day theme selected for 2005 is Green Cities and the slogan is Plan for the Planet! The main international celebrations of the World Environment Day 2005 will be held in San Francisco, California, USA, and UNEP is honoured that the City of San Francisco will be hosting this important United Nations day. UNEP release: Painting
Competition Winners Honoured on WED The meeting's guiding document will be Secretary-General Kofi Annan's latest report, which reveals that despite substantial progress in the formulation and implementation of national forest policies, deforestation and forest degradation continue at an alarming rate. UNFF release: UN
REPORT SAYS DEFORESTATION CONTINUING AT ALARMING RATE AS FORUM ON FORESTS MEETS
AT HEADQUARTERS 16 - 27 MAY The Convention, which entered into force on 17 May 2004, targets 12 hazardous pesticides and industrial chemicals that can kill people, damage the nervous and immune systems, cause cancer and reproductive disorders and interfere with normal infant and child development. The conference established a POPs Review Committee that will be responsible for evaluating additional chemicals that could be added to the initial list of 12 POPs. UNEP release: Campaign
to Eliminate Hazardous Chemicals at Stockholm Debut Approximately 60 percent of the ecosystem services that support life on Earth – such as fresh water, capture fisheries, air and water regulation, and the regulation of regional climate, natural hazards and pests – are being degraded or used unsustainably. Scientists warn that the harmful consequences of this degradation could grow significantly worse in the next 50 years. SECRETARY-GENERAL MESSAGE: Secretary-General's
video message to launch the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment The United Nations System Chief Executive Board for Coordination (CEB), on the recommendation of its High-level Committee on Programmes (HLCP), endorsed UN Water in 2003 as the new official United Nations system-wide inter-agency mechanism for follow-up of the water-related decisions reached at the World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002 and the Millennium Development Goals. UN Water is responsible for organizing the annual United Nations World Water Day (22 March) and choosing each year's theme. SECRETARY-GENERAL
MESSAGE FOR WORLD WATER DAY: Water
is essential for life The ministers decried the state of global forest degradation and reconfirmed their commitment to sustainable forest management and to improved coordination of economic, environmental and social policies for enhanced contribution of forests to development and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The committee on Forestry meets every two years in Rome to debate key global forestry issues and give advice to FAO on its work programme on forests. The State of World's Forests 2005, a biennial FAO publication, was launched during the committee meeting. FAO Publication: State
of the World's Forests 2005 UNEP, on this particular occasion is celebrating women as custodians of the environment. Women and girls have a special relationship with the environment in other ways. They are often the custodians of indigenous knowledge and promoters of biodiversity and environmentally-friendly management. UNEP release: Celebrating
Women As Custodians of the Environment According to FAO, there has been a consistent downward trend since the 1950s in the proportion of marine fish stocks with potential for expanded production, coupled with an increase in the proportion classified as overexploited or depleted. Seven of the top ten marine fish species -- which together account for about 30 percent of all capture fisheries production -- are fully exploited or overexploited, today's report said. This means that major increases in catches cannot be expected from them, and serious biological and economic drawbacks are likely if fishing capacity for these stocks is further increased. FAO release: Depleted
fish stocks require recovery efforts The report indicates that the environment was both a victim of the tsunami but also that it often played its part in reducing the impact. Where healthy and relatively intact features like coral reefs, mangroves and coastal vegetation were in place there is evidence that the damage was reduced. The report also makes it clear that handling the rubble and other wastes generated by the damage is a key issue for many of the countries concerned. UNEP press release: Rebuild
Differently After the Tsunami GEO Year Book 2004/5, is the second in the annual GEO series. The report highlights significant environmental events and achievements during the year, raises awareness of emerging issues from scientific research and presents indicators of progress towards environmental sustainability. In particular there is a chapter in response to the Tsunami disaster and the potential effects on the environment. UNEP press release: UNEP
Launches 2004/5 GEO Yearbook The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is to host the next Special Session of UNEP's Governing Council. UNEP press release: 23rd
Governing Council To Focus on Environment and the MDGs On 18 November 2004, Russia deposited its instrument of ratification with the United Nations. This marked the start of the ninety day count down to the entry in force of the Kyoto Protocol, an international and legally binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gases emissions world wide. Japan to mark the Protocol's entry into force: www.kyoto-protocol.jp In an opening address to the world gathering, Jan Egeland, United Nations Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Humanitarian Relief Coordinator, urged conference participants to turn commitments into action in order to make societies more resilient when confronted by natural hazards. “All disaster prone countries should adopt clear, goal-oriented disaster reduction policies and actions plans underpinned by dedicated structures and resources”, he said. Conference URL: www.unisdr.org/wcdr/ Since the tragedy of 26 December, UNEP along with other UN bodies and the international community, has been assisting the countries affected including small islands such as the Seychelles and the Maldives. An initial assessment or ‘screening’ of the environmental damage, including damage to natural sea defenses such as coral reefs and mangrove swamps and chemical and waste installations, is expected from UNEP teams by mid to late February when UNEP will hold its Governing Council at its Nairobi, Kenya, headquarters. UNEP Release: Global Early Warning System Agreement Should be Focus of Kobe Conference The major outcome document of the conference, the Mauritius Strategy for further implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action, emphasizes that small island developing States, or SIDS “are located among the most vulnerable regions in the world in relation to the intensity and frequency of natural and environmental disasters and their increasing impact, and face disproportionately high economic, social and environmental consequence,” as highlighted by the tragic impacts of the 26 December Indian Ocean tsunami and the recent hurricane/cyclone/typhoon season in the Caribbean and Pacific. The Strategy proposes to use the opportunity of the Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe (Japan) to consider the specific concerns of SIDS, including in the areas of insurance and reinsurance arrangements. Conference URL: www.sidsmauritius2005.mu Countries in West and Northwest Africa have made great efforts in controlling the swarms coming out from the Sahel, but only in March-April 2005 will it be possible to have clear indications on what scale breeding will occur and on what scale the Sahel will be reinvaded in summer. Hatching and the formation of small hopper groups and bands are expected to occur in some places along the Red Sea. In order to review the locust situation in the countries affected by the upsurge, Senegal organized an international Scientific Locust Seminar in Dakar from 11 to 13 January 2005. Its main objective is to identify strategies for a sustainable management of Desert Locust populations. FAO Release: Desert locust: FAO recommends continuing control actions and vigilance
Natural
and man-made disasters among emerging issues challenging the health and wealth
of small islands
Some small islands, such as the Comoros in the Indian Ocean, are also facing serious freshwater shortages partly as a result of contamination and over exploitation. Unique animal and plant species are also under threat from habitat clearance and the introduction of alien, invasive species from other parts of the world. Dominica and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean are small islands with high levels of potentially damaging ‘invaders’. These are among the findings from reports released on 6 January by UNEP in advance of an international meeting on small island developing states (SIDS) taking place 10 to 14 January in Mauritius. The reports were written before the devastating tsunami, which hit coastal areas and small islands in the Indian Ocean on 26 December 2004. UNEP Release: Natural
and Man-made Disasters Threaten Stability of Small Islands Fisheries and aquaculture are the sectors most seriously hit by the disaster with a devastating effect on many millions of mostly small-scale fishers who are dependent on a daily fish catch for food and sale. FAO Release: FAO calls for $26 million to help tsunami victims
The 8th meeting of the Earthwatch Working Party will be held in UNEP offices in Geneva in 2004.
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WHO
released on 9 December the
report, Ecosystems
and Human Well-being: Health Synthesis,
which represents an attempt to describe the
complex links between the preservation of healthy and biodiverse natural
ecosystems and human health.
“The
Greening of Flight — maximizing compatibility between safe and orderly
development of civil aviation and the quality of the environment” is
the theme for the 2005 edition of International Civil Aviation Day, celebrated
annually on 7 December to mark the creation of the International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO) on that day in 1944.
The
United Nations Climate Change Conference 2005 was
held from 28 November to 9 December in
Montreal, Canada. The high level of interest is not least due to the fact that
the conference served as the
first ever meeting of the 156 Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP/MOP1). At the
same time, it
served as the 11th Conference of the 189 Parties to UNFCCC.
The
Eighth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the
Conservation of Migratory Species and Wild Animals and associated meetings
took place at UNEP headquarters from 16 to 25 November,
under the banner: On the move to 2010.
In
its new publication, released on 17 November,
UNFCCC confirms that developed countries, taken as a group, have achieved
sizable emission
reductions. Compared to the 1990 levels, overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
of these countries were down 5.9% in 2003. But the secretariat warns that
further efforts are required to sustain these reductions and to cut the emissions
further. 
Each
year about 13 million hectares of the world’s forests are lost due
to deforestation, but the rate of net forest loss is slowing down, thanks
to new planting and natural expansion of existing forests, FAO announced
on 14 November. The annual net loss
of forest area between 2000 and 2005 was 7.3 million hectares/year -- an area
about the size of Sierra Leone or Panama
-- down from an estimated 8.9 million ha/yr between 1990 and 2000. This is
equivalent to a net loss of 0.18 percent of the world’s forests annually.
Clean
up of a highly polluted industrial site south of Baghdad is being launched
by UNEP following a study of environmental ‘hot
spots’ in Iraq, as announced on 10 November. The report points out that
the
country “has
a
significant
legacy of contaminated and derelict industrial and military sites”. Overall
close to $40 million is needed to meet the report’s
recommendations in full.
UNEP
and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) organized the Sixth
World Conference on Sport and Environment in Nairobi, Kenya from 9
to 11
November. It focused on the linkages between sport, peace and the environment
and reviewed the environmental activities of the Olympic Movement and
other sport stakeholders. 
The
dramatic and, in some cases damaging environmental changes sweeping Africa’s
lakes are brought into sharp focus in a new atlas launched at World Lake Conference,
which took place in Nairobi from 31 October - 4 November. The Atlas of African
Lakes
will
be
published
in book form in 2006.
The
Seventh Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 7) which also comprised
the seventh session of the Committee on Science and Technology (CST 7) and
the Fourth Session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation
of the Convention (CRIC 4) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
(UNCCD) was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 17
to 28 October.
COP7 aimed to take further concrete steps towards the implementation of
the Convention.
The
High-Level Brainstorming Workshop on Creating Pro-Poor Markets for Ecosystem
Services, held on 10-12 October, was one of the follow-up activities to
the Workshop for MEAs on Mainstreaming Environment Beyond MDG 7 held in July
2005, in
Nairobi,
Kenya.
Participants
at this Workshop included heads of various MEA Secretariats, senior representatives
of UNDP, the UN Millennium Project and internationally recognized experts
in the field of environment and development. They agreed on concrete short-,
medium-, and longer-term activities to help ensure that the objectives of
the environment and development communities mutually support each other on
the ground as well as at the international level.
On
the occasion of the International Day for Disaster Reduction, to held
on 12 October, and to mark the International Year of Microcredit, the
Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) launched
a global debate on how microfinance can reduce the impact of natural disasters
on vulnerable communities.
The
United Nations has designated the first Monday of October each year as World
Habitat Day to reflect on the state of human settlements, especially the
living conditions of the urban poor and their basic right to adequate shelter.
This year the theme of World Habitat Day on Monday 3
October is The
Millennium Development Goals and the City.
Six
case studies on the rice sector, released by UNEP on 20
September, underline that
free trade without environmental considerations can lead to negative impacts
on
developing
countries.
The reports,
published in advance of the crucial World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting
to take place in Hong Kong, argue that economically costly soil degradation,
water pollution, loss of biodiversity and destruction of forests can be the
consequences of environmentally-insensitive trade liberalization.
Millions
of volunteers around the world took to their local parks, waterways,
streets and forests in a bid to clean up the environment and promote sustainable
living.
625 members, mobilising over 35 million volunteers from 115 countries, took
part in this year’s Clean Up the World Weekend, celebrated globally
on 16-18 September.
The
signing of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer
on 16 September 1987, is now
celebrated every year as the International Day for the Preservation of the
Ozone Layer. This
year’s Ozone Day theme is “Act Ozone Friendly – Stay Sun
Safe”. Although levels of ozone depleting substances in the stratosphere
now seem to be at or near their peak, the ozone layer will remain particularly
vulnerable during the next decade or so. People must therefore be reminded
to protect themselves and their children against the increased ultraviolet
radiation reaching the Earth’s surface, which can cause skin cancer,
cataracts and other illnesses.
The
2005 World Summit, taking place on 14-16 September in
New York, aims to deliver a new and strengthened United Nations in areas
from
the security to human
rights. It also takes stock of how we are faring on the 2015 Millennium Development
Goals. These cover poverty eradication and the supply of safe and sufficient
supplies of drinking water to the empowerment of women and reversing the spread
of infectious disease.
Two
years after its adoption in Washington DC, CITES entered into force in 1975
with a challenging mission: to ensure that the international trade in thousands
of plant and animal species is sustainable and does not lead to population
declines or extinction. As CITES celebrates 30 years of action on 1
July,
it has proven itself to be up to the task. But in today’s rapidly changing
world, CITES will need to continue evolving in order to adapt to 21st century
needs and maintain its dynamism over the next 30 years. 
A new project aimed at helping the Amazon
Basin and its 10 million inhabitants conserve and better manage the region’s
economically important waters, forests and wildlife was announced on 25
June.
Sound
and solid investment in the environment will go a long way towards meeting
international targets on poverty reduction,
the supply of drinking water and fighting the spread of infectious diseases
the head of UNEP said on 17 June.
"Women & Desertification" is
this year's theme to celebrate the World Day to Combat Desertification on 17
June. The theme recognizes the unique role played by women
in regions
affected by desertification and drought.
Expanding
livestock production is one of the main drivers of the destruction of tropical
rain forests in Latin America, which is causing serious environmental degradation
in the region, FAO said on 8 June.
For the first time, FAO published a map showing the projected expansion
of crop and pasture land use into tropical forests in the region up to 2010.
The
dramatic and, in some cases, damaging environmental changes sweeping planet
Earth are brought into sharp focus in a new atlas launched to mark World
Environment Day (WED), on 5 June.
Basic sanitation must reach 138 million more
people every year through 2015 – close to 2 billion in total - to bring
the world on track to halve the proportion of people living without safe
water and basic sanitation, WHO and UNICEF
warn in a new report: "Water for life: Making it happen", launched on 3
June.
World
Environment Day, commemorated each year on 5 June, is one of the principal
vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness
of the environment and enhances political attention and action.
The
UN Forum on Forests (UNFF)
will review the effectiveness of the International Arrangement on Forests
(IAF) and deliberate on next steps at its fifth session, from 17 through
27 May. The Forum was established in 2000 and is the IAF's convening body.
More
than
300 government officials, including 40 ministers
responsible for forests are expected to attend the meeting.
The
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) made its
debut on the world stage in Punta del Este, Uruguay from 2-6
May at a meeting
of 800 government officials and observers committed to ridding the world
of some of the most dangerous chemicals ever created.
Four
years ago, a truly inspiring group of scholars and environmental leaders
embarked on an unprecedented effort: the first comprehensive global evaluation
of the world’s major ecosystems. The report launched on 30 March, the
work
of
over 1,300 experts, claims that intact and healthy ecosystems are often worth
more
than
altered,
damaged and degraded ones. 
The ‘Water
for Life’ Decade, launched on World Water Day (22
March 2005),
calls upon the international community to strengthen efforts to increase
access
to water and sanitation for all. This is the second international decade on water-related
issues under the auspices of the United Nations.
International
cooperation on forest fires, combating deforestation and the role of the
forest sector in post-tsunami rehabilitation and in achieving the Millennium
Development Goals were among key issues discussed at the FAO Ministerial
Meeting on Forests and the Committee on Forestry in Rome from 14-19
March. 
The
International Women’s Day is celebrated on 8 March. This
year marks a milestone in the movement for gender equality and the advancement
of women -- the 10-year review of the Beijing Conference and Platform for
Action. In 1995, women gathered in Beijing and took a giant step forward
on behalf of humankind. 
Rebuilding
depleted wild fish stocks is a "challenging necessity" says the
newest edition of FAO's biennial report, The State of World Fisheries and
Aquaculture (SOFIA), released on 7 March.
The
destruction caused by the Asian tsunami to the environment offers an opportunity
to rebuild in a manner that preserves natural resources for the benefit of
the local communities who were hardest hit by the disaster, a new report
by UNEP on 22 February says.
Dramatic
environmental changes now sweeping the planet, such as the loss of forests
and the spread of cities are promoting conditions for a rise in new and previously
suppressed infectious diseases, including malaria and bilharzias, according
to the UNEP latest yearbook, released on 21 February. 
The
importance of a healthy environment for realizing the Millennium Development
Goals took centre stage at the UNEP's 23d Governing Council, where more
than 100 environment ministers met in Nairobi, from 21-25 February.
Well
over 1,000 delegates attended from close to 140 countries including Wangari
Maathai, the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner and assistant environment minister
of Kenya. Action on heavy metals were among key GC decisions.
Governments also agreed to strengthen UNEP’s
finances and work in areas from water and gender equality to disaster preparedness
and scientific assessment. 
The
Kyoto Protocol will enter into force on 16
February 2005. To mark this date,
some Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, as well as institutions and organizations,
are planning events and other activities. Japan will hold
a commemorative symposium and a global video conference to celebrate the entry
into force of the Kyoto
Protocol. These events will take place in the historic city of Kyoto where
the Protocol was originally adopted in 1997.
Ten
years after an earthquake killed nearly 6,500 people and injured 40,000 in
20 seconds in Kobe, Japan, 4,000 delegates from 150 countries have gathered
at ground zero this week for a United Nations conference on disaster reduction,
its deliberations given added urgency by nature's latest assault, the devastating
Indian Ocean tsunami.
Making
operational a tsunami early warning system in the Indian Ocean must be one
of the key outcomes of an international disaster reduction conference taking
place in Japan, UNEP announced on 15 January.
The
International Meeting to Review the Implementation of the Programme
of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, which
concluded its works on 14 January in Port-Louis, Mauritius, was attended
by 18 Presidents, Vice-Presidents and Prime Ministers, some 60 ministers
and
nearly
2000 delegates, civil society representatives and journalists from 114 countries,
and by 15 UN or multilateral agencies. This five-day conference hosted by
the Republic of Mauritius was held in an impressive new conference centre
built with the assistance of India.
Despite
recent improvements, the Desert Locust situation remains serious
in Western Africa where vigilance and intensive control operations
are still needed, according to FAO, as announced on 7
January.
Vulnerability
to natural and man-made disasters including tsunamis and cyclones is among
a range of emerging issues challenging the health and wealth of the world’s
small island developing states. Other issues include pollution and discharge
by ships in the Caribbean, over-fishing in the Pacific and the rising tide
of household and other forms of waste on the Atlantic and Indian Ocean islands. 
FAO
launched on 6 January an urgent
appeal for $26 million for farmers and fisher folk hit by the South-Asian
tsunami
disaster, the agency said on the occasion
of the international disaster summit in Indonesia. Funds are needed to finance
emergency rehabilitation projects over the next six months.
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