First global scientific conference supporting UN efforts to curb desertification

21 September - 2 October 2009 Buenos Aires, Argentina. Scientists gather in Buenos Aires to find a way forward for agriculture in vast dry areas, where the poor are most vulnerable to land degradation and climate change.

The desertification-climate change nexus are a key topic of discussion at this global scientific conference, the first such event to be held in support of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Organized by the Dryland Science for Development (DSD) Consortium, the event (titled "Understanding Desertification and Land Degradation Trends") is being held in connection with the Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP9) to the UNCCD.

The Conference highlights the importance of developing and implementing science-based methods for monitoring and assessing land degradation and underlines the need for a holistic approach to understanding and overcoming the devastating impact of desertification.

Drylands comprise more than 40 percent of global land area and are home to nearly 35 percent of its people, according to a white paper prepared for the UNCCD conference. As much as 20 percent of this land has already been affected by desertification, defined as land degradation (that is, loss of the land's productive capacity), caused by a combination of human activity and climate conditions.

"The fragile ecosystems of the dry areas are highly vulnerable to land degradation and desertification. Farmers in these areas already face harsh and variable weather and limited resources," added Mahmoud Solh, Director General of the CGIAR-supported International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and Chair of the DSD Consortium. "We must clearly demonstrate progress in helping them deal with those limitations of today, if they are to have any hope of adapting to climate change tomorrow."

Martin Bwalya, NEPAD Secretariat, introduced the session of WGIII “Knowledge, management, institutions and economics.”

References:

23/09 First global scientific conference supporting UN efforts to curb desertification opens in Argentina

CORDIS 24/09 Scientists tackle global desertification woes

For more information, please visit:

• International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
• United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
• Dryland Science for Development

Broadcast Media & Climate Change

4-5 September 2009. Paris, UNESCO. This high-level international event was organised by UNESCO in partnership with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), regional broadcasting unions and other international broadcasting organizations to consider a global consensus to raise public awareness on the challenges of climate change.




Organized in partnership with UNEP, the Conference provided a platform for regional and international collaboration to offer solutions to existing challenges faced by broadcasters, particularly those in developing countries. Such collaboration will to empower national broadcasters to fulfil their role in making climate change processes and related mitigation and adaptation options better understood by their audiences.

"This is a watershed moment for the broadcasting industry," said Satinder Bindra, United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP) director of communications. "The more allies, talent and creativity that we can garner in the fight against climate change and its dire consequences, the greater the chance of succeeding in tackling the greatest challenge of our generation."

The UK based Institute of Development Studies (IDS) participated to this meeting in behalf of the AfricaAdapt Core Group of which FARA is part of.




Claudie Likela, Manager of the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation, speaks to AfricaAdapt about the struggle of African journalists to translate climate change information into local languages.

Grace Akumu, Head of the Climate Network Africa, tells AfricaAdapt about the importance of having African perspectives on climate change. Grace Akumu was one of the lead authors of the Third and Fourth Assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and calls on African researchers to work closer with journalists.

Patrik Luganda, Chairman of the Network of Climate Journalists in the Greater horn of Africa, speaks to AfricaAdapt about promoting better climate change media reporting. He highlights what journalists and researchers need from each other to be able to contribute to better quality coverage of climate change issues.

References:

• IDS website story: The media's role in the climate change debate
• Business Green 09/09/2009 UN calls on broadcasters to support climate change
  Environmental Expert (press release) 08/09/2009 Broadcasters unite in fight against climate change
• Paris Declaration.pdf
• UNESCO's Communication and Information Sector (More)
• Conference flyer [.pdf]
• UNESCO Media Advisory No.2009-45 (More)

Related:
Media coverage of climate change in SAf: Lessons from Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia Frank M Kayula Download presentation (384Kb ~ 2 min) presented at the FANRPAN 2009 Regional Policy Dialogue and Annual General Meeting Maputo, Mozambique 31 August 2009 - 4 September 2009

AfricaAdapt at the World Climate Conference-3 (WCC-3),

3 September 2009. Geneva. The World Climate Conference-3 (WCC-3), which has brought together from 31 August to 4 September 2009, in Geneva, Switzerland, more than 2 000 climate scientists, sectoral experts and decision-makers established a Global Framework for Climate Services “to strengthen production, availability, delivery and application of science-based climate prediction and services.”

The Declaration establishing the Global Framework was adopted today at WCC-3 by high-level policy-makers from more than 150 countries, including Heads of State/Government of Ethiopia, Monaco, Mozambique, Slovenia, Tajikistan, the Vice-Presidents of Comores and the United Republic of Tanzania, the Premier of Niue, the Prime Ministers of Bangladesh, Cook Islands, the Vice-Premier of China, more than 80 Ministers and other Senior Government Officials.

The adoption stood under the chairmanship of H.E. Mr Armando Emílio Guebuza, President of Mozambique, and H.E. Mr Moritz Leuenberger, Federal Councillor of the Swiss Confederation, host country of the Conference.

Laban Ogallo, Director of the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) in Nairobi presented during the session on Mainstreaming climate information the platform of AfricaAdapt of which FARA is one of the initiators.

Reference: Conference website + Brochure Focus on Africa (1.5 MB)

Announcement: Development and Climate Days Annual Film Festival

The Development and Climate Film Festival provides a platform for amateur and independent filmmakers from around the world to showcase short films on issues relating to climate change. They raise awareness, share ideas, and convey important messages in a creative and engaging way.

The film festival was launched as a parallel event to the Development and Climate Days at COP13 in Bali in 2007. Where possible the screenings are attended by the filmmakers giving the chance for the audience to put questions to them directly and take part in the ongoing debates that surround climate and development issues.

The festival will run over the weekend of the 12-13 December 2009, during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 15) in Copenhagen. The deadline is October 15, 2009.

Related:
Broadcast Media & Climate Change. 4-5 September 2009. Paris, UNESCO. This high-level international event is organised by UNESCO in partnership with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), regional broadcasting unions and other international broadcasting organizations to consider a global consensus to raise public awareness on the challenges of climate change. Read more

Announcement: High-level session of Africa Partnership Forum on Climate Change

September 3. The Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Mr. Meles Zenawi, will chair a high-level session of Africa Partnership Forum (APF) which will discuss the immediate concerns and expectations of Africa on climate change, especially as they relate to mitigation, adaptation, technology and finance.

African Partnership Forum co-chairs met already last week to prepare for the Special Session on Climate Change

The session, which will take place at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, will be attended by Ministers in charge of the environment from Sierra Leone, DRC, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Cameroon, Sudan, Kenya, Mozambique and Algeria.

Other high level participants include Mr. Jean Ping, Chairperson of the African Union, Dr. Ibrahim Mayaki, CEO of NEPAD Secretariat, Lord Nicholas Stern, Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and Abdoulie Janneh, UN Under Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ECA.

The Africa Partnership Forum (APF) was established in November 2003 to broaden existing high-level G8/NEPAD dialogue to include Africa's major bilateral and multilateral development partners. Its mission is to strengthen partnership efforts for Africa's development.

Related FARA blog post:
24 August 2009 Africa seeks common position on climate change
Reference:
Background documents can be obtained from UNECA

AfricaAdapt at the Bonn Climate Change conference

The thirtieth sessions of the UNFCCC Convention subsidiary bodies - SBSTA and SBI, sixth session of the AWG-LCA and the eighth session of the AWG-KP are taking place from Monday 1 June till Friday 12 June 2009 in Maritim, Bonn.

Events on Monday, 8 June 2009. This event showcased innovative approaches to mixing traditional knowledge and modern tools for local-level climate change adaptation.

L-R: Xianfu Lu, UNFCCC Secretariat; Blane Harvey, Institute of Development Studies;

Moussa Na Abou Mamouda, ENDA-TM; Binetou Diagne, ENDA-T;

and Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Indigenous Peoples of Africa Co-ordinating Committee

Xianfu Lu, UNFCCC Secretariat, said adaptation is multi-scalar and multi-temporal, has multiple drivers and stakeholders, and requires decision making under uncertainty. She described the role of knowledge brokers in synthesizing knowledge from indigenous peoples, academics and scientific centers into useful knowledge tools. She highlighted initiatives under the Nairobi Work Programme to enhance decision-making capacity on adaptation.

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Indigenous Peoples of Africa Co-ordinating Committee, underscored the utility of community mapping tools for mobile indigenous communities in Africa. She described how communities use three-dimensional mapping, CyberTracker, related GPS data-based technology and Google Earth to: map untitled lands; show how local communities are coping with climate instability; and plan for future climate change impacts.

Moussa Na Abou Mamouda, Environment and Development in the Third World (ENDA-TM), stressed that valuable traditional knowledge exists but is poorly shared. He said researchers play a key role in relaying information between vulnerable communities and decision makers. He highlighted constraints that African researchers face, including access to affordable data.

Binetou Diagne, ENDA-TM, highlighted challenges faced by knowledge-sharing intermediaries, including: overcoming linguistic and regional barriers; accessing local knowledge; and delivering pertinent information. She introduced the AfricaAdapt Knowledge Sharing Innovation Fund, which offers grants of up to US$10,000 for innovative tools, such as songs, theatre, and video, to share knowledge on adaptation amongst marginal and hard-to-reach communities.

Participants discussed, inter alia: the potential for radio and Web 2.0 technologies for sharing information about adaptation; the potential for knowledge-sharing networks to threaten the roles of traditional knowledge holders in local communities; the need for knowledge networks to safeguard the intellectual property rights of indigenous peoples; and means to address urgent adaptation needs given slow implementation of NAPAs.

Reference:

IISD Reporting Services 08/06 A Special Report on Selected Side Events at the UNFCCC SB30

UNFCC Bonn Climate Change Talks - June 2009

Agriculture for Africa's shift to a Green Economy

Daniele Govannucci, Expert, Asad Naqvi, UNEP, Ibrahim Thiaw, UNEP, Josue Dione, UNECA, Timothy Lasalle, Rodale Institute, and John Shilling, Millennium Institute.

8th of May 2009. Side Event: Agriculture for Africa's Shift to a Green Economy, organized by UNEP at the Seventeenth Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD 17) 4 - 15 May 2009 UN Headquarters, New York, US.

The Commission’s seventeenth session attempts to chart a sustainable course of action to strengthen long-neglected agricultural sectors and ensure that more food could be grown in a smarter and greener way, especially in Africa. Building on the outcomes of its sixteenth session, the Commission will discuss and ultimately adopt a series of policy recommendations to guide agricultural development, along with measures to address drought, desertification, land use, rural development, and sustainable development in Africa.

The Secretary-General’s report on policy options and actions for expediting progress in implementation: agriculture (document E/CN.17/2009/3) stresses that targeted investments will also be needed to bridge the gaps in agricultural research and technology transfer, and both public and private investments in the agriculture sector will have to increase significantly.

The report on Africa (document E/CN.17/2009/8) examines policy options and practical measures to expedite implementation of those actions identified in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation for the promotion of sustainable development on that continent.

Related:

• Windhoek High-level Ministerial Declaration on African Agriculture in the Twenty-first Century: Meeting the Challenges, Making a Sustainable Green Revolution
• Report on the High-level intersessional regional meeting of the Commission on Sustainable Development on African Agriculture in the 21th Century: Meeting the Challenges, Making a Sustainable Green Revolution

Session on Africa during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2009

28 January - 1 February 2009. Davos, Switzerland. Under the overall theme “Shaping the Post-Crisis World.” Over 2,500 participants and 40 Heads of State and government are participating in the World Economic Forum meeting, where business, civil society and government leaders have gathered to share ideas on how to shape the post-crisis agenda, from economic reform to climate change.

Raila Amolo Odinga, Prime Minister of Kenya,

captured during the session 'The New US Administration:

Can It Meet the Expectations of the World?'

Although the continent is not insulated from the global financial crisis, African countries will perform “relatively better” than other regions of the world this year. This was the consensus among discussants at the session on Africa.

Other relevant sessions:
Fresh solutions to food security
Kofi Annan,William H. Gates III, Irene B. Rosenfeld, Michael Treschow, Abhisit Vejjajiva with Josette Sheeran (debate of 1 hour)

State of Africa
The governance landscape of Africa is in transition with important democratic elections taking place across the continent. What political and economic actions are required to shape the future of Africa in a challenging global economic environment? (debate of 1 hour 4 minutes)

• Kofi Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations (1997-2006); Member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum; Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2009
• Luisa Dias Diogo, Prime Minister of Mozambique
• Paul Kagame, President of RwandaKgalema Motlanthe, President of South Africa
• Raila Amolo Odinga, Prime Minister of Kenya
• Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal
• Chaired byNiall FitzGerald, Deputy Chairman, Thomson Reuters, United Kingdom; Member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum

Debate on The girl effect on development with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Melinda French Gates, Mari Pangestu, Mark G. Parker, Ann M. Veneman, Muhammad Yunnus with Helene D. Gayle. (1 hour 3 min)


The Next Digital Experience
Social networking applications and sophisticated mobile devices are combining elements of the real and virtual worlds, and delivering an augmented experience of reality. How is this digital experience changing consumers and communities? (debate of 1 hour 3 minutes)

• Hamid Akhavan, Chief Executive Officer, T-Mobile International, Germany
• Eric K. Clemons, Professor of Operations and Information Management,
• The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA
• Chad Hurley, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, YouTube, USA
• Craig Mundie, Chief Research and Strategy Officer, Microsoft Corporation, USA
• Shantanu Narayen, President and Chief Executive Officer, Adobe Systems, USA
• Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Facebook, USA

Other relevant sessions:
28.01.09 Update 2009: Africa
30.01.09 Mobile Revolutions in the Developing World
30.01.09 The Future of Development Assistance
30.01.09 From Adoption to Diffusion: Technology and Developing Economies

High Level Meeting on Food Security for All

On the 26th and 27th of January 2009, Madrid hosted the High Level Meeting on Food Security for All, to offer continuity to the United Nations Global Action Plan led by the United Nations Secretary-General and to design a road map that will guarantee the fulfilment of the objectives and commitments acquired during the last Rome Summit.
Olivier de Shutter. UN Special Rapporteur on Right to Food.

Representatives of national governments, civil society, trade unions, the private sector, academia, multilateral organisations and donor agencies from around 100 countries took part in the two-day meeting to discuss the Global Partnership for Agriculture and Food Security (GPAFS) to support Africa through CAADP.

Speaking on behalf of the African Union, Prof. Richard Mkandawire who is the head of NEPAD’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) called upon the participants to use the meetings as an opportunity for kick-starting action-driven and globally-oriented attempts to end world hunger.

Within the context of Africa – African ministers of Agriculture and representatives from regional economic communities called for the GPAFS to be implemented through the already existing CAADP structures, partnerships and networks.

“In Africa, it is imperative that CAADP is located at the centre of GPAFS activities so that it can be optimally used to support the real agricultural plans of small holder farmers, women and those that are usually marginalised in African agriculture” advised CAADP’s Mkandawire.

References:

• Leaders, agencies, business and civil society call for renewed efforts to end world hunger. African Press Organisation 28/01/2009
• Final Statement of the Madrid High-Level Meeting on Food Security for All
• Contribution of the Special Rapporteur to the discussion on the Global Partnership on Agriculture and Food, submitted in advance of the Madrid High-Level Meeting on Food Security for All
• DEVELOPMENT: Food Summit – Concern Yes, Concrete Steps No IPS 27/01/09
• UK official: food security should be at world's top agenda People's Daily Online 27/01/09
• UN chief warns of food shortages in poor countries International Herald Tribune 27/01/09
• Talks and more talks about food Irin 30/01/09

Annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative

25-26 September. NEW YORK. Global warming and poverty are intertwined because the world's poorest people are the ones hardest hit by changes in the climate, and solutions for both problems need to be found, panelists said Thursday at the second day of an annual conference spearheaded by former President Bill Clinton.

The conference opened Wednesday and included former Vice President Al Gore, Bono, Bill Gates and Lance Armstrong. Celebrities including Muhammad Ali were in the audience. Speakers Thursday included actress Drew Barrymore and musician Wyclef Jean, who announced a program to provide school food and health care programs to millions of children in more than 30 countries.

CGI, now in its fourth year, draws world leaders, celebrities, activists and scholars for three days of discussions about pressing global problems. It coincides with the General Assembly meeting taking place on the other side of town at the United Nations.

Reference:

all 750 news articles (!)

Africa Carbon Forum

The potential for renewable energy development in Africa is experiencing an increase in attention lately as investors and world leaders seek a new clean energy frontier.

The continent could become a gold mine for renewable energy due to abundant solar and wind resources. But roadblocks to clean energy worldwide are amplified throughout the troubled regions of Africa - financial resources are thin and infrastructure is often unreliable.

Meeting at the Africa Carbon Forum in Senegal's capital Dakar 3 - 5 September, United Nations officials, World Bank specialists, and business leaders exchanged strategies for "Clean Development Mechanism" (CDM) projects on the continent - greenhouse gas-reducing initiatives that industrialized countries can support as a way to compensate for their excess emissions. A theme throughout the meetings was the possibility of future CDM projects under a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol, especially if the United States joins the market. 

Reference:

WorldWatchInstitute 12/09 African Renewable Energy Gains Attention

General Assembly’s high-level meeting on Africa’s development needs

World leaders meeting at the United Nations on 22nd of September have underscored the urgency of finding solutions to the major challenges facing Africa, and have recommitted themselves to a global partnership to help the continent halve poverty, illiteracy and other socio-economic ills by 2015.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses the opening of the high-level meeting on Africa's Development Needs during the 63rd session of the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, the United States, Sept. 22, 2008.

A new report by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, released ahead of this meeting, showed that while most of Africa’s economies are now growing more rapidly than they did a decade ago, the continent remains “off track” in its quest to achieve the MDGs.

A side event (High Level Panel) "A Response to the World Food Crisis: Smallholder Agriculture, Food Security and Rural Development in Africa" focused on the global food crisis and was held at United Nations Headquarters in New York on the sidelines of the General Assembly’s high-level meeting on Africa’s development needs. The Secretary-General noted:

“The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme drawn up by the African Union has many good proposals. If the Programme is implemented now, Africa will move from food scarcity to food exporter in a few years' time. Given that the majority of Africans live in rural areas where small farmers are the main food producers, it is vital to address the difficulties they face in production. Increasing investments in agriculture and the rural economy is a necessary first step. Investing more will help small farmers adopt new technologies and modern farming methods. It will help provide agricultural extension services, more storage facilities, better roads access to markets”

The High Level Panel was organized by FAO, IFAD and WFP, in partnership with UNDP, UN-NGLS, the Earth Institute of Columbia University and the Republic of Malawi. The speakers included H. E. Mr. Bingu Wa Mutharika President of Malawi, Mr. Ban Ki Moon, UN Secretary General, Dr. Jacques Diouf, Director General of FAO, Prof. Jeffrey Sachs of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and Ms. Elisabeth Atangana, President of the Sub-regional Platform of Peasant Organizations of Central Africa (PROPAC). Other participants will included the Heads of UNDP, IFAD and WFP.

Extract from the Side Event Draft Concept Note
Global climate change deepens the challenges inherent in enhancing African agricultural productivity and food security. CAADP’s emphasis on empowering producers through improved agricultural education, research, technological dissemination and adoption is made even more urgent by the pressure of global warming. All efforts to enhance rural development in Africa must take explicit account of climate change. As called for under the MDG Africa Steering Group’s recommendations, investments in agricultural research need to be significantly scaled up in a manner consistent with the CAADP, in particular its Pillar IV, the Framework for African Agricultural Productivity (FAAP), and channeled through the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), sub-regional organizations, centres belonging to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and governments.

Reference:
UN Newscenter 22/09 Investing in Africa’s farmers crucial part of global response to food crisis
ReliefWeb 23/09 Secretary-General, addressing side event on food security in ...
ChinaView 23/09 UN chief urges more investment in Africa to tackle food crisis

Accra Climate Change Talks 2008

The next round of United Nations climate change negotiations is taking place in Accra, Ghana, from 21-27 August. The Accra Climate Change Talks will take forward work on a strengthened and effective international climate change deal under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as work on emission reduction rules and tools under the Kyoto Protocol. This is part of a negotiating process that will be concluded in Copenhagen at the end of 2009. Over 1600 participants are attending the Accra meeting, which is the third major UNFCCC gathering this year.

At the opening press conference in Accra, the UN’s top climate change official Mr. de Boer underlined the urgency for progress in the Talks on a strengthened international climate change agreement, to be concluded next year in Copenhagen.

Reference:

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

AFP 22/08 West Africa's coastline redrawn by climate change: experts

Reuters 22/08 UN climate talks split over deforestation funds

UN News Center 22/08 New UN-backed reports warns of costs of inaction on climate change

Ghanain Times 22/08 Climate Change Ghana Threat To Cocoa Production

FANRPAN Board and Partners meeting

The ongoing food crisis presents an opportune moment for Southern Africa to review its policies and put in place long term strategies that will make the region food secure.

The Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) is convening a Board and Partners meeting to update its current and potential partners on its programmes. The one-day stakeholder meeting will be held on Friday the 20th of June 2008.

The meeting will be attended by FANRPAN's Board of Governors, coordinators of our programmes, members of the Diplomatic Corps, representatives from UN agencies, donors and technical partners. The meeting will take the form of short plenary presentations with more time devoted to programme souk- exhibitions.

Patenting climate genes

Less than a dozen companies have filed 532 patents for plant genes designed to tolerate extreme weather and environmental conditions. While the biotech crops are designed to better survive conditions brought on by climate change, a report looking at the patents warns of how a gene patent monopoly could harm farmers.

"Patenting the 'Climate Genes' and Capturing the Climate Agenda" was complied by the ETC Group, a Canadian-based non-governmental organization focused on socially responsible development related to culture, ecological diversity and human rights.

ETC Group notes that in some cases the companies are working with organizations, research groups and philanthropists. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is providing a $47 million grant for Monsanto and BASF to develop drought-tolerant corn for use in the southern African countries of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and South Africa.

The ETC Group urges for governments meeting at the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity in Bonn (May 19-30) and at the joint United Nations-FAO High-Level Conference on World Food Security and the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy (3-5 June 2008) to recommend that governments suspend the granting of all patents on climate change-related genes and traits.

Some experts say that both sides have oversimplified the pros and cons of biotech crop patents. "I don't mind Monsanto developing these tools. I mind that we don't have an economic ecology that lets other companies compete with them," said Richard Jefferson, founder and chief executive of Cambia, a nonprofit institute based in Australia that helps companies worldwide sort through patent holdings so they can build on one another's work instead of stymieing one another. Under the current system for patenting genes, he said, "the little guys shake out and the big guys end up in a place a lot like a cartel." Jefferson characterized the ETC report as extreme in its anti-corporate views but praised it for drawing attention to what he said is a real problem of corporate consolidation in the seed industry. Happily, he said, patent offices are "getting a lot better" about not allowing overly broad gene patents.

References:

Communique ETC group 13/05

GreenBiz 15/05 Patents for Crop Genes Tolerant of Climate Change Tops 530

Washington Post 13/05 Firms Seek Patents on 'Climate Ready' Altered Crops

Related:

29/05 Business Daily Africa Debate on GM crops rages on as Bill comes under scrutiny

01/06 CheckBiotech Patent policy and sustainable cellulosic biofuels development
National patents and international rules on patents will be instrumental in the development of biofuels markets—defining how fast that development takes place and who controls and benefits from the next wave of biofuels.

03/06 GGIAR story of the Month June 2008: Fighting for Fair Use of Plant Genetic Resources A nearly 8-year effort to redress a notorious act of biopiracy finally achieved its objective on April 29, 2008, when the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced it was definitely rejecting all patent claims for a yellow-seeded variety of common bean named "Enola".

BBC 30/05 Could GM crops help feed Africa?
In the final part of his series on whether genetically modified food can help solve the world food crisis, BBC News rural affairs correspondent Jeremy Cooke reports from Uganda.

Announcement:

The next FARA Bulletin issue (April-May) will have a thematic focus agriculture and Intellectual Property Rights

The Sustainable Development Report on Africa

The Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has released the second edition of its flagship publication, the Sustainable Development Report on Africa (SDRA), as the 16th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD 16) opened in New York on Monday 5th of May.

Almost 60 ministers attended the 16th Session of the CSD which took place from 14-16 May, along with 680 representatives from 126 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Representatives from civil society, including women, farmers, science, business, children and youth, local authorities, workers and trade unions, indigenous peoples and nongovernmental organizations participated far more extensively than in the past.

The edition of the Sustainable Development Report on Africa (SDRA) was devoted to a five-year review of the implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development Outcomes in Africa (WSSD+5). CSD16 will address the following thematic issues: Agriculture, Rural Development, Land, Droughts, Desertification and Africa.

SDRA is chaired by Francis Nhema, Zimbabwe's Minister of Environment and Tourism.

Resources:

• The Sustainable Development Report on Africa Download SDRA here
• Backgrounder: The Food Crisis and Sustainable Development
• A press briefing was held on Tuesday, 6 May on Agriculture, Drought & Desertification; and on Friday 9 May on Africa.
• The last press briefing in this series was held on Tuesday, 13 May on the topic of Water and Sanitation.
• UN sustainable development forum ends with call for more investment in research 16/05

Note:
The Commission on Sustainable Development was launched by the UN General Assembly in December 1992, with the purpose of securing the effective implementation and follow-up of the decisions from the UN Conference on Environment and Development, including the "Land Summit" or "Rio Summit". Grouping 53 member states, the commission is a functional organ of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations that has been meeting every year since June 1993.

Participants at the 16th Session of the CSD also elected Gerda Verburg, the Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality in the Netherlands, as the next chair of the CSD – the first time that the subsidiary body of ECOSOC will be led by a woman.

Development of Rural Livelihoods in Semi-Arid Africa

The African Union’s specialized technical office for the promotion of agricultural research for development in semi-arid areas (AU/SAFGRAD), in collaboration with partner institutions, organised a two days ‘Conference on Development of Rural Livelihoods in Semi-arid Africa’. The Conference was attended by FARA and took place on 29-30 April, and was hosted at the African Union Commission Head Quarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The conference brought together producers, policy makers, researchers, development practitioners and strategic partners, etc., with a view to (a) defining key issues that engender rural livelihood processes in semi-arid Africa, (b) ensuring that designed responses adequately address those issues, and (c) formulating a strategy for an effective and synchronized intervention that facilitates the transformation of rural livelihood processes in semi-arid Africa.

Specific Objectives of the Conference were are to:

• identify and document relevant actors and enhance networks and forums that are actively involved in development of rural livelihood in semi-arid areas;
• define major developmental issues, challenges and opportunities surrounding rural livelihood processes in semi-arid Africa;
• translate elements of strategic responses and investments (e.g., the CAADP framework, Sirte decisions) to effectively address the key development issues of rural livelihood in semi-arid Africa; and
• develop a strategy and action plan that could serve as a common platform for building and sustaining a broader coalition of actors in agricultural and rural development in semi-arid Africa.

Reference:

Afrique en ligne 29/04 Ethiopia hosts conference on Africa's semi-arid areas

AfrikCom 29/04 Conference on semi-arid area development opens in Ethiopa

UNCTAD launched the second phase of the BioTrade Facilitation Programme

Accra, 22 April 2008 - UNCTAD launched the second phase of the BioTrade Facilitation Programme (BTFP II), which helps developing countries benefit from the sustainable use of their biodiversity, during the twelfth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, held in Accra, Ghana from 20 to 25 April 2008.

The decision reflects the growth in international trade of biodiversity products, such as the plants, extracts and oils increasingly used in cosmetics and natural remedies. Launched in 2002 in Johannesburg, the BioTrade Facilitation Programme works with governments, companies, civil society and small-scale producers. It aims to promote trade while at the same time conserving the biodiversity of developing countries.

Biotrade involves the collection, transformation, production and sale of goods and services derived from natural biodiversity – the millions of microbial, plant and animal species that inhabit the planet. Biodiversity also comprises oils, dyes, resins and fibres and other substances used in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, as well as timber, handicrafts, medicinal plants, nuts and tropical fruits. In addition, biodiversity contributes to the services sector in developing countries, most notably eco-tourism.

The expanding trade in biodiversity products is due in part to the popularity of cosmetics, care products and remedies based on natural ingredients. For example, the European Union market in natural cosmetics grew by about 20% in each of the past two years and was estimated at €1 billion in 2007. The market for “cosmeceuticals” is expected to reach €3.6 billion in the EU next year.

Reference: African Press Organisation 22/04

Food crisis and Land Crisis?

The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Luc Gnacadja warns in a press release issued 19/04 that the current food security crisis needs to be examined in line with the environmental change such as desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD). A new strategy to engage the international community and its collective action to combat DLDD must be implemented in this context, in order to prevent negative impacts, notably on the poorest countries, and to improve food security and access to water.

"We need to greatly intensify efforts on combating land degradation and drought impacts in areas affected by this emerging global crisis. Global rise in food prices will continue if measures on sustainable land management and soil protection are not implemented and if the decreasing of arable land is not halted."

Reference:

United Nation Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD): Food crisis and Land Crisis?

Related:

Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) CSD-16 Review Session (5-16 May 2008).

Mr. Francis D.C. Nhema, Minister of Environment and Tourism (Zimbabwe), was elected by the Commission on Sustainable Development as the Chair of its 16th session (CSD-16). He is the Minister of Environment and Tourism of Zimbabwe and has been a Member of Parliament since 2000.

Secretary-General UN calls for food security measures

20 April 2008 – The forces of trade and globalization that have driven a “virtuous cycle” of economic prosperity around the world in the last two decades must be allowed to continue or the current crisis in poor countries over soaring food prices will only worsen, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a major gathering of trade and development officials today.

Speaking in Accra, Ghana, at the opening of the twelfth UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Mr. Ban warned that neither the food crisis nor the chance that some regions may be poised for a slowdown should be used by governments as an excuse to turn towards protectionism.

“One thing is certain: for the past three years, the world has consumed more
food than it produces. Grain stocks are at their lowest in 30 years. The
situation is unsustainable.”

Mr. Ban told the conference that immediate steps must be taken to guarantee the world's food security, starting by ensuring the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has the additional $755 million it needs to cover the rising costs of its existing emergency operations.

In the long-term, he said, agricultural production must be expanded, especially in the developing world and sub-Saharan Africa. “Simply improving market efficiency can have a huge effect. Roughly a third of the world's food shortages, according to the WFP, are the result of bottlenecks in local markets and distribution systems.”

Welcoming the World Bank's plans to increase its agricultural lending in Africa from $400 million to $800 million next year, the Secretary-General said the rest of the international community must take similar measures to alleviate the problems of the developing world.

From left to right: President John Agyekum Kufuor of Ghana, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, President Luiz Ignácio Lula da Silva of Brazil during UNCTAD XII opening ceremony

Reference: UN Newscenter: Secretary-General Ban warns against impulses towards protectionism

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