11/03/2011
The United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development, to be held in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, in June 2012, would give the international
community a unique opportunity to build
a global economic development model aimed
at improving people's lives and ensuring
social equity while reducing environmental
risks and ecological scarcity, the event's
Secretary-General said on Tuesday (March
8).
"Rio 2012 is humanity's
chance to commit to a transition to a green
economy, to lift people out of poverty.
We cannot wait another 20 years. The time
to commit is at Rio 2012", said Sha
Zukang, who is also the United Nations Under-Secretary-General
for Economic and Social Affairs.
It was fitting that
the Conference, known as 'Rio 2012', would
be held in Brazil because that South American
country had an impressive track record in
economic growth, poverty eradication and
environmental conservation since it hosted
the historic United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development, or 'Earth Summit',
in 1992, Mr. Sha said during a press conference
at UN Headquarters.
"Brazil has certainly
shown the world how to put sustainable development
into practice", he said, adding that
the Secretariat would work closely with
Brazilian authorities to ensure the event
was successful. He made his comments as
the second of three intergovernmental consultations
of the Preparatory Committee for the Rio
summit concluded last Tuesday in New York.
Luiz Alberto Figueiredo
Machado, Director-General of the Department
for Environment and Special Affairs in Brazil's
Ministry of External Relations, said the
Conference would allow the international
community to take stock of progress in achieving
the three pillars of sustainable development
- economic growth, social development and
environmental protection - as well as address
emerging challenges towards that end.
The third session of
the Preparatory Committee would be held
from 28 to 30 May 2012, just ahead of the
actual Conference, scheduled to take place
from 4 to 6 June 2012, Mr. Figueiredo Machado
said. Its main themes would be creation
of a green economy in the context of sustainable
development and poverty eradication, and
the institutional framework for that.
Laudemar Aguiar, Minister-Counsellor
of Brazil's Ministry of External Relations,
said the Conference would be held in downtown
Rio, near the city's port, and that related
civil society activities would be staged
close by to enable more interaction between
people attending the official venue and
side events. Stelio Marcos Amarante, International
Relations Coordinator of the Office of the
Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, added that his
Office would work closely with federal and
State authorities to ensure the Conference
facilities were well-equipped.
Asked if the Conference
itself would be a 'green event', Mr. Aguiar
said indeed it would and that Brazilian
authorities also aimed to showcase recent
efforts, such as installing energy-efficient
transportation and sewage management systems,
to make Rio a green city in general.
Mr. Figueiredo Machado
said the intention was to "make what
is clean cleaner", drawing on Brazil's
already widespread use of renewable energy
such as biomass fuelled power stations and
hydroelectric power technology. "We're
not coming from a dirty matrix, we're coming
from a green matrix", he said.
Asked what Conference
outcomes they envisioned, Mr. Sha said participating
Member States were supposed to come up with
a focused political document based on the
event's three objectives: renewing political
commitment for sustainable development;
identifying progress and obstacles to achieving
it; and addressing emerging challenges.
Much had been accomplished already in environmental
conservation, but the institutional framework
for achieving sustainable development was
largely fragmented.
He hoped the Conference
would result in bolstered United Nations
support for sustainable development, a strengthened
Commission on Sustainable Development and
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP),
creation of guidelines to define the green
economy, and a greater commitment by Member
States to provide the financing and technology
needed to build it.
Mr. Figueiredo Machado
said the Conference would provide a platform
for specialists in many fields, including
from the business community and civil society,
to hold ongoing debates on issues of importance
to societies worldwide such as poverty eradication.
Asked about Brazil's
focus on tolerance and diversity and how
they related to the Conference, Mr. Figueiredo
Machado said they would help create the
best possible atmosphere for such a large-scale
event and the widest level of participation
among all sectors of society.
Source: UN / Department
of Public Information / News and Media Division
+ More
GEF establishes a Trust
Fund for the implementation of the Nagoya
Protocol
24/03/2011
At the initiative of Japan, a dedicated
Trust Fund for the Nagoya Protocol on Access
to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable
Sharing of Benefits Arising from Their Utilization
was established at the Global Environment
Facility (GEF) on 17 March 2011. The Trust
Fund for Nagoya Protocol Implementation
Fund (NPIF) aims at facilitating the early
entry into force and the implementation
of the Nagoya Protocol.
"I would like to
pay tribute to the Government of Japan,
which has ceaselessly provided the leadership
necessary to create this fund, even in the
midst of the tragedy that continues to unfold
around them. I stand amazed and inspired
by Japans commitment to the implementation
of the Nagoya Protocol and to the global
environment. The GEF could not ask for a
better friend", said Monique Barbut,
Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson
of the Global Environment Facility.
The Nagoya Protocol
on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair
and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising
from their Utilization, adopted by the tenth
meeting of the Conference of the Parties
in October 2010, provides a set of international
rules that can facilitate access and benefit-sharing
for utilizing genetic resources and associated
traditional knowledge in various sectors
such as pharmaceuticals, agriculture, horticulture,
cosmetics and biotechnology, and thus establish
a bridge between conservation and sustainable
use and economic development. It is perceived
as a win-win outcome for the environment
and economics: it is a multilateral environmental
agreement that provides solution to economics,
and it is also an economic treaty that provides
necessary protection to the environment.
Moreover, it is the first international
economic instrument that is explicitly guided
and driven by consideration of fairness
and equitability, which provides a good
example for the new international economic
order of the twenty-first century.
"The establishment
of a dedicated GEF window on the Nagoya
Protocol on access and benefit sharing is
yet an additional testimony of Japan leadership
as well as demonstration of the financial
institution of sustainable development to
play its role in the implementation of the
Nagoya Biodiversity Compact", said
Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the
Convention on Biological Diversity.
The Nagoya Protocol
on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair
and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising
from Their Utilization was officially opened
for signature by Parties to the Convention
on Biological Diversity in New York on 2
February 2011. The following Parties have
already signed the Protocol: Colombia, Yemen,
Brazil, Algeria, Mexico and Rwanda. The
next signing ceremony will take place in
New York on 11 May 2011 in conjunction with
the high-level segment of the nineteenth
session of the United Nations Commission
on Sustainable Development. The Nagoya Protocol
remains open for signature until 1 February
2012 at the United Nations Headquarters
in New York. The Nagoya Protocol enters
into force 90 days after the deposit of
the fiftieth instrument of ratification,
acceptance, approval, or accession. To ensure
that the first meeting of the governing
body of this historic instrument will take
place in India in October 2012 back-to-back
with the eleventh meting of the Conference
of the Parties to the Convention, 50 ratifications
are required before 19 July 2012. The GEF
has adopted a Medium Sized Project to ensure
the early entry into force of the Protocol.
Source: Secretariat of the Convention on
Biological Diversity / United Nations Environment
Programme
