2 October: Climate Change: At the Governors Global Climate Summit 2, California Governor Schwarzenegger signed a Statement of Intent with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), stating that California will work with African nations to share successful policies on energy efficiency, low carbon fuels and other clean technology in the fight against climate change. African leaders at the summit announced a new continent-wide effort, called “A New Green Deal for Africa.” African nations are some of the least responsible for climate change, but they are some of the most vulnerable to its devastating impacts and least able to adapt. The Statement of Intent will support this effort under the current framework of the territorial approach to climate change. This effort is important because Africa has the opportunity to implement low carbon development strategies from the beginning – to grow green from the start. [More information]
5 October: IFAF: Mauritania: Farmers in Mauritania will receive financial help to turn milk into butter and cheese, to clean and package the vegetables they grow and to add value to other raw products under a $12 million programme unveiled by the United Nations agency tasked with eradicating rural poverty. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) announced that it will provide a grant of $6 million and a loan of $6 million as part of the scheme, which aims to boost food production and to lower the West African country’s dependence on food imports. [More information]
5 October: UNDP: Human Development Report:According to the 2009 Human Development Report, migration is a way for Africans to improve their lives, but most significant barriers, particularly across borders. The Report, Overcoming barriers: Human mobility and development, finds that many restrictions and inequalities prevent Africans from moving. Restrictions imposed by the limited opportunities of the low-skilled to move across borders mean that money transfers, or remittances do not tend to flow directly to the poorest families, nor to the poorest countries. However, when given the chance, Africans potentially have the most to gain from seeking opportunities elsewhere. This is the latest publication in a series of global Human Development Reports, which aim to frame debate on some of the most pressing challenges facing humanity, from climate change to human rights. It is an independent report commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme. [More information]
5 October: UN-HABITAT: Gender: The UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) has signed a milestone agreement with the Huairou Commission to strengthen the involvement of grassroots women in projects and programmes for better housing and sustainable urban development. The agreement signed on World Habitat Day strengthens areas of existing work, and also ventures into newer areas, such as information technology. A highlight of the Memorandum of Understanding is a commitment to collaborative working on the creation of a grassroots women’s web portal on human settlements. The portal will enable grassroots women’s groups to network and exchange information on strengthening policies and programmes for gender equality in towns and cities. [More information]
5 October: UNITAR: Climate Change: The UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) joined the Nairobi Framework, an initiative aimed at assisting developing countries especially those in sub-Saharan Africa, to improve their level of participation in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The Nairobi Framework was initiated by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Environment Programme (UNEP), World Bank Group, African Development Bank, and the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is also a new member of the initiative. [Nairobi Framework]
6 October: Uganda: CDM: The first African reforestation project to be registered under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is being undertaken by Uganda’s National Forestry Authority, in association with local community organizations. The Nile Basin Reforestation Project will receive revenues from the World Bank BioCarbon Fund for carbon dioxide absorbed by a growing plantation of pine and mixed native tree species in the Rwoho Central Forest Reserve, grasslands that were degraded due to deforestation and erosion. The project will generate up to 700 jobs for the local population, and the plantation will help Uganda meet its growing demand for wood resources and reduce pressure on the remaining native forests in the country. “The Uganda project is the first of several projects…which can lead to strong co-benefits, including higher incomes for local communities and greater climate resilience,” commented Ellysar Baroudy, Fund Manager for the Bank’s BioCarbon Fund. Eight forestry projects have been registered under the CDM to date. [World Bank media release]
9 October: ECA: Trade: Senior officials from African countries and experts representing pan-African institutions and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) will convene next week in Addis Ababa to devise strategies to translate commitments to regional integration into concrete actions at national level. Discussions will be held under the framework of the sixth Committee on Trade, Regional Cooperation and Integration (CTRI) which is being organized by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) from 13-15 October 2009. The focus this year is on mainstreaming regional integration at the national level since many protocols and other regional integration instruments agreed upon at continental and sub-regional levels are pending ratification and implementation by member countries. [More information]
11 October: Sustainable Development: The Global Forum on Sustainable Development, held in Ouagadougou, from 9-11 October, provided an opportunity for sub-Saharan Africa to consolidate their views on the December 2009 Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen. The Forum, entitled ‘Climate Change: What Opportunities For Sustainable Development?’ was organized by the Government of Burkina Faso in partnership with the United Nations, including UNDP, and the African Union (AU). [More information]

18-25 October: Thirteenth World Forestry Congress, Buenos Aires, Argentina. [More information]
19-23 October: The Special Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) on Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, Kampala, Uganda. [More information]
19-23 October: LDC Workshop on Implementation of National Adaptation Programmes of Action, Dar-es-Salaam. [More information]
27-30 October: Sixth Session of the Committee on Food Security and Sustainable Development (CFSSD-6), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. [Information note]
10-11 November: Fourth International Conference of the Egyptian Society for Environmental Sciences: impacts of climate change on natural resources, Ismailia, Egypt. [More information]
11-13 November: 4th African Economic Conference, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. [More information]
16-18 November: World Summit on Food Security, Rome, Italy. [More information]

The Africa Weekly Sustainable Development Guidance Document is a publication of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) <info@iisd.ca>, publishers of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin © <enb@iisd.org>. This issue was compiled and edited by Tallash Kantai and Richard Sherman. The Guidance Document is part of IISD Reporting Service’s African Regional Coverage (ARC) Project in partnership with South Africa’s Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT), the UN Environment Programme’s Regional Office for Africa (UNEP ROA) and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Director of IISD Reporting Services is Langston James “Kimo” Goree VI <kimo@iisd.org>. The Programme Manager of the African Regional Coverage Project is Richard Sherman <rsherman@iisd.org>. Funding for the Africa Weekly Sustainable Development Guidance Document has been provided by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the International Development Research Centre, Canada, through the African Regional Coverage Project for IISD Reporting Service’s coverage of African regional meetings. IISD can be contacted at 161 Portage Avenue East, 6th Floor, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 0Y4, Canada; tel: +1-204-958-7700; fax: +1-204-958-7710. The opinions expressed in the Guidance Document are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of IISD. Electronic versions of the Guidance Document are sent to the electronic distribution list (in HTML format) and can be found on the Linkages WWW-server at <http://enb.iisd.org/africa/>. For information on the ARC, including requests to provide reporting services, contact the Director of IISD Reporting Services at <kimo@iisd.org>, +1-646-536-7556 or 300 East 56th St., 11A, New York, New York 10022, United States of America.