Archives
World Circular Economy Forum 2018 (WCEF2018)
Participants attended seventeen plenary and parallel sessions with more than one hundred speakers showcasing the best circular economy solutions for business, cities and finance. Sessions examined links between the circular economy and the fourth industrial revolution, food systems, finance and investment, business solutions, lifestyles and consumption, plastics, education, climate change, research and development, rural development, and value chains.
Eye on Earth (EoE) Symposium 2018
The Eye on Earth (EoE) Symposium 2018 was held from 22-24 October 2018 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The event gathered experts to discuss evidence-based decision making for environmental and natural resource aspects of sustainable development. Discussions focused on catalyzing and strengthening multilateral partnerships, including data infrastructure, capacity development, and access to information
13th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (COP13)
COP13 adopted 25 resolutions, including on a language strategy with a step-by-step plan to add Arabic as the fourth Convention language, gender, peatlands, blue carbon ecosystems, sustainable urbanization, agriculture, intertidal wetlands, wetlands in West Asia, and Arctic and sub-Arctic wetlands. The release of the Global Wetland Outlook provided a touchstone for discussions on challenges ahead to ensure the conservation and wise use of wetlands.
UN World Data Forum 2018
On the final day of the second UN World Data Forum, Stefan Schweinfest, Director, UN Statistics Division (UNSD), highlighted that the UN had successfully used its convening power to bring over 2,000 participants to Dubai to engage and discuss systems to create information that can support the most important policy decisions of the day, especially for implementing the 2030 Agenda. Abdulla Nasser Lootah, Director General, FCSA, noted that the proceedings, which have been filmed and archived, offer a tool for the data community going forward and urged that the discussions begun in Dubai should continue.
14th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF)
Meeting around the theme “Modern Mining Law and Policy: Accountable, Equitable and Innovative Approaches,” approximately 400 participants from more than 80 countries shared experiences in the revision of mining codes and laws, public access to geological information, gender impacts of mining and policy responses to support progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and mine inspection systems. They considered the possibilities for “climate-smart” and “forest-smart” approaches to mining.
45th Session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS 45)
CFS 45 endorsed the terms of reference for developing policy guidance on food systems and nutrition and adopted decisions and conclusions on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2018 Report (SOFI 2018), implementation of the response to the CFS evaluation, critical and emerging issues for food security and nutrition (FSN), a strategic Multi-Year Programme of Work, and more
8th Meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group to Enhance the Functioning of the Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-sharing (OWG-EFMLS-8) of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA)
The eighth meeting of the Working Group did not achieve any concrete outcomes in relation to specific clauses in the SMTA. In addition, questions related to digital sequence information (DSI) and a possible expansion of the MLS remain deeply divisive. However, several participants welcomed the constructive spirit and open discussion that provided opportunities for mutual learning and clear procedural steps allowing for informed deliberations at its next meeting in June 2019.
8th Session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention MOP8) serviced by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
Throughout the meeting, many speakers highlighted the importance of further expanding the Water Convention and making its tools globally available to enable cooperation and effective water management. MOP8 addressed many substantive issues, including reporting under the Convention and SDG indicator 6.5.2 (proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation).
Arctic Biodiversity Congress 2018
The Congress convened for the first time in 2014 to address the outcomes of the ABA, a region-wide assessment of the status and trends in Arctic biodiversity conducted by CAFF in 2013