Negotiating Bloc
European Union
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Highlights and images for 6 March 2019
4th Meeting of the OECPR and 4th Session of UNEA
Highlights for Wednesday, 6 March 2019
Delegates from Working Group 3 during a break
On Wednesday, delegates continued meeting in five working groups to negotiate draft resolutions, ahead of the fourth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-4) next week in Nairobi, Kenya. Informal consultations took place during the day on marine litter, gender, geoengineering, Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP), improvement and the future of Global Environment Outlook reports, and implementation and follow-up of UNEA resolutions. In the evening, UNEA President Siim Kiisler (Estonia) held a second consultation session on the draft ministerial declaration. Many delegates worked in small drafting groups through the day to revise text for discussion in the larger working groups.Highlights of the day included:
review of merged texts on food waste and on mangrove ecosystems;
discussions over the different meanings of SCP, a life-cycle approach, and a zero-waste society;
opening of debate on sustainable nitrogen management; and
a second round of open consultations on the draft ministerial declaration.
For more details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin.
IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from OECPR-4 and UNEA-4, which is available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis
For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page.
Consultation on the Ministerial Declaration
UNEA-4 President Siim Valmar Kiisler, Estonia, and Jorge Laguna-Celis, Secretary, Secretariat of Governing Bodies, UNEP
Fernando Coimbra, Brazil
Guri Sandborg, Norway
Working Group 1 - Innovative Solutions for Environmental Challenges and Sustainable Consumption and Production
Hugo Schally, EU
Working Group 2 - Resource Efficiency, Chemicals and Waste
Co-facilitators Marcus Davies, Canada, and Elizabeth Taylor, Colombia
Stefanie Walter, Germany
Ashley Nelsen, US
Delegates from India and Japan
Sarah Da Silva, Canada
Noorah Algethami, Saudi Arabia
Working Group 3 - Ecosystems and Biodiversity Management and Protection
Co-facilitators Martin Gronda, Argentina, and Julia Pataki, Romania
Laksmi Dhewanthi, Indonesia
Elle Chang, US
Elizabeth McLanahan, US
Working Group 4 - Environmental Governance
Co-facilitators Sunil de Silva, Sri Lanka, and Agus Justianto, Indonesia
Hussein Roshdy, Egypt
Pascale Collas, Canada
Toral Patel-Weynand, US
Working Group 5 - UNEP Programme of Work and Related Issues
Wilson Sumner, US
Sebastian König, Switzerland
Co-facilitators Lori Dando, US, and Lukáš Pokorný, Czech Republic
Between Sessions
Daily report for 6 March 2019
4th Meeting of the OECPR and 4th Session of UNEA
Highlights and images for 5 March 2019
4th Meeting of the OECPR and 4th Session of UNEA
Highlights for Tuesday, 5 March 2019
View of the dais during the plenary session
On Tuesday, the Open-ended Committee of Permanent Representatives (OECPR) continued its discussions in preparation for the fourth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-4), in plenary sessions that ran in parallel with working group negotiations throughout the day. Delegates discussed budget and programme performance of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), contributions to the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), and the Sixth Global Environment Outlook (GEO-6), while working groups deliberated on the text of draft resolutions to be forwarded to UNEA-4.Highlights of the day included deliberations and debates in plenary and in working groups on:
chemicals and waste;
sustainable management of nitrogen;
green business;
food loss and waste;
sustainable consumption and production in a circular economy;
elements of the draft Ministerial Declaration; and
the proposed programme of work and budget for the 2020-2021 biennium.
For more details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin.
IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from OECPR-4 and UNEA-4, which is available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis
For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page.
Plenary Session
Michael Spilsbury, UNEP
Jorge Laguna-Celis, Secretary, Secretariat of Governing Bodies, UNEP, and Sonja Leighton-Kone, UNEP
Miriam Ott, Germany, and Marta Juárez Ruiz, Costa Rica
Agus Justianto, Indonesia
Erik Lundberg, Finland
Gary Lewis, UNEP
Sonja Leighton-Kone, UNEP
Martin Gronda, Argentina
Elizabeth Taylor, Colombia
Milorad Šćepanović, Montenegro
Nassira Rheyati, Morocco
Working Group 1 - Innovative Solutions for Environmental Challenges and Sustainable Consumption and Production
Co-facilitators Erik Lundberg, Finland, and Koleka Anita Mqulwana, South Africa
Tobias Cabani, Germany, and Pavel Cristian Vlaicu, Romania
Suzan Moh'd Al Ajjawi, Bahrain
Patrick Luna, Brazil
Working Group 2 - Resource Efficiency, Chemicals and Waste
Co-facilitator Marcus Davies, Canada
Noluzuko Gwayi, South Africa
Working Group 3 - Ecosystems and Biodiversity Management and Protection
Sergio Salazar Alzate, Colombia
Jorge Rodríguez Romero, EU
Working Group 4 - Environmental Governance
Co-facilitator Sunil de Silva, Sri Lanka
Georgina Catacora-Vargas, Bolivia
Erasmo Martínez, Mexico
Lucy Richardson, New Zealand
Working Group 5 - UNEP Programme of Work and Related Issues
Toral Patel-Weynand, US
Sebastian Gil, EU
Facilitators and secretariat during Working Group 5 consultations
Consultation on the Ministerial Declaration
Gudi Alkemade, EU
Hussein Roshdy, Egypt
From L-R: UNEA-4 President Siim Valmar Kiisler, Estonia; Jorge Laguna-Celis, Secretary, Secretariat of Governing Bodies, UNEP; and Abdullah Tawlah, Saudi Arabia
Around the Venue
Daily report for 5 March 2019
4th Meeting of the OECPR and 4th Session of UNEA
Daily report for 4 March 2019
4th Meeting of the OECPR and 4th Session of UNEA
Report of main proceedings for 28 February 2019
1st Part of the 25th Annual Session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA)
Highlights and images for 27 February 2019
The Economics of Ecosystems & Biodiversity for Agriculture and Food (TEEBAgriFood) Global Symposium 2019
Highlights for Wednesday, 27 February 2019
Participants playing the "Trade-off" game
On the final day of the Symposium, participants focused on practical applications of the TEEBAgriFood Evaluation Framework in specific commodity chains. Two plenary sessions took place in the morning to highlight findings and recommendations from pilot studies funded by the European Union and the International Climate Initiative. In the afternoon, discussions continued in two breakout groups. The first session comprised a training on TEEB scenarios and modelling tools and brought together partners from the International Climate Initiative and EU Partnership Instrument projects. A second group discussed recommendations to be included in a forthcoming publication addressing policy options to improve livelihoods in Africa, drawing on four African case studies funded by the European Commission Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DEVCO). During a brief closing plenary, Alexander Müller, TEEBAgriFood Study Leader, thanked participants for their hard work and remarked that the end of this Symposium “is not the end of our work, but the beginning.”
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage and a summary report from the TEEB for Agriculture & Food International Symposium, which is available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon
For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page.
Room view of the Symposium
Salman Hussain, TEEB
Peter May, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Barbara Gemill-Herren, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)
Jean Michel Waly Sene, Environmental Development Action in the Third World (ENDA Pronat)
Carla Susana Assuad, Millennium Institute
Tolosa Yadessa Terfa, Ethiopia
Esmeralda Urquiza, La Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (CONABIO)
Celine Termote, Bioversity International
Edward Amankwah, African Centre for Green Commodities
Priscilla Wainaina, ICRAF
Pietro Galgani, True Price/Impact Institute
Yoanna Kraus Elsin, Humboldt Institute
Taita Terer, National Museums of Kenya
Joel Nobert, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Phumsith Mahasuweerachai, Khon Kaen University, Thailand
TEEB training on scenario development and modelling tools
Tomas Declercq, TEEB
Participants formed groups to compete in the "Trade-off" game
William Speller, TEEB
Jacob Salcone, TEEB
‘TEEBAgriFood Africa’ stakeholder workshop
Harpinder Sandhu, Flinders University, Australia
Barbara Gemill-Herren, ICRAF
Priscilla Wainaina, ICRAF
Closing Remark
Alexander Müller, TEEB AgriFood Study Leader, closed the TEEB Global Symposium 2019
TEEB Global Symposium 2019 participants
Daily report for 27 February 2019
1st Part of the 25th Annual Session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA)
Daily report for 26 February 2019
1st Part of the 25th Annual Session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA)
Highlights and images for 25 February 2019
The Economics of Ecosystems & Biodiversity for Agriculture and Food (TEEBAgriFood) Global Symposium 2019
Highlights for Monday, 25 February 2019
L-R: Tomas Declercq, TEEB; Phumsith Mahasuweerachai and Jakrapun Suksawat, Khon Kaen University, Thailand
The Economics of Ecosystems & Biodiversity for Agriculture and Food (TEEBAgriFood) Global Symposium 2019 opened today at the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. Opening the session, Salman Hussein, TEEB Coordinator, UNEP, noted that the TEEBAgriFood Evaluation Framework is intended to improve assessment of costs and benefits of “eco-agri-food” systems in order to achieve positive outcomes for farmers and consumers as well as for biodiversity and ecosystem services. He said that the Symposium would provide participants with hands-on experience on how to apply the TEEB approach in their respective countries.Thereafter, two break-out sessions took place during which participants exchanged country experiences from the following two TEEBAgriFood pilot projects:
Supporting biodiversity and climate-friendly land management in agricultural landscapes in Colombia, Tanzania, Kenya and Thailand, funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMU).
Promoting a sustainable agriculture and food sector in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico and Thailand, funded by the European Union Partnership Instrument.
During a lunchtime side event entitled ‘Planet Unplugged,' participants explored the hidden costs and benefits of eco-agri-food systems, drawing on key messages from the TEEBAgrifood Science and Economic Foundations Report.In the afternoon, participants took part in a communications and media outreach training facilitated by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). The objective of the training was to enable project partners to effectively disseminate key messages from TEEBAgriFood pilot projects targeted at both policy makers and the general public.
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage and a summary report from the TEEB for Agriculture & Food International Symposium, which is available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon
For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page
Opening of the pre-Symposium workshop
Salman Hussain, Coordinator, The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), UNEP
Breakout Session on International Climate Initiative (IKI) Project
Breakout Session on European Union Partnership Instrument (EU-PI) Project
Mark Gough, Natural Capital Coalition
Dolores Barrientos Alemán, UNEP
Jasmin Hundorf, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
Hesti Lestari Tata, Indonesia
Linxiu Zhang, International Ecosystem Management Partnership, UNEP
‘Planet Unplugged’ Side Event
Speakers at the side event, from left to right: Alexander Müller, TEEB AgriFood Study Leader; Susan Gardner, UNEP (Facilitator); Barbara Gemill-Herren, World Agroforestry Centre; and Pavan Sukhdev, President, WWF International Board
IISD Communications and Media Outreach Training
View of the room during the communications training session
Matthew TenBruggencate, IISD, assisting participants
IISD facilitators Matthew TenBruggencate and Tasha Goldberg