Good News Agency – Year III, n° 19
Weekly - Year III, number 19 –
1 November 2002
Managing Editor: Sergio Tripi,
Ph. D.
Rome Law-court registration
no. 265 dated 20 June 2000.
Good News Agency carries positive
and constructive news from all over the world relating to voluntary work, the
work of the United Nations, non governmental organizations, and institutions
engaged in improving the quality of life – news that doesn’t “burn out” in the
space of a day. Editorial research by Fabio Gatti. Good News Agency is
published in English on one Friday and in Italian the next. It is distributed free of charge through
Internet to the editorial offices of more than 2,400
media in 46 countries, as
well as to 1,000 NGO.
It is a service of Associazione Culturale dei Triangoli e della
Buona Volontà Mondiale, NGO associated with the United Nations Department of Public
Information.
International
legislation
– Human rights – Economy and development – Solidarity
Peace and security – Health – Energy and Safety
Environment and
wildlife
– Culture and
education
Vienna, 18 October (UN Information
Service) -- Five law enforcement experts from the Baltic countries and South
Eastern Europe have been attending a training course on Crime Prevention and
Criminal Justice Standards in Law Enforcement in Vienna this week, from 14 to
18 October 2002. The pilot course included lectures by criminal justice experts
from the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (ODCCP),
the Ministry of Interior of Austria, the Austrian Police Academy and the
Austrian Study Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution. (...)
The Centre for International
Crime Prevention is mandated to promote the UN standards and norms in criminal
justice and to assist Member States in their application through technical
assistance and advisory services. (...)
http://www.undcp.org/odccp/press_release_2002-10-18_1.html
Political rights for migrants important (EU)
18 October - Earlier this
week, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held a conference on
the integration of migrants attended by some 200 representatives of civil
society organisations, many of which deal directly with the integration of
immigrants and refugees into European society. A wide range of speakers spoke
in support of a "civic integration, based on bringing immigrants' rights
and duties as well as access to goods, services and means of civic
participation progressively into line with those of the rest of the
population..." "The discussions that we have had at the conference
show that the debate has moved on: it is political rights that are at the top
of the agenda," remarked EESC rapporteur Miguel Pariza. The main
conclusions were that there is a need for a set of fundamental rights for all
residents of the Union, and that the Convention should propose an overall
package of rights and obligations as part of a European civic citizenship for
all residents of the Union. (...)
On 12 October, in Harar, Alain
Aeschlimann, ICRC head of delegation in Ethiopia, presented a locally adapted
handbook for the ICRC's "Exploring Humanitarian Law" programme to Ato
Fuad Ibrahim, President of the Harari People's National Regional State
The programme comprises five
interactive modules introducing secondary school students to the basic rules
and principles of international humanitarian law. By stressing the need to
respect life and human dignity, especially in times of violence or armed
conflict, it encourages young people to counter indifference and feelings of
helplessness and to take an active part in community initiatives to promote
solidarity and prevent or defuse violence. (...)
FAO
launches new country profile to support World Food Day theme
22 October - The World Food Day theme, ‘Water;
Source of food security’ was supported this year by the launch of the Water and Food Security Country
Profiles website which provides focalised information on the state of water
resources and food security globally in a country by country format. FAO and
its partners in this project from the World
Resources Institute, the Development gateway, International Water Management Institute, and the CGIAR aim to give users enriched
results on the subject in order to enhance decision-making and promote advocacy
in the sustainable use and conservation of water and in issues related to food
security. Available in five languages
the website is also set to complement the UN’s 2003 International year of Freshwater.
Web page http://www.fao.org/countryprofiles/default.asp
http://www.fao.org/waicent/portal/detail_event.asp?back=back&lang=en&event_id=13870
Innovative Financing for
Sustainable Development, workshop 9-10
December in Monterrey, Nuevo León
Montreal, 18 October – Investing in North America's Future: Innovative Financing
for Sustainable Development, a public workshop organized by the
Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) of North America in cooperation with
the Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC), will take place on 9 December at
the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios
Superiores (ITESM) in Monterrey, Nuevo León. The main objective of
this workshop is for participants to obtain a better understanding of the links
between financial communities and sustainable development, and assist the CEC
in revising a draft summary on financing environmentally preferable goods and
services. The CEC was established by Canada, Mexico and the United States to
build cooperation among the three partners in implementing NAFTA's
environmental accord. The CEC addresses environmental issues of continental
concern, with particular attention to the environmental challenges and
opportunities presented by continent-wide free trade.
On the morning of 10 December
at the same location, JPAC will hold its regular session 02-04. During this
meeting, an update will be given on the North American Agreement for
Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) Article 13 report concerning the potential effects of transgenic corn
on traditional maize varieties in Mexico. Following this update, JPAC
members will discuss a potential advice to the CEC Council (composed of the
environment ministers of North America) on sustainable development and the
private sector. (...)
http://www.cec.org/news/details/index.cfm?varlan=english&ID=2503
Shanghai, China and
Washington, DC, October 8 -- The World Resources Institute (WRI) will launch a
project in China aimed at accelerating investments in the country’s sustainable
business enterprises, especially in organic agriculture, renewable energy, and
clean technology.
From 1976 to 2000, China’s
economy sustained an average annual growth rate of over 10 percent, creating a
much wealthier country of 1.3 billion people. Its growth, however, has relied
heavily on material- and energy-intensive production processes which have
depleted the country’s natural resources and increased environmental pollution.
The project in China is the
first time that the New Ventures investment model is being implemented in Asia.
WRI started the New Ventures project in Latin America three years ago. It
facilitated the transfer of $4.4 million for seven projects, with an additional
$3.25 million currently under negotiation. (...)
http://newsroom.wri.org/newsrelease_text.cfm?NewsReleaseID=146
Contact: Caesar Layton -- CLayton@counterpart.org
Khabarovsk, Russia, September 27 -- The first US
Government funded micro enterprise facility to become an independent lending
entity was handed over to local control in this Russian Far East city this
week. The innovative lending facility was developed by the US Agency for
International Development (USAID) working with the American non-profit
development organization Counterpart International. (...)
Kent Hill, the USAID Director for CIS and Europe, said
the fund now "moves to another stage, with the formal transfer of the
assets of the program to this Russian organization, which will continue to
operate as a successful, profitable, and sustainable small business loan
company." "This program began with the vision of Counterpart
International and capital provided by the US Russia Investment Fund," he
added. (...)
Counterpart International has programs in the areas of
enterprise development, civil society, humanitarian, conservation, food
security, sustainable tourism and agriculture. Counterpart is involved in programs
spread over some 60 countries.
http://www.counterpart.org/news/presser.asp?id=263#Entry3
Switzerland has announced a
US$ 1 million contribution to UNCTAD over the next three years for technical
assistance projects on investment promotion. The contribution is part of a
facility known as the “Quick Response Window” (QRW), which allows the UNCTAD
secretariat to respond quickly to urgent requests from developing countries and
economies in transition.
The current contribution was
agreed to after an extensive evaluation in 2001 of UNCTAD technical cooperation
activities supported to date by the QRW. The evaluation was positive as to the
impact of the projects on investment promotion initiatives in beneficiary
countries but recommended a further streamlining of project procedures.
Projects funded under the facility, which as its name implies reduces the
decision-making time to 10 calendar days, cover counselling, legal advice,
training and workshops on investment-related matters. (...)
Switzerland is among the
largest contributors to UNCTAD’s technical assistance work for developing
countries and economies in transition.
Projects completed under the
QRW facility in the period 1998-2001 include advisory work and training
activities in Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Egypt, Kenya, India, Pakistan and
Uganda.
http://www.unctad.org/en/press/nc0243en.htm
International
training programme on fruit and vegetable processing sector:
December 2 - 20, 2002, Mysore,
Karnataka, India
In developing countries, only a
small fraction of domestic production of fruits and vegetables is processed
despite the fact that tremendous potential exists for global marketing. The
technology for the sub-sector is increasingly turning out into a system
technology involving integration of all aggregates starting right from raw
material, selection & grading and going upto efficient utilization of
utilities. (...)
Responding to the situation, a
training programme on Industrial Project Preparation and Appraisal (IPPA) with
a special focus on Fruit and Vegetable Processing Sector has been planned. The
programme is offered by the Inter-Regional Centre (IRC) for Entrepreneurship
and Investment Training created by United Nations Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO) and Government of India at Entrepreneurship Development
Institute of India (EDI). This is the thirteenth programme in the series. (...)
http://www.unido.org/doc/521857.htmls
October 3 – Food for the
Hungry International (FHI)/Ethiopia is preparing to aid thousands who face
potential famine in Amhara State. Through a grant from the European Union, FHI
has already assisted 22,000 people with regular food distributions for the
months of July through September, in Simada woreda, South Gondar region. But
hundreds of thousands in Simada and neighbouring woredas have suffered from
insufficient rainfall for much of 2002. As a result crop yields are low,
livestock are dying and market prices are soaring. FHI has submitted proposals
to various donor agencies in hopes of feeding as many as 388,000 people per
month, between November 2002 and June 2003. (...)
This October FHI begins work
with a new three-year grant worth $US$ 3.7 million in Lay Gayint, Tach Gayint
and Simada woredas. The program will include projects in crop production,
forestry and fodder development, water supply, access road construction,
micronutrient supply, and environmental rehabilitation. A contributing donor to
this programme is the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB).
Food for the Hungry
International (FHI) is a global partnership that is motivated by Christ’s love
to meet both physical and spiritual hungers of the poor.
http://relief.fhi.net/where_we_work/ethiopia/index.htm
Washington, DC, September 26 -- The United States
Government and an American non-profit development organization have launched a
pioneering food aid program in West Africa.
Through a US Department of Agriculture commodities
grant, Counterpart International has just conducted the first successful U.S.
food aid monetization by a non-profit organization in Senegal's history.
Working with USDA's Global Food for Education Initiative (GFEI), Counterpart
was given a total of 7,000 metric tons of U.S. rice and non-fat dried milk to
be sold to local buyers in Senegal, West Africa. Counterpart's entire tonnage
of non-fat dried milk was sold in Senegal. A large rice shipment enters Senegal
ports next month.
Through monetization, a commodity is sold in a
country's market to local buyers in a method that benefits that country's
economy. When conducted by a non-profit organization, the sale's proceeds are
used to fund humanitarian programs in the given country or region.
Last week's sale will fund Counterpart's programs in
nutrition, education, sustainable agriculture, and small grants programs in the
Fouta-Toro region of northern Senegal. (...)
Contact: Sara A. Jones -- sajones@counterpart.org
http://www.counterpart.org/news/presser.asp?id=262#Entry3
Rotary International makes
steady progress in Africa
Across
the globe, the activities of Rotary clubs differ as each responds to the needs
of its respective community and seeks solutions to the social issues affecting
that part of the world.
Rotary clubs are located in 53
countries in Africa. There are more than 831 clubs with almost 20,000 members
who subscribe to a common motto, "Service Above Self." Rotary clubs
bring together business and professional leaders within the community to assist
those in need. Rotary projects range from immunizing children against polio,
AIDS prevention education, development of healthcare systems, literacy
projects, agricultural training and development of clean water resources.
The Rotary Foundation recently
announced a Sub-Saharan Africa Initiative to better coordinate Rotary's work in
Africa. The initiative will direct more Rotary Foundation resources to the region
and encourage the development and strengthening of Rotary clubs, Rotaract clubs
(Rotary-sponsored clubs for 18- to 30-year olds) and Interact clubs
(Rotary-sponsored clubs for secondary students). To date, The Rotary Foundation
has provided approximately US$70 million for humanitarian and educational
programs in Africa.
Through the Health, Hunger and
Humanity (3-H) Program, Rotary has approved more than US$12 million for
humanitarian projects in Africa. The Foundation has also awarded more than US$9.7
million in Matching Grants for projects benefiting 44 African countries.
The Foundation's Ambassadorial
Scholarships Program has awarded more than 700 scholarships to African students
in the world's largest privately funded international scholarship program.
http://www.rotary.org/newsandinfo/presscenter/regnews/africa/index.html
The residents of Kisele, Mwema
and Kintya, in the Mitwaba area of Katanga province, have long been isolated by
the conflict and are suffering the effects. The ICRC has therefore distributed
seed for food crops to enable them to resume agricultural production and tide
the population over until trade links can be restored. (...) The operation is
aimed at helping the people concerned make a fresh start after four years of
conflict. It will give them the support they need to progress towards food
security and general economic self-sufficiency.
Over the years, the ICRC has
unfailingly come to the aid of civilians affected by the conflict in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 2001, for example, some 275,000 people
received basic necessities, farming tools and seed.
24 October - In late September
the ICRC conducted a major campaign in cooperation with the Peruvian national police
to raise awareness of the dangers of antipersonnel mines in 14 villages
particularly affected by the problem. (...) The Unidad de Comunidades Campesinas de la Sierra Central del Perú (an
association of Andean farming communities) also took part in the project.
Although the mine-awareness
programme was mainly designed for children, who are particularly at risk, all
the inhabitants of the villages concerned, parents included, showed keen
interest (...) This campaign – the first of its kind in Peru – will be followed
by other activities aimed at preventing mine accidents.
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation to present Awards this month
On October 24, the Foundation will present its 2002 Distinguished Peace Leadership Award to His Excellency Arthur N.R. Robinson, President of Trinidad and Tobago, for his critical role in the creation of a permanent International Criminal Court (ICC). A posthumous award will also be made to Dr. Robert Woetzel, the founder of the Foundation for the Establishment of an International Criminal Court, for his lifelong work toward the Court's creation.
The Foundation will also present its 2002 World Citizenship Award to Dr. Robert Muller, Chancellor Emeritus of the UN University for Peace and a former Assistant Secretary-General of the UN, for his efforts in global education and humanitarianism.
The following day, the Foundation will host a full-day symposium on International Law and the Quest for Security. President Robinson will be making the keynote address on the International Criminal Court at the symposium.
Source: The Sunflower, Oct. 2002 – www.wagingpeace.org
New
United Nations website on the question of the UN Arms Inspections in Iraq
Vienna, 14 October - In
view of the strong media interest in the question of
the UN arms inspection in Iraq we would like to draw
your attention to a new United Nations website.
On the general
news page http://www.un.org/news/ or specifically
under the direct link http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=50&Body=Iraq&Body1=inspect
you will find the new
web "UN Arms Inspections in Iraq; Disarming Iraq of Weapons of Mass
Destruction". This page contains actual
press information and Security Council documents and
background information:
Further on you will also find chronological data of UNMOVIC (1999-2002), of the IAEO (1991-1999) and of UNSCOM (1991-1999) as well as useful links, e.g. to the office of the UN Oil-for-Food Programme or the UN Department for Disarmament Affairs.
United Nations Information
Service: www.unis.unvienna.org
Economists Allied for Arms
Reduction: suit against
South Africa’s government
The South African chapter of Economists Allied for Arms Reduction and
its chairman, Terry Crawford-Browne, have lodged a class action suit against
the government. The South African Constitution is one of the most progressive
in the world. Its Bill of Rights guarantees food, water, health care,
education, and housing. In testing the strength of the new Constitution, the
suit challenges that SA’s $5 billion armaments program for new warships and
warplanes compromises the country’s ability to reduce the nation’s poverty.
About 35% of the population is unemployed, and more than 50% are in the “poverty”
classification. The suit contends that government money should be used for
human security rather than military expenditure. Website: www.ecaar.org
Source: NGO Reporter, September 2002-10-28
US Rotary club members travel
to Africa for National Immunization Days
More than 150 US Rotary club
members help immunize millions of children - part of Rotary's global effort to
eradicate polio worldwide by 2005
Evanston, Illinois, USA, 30 October - As polio still threatens children in parts of Africa and South Asia, Rotary club members worldwide have made eliminating this crippling disease their top priority. In support of this global endeavor, Rotary club members from Seattle, Washington; San Francisco, California; and Grand Rapids, Michigan are traveling to Ethiopia, Ghana and Nigeria, respectively, to immunize local children against the poliovirus.
While overseas, the volunteers
will help administer drops of oral polio vaccine, assist parents in getting
their children vaccinated, transport health workers, deliver the vaccine to
health clinics and recruit fellow volunteers during each country's National
Immunization Day (NID). Their goal is to immunize millions of children
under the age of five against polio. For as little as US .50 cents worth of
vaccine, a child can be protected against this crippling disease for
life. Great strides have been made in polio eradication-as of June 2002
the Americas, the Western Pacific Region and European region had all been
certified polio-free. (...) The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is
spearheaded by the World Health Organization, Rotary International, the US
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United Nations Children's
Fund (UNICEF).
Joint programme launches new initiative against
workplace violence in the health sector
Geneva, 24 October - Faced
with a mounting toll of violence afflicting on average one of every two health
workers worldwide, a joint programme of labour, health and public service
organizations today launched a new initiative aimed at helping health
professionals fight fear, assault, humiliation and even homicide where they
work.
The joint task force -
comprising the International Labour Office (ILO), the World Health Organization
(WHO), Public Services International (PSI) and the International Council of
Nurses (ICN) - has launched a set of "Framework guidelines for addressing
workplace violence in the health sector" during a meeting at ILO
headquarters in Geneva.
The initiative comes in the
face of a mounting problem in hospitals and other health workplaces worldwide,
both in developed and developing countries. Research* shows that nearly
25 per cent of all violent incidents at work occur in the health sector and
that more than 50 per cent of health care workers have experienced such
incidents. (...)
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/2002/49.htm
United Nations Projects Aimed at
Assisting the Country Implement Its Balanced Strategy against Illicit Opium
Cultivation
Vienna, 22 October (UN
Information Service) - The Luxembourg Fund Fonds
de Lutte contre le Traffic des Stupefiants will provide support to the
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for two drug control projects in Lao
People's Democratic Republic. Luxembourg's contribution of 300,000 euros will
be used for projects aimed at helping the country implement its national
strategy -- A Balanced Approach to Opium Elimination in Lao PDR -- which
includes both monitoring and prevention of opium poppy cultivation in critical
provinces as well as assistance to farmers in the form of alternative
development strategies. The ODC efforts have been focused on greater food
security, increased cash incomes from alternative sources, such as livestock,
crops and non-agricultural activities, and improved market access and
marketing.
The Lao PDR is the world's
third largest producer of illicit opium after Afghanistan and Myanmar. (...) Since
1996, the Luxembourg fund has supported ten ODC projects with a total of over
US $4 million (...)
http://www.undcp.org/odccp/press_release_2002-10-22_1.html
Washington DC, October 18 -
With more than 40 million people worldwide now estimated to be infected with
the HIV/AIDS virus, UN and World Bank officials warned today that education
plans to get 115 million boys and girls into primary school by 2015 needed to
be intensified if the world was to have any hope of blunting the spread of the
epidemic.
Meeting in Washington, members
of the UNAIDS Interagency Task Team on Education released a new action
plan-HIV/AIDS and Education: A Strategic Approach-which will help countries
fight the spread of HIV infection by stepping up their national efforts to
achieve the Education For All (EFA) goal of offering a quality primary school
education to all children by 2015. (...)
Established in January 1996,
UNAIDS brings together eight United Nations system organizations to lead,
strengthen and support an expanded response to the epidemic. (...)
http://www.unaids.org/whatsnew/press/eng/pressarc02/EducationandHIVAIDS_181002_en.html
South Africa: Traditional medicines offer promise in fighting AIDS
Traditional healers’ methods and indigenous plants are central to a new
project seeking to identify treatments for HIV and AIDS at the Nelson R.
Mandela School of Medicine in Durban. The United States National Institute of
Health is considering funding the project to test traditional medicines and
therapies for treating AIDS patients holistically. Traditional healers from
Mwelela Kweliphesheya, a development arm of KwaZulu-Natal Indigenous Healers,
are providing information on the indigenous flora used in their methods, with
the hope of testing their ingredients and eventually developing trial studies of
patients.
Source: [Sunday Times
(Johannesburg)], October 6, 2002
http://www.culturalsurvival.org/newpage/publications/news/map_news_list.cfm?id=1
Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation announces Global Fund for Women grant to improve
women’s health in developing countries
Seattle and San Francisco, USA, September 30 — The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced today a $1 million grant to the Global Fund for Women, a grantmaking foundation that will provide smaller, strategic grants to women’s groups striving to transform their communities by improving access to quality health care, education and economic opportunity for women.
The challenges
facing women in communities, cultures, religions, traditions, and countries
include inequalities in social, economic and political status. These
inequalities have a devastating impact on women’s well-being. As a result,
sexually transmitted diseases afflict five times as many women as men
worldwide. In Africa, many women lack access to quality care during pregnancy,
delivery and following childbirth. And in parts of the continent, adolescent
girls are six times more likely to be infected with HIV/AIDS than boys.
The Gates Foundation grant
will help to further the work of the Global Fund for Women, including funding
organizations such as Women Fighting AIDS in Kenya (WOFAK). As the HIV/AIDS
epidemic continues to spread, more and more families carry the burden of caring
for family members with HIV/AIDS. WOFAK organizes home-based care teams of
nurses, caregivers and counselors to help women caring for family members with
HIV/AIDS. (...)
http://www.globalfundforwomen.org/4news/news/pressreleases/pressrelease-gates.html
In some parts of the world it is
necessary to train two workers for every job, since one may succumb to the
disease. In a display of corporate responsibility, the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS has assembled multinational
companies pledged to commit to programs to combat the disease in their
workforce.
(top)
Dry cleaning solvent helps win Nobel Prize in Physics
15 October - A large tank of perchloroethylene (PER) dry cleaning fluid installed in a gold mine 1,500 metres below the earth’s surface helped Raymond Davis Jr, one of this year’s three Physics Nobel Prize winners, detect and count sub-atomic particles emitted by the sun.
The PER was used
because it is mostly composed of highly-reactive chlorine atoms that interact
with extraterrestrial neutrinos penetrating the earth to create a detectable
and measurable radioactive isotope of argon. Argon is a colourless odourless
inert gaseous element found that forms almost 1% of the Earth's atmosphere and
also found in volcanic gases; it is used in welding, lasers, and electric
bulbs.
For more
information, please read Eurochlor (the European federation representing
chlor-alkali producers) press release.
http://www.cefic.be/Templates/shwNewsFull.asp?HID=1&NSID=232&P=1&NID=1
29 October, Delhi, India –
WWF, the conservation organization, today launched draft gold standards for
greenhouse gas reduction projects under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development
Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI). The launch coincides with the UN
Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties
(COP8) being held in Delhi, where the operational procedures for these projects
are set to be finalized.
The “Gold Standard” for CDM and JI Projects has been developed by WWF in
consultation with a range of environmental, business and governmental
organizations, and seeks to ensure that projects provide both climate and
sustainable development benefits. The CDM and JI allow governments and firms to
offset their carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions through new
investment in clean technology projects. (...)
http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/press_releases/news.cfm?uNewsID=4187
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, October
28 - UNESCO's unique network of Biosphere Reserves is set to have a new role -
monitoring global climate change. Out of the 408 biosphere reserves in 94
countries, 138 are in mountain areas. And mountains are proving to be extremely
sensitive to global warming. (...) In a partnership with the Mountain Research
Initiative (MRI) based in Berne (Switzerland), the International Human
Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP), and the
International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), UNESCO is selecting
biosphere reserve sites from each of the major mountainous regions of the world
as the focus for this new global climate change monitoring programme. And in
addition to its assessment of environmental impacts, the study will also see
how global change is affecting the socio-economic conditions of mountain
people.
UNESCO Director-General
Koïchiro Matsuura will announce this project when he addresses the Global
Mountain Summit, due to open in Bishkek on October 29, the culminating event in
the International Year of the Mountain that comes to an end in December.
http://www.unesco.org/bpi/eng/unescopress/2002/02-87e.shtml
28 October - A network of
model forests being set up in Latin America and the Caribbean is showing how
partnerships with local communities and improvements in government policies can
lead to more effective forest management, environmental conservation and
poverty reduction. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and UNDP
are joining Argentina, Chile, and the Dominican Republic in supporting the
project. Its regional centre, in the UNDP office in Santiago, Chile, aims to be
a global model. (...) The initiative is based on Canada's Model Forests Programme, launched a decade ago at the
Earth Summit, and includes six model forests, some established and others being
developed. (...)
The regional centre will have
initial funding of US$1.8 million, with CIDA contributing $1.5 million over
three years, and the founding member countries providing the rest of the
funding. Forests in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Peru may also join the project.
The model forests support the UN Forum on Forests and international
environmental pacts, such as those on biodiversity, climate change and
desertification. They are also closely aligned with other international
initiatives, including the Montreal process on sustainable
forest management and the Action Programme on Forests of the G8
countries.
http://www.undp.org/dpa/index.html
Europe's Top
Environmental Prize Awarded To UNEP Executive Director
27 October- The Deutsche
Bundesstiftung Umwelt, Europe's largest environmental foundation, has honoured
Mr. Klaus Toepfer for his outstanding achievement in environmental protection.
He received the prize from Germany's Federal President, Johannes Rau, at a
ceremony in Osnabruck, Germany.
Groups sue EPA over neglect of San Joaquin Valley particulate air
pollution
Fresno, CA, USA - 22 October -- As particulate matter air pollution season
approaches in the San Joaquin Valley, community, environmental, and medical
groups held a press conference at Fresno City Hall today announcing the filing
of a lawsuit in federal court today against the federal Environmental
Protection Agency for its failure to take actions addressing the Valley’s air quality problems nearly a decade ago. EPA was
required by December 17, 1993 to impose sanctions on the Valley and develop a
federally enforceable plan to regulate particulate matter (“PM” or “soot”) pollution. Today, the region still has no federally approved plan to
regulate this deadly pollutant.
Because local officials in the Valley had not
fulfilled their duties in regulating the pollutant, the Clean Air Act required
EPA impose highway and stationary source offset sanctions, as well as to impose
a “Federal
Implementation Plan” by 1993, but EPA never fulfilled these duties. More than eight years
later, EPA has still not imposed a plan or sanctions – actions that would have had significant impacts on
pollution levels in the Valley. (...)
http://www.earthjustice.org/news/display.html?ID=459
Confronting
land degradation - key to environment and sustainable development
Beijing, China, 18 October - A
new basis for partnership towards sustainable development has been set in place
with the adoption of land degradation as a focal area of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) said the President of IFAD, Mr. Lennart Bage
during the Second Global Environmental Facility Assembly taking place in the
Chinese capital. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Bage emphasized that "The
campaigns against poverty, hunger and environmental degradation are not separate
efforts. Rather, they are mutually reinforcing processes that must advance as
one if they are to have a lasting and meaningful impact. Poor people do not
have the luxury of the longer term view when they are struggling to survive
from one day to the next."
IFAD is actively involved in
combating land degradation and has been working with the Global Mechanism of
the Convention to Combat Desertification and is developing partnerships for the
land degradation focal area. (...)
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2002/43-02.htm
16 October, Beijing, China -
WWF applauds the decision by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to endorse
the Africa Stockpiles Programme (ASP), which aims to clean-up and safely
dispose of over 50,000 tonnes of obsolete pesticide waste stockpiled throughout
Africa.
Meeting this week in Beijing,
the GEF Council gave phase one of the programme its official endorsement,
pledging US$25 million with the understanding that US$35 million in
co-financing will be contributed by government aid agencies, the private
sector, and other donors, and that participating countries will ratify the
global Stockholm
persistent organic pollutants (POPs) convention. (...)
Initiated by WWF and Pesticide Action Network in late 2000, the African Stockpiles Programme is a
multi-stakeholder initiative that holds great promise for tackling pesticide contamination
throughout Africa. The programme is expected to take 12-15 years to complete,
with the 2003-2006 phase one involving about 15 countries. Virtually every
African country has stockpiles of obsolete pesticides that have accumulated
over the past several decades. Many of these chemicals and their containers are
in poor condition, threatening local and regional environments and human health
through contamination of soil, water, air and food. (...)
http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/press_releases/news.cfm?uNewsID=2746
India: Champions of urban water bodies assemble to seek ways to revive
dying wetlands
New Delhi, October 3-4 - In a two-day workshop on 'Protection
of Urban Wetlands', organised by Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi,
a core group was formed to promote the movement to revive dying urban wetlands.
The team comprises of individuals from across the country who have made
significant efforts to protect ailing lakes, ponds and tanks in their
respective cities. (...)
The mandate of the core group, constituted at the conclusion of the workshop, is to document facts on the ecologically fragile and sensitive urban wetlands and to assemble detailed case study dossiers in order to create a comprehensive national database -- a challenging and an unprecedented exercise. Their findings and reports are to be made public over the Internet. (...)
http://www.cseindia.org/html/au/au4_20021004.htm
UNESCO
celebrates 30 years of preserving world heritage - Venice, November 14 to 16
Paris, October 25 – The
Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural
Heritage, which gave rise to the World Heritage List, is 30 years old this
year. It was adopted in Paris on November 16, 1972 and came into force in
December 1975, when the minimum requirement of 20 countries had ratified it.
Today, with 175 States-Parties, it is UNESCO's most widely-backed legal
instrument. To mark this anniversary, UNESCO will hold an international
congress ("Shared Legacy, Common Responsibility") in Venice from
November 14 to 16, with the support of the Italian government and the city
council.
The Congress will bring
together more than 500 experts at the Cini Foundation, on the Venetian island
of San Giorgio Maggiore, to analyse the successes and problems over 30 years of
applying the Convention; to work out ways of making the Convention and UNESCO's
efforts to protect World Heritage better known; and to strengthen future
partnerships for World Heritage Conservation. (...)
Venice and its lagoon, which
has been a World Heritage site since 1987, provides the ideal setting to assess
the evolution of the Convention, whose importance is highlighted in the
preamble which affirms that "the deterioration or disappearance of any
item of cultural or natural heritage constitutes a harmful impoverishment of
the heritage of all the nations of the world."
http://www.unesco.org/bpi/eng/unescopress/2002/02-avis47e.shtml
2002
Global Citizenship award to Robert Muller
Robert Muller, UN Assistant Secretary General to three Secretary Generals and University for Peace Co-Founder is the recipient of the 2002 Global Citizenship award from the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation in Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
At the awards dinner in
California on UN Day October 24, 375 guests received a signed copy of Robert
Muller’s biography, Prophet—The Hatmaker’s Son, The Life of Robert Muller
by Douglas Gillies. A mother and daughter whose lives have been deeply touched
by Robert Muller's inspiration made the generous donation so each
peace activist could have his own copy.
In his acceptance speech,
Muller encouraged everyone to follow their dreams and to write down their ideas
for a better world. Nearly 100 students were in
attendance and were especially inspired by Muller's optimism for the future.
The publication date of Robert Muller’s biography is March 2003. A limited
number of first edition advance copies, signed by the author and Muller, are
now available at http://www.eastbeach.org/ or by calling 1-800-942-7617.
Education Development Center receives $7.5 million to
establish National Suicide Prevention Resource Center; funding awarded by U.S.
Dept. of Health and Human Services
Newton, MA,
USA, 2 October—The division of Health
and Human Development Programs at Education Development
Center, Inc. (EDC) will establish a national suicide prevention resource
center, with a grant of $2.5 million per year for a total of 3 years, to
provide information about and assistance to communities implementing suicide
prevention programs. (...) The center, to be based at HHD/EDC's Newton,
Massachusetts headquarters, allows the organization to build on its current
work developing indicators to measure progress in suicide prevention and
providing training on best practices. (...)
The mission of Health and
Human Development Programs (HHD) at Education Development Center, Inc. is to
promote healthy lifestyles and to create healthy and safe environments where
people live, learn and work. Information on HHD is available at www.edc.org/hhd.
Education Development Center
(EDC) is an international non-profit organization, which manages more than 350
projects in 40 countries to advance learning and healthy development for
individuals of all ages and institutions of all types. (...) For more
information, visit www.edc.org.
http://www2.edc.org/newsroom/press_releases/suicidegrant.asp
It is sponsored by the California Institute of Integral Studies and other groups. Thomas Berry, now age 87, is making a rare trip from North Carolina to be present for a 90-minute tribute to him on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 2, as a main feature of the conference. The galaxy of speakers includes, among others: Stanislav Grof, Robert McDermott, Mary Evelyn Tucker, Matthew Fox, David Ulansey, Lauren Artress, Larry Edwards, Ralph Metzner, Christian de Quincey and Robert Hand. The setting is the beautiful sanctuary of St. John's Presbyterian in Berkeley.
What new principles, what new
structures - social, political, economic, intellectual, psychological,
spiritual - will emerge to shape our future? It is no exaggeration to say,
everything is at stake, from the deep ecology of our planetary biosphere to the
deep ecology of the human spirit. (...)
We have assembled many of the
most creative thinkers of our time to address these looming questions, so that
all of us might move more deeply into this great rethinking.
For more information and
registration, go to: http://www.ciis.edu/pcc/conference.html
Denver, CO,
USA—The 2nd Annual National Inclusive Schools Week will be celebrated
December 2- 6 in classrooms, schools, and communities throughout the country to
highlight the nation's progress in providing a quality education to an
increasingly diverse student population.
National Inclusive Schools
Week, which involved tens of thousands of participants in more than 2,000
schools and school districts in nearly all 50 states in 2001, is sponsored by
the National Institute for Urban School Improvement, a project of the U.S.Dept.
of Education's Office of Special Education Programs. (...)
http://www2.edc.org/newsroom/press_releases/inclusiveweek.asp
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