wildlife protection

Land Dialogue: Pandemic, social unrest and war echoing in the Amazon

Over two years into the pandemic, its unwelcome impacts stemming have become apparent, particularly for tropical rainforests. A variety of factors, from decreases in ecotourism, to spikes in illegal fishing and wildlife trafficking and opportunistic criminals taking advantage of COVID-19-distracted governments to ramp up illegal logging activity, have had adverse impacts on Indigenous Peoples and local communities, who are vital in maintaining healthy rainforests. Overall, these activities have led to considerably higher tropical rainforest deforestation than in previous years, with the pandemic playing a part. More recently, the war in Ukraine has caused serious disruption to the global timber trade and these impacts are echoing in the Amazon rainforest.

This webinar will thus look at how global events are impacting the Amazon region, but will place a specific focus on solutions and what needs to change.

Register here!

* Webinar will be available in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese*

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit un-ngocrip.net. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development/Vienna, please visit csr-sustainability.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development/NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Language and Languages, please email the co-chairs at fmhult@umbc.edu or tonkin@hartford.edu. For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org

Fifth Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly

2021 Theme: Strengthening Actions for Nature to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals

The fifth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) provides leadership, catalyzes, intergovernmental actions on the environment, and contributes to the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and based broad consultations with Member States and Stakeholders, the UNEA Bureau decided on 8 October 2020 that UNEA-5 should take place in a two-step approach. The first session of UNEA-5 will be conducted virtually on 22-23 February 2021 with a revised and streamlined agenda that will focus on urgent and procedural decisions. Substantive matters that require in-depth negotiations will be deferred to a resumed in-person session of UNEA-5 in February 2022 in a format to be defined and agreed on at a later stage.

The theme calls for strengthened action to protect and restore nature and the nature-based solutions to achieve the SDGs in its three complementary dimensions (social, economic and environmental). UNEA-5 provides Member States and stakeholders with a platform for sharing and implementing successful approaches that contribute to the achievement of the environmental dimension of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, including the goals relation to the eradication of poverty and sustainable patterns of consumption and production. UNEA-5 will also provide an opportunity for Member States and Stakeholders to take ambitious steps towards building back better and greener by ensuring that investments in economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic contribute to sustainable development.

The President of the UN Environment Assembly, in close cooperation with UNEA Bureau and the Committee of Permanent Representatives and its Bureau will continue to work in an open and participatory manner to ensure a successful and impactful two-step UNEA-5.

For further information, contact the UNEP Secretariat at unep-sgb@un.org.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee for Rare Diseases, please visit ngocommitteerarediseases.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org.