extinction

Virtual CINE-ONU presents “The Great Green Wall”

To mark the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, the United Nations and the European Commission present: “The Great Green Wall.”

After a short introduction from Veronika Hunt Safrankova,  Head of Brussels Office, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Camilla Nordheim-Larsen, Senior Partnerships and Resource Mobilization Coordinator at UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and Producer of the film, we will have a discussion and Q&A with the speakers below:

  • Elvis Tangem – Coordinator of The Great Green Wall Initiative for the Sahara and Sahel, African Union
  • Sandra Kramer – European Commission, Director Africa, Department of International Partnerships (DG INTPA)
  • Nora Berrahmouni – Senior forestry officer for Africa at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) 
  • Deborah Seward (moderator) – Director of the UN Regional Information Centre (UNRIC)

About/Synopsis:

Imagine if we could restore a piece of land 3 times the size of the Great Barrier Reef! The African-led initiative referred to as the Great Green Wall, is growing an 8,000km natural ‘wonder of the world ‘ across the entire width of Africa. Discover how this project is providing a future for over 60 million people in the region.

The Great Green Wall provides a refreshing story of resilience, optimism and collective action. As Inna Modja passionately pursues an African Dream for a generation seeking to control their own destiny, she reminds us of the enormity of the task ahead and that time is not on our side. The resulting journey of hope, hardship and perseverance reveals our shared human condition, reflecting a deeper moral and existential question we all must confront: “Will we take action before it’s too late?

Watch the trailer here: youtube.com/watch?v=kB1qK_yBVxU

Register for the discussion here: https://fao.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pxFKjLqyQxiJcKesdnZ3LQ

This event is organised in collaboration with Cine-ONU Vienna and Cine-ONU Geneva

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CoNGO Notes: 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-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com.

Gearing Up for Glasgow: Faith, Climate Action and COP26

Hello everyone,
Warm greetings! If any of you are based in the UK or are interested in working with UK-based faith communities in the lead-up to COP26, please do join a special online gathering on Tuesday, 1 June, 6:30pm BST.
Register here!
Background: 

The UK hosts the United Nations Climate Change summit (COP26) this November, where governments will gather to negotiate the future of our planet. Civil society groups, including faith communities, are ramping up their actions on climate justice in the leadup to COP26.

Many of us have already been involved in excellent workshops and webinars this year, equipping us with the information and skills we need to act. This session is ideal for you if you are:

  • Based in the UK, or work with groups based in the UK
  • A person of (any) faith and/or would like to work with faith communities
  • Focusing on COP26 in your work on climate change
  • Eager to amplify your actions by connecting with others

This online session will provide an open, flexible space for you to join up with others who want to take similar actions. Be prepared to come with ideas and plans to work with others and to form connections organically. You will:

  • Join with climate activists from different faith traditions linking up on a geographical, tactical or issue basis
  • Explore and engage with in-depth conversations to enable exciting plans to emerge
  • Have opportunities to move with other faith activists from mobilising for events to organising your own actions
  • Connect your climate activism with the work of Make COP Count, the COP26 Coalition and the wider climate justice movement

When you register, tell us what themes or ideas you would like the breakout rooms to hold. We want the session to provide you with the space to develop the networks and relationships you need to take action. You will be able to move between breakout rooms throughout the session, or join new ones based on new themes or actions that emerge.

Agenda:

6:30  Welcome and introductions
6:45  Breakout discussions
7:30  Plenary feedback
7:40  Announcements and sharings: Make COP Count and the COP26 Coalition
8:00  Close

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values, and Global Concerns-NY, please visit csvgc-ny.org. For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org.

Strengthening Sustainable Forest and Ocean Management to Mitigate Climate Change

Session 3 of the UN DESA Global Policy Dialogues for Climate Action

Wednesday, 26 May 2021, 8:00 – 9:30 am EDT

  • How do the restoration and protection of forests and the ocean help address the climate change and biodiversity crises?
  • How should countries and the private sector best identify, finance and mentor sustainable forest and ocean management systems? 
  • How do we ensure that sustainable forest and ocean management is inclusive?

Leading voices in the fields of forest and ocean ecosystem restoration and management will discuss practical approaches for using these natural resources in ways that minimize the impacts of climate change, all in the context of recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Cross-cutting issues such as financing, governance, data and leaving no one behind will be part of the discussion.

Register here by 25 May 2021: bit.ly/climate26may

The event is free and open to all, and will be streamed live on UN DESA’s Facebook page. It will be held in English with captions available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. The event is made possible by the United Nations Peace and Development Trust Fund. All are welcome!

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. 

CRNGO Climate Working Group advocacy meeting

Good afternoon colleagues,
Eid Mubaak to those of you celebrating / recognizing Eid ul Fitr. As discussed on at the 3 May meeting, the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations’ Working Group on Climate will have an informal, 60-min meeting to discuss COP26 Advocacy this coming Monday, 17 May, at 10:00 am EDT.
The agenda will be simple:
  • Bring along your organization’s plans / ideas  for Advocacy to share (or if you don’t have a plan, come and learn and support others who do!)
PS – just FYI, here’s some info on the upcoming UN Decade of Ecological Restoration:

Even amidst the global pandemic and climate crisis challenges, the Good News is that it’s almost time for the launch of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030.  In an effort to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide, the UN Environment Program (UNEP) has developed many resources to share on June 5, 2021, which is World Environment Day. (See more information here: worldenvironmentday.global)

To help us take action in this next decade, UNEP has published a practical guide to ecosystem restoration called the Ecosystem Restoration Playbook – it provides an introduction to a range of actions that can slow the degradation of ecosystems and foster their recovery. Designed for all interested individuals and stakeholder groups, this guide outlines three pathways to getting involved in ecosystem restoration during the UN Decade and beyond:

· Taking action such as starting or support an on-the-ground restoration project

· Making smart choices like buying only sustainable products and changing diets

· Raising your voice in support of ecosystem conservation and restoration

You can find more information, as well as a link to this 21-page guide, here:  https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/

So join in on restoring one or more of the eight key types of ecosystems – forests, farmlands, grassland and savannahs, rivers and lakes, oceans and coasts, towns and cities, peatlands, and mountains – and become part of #GenerationRestoration !

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values, and Global Concerns-NY, please visit csvgc-ny.org.

[Laudato Si Dialogue] Critical opportunities in 2021 to create change: call for an integral path

This webinar will highlight key political opportunities in 2021 to create change, with a focus on the UN climate conference (COP 26) and the UN biodiversity conference (COP 15) and the need for an integral approach. We will hear from the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and from indigenous and youth leaders on the key role these conferences must play in building back better after the COVID 19 pandemic, achieving global goals, restoring harmony between humanity and nature, and building a culture of care and justice.

Register here!

Participants:

  • Moderator: Christine Allen, CAFOD Director
  • Representative from the Dicastery, Fr Augusto Zampini
  • Representative from COICA (Amazonia), Gregorio Mirabal
  • Global Youth movement representative, Ditebogo Lebea, Climate Activist and Youth Programmes Associate at South African Institute of International Affairs

Watch the event here:

youtube.com/c/GlobalCatholicClimateMovement

facebook.com/GlobalCatholicClimateMovement

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org.

Environmental factors as an important trigger for migration

Join this virtual side event at the occasion of the 30th Session of the Conference on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice,

organized by ZONTA and co-organizers

Tuesday May 18th, 1:10-2:00 pm CET.

Reconsidering the definition of smuggling migrants in the context of (transnational) environmental disasters and hazardous legacies

Environmental factors influence migration in important ways, shaped by local economic, sociopolitical and cultural conditions. The root causes of environmental migration are often deeply intertwined and closely connected to sustainable development issues. Experts will present actual research data and share experience at the grass roots level, followed by a discussion on understanding the links between environmental change and migration, which disproportionately affect vulnerable groups, in particular women and girls.

Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81148641691?pwd=SWh2Q3NLS05IRTBWNnVTeWw2L2gxZz09

Meeting-ID: 811 4864 169

Kenncode: 478023

Panelists:

  • Roman Hoffmann is a research scholar at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis with affiliations at the Vienna Institute of Demography of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Vienna and degrees in sociology and economics from the University of Munich. In his applied research, he studies the impacts of climate change on populations and resilience to environmental stress with a focus on climate adaptation and migration. He has served as a consultant for UNIDO, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), and several non-governmental organizations.
  • Farai Maguwu is devoted to improving the governance of natural resources in Zimbabwe. Human Rights Watch honoured him with the Alison Des Forges Award for Extraordinary Activism. He was also honoured by Rapaport, a clean diamond campaigner, for protecting artisanal diamond miners in Zimbabwe‘s Marange region. In 2012 he founded the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (cnrgzim.org), which researches and documents human rights abuse and illicit trade in minerals. Farai is a PhD candidate at the Wits School of Governance. He holds an MA in Peace and Conflict Studies from the European University Center for Peace Studies, and a Master in Peace and Governance from Africa University.

Moderator:  Sharon Fisher, President, Soroptimist International

The NGO Committee on Sustainable Development–Vienna: The focus of the committee is on the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainable development. It provides a forum for NGOs interested in discussing and analyzing the work of the UN intergovernmental bodies in the field of sustainable development, as well as the related activities of the Vienna-based UN organizations. It encourages new initiatives and seeks inputs into civil society’s contribution to the 2030 agenda of the United Nations.

Contact point: Ingeborg Geyer, e-mail: ingeb.geyer@gmail.com

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Migration, please visit ngo-migration.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. 

Same Storm Different Boats: Telling the African Climate Story

Youth climate activism has continued to raise the consciousness of the urgency with which public and political action on the climate crisis is required.

The continent of Africa bears the brunt of the impact of the climate crisis and young Africans are at the frontline of climate action, however, they are not seen on the front page (and sometimes even deleted from the front page), nor are their voices heard during the debates on climate change.

What will it take to get their voices to the table? What do they offer to the conversations? and what are they optimistic about?

Our Chairperson, Wanjira Maathai will host Greta Thunberg, a  young climate and environmental activist from Sweden, Elizabeth Wathuti, a Kenyan environment and climate activist, Vanessa Nakate, a  young climate justice activist from Uganda, Olumide Idowu, an environmental and climate activist from Nigeria.  and Prof. Youba Sokona, a veteran scientist in addressing energy,  environment and sustainable development in Africa.

Register here!

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org.

Managing debt, climate and nature in the pandemic recovery

The pressure of growing public debt  is hindering efforts to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and tackling the climate crisis and biodiversity loss in emerging economies.

Join leading thinkers and practitioners to discuss emerging research into the causes and consequences of public debt challenges, how these challenges are impacting efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement, and what is being done to advance the most promising solutions.

Speakers include IIED researcher Sejal Patel, Prof Stephany Griffith-Jones, and our Ambassador to the UN the Hon. Bob Rae.

After 10 years running the e-discussion Recovery with a Human Face (2010-20) at UNICEF and ILO, it was closed and replaced by this new discussion on Global Social Justice [GSJ]. Please share your inputs by e-mailing: gsj@list.globalsocialjustice.org. This e-discussion is intended to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and ideas; the views expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the policies of GSJ. We look forward to your participation, and your reactions and thoughts about priorities for the international development community.

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CoNGO Notes: 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-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org.

An NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security Discussion: Spending to Increase Nuclear Danger

Join the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security as we discuss how in the midst of an economic and public health crisis, the US is set to spend hundreds of billions on new nuclear weapons which could never be used, add nothing to national security, and actually increase the risk of nuclear war. Funding for these extremely dangerous weapons systems will come up soon in Congress. The NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security presents three leaders to clarify the key issues and discuss possible plans of action.

Register here!

Speakers:

Bruce Knotts has directed the Unitarian Universalist Office at the United Nations since 2008. Before that, he served as a diplomat with the U.S. Department of State with notable service during the Nairobi Embassy bombing 1998, Embassy Khartoum, Sudan, Regional Refugee Coordinator for West Africa and Deputy Chief of Mission in The Gambia. His final tour was in the Bureau of International Organization at the Department of State.

Dr. John Burroughs is Senior Analyst for the New York City-based Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy. He has represented LCNP in Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty meetings and negotiations on the Treaty to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons. His articles and op-eds have appeared in publications including Fordham International Law Journal, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Arms Control Today, Newsweek, and Newsday.

Jackie Cabasso has been Executive Director of the Western States Legal Foundation, based in Oakland, California, since 1984. In 1995 she was a “founding mother” of the Abolition 2000 Global Network to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons, and she continues to serve on its Coordinating Committee. Since 2007 she has served as an Executive Advisor to Mayors for Peace. In the U.S., she is a National Co-convener of United for Peace and Justice. Jackie was the 2008 recipient of the International Peace Bureau’s Sean MacBride Peace Award.

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CoNGO Notes: 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. For more information on the NGO Committee on Peace (Vienna), email its Chair,  Helga Kerschbaum at helga.kerschbaum@aon.at

Economist Group’s 8th Annual World Ocean Summit: Accelerating a Sustainable Ocean Economy

Since 2012 The Economist‘s World Ocean Summit has been the pre-eminent global platform for leaders in business, finance, government, and civil society to debate the greatest challenges facing the seas, share bold strategies to help tackle them, and form partnerships that will mobilize the action needed to build a sustainable ocean economy.

The 2020 “ocean super year”, of a series of major conferences and events, was disrupted by the pandemic. In 2021 it will therefore be an even more urgent move from theory to action.

The 8th annual edition, now a fully virtual event, will aim to change the way business is done in the ocean, shaping and accelerating how governments, businesses, and civil society work together to create a sustainable blue economy.

The virtual week offers the opportunity to access five days of highly curated content and the chance to make meaningful connections no matter where you are in the world.

Plenary sessions and action-oriented industry tracks include: Aquaculture, Energy, Plastics, Fishing, Shipping, and Tourism.

Register here and explore the full agenda here. 

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CoNGO Notes: 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-New York, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. 

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