Felix Dodds comments on sustainable development, coffee & life

Reflection by Felix Dodds: Biliana was a force of nature in the Ocean Community someone who I had the pleasure to work with on a number of Ocean related conferences that Stakeholder Forum engaged in.  I met Biliana in the run-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 when most people were not seeing the importance of work on oceans. Biliana was a voice for those who were passionate about ocean issues she also brought people together. Her organization of the Global Forums  on Oceans  and in particular the one in 2012 complemented the Monocca Oceans conference in 2011 and helped move oceans up the political agenda for Rio+20. This gave it the prominence that helped secure a t Rio +20, that governments committed themselves:  "to address, on an urgent basis [...] the issue of the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, including by taking a decision on the development of an international instr...

This is what was agreed at the G7 - see Annex for Ocean Plastics Charter The health of our oceans and seas is critical to the economic, social and environmental well-being of the planet. Oceans and seas play a fundamental role in the global climate system and in supporting communities, jobs and livelihoods, food security, human health, biodiversity, economic prosperity and way of life. Oceans and seas; however, are facing many challenges. Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and overexploitation of fish stocks threaten entire species and food security. Marine pollution, including from plastic litter, is compounding the threats facing already degraded marine ecosystems. As set out in The Charlevoix G7 Summit Communique, ocean warming, acidification and sea-level rise, together with extreme weather events, are affecting communities globally. Arctic and low-lying coastal communities, particularly Small Island Developing States (SIDS), are among the most vulnerable. We,...

On Monday 28 th of July 2014, Felix Dodds [1] Jorge Laguna-Celis [2] and Liz Thompson’s [3]  book “From Rio+20 to a New Development Agenda” will have a much-awaited companion “The Plain Language Guide to Rio+20: Preparing for the New Development Agenda”   released in E-book form; thus constituting the definitive and most authoritative appraisal of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, otherwise known as Rio+20. Since before the Rio+20 conference, through Rio+20, and continuing today, many organizations have dedicated their input, thoughts, and work to improving the world we live in today. This book is designed to help people from all backgrounds understand what was agreed at Rio+20 and the relevant UN Commissions, Conferences and Summit that laid the foundation for Rio+20 and the new sustainable development goals which are expected to be agreed upon in September 2015. The book itself is divided into three core parts: Part one ...

Signposts to the 2015 new Development Goals Having just attended the Sustainable Development Goals Open Working Group and the consultation with Major Groups held the week before I wanted to share a number of reflections with this blog. Major Group Consultation On Friday November 22 nd what was billed as an “Intersessional Meeting between Major Groups and other stakeholders and the Open Working Group on SDGs” turned out to mostly Major Groups talking to themselves. It was an excellently put together day with four sessions covering: Rights-based SDGs that encompasses all dimensions of Sustainable Development; How the Sustainable Development Goals can eliminate inequalities and poverty; Good governance, enabling environment and institutions at the core of implementing SDGs Designing SDGs that foster human development within planetary boundaries (including climate change and natural resources management). Looking around the room I could see the two Co-chairs of the...

  Ocean Experts Urge Priority Actions on Coastal Protection , Warming Seas , and Melting Arctic Ice   A New White Paper from UMass Institute Traces the Intensifying Web of Interconnections among Climate Change , Ocean Impacts, and International Security by Felix Dodds and Michael Strauss   The extreme and devastating weather impacts of climate change have now become obvious to all but the most ideologically- (and financially-) invested climate deniers.    A parallel series of reactions in the world’s ocean ecosystems are becoming visible, as well.   But the combined effects of the shifts in those two vast geophysical systems on the equally complex dynamics governing human, economic and national security are only beginning to become clear. The Collaborative Institute for Oceans, Climate and Security (CIOCS), based at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, has just published a policy and governance White Paper analyzing the p...