Felix Dodds comments on sustainable development, coffee & life

hi looks like the national report guidlines will be out this week from the UN with a date of completition of October 31st. There will be a chance for all stakeholders to input directly as well. So contact your government find out what process they are setting up to consult and participate in Rio+20. All information will be posted as we have it on our Earth Summit 2012 site .

The UN has redesigned its web site for 2012 ---its much more user friendly and information richer. Have a look at it here. The Stakeholder Forum web site has a diary of events up to 2012 -- have a look at that here.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today unveiled a new panel on global sustainability that is tasked with finding ways to lift people out of poverty while tackling climate change and ensuring that economic development is environmentally friendly. “I have asked the Panel to think big,” the Secretary-General told reporters in New York today. “The time for narrow agendas and narrow thinking is over.” To be co-chaired by Finland’s President Tarja Halonen and South African President Jacob Zuma, the 21-member High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability brings together representatives from government, the private sector and civil society in countries rich and poor. It is essential, Mr. Ban said, to promote low-carbon growth and enhance resilience to climate change’s impacts, as well as to tackle the intertwined challenges posed by poverty, hunger, water and energy security. “In short, we need a new blueprint for a more livable, prosperous and sustainable future for all,” he stressed. The Secret...

The first prepartory meeting for RiO+20 finished on Wednesday. We are still waiting for the Chairs text to come out but it was a good start. The Stakeholder Forum, UN NGLS conference on May 15th attended by over 200 people set the seen for the prepcom. Report will be on Stakeholder Forum Earth Summit 2012 site soon. At the UN Commission on Sustainable Development the previous week Felix Dodds of Stakeholder Forum presented some governance reform ideas in the session " Multi-stakeholders Dialogue on Advancing the Implementation of CSD Decisions .2 This can be watched on the UN TV site

As preparations for Rio+20 are building with the first prepcom on the 17th,18th and 19th of May the UN Secretary General releases his background paper -- the UN web site for 2012 is now up as well. UN NGLS and Stakeholder Forum are organising a conference on the 15th of May to discuss the themes of the Rio+20 Conference.

he April issue of MEA Bulletin has a guest article by Felix Dodds on Rio+20. Stakeholder Forum and UN NGlS to host Rio+20 Conference in New York on the 15th of May just before the first preparatory meeting. It will cover One Planet Living: Green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication Emerging Issues Scenarios for 2032 Sustainable Development Governance Role of Stakeholders Register through Hannah Stoddart at hstoddart (at) stakeholderforum.org Revamped 2012 Web site launched To help people and organizations keep abreast of 2012 developments the web site has undergone a transformation have a look at it click here.

UNEP Global Minsiters Environmental Forum agrees its first Ministerial Declaration for ten years. The Nusa Dua Declaration gives UNEP a key role in the Rio+20 deliberations over the next three years. Stakeholder Forum and UN NGLS are organising a Rio+20 Conference in new York on the 15th of May. Details from Stakeholder Forum.