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New York, December 28 – Heads of United Nations agencies and humanitarian groups denounced the Afghan Taliban government’s ban of women working with non-governmental organizations as a life-threatening measure against the Afghan people.

A joint statement issued by 20 Principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee on Afghanistan demanded that women’s participation in aid delivery must continue.

“The decision by Afghanistan’s de facto authorities to ban women from working in humanitarian non-governmental organizations is a major blow for vulnerable communities, for women, for children, and for the entire country,” the statement said.

“Female staff are key to every aspect of the humanitarian response in Afghanistan. They are teachers, nutrition experts, team leaders, community health workers, vaccinators, nurses, doctors, and heads of organizations,” it said.

The statement said women have access to certain populations that male colleagues cannot have and their professional work is indispensable and can save lives.

“Banning women from humanitarian work has immediate life-threatening consequences for all Afghans,” the statement said.

The statement said the ban is taking place at a time when more than 28 million people in Afghanistan are struggling to survive while the country is grappling with “famine conditions, economic decline, entrenched poverty and a brutal winter.”

“While humanitarian organizations continue to engage the de facto authorities, we cannot ignore the operational constraints now facing us as a humanitarian community. “We will endeavor to continue lifesaving, time-critical activities unless impeded while we better assess the scope, parameters and consequences of this directive for the people we serve. But we foresee that many activities will need to be paused as we cannot deliver principled humanitarian assistance without female aid workers.

“We remain resolute in our commitment to deliver independent, principled, lifesaving assistance to all the women, men and children who need it.

“We urge the de facto authorities to reconsider and reverse this directive, and all directives banning women from schools, universities and public life. No country can afford to exclude half of its population from contributing to society.”

Signatories 

• Mr. Martin Griffiths, Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

• Mr. Qu Dongyu, Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 

• Ms. Shahin Ashraf, Chair, International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) Board, (Islamic Relief) 

• Mr. Ignacio Packer, Executive Director, International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) 

• Ms. Miriam Sapiro, President and Chief Executive Officer, InterAction 

• Ms. Tjada D’Oyen McKenna, Chief Eexcutive Officer, Mercy Corps 

• Ms. Janti Soerpinto, President and Chief Executive Officer, Save the Children US 

• Mr. António Vitorino, Director General, International Organization for Migration (IOM) 

• Mr. Volker Turk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) 

• Mr. Andrew Morley, President and Chief Executive Officer, World Vision International 

• Ms. Sofia Sprechmann Sineiro, Secretary-General, CARE International 

• Ms. Paula Gaviria Betancur, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (UN SR on HR of IDPs) 

• Mr. Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 

• Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) 

• Ms. Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director, United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat) 

• Mr. Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 

• Ms. Catherine Russell, Executive Director, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) 

• Ms. Sima Bahous, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director (UN Women) 

• Mr. David Beasley, Executive Director, World Food Programme (WFP) 

• Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO) 

Four NGOs stop work in Afghanistan

The non-governmental organizations – Save the Children, the International Rescue Committee, the Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE – have decided to stop humanitarian work after the Taliban banned women in their workforces.

U.N. Security Council denounces ban

The 15-nation Security Council issued a statement on December 27 warning that the ban would have a significant effect on humanitarian operations in country and calling for the full, equal and meaningful participation of Afghan women and girls in schools and universities in Afghanistan.

Such a ban “represents an increasing erosion for the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms,” the council said.

The council “reiterated its deep concern of the suspension of schools beyond the sixth grade, and its call for the full, equal, and meaningful participation of women and girls in Afghanistan” in the statement.

(By J. Tuyet Nguyen)

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New York, December 22 – A resolution adopted by the U.N. Security Council demanding Myanmar’s military government to end violence and release political prisoners has no teeth and may provoke further carnage in the country, said Thomas Andrews, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar.

“‘Demanding that certain actions be taken without any use of the Security Council’s Chapter VII authority, will not stop the illegal Myanmar junta from attacking and destroying the lives of the 54 million people being held hostage in Myanmar,” Andrews said in a statement, referring to the provision that allows U.N. peacekeepers to use force under dangerous situations.

“What is required is action,” said Andrews, as reported by U.N. News.

The 15-nation Security Council on December 21 voted 12-0, with three abstentions by Russia, China and India, to approve its first-ever resolution on Myanmar since the military overthrew the civilian government headed by Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, 2021. But the adopted document specified no concrete action against the military government.

The resolution demanded the release all “arbitrarily detained” prisoners, including Suu Kyi, and to restore democratic institutions. The resolution also demanded that Myanmar’s opposing parties be allowed to pursue dialogue and reconciliation and urged all sides “to respect human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law.”

Andrews admitted that it was “notable” that the council crafted and advanced a draft resolution that managed to avoid a veto by the council’s five permanent members. He said his objection of the weak resolution was made “with all due respect” to that body but the situation in Myanmar would worsen without, strong coordinated action.”

He called for “concrete and immediate actions” towards implementing a peace plan agreed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and for upholding “democratic institutions and processes.”

“The systematic gross human rights violations – amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity – being perpetrated daily on the people of Myanmar by an illegal military junta require strong, coordinated action by U.N. member states,” he said.

He said demands made by the council in the resolution, including an immediate end to all forms of violence, the release of political prisoners, unimpeded humanitarian access and respect for the rights of women and children – are “critically important.” But he said what was missing are “consequences for the failure to meet them and the imposition of sanctions and accountability for crimes the military has committed to date.”

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In landmark U.N. Biodiversity Agreement, nations decided to protect 30 per cent of Earth’s lands, oceans, coastal areas, inland waters; reduce by $500 billion annual harmful government subsidies and cut food waste in half by 2030.

Montreal, December 19 – Nearing the conclusion of a sometimes fractious two-week meeting, nations of the world have agreed on a historic package of measures deemed critical to addressing the dangerous loss of biodiversity and restoring natural ecosystems.

Convened under UN auspices, chaired by China, and hosted by Canada, the 15th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity adopted the “Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework” (GBF), including four goals and 23 targets for achievement by 2030.

Among the global targets for 2030:

Effective conservation and management of at least 30% of the world’s lands, inland waters, coastal areas and oceans, with emphasis on areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and services. The GBF prioritizes ecologically-representative, well-connected and equitably-governed systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation, recognizing indigenous and traditional territories and practices. Currently 17 per cent and 10 per cent of the world’s terrestrial and marine areas respectively are under protection.

Have restoration completed or underway on at least 30% of degraded terrestrial, inland waters, and coastal and marine ecosystems; Reduce to near zero the loss of areas of high biodiversity importance, including ecosystems of high ecological integrity; Cut global food waste in half and significantly reduce overconsumption and waste generation; Reduce by half both excess nutrients and the overall risk posed by pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals.

Progressively phase out or reform by 2030 subsidies that harm biodiversity by at least $500 billion per year, while scaling up positive incentives for biodiversity’s conservation and sustainable use; Mobilize by 2030 at least $200 billion per year in domestic and international biodiversity-related funding from all sources – public and private.

Raise international financial flows from developed to developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States, and countries with economies in transition, to at least US$ 20 billion per year by 2025, and to at least US$ 30 billion per year by 2030; Prevent the introduction of priority invasive alien species, and reduce by at least half the introduction and establishment of other known or potential invasive alien species, and eradicate or control invasive alien species on islands and other priority sites; Require large and transnational companies and financial institutions to monitor, assess, and transparently disclose their risks, dependencies and impacts on biodiversity through their operations, supply and value chains and portfolios

Warns the GBF: “Without such action, there will be a further acceleration in the global rate of species extinction, which is already at least tens to hundreds of times higher than it has averaged over the past 10 million years.”

The framework’s four overarching global goals:

GOAL A – The integrity, connectivity and resilience of all ecosystems are maintained, enhanced, or restored, substantially increasing the area of natural ecosystems by 2050;

Human induced extinction of known threatened species is halted, and, by 2050, extinction rate and risk of all species are reduced tenfold, and the abundance of native wild species is increased to healthy and resilient levels; The genetic diversity within populations of wild and domesticated species, is maintained, safeguarding their adaptive potential.

GOAL B – Biodiversity is sustainably used and managed and nature’s contributions to people, including ecosystem functions and services, are valued, maintained and enhanced, with those currently in decline being restored, supporting the achievement of sustainable development, for the benefit of present and future generations by 2050.

GOAL C – The monetary and non-monetary benefits from the utilization of genetic resources, and digital sequence information on genetic resources, and of traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, as applicable, are shared fairly and equitably, including, as appropriate with indigenous peoples and local communities, and substantially increased by 2050, while ensuring traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources is appropriately protected, thereby contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, in accordance with internationally agreed access and benefit-sharing instruments.

GOAL D – Adequate means of implementation, including financial resources, capacity-building, technical and scientific cooperation, and access to and transfer of technology to fully implement the Kunmin-Montreal global biodiversity framework are secured and equitably accessible to all Parties, especially developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, as well as countries with economies in transition, progressively closing the biodiversity finance gap of $700 billion per year, and aligning financial flows with the Kunmin-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity.

Held at Montreal’s Palais des Congrès Dec. 7-19, representatives of 188 governments on site (95% of all 196 Parties to the UN CBD, as well as two non-Parties – the United States and The Vatican), finalized and approved measures to arrest the ongoing​​ loss of ​terrestrial and marine ​biodiversity and set humanity in the direction of a sustainable relationship with nature, with clear indicators to measure progress.

In addition to the GBF, the meeting approved a series of related agreements on its implementation, including planning, monitoring, reporting and review; resource mobilization; helping nations to build their capacity to meet the obligations; and digital sequence information on genetic resources.

Digital sequence information on genetic resources – a dominant topic at COP15 – has many commercial and non-commercial applications, including pharmaceutical product development, improved crop breeding, taxonomy, and the monitoring of invasive species.

COP15 delegates agreed to establish within the GBF a multilateral fund for the equitable sharing of benefits between providers and users of DSI, to be finalized at COP16 in Türkiye in 2024.

The agreement also obligates countries to monitor and report every five years or less on a large set of “headline” and other indicators related to progress against the GBF’s goals and targets. Headline indicators include the percent of land and seas effective conserved, the number of companies disclosing their impacts and dependencies on biodiversity, and many others.  The CBD will combine national information submitted by late February 2026 and late June 2029 into global trend and progress reports.

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Emphasized throughout the approved documents are the needs to foster the full and effective contributions of women, persons of diverse gender identities, youth, indigenous peoples and local communities, civil society organizations, the private and financial sectors, and stakeholders from all other sectors. Also emphasized: the need for a “whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach” to implementing the GBF.

Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework: 23 targets

TARGET 1 – Ensure that all areas are under participatory integrated biodiversity inclusive spatial planning and/or effective management processes addressing land and sea use change, to bring the loss of areas of high biodiversity importance, including ecosystems of high ecological integrity, close to zero by 2030, while respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities,

TARGET 2 – Ensure that by 2030 at least 30 per cent of areas of degraded terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine ecosystems are under effective restoration, in order to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, ecological integrity and connectivity.

TARGET 3 – Ensure and enable that by 2030 at least 30 per cent of terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, are effectively conserved and managed through ecologically representative, well-connected and equitably governed systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, recognizing indigenous and traditional territories, where applicable, and integrated into wider landscapes, seascapes and the ocean, while ensuring that any sustainable use, where appropriate in such areas, is fully consistent with conservation outcomes, recognizing and respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities including over their traditional territories,

TARGET 4 – Ensure urgent management actions, to halt human induced extinction of known threatened species and for the recovery and conservation of species, in particular threatened species, to significantly reduce extinction risk, as well as to maintain and restore the genetic diversity within and between populations of native, wild and domesticated species to maintain their adaptive potential, including through in situ and ex situ conservation and sustainable management practices, and effectively manage human-wildlife interactions to minimize human-wildlife conflict for coexistence.

TARGET 5 – Ensure that the use, harvesting and trade of wild species is sustainable, safe and legal, preventing overexploitation, minimizing impacts on non-target species and ecosystems, and reducing the risk of pathogen spill-over, applying the ecosystem approach, while respecting and protecting customary sustainable use by indigenous peoples and local communities.

TARGET 6 – Eliminate, minimize, reduce and or mitigate the impacts of invasive alien species on biodiversity and ecosystem services by identifying and managing pathways of the introduction of alien species, preventing the introduction and establishment of priority invasive alien species, reducing the rates of introduction and establishment of other known or potential invasive alien species by at least 50 per cent, by 2030, eradicating or controlling invasive alien species especially in priority sites, such as islands .

TARGET 7 – Reduce pollution risks and the negative impact of pollution from all sources, by 2030, to levels that are not harmful to biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, considering cumulative effects, including: reducing excess nutrients lost to the environment by at least half including through more efficient nutrient cycling and use; reducing the overall risk from pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals by at least half including through integrated pest management, based on science, taking into account food security and livelihoods; and also preventing, reducing, and working towards eliminating plastic pollution.

TARGET 8 – Minimize the impact of climate change and ocean acidification on biodiversity and increase its resilience through mitigation, adaptation, and disaster risk reduction actions, including through nature-based solution and/or ecosystem-based approaches, while minimizing negative and fostering positive impacts of climate action on biodiversity.

TARGET 9 – Ensure that the management and use of wild species are sustainable, thereby providing social, economic and environmental benefits for people, especially those in vulnerable situations and those most dependent on biodiversity, including through sustainable biodiversity-based activities, products and services that enhance biodiversity, and protecting and encouraging customary sustainable use by indigenous peoples and local communities.

TARGET 10 – Ensure that areas under agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries and forestry are managed sustainably, in particular through the sustainable use of biodiversity, including through a substantial increase of the application of biodiversity friendly practices, such as sustainable intensification, agroecological and other innovative approaches contributing to the resilience and long-term efficiency and productivity of these production systems and to food security, conserving and restoring biodiversity and maintaining nature’s contributions to people, including ecosystem functions and services.

TARGET 11 – Restore, maintain and enhance nature’s contributions to people, including ecosystem functions and services, such as regulation of air, water, and climate, soil health, pollination and reduction of disease risk, as well as protection from natural hazards and disasters, through nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based approaches for the benefit of all people and nature.

TARGET 12 – Significantly increase the area and quality and connectivity of, access to, and benefits from green and blue spaces in urban and densely populated areas sustainably, by mainstreaming the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and ensure biodiversity-inclusive urban planning, enhancing native biodiversity, ecological connectivity and integrity, and improving human health and well-being and connection to nature and contributing to inclusive and sustainable urbanization and the provision of ecosystem functions and services.

TARGET 13 – Take effective legal, policy, administrative and capacity-building measures at all levels, as appropriate, to ensure the fair and equitable sharing of benefits that arise from the utilization of genetic resources and from digital sequence information on genetic resources, as well as traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, and facilitating appropriate access to genetic resources, and by 2030 facilitating a significant increase of the benefits shared, in accordance with applicable international access and benefit-sharing instruments.

TARGET 14 – Ensure the full integration of biodiversity and its multiple values into policies, regulations, planning and development processes, poverty eradication strategies, strategic environmental assessments, environmental impact assessments and, as appropriate, national accounting, within and across all levels of government and across all sectors, in particular those with significant impacts on biodiversity, progressively aligning all relevant public and private activities, fiscal and financial flows with the goals and targets of this framework.

TARGET 15 – Take legal, administrative or policy measures to encourage and enable business, and in particular to ensure that large and transnational companies and financial institutions:

(a) Regularly monitor, assess, and transparently disclose their risks, dependencies and impacts on biodiversity including with requirements for all large as well as transnational companies and financial institutions along their operations, supply and value chains and portfolios; (b) Provide information needed to consumers to promote sustainable consumption patterns; (c) Report on compliance with access and benefit-sharing regulations and measures, as applicable; in order to progressively reduce negative impacts on biodiversity, increase positive impacts, reduce biodiversity-related risks to business and financial institutions, and promote actions to ensure sustainable patterns of production.

TARGET 16 – Ensure that people are encouraged and enabled to make sustainable consumption choices including by establishing supportive policy, legislative or regulatory frameworks, improving education and access to relevant and accurate information and alternatives, and by 2030, reduce the global footprint of consumption in an equitable manner, halve global food waste, significantly reduce overconsumption and substantially reduce waste generation, in order for all people to live well in harmony with Mother Earth.

TARGET 17 – Establish, strengthen capacity for, and implement in all countries in biosafety measures as set out in Article 8(g) of the Convention on Biological Diversity and measures for the handling of biotechnology and distribution of its benefits as set out in Article 19 of the Convention.

TARGET 18 – Identify by 2025, and eliminate, phase out or reform incentives, including subsidies harmful for biodiversity, in a proportionate, just, fair, effective and equitable way, while substantially and progressively reducing them by at least 500 billion United States dollars per year by 2030, starting with the most harmful incentives, and scale up positive incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

TARGET 19 – Substantially and progressively increase the level of financial resources from all sources, in an effective, timely and easily accessible manner, including domestic, international, public and private resources, in accordance with Article 20 of the Convention, to implement national biodiversity strategies and action plans, by 2030 mobilizing at least 200 billion United States dollars per year, including by:

(a) Increasing total biodiversity related international financial resources from developed countries, including official development assistance, and from countries that voluntarily assume obligations of developed country Parties, to developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, as well as countries with economies in transition, to at least US$ 20 billion per year by 2025, and to at least US$ 30 billion per year by 2030;

(b) Significantly increasing domestic resource mobilization, facilitated by the preparation and implementation of national biodiversity finance plans or similar instruments according to national needs, priorities and circumstances

(c) Leveraging private finance, promoting blended finance, implementing strategies for raising new and additional resources, and encouraging the private sector to invest in biodiversity, including through impact funds and other instruments;

(d) Stimulating innovative schemes such as payment for ecosystem services, green bonds, biodiversity offsets and credits, benefit-sharing mechanisms, with environmental and social safeguards

(e) Optimizing co-benefits and synergies of finance targeting the biodiversity and climate crises,

(f) Enhancing the role of collective actions, including by indigenous peoples and local communities, Mother Earth centric actions and non-market-based approaches including community based natural resource management and civil society cooperation and solidarity aimed at the conservation of biodiversity

(g) Enhancing the effectiveness, efficiency and transparency of resource provision and use;

TARGET 20 – Strengthen capacity-building and development, access to and transfer of technology, and promote development of and access to innovation and technical and scientific cooperation, including through South- South, North-South and triangular cooperation, to meet the needs for effective implementation, particularly in developing countries, fostering joint technology development and joint scientific research programmes for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and strengthening scientific research and monitoring capacities, commensurate with the ambition of the goals and targets of the framework.

TARGET 21 – Ensure that the best available data, information and knowledge, are accessible to decision makers, practitioners and the public to guide effective and equitable governance, integrated and participatory management of biodiversity, and to strengthen communication, awareness-raising, education, monitoring, research and knowledge management and, also in this context, traditional knowledge, innovations, practices and technologies of indigenous peoples and local communities should only be accessed with their free, prior and informed consent20, in accordance with national legislation.

TARGET 22 – Ensure the full, equitable, inclusive, effective and gender-responsive representation and participation in decision-making, and access to justice and information related to biodiversity by indigenous peoples and local communities, respecting their cultures and their rights over lands, territories, resources, and traditional knowledge, as well as by women and girls, children and youth, and persons with disabilities and ensure the full protection of environmental human rights defenders.

TARGET 23 – Ensure gender equality in the implementation of the framework through a gender-responsive approach where all women and girls have equal opportunity and capacity to contribute to the three objectives of the Convention, including by recognizing their equal rights and access to land and natural resources and their full, equitable, meaningful and informed participation and leadership at all levels of action, engagement, policy and decision-making related to biodiversity.

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CONTACT: Terry Collins & Assoc. | www.tca.tc | @TerryCollinsTC | LinkedIn.com/in/terrycollins | In the News 2021: https://adobe.ly/3FRijQA, Toronto, M6R1L8 Canada

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Montreal/New York, December 7 – The United Nations called on governments attending the international conference on biodiversity to adopt an ambitious “true peace pact with nature” that can deliver a green planet earth.

Representatives from 192 governments that are parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity opened a two-week meeting with the intention to negotiate a new, 10-year agreement that will guide humans how to use nature and biodiversity in more sustainable ways.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said humans are “waging war against nature” as the conference began its work. “Ecosystems have become playthings of profit. Human activities are laying waste to once-thriving forests, jungles, farmland, oceans, rivers, seas and lakes. Our land, water and air are poisoned by chemicals and pesticides, and choked with plastics.”

“It’s time for the world to adopt an ambitious biodiversity framework — a true peace pact with nature — to deliver a green, healthy future for all,“ he said.

Organizers of the summit said negotiations are expected to be difficult as they cover some two dozen targets ranging from land and water, fisheries and rainforests which are affected by climate change as well as degradation caused by humans.

The Montreal summit starting on December 7 is the 15^th Conference of the Parties to the convention, which was first signed in the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 by 150 governments. More than 15,000 people have registered to attend, with the majority of them representatives of governments, non-governmental organizations and the media.

Guterres said deforestation and desertification, among a multitude of activities, are creating wastelands of once-thriving ecosystems.

“Our land, water and air are poisoned by chemicals and pesticides, and choked with plastics. Our addiction to fossil fuels has thrown our climate into chaos — from heat waves and forest fires to communities parched by heat and drought, or inundated and destroyed by terrifying floods,” he said.       

“Unsustainable production and consumption are sending emissions skyrocketing, and degrading our land, sea and air. Today, one-third of all land is degraded, making it harder to feed growing populations. Plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates — all are at risk. A million species teeter on the brink.”

He called on government leaders to develop “bold national action plans” that “re-purpose subsidies and tax breaks away from nature-destroying activities towards green solutions like renewable energy, plastic reduction, nature-friendly food production and sustainable resource extraction.” He also supports the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities because they have always been the most effective guardians of biodiversity.

He called on the private sector to “recognize that profit and protection must go hand-in-hand. In our globalized economies, businesses and investors count on nature’s gifts from all corners of the world. It’s in their best interests to put protection first. That means the food and agricultural industry moving towards sustainable production and natural means of pollination, pest control and fertilization.”

New agreement for 2020-30 under negotiations

The COP15 summit was originally scheduled to take place in Kunming, in China’s Yunnan province, in 2020. But it was postponed because of Covid-19 and was moved to Montreal. If governments are to agree on the new, 10-year plan it would replace the previous one adopted in Aichi, Japan, in 2010.

Under discussion in Montreal is a draft agreement for the Global Biodiversity Framework Structure which comprises fourmajor Goals: 1. Ecosystems, species, genetic diversity; 2. Nature’s contributions to people; 3. Access and benefit sharing and 4. Means of implementation; and 23 targets.

Targets: 1. Land and sea use planning; 2. Ecosystem restoration, connectivity, priority ecosystems; 3. Land, seas protection and conservation; 4. Active management of species, genetic diversity; 5. Harvest, trade and use of wild species; 6. Invasive alien species; 7. Pollution; 8. Minimizing the impact of climate change; 9. Sustainable use of biodiversity and benefit sharing; 10. Sustainable agriculture, aquaculture, forestry; 11. Regulation of air quality, water quality and quantity, and protection from hazards and extreme events; 12. Access to green and blue spaces; 13. Genetic resources and equitable benefit sharing; 14. Mainstreaming biodiversity; 15. Sustainable production and supply chains; 16. Unsustainable consumption; 17. Impacts of biotechnology; 18. Harmful incentives / subsidies; 19. Financial resources, capacity-building; 20. Traditional knowledge, awareness, education and research; 21. Equitable, effective participation in decision-making; 22. Gender equality;  23. Adopting a human / animal / ecosystem “One Health” approach.

(By J. Tuyet Nguyen)

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New York, December 6 – The U.N. Security Council was told that Russia’s “senseless war“ in Ukraine, which started on February 24 this year, has killed 17,023 civilians, including 419 children, but the real toll is “far greater.”

“The torment it continues to bring to the people of Ukraine and beyond is colossal,” Martin Griffiths, the coordinator for the U.N. humanitarian affairs and emergency relief, briefed the 15-nation Security Council.

“The widespread death, destruction, displacement and suffering caused by this senseless war, ongoing humanitarian operations and the challenges that the humanitarian community continues to face,” Griffiths said.

He said over 14 million people remain forcibly displaced from their homes in Ukraine, including 6.5 million internally displaced, and over 7.8 million refugees recorded across Europe. The number of civilian deaths was recorded by the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights as of December 1.

Griffiths said that since February 24, 1,148 children had been killed or injured, “while millions have fled, been uprooted from their homes, separated from their families or put at risk of violence”.

The U.N. official said Ukraine is now facing winter and temperatures are already below freezing and are expected to drop to below minus 20 degrees Celsius. On the other hand, Russia has launched attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, including power stations and heating plants, which have left millions of people without access to heat, electricity, and water, adding another dangerous dimension to the humanitarian crisis caused by the war.

“In Ukraine today, the ability of civilians to survive is under attack.,” he said

Griffiths told the council that close to 690 humanitarian partners, most of them local organizations, have provided life-critical aid and protection services to 13.5 million people in Ukraine.

He said the U.N. has also received unprecedented assistance from a member state and other donor support to the Ukraine Flash Appeal, with $3.1 billion received of the $4.3 billion required through the end of 2022.

“To date, we have transferred almost $1 billion in humanitarian cash assistance to more than 4.3 million people. But more must be done to close the funding shortfall. Continued support is critical to sustain humanitarian operations through 2023.”

Following the briefing by Griffiths, UK Ambassador Barbara Woodward said, “We know what Russia is trying to do: it is trying to bring terror and suffering to the civilian population in a war of subjugation. It is barbaric, illegal, and horribly cruel.” 

“The statistics we have heard from the U.N. today are shocking, more than 17,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine by Russia’s senseless war. It is a devastating number of innocent lives lost, and we’ve heard today in particular the impact Russia’s war is having on children in Ukraine: The trauma inflicted by Russia will last for generations.”

“President, the response from this Council, and the wider U.N. Membership, has been consistent: a call for an end to conflict; for peace.”  

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Geneva/New York, December 1 – The United Nations is reaching out to generous donors, asking a record $51.5 billion so it can assist 230 million people in 70 countries next year who are directly affected by the war in Ukraine, climate change and Covid-19.

Martin Griffiths, the chief Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said the needs are “shockingly high” at the launch of the Global Humanitarian Overview 2023 in Geneva.

See more information: Global Humanitarian Overview

“The needs are going up because we’ve been by smitten by the war in Ukraine, by COVID, by climate,” he said. “I fear that 2023 is going to be an acceleration of all those trends, and that’s why we say … that we hope 2023 will be a year of solidarity, just as 2022 has been a year of suffering.”

The background provided by Griffiths and his Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said millions of people in 2022 suffered from the devastation wrought by conflicts, climate shocks, COVID-19 and the socioeconomic repercussions of the war in Ukraine. In addition more than 100 million people are  displaced worldwide.

It said “50 million people were on the brink of starvation. Many households saw family members die due to lack of food, and the number of people experiencing acute food insecurity is expected to climb to more than 220 million by January 2023.”

“Donors have been generous, meanwhile, the number of crises is overwhelming, and the global economic outlook is looking grim. We have more conflicts than at any time since the end of the Second World War.”

The U.N. said climate change has caused unprecedented droughts in the Horn of Africa, massive flooding in Pakistan and Afghanistan, more powerful cyclones in the Caribbean, and more aggressive tsunamis in the Pacific. The war in Ukraine has “exacerbated inflation worldwide and contributed to tighter financial conditions for many donors and magnifying financial vulnerability for fragile states.”

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Lack of effective refrigeration directly results in the loss of 526 million tonnes of food production – 12 per cent of global total.

Developing countries could save 144 million tonnes of food annually if they reached the same level of food cold chain infrastructure as developed countries. The report ‘Sustainable Food Cold Chains: Opportunities, Challenges and the Way Forward’, published jointly with the FAO and UNEP, is available at http://bit.ly/3A3dP8z.  It emphasizes the need for robust, sustainable cold chains to maintain the quality, nutritional value and safety of food, and to reduce losses, offering case studies and solutions to the challenge.

Amid Food and Climate Crises, Investing in Sustainable Food Cold Chains Crucial – More than 3 billion people can’t afford a healthy diet

Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, November 12 – As food insecurity and global warming rise, governments, international development partners and industry should invest in sustainable food cold chains to decrease hunger, provide livelihoods to communities, and adapt to climate change, the UN said today.

Launched today at the 27th Climate Change Conference (COP 27), the Sustainable Food Cold Chains report, from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), finds that food cold chains are critical to meeting the challenge of feeding an additional two billion people by 2050 and harnessing rural communities’ resilience, while avoiding increased greenhouse gas emissions.

The report was developed in the framework of the UNEP-led Cool Coalition in partnership with FAO, the Ozone Secretariat, UNEP OzonAction Programme, and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition.

“At a time when the international community must act to address the climate and food crises, sustainable food cold chains can make a massive difference,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “They allow us to reduce food loss, improve food security, slow greenhouse gas emissions, create jobs, reduce poverty and build resilience – all in one fell swoop.”

Food insecurity on the rise

The number of people affected by hunger in the world rose to 828 million in 2021, a year-on-year rise of 46 million.

Almost 3.1 billion people could not afford a healthy diet in 2020, up 112 million from 2019, as the economic impacts of the Covid pandemic drove up inflation. This year, meanwhile, the conflict in Ukraine has raised the prices of basic grains threatening food security.

All of this comes while an estimated 14 per cent of all food produced for human consumption is lost before it reaches the consumer. The lack of an effective cold chain to maintain the quality, nutritional value and safety of food is one of the major contributors (12% of total loss).

According to the report, developing countries could save 144 million tonnes of food annually if they reached the same level of food cold chain infrastructure as developed countries.

As post-harvest food loss reduces the income of 470 million small-scale farmers by 15%, mainly in developing countries investing in sustainable food cold chains would help lift these farm families out of poverty.

Climate impact

The food cold chain has serious implications for climate change and the environment. Emissions from food loss and waste due to lack of refrigeration totalled an estimated 1 gigatonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent in 2017 – about 2 per cent of total global greenhouse gas emission

In particular, it contributes to emissions of methane, a potent but short-lived climate pollutant. Taking action now would contribute to reducing atmospheric concentrations of methane this   decade.  

Overall, the food cold chain is responsible for around 4 per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions – when emissions from cold chain technologies and food loss caused by lack of refrigeration are included.

Lost food also damages the natural world by driving unnecessary conversion of land for agricultural purposes and use of resources such as water, fossil fuels and energy.

Reducing food loss and waste could make a positive impact on climate change, but only if new cooling-related infrastructure is designed to use gases with low global warming potential, be energy efficient and run on renewable energy.

The adoption of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol and the Rome Declaration on “the contribution of the Montreal Protocol to sustainable cold chain development for food waste reduction” provide a unique opportunity to accelerate the deployment of sustainable food cold chains.

Progress being made

Projects around the world show that sustainable food cold chains are already making a difference. In India, a food cold chain pilot project reduced losses of kiwi fruit by 76 per cent while reducing emissions through the expansion of use of refrigerated transport.

In Nigeria, a project to install 54 operational ColdHubs prevented the spoilage of 42,024 tonnes of food and increased the household income of 5,240 small-scale farmers, retailers and wholesalers by 50 per cent.

But these projects, among many other illustrative case studies in the new report, are still the exception rather than the norm.

Recommendations for decision makers

To expand sustainable food cold chains globally, the report makes a series of recommendations for governments and stakeholders, including:

Take a holistic systems approach to food cold chain provision, recognizing that the provision of cooling technologies alone is not enough.

Quantify and benchmark the energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in existing food cold chains and identify opportunities for reductions.

Collaborate and undertake food cold chain needs assessments and develop costed and sequenced National Cooling Action Plans, backed with specific actions and financing.

Implement and enforce ambitious minimum efficiency standards, and monitoring and enforcement to prevent illegal imports of inefficient food cold chain equipment and refrigerants.

Run large-scale system demonstrations to show positive impacts of sustainable cold chains, and how interventions can create sustainable and resilient solutions for scaling.

Institute multidisciplinary centres for food cold chain development at the national or regional level.

About the Cool Coalition

The Cool Coalition is a global multi-stakeholder network government, cities, international organizations, businesses, finance, academia, and civil society groups committed to a rapid global transition to efficient and climate-friendly cooling. The Coalition is one of the official outcomes and “Transformation Initiatives” put forward by the Executive Office of the Secretary-General for the UN Climate Action Summit. The Coalition’s Secretariat is hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme.

About the Climate and Clean Air Coalition

The Climate and Clean Air Coalition is a voluntary partnership of governments, intergovernmental organizations, businesses, scientific institutions and civil society organizations committed to improving air quality and protecting the climate through actions to reduce short-lived climate pollutants, including methane, black carbon, tropospheric ozone, and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The Coalition’s Secretariat is hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme.

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New York, November 11 – The world population is reaching 8 billion by mid-November with over half living in Asia as of this year. India and China are the world’s most populous countries with 1.4 billion people each, but India’s population growth will surpass China in 2023.

Eastern and South-Eastern Asia have 2.3 billion people (29 per cent of the global population), and Central and Southern Asia have 2.1 billion (26 per cent), the U.N. Population Funds – (UNFPA) – said in its World Population Prospects 2022 issued this year. It said the population growth was expected after a period of the slowest population growth since 1950 and a deep drop in fertility rates to below 1 per cent in 2020.

For more information: (UNFPA) #8BillionStrong campaign.The agency said more than half of the projected increase in global population up to 2050 will be concentrated in just eight countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania.

Populations of Australia and New Zealand, Northern Africa and Western Asia, and Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand) are expected to experience slower growth through the end of the century. The populations of Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, Central and Southern Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe and Northern America are projected to reach their peak size and to begin to decline before 2100.

The 46 least developed countries (LDCs) are among the world’s fastest growing. Many are projected to double in population between 2022 and 2050.

The U.N. has issued a call for collective action to protect the people and planet to mark the occasion of 8 billion people on the planet: “The growth of the world’s population has become increasingly concentrated among the world’s poorest countries, exacerbating already entrenched inequalities. Between now and 2050, almost all of the global increase in numbers of children and youth and of adults under age 65 will occur in low-income and lower-middle-income countries.

The Sustainable Development Goals provide the blueprint for tackling inequalities by meeting the socio-economic needs and human rights of a growing population while protecting the environment. This would require investments in healthcare (with a strong focus on sexual and reproductive health), education, gender equality and economic development.

Countries with the highest consumption and emissions rates are those where population growth is slow or even negative. Meeting the objectives of the Paris Agreement for limiting the rise in global temperature while achieving the Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will require a rapid decoupling of economic activity from the current over-reliance on fossil-fuel energy, as well as greater resource effi­ciency. “ 

Following is a press release from the U.N. Department of Global Communications issued on the World Population Day on July 11, 2022.

World population to reach 8 billion on 15 November 2022

Amid falling growth rates, global population projected to peak around 10.4 billion in the 2080s

New York, 11 July – The global population is projected to reach 8 billion on 15 November 2022, and India is projected to surpass China as the world’s most populous country in 2023, according to World Population Prospects 2022, released today on World Population Day.

“This year’s World Population Day falls during a milestone year, when we anticipate the birth of the Earth’s eight billionth inhabitant. This is an occasion to celebrate our diversity, recognize our common humanity, and marvel at advancements in health that have extended lifespans and dramatically reduced maternal and child mortality rates,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.  “At the same time, it is a reminder of our shared responsibility to care for our planet and a moment to reflect on where we still fall short of our commitments to one another,” he added.

The global population is growing at its slowest rate since 1950, having fallen under 1 per cent in 2020. The latest projections by the United Nations suggest that the world’s population could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050. It is projected to reach a peak of around 10.4 billion people during the 2080s and to remain at that level until 2100.

World Population Prospects 2022 also states that fertility has fallen markedly in recent decades for many countries. Today, two-thirds of the global population lives in a country or area where lifetime fertility is below 2.1 births per woman, roughly the level required for zero growth in the long run for a population with low mortality. The populations of 61 countries or areas are projected to decrease by 1 per cent or more between 2022 and 2050, owing to sustained low levels of fertility and, in some cases, elevated rates of emigration.

More than half of the projected increase in the global population up to 2050 will be concentrated in eight countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania. Countries of sub-Saharan Africa are expected to contribute more than half of the increase anticipated through 2050.

“The relationship between population growth and sustainable development is complex and multidimensional” said Liu Zhenmin, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs. “Rapid population growth makes eradicating poverty, combatting hunger and malnutrition, and increasing the coverage of health and education systems more difficult. Conversely, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, especially those related to health, education and gender equality, will contribute to reducing fertility levels and slowing global population growth.”

In most countries of sub-Saharan Africa, as well as in parts of Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean, the share of population at working age (between 25 and 64 years) has been increasing thanks to recent reductions in fertility. This shift in the age distribution provides a time-bound opportunity for accelerated economic growth per capita, known as the “demographic dividend”.

 To maximize the potential benefits of a favourable age distribution, countries should invest in the further development of their human capital by ensuring access to health care and quality education at all ages and by promoting opportunities for productive employment and decent work.

The share of global population at ages 65 and above is projected to rise from 10 per cent in 2022 to 16 per cent in 2050. At that point, it is expected that the number of persons aged 65 years or over worldwide will be more than twice the number of children under age 5 and about the same as the number under age 12. Countries with ageing populations should take steps to adapt public programmes to the growing numbers of older persons, including by establishing universal health care and long-term care systems and by improving the sustainability of social security and pension systems.

Global life expectancy at birth reached 72.8 years in 2019, an improvement of almost 9 years since 1990. Further reductions in mortality are projected to result in an average global longevity of around 77.2 years in 2050. Yet in 2021, life expectancy for the least developed countries lagged 7 years behind the global average.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all three components of population change. Global life expectancy at birth fell to 71.0 years in 2021. In some countries, successive waves of the pandemic may have produced short-term reductions in numbers of pregnancies and births, while for many other countries, there is little evidence of an impact on fertility levels or trends. The pandemic severely restricted all forms of human mobility, including international migration.

“Further actions by Governments aimed at reducing fertility would have little impact on the pace of population growth between now and mid-century, because of the youthful age structure of today’s global population. Nevertheless, the cumulative effect of lower fertility, if maintained over several decades, could be a more substantial deceleration of global population growth in the second half of the century,” added John Wilmoth, Director of the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

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New York, November 3 – The United Nations said the Black Sea Grain Initiative is “making a difference” as it has blunted rising food prices after 10 million metric tons of wheat and other foodstuffs have been shipped from Ukraine to dozens of countries in the past three months.

“Despite all the obstacles we have seen, the beacon of hope in the Black Sea is still shining,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told journalists at U.N. headquarters in New York. “The initiative is working. “

“Over the past few days, I believe the world has come to understand and appreciate the importance of the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” he said, adding that the initiative has helped to ease food prices, reduce the risks of hunger, poverty and instability.

The initiative brokered by the U.N. was signed by Turkeye, Russia and Ukraine in July and implemented through a Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) in Istanbul. It allowed shipments through a Black Sea corridor of Ukraine’s foodstuffs, particularly millions of tons of Ukraine’s wheat stuck at Crimea ports under the war.

The initiative, expected to be renewed on November 18, was briefly halted after Russia decided to suspend its cooperation last week. Russia reversed its decision on November 1, however.

Wheat and barley from Russia and Ukraine accounted for about 30 per cent of total world exports and maize and sunflower oil from the two countries maintain a significant shares on the markets for those commodities.

Guterres, who has been involved in non-stop negotiations, said the initiative has now “fully resumed” and he urged all parties to focus on renewing and fully implementing it and to remove all remaining obstacles to export Russia’s food and fertilizers.

“I am fully committed – along with the entire United Nations system – to the achievement of both these essential objectives,” he said.

Grain deal brings down global food prices

Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development told the UN Security Council on October 31 that over 1.6 billion people in 90 countries were in a “state of severe vulnerability to rising poverty, hunger and debt,” caused by a combination of the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and climate change.

But she said food prices came down after the initiative began working in early August this year. Citing the Food and Agriculture Organization, a U.N. agency based in Rome, Grynspan said the FAO Food Index has declined by about 16 per cent and according to World Bank models, the decline may have prevented over 100 million people from falling into poverty.

(By J. Tuyet Nguyen)

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Geneva/New York, October 17 – Lives will be lost unless governments embark on increasing benefits and wages in line with rising inflation, a U.N. poverty expert said.

With rising inflation hitting rich and poor countries around the world buffeted by Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and climate destructions, calls to take effective measures resounded with a focus on low-income economies.

“It is not hyperbole to say that unless governments increase benefits and wages in line with inflation lives will be lost,” said Olivier De Schutter, U.N. Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said in an address to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (October 17).

“Whether in Europe, where inflation has hit 10 percent or sub-Saharan Africa where food prices have surged by 20 per cent, household budgets across the world are being stretched beyond breaking point, meaning even more people in poverty will starve or freeze this winter unless immediate action is taken to increase their income,” De Schutter said.  

“As with the Covid-19 pandemic, it is once again the most vulnerable that are paying the price of world events. The combined crises are expected to throw an additional 75 to 95 million people into extreme poverty this year alone.”

The Special Rapporteur also urged governments to act quickly to insulate homes ahead of winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

“Insulating people’s homes to keep them warm and safe is not rocket science, and failure to act in this area is simply down to a lack of political will. Not only will doing so reduce the energy bills of low-income households, it will also considerably reduce carbon emissions.”

He called on governments to involve people in poverty in the design of policies to tackle the soaring cost-of-living, pointing to the Guiding Principles on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, adopted a decade ago, as a roadmap to follow.

“For far too long misguided poverty-reduction policies have completely failed to reach those in need, meaning poverty simply passes from one generation to the next. As policymakers attempt to shield low-income households from the current crisis, I implore them to call on the real experts – people with lived experience of poverty,” De Schutter said.

“The Guiding Principles are a secret weapon in the fight against poverty. They should be on the desk of every decision-maker as they navigate the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.”

U.N. warns of growing hunger crisis on World Food Day

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N. marked World Food Day in Rome (October 16) with the rallying cry to “leave no one behind” in the fight against rising levels of hunger being experienced in Asia and Africa.

“In the face of a looming global food crisis, we need to harness the power of solidarity and collective momentum to build a better future where everyone has regular access to enough nutritious food,” FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said at an event on the day.

An estimated 828 million people were facing hunger in 2021 in addition to the 970 000 people at risk of famine in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, FAO said in its latest The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report) which pointed out that 3.1 billion people still cannot afford a healthy diet.

Alvaro Lario, President of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), said at the event: “This year, more than ever, World Food Day should be a call to ramp up action to elp small-scale farmers in rural areas, who supply food to their communities and countries – through crisis after crisis – despite inequality, vulnerability, and poverty.”

“My gravest concern is what’s coming next: a food availability crisis as the fallout from conflict and climate change threatens to sabotage global food production in the months ahead. The world must open its eyes to this unprecedented global food crisis and act now to stop it spinning out of control,” said World Food Programme Executive Director David Beasley.

(By J. Tuyet Nguyen)

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