Natural and Environmental Disasters

| 07 May 2012 | SIDS Policy and Practice
“Islands are the barometers of international environmental policies. The entire world will first witness their success or their failure on our islands.” These words, of James Michel, the President of Seychelles, deserve to be spoken out loud as delegates from small island developing States (SIDS) gear up to defend their interests at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20). SIDS serve as the guardians of a “planet under pressure,” whose point of no return is...
02 Apr 2013 | SIDS Policy and Practice
26 March 2013: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has released the March 2013 edition of its Pacific Economic Monitor (PEM), which includes four energy themed articles. The articles focus on Pacific efforts to achieve energy security and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. The articles in the March PEM include: an overview from the New Zealand Aid Programme on Pacific energy security challenges; a profile of energy consumption and future energy demand in Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the...
02 Apr 2013 | SIDS Policy and Practice
27 March 2013: The UN University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) hosted a lecture by Walter Kälin, Envoy of the Chairmanship of the Nansen Initiative, on human displacement across borders as a result of natural disasters. Kälin introduced the Nansen Initiative, which aims to build consensus among governments on how to address cross border displacement following slow-onset and sudden disasters. In introductory remarks, Koko Warner, UNU-EHS, highlighted three EHS...
27 Mar 2013 | SIDS Policy and Practice
March 2013: The Global Water Partnership (GWP) March edition of “News Flow” highlights the launch by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and GWP of a joint Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP) to improve monitoring and prevention of droughts. The newsletter features articles on GWP projects and workshops, including on: climate information in the Caribbean; integrated urban water management (IUWM) in El Salvador; water use efficiency in India; flood information in...
22 Mar 2013 | SIDS Policy and Practice
13 March 2013: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) have released the proceedings of a workshop held in 2012 on “Priority adaptations to climate change for Pacific fisheries and aquaculture: reducing risks and capitalizing on opportunities.” The report summarizes the technical presentations given at the workshop on the implications of climate change for Pacific fisheries and aquaculture, as well as the outcomes of...