WMO

The 65th Session of the Executive Council (EC-65) of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) will meet from 15-23 May 2013 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Session is expected to discuss reports, the Global Framework for Climate Services, implementation of the WMO Strategic Plan 2012-2015, resource management, communications and public affairs, and legal matters, among other things. On partnerships, the EC will hear reports on, inter alia: GFCS partnerships; WMO participation in the work of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and Convention on Biodiversity (CBD); WMO involvement in UN Water, in particular in the framework of the International Year of Water Cooperation; developments in establishing new working arrangements with the UNESCO International Hydrological Programme; Report of the Chair of the IPCC; Report on GEO cooperation with WMO; Future Earth Research initiative (ICSU); and MoUs between WMO and relevant international organizations established since EC-64.  

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15 June 2012: On the third day of the Third Meeting of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom III) for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, over 30 side events took place, addressing topics such as green economy, sustainable transport and biodiversity.

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13 June 2012: The High-level Meeting on National Drought Policy (HMNDP), to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, in March 2013, was the topic of a side event held during the Third Meeting of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom III) for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), on 13 June 2012.

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The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Secretariat of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), in collaboration with a number of UN agencies, international and regional organizations and key national agencies, are organizing the High-level Meeting on National Drought Policy (HMNDP) in Geneva, Switzerland, in March 2013. HMNDP will provide practical insight into useful, science-based actions to address the key drought issues being considered by governments and the private sector under the UNCCD and the various strategies to cope with drought. HMNDP will start with a half-day opening plenary, with a major keynote address, followed by three days of scientific segment, and a High Level segment for ministers.  

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27 April 2012: The International Polar Year (IPY) 2012 Conference convened around the theme “From Knowledge to Action,” with discussions on a variety of issues related to Arctic issues. Panel sessions addressed, inter alia: Earth structure and geodynamics; polar ocean processes; permafrost; marine, territorial and freshwater polar ecosystems; and communicating polar science.

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February 2012: The fourth issue of Satoyama, a newsletter published by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), contains articles by Heads of State and leaders of international organizations, as well as senior officials. The authors highlight, inter alia: the importance of biodiversity in the sustainable development agenda; human-influenced forces behind biodiversity loss; and collaborations between environmental organizations.

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This Technical Expert Group was established by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and is composed of natural and social scientists, coastal engineers and coastal zone managers. It is tasked with preparing a set of international guidelines on best practices related to the formulation of climate change. The Group is co-sponsored by the Government of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). It will build on the work of the IOC Programme on Integrated Coastal Area Management (ICAM), and the guidebook published in 2009 on Hazard Awareness and Risk Mitigation through the Integrated Coastal Area Management (IOC Manual and Guide No 50). During the two-day meeting, experts are expected to reach consensus on the scope, structure, format and outline of the guidelines that IOC will develop in the coming months.  

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This three-day workshop on Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) as an adaptation tool to climate change will gather professionals of UN-Water members and partners, and is organized by the UN-Water Thematic Priority Area on Water and Climate Change and the Cap-Net network. The workshop is specifically targeted for professionals that are not experts on water or adaptation to climate change issues, and that need to increase their knowledge on the subject.  

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July 2011: The Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security Programme (CCAFS) of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) has called for the submission of abstracts for the upcoming conference on "Planet Under Pressure 2012: New knowledge towards solutions."

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22 June 2011: The closing celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) aimed to promote international awareness of, and involvement in, ocean science.

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