UN, Nippon Foundation to Train Ocean Officials and Professionals [viewed]
10 July 2011: The UN and Nippon Foundation of Japan have announced a fellowship programme enabling ocean-focused government officials and mid-level professionals from developing countries to receive advanced education and training in ocean affairs and the law of the sea, so they can assist their governments in formulating comprehensive ocean policy and implementing the legal regime set out in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and related instruments.
8 July 2011: The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has released the reports of the Seventh Coordination Meeting for Governments and Organizations Implementing or Funding Biosafety Capacity-Building Activities, and the Eighth Meeting of the Liaison Group on Capacity-Building for Biosafety.
8 July 2011: The CBD Secretariat is inviting nominations for experts from the Caribbean region to participate in a training course on risk assessment of living modified organisms (LMOs) by 5 August 2011.
8 July 2011: The report summarizing the discussions held during the International Expert Meeting on the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and Capacity Building is now available.
7 July 2011: The UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Report 2011 finds that, despite setbacks from recent economic, food and energy crises, major progress towards the MDGs has been achieved. However, it indicates that progress has been unequal and the most vulnerable are left behind, noting disparities based on sex, age, disability and ethnicity, and between urban and rural areas. 
6 July 2011: Cuba has hosted the launch of the UN Decade on Biodiversity 2011-2020 in the Caribbean countries. The event took place on the occasion of the Eighth International Convention on Environment and Development, and coincided with the celebration of the UN Decade for Deserts and the Fight against Desertification in the region.
6 July 2011: The Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention) has released the fourth edition of the Ramsar Handbooks for the wise use of wetlands, in PDF format. The 20 handbooks, together with the Ramsar Strategic Plan 2009-2015, embody all of the current guidelines and advice officially adopted by the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP) on a range of wetland-related matters, including wetland policy and management, inventory and monitoring, river basin management, Ramsar Site designation, and international cooperation.
5 July 2011: Policies from Bhutan, The Gambia, Nepal, Rwanda, Switzerland and the US have been shortlisted for the Future Policy Award, which aims to celebrate policies that contribute best to the conservation and sustainable development of forests for the benefit of current and future generations.
