23 May 2013: In his report to the UN Security Council on the activities of the UN Regional Office for Central Africa and on the Lord's Resistance Army-affected areas, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon highlighted that increases in poaching, mainly targeting elephants, are a growing security concern in Central Africa.
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22 May 2013: During the Eleventh International Meeting of the East Atlantic Biosphere Reserve Network (REDBIOS), the biosphere reserves of the REDBIOS Network agreed to reinforce their commitment to the development of the Man and Biosphere (MAB)Programme and established different priority work areas.
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22 May 2013: The Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and partners have released a book, titled 'Best Practices of Island and Coastal Biosphere Reserves,' which compiles the presentations of the Island Biosphere Reserves that attended the 2nd meeting of the World Network of Island and Coastal Biosphere Reserves: Sustainable Development and Climate Change, held in Jeju, Republic of Korea, in September 2012.
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21 May, 2013: Mongolia and Luxembourg have ratified the Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, bringing the total number of ratifications to 14.
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21 May 2013: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP), in its role as Secretariat of the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP 10YFP), has launched The Global SCP Clearinghouse. The Clearinghouse uses social networking principles to create a “one-stop hub” for SCP knowledge and cooperation.
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Organized by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), this online conference aims to continue the exchange of views and synthesis of information and experiences regarding socio-economic considerations arising from the impact of living modified organisms (LMOs) on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, especially with regard to the value of biological diversity to indigenous and local communities. Building on a series of previous online discussions, the conference is open to representatives from Parties, other Governments, relevant organizations and indigenous and local communities from the Western European and Others Group and Central and Eastern Europe.
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6 May 2013: The European Commission adopted a green infrastructure strategy designed to: promote green infrastructure in the main policy areas; improve research and data, strengthen the knowledge base and promote innovative technologies; improve access to finance for green infrastructure projects; and support EU-level green infrastructure projects.
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April 2013: The UN Development Programme's (UNDP) Environment and Energy Group (EEG) has released a report, titled ‘Towards Transformational Change: UNDP's Work in Environment and Sustainable Development 2008-2012.' The publication features a collection of stories from around the world in four strategic areas: mainstreaming environment and energy; mobilizing environmental finance; promoting adaptation to climate change; and expanding access to environmental and energy services for the poor.
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CITES at 40 Marks a Major Decision Point for Sharks, Trees, Snakes, Turtles and other Wildlife Species: Guidelines, toolkits, standards and action plans fostering capacity, financing, law enforcement, livelihoods, science, sustainability, traceability and synergies also adopted
The 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP16) held March 2013 in Bangkok, will be remembered as a defining moment in the 40 year history of the Convention.
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May 2013: The final report of the fourteenth regular session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA 14) of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), including the Commission's decisions, has been made available online.
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