Through the TRAC-funded project Biodiversity Conservation through Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CRBM), UNDP works with communities in four states in India—Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Orissa—to promote sustainable biodiversity-based livelihoods. In parallel, the UNDP supported GEF funded project Conservation and Sustainable Use of the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve’s Coastal Biodiversity integrates biodiversity conservation objectives into the development initiatives in the Gulf of Mannar. The Gulf, located at the southeastern tip of Tamil Nadu state and covering an area of over 1,050,000 hectares,, is endowed with more than 3,600 species of plants and animals including the globally endangered dugong. Approximately 224,000 people inhabit 252 villages in the area, making a living from fishing, seaweed collecting, or other marine-based activities. The project works to empower local communities to manage the coastal ecosystem and resources through sustainable livelihoods and thereby reduce pressures on the fragile coastal and marine ecosystems. Together these projects compose an innovative approach to mainstream biodiversity and ecosystems management into key national and sub-national governance and market frameworks.

Important results have been achieved through the CBRNM project. Biodiversity Management Committees and Joint Forest Management Committees (JFM) have been established to strengthen local biodiversity and ecosystem management. Traditional knowledge of biological resources, regarding their value and use, has been documented. Sustainable livelihoods, including initiatives in agro-forestry, livestock husbandry, community-based ecotourism initiatives and herbal health care centres have been trialled, and in-situ and ex-situ conservation measures implemented. In the Gulf of Mannar, there has been an increase in live coral cover from 37% to 43% since the project began. More than 1,700 youth from economically underprivileged families now pursue different professions as a result of the vocational trainings provided. An independent statutory Biosphere Reserve Trust and around 250 Village Marine Conservation and Eco-development Committees have been constituted. In addition, the development of an Integrated Management Plan for the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park and Biosphere Reserve (2007-2016) is underway.

news.nationalgeographic.com

Aflac employees pick through garbage bags in search of recyclable plastic, aluminum, and cardboard for Earth Day 2013.

More than a billion people around the world will celebrate Earth Day on April 22, 2014—the 44th anniversary of the annual day of action.

Earth Day began in 1970, when 20 million people across the United States—that’s one in ten—rallied for increased protection of the environment.

“It was really an eye-opening experience for me,” Gina McCarthy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator, who was a self-described self-centered teenager during the first Earth Day rallies, told National Geographic. (See pictures: “The First Earth Day—Bell-Bottoms and Gas Masks.“)

”Not only were people trying to influence decisions on the Vietnam War,” she recalled, “but they were beginning to really focus attention on issues like air pollution, the contamination they were seeing in the land, and the need for federal action.”

At the time, she said, the environment was in visible ruins—factories legally spewed black clouds of pollutants into the air and dumped toxic waste into streams. (Learn more about air pollution.)

“I can remember the picture of the Cuyahoga River being on fire,” she said, referring to the Ohio waterway choked with debris, oil, sludge, industrial wastes, and sewage that spectacularly erupted in flames on June 22, 1969, and caught the nation’s attention.

Although members of the public were increasingly incensed at the lack of legal and regulatory mechanisms to thwart environmental pollution, green issues were absent from the U.S. political agenda.

First Earth Day “Took Off Like Gangbusters”

The environment’s low profile frustrated U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, whose campaigns to protect it during the 1960s had fallen flat.

In 1969 Nelson hit on the idea of an environmental protest modeled after anti-Vietnam War teach-ins.

“It took off like gangbusters. Telegrams, letters, and telephone inquiries poured in from all across the country,” Nelson recounted in an essay shortly before he died in July 2005 at 89. “The American people finally had a forum to express its concern about what was happening to the land, rivers, lakes, and air—and they did so with spectacular exuberance.” (Related: “Earth Day Pictures: 20 Stunning Shots of Earth From Space.”)

Nelson recruited activist Denis Hayes to organize the April 22, 1970, teach-in, which today is sometimes credited with launching the modern environmental movement.

By the end of 1970, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had been established, and efforts to improve air and water quality were gaining political traction.

“It was truly amazing what happened,” Kathleen Rogers, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Earth Day Network, told National Geographic News in 2009. “Blocks just tumbled.”

First graders at the University of Memphis Campus School in Tennessee planted watermelon seeds to celebrate Earth Day.

Earth Day Evolves

Since the first Earth Day, environmentalism has moved from a fringe issue to a mainstream concern, Amy Cassara told National Geographic News in 2010, when she was a senior associate at the World Resources Institute in Washington, D.C.

“As many as 80 percent of Americans describe themselves as environmentalists,” Cassara said.

Environmental problems today, however, are less immediate than dirty air, toxic water, and a hole in the ozone layer, she said. For example, the effects of global climate change are largely abstract and difficult to explain “without coming off as a doomsday prognosticator.” (See pictures of Earth Day stunts.)

“As we become more industrialized and our supply chains become less transparent,” she added, “it can be more difficult to understand the environmental consequences of our actions.”

McCarthy is in a new battle to protect Americans from modern environmental threats such as global climate change, which she called “one of the most significant, if not the most significant, public health issue of our time.” (See a map of global warming effects.)

As EPA chief, she is charged with implementing large portions of President Barack Obama’s controversial climate action plan, such as carbon pollution standards for new and existing power plants, which the agency says will help protect millions of Americans from the dangers of a warming planet.

Grassroots Power

People in the modern-day environmental movement, McCarthy noted, should remember the power of the grassroots activism that spurred the first Earth Day in 1970.

“It wasn’t so much about demanding national action,” she said. “It was about demanding that individuals get engaged, [and] that would then push national action.” (See your pictures of Earth.)

McCarthy is especially keen to hear more voices from minority and low-income communities, which are disproportionately affected by environmental hazards. “This is an issue where we need everybody to speak up,” she said.

Though huge problems remain, McCarthy noted, the impact of that first Earth Day has been profound. Since then, the nation’s air and water have become dramatically cleaner, and lead has disappeared from gasoline—while the economy has more than doubled in size.

“Really, it all began with Earth Day,” she said, “and the ability to have a grassroots movement that demanded that we keep people safe while we continue to grow the economy.”

www.unep.org

The contents of the site were produced as part of a broad collaboration led by ELI, UNEP, McGill University, and the University of Tokyo, together with 225 researchers and practitioners around the world.

WASHINGTON, DC and GENEVA, 6 November 2013 - A new website providing users with free access to dozens of case studies as well as teaching and training materials on the role of natural resources in peacebuilding was launched by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the University of Tokyo and McGill University today.

Launched on the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict, the website will serve as a global platform for sharing information, experiences, and learning on the linkages between natural resources, conflict and peace.

“A key goal of the Environmental Peacebuilding platform is to provide resources to decision-makers, practitioners and researchers on how to improve peacebuilding through more effective natural resource management,” said UNEP Executive Director and UN Under-Secretary-General Achim Steiner.

The contents of the site were produced as part of a broad collaboration led by ELI, UNEP, McGill University, and the University of Tokyo, together with 225 researchers and practitioners around the world. Six books including 150 case studies and other analyses examining experiences from 60 conflict-affected countries and territories are being released to the platform, with 76 case studies already available online.

Welcoming the platform, Jatou Jallow, the Head of the Environment Protection Agency for Sierra Leone, said: “Managing our minerals and other natural resources must be done in ways that generate revenues, equitably distribute wealth, alleviate poverty and mitigate environmental and social impacts. Having access to the resources and knowledge on this website will greatly help us along that path.”

This new knowledge platform will grow as resources and materials are added by users, explained ELI President John C. Cruden. “We view this as the foundation to support and catalyze the growing and vital community of practice on peacebuilding and natural resources.”

Notes to Editors:

The knowledge platform is available at www.environmentalpeacebuilding.org

The six books produced through the Global Research Programme can be purchased online; the individual chapters are available for download free of charge six months after its original publication date.

The knowledge platform is made possible through the generous support of the Government of Finland, the United States Agency for International Development, the European Union, the EU-UN Partnership on Land and Natural Resources, and other partners.

The Environmental Law Institute (www.eli.org) is an independent, non-profit research and educational organization based in Washington, DC. For further information, please contact Brett Kitchen at +1.202.939.3833 or pressrequest@eli.org.

The United Nations Environment Programme (www.unep.org) is the voice for the environment in the United Nations system. For media enquiries, please contact the UNEP Newsdesk in Nairobi, Kenya, at +254.20.762.5022 or unepnewsdesk@unep.org.

www.unep.org

CHF 1.6 million commitment from Swiss government, 29 international knowledge partners to strengthen Green Growth Knowledge Platform

Geneva, 22 January 2014 - A robust, state-of-the-art knowledge-sharing platform was launched today by the newly established Green Growth Knowledge Platform (GGKP), a diverse consortium of leading institutions and organizations working in areas related to green growth and green economy.

The website is in response to increasing demand from both policy makers and the public for information on ways to achieve sustainable economic growth.

Like the GGKP itself, the website - which features a searchable e-library with over 600 technical and policy resources, as well as dashboards with data and policies for 193 countries - transcends the traditional divide between economy and the environment.

It mobilizes knowledge, experience and support from disparate partners in both the global economic and environmental arenas, all of which share the common goal of accelerating green growth.

“The GGKP is quickly emerging as the leading platform for managing and sharing knowledge around green growth and its new web platform will help to empower others”, said Howard Bamsey, Director-General of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI).

He added: “Through world-class knowledge management, the GGKP is able to provide decision makers with the policy analysis, guidance, information and tools necessary to support a green economy transition.”

The Geneva-based GGKP also confirmed a CHF 1.6 million (US $1.7 million), three-year commitment from the Swiss government.

The pledge bolsters the initiative’s existing support from its founding partners: the GGGI, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Bank. The GGKP’s Geneva-based office will be jointly managed by the GGGI and UNEP.

UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said: “The Green Growth Knowledge Platform provides a much needed tool to bridge knowledge gaps, exchange information and deliver policy guidance to accelerate and support the transition towards green economic development.”

“A transformation towards a green economy is not just about the environment. It must be a priority across all facets of the post-2015 development agenda in order to deliver growth and prosperity and improved livelihoods. Achieving this goal rests on the integration of social, economic and environmental goals in public and private decision making, emphasizing a holistic and far-sighted approach”, he added.

Green growth - meaning a path of economic growth which uses natural resources sustainably and works towards a global green economy - is a rapidly developing field encompassing aspects of science, global trade and investments, job creation and other areas.

“Geneva is already host to a number of different international organizations, NGOs, think tanks, and academic institutions working on green growth, building a green economy cluster. We are very excited to have the GGKP establish its roots here. It will benefit from the cluster and reinforce it at the same time”, said Bruno Oberle of Switzerland’s Federal Office for the Environment.

He added: “A green economy will allow us to achieve and keep high living standards. GGKP contributes to the solid knowledge base necessary for the transition towards this green economy.”

As of January 2014, the GGKP confirms agreements with 29 knowledge partners, including international organizations, research institutes and think tanks.

Moving forward, the GGKP will work with these partners to promote collaboration and coordinated research on a number of priority themes, including green growth indicators and measurement, trade and competitiveness and green technology and innovation.

A Green Growth Practitioners’ Workshop is scheduled for 5-6 February in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, and UNEP will host the GGKP’s next Annual Conference in September 2014, in Nairobi, Kenya.

Notes to Editors:

About the GGKP

The Green Growth Knowledge Platform (GGKP) is a global partnership of international organizations and experts that identifies and addresses major knowledge gaps in green growth theory and practice.

By encouraging widespread collaboration and world-class research, the GGKP offers practitioners and policymakers the policy guidance, good practices, tools, and data necessary to support the transition to a green economy.

The GGKP was established in January 2012 by the Global Green Growth Institute, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the World Bank. This group of partners has since expanded to include a large, diverse group of leading institutions and organizations active in areas related to green growth and green economy at the local, national, regional, and international levels.

For more information, please visit: http://www.greengrowthknowledge.org or follow us on Twitter at @GGKPlatform

Contacts

Green Growth Knowledge Platform: Amanda McKee, +1 202 458 8886, amckee@ggkp.org

Swiss Confederation: Media Section Federal Office for the Environment, +41 (0)31 322 90 00, medien@bafu.admin.ch; Media Section Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, +41 (0)31 322 31 53, info@eda.admin.ch

United Nations Environment Programme: Leigh-Ann Hurt, +41 22 917 8766,leigh-ann.hurt@unep.org

Global Green Growth Institute: Rachel Waddell, +44 20 3178 7656, r.waddell@gggi.org

ec.europa.eu

The flagship initiative for a resource-efficient Europe under the Europe 2020 strategy supports the shift towards a resource-efficient, low-carbon economy to achieve sustainable growth.

Natural resources underpin our economy and our quality of life. Continuing our current patterns of resource use is not an option. Increasing resource efficiency is key to securing growth and jobs for Europe. It will bring major economic opportunities, improve productivity, drive down costs and boost competitiveness.

The flagship initiative for a resource-efficient Europe provides a long-term framework for actions in many policy areas, supporting policy agendas for climate change, energy, transport, industry, raw materials, agriculture, fisheries, biodiversity and regional development. This is to increase certainty for investment and innovation and to ensure that all relevant policies factor in resource efficiency in a balanced manner.

A resource-efficient Europe – Flagship initiative of the Europe 2020 Strategy

Integrating REDD+ programmes into a Green Economy approach can conserve and even boost the economic and social benefits forests provide to human society.
Geneva/Jakarta, 20 March 2014 - An investment of US $30 billion per year - under seven per cent of the US $480 billion paid in annual global fossil fuel subsidies - in the REDD+ forest conservation initiative can accelerate the global transition to green and sustainable growth and ensure the long-term wellbeing of tens of millions in developing countries, a new report released today said.
Building Natural Capital: How REDD+ Can Support a Green Economy, a report by the International Resource Panel (IRP) and the UN REDD Programme, outlines how integrating REDD+ programmes into a Green Economy approach can conserve and even boost the economic and social benefits forests provide to human society.
The IRP report lays out recommendations to deliver the new integrated REDD+ and Green Economy approach, including better coordination, stronger private sector engagement, changes in fiscal incentive frameworks, greater focus on assisting policymakers to understand the role forests play in propping up economies, and equitable benefit sharing. The report stresses in particular the needs for a rights-based approach to ensure that benefits flow to the rural poor.

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD) is the approach to cut greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation-estimated at up to 20 per cent of the global total-through payments for services. REDD+ is an expanded approach that includes the conservation and sustainable management of forests, and the enhancement of forest carbon stocks.

Forests support the livelihoods of 1.6 billion people, with the value of ecosystem services from tropical forests estimated at an average of US $6,120 per hectare each year. Despite these economic gains, forest loss averaged 13 million hectares per year between 2000 and 2010, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). This market and policy failure will undermine sustainable development by destroying the natural capital that supports so many economies.

The report argues that integration of REDD+ into all economic planning processes is essential, as deforestation and forest degradation are driven by consumption patterns in virtually every sector of the economy. Green Economy innovations resulting from REDD+ have the potential to increase the resource efficiency of many of these sectors.

REDD+ is so far backed by a total of US $6.27 billion. However, an estimated US $30 billion is projected to be needed each year from 2020. The IRP report seeks to encourage delivery of this funding by demonstrating that REDD+ approaches can support economic development and increase long-term returns on investments.

The report shows how activities supported by REDD+ can be designed to increase income by boosting output on land under cultivation, developing new green industries, encouraging forest-based ecotourism, and increasing sustainable production of commodities for which demand is increasing. For example, a stimulus package in the sustainable management of forests could provide up to 16 million additional jobs globally. At the same time, restoring just 15 per cent of degraded forest can double household income in rural areas in developing countries, as an example from Tanzania cited in the report shows.

It also points out that an increasing number of countries have Green Economy growth plans that clearly define the role of protecting forests and other natural capital.

The United Nations Collaborative Initiative on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (UN-REDD)-jointly implemented by the FAO, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UNEP-supports REDD+ readiness efforts in 49 partner countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

Quotes

- Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), said: “The true value of forests comes to life when national and local decision making processes are directed towards natural capital investment, supporting livelihoods and achieving sustainable economic growth. The ecosystem services provided by tropical forests are estimated at around US $6,120 per hectare per year. Despite this clear macroeconomic case, the total yearly forest loss averages 13 million hectares per year - equivalent to the surface of a football field being destroyed every three seconds.”
“REDD+ is a bold project that offers an opportunity for countries to pursue a more sustainable development pathway through the conservation, restoration and sustainable management of forests. We need to create the enabling conditions required for REDD+ to succeed from good governance and sustainable financial policies to equitable distribution of benefits. These enabling conditions are themselves the building blocks for an inclusive Green Economy,” he added.

- H.E. Dr. Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, Head of the President’s Delivery Unit for Development Monitoring and Oversight, Republic of Indonesia, said, “REDD is an entry point to empower citizens as stewards for a more sustainable, equitable, and economically viable Indonesia…through partnership, consultation, and collaboration, [we are] empowering Indonesia and Indonesians as owners and implementers.”
For more information, please contact

Shereen Zorba, Head of News and Media, Tel. +254 788 526000 Email: Shereen.Zorba@unep.org

Michael Logan, UNEP Public Information Officer, +254 20 762 5211 / +254 725 939 620, michael.logan@unep.org

Notes to Editors

To download the Report

To download Infographics

The report’s Recommendations, and additional facts and figures

About UNEP

Created in 1972, UNEP’s mission is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.

Visit

About the UN-REDD Programme

Launched in 2008, the UN-REDD Programme is the United Nations collaborative initiative on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) in developing countries. It builds on the convening role and technical expertise of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The Programme supports national REDD+ readiness efforts in 49 partner countries, spanning Africa, Asia-Pacific and

Latin America. Visit
About the International Resource Panel
The International Resource Panel was established in 2007 to provide independent, coherent and authoritative scientific assessments on the sustainable use of natural resources and the environmental impacts of resource use over the full life cycle. By providing up-to-date information and the best science available, the International Resource Panel contributes to a better understanding of how to decouple human development and economic growth from environmental degradation. UNEP hosts the secretariat for the panel.