SEYCHELLES, SWEDEN NARROW TIES ON CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUE

Seychelles Review

THE Special Advisor to President James Michel, Dr Rolph Payet, was granted a special audience with His Majesty the King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, to discuss climate change issues, in particular the Sea Level Rise Foundation, as well as the Seychelles University and knowledge.
This meeting followed the very close relationship that Seychelles had enjoyed with Sweden over the last 15 years in areas of environment, climate change and ocean issues.

GLISPA First Strategy Meeting

From Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

The GLISPA Strategy Meeting took place in Rome, Italy, from 25 to 27 September, 2007. Meeting participants included representatives of the Partnership’s most active government and organization members and/or champions of existing or developing initiatives that are interested in greater involvement with the Partnership. H.E. Seychelles President James A. Michel opened the meeting with a keynote address to the participants. One of the founding fathers of the Global Island Partnership, together with Palau President Remengesau, President Michel chose the GLISPA gathering in Rome to launch his latest initiative, the Sea Level Rise Foundation. For the press release announcing the launch of this initiative, click here.

The Strategy Meeting was co-chaired by Rolph Payet, Special Advisor to the Seychelles President, who delivered a presentation titled Action Strategy for a Global Challenge, and Jo Mulongoy, Principal Officer of the Division of Scientific, Technical and Technological Matters, CBD Secretariat.

For the meeting agenda, click here

Working Groups and Leads

Five working groups were formed. Leaders were appointed, and leads identified.

1. Supporting Successful Commitments – Francois Martel, CI
2. Catalyzing New Commitments – Jason Spensley, WCPA/TNC & Stas Burgiel, GISP/TNC
3. Governance – Gerald Miles, TNC
4. Climate Change/Sea Level Rise Foundation – Rolph Payet, Seychelles
5. Communications – Sian Owen, WWF & Cathryn Treasure, GLISPA

Drafting the GLISPA Strategy

The group agreed a draft GLISPA Strategy would be developed after the meeting according to the following timeline:

• October 2007 – Meeting notes to all participants. Meeting summary to GLISPA contacts
• November 2007 - Draft Strategy to participants with three weeks to review
• January 2008 - Full draft to all GLISPA contacts with three weeks to review
• February 2008 – Revised draft ready for discussion at meetings in Rome.
• May 2008 - Final strategy ready with commitments at COP 9 in Bonn. CBD Secretariat is expecting high level engagement and roll out strategy.

A drafting team was assembled, composed of:

• Dr. Rolph Payet, Seychelles (Chair)
• Gerald Miles, TNC
• Audrey Newman, TNC
• Cathryn Treasure, GLISPA
• Giorgio Grussu, IUCN
• Jason Spensley, WCPA & TNC
• Jean-Philippe Palasi, IUCN
• Oliver Hillel, CBD Secretariat
• Sian Owen, WWF
• Stas Burgiel, GISP & TNC
• Susi Olmsted, GLISPA

Participants agreed to have the Strategy reviewed by:

• Rome Meeting Participants
• Key Contacts: 2-5 people who were NOT at their meeting
• GLISPA e-list
• Key regional and international meetings

Strategy Review Schedule:

• October 2007:
   Meeting Notes to all Participants by Oct 12
   Meeting Summary to GLISPA contacts by Oct 12
• November 2007: Draft Strategy to Participants
   three weeks to review
• December 2007: Side meeting to discuss in Bali
• January 2008: Full Draft to all GLISPA contacts
   three weeks to review
• February 2008: Confirm Strategy at meetings in Rome
• May 2008: Launch Strategy with commitments at CBD COP 9 in Bonn

Seychelles Meeting Realises Breakthrough For Shark Conservation

Seychelles Meeting Realises Breakthrough For Shark Conservation - UNEP

Mahé, Seychelles, 13 December 2007 -Sharks, so long neglected by conservationists and ruthlessly overexploited in modern fisheries, received a major boost today as governments agreed in principle to a new global agreement under the UN to protect three of the largest and most iconic shark species.

The Government of Seychelles hosted a meeting of more than 40 governments and representatives of NGOs and fisheries bodies at an intensive 3 day meeting organized by the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS). It had been feared that individual fisheries interests would prevent an agreement, but the Chairman of the meeting, Rolph Payet, was able to announce today that states had bridged their differences in an effort to conserve migratory whale, great white and basking sharks throughout their extensive global ranges.

The agreement, to be finalized in 2008, will promote co-operation between governments, fisheries bodies, scientists and NGOs to improve our understanding of shark species, and promote their effective conservation including controls on shark finning which has made these and other shark species such irresistible targets to meet a growing worldwide demand for fins as luxury food.

The new CMS agreement will address:

- Strict conservation measures for Great white and Basking Sharks

- Engagement with the fisheries industry and Regional Fisheries Management Organizations, including encouragement of shark fishing quotas, and control of by-catch

- Creation of a new global shark database

- Co-ordination of stock assessments and research

- Identification and Protection of critical shark habitats and migration routes

- Measures to build up capacity in developing countries to manage sharks

- Promotion and regulation of ecotourism and other non-consumptive use

- Encouragement of prohibition and control of shark finning

The new agreement will initially apply to the three large shark species listed by the Convention. However many delegates pointed out that other migratory shark species face serious threats especially from overfishing.

The new agreement will therefore allow other species to be added by range states with the approval of the CMS Conference of the Parties (COP). The COP is expected at its next meeting at the end of 2008 to consider adding several other shark species to the Convention. The Sharks agreement is expected to be finalized before then at a special meeting in Germany.

Speaking today, Rolph Payet, Special Advisor to the President, said: "Although it is over two years since Seychelles along with Australia and New Zealand co-sponsored a resolution to develop a global migratory sharks conservation instrument, Seychelles is satisfied at the progress made at this first meeting and is eager to see significant progress made in 2008".

He highlighted the need for UN Intergovernmental organizations such as FAO & CITES to become more involved and call upon fisheries states to urges their respective regional fisheries management bodies to play a pro-active role in the process.

The Executive Secretary of UNEP/CMS, Robert Hepworth expressed his appreciation to delegates who he said had "negotiated in an excellent spirit in order to reach consensus on the new agreement. This meeting means that we end the year of 2007 having secured international approval for eight new agreements under CMS, covering an astonishing array of endangered migratory animals -, Ruddy-headed Geese, birds of prey, sea cows, small whales, Mediterranean monk seals, grassland birds, gorillas and now sharks. The challenge now is to get these new agreements into full operation so they can change the survival prospects of all these precious species.

CO2 reduction key to managing climate change

From iGovernment Bureau, India November 16, 2007

New Delhi: The greenhouse gas emissions had risen 70 per cent in the last three decades, despite the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, and were expected to double or triple by the end of the century, regardless of efforts to stem them.

Speaking at the Second Committee ‘Economic and Financial’, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Vice Chairman Mohan Munasinghe said the climate change crisis would not be solved unless a wide range of government agencies devised policies and took action to reduce carbon dioxide and other emissions.

Munasinghe, also Chairman of the Munasinghe Institute for Development, said that the resulting 3°C rise in global temperature would potentially cause large-scale harm to global health, agriculture, forests, water resources, coastal areas and habitats.

Carbon dioxide levels, which had stood at the safe baseline of 275 parts per million for 10,000 years, were today approaching 400 parts per million, having caused global temperatures to increase by 0.6°C in the last few years, sea levels to rise several centimetres, dry areas to become even drier and wet areas to get still wetter, according to a Ministry of Environment release.

Stressing to limit greenhouse gas emissions and temperature rise to 2°C, he suggested it would be crucial to adjust trade, monetary, fiscal and taxation policies so that they addressed climate change without threatening the development process.

Munasinghe also said he favoured “sustainomics” which involved everything from turning off the lights when one left the room to developing more sustainable agriculture techniques for farmers.

It was an activist approach that employed social, environmental, economic and institutional tools and indicators—from data gathering to practical policy implementation—tailored to country-specific needs and circumstances, he said adding that the adaptation burden—adjusting activities to reduce vulnerability to climate change—would fall on the world’s poorest people and on the countries least responsible for climate change but most vulnerable to its impact.

Hundreds of millions of people would be affected by rising sea levels, particularly in small island developing states and low-lying coastal areas.  If nations increased their coastal protection expenditures at the same rate of gross domestic product, the number of people affected would drop to tens of millions of people.

France’s national sustainable development strategy, based on the European Union strategy adopted in 2006, focused on climate change and clean energy, sustainable transport, sustainable consumption and production and the conservation and management of natural resources.

It also aimed to step up efforts to address public health, social inclusion, demography and migration, and global poverty and sustainable development, reports France’s Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development .

The strategy was in line with the definition of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs of a national sustainable development strategy.

The UN strategy definition said that a coordinated, participatory and iterative process of thoughts and actions to achieve economic, environmental and social objectives in a balanced and integrated manner at the national and local levels.

The UN stressed that countries must develop strategies linked to reducing poverty and to the other Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Experts believe that greater attention should also be paid to strengthening the capacity to mitigate and adapt at the societal and household levels, rather than simply at the sectoral level.

Failing to solve the livelihood issues of the poor made it impossible to achieve environmental sustainability, leaving poor households capable of destroying ecosystems in their pursuit of survival.

Special Adviser to the President of the Seychelles Rolph Payet said that progress required political attention to a national sustainable development strategy which would also be necessary to mobilize public opinion and involve the private sector and grassroots organizations in decision-making.

Payet said that efficient structures were needed to mobilize the public on sustainable development efforts. According to him, extreme events like tsunamis and other natural disasters could be seen as policy windows or opportunities to study how existing systems worked and how they could be modified accordingly.

Further to increase awareness among students, issues of climate change and sustainable development must be integrated into the national education curriculum.

Recognising that the challenge for developing countries was to open up new development paths, which would require tremendous effort as well as technological innovation, the conference called upon developed nations to share their technology and expertise.

—iGovernment Bureau