Sustainable agriculture and land management in
the context of climate change
Geneva, 25 January 2008 -- The Third Regional Implementation
Meeting on Sustainable Development will take place at the Palais des Nations,
Room XIX in Geneva on 28-29 January 2008, beginning at 3 p.m.
About 200 delegates representing Governments, intergovernmental organizations,
United Nations agencies, and civil society organizations will gather
to discuss progress made in implementing sustainable development goals
in the areas of agriculture, land management, desertification and drought.
They will address particular obstacles encountered and major breakthroughs
made in the UNECE region.
The meeting is also expected to touch upon the important linkages between
climate change and agriculture and between climate change, desertification
and drought that affect large parts of the UNECE region, in particular
the Northern Mediterranean subregion, Central and Eastern Europe and Central
Asia.
Discussions on agriculture will address questions like how to meet the
growing demand for agricultural commodities while protecting natural resources,
the issue of agricultural subsidies and the competing interests between
food security and bioenergy production.
Looking beyond the UNECE region, delegates will furthermore assess the
support of donor countries from the UNECE region for sustainable agriculture
and rural development in Africa in the context of climate change, and review
obstacles and possible next steps to be taken to strengthen cooperation
between these regions.
The aim of the Third Regional Implementation Meeting (RIM-3)is
to prepare the contribution from the UNECE region to the 16th Session of
the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-16) which will be held from
5-16 May 2008 in New York.
The two previous Regional Implementation meetings have raised awareness
of countries and stakeholders of the UNECE region’s particular concerns
and contributions to the global work. In addition, they highlighted the
need to give increasing importance to the implementation of commitments
on the ground, including on the local level. The CSD process has also benefited
from relevant regional work, including, for example, in the UNECE context,
the work on public participation under the Aarhus Convention and on education
for sustainable development.
For further information on the Third Regional Implementation
Meeting, please contact:
Ms. Monika Linn
Team Leader
Environment for Europe and Sustainable Development team
Ms. Natalia Golovko
Economic Affairs Officer
Environment, Housing and Land Management Division
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Phone: +41 (0)22 917 13 15 / 917 27 91
Fax: +41 (0)22 917 01 07
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.unece.org/env/SustainableDevelopment/3Session/sd_forum.jan2008.htm
Ref: ECE/ENV/08/P01