The League Management Company (LMC) on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 announced several sanctions imposed on clubs and players to ensure sanity, and curb fans and players’ excesses.
Enyimba and Black Stars goalkeeper, Fatai Dauda
Three clubs – Kano Pillars, Katsina United and Remo Stars – are to pay several fines, totalling over N12 million and they can also have their points deducted later in the season if there was a repeat offense.
There were also sanctions such as playing behind closed doors and fans restrictions, while Enyimba’s goalkeeper, Fatai Dauda, and two Kano Pillars players were handed one match suspension each.
The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) has commended the prompt action by the LMC to improve safety at match venues by sanctioning the three clubs and players.
In a chat with newsmen, the Secretary General of SWAN, Olawale Alabi, lauded the steps taken by the Premier League organising body.
“With this warning, the LMC has sent a message to the clubs that they can’t continue to flout the rules and regulations guiding the League.”
Meanwhile, federal prosecutors revealed on Wednesday, April 12, 2017 that an Islamist suspect has been arrested in connection with Tuesday’s explosion that damaged the Borussia Dortmund bus, in the Champions League quarter-final first-leg against Monaco, in Germany.
The bus was damaged 90 minutes before kick-off, about six miles from the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund.
Police say there were three explosives hidden in a nearby hedge. They called it “a targeted attack” and found a letter at the scene claiming responsibility for the attack.
Police prepared for a “large deployment” at the rescheduled game and security at Wednesday’s other Champions League ties – Atletico Madrid Vs Leicester City and Bayern Munich Vs Real Madrid – were stepped up.
The rescheduled Borussia vs Monaco match was played on Wednesday, and the French teams stunned their German counterpart 2-3.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino condemned the incident, while his Uefa counterpart, Aleksander Ceferin, said he was “deeply disturbed” and praised the decision to postpone the game.
The Abuja-based Connected Development (CODE) has won the ONE Africa 2016 Award recognising, rewarding, and advancing the exceptional work of organisations founded by Africans and based in Africa, dedicated to helping Africa achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
L-R: Emir of Kano, HRH Sanusi Lamido Sanusi; Hamzat Lawal, CEO, CODE & Co-Founder, Follow The Money; United Nations Deputy Secretary General, Amina J. Mohammed; and Africa Development Bank President, Akinwunmi Adesina, during the awards ceremony
It’s initiative, “Follow The Money”, believed to be the largest volunteer grassroots movement on transparency and accountability in Africa, emerged winner among three finalists, presented by Bono, the lead singer of the UK group U2, and co-founder of ONE Campaign, during the just concluded Mo Ibrahim Foundation Governance forum, held in Marrakech, Morocco.
CODE has walked away with the ninth ONE Africa Award. The Award is granted to civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations and other groups based in Africa, that have demonstrated commitment and success in advocacy to promote the attainment of one or more of the SDGs. CODE provides marginalised and vulnerable communities with resources to amplify their voices with independence and integrity while also providing information that ushers social and economic progress. With global expertise and reach, CODE focuses on community outreach, influencing policies, practices, and knowledge mobilisation. CODE’s commitment to participatory capacity and community building, monitoring and evaluation creates effective and sustainable programmes even within the most challenging environments.
Chief Executive of CODE and Co-Founder of Follow The Money, Hamzat Lawal, on behalf of the organisation, received the award, which highlights the dynamism and achievements of African groups and organisations that are building a better future for their communities, countries and continent.
“We are super excited to be the recipient of this award and also thankful to ONE Campaign for this great opportunity. This Award restates the continental belief in our rural development works. This we warmly appreciate. And ultimately, this is timely and will be exceedingly utilitarian in broadening our continental impacts through facilitating development in marginalised communities, as well as empowering them to stand up and hold their leaders accountable.” said Lawal.
He added: “This has come as a pleasant surprise considering the remarkable profiles and developmental work of other finalists. We are very excited to be the recipients of this award, and we are thankful to the ONE Campaign as this reaffirms the continent’s belief in our rural development work. The award will be useful in broadening our impact through facilitating change in marginalised communities, as well as empowering them to hold their leaders accountable.”
Congratulating the 2016 ONE Africa Award recipient, Nachilala Nkombo, ONE Africa interim Executive Director, said: “Africa has enormous resources and it is inspiring to see African-led organisations leading the change. Progress on our continent is held back by a lack of accountability and transparency, among other things. It gives me great honour to present the award to an organisation such as CODE, which has been working tirelessly to curb corruption and increase transparency in Nigeria.
“The ONE Award is an opportunity for ONE to highlight some of the innovative Africa-led and driven initiatives that are building a better future for the continent every day. Africa is developing because of the dedication of civil society organisations such as CODE that are doing incredible work in every town, village and community. What I must acknowledge is that none of what we do would be effective without the essential role of African civil society organisations in accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. We are therefore proud to support local civil societies on our continent, and it is for this reason that the ONE Africa Award was initiated.”
CODE’s impact in advocacy stood out from a pool of 123 impressive applications from 10 countries across Africa. CODE’s most successful campaign, Follow The Money (FTM), is an action advocacy-based project used to track, visualise and advocate for transparency in government and international aid spending by making sure that the government works for the people. Their list of accomplishments includes: effectively wielding small gains and wins in the fight against corruption through FTM while developing a robust online presence to track its campaigns and projects, badgering the government to produce funds where it has promised.
President and CEO of the ONE Campaign, Gayle Smith, said: “In the fight against poverty in Africa, corruption and the lack of transparency in the governance system is our ultimate opponent. Therefore, we at ONE are delighted to announce CODE as the winner of the ninth annual ONE Africa Awards, as they empower and equip rural communities to keep their local government’s representatives transparent and accountable.”
On the sideline, Mo Ibrahim said: “Nigeria and Africa at large needs people and organisation like yours to ensure sustainable development and value for money.”
The $100,000 prize money is underwritten by an endowment from The Howard G. Buffet Foundation and recognises innovative African efforts to fight poverty and incentivise more of such efforts.
The 2017 Governance Forum which focused on violent extremism and migration, participation and democracy, inclusive economic growth and jobs for youth brought together various thought leaders in Africa and the World at Large including the Emir of Kano, HRH Sanusi Lamido Sanusi; the United Nations Deputy Secretary General, Amina J. Mohammed; former Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan; Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote; former Finance Minister, Okonjo Iweala; and Africa Development Bank (AfDB) President, Akinwunmi Adeshina.
The Federal Government says it has made a provision for some N500 billion to resuscitate the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) to make mortgage facilities easily available to Nigerians.
Alhaji Mustapha Baba-Shehuri, the Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing
Alhaji Mustapha Baba-Shehuri, the Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, announced this in Lafia, Nasarawa State on Monday, April 10, 2017 when he called on the state’s Deputy Governor, Silas Agara.
The minister visited the site of a National Housing Project in Lafia.
Baba-Shehuri said: “The resuscitation of the bank with N500 billion will provide the institution with adequate funds to provide mortgage facilities to interested Nigerians.
“The Federal Government, in its quest to provide shelter to Nigerians, has recently directed the FMBN to waive the payment of 10 percent equity on mortgages below N5 million.
“This will greatly enhance the transition of low income earners from tenants to home owners.”
Baba-Shehuri explained that the project would provide houses and jobs for low income earners.
The minister said the houses would be built based on Nigerian housing design with 100 per cent local content.
He said: “The housing project came up with a 100 per cent Nigerian housing design and local content.
“This is done because government wants to create employment for Nigerian youths.”
The minister commended the state government for providing land for the National Housing Project, saying that it was in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration’s promise of providing infrastructure.
Baba-Shehuri said the ministry would leave no stone unturned in tackling the challenges of housing shortage in the country, which was about 16 million to 17 million.
He disclosed that the government had commenced plan to construct mass housing units in every state for public and private workers over the next three years.
Responding, the deputy governor thanked the minister for the visit and commended the Buhari led administration for initiating the project.
Agara said: “We assure you as a state that we will partner with your ministry to ensure that the project is successfully completed.
“As you are aware, we have fulfilled our part by providing a good location in Akruba in the outskirts of Lafia metropolis for the project.”
The minister visited the ongoing project in Akruba in Lafia Local Government Area comprising 76 houses of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.
The “Jungle Book”-like tale of a young girl said to have been found living with monkeys in an Indian forest was shocking, disturbing and fascinating. It might also have been untrue.
The Indian girl sits on a bed in a hospital
The story of the girl circulated among news outlets around the world in recent days, including The Washington Post, after reports by the Associated Press and the New Indian Express. The girl, according to those reports, was rescued earlier this year by police who found her surrounded by a pack of protective monkeys in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. One police officer speculated that she might have been raised by primates from infancy. She has since been living at a hospital in the city of Bahraich, where the chief medical officer told the AP in a recorded interview that she arrived crawling, eating and screeching like an animal.
But other officials cast doubt on some of those details on Saturday, April 8. JP Singh, the district chief forestry officer in the Katarniya Ghat area, told the Guardian that the girl was located on a roadside, not in the forest. Sarbajeet Yadav, a police constable who participated in the rescue, told the Hindustan Times that “there were no monkeys around.” What’s more, many cameras in the area – used for both security and animal-tracking purposes – would have detected the girl had she been there, forest department officials said.
Officials involved in helping the girl stressed from the start that they were not certain how long she had been living outdoors and on her own, and they said they were scouring missing children reports in an attempt to identify her.
But Singh, the forestry officer, told the Guardian that he suspected the girl’s inability to communicate was the result of a disability, not a childhood among apes, and that she had been recently abandoned by relatives who did not want to care for her. Her age is still unknown.
“I think the family members of this girl had been aware that she is not able to speak, and they may have abandoned her near the forest road,” he said. “It is clear from first-time view, if you see the girl, that she is only 8 or 9 years old, but her facial expressions show that she is disabled, not only mentally but also physically.”
The hospital’s chief medical officer, DK Singh, echoed that, and said the girl might also have been cast off because of another perceived handicap: being a girl in a society that prizes boys.
“Some families value girls less than boys,” Ranjana Kumari, an advocate for young girls, told the Guardian. “They would rather get rid of the girl than spend money on her. It is a lot more responsibility because of the social environment we live in.”
As The Post reported Friday, stories of feral children have long been told in both legend and well-documented reportage. It seems this one might exist somewhere in between – less like “The Jungle Book” and more like a tragedy of neglect and desertion.
Fijian Prime Minister and incoming President of COP 23, Frank Bainimarama, on Monday, April 10, 2017 launched the logo for this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference, to be held in Bonn in November. Also present at the launch was German State Secretary for the Environment, Jochen Flasbarth.
Fijian Prime Minister and incoming President of COP 23, Frank Bainimarama, with officials and participants during the launch of the logo
COP23 implies the 23rd Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The logo that was unveiled, it was gathered, captures the vulnerability of small island developing states to the impacts of climate change, such as sea-level rise and increasing storm intensity.
It features an island partially submerged and a huge wave bearing down on it and aims to raise further awareness for the uncertain future that many low-lying islands face, especially since COP23 will not be held in Fiji.
The annual conference will be presided over by Fiji, hosted by the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bonn and is being made possible with generous financial support from the Government of Germany.
The design of the logo had been the subject of a national competition in Fiji, with prizes for the winner and runners-up. The winning design was by Mrs. Ronna Sekiguchi who runs the Green House Studios design company. There were over 80 entries with the runners up being two scholars from Adi Chakobau School and Nadli Muslim Primary.
In a speech at the award ceremony during which the logo was unveiled, Mr. Bainimarama praised the many design entries received.
“This is a very stark and effective message to take to the world. There is need for us all to come together to build partnerships for climate action between governments, civil society and the private sector. And work together to improve the climate resilience of vulnerable nations such as Fiji,” he said.
Mr. Bainimarama added that Fiji looked forward to the task it had been entrusted through taking on the COP23 presidency.
One priority for the incoming presidency is preserving the multilateral consensus contained in the Paris Agreement for decisive cuts in carbon emissions. Another is to keep up the momentum for its implementation with a wave of climate action that every global citizen can join. The process to arrive at the COP23 logo clearly fits this goal, he added.
New evidence has reportedly emerged during the corruption probe into Shell’s acquisition of the OPL 245 oil field off the coast of Nigeria, indicating that top executives were prepared to press ahead with the deal despite knowing that most of the money could end up as political bribes.
Shell
The BBC reported it has seen documents that show top Shell executives were aware that more than a billion of the $1.3 billion (£1 billion) paid to the Nigerian government would be passed on to former petroleum minister, Dan Etete, who was convicted for money laundering in a separate case.
Shell however said in a statement that it did not believe that any current or former employees had acted illegally.
Global Witness noted that, in a statement to the New York Times, Shell’s Vice President for Global Media Relations, agreed that, “over time, it became clear to us that Etete was involved in Malabu and that the only way to resolve the impasse through a negotiated settlement was to engage with Etete and Malabu, whether we liked it or not”. He added Shell knew that the Nigerian government “would compensate Malabu to settle its claim on the block”.
Observers attributed the development to intensive campaigns and research by Global Witness including the unearthing of some of Shell’s private emails on the deal.
In a reaction, Nnimmo Bassey, director of the ecological think tank, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), notes: “Over time, before time, or after time, is not the issue here. Getting the truth about deals, extent of oil pollution and sundry human rights issues in Nigeria has always been a hide-and-seek game.
“The company only admits wrongdoing when boxed into a corner. The admittance by Shell of knowingly participating in the huge OPL 245 oil scandal opens a new chapter in the understanding of exploitation without responsibility in the Nigerian oil sector.”
HOMEF, he adds, recalls that over the years as questions were raised on the Malibu oil case, Shell stuck to the claim that its payments on the deal were only to the Nigerian government.
“With the revelation that such claims were false, the searchlight now turns squarely on the Nigerian government. The world waits to see what sanctions the Nigerian government will impose on Shell and all accomplices in this scandal,” says Bassey.
“This development validates our conviction that the petroleum sector in Nigeria is extremely opaque and that the Nigerian people and the environment are perpetual victims while corporations and officers holding positions of public trust flourish in graft and wickedness,” adds up Comrade Che Ibegwura, a veteran Niger Delta activist and community organiser.
Boosting energy efficiency is a key part of climate action, but it also brings significant co-benefits. That was a clear message from the discussions at the UNFCCC Technology Executive Committee’s thematic dialogue on industrial energy efficiency, held during its 14th meeting in Bonn, Germany.
The thematic dialogue on energy efficiency took place during the recent TEC meeting in Bonn, Germany. Photo credit: Gary McGovern/Unsplash
At the dialogue, experts from around the world discussed how to boost and scale up industrial energy efficiency in developing countries.
Benoit Lebot, from the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC), noted that large “reduction potential is given by energy efficiency.” According to a recent IEA study, energy efficiency and renewable technologies have equivalent greenhouse gas reduction potential.
“The beauty of energy efficiency is that it comes with multiple benefits. A first benefit is to lower the invoice, the bills, and energy efficiency to a great extent it is cost-effective. You invest 1 and you get your 1 back in 2-3 years. And if the investment lasts for 15 years you make money,” Lebot explained.
But the list of energy efficiency benefits is long. Eric Masanet, from the International Energy Agency (IEA), said that improved energy efficiency can deliver multiple benefits across the industry value chain, leading to enhanced competitiveness, more cost-efficient production, and reduced operation and maintenance costs. It can also lower the costs of environmental compliance and improve the working environment for employees.
Similarly, Mikael Henzler from Adelphi Consult highlighted that energy efficiency in industries is essential to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He said the achievement of at least eight of the 17 SDGs can be supported by increasing energy efficiency (in industries) and material substitution. Also during the thematic dialogue, participants considered practical solutions implemented in countries such as China, Japan, South Africa, and the regions of Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
The event showcased successful projects that are taking place in different countries, as examples that can be replicated and scaled up:
In Japan, the steel-making sector has become one of the most energy efficiency industries in the country. The industry achieved this by implementing energy saving measures and improving productivity. The industry also transformed itself to become an attractive supplier for manufacturing sectors in Japan by producing ‘eco products’ which allowed their customers to improve their environmental performance. For example, it began to produce high performance steel which allowed automobile companies to reduce their fuel consumption. It also began to manufacture high grade electric steel which supported power utilities to improve energy efficiency in transmission lines.
In South Africa, the national government implemented a project which motivated large, medium and small enterprises to increase industrial energy efficiency through tax incentives. In the country this industry consumed a significant amount of energy but lacked capacity to undertake energy efficiency measures. Through the project, the government trained 3,200 engineers and managers as lead auditors of energy efficiency, developing local capacity for undertaking this task.
Specifically, the TEC considered work on: adaptation technologies; climate technology financing; emerging and cross-cutting issues; innovation; mitigation technologies; south-south cooperation on climate technologies; and technology needs assessments.
Also, the TEC identified how to strategically guide its work to ensure that it responds to country needs and delivers impactful policy recommendations to COP 23.
Disaster has hit the Argentina national football team, following the sacking of Edgardo Bauza, after eight matches as coach. He is said to be the shortest-serving Argentina coach since 1974.
Edgardo Bauza, former coach of Argentina
Bauza, 59, was appointed in August last year and guided his side to three wins, two draws and three defeats, placing the team outside the automatic qualifying place for the tournament in Russia.
Finishing fifth would mean a play-off against a team from Oceania. They have four games left in qualifying with their next match against third-placed Uruguay on 31 August.
They last failed to qualify for a World Cup in 1970.
President of the Argentina Football Association, Claudio Tapia, told newsmen that Bauza has been informed that he ceases to be the national team coach.
“The national team is playing badly and everyone knows it.”
Reports have it that Jorge Sampaoli of Sevilla and Diego Simeon of Athletico Madrid are early favorites to take over the Argentina job, ahead of a friendly match against rivals in Brazil in June.
A puzzling surge in western Uganda patients diagnosed with a painful, disfiguring skin condition known as elephantiasis was caused not by the parasitic worms typically associated with the affliction, but by long-term exposure to irritating soil minerals absorbed while walking barefoot, according to a new study published on Monday, April 10, 2017 in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
Podoconiosis is caused by repeatedly walking barefoot in volcanic soils, says the study
The investigation by a team of experts from the Uganda Ministry of Health, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was prompted by what appeared to be a relatively recent and intense outbreak of elephantiasis in 2014 and 2015 in the Kamwenge District of Western Uganda, an area not previously known to harbour the inflammatory disease.
While the people affected had painful swelling and ulcerating sores associated with the condition, they lacked evidence of the microscopic filarial worms that cause the most common form of elephantiasis, a condition known as lymphatic filariasis. After reviewing the medical history of 52 of the victims, scientists concluded they were suffering from a form of elephantiasis podoconiosis – which also meant this was no sudden outbreak.
“People can be suffering from podoconiosis, a non-infectious disease, for decades before it becomes obvious that they are developing elephantiasis,” said Christine Kihembo, MD, a senior field epidemiologist with the Ugandan Ministry of Health and the lead author of the study. “Many of the people affected in Western Uganda probably had been suffering silently without help for more than 30 years.”
Podoconiosis is caused by repeatedly walking barefoot in volcanic soils, which contain tiny, sharp mineral crystals that can penetrate the soles of the feet. For some people, once these crystals are under the skin, they provoke repeated cycles of inflammation. Over time, the inflammation produces a build-up of scar tissue that eventually blocks lymphatic vessels and produces dramatic and disabling swelling and open sores in the lower legs.
According to the WHO, this type of elephantiasis is typically associated with farming and years of working barefoot in freshly turned soil. But Kihembo said that until about 50 years ago, the area of Uganda where the patients she studied live was completely covered with forest and grasslands.
According to the report, in the 1960s, a large migration of people swept into the area in search of farmland “and subsequently, the soils were laid bare.” But early signs of the disease went undetected because neither the settlers nor healthcare workers in the region had any experience with podoconiosis, which is known to occur in some parts of Eastern Uganda, but is more commonly described in Ethiopia. The WHO estimates at least one million people in Ethiopia are estimated to be affected by podoconiosis, but it affects other parts of Africa along with volcanic regions of Southeast Asia and Central and South America as well.
Investigations by the researchers revealed patients who for many years had suffered routine bouts of itching, foot pain and swelling that were dismissed as minor problems.
The scientists ultimately concluded that, “contrary to the perception that an outbreak of elephantiasis had occurred in the area, we have uncovered a chronic neglected tropical disease with a relatively stable annual incidence over the last 30 years.”
According to the study, the mean age of those diagnosed with elephantiasis in the region is 48 years old. However, the scientists believe the disease process itself likely began when the victims were much younger.
Evidence shows that the easiest way to prevent podoconiosis is for people to wear shoes and regularly wash their feet. Indeed, many of the patients in the study reported frequently digging in the soil to grow crops and never wearing shoes or washing their feet after being barefoot in the soil. There is now an effort underway in the region to conduct a public health education campaign to focus on the importance of better foot hygiene.
Kihembo noted there have been some misperceptions in the community about the cause of the disease. For example, she said that when word got out that people were suffering from a condition called elephantiasis, a rumor spread that it was caused by dung from elephants that live in surrounding forests and occasionally stroll through local farms. And even when people understand the real cause, the solution is not as simple as it may sound, Kihembo said.
“It can be a challenge to get people to focus on foot hygiene in a poor, rural community where there are many hardships, and going barefoot is not generally viewed as one of them,” she said.
Kihembo said flagging early signs of the disease is crucial because proper foot care can prevent it from progressing any further. Eventually, podoconiosis reaches a “point of no return” where the swelling cannot be reversed, she said.
“People end up being isolated and stigmatised by the disease and they can develop secondary infections due to the ulcers on the skin, all of which cause a further decline in their health and their ability to be productive members of the community,” Kihembo said.
The podoconiosis investigation was undertaken as part of the Uganda Field Epidemiology Training Programme (FETP), a collaborative effort between the Uganda Ministry of Health and Makerere University School of Public Health, with support from CDC. Since the programme’s inauguration in January 2015, the Uganda fellows have successfully investigated more than 60 disease outbreaks and conducted dozens of other applied epidemiologic investigations on emerging public health threats across the country.
“This is a perfect illustration of why there is often no substitute for getting out into the field and interviewing patients to determine why they are getting sick and what can be done to help them,” said ASTMH President Patricia F. Walke. “These findings can help inform the decisions of health authorities in planning education campaigns to stop further suffering from this terrible, but entirely preventable, form of elephantiasis.”
Founded in 1903, the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene is the largest international scientific organisation of experts dedicated to reducing the worldwide burden of tropical infectious diseases and improving global health.
Achieving global biodiversity targets will be a strong contribution to realising the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, said Dr. Cristiana Paşca Palmer, newly appointed Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, in a meeting held on Friday, April 7, 2017.
Cristiana Paşca Palmer, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
In her first meeting with the Secretary-General, Paşca Palmer, the former Romanian minister of Environment, Waters and Forests, said her top priority is to raise the profile and political visibility of the CBD while working cooperatively with other entities across the UN system in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including those for which biodiversity plays a key role, such as goals 14 and 15.
Paşca Palmer said, “We discussed the ever-evolving issues surrounding biodiversity and and its growing complex challenges around the globe, including the strong inter-linkages between ecosystems resilience, peace, security, and more broadly, the resilience of the human systems. In this vein, the link between biodiversity and food security was flagged as a key issue. We agreed that the July 2017 session of the High-Level Political Forum, the United Nations central platform for following-up the implementation of the universal Sustainable Development Goals, represents an excellent opportunity to highlight the benefits of mainstreaming biodiversity into key sectors such as agriculture and fisheries.
“It was uplifting to know that the Secretary-General shares my concern and genuinely cares about the state of biodiversity and how it affects every single living being on Earth. I left New York inspired and hopeful about the work that lies ahead and how we can make a difference under the new UN leadership.”
The United Nations Biodiversity Conference held in Mexico in 2016 focused on mainstreaming biodiversity into agriculture, fisheries, forestry and tourism. The mainstreaming theme will continue in December 2018, in Egypt, at the next UN Biodiversity Conference, which will focus on expanding the mainstreaming biodiversity agenda into other key sectors such as, energy and mining, infrastructure, manufacturing and processing, and health.
In light of this, Guterres and Paşca Palmer also discussed the contribution of this theme to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and exchanged views on the potential road map towards the conference in Egypt, as well as the subsequent meeting of the parties, to be hosted by China in 2020.
Guterres highlighted the opportunities presented by the upcoming 12th session of the United Nations Forum on Forests in May 2017 as well as The Ocean Conference in early June 2017 to promote biodiversity and its links to sustainable development.
