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| Ministerial Round Table on Oceans |
Paris October 12, 2009 – The first Ministerial Round Table on Oceans held at a UNESCO General Conference opened today. The Roundtable on Oceans during the 35th General Conference of UNESCO is expected to elicit an open dialogue and exchange of views among 26 attending Ministers on the subjects of ocean governance, the contribution of UNESCO in monitoring the state of the ocean and its ecological services, and on ocean and climate change and the challenges coastal communities face in adapting to sea-level rise. |
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NewsOceans Day at Copenhagen
The Global Forum on Oceans, Coasts, and Islands, the Government of Indonesia, and the European Environment Agency are organizing Oceans Day, to be held during UNFCCC COP-15 on December 14, 2009 at the European Environment Agency in Copenhagen, Denmark. Oceans Day provides an opportunity for Parties and Observer States, intergovernmental organizations, non-government organizations, and members of civil society to address the implications of the COP-15 outcomes for oceans, coasts, and coastal communities around the globe. Oceans Day will highlight the direct link between climate change, the health of the oceans, and human well-being, as well as the need for sufficient funding to support mitigation and adaptation measures that will minimize climate change impacts on coastal communities and ocean resources. Read more > Post-tsunami Field Survey in Samoa Concluded
Following the 29 September 2009 tsunami that caused severe damage and loss of lives in Samoa, Tonga, and American Samoa, a post-tsunami field survey to assess the extent, effect, and damages in Samoa was conducted by the UNESCO-IOC International Tsunami Survey Team Samoa (ITST Samoa) from 14–21 October 2009. Read more > Blue Carbon
Healthy Oceans New Key to Combating Climate Change
Seagrasses to Salt Marshes Among Most Cost Effective Carbon Capture and Storage Systems on Planet.But Urgent Action Needed to Maintain and Restore ‘Blue Carbon’ Reservoirs Warns Three UN AgenciesCape Town, Nairobi, Rome, Paris, 14 October 2009—A ‘Blue Carbon’ fund able to invest in the maintenance and rehabilitation of key marine ecosystems should be considered by governments keen to combat climate change. Read more > |
Upcoming EventsRegional Seminar and Workshop on Tsunami Risk Assessment and Mitigation for Indian Ocean Countries3 - 9 November 2009Bangkok, Thailand Third session of the Joint WMO-IOC Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology4 - 11 November 2009Marrakech, Morocco Coast-map-io project development workshop - country-driven projects in nearshore mapping for coastal safety4 - 7 November 2009Hyderabad, India Sixth Session of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System in the North Eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and Connected Seas11 - 13 November 2009Istanbul, Turkey IOC/UNESCO Technical Mission to Haiti and Dominican Republic14 - 21 November 2009 |