GPA
NEWS UPDATES
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| News - 5th January 2004 | ||
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| Water
for Life: UN proclaims international water decade 2005-2015 At its 58th session, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted a draft resolution proclaiming the period from 2005 to 2015 as the International Decade for Action, “Water for Life”, starting on World Water Day, 22 Mar 2005. The goal of the Decade is “a greater focus on water-related issues, with emphasis on women as managers of water to help to achieve internationally agreed water-related goals”, i.e.: to halve by 2015 the proportion of people who are unable to reach or afford safe drinking water and who do not have access to basic sanitation. Coordination of activities for the Decade will be in the hands of the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs (since 1 Sep 2003, José Antonio Ocampo of Colombia). Read More |
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| Consultative
Meeting on the Revision of the Black Sea Land-based Sources of Pollution
Protocol, the UNEP GPA Work Programme for the Black Sea and the EU
Water Framework Directive and Marine Strategy Following on from the 10th Meeting of the Black Sea Commission that took place last October, UNEP is pleased to convene a Consultative Meeting on the Revision of the Black Sea Land-based Sources of Pollution Protocol, the UNEP GPA Work Programme for the Black Sea and the EU Water Framework Directive and Marine Strategy in Istanbul 20-21 January 2004. The meeting will analyse and discuss the existing situation of land-based sources of pollution in the Black Sea. It will also discuss and agree on the work plan and methodology for the collection and analysis of relevant information as well as the process and involvement of relevant stakeholders in the preparation of the revised Protocol and the GPA Work Programme. Read More |
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| Drinking
Water Tops UN Environment Head’s Christmas Wish List Over this Christmas period, an extra 300,000 people a day need access to safe drinking water if the United Nations Millennium Development Goals are to be achieved. The arithmetic is awesome and simple. One in six people are currently deprived of this most basic of human needs. The goals call for reducing “by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water” by 2015. Read More |
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| Pacific
Ocean washes into Bremen museum Oceania is home to about 12 million people, spread over more than 10,000 tropical islands in the Pacific Ocean, including Hawaii, Tahiti and Fiji - besides the 20 million inhabitants of Australia. An extensive trading network traditionally connected the islands, which involved voyages to distant isles with the oscillating monsoon winds. A new permanent exhibition celebrating Oceania's islands and waters opened last year at the Übersee-Museum in Bremen, Germany. Read More |
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| Environmental
Effects of Exxon Valdez Spill Still Being Felt On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran aground in northern Prince William Sound, spilling 42 million liters of crude oil and contaminating 1,990 kilometers of shoreline. Some 2,000 sea otters, 302 harbor seals and about 250,000 seabirds died in the days immediately following the spill. Now researchers writing in the journal Science caution that more than a decade later, a significant amount of oil still persists and the long-term impacts of oil spills may be more devastating than previously thought. Read More |
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| Blue
whale nursery discovered in Chile Scientists have made the extraordinary discovery in Chile of a hidden nursery where blue whales go in large numbers to rear their young and to feed. The find, in the south of the country, will help researchers understand the behaviour and migration of blue whales, aiding conservation measures. The iconic blue whale is the largest mammal on Earth and was driven to near-extinction by commercial whaling. Read More |
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| G77:
water a priority for South-South cooperation Participants at the G77 conference held in Marrakech in December chose water as one of the priority areas in which they wish to strengthen South-South cooperation. The conference agreed to hold a Water Forum “to promote the exchange of scientific and technological know-how and the sharing of experiences and best practices among developing countries”. It also agreed to promote the exchange of know-how “in sourcing, efficient management, preservation and sustainable use of water”. At the conference’s Interactive Thematic Round Table on Food Security, Agriculture and Water, many delegates outlined specific expertise that their countries would be glad to share either bilaterally or through triangular arrangements. The Group of 77 (G-77) developing countries is the largest Third World coalition in the United Nations. Read More |
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| Events - Upcoming conferences and events related to GPA issues | ||
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| GPA News Updates are a new, informative source of recent news and events related to the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities (GPA). GPA Outreach is a monthly newsletter with a more detailed approach. These GPA postings will useful for all stakeholders (NGOs, Business, Scientists, Students, Government officials etc) who are working on or interested in marine and freshwater policy, management and sustainability. |
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| For all general GPA enquiries contact GPA If you have any queries regarding these updates or would like to submit some news please contact Stakeholder Forum If you have been forwarded this email and would like to subscribe to these GPA postings, please email join-gpa-outreach@lists.healthdev.org to subscribe. Or if you would prefer not to receive these, email leave-gpa-outreach@lists.healthdev.org to unsubscribe. |
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