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The US Department of State declared yesterday (13 September) that the US welcomes Serbia’s announcements declaring Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation. “Serbia’s announcement that it will designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation in its entirety is another significant step limiting...

Talks between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu  on 11 September were an affirmation between the two countries, Vucic has said. “An excellent phone conversation with PM Benjamin Netanyahu. The friendship between the Serb and Jewish...

Since Jacques Chirac first proposed a carbon border tax, French presidents have never let go of the idea. Now, the European Commission plans to integrate it into its recovery plan, much to the irritation of Beijing, just as an EU-China summit opens on Monday (14 September). EURACTIV France reports.

The government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban is planning to put a “war plan” in place to protect the lives of citizens while ensuring the continued functioning of the country, Orbán told a public broadcaster in an interview on Saturday...

The European Commission will argue this week in favour of a 55% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and push for higher shares of renewable energy as part of an ambitious plan to achieve net-zero emissions by mid century, EURACTIV has learned.

Greece will adopt two major policy initiatives for the coming months and years, one on defence and another on the economy, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has announced. Greece will proceed in a major arms acquisition programme, along with an increase...

The number of COVID-19 hospital admissions has been increasing over recent weeks in Spain and now account for 7.5% of all patients, compared to 4% just 20 days ago, Dr. Antonio Román, a director at the Hospital Vall d’Hebron in...

5.6 million of a total of 8.3 million Italian students for the 2020-2021 school year will return to school today (14 September). “The return to school is always an emotional moment. I send my best wishes to everyone involved, from...

The UK government’s premise that as part of the Withdrawal Agreement the EU would blockade goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland has been described as ‘spin’ by Foreign Minister Simon Coveney. Also, read about: “MEPs vow to veto UK...

There is a link between increased migration and spiralling gang violence in Swedish cities, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven told party leaders during a debate and then on Swedish Television on Wednesday (9 September). Careful not to make connections between religious...

The differences in the colour-coded risk systems between Belgium and France are “extremely confusing”, governor of the West Flemish province, Carl Decaluwé, has warned and urged EU countries to coordinate. Read also: European Commission pushes member states for common travel rules...

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) emerged as the clear winner in North-Rhine Westphalia with 36.2% of the vote in the elections for mayors and the regional parliament held on Sunday (13 September). Yet, even though state leader and candidate for...

Syriza MEPs have sent a letter of complaint to EU Commission chief Ursula Von der Leyen and EU Parliament President David Sassoli after the executive’s services said in an official written reply that Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia church is… in Cyprus....

Réfugiés en Grèce : « Moria, c'est fini »
Grèce : le camp de Moria ravagé par les flammes
Grèce : le coronavirus à Moria et la crainte d'une crise sanitaire dévastatrice
Grèce : l'enfer du camp de Moria face à la menace du coronavirus
Réfugiés en Grèce : la tension reste maximale dans les îles

/ Courrier des Balkans, Migrants Balkans, Grèce, Populations, minorités et migrations

The controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline project has already cost Europe too much, and the stakes for the EU’s security, credibility and independence are growing year by year, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Sunday (13 September), appealing to...

Egész Pozsony megyében – a főváros valamennyi városrészében, valamint a Malackai-, a Szenci- és a Bazini járásban is – szigorított járványellenes intézkedések léptek életbe hétfőn reggel 6:00 órától.

Németországnak a Navalnij-ügyben tett intézkedései a 2018-ban kipattant Szkripal-ügyre és Délkelet-Ukrajna felett lelőtt malajziai utasszállító esetére emlékeztetnek – jelentette ki Szergej Lavrov orosz külügyminiszter.

Lavrov kifogásolta, hogy a német kormányszóvivő azzal indokolta meg Berlin passzivitását az orosz főügyészség jogsegély-kérelmével kapcsolatban, hogy az a független német igazságszolgáltatáshoz érkezett meg, ám ezzel párhuzamosan nyomozást követelt Moszkvától a Navalnij-ügyben. Mint mondta, ez őt korábbi “precedensekre” emlékezteti. Felidézte, hogy a Szergej Szkripal átállt orosz hírszerzőtiszt és lánya ellen Salisburyben elkövetett mérgezés után mindent titkosítottak és Moszkva még támadás az orosz állampolgárságú célpontjairól sem tudott meg semmit. A malajziai utasszállító ukrajnai tragédiájával kapcsolatban nehezményezte, hogy Hollandia többször is az együttműködés megtagadásával vádolta meg Oroszországot, válaszul arra, hogy Moszkva több alkalommal is információigényléssel fordult a holland hatóságokhoz és kinyilvánította együttműködési készségét.

Lavrov alaptalannak nevezte azt a Mike Pompeo amerikai külügyminiszter által megfogalmazott feltételezést, miszerint Navalnij megmérgezését “magas szintű orosz tisztségviselők” rendelhették el. Úgy vélekedett, hogy “az amerikai kollégák” a törvény felett állónak képzelik magukat, ha úgy vélik, hogy a szavuknak hinni kell.

“Amikor Arnold Schwarzenegger mondta azt (a Terminátor 2-ben), hogy Trust me! (Bízz bennem!), nagyobb volt az esélye, hogy megbízzanak benne, mint azoknak, akik a nemzetközi színtéren próbálják meg eljátszani Schwarzeneggert” – fogalmazott Lavrov.

Dmitrij Peszkov, a Kreml szóvivője a Pompeo-nyilatkozattal kapcsolatban “eleve hibásnak és elfogadhatatlannak” nevezte azokat a célozgatásokat, amelyek szerint orosz hivatalos személyeknek közük lehet az általa “berlini betegként” emlegetett Navalnijjal történtekhez, amit a német és több vele szövetséges kormány Novicsok idegméreggel elkövetett támadásként kezel.

A szóvivő “félreértésként” értékelte Giuseppe Conte olasz miniszterelnöknek az Il Foglio című lapnak tett azon kijelentését, miszerint Vlagyimir Putyin azt ígérte neki, hogy bizottságot állít fel az ügy kivizsgálására. Emlékeztetett rá, hogy Oroszországban előzetes vizsgálat indult az ügyben, mert a bűnügyi nyomozáshoz bizonyíték kellene ahhoz, hogy Navalnijt valóban megmérgezték, de az orosz vizsgálatok nem találtak mérget a szervezetében, Berlin pedig nem bocsátja rendelkezésre vizsgálati eredményeit.

Peszkov ismét kifejezte Oroszország készségét a német féllel való együttműködésre. A TASZSZ szerint Putyin és Conte utoljára augusztus 27-én beszélt telefonon egymással.

Peszkov szerint Moszkva érdekelt a történtek okainak feltárásában. Közölte, hogy Moszkva semmilyen hivatalos tájékoztatást nem kapott Navalnij állapotáról. Azzal a bejelentéssel kapcsolatban, hogy Berlin a történtekkel kapcsolatban adatokat adott át a Vegyifegyver-tilalmi Szervezetnek (OPCW), az elnöki szóvivő mondta, hogy Moszkva előnyösebbnek tartaná, ha közvetlenül kapná meg ezt az információt. Mint mondta, Oroszország az OPCW-től sem kapott tájékoztatást.

Alekszandr Sulgin, Oroszország állandó OPCW-képviselője azt mondta, hogy a német anyagok még nem érkeztek meg a szervezethez. A TASZSZ-nak nyilatkozva kijelentette, hogy Moszkva, szigorúan a vegyifegyver-tilalmi egyezmény keretei között, kész a Navalnij körül kialakult helyzet mérlegelésére, ha Berlin ezt fogja kezdeményezni.

(Lavrovnak teljesen igaza van, hiszen mindhárom eset abban valóban hasonlít, hogy a bizonyítékok ellenére az oroszok makacsul tagadják az érintettségüket. A -szerk- megj.)

The post Navalnij-botrány: Lavrov szerint a német magatartás Szkripalék és a maláj utasszállító ügyére emlékeztet appeared first on .

Written by Gisela Grieger,

© Alex_Po / Adobe Stock

Lack of reciprocity in access to the Chinese market and the absence of a level playing field for EU investors in China have posed major challenges for EU-China investment relations in recent years, with the negotiation of a comprehensive agreement on investment (CAI) being considered by the EU a key instrument to remedy this state of play.

The CAI negotiations are aimed at establishing a uniform legal framework for EU-China investment ties by replacing the 25 outdated bilateral investment treaties (BITs) China and EU Member States concluded prior to the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009 when the EU gained competence for most investment issues. The CAI is intended to go far beyond traditional investment protection to also cover market access, investment-related sustainable development, and level playing field issues, such as transparency of subsidies, and rules on state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and forced technology transfer.

Although leaders at the 2019 EU-China Summit jointly committed to concluding the CAI talks in 2020, lack of engagement at the highest political level on the Chinese side has raised doubts as to whether a breakthrough can be reached in time, with China more focused on navigating the uncertainties of its relations with the United States from January 2021.

Comprehensive Agreement on Investment between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the People’s Republic of China, of the other part Committee responsible: International Trade (INTA) Rapporteur: Iuliu Winkler (EPP, Romania)

Read the complete briefing on ‘EU–China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment: Levelling the playing field‘ on the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Dans un partenariat gagnant-gagnant, la Tanzanie et l’Ouganda viennent de signer, ce dimanche, un accord ouvrant la voie à la construction d’un oléoduc de pétrole brut, reliant les champs pétrolifères ougandais au port tanzanien de Tanga, a déclaré un porte-parole du gouvernement tanzanien. Après la découverte de réserves de pétrole, en 2006, l’Ouganda a désormais […]

L’article L’Ouganda et la Tanzanie pour la construction d’un oléoduc est apparu en premier sur Afrik.com.

These ELSA maps of Costa Rica show regions that are suitable for protection, management, and restoration in coordination with three different conventions: The Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Maps: Open Street Map and Carto

By Francis Francis Ogwal, Tom Okurut and Carlos Manuel Rodriguez
KAMPALA, Uganda, Sep 14 2020 (IPS)

The year 2020 was considered a “Super Year” for biodiversity. A string of interconnected events offered a unique opportunity to build a global coalition and international policy framework that recognized the central role of nature to all life on Earth.

At the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15), 196 governments were due to agree on targets that will shape action on nature for the next 30 years, while at the UN Climate Conference (COP 25) governments were to have the final opportunity to increase the ambition of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to combat climate change.

As nature conservation could contribute over a third of climate solutions, these negotiations offered a golden opportunity to narrow down the gaps between these multilateral agreements that are critical for the future of the planet.

Instead 2020 has become a year in which nature has shown humanity that we have pushed the planet to its boundaries. UN Environment Programme’s Executive Director Inger Anderson warns that “nature is sending us a message.”

COVID-19, wildfires, locust invasions, and record heat waves show the catastrophic impacts of climate change and biodiversity collapse. And these are only harbingers of what is to come if humanity does not change course.

With both the UN Biodiversity Conference and UN Climate Conference moved to 2021, we have an opportunity to reflect, in a way unthinkable even six months ago, on individual, societal, and political norms of “business as usual”.

We must explore innovations that recognize the fundamental role of nature in everything from corporate bottom lines, to human well-being, to the survival of life on Earth.

What is known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution has brought with it incredible changes in technology that have the potential to transform societies. Approximately 2,200 satellites now circle the earth. Spatial data can produce maps of forest cover and loss, human settlements, city watersheds, and agricultural production.

Geospatial technology on the ground can complement this view, offering a means to map local and Indigenous knowledge of unique ecosystems. This is essential for addressing extinction, ecosystem destruction, and zoonotic diseases such as COVID-19.

Both Costa Rica and Uganda recognize the vast potential of spatial data to support the creation of a transformative post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework for the UN Biodiversity Convention, which also capitalizes on synergies with the UN Climate Convention.

Costa Rica is one of the world’s only country that has managed to reverse deforestation, and is pioneering a bold Decarbonization Plan. Uganda, a leading force for conservation in Africa, is playing a critical role in advancing the UN Biodiversity Convention. It is co-chair for the development of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, playing a critical role in guiding the global community to the international commitments that are widely seen as an essential opportunity for governments to put biodiversity on path to recovery when the Framework is adopted at COP 15.

In partnership with UNDP, the National Geographic Society, University of Northern British Columbia, Global Environment Facility, and The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Costa Rica and Uganda are leading the way, along with additional pilots in Colombia, Kazakhstan, and Peru, to use spatial data to map ‘essential life support areas’ (ELSAs).

These are areas that conserve critical biodiversity and provide humans with food, water, and carbon storage. ELSAs can determine which regions should be prioritized for protection, management, and restoration.

In Costa Rica, UNDP and the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE,), and the Center for High Technology (CENAT) have created an interactive web tool that generates ELSA maps based on the country’s targets for nature, climate change, and sustainable development.

MINAE plans to use ELSA maps to identify areas for inclusion in Costa Rica’s new Payments for Environment Services Programme (PES). This will help identify natural areas critical for carbon sequestration, natural beauty, water and food, and cultural heritage as well as compensating landowners who engage in protection, reforestation, or agroforestry.

MINAE’s National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) will also use ELSA mapping to construct Costa Rica’s restoration, rehabilitation, recovery, reforestation, and regeneration strategy.

In Uganda, led by UNDP and Uganda’s National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), ELSA maps will show where actions to protect, manage, restore, and rehabilitate nature can support rangelands, forest regeneration, riverbank and lakeshore protection, and wetlands restoration.

Uganda’s policymakers are particularly interested in nature-based solutions for livelihoods, climate resilience and disaster risk reduction which is a key priority given the county’s recent disasters of landslides and flooding.

The ELSA approach can guide the development, implementation, and monitoring of progress for the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework in Costa Rica, Uganda, and other countries around the world.

While Target 1 relates to land and seas under spatial planning, ELSA can help to identify actions that capitalize on synergies across proposed Target 2, on protecting and conserving at least 30 percent of the planet; Target 7 on increasing contributions to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and disaster risk reduction from nature-based solutions; and Target 5 on controlling and managing invasive species.

Additional post-2020 Global Biodiversity targets that ELSA can contribute to include Target 9 on supporting the productivity, sustainability and resilience of biodiversity in agricultural and other managed ecosystems and Target 10 on ensuring that nature-based solutions contribute to regulation of air quality and water provision for human well-being.

Mapping essential life support areas will be key to identifying where nature-based solutions should shape commitments to the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. By using ELSA to run scenarios before entering negotiations or setting policy targets, countries can see what is achievable.

COVID-19 may have pushed the establishment of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and the final agreement on NDCs until 2021, but action on biodiversity loss must occur now. To halt the sixth mass extinction, at least 30 percent of the planet needs to be protected by 2030. A daunting task, but Costa Rica, Uganda, and their counterparts are leading the way.

Source: United Nations Development Programme

 

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The post Mapping Nature to Create a Global Biodiversity Framework appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Francis Ogwal, Natural Resources Manager (Biodiversity and Rangelands), National Environment Management Authority, Uganda; Tom Okurut is Executive Director, National Environment Management Authority, Uganda; and Carlos Manuel Rodriguez is Minister of Environment and Energy, Costa Rica

The post Mapping Nature to Create a Global Biodiversity Framework appeared first on Inter Press Service.