UNCCD and UNEP Welcome the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

 

How to achieve sustainable development for all ?

Land, land and land

 

http://www.unccd.int/en/programmes/RioConventions/RioPlus20/Pages/Land-DegradationNeutralWorld.aspx

 

Nine of the 17 MDGs are based on science and technology

Photo credit: Google

United Nations Environment Programme collaboration in an innovative manner to make environmental science actionable for policy making and civil society

Zimbabwe: ‘Science and Technology Key to Sustainable Growth’

By Tonderai Rutsito

African countries should use science and technology to research on new sources of food, a senior Government official has said. Higher and Tertiary Education Minister Oppah Muchinguri told delegates to the recently ended two-day UNESCO Asia-Africa consultation on sustainability science to support the post-2015 agenda that science is crucial for poverty reduction, clean water and new energy forms to support the Sustainable Development Goals agenda. She added that there was need to turn the country’s knowledge base into practical solutions.

“We are very proud as a nation that the literacy rate is above 90 percent, but that knowledge should be converted to into practice, there is need for increasing scientific literacy, we need to develop a market-oriented curriculum through research of new technologies, African governments, scientists and communities therefore need to look ahead with foresight in order to plan and prepare adequately for emerging development challenges and opportunities,” said Minister Muchinguri.

She added that for sustainable development, policy makers, governments and scientists should join hands in harnessing science and technological innovations.

Read the full article: allAfrica

Pastoralism and the Green Economy

Photo credit: Google

World map showing the traditional pastoralist regions today with the Saami, Mongol, Masai (anthro.palomar.edu)

UNEP, IUCN Report Says Pastoralism Critical to Green Economy Transition

 

 

 

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have published a report concluding that pastoralism-extensive livestock production in rangelands should be treated as a key element in the global transition to a green economy, as it provides “enormous benefits to humanity.”

Pastoralists with cows at a market. Credit: Nena Terrell/USAID – http://www.usaid.gov – http://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/success_story/IMG_1009.JPG

The report, titled ‘Pastoralism and the Green Economy – a Natural Nexus?,’ addresses: the role of pastoralism in protecting natural capital; pastoralism’s resource efficiency and sustainable production in dryland environments; and conditions that enable pastoralism to deliver on its green economy potential. It calls for, inter alia, a global development framework for sustainable pastoralism.

A cattle herder drives his animals in Tanzania. The study linked the spread of pastoralism with the ability to digest milk. – http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/sites/default/files/imagecache/tiny_thumb/news/images/hires/IMG_6342.JPG

Released during the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) 3rd Scientific Conference in Cancun, Mexico, the report finds that sustainable pastoralism on rangeland ecosystems, such as desert grasslands, woodlands and steppes: maintains soil fertility and soil carbon; contributes to water regulation and biodiversity conservation; and provides goods such as high-value food products.

Nomadic pastoralism around the world – en.academic.ru – http://en.academic.ru/pictures/enwiki/78/Nomads_and_Cattle_Tamil_Nadu.JPG

The publication points out that though pastoralism is practiced by up to half a billion people globally, lack of investment has eroded this way of life in many developing countries.

Read the full article: IISD