Adapting to climate change ‘happening worldwide’, ensuring equitable digital futures for everyone, tourism leaders call for urgent action to protect the oceans. Here is what you missed from last week’s headlines in the international development sector:
Adapting to climate change ‘happening worldwide’
The impacts of climate change are already “very visible” and “happening worldwide”, the head of the UN weather agency told the start of the 55th Session of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The meeting opened to approve the report of the second IPCC Working Group focusing on impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability to climate change which will be added to the Sixth Assessment Report later this month. The report of the first IPCC Working Group, which focussed on the physical science of climate change, influenced the work of the UN Climate Conference in Glasgow, COP26, last year.
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Petteri Taalas reminded delegates that during COP26, “there was not a single head of State who questioned the scientific facts”, saying the message had got through and “has been heard”.
Over the next two weeks, Governments and scientists collectively will deliver a “sound, tested and robust summary…critically important for policymakers around the world,” he said. “I have no doubt that we will see constructive and collaborative work in the next two weeks as we work across all time zones to deliver this report.”
Ensuring equitable digital futures for everyone
A bold new plan is being launched to support countries and communities to use digital technology as a lever to help drive down inequality, support inclusivity, tackle climate change, and open-up economic opportunities. With its ambitious new Digital Strategy 2022-2025, UNDP aims to get ahead of the ever-evolving digital reality to accelerate work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Digital technologies are driving new ways of working and thinking while opening-up opportunities that we could not have imagined. For instance, it can assist policymakers to better understand how our natural world — such as forests, coral reefs, or glaciers — are changing in real-time and where to take action. Look at UNDP’s Data Futures Platform, for example, it provides policymakers with the latest data and analytics to inform key areas like vaccine inequity.” Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator
UNDP will also engage with global and local businesses and entrepreneurs, academics, researchers, young people, and policymakers to foster collaboration around the responsible and sustainable use of technology. This necessary conversation will feed into the work of the UNDP Accelerator Labs network as it surfaces and scales up local development solutions – many of which are digital.
Anchored in the UN Secretary-General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation and the framework presented in the Our Common Agenda report, the strategy complements the UN’s global efforts to expand access to affordable broadband and enhance the digital capacity of key groups including women and people with disabilities – ultimately creating new opportunities like jobs while boosting human development.
Tourism leaders call for urgent action to protect the oceans
Tourism’s central role in advancing the Blue Economy was highlighted as UNWTO chaired a special session and joined a Heads of State panel at the One Ocean Summit, hosted by the French Presidency.
In a session on “Tourism in the Blue Economy” co-hosted with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and France, high-level representatives stressed how implementing a blue economy can combat the threats of climate change, plastic pollution, and over-exploitation of resources. At the same time, the panel, representing Colombia, Kenya, Seychelles, and Palau, made clear how a stronger focus on sustainability can help deliver more competitive and inclusive tourism activities.
In the opening of this spotlight event on tourism, the Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, said: “Tourism is one of the pillars of the Blue Economy and plays a key role in the preservation of oceans by providing financial incentives and mechanisms to protect ecosystems. But we can, and must, do more. As part of the recovery, tourism shall play a key role in the regeneration of coastal and marine ecosystems for resilience, putting people at the center of our efforts.”
The workshop was moderated by Jorge Laguna-Celis, Head of the One Planet Network, and closed with a call to action from Brune Poirson, Director of Sustainable Development of Accor, for tourism stakeholders to join the collective movement around the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative and the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism.
DevelopmentAid Editorials
Hero Stories | Meesha Brown: “Communication is a tool driving people towards the decision to live better lives.”
A strong empathetic woman committed to changing the world, Meesha Brown believes in the power of storytelling to facilitate and sustain change and has conducted resonance communication campaigns across the world. Meesha, along with her team at PCI Media, engages with the most diverse and complex audiences to open up space for dialogue and action. Communication during COVID, ineffective approaches, the prize for the “#ISurvivedEbola” campaign, radio dramas, and behavioral change – you will find them all in this DevelopmentAid Hero Stories interview. Meet Meesha Brown, the President of PCI Media, the company that uses the power of storytelling and community to bring about social change around the world.
Highest consumer prices in 40 years in U.S. increase risks for emerging economies
Consumer prices in the United States rose 7% in December last year compared to the previous year, this being the highest inflation rate since 1982, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported recently. The trend may have a severe impact on emerging markets that could experience a weakening of their currencies against the US dollar, experts have warned.
DevelopmentAid South Asia journalist elected co-head of key press freedom defendant
The Chairperson of Media Action Nepal (MAN) and special DevelopmentAid journalist in South Asia, Laxman Datt Pant, has been elected to co-lead the Media Freedom Coalition – Consultative Network (MFC-CN), an important global network that defends and promotes media freedom around the world.
The influence of corruption on environmental sustainability in developing states | Experts’ Opinions
The word ‘corruption’ is associated with poverty, ineffective laws and uncertainty. In reality, its undesirable consequences extend beyond this and have a tremendous negative impact on conservation management. Corruption is said to obstruct the implementation of conservation policies, for instance bribery may result in poaching in protected reserves. Moreover, some say it represents a serious challenge to humanity’s struggle to halt climate change. We analyzed this topic more deeply by asking several experts in the field to share their opinions and experiences on this issue.
Here’s what else has happened
EU and UNICEF: The European Union and UNICEF are joining efforts to improve access to justice and support the provision of child protection services for 41,389 children on the move, children victims of violence, abuse, and exploitation, and children in conflict with the law in a three-year programme (2021–2024) covering Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Nigeria.
USAID: At the International Event for the Financing of the Reconstruction of the Southern Peninsula of Haiti, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman announced that USAID will provide an additional $50 million in assistance in Haiti to build resilience, increase food security, and bolster the nutrition status of Haiti’s most vulnerable people through a new 5-year agreement.
WFT: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), along with the Government of Madagascar is providing food, logistics, IT assistance, and an airline to support relief operations in the districts of Mananjary and Manakara badly affected by Cyclone Batsirai that made landfall on 5 February.
Reports
New report finds over half of children feel unsafe at school in Sahel
Relentless attacks and threats against schools in the Central Sahel are driving alarming levels of stress among children in conflict-affected areas, with 53% saying they do not feel safe at school, reveals the Norwegian Refugee Council in a new report. The report finds that conflict is having a heavy psychological impact on children, affecting their behavior and learning capacity. Almost two-thirds (64%) of children reported having little to no hope for their future.
Global trade hits record high of $28.5 trillion in 2021, but likely to be subdued in 2022
UNCTAD’s Global Trade Update published shows that in 2021, world trade in goods remained strong and trade in services finally returned to its pre-COVID-19 levels.
“Overall, the value of global trade reached a record level of $28.5 trillion in 2021,” the report says. That’s an increase of 25% in 2020 and 13% higher compared to 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
Global Displacement Forecast 2022
More than 35 million people will have been displaced from their homes from 2014 to 2023 meaning a doubling in a time span of just ten years in the world’s most displacement-affected countries, according to a new report from the Danish Refugee Council (DRC). But the report also points to how these worrying predictions can be mitigated – with the right attention and action. These are some of the conclusions in DRC’s new Global Displacement Forecast report, which predicts displacement trends in 2022 and 2023.
Events
Global Forum for a Human-centred Recovery
📅 22-24 February 2022
Virtual
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is to host the Global Forum for a Human-centred Recovery from 22-24 February. The virtual Forum aims to increase the level and coherence of the international response to the profound and unequal impact of the COVID-19 crisis on people globally.
How to improve development efforts implementing WASH programs | Webinar
📅 24 February 2022 🕟 4 PM (Brussels)/ 10 AM (Washington DC)
Virtual
DevelopmentAid, in collaboration with Akvo, invites you to join this exclusive webinar to learn more about how a data-centric approach towards WASH programs could improve development efforts. This web session will also focus on the technological innovations capable of strengthening the impact and efficiency of WASH programs.
Key takeaways
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- Learn about the WASH sector, the related challenges, and opportunities
- Gain valuable insights into data transfer and data-driven decision making
- Learn how to design efficient WASH programs
Speakers:
Emeline Béréziat, WASH lead, Akvo Foundation
Host:
Ion Ilasco, External Relations and Events at DevelopmentAid.
Fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly
📅 28 February – 2 March 2022
Hybrid
Hosted by the UN Environment Programme, the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) brings together representatives of the 193 Member States of the UN, businesses, civil society, and other stakeholders to agree on policies to address the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.
