Since the competition is part of the “Uniting for Climate Action” campaign, online with #Uniting4Climate, that will now feature strongly in the run up to and through the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP23) in Bonn, Germany from November 6th- 16th, we feel it is important to give creatives and VR artists around the world the chance to explore the issues further and to draw upon the information and examples that will be highlighted and debated before and during the conference.   

 

This will allow potential contestants more time to be inspired by the climate debate at hand, the solutions being implemented, and the global show of unity for climate action to prepare their ideas for submission. If you have already sent in your submission, but would like the chance to revise it in the light of this information, we invite you to re-submit your updated VR pitch.

 

 

We look forward to receiving many imaginative and innovative concepts highlighting climate solutions: Uniting for Climate Action – Further Faster Together.

 

 

 

 

​​  See the trailer from Climate Week

 

[video:https://youtu.be/MUqk5bKZ0aI]

A six-week course in partnership with UNITAR kicks off November 13, 2017, features leading global experts on climate change.

 

"National Adaptation Plans: Building Climate Resilience in Agriculture" is the title of the new United Nations’ Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). The course is timed to launch in parallel with the upcoming climate talks in Bonn, Germany, more formally known as the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP23). During the course, participants will have the chance to engage with global experts on climate change, and explore best practices, country examples and new approaches for building climate resilience in an interactive video-based format.

 

“This intensive course aims to equip participants with a better understanding of the interlinkages between climate change, agriculture, food security and the role of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs),” said Pradeep Kurukulasuriya, Head of Climate Change Adaptation, UNDP. “The course is an important learning opportunity for climate change practitioners, academics, students and government representatives interested in increasing their knowledge on what it means to incorporate climate change risks into planning and budgeting processes involving the agriculture sector.”

 

The course will allow participants to delve deeper into the importance of adequate adaptation planning, and to acquire tools to identify and prioritize adaptation options in agriculture sectors, ensure effective coordination and governance for climate change adaptation actions, and explore mechanisms for funding and safeguarding livelihoods.

 

“The MOOC also seeks to raise awareness in addressing key issues of the agricultural sectors in the formulation and implementation of NAPs,’’ said Martin Frick, Director, Climate and Environment Division. “Climate change is considered a significant ‘hunger-risk multiplier," and in many regions, food security is already being adversely affected by the climate change. “For this reason, FAO and UNDP jointly are working to create the transformative change we need to reach the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda.”

 

 

The MOOC is part of a work-programme of the Integrating Agriculture in National Adaptation Plans (NAP-Ag) Programme, a joint effort led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to support countries to integrate and address climate change concerns as they affect agricultural sector-based livelihoods in national and sectoral planning and budgeting processes.

 

By the end of the MOOC, participants will be able to effectively discuss the links between climate change, agriculture and sustainable development, and the role of international agreements – including the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement – in the formulation and implementation of the National Adaptation Plans process.

Register today at napmooc.uncclearn.org   

    

 

  Week 1: Introduction to climate change adaptation, agriculture and food security

  Week 2: International Frameworks and National Adaptation Planning

  Week 3: Identifying and assessing climate change impacts and risks

  Week 4: Identifying and prioritizing climate adaptation options

  Week 5: Governance, coordination and finance

  Week 6: Communications, monitoring and evaluation

 

No prior knowledge is required to join the course. Upon completion of all required activities, participants will receive a certificate from FAO, UNDP and UNITAR.  To register the MOOC, please visit: napmooc.uncclearn.org. 

 

The MOOC was developed in partnership with FAO, UNDP and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). This course was made possible by the generous funding of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) through its International Climate Initiative (IKI).

 

Connect4Climate is so excited that Green Shanghai, NYU Shanghai’s environmental organization, is organizing a photography competition called Green Shanghai’s Connect4Climate Competition.

 

Participants will share their photographs of the climate around them and a 150 words description of their photograph by email, Instagram or WeChat. The Chinese-based photography studio MOOI will choose the winning photographs, which will be announced on October 23rd.

 

 

The winners’ photographs will be featured on Connect4Climate social media. 

Wildlife Works Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project located in Kenya won Best Offsetting Project in Environmental Finance’s 8th annual Voluntary Carbon Market Rankings. The ranking is produced by polling the voluntary carbon market as to who are the most highly regarded players across numerous categories.

 

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) is a UN climate change mitigation strategy, included in the Paris Climate Agreement. REDD+ is the fastest, most effective and lowest cost initiative that can be done right now to protect forests and combat climate change.

 

Through a voluntary agreement with local landowners and a community of more than 100,000 people, the Wildlife Works “Kasigau” project avoids the annual release of 1.5M tonnes of CO2 emissions and generates funding for sustainable development in one of the world’s most impoverished communities. Providing access to water, improved food security, education and healthcare are among key project initiatives. 

 

“Wildlife Works is very proud of this award, as we believe it validates our belief that the key to a successful REDD+ project is what happens on the ground, in the landscape, every day, where decisions about the future of forest lands are being made day in, day out, as the community works hand in hand with our teams to meet their sustainable development needs” said Mike Korchinsky, founder and president of Wildlife Works.

 

Korchinsky went on to say, “As the market for carbon offsets becomes increasingly sophisticated, investors and buyers taking action to fight climate change are more and more aware that high social and biodiversity impact alongside the carbon emission reductions is what makes a project really valuable”.

 

With job creation as a core conservation strategy, the Kasigau project protects an essential wildlife migration corridor that provides safe haven to thousands of elephants and dozens of other species of threatened wildlife. The project contributes to eleven of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

 

As the carbon market's landmark forest conservation project, Wildlife Works Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project has been responsible for many innovations, from being the first avoided deforestation project to achieve verification under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), to being selected by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which issued a first of its kind $152 million Forest Conservation Bond in October 2016 to support the project.

 

“Our community partners have been with us every step of the way and deserve all the credit for this award, having made the brave decision to forego short term gain from destructive use of their forest, in favor of long term sustainability for their communities” said Korchinsky.

 

 

Africa’s unique natural assets — its iconic wildlife, snow-capped mountains, waterfalls, rapids, majestic forests, unique bird populations, pristine beaches and coral reefs—represent tremendous value. Wonders of nature such as Mt Kilimanjaro, Mt Kenya, and the Victoria Falls, as well as Zanzibar’s Stone Town and its beautiful beaches, and the wildebeest migration between the Masai Mara and Serengeti, are some of the world’s best-known tourist attractions.

 

Indeed, tourism, primarily nature-based in East and Southern Africa, significantly contributes to GDP, jobs, and livelihoods. The World Travel and Tourism Council says that in 2016 the total contribution of travel and tourism was 7.8 percent of GDP and 6. percent of total employment, including its wider effects from investment, supply chain, and income.

 

In some countries, this contribution is significantly higher. In Namibia, 19 percent of all employment is directly or indirectly linked to tourism. In Tanzania, tourism is the largest foreign exchange earner, competing with gold. Importantly, the spillover effects of tourism throughout the economy can be significant. There is also a strong gender dimension: half of the world’s hotel and restaurant employees are women.

 

Tourism has been growing faster in emerging and developing regions than in the rest of the world, especially in countries proactively supporting tourism, according to the UN’s World Tourism Organization. Africa is at the forefront of this trend, with the role and value of nature-based tourism likely to increase even more than the global average because of the scarcity of unique wildlife and natural assets.

 

Nowhere else in the world can tourists experience the same thrill of encounter with wild animals. They can go gorilla trekking in Rwanda, walk with cheetahs in Zambia, observe lions resting in trees in Uganda, or lounge on the pristine beaches of Mozambique’s Maputo Special Reserve while watching wildlife. For this experience, tourists have been willing to pay a premium, and some African countries have been able to corner a high paying niche of the tourism market.  

 

What is needed for Africa to use its huge potential for capitalizing on its natural assets in a sustainable manner?

 

First and foremost, this requires strong protection and the sustainable management of these assets. Threats such as the rampant poaching of wildlife, the clearcutting of forests, and the pollution of beaches should not only be a concern for environmentalists, but for ministers of finance, planning, and tourism. They should also worry the private sector and local communities, as this sort of damage can deprive them of opportunity. Understanding the value of natural assets and the potential revenues they can generate can help mobilize broad support for protection and conservation efforts.

 

Investing in protecting a country’s natural assets is equally important for the local and global good.

 

 

The World Bank has been protecting biodiversity for decades, in the past ten years through a portfolio of projects worth US$2bn globally, leveraging additional resources. But an urgent response is needed to help people protect against large-scale poaching and illegal wildlife trade.

 

Many countries have introduced anti-poaching programs and stepped up efforts to curb international networks dealing in the illegal trade of wildlife products, particularly ivory and rhino horn. The World Bank-led, Global Environment Facility-supported, and partnerships such as the International Consortium on Combatting Wildlife Crime, have brought together CITES, UNODC, the Interpol, and the World Customs Organization to help.

 

Devising sustainable tourism strategies, targets, and plans also helps. Policymakers need to understand that increasing the number of tourists is not always the best target. Other considerations are important, too, such as an ecosystems’ carrying capacity and the need to maintain a unique tourist experience; these attract low impact, high value tourism, especially in areas with unique assets. Revenue per tourist rather than the number of tourists should be used as the benchmark for success. The country’s image should be built, promoted and linked to this vision.

 

The local economy and local communities need to share the benefits from tourism. There are many opportunities for this, including sourcing supplies and labor, which can be supported by targeted training and capacity building to increase local value addition. My visit to a Bank-supported small training facility in Botswana, one where youth are trained in tourism, showed an uplifting example of what can be done with limited resources. More systematic vocational training can do much more.

 

Local conservancies have also evolved in countries from Namibia to Kenya to provide sustainable models of community involvement in conservation and tourism. Beyond this, tourism revenue needs to be managed in a transparent and equitable manner to generate broad, local support.      

 

The regulatory environment for businesses to start up and operate needs to be simple and accommodating. Overly comprehensive regulations too often inhibit and discriminate against local business development. Policy reforms can improve the business climate and allow local businesses to thrive.   

 

Investment in services (health, finance, hospitality, safety, and visas) and infrastructure (transport, accommodation, safe water and sanitation) are the basic foundations for attracting tourists. The role of public-private partnerships also needs to be strengthened to ensure that scarce public resources are used for the highest priority public goods, as well as to help leverage private investment.

 

Nature-based tourism can offer a bright future for Africa. A step in this direction is the US$150m Tanzania Resilient Natural Resource Management for Tourism and Growth Project, the largest nature-based tourism project in the Bank’s portfolio, to be approved by the Board on, September 28, 2017.