Environmental issues and sustainable development

UN REPORT HIGHLIGHTS BENEFITS OF CONSERVING EARTH’S CLOUD FORESTS

KUALA LUMPUR/CAMBRIDGE/NAIROBI, 9 February (UNEP) -- The Earth's cloud forests, vital and unique habitats for thousands of rare and endangered species, and suppliers of year-round water supplies for farmers, rural communities and many rapidly growing cities, are under increasing threat from factors, including agriculture, road-building and climate change.

LEAD ADDITIVES FOR GASOLINE, DEADLY PESTICIDE TARGETED FOR TRADE WATCH LIST

(Reissued as received.)

NEW GLOBAL AWARD SUPPORTING ENTREPRENEURS IN ENVIRONMENT, DEVELOPMENT

LAUNCHED IN MUMBAI AND DAVOS

(Reissued as received)

MUMBAI/DAVOS, 21 January (UNEP) -- In India, a network of women slum dwellers is collaborating with United Kingdom engineers and a French water company to improve water delivery in their communities.

BAHAMAS MEETING (26-30 JANUARY) TO DEVELOP COMMON PLATFORM

FOR SMALL ISLAND STATES WORLDWIDE

SOLAR POWER GIFT BRINGS RAY OF SUNSHINE TO INDIA’S RURAL POOR

MANGALORE (India)/ BASEL (Switzerland), 9 January (UNEP) -- Poor families in India are being given a New Year renewable energy lifeline as a result of a donation by one of the world’s leading solar power companies.

WORLD EXPERTS WILL MEET IN NAIROBI TO HELP UNITED NATIONS BOOST CAPABILITIES

IN EARLY WARNING, ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

NAIROBI, 9 January (UNEP) -- Links between global warming and heavy metal pollution, soil microbes and bumper crop yields and the degree to which a degraded environment can trigger political instability are likely to be among the pressing issues facing scientists trying to unravel the fate of planet Earth.

PROTOCOL ON HEAVY METALS ENTERS INTO FORCE, NEW WORK

ON PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS AGREED

(Reissued as received)

GENEVA, 23 December -- The 19 new Parties to the Protocol on Heavy Metals are to celebrate its entry into force next Monday, 29 December.

MILAN CONFERENCE CONCLUDES AS MINISTERS CALL FOR URGENT,

COORDINATED ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

(Reissued as received.)

WEATHER-RELATED NATURAL DISASTERS IN 2003 COST WORLD BILLIONS; UNEP BACKS

EMISSIONS TRADING AS KEY WEAPON AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE

(Reissued as received.)

MILAN/NAIROBI, 10 December (UNEP) -- Natural disasters, the lion's share of which were weather-related catastrophes, cost the world over $60 billion in 2003, up from around $55 billion the year before.

meeting TO showcase importance of PreservING traditional knowledge

of indigenous, local communities

(Reissued as received.)

MONTREAL, 3 December -- On the morning of 8 December, at 9:30, a traditional Mohawk ceremony will signal the opening of a United Nations meeting focusing on the preservation, maintenance and promotion of the traditional knowledge of indigenous and local communities.