The Secretary-General, at the World Economic Forum in Davos today, said that climate change is showing us that the old model for economic growth, which was based on an abundance of natural resources, is not just obsolete, but extremely dangerous. Over time, he said, that model is a global suicide pact.

The latest report of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), entitled True Economic Value of Forests, was premised on the notion that a better evaluation of what forests were worth would generate direct benefits for poor forest dwellers, open up new markets and affect global economic growth, correspondents learned today at a Headquarters press conference.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has urged Egyptian authorities to ensure that the police and other security forces scrupulously avoid excessive use of force as the popular movement in that country continues. She adds that people must not be arbitrarily detained simply for protesting or for expressing their political opinions.

While presiding over the Security Council in February, Brazil’s emphasis would be on the relationship between security and development, with the aim of evolving a more comprehensive approach to issues of peace and security, the country’s Permanent Representative said at a Headquarters press conference today as she outline the programme of work for the month.

As the United Nations kicked off the International Year of Forests today at Headquarters, a renowned environmental activist urged Governments and other stakeholders worldwide to take action to protect the planet’s vital forestry resources on which 1.6 billion depended for their livelihood and subsistence.

Speaking to reporters in London today just after meeting with senior British officials, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon again urged restraint by all sides in Egypt. He added that, at this juncture, it is important to ensure that an orderly and peaceful transition takes place and he urged all parties to engage in dialogue without delay.

The opening for signature of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing was an example of what the United Nations was capable of accomplishing when Member States worked together, even when holding different opinions, senior officials from Japan and Colombia said today.

The International Year of Forests was launched at United Nations Headquarters in New York on a day when ice, rain and snow were blanketing the region, yet the point of the observance was to heighten awareness of the value of forests in people’s lives and to galvanize action for forests around the world, correspondents heard today at a press conference highlighting the Forest Film Festival.

Leading environmental activists lauded today the Rwandan Government’s plan to restore all of the steadily recovering Central African nation’s lost forest lands and boost national development as a far-sighted move that should be replicated by other Governments.

In a move hailed as an important first step towards the protection of children in Afghanistan, that country’s Government recently signed a landmark agreement to release children from the national security forces, Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, said today at a Headquarters press conference.