At the beginning of October the IUCN World Conservation Congress takes place in Barcelona. This will be a very significant event, with some 10,000 people participating, from all levels of governmental and non-governmental organizations, and from industry and academe. A large delegation from UNEP-WCMC will attend, lead by the Centre's Director, Jon Hutton. While UNEP-WCMC staff will be addressing a wide range of issues at the Congress, key items on our agenda include the launch of the redeveloped World Database on Protected Areas on 6 October, and opportunities for promoting both the 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership and the Conservation Commons - key partnership efforts in which UNEP-WCMC is centrally involved.

Further information on the congress can be found on the IUCN website.

The second meeting of the 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (BIP) was held at the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Montréal, Canada from the 25-26 June 2008. This meeting was crucial for determining the progress of the Partnership, as well as clarifying the expectations for the Partnership over the next two years in the run up to the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 10).

More than 30 participants from major biodiversity-related conventions, initiatives and networks attended the meeting. A variety of subjects were discussed by the numerous Indicator Partners including progress in developing the suite of 2010 BIP indicators and the linkages of indicators between focal areas. Future opportunities were identified for various Partnership products, including the contribution of the 2010 BIP to the 3rd edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-3).

The meeting also focused on the work of the BIP post 2010 and the further development of national and regional linkages. The latter will ensure that biodiversity indicators are widely used in broader policy initiatives and by national governments.

For more information, see the 2010 BIP website: www.twentyten.net.

Silja Halle, communications advisor for the UNEP Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch in Geneva, presented an overview of the Branch's work at UNEP-WCMC on 26 June 2008.

The presentation highlighted the Branch's work in Lebanon and Sudan, and described how the Branch will develop as UNEP's Medium Term Strategies are implemented in the near future.

Presentation Part 1 (2.10MB)
Presentation Part 2 (28.8MB)