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This technical document includes the summary report of the study “Rwanda : From Post-Conflict to Environmentally Sustainable Development”. This publication includes a comprehensive, national-scale post-conflict environmental assessment in Rwanda. It covers 11 themes and provides a critical analysis of the most pressing environmental issues facing Rwanda.

This technical document includes a comprehensive, national-scale post-conflict environmental assessment in Rwanda. It covers 11 themes and provides a critical analysis of the most pressing environmental issues facing Rwanda. The most significant environmental impacts stem from massive population displacement and resettlement, including considerable reductions in the surface area of national parks, forests and wetlands. The loss of environmental data and monitoring capacity are among the conflict’s enduring impacts. The priority areas for intervention identified in the report include: ecosystem conservation and rehabilitation to combat poverty; capacity-building to strengthen environmental governance; and enhance and promote regional environmental cooperation. 

This policy document provides UNESCO’s vision for Rio+20 and gives concrete examples demonstrating the Organization’s work to promote sustainable development. It also provides a roadmap for future action on how to build equitable, inclusive, green societies through education, the sciences, culture and communication and information. The report includes sections on education and culture, sustainable development, biodiversity, climate change, disaster preparedness.

This technical document provides comprehensive statistical data illustrating environmental changes to the planet since the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (Rio Earth Summit), and ahead of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). The report includes a section on climate change. It notes that: 80% of carbon dioxide emissions come from only 19 countries; the amount of carbon dioxide per US$1 GDP has dropped by 23% since 1992, indicating some decoupling of economic growth from resource use; nearly all mountain glaciers around the world are retreating and getting thinner; and sea levels have been rising at an average rate of about 2.5 mm per year since 1992.

This technical document aims to assist senior officials in government administrations and the representatives of other stakeholders, including civil society organizations and the private sector, prepare the forest sector for the challenges and opportunities posed by climate change. It seeks to provide a practical approach to the process of integrating climate change into national forest programmes. It is the outcome of a thorough consultative process with active engagement of countries and experts.

This analytical report presents the Brazilian component of a multi-country research project  identifying skills for green jobs. It aims to characterize the demand for green occupations and skills in the current transition phase of the Brazilian economy as well as signal what are the necessary conditions to supply green skills.

This analytical report presents the Bangladesh component of a multi-country research project  identifying skills for green jobs. The report attempts to identify strategic skills development responses of Bangladesh in the light of environmental degradation, climate change and the global call for greening economies. It finds that climate change has already emerged as a serious challenge to development in general and poverty reduction in particular. However, it notes that the policy priorities for greening the economy remains limited and the related skills development strategy inadequate.

This policy document provides guidelines for all FAO units (headquarters departments and offices, as well as decentralized offices) to undertake environmental impact assessments (EIA) of field projects. It covers: guidance to FAO staff on the application of EIA to field projects; procedures to be used in formulating and screening projects; FAO’s standards for related documenting and reporting formats; roles and responsibilities in conducting EIA to ensure effective implementation. On climate change, the guidelines address both mitigation and adaptation issues, with a focus on identifying practices that could increase vulnerability to climate change. The guidelines establish that the EIA may investigate whether adaptation should be a significant factor in the design of a field project.

This analytical report presents the Australian component of a multi-country research project  identifying skills for green jobs. The report’s principal purpose is to set the scene in terms of the key challenges and priorities for climate change mitigation and adaptation for the Australian economy. The report also focuses on the imminent skills development issues, and the current education and training responses.

This technical document illustrates the environmental elements of a strategy towards the creation of sustainable enterprise by highlighting impacts on employment of different environmental instruments and policies. The focus is on small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which often face particular constraints and challenges in responding to the environmental imperative. The paper aims to help policy makers, practitioners and SMEs themselves to understand better what mainstreaming environmental issues in sustainable enterprises actually means and the benefits that come from doing so.

This issue of the International Journal of Labour Research aims to analyse the “social dimension” of sustainable development. In particular, it features a series of articles that discuss: the impact of climate change and mitigation policies on employment, identify policies likely to facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy and examine how trade unions organize around the issue of climate change and contribute therefore to the creation of a green economy.

This brochure provides an overview of the activities of the SIDS Platform, UNESCO’s house-wide contribution to implementation of the Mauritius Strategy for the further implementation (MSI) of the Barbados Programme of Action (BPoA) for the Sustainable Development of small island developing States (SIDS). Recognizing that climate change may be the most pressing challenge facing SIDS, the document outlines UNESCO’s work on climate change in the following areas: climate science and knowledge; education; diversity and cultural heritage; and the social, human ethical and gender dimensions.

This policy document includes IFAD’s fourth Strategic Framework, covering the period 2011-2015. It presents IFAD’s overarching goal, objectives and areas of thematic focus. It also articulates the principles of engagement that are going to guide operations and how IFAD is going to deliver against the framework. The document highlights climate change as one of a number of new elements in the global environment that must be considered for rural poverty reduction.

This technical document shows that a menu of options is available for scaling up action on the part of national governments and designing a climate regime capable of delivering adequate mitigation action. The paper underlines the central role of the UNFCCC and points to a constellation of actors – multilateral institutions, governments, businesses, states, cities and citizens – whose capacities and specialized focus can contribute to climate governance, emission reductions and adaptation investment.

This technical document examines the influence of the forest products (roundwood, processed wood products and pulp and paper) value chain on atmospheric greenhouse gases. Total greenhouse gas emissions from the forest products value chain are estimated to be 890 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent per year, not counting the sequestration accomplished in the value chain. However, the forest products value chain also accomplishes large net removals of CO2 from the atmosphere, because a portion of the CO2 it removes from the atmosphere is stored as carbon for long periods in forests, products in use and products in landfills.

This technical document covers the 27 members of the EU, as well as Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, illustrating the consequences of today’s policy choices for the future of forests. It notes that in the long term the sequestration capacity limit of the forest will be reached, and the only potential for mitigation will be regular harvesting, to store the carbon in harvested wood products and to avoid emissions by substituting wood for non-renewable materials and energy sources. It also predicts the consequences of a more innovative approach to wood product design, supply and marketing, as well as to forest management; and outlines win-win opportunities in developing the use of harvest residues, recovered wood and landscape care wood from urban and highway trees.

This technical document presents a sustainable grassland management methodology that provides an affordable way to estimate the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions removed from the atmosphere through improved management of grasslands. The methodology, which is based on soil sampling and computer modelling, aims to support the participation of small-scale herders and livestock raisers in carbon markets.

This analytical report explores opportunities for a more sustainable pathway to development and looks for reconciliation between forest and biodiversity conservation and economic progress. It focuses on two pilot sites on the island of Sumatra, namely Tripa swamp and the mountain forests of Batang Toru, both hosting significant orangutan populations. The assessment quantifies the economic trade-offs between unsustainable and sustainable forms of land use, and considers the role of  Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) and broader Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes in achieving balanced conservation and development objectives. Also available in Bahasa.

This analytical report discusses how national governments, particularly those of developing countries, can make effective decisions in a changing climate. According to the report, to build climate resilience, developing country national decision makers are required to integrate climate change risks into planning and policies in various sectors, including agriculture, electricity production, forestry and water management. Based on research and analysis, it focuses on climate change adaptation and decisions by national leaders with a focus on developing countries. It includes case studies from Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Indonesia, Mali, Mongolia, Namibia, Nepal, Rwanda, South Africa and Viet Nam.

This analytical report examines the experiences of 21 developed and developing countries in adjusting their training provision to meet the new demands of a greener economy. It shows that skills development is critical to unlocking the employment potential of green growth, yet skills shortages are becoming an obstacle in realizing this potential. The report recommends that countries devise strategies based on well-informed policy decisions, social dialogue, and coordination among ministries and between employers and training providers.