Planet under pressure: taking stock of scientific data

UNESCO will join with scientists, political leaders, academics, health specialists, representatives of other intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, the private sector and the media, at a conference in London from 26 to 29 March to take stock of the health of the planet. Over the four days, they’ll examine the latest data on key indicators including climate change, declining biodiversity, food security and governance.

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Science

2012-03-23

The “Planet under Pressure Conference” is considered a key event in the lead up to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro (Rio+20, Brazil, 20-22 June, 2012), with participants identifying concrete ways for society to tackle planetary challenges and provide a scientific contribution to the UN Conference.

The Scientific Committee of Planet Under Pressure is co-chaired by Lidia Brito, Director of UNESCO’s Science Policy and Capacity-Building Division, and Mark Stafford Smith, Science Director, of the Climate Adaptation Flagship of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, will address the meeting on the morning of 29 March. Wendy Watson-Wright, Executive Secretary of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, will speak on the Director-General’s behalf at the close of the event.

UNESCO, which is strongly engaged in preparations for Rio+20, has drawn a road map for the Conference. A brochure entitled From Green Economies to Green Societies UNESCO's Roadmap for Rio+20 contains information about UNESCO’s work to promote sustainable development. The Blueprint for Ocean and Coastal Sustainability, an inter-agency set of ten proposals aimed at protecting a key resource for the future of the planet, has also been prepared.

UNESCO, the UN organization in charge of science, has long promoted sustainable development notably through the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the International Hydrological Programme, the International Geoscience Programme and the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme.

The Planet Under Pressure conference is organized by Diversitas, the International Programme of Biodiversity Science, the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change, and the World Climate Research Programme.

Source: UNESCO