First Volume of Public Relations Magazine for Environmental Policy “Japan Environment Quarterly” Published

The first volume of “Japan Environment Quarterly” was published by Ministry of the Environment Goverment of Japan on March 2013. To this volume, GEOC contributed a column titled “Building a Framework of Partnership for a Sustainable Society”. The magazine is available free online to read and download at http://www.env.go.jp/en/focus/jeq/index.html.

International Symposium on Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction

The Ministry of the Environment of Japan and UNU-ISP will organize the international symposium “Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction” in Tokyo on 12 November 2013, in advance of the 1st Asia Parks Congress taking place in Sendai, Japan on 13–17 November.

Symposium for the 40th Anniversary of the World Heritage Convention “World Heritage for Peace and Sustainability”

This symposium aimed to share the context and principles of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, which celebrates its 40th anniversary in November 2012. It provided an opportunity to discuss future cooperation in the safeguarding of world cultural and natural heritage, and in the building of peace and sustainability, with reference to concrete cases in various parts of the world. The symposium featured a keynote speech by Koïchiro Matsuura, former Director-General of UNESCO, a series of presentations on international cooperation for nature conservation and the preservation of cultural properties, and a panel discussion.

Location: United Nations University, Japan
Co-organizers: The University of Tsukuba, Global Environment Outreach Centre (GEOC)
Conference note: http://www.heritage.tsukuba.ac.jp/assets/files/pdf/WHC40eng.pdf

Side Events at Rio+20: “Dialogue on Green Economy for Sustainable and Equitable Future from the perspective of Japanese Civil Society” and “Challenges of Japanese Civil Society: Sustainable Community Development and Massages for SDGs”

UNU-ISP and Rio+20 NGO Forum Japan co-organized two side events at the Japan Pavilion in the occasion of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) . Dialogue on Green Economy for Sustainable and Equitable Future from the perspective of Japanese Civil Society was organized on 15 June 2012 and featured the keynote speech by Dr Rae Kwon Chung, Director of Environment and Development Division, ESCAP, and several presentations by Japanese NGO representatives. The second event entitled “Challenges of Japanese Civil Society: Sustainable Community Development and Massages for SDGs” was organized on 17 June 2012 and served as an opportunity to showcase the examples of sustainable community in Japan and Asia.

Symposium of International Day for Biological Diversity-Living with Bountiful Sea

Since the proclamation of 22 May as the International Day for Biological Diversity (IBD) by the United Nations, many commemorative ceremonies have been held all over the world on this day to increase awareness and understanding of biodiversity issues.

The United Nations University Institute for Sustainability and Peace (UNU-ISP) and the Ministry of the Environment Japan (MOEJ) hosted the Symposium on the International Day for Biological Diversity on the theme for this year, “Marine Biodiversity”, as a part of initiatives lead by UNU-ISP and MOEJ to support the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

Japan has enjoyed and developed with the significant blessings of the surrounding sea. This symposium served as an opportunity to raise awareness of biodiversity among the public and consider about people, ocean and sustainable use of oceanic resources through the presentations and discussions.



Overview
Date: 22 May 2012,
Location: Elizabeth Rose Hall, UNU Headquarters 5F, Tokyo, Japan
Organizer: UNU-ISP, MOEJ
Co-Organizers: Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD), Japan Committee for UNDB, Global Environmental Outreach Centre（GEOC）
Contact: geoc@unu.edu