MED Info est le bulletin électronique de MED Forum, Réseau d'ONG de la Méditerranée pour l'Environnement et le Développement durable

Les éditeurs et les sponsors ne se responsabilisent pas des contenus des articles signés. Les auteurs sont les responsables des opinions exprimées.

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Web site: www.medforum.org

1. MED Forum News

Athènes-Grèce. Zappeion Megaron.

"Desertification: It is urgent to undertake initiatives" c'était le slogan de la Journée Mondiale de lutte contre la Désertification, organizée le dimanche 17 Juin 2001 par le Ministère de l'Agriculture de Grèce. La Grèce a voulu à travers son Comité National de Lutte contre la Désertification de célébrer cette journée en présence de plusieurs acteurs de la Grèce et du pourtour Méditerranéen. (Ont participé plus de 200 persones provenant des secteurs concernés). Mr. Anomeritis, Ministre de l'Agriculture de Grèce, a signalé l'importance de l'Eau en tant que dénominateur commun des aspects de Désertification et de sécheresse, et il a addressé un discours sur la décentralisation de la mitigation et de la lutte contre la dégradation du sol, en proposant d e soputenir des projets petits et moyens dans le domaine de l'irrigation, de l'agriculture, des paysages (restoration et valorisation des techniques traditionnels...), et des ecosystèmes de montagnes...

Quant à Mr. Diallo, Secrétaire Exécutif de la Convention UNCCD, la coopération dans le domaine de lutte contre la désertification est devenue un investissement reconnu de développement et de lutte contre la pauvreté (...) "If you don't go to them (The problems or affected areas...they will come to you". (Si vous n'allez pas chez eux (les aires affectées on les problemes de desertification...ils arrivent chez vous.). Donc le message de Mr. Diallo serait interprété sous l'aspect de coordination entre les Annexes de la UNCCD se trouvant autour de la Méditerranée (I,III et IV).

Le Comité National Grec de lutte contre la Désertification a aussi intervenu en annonçant que la Grèce aura à héberger la présidence del'Annexe IV de la UNCCD et les engagements pris par la Grèce quant au Programme d'Action National et les préparations de la COP 5.

Pour plus d'information: Abbas Zahreddine.

1. Other News

On the occasion of International Day to Combat Desertification, held every 17 June, Kofi Annan, secretary general of the United Nations, claimed that drought and desertification "are threatening the lives of over 1,000 million people in 110 countries". According to Annan, in the course of 2000, "in the east of Africa, hundreds of thousands of people had to leave their land when drought destroyed their harvests, fires in America and in southern Europe devastated millions of hectares of forest and vast sandstorms destroyed large areas of north-east Africa".

The FAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation) has alerted that one of the main causes of desertification (which, according to this body, "seriously" affects "over 100 countries with a surface area of 3,600 hectares"), is the "constantly increasing pressure being exerted on the land as a result of population growth and poverty, which is often aggravated by continuous drought".

For its part, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has published the GEO 2000 report which also underlines that "desertification affects 40% of the surface of the earth, with negative consequences for a sixth of the world's population - 1,000 million people".

The International Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) was passed in 1994 and brought into effect in November 1997. Although over 180 countries have ratified this Convention to date, very few have implemented programmes and policies to combat this serious problem. According to Kofi Annan, the mobilisation of the necessary financial resources to combat drought and desertification "continues to present a major obstacle for many developing countries".

Source: Press dossier

• 2003, International Year of Freshwater

The United Nations have declared the year 2003 International Year of Freshwater, urging all member states to join in and promote schemes at local, regional, national and international level to raise public awareness about the importance of freshwater. Some of the areas of work to be dealt with will be the integrated management and development of water resources and their valuation; the protection of water resources, water quality and aquatic ecosystems; drinking water supplies and drainage; water and sustainable urban development, and water for sustained food production.

Source: Ambientum daily news bulletin (Spain). 7 / 06 / 01

• The European Council proposes that by the year 2010, 22% of electricity should be provided by renewable energy sources.

At the meeting of the Council of Europe held in Gothenburg (Sweden) on 15 and 16 June, the fifteen Heads of State and Government of the European Union (EU) agreed to introduce a strategy of sustainable development into different fields of action. One of the main objectives of the agreement anticipates, by the year 2010, 22% of electricity in the EU being produced by renewable energy sources.

Each member country of the EU should define its own national strategies for sustainable development and, by January 2002 (before the meeting on sustainable development), the Commission must present how the EU is to contribute to global sustainable development. The new strategy will be based in four fields: climate, transport, public health and natural resources.

As regards climate change, the Fifteen will have to show what progress has been made in relation to the Kyoto Protocol before the year 2005. According to statements by the presidency, "the EU and its member states are determined to fulfil the commitments taken on under this Protocol" and sign it on the foreseen date, in the year 2002.

Source: IntecUrbe Digital bulletin (Spain). 18 / 06 / 01

• Some figures to remember:
• 1,200 million people in developing countries do not have access to drinking water. Twice this figure have no sanitary installations.
• 3,400 million people, mainly children, die every year from water-related illnesses.
• 50% of the planet's wetlands have been destroyed as a result of the deterioration of the environment.
• 20% of the world's freshwater fish are threatened or in the process of disappearance.
• Only 0.26% of the world's freshwater is to be found in lakes, deposits and river basins.
• It is calculated that between 1995 and 2025, humankind's demand for freshwater will increase by 10%.

Source: UNESCO sources, No. 133 - April 2001. Monthly magazine published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Paris - France).

1. Publications

UNESCO develops, maintains and disseminates two interrelated software packages for database management (CDS/ISIS) and data mining/statistical analysis (IDAMS). Both software are available on the "UNESCO Information Processing Tools" CD-Rom, distributed on a non-commercial basis, only to agreed distributors and Institutions upon request. CDS/ISIS and IDAMS are also individually distributed either directly from UNESCO Headquarters, or through a network of distributors at national, regional and specialized level.

CDS/ISIS is a generalized Information Storage and Retrieval system. The Windows version may run on a single computer or in a local area network.

IDAMS is a software package for numerical information processing and statistical analysis. It provides a complete set of data manipulation and validation facilities and a wide range of classical and advanced statistical techniques, including interactive construction of multidimensional tables, graphical exploration of data and time series analysis. WinIDAMS release 1.0 for 32-bit Windows operating system may run on a stand-alone computer as well as in a local area network.

IDIS is a tool for direct data exchange between CDS/ISIS and IDAMS.

Knowledge and training in the use of information processing tools is as important as the tools themselves. At present, UNESCO offers various forms of traditional training in the use of CDS/ISIS and IDAMS. The production of a computerized tutorial available both on stand-alone PC configurations and in virtual courses through Internet is foreseen in the next biennium.

Climate Change- http://www.earthsummit2002.org/es/issues/Climate%20change/climate_change_and_energy.htm

 About Earth Summit 2002 - http://www.earthsummit2002.org/es/2002/Es2002.PDF

 Sustainable Finance - http://www.earthsummit2002.org/es/issues/susfin/susfin.htm

 Freshwater - http://www.earthsummit2002.org/es/issues/Freshwater/freshwater.htm

 The Rio Conventions - http://www.earthsummit2002.org/es/issues/Conventions/rio_conventions.htm

The order form for the second edition of the book on Earth Summit 2002 with chapters on freshwater and climate and energy can be found at Earth Summit 2002 - A New Deal - UNED Forum Publication - http://www.earthsummit2002.org/es/Press%20Release/pb1.htm

And the Habitat II Series:

• Cities as Symbols of Hope: The Habitat and Istanbul+5 Process - http://www.earthsummit2002.org/es/life/Habitat.pdf
• A World of Difference? The Earth Summit 2002 process - http://www.earthsummit2002.org/es/life/2002.pdf
• Investing in the Future: Financing for Development Process - http://www.earthsummit2002.org/es/life/Finance.pdf
• Making Women Count: The Beijing Process - http://www.earthsummit2002.org/es/life/Beijing.pdf
• Promoting Development with a Human Face: The Social Summit Process - http://www.earthsummit2002.org/es/life/Copenhagen.pdf
• Whose Decision it is Anyway? Decision-making Processes at the national & international Level - http://www.earthsummit2002.org/es/life/Decision-making.pdf
• Promoting Involvement in the Search for Sustainability - We are all Stakeholders Now - http://www.earthsummit2002.org/es/life/participation.pdf

More info at : www.earthsummit2002.org

• On Line Teachers Tools on Sustainable Development

http://www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/

Overview

Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future is a multimedia teacher education programme published by UNESCO. It contains 25 professional development modules for teachers, teacher educators and student teachers as well as curriculum developers, education policy makers, and authors of educational materials. It can be used in both pre-service and continuing in-service teacher education, by individuals or by groups.

Each of the 25 modules in Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future takes approximately 4 hours to complete. Each module is divided into 5-6 discrete activities that may be completed individually. Thus, altogether, Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future provides a total of 100 hours of professional development that may be accessed by teachers and other educators whenever and wherever they choose.

UNESCO, and the international community in general, believes that sustainable development is imperative if we are to leave a viable world to our children and grandchildren. To this end, education has a key role to play in helping to address today's problems of poverty, wasteful consumption, environmental degradation, population, violation of human rights, inequity and injustice, and conflict.

Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future is rooted in a new vision of education, which emphasises a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to developing the knowledge and skills needed for a sustainable future as well as changes in values, behaviour, and lifestyles. This vision requires us to reorient education systems, policies and practices in order to empower everyone, young and old, to redress the problems that threaten our future.

There are about 60 million teachers in the world - and each one is an important agent of change. For this reason, innovative teacher education is considered by UNESCO and the international community in general as a priority in promoting education for a sustainable future.

Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future is an activity of UNESCO's programme on Educating for a Sustainable Future. It has been undertaken as task manager for the International Work Programme on Education, Public Awareness and Training for Sustainability of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and in preparation for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Rio + 10) to be held in 2002.

Information on other UNESCO activities in this area may be obtained from:

UNESCO, Educating for a Sustainable Future
7 Place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France
Tel. +33 1 45 68 08 68
Fax: +33 1 45 68 56 35

The objectives of Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future are:

• To develop an appreciation of the scope and purpose of Education for a Sustainable Future.
• To clarify concepts and themes related to sustainable development and how they can be integrated in all subject areas across the school curriculum.
• To enhance skills for integrating issues of sustainability into a range of school subjects and classroom topics.
• To enhance skills for using a wide range of interactive and learner-centred teaching and learning strategies that underpin the knowledge, critical thinking, values and citizenship objectives implicit in reorienting education towards sustainable development.
• To encourage wider awareness of available Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), of the potential of multimedia-based approaches to education and professional development and of the Internet as a rich source of educational materials.