Local and Regional Governments Gear Up to Tackle Land Degradation

ICLEI, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India, jointly organised the Local and Regional Governments Day. The event was part of the 14^th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP) to the UNCCD, which took place in Greater Noida, India. The focus area of the conference was land degradation and how it hindered global sustainable development. The event was graced with the presence of Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary, UNCCD, and senior officials from the MoEFCC.

Spotlight on Habitat Degradation in Himachal Pradesh at UNCCD COP14

In a session on Land Degradation, organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at the UNCCD COP14, ICLEI South Asia presented its work on habitat degradation in Himachal Pradesh. The work is being carried out as part of the UNDP-supported 'Undertaking a study to define the extent and intensity of habitat degradation, and prepare a model mitigation plan in alpine and sub-alpine areas in SECURE Himalaya project landscapes of Himachal Pradesh' project. The project work involves approaching the issue of habitat degradation through landscape studies.

Asia-Pacific Countries Deliberate on Boosting Climate Ambition

The Asia LEDS Partnership (ALP) Secretariat, hosted by ICLEI South Asia in partnership with ICLEI South East Asia and ICLEI East Asia, and LEDS Global Partnership (LEDS GP) in association with other partners, organised a parallel session on ‘Raising Ambition in the Energy Sector’, a side event on ‘Clean Mobility and Renewable Energy Integration through Energy Storage’, and a deep-dive session on ‘Energy Transition’ at the Asia-Pacific Climate Week (APCW) 2019 in Bangkok. The APCW also included a ‘Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Dialogue’ that focused on the Asia-Pacific region and the Arab states. The ALP’s work on furthering NDC implementation in the region was also displayed at the exhibition area.

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Siliguri Gets First Automated Organic Waste Compost Plant

The Hon'ble Mayor of Siliguri, Shri Asok Bhattacharya inaugurated an automated organic waste composting plant in the city. This is the first time that such a plant has been established in Siliguri under the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation  supported CapaCITIES project.The Siliguri Municipal Corporation staff will be provided hands-on training for six months in the operation of the plant. The city authorities plan to expand household-level segregated waste collection to the entire city and process entire organic waste in the long run.

GHGPI Holds Workshop on India’s Emission Estimates, State Actions and NDC Progress

GHG Platform India (GHGPI) shared outcomes from their work on India's greenhouse gas (GHG) emission estimates, climate action by states, and contributions of subnational actions toward the achievement of nationally determined contributions (NDC) in a workshop that was held in Delhi. Partners presented key insights from latest GHG emission estimates for India at national and state level, prepared by the GHGPI. Highlights from the policy impact evaluation of Gujarat state and the platform’s work on designing the mitigation component of Madhya Pradesh’s State Action Plan on Climate Change version 2.0 were also shared. The workshop also featured interactive discussions related to the implementation of India’s NDCs and the role states to implement the same and on awareness of climate change among the youth.

Experts Discuss Urban Biodiversity at ASEAN India Workshop

ICLEI South Asia’s work on urban biodiversity was presented at the ASEAN India Workshop on Urban Biodiversity and Application of the City Biodiversity Index in Singapore. Representatives of 20 cities from Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, besides India, including representatives from the National Biodiversity Authority, attended the workshop. Nine Indian cities also shared their learnings on integrating biodiversity in urban planning.

ICLEI South Asia prepares Dehradun’s City Biodiversity Index

ICLEI South Asia has initiated the development of the City Biodiversity Index for Dehradun, Uttarakhand. The project is being carried out in collaboration with Wildlife Institute of India. The City Biodiversity Index, also known as the Singapore Index, serves as a self-assessment tool for cities to benchmark and monitor the progress of their biodiversity conservation efforts against their own individual baselines.

Goa Environment Minister Releases Book on Tradeable Bioresources

The Environment Minister of Goa, Mr. Niesh Cabral released a book on Tradeable Bioresources. ICLEI South Asia has contributed a chapter on value chain analysis in the book. Moreover, at a recent meeting, Mr. Cabral validated the People's Biodiversity Registers (PBR) of Neura village. ICLEI South Asia, as a Technical Support Group to the Goa State Biodiversity Board, is developing PBR in 32 villages.

CDKN Writeshop Discusses Gender-Inclusive Adaptation Planning

A writeshop was conducted under the Climate Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) – Knowledge Accelerator (KA) project at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), London. The aim was to finalise training modules on Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) that would be used for providing regional and national level trainings under the project. Brainstorming sessions were used to fill in knowledge gaps in the draft modules. The regional partners of the project identified the need for relevant information in their focus countries.

Submerging Economies – What Rising Seas and Melting Ice Mean for India

Indian policy makers should consider the issues of ‘submerging economies’ and ‘emerging economies’ by recognising the very significant risks climate change poses to the country’s growth and human development, Geeta Sandal says in response to the IPCC’s "The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate” report.

Solar World Congress 2019

The International Solar Energy Society (ISES) Solar World Congress (SWC) 2019 - Innovation in Transforming Energy Systems and Markets to 100% Renewable Energy will take place from the 4^th to the 7^th of November 2019 in Santiago, Chile.  The Solar Energy Research Centre, Chile, is the official host partner for the SWC 2019. This event will reinforce a long tradition of connecting the research and academic community with decision makers from different government sectors, industry, financiers and practitioners.