Union for Mediterranean (UfM) Climate Change Expert Group gathers in Paris

16 May 2016/0 Comments/in News/by WEEC Network

The COP21 triggered special momentum for tackling climate change globally. All the UfM Member States signed the Paris Agreement in New York on 22 April 2016 and they are now preparing for the COP22 in Marrakech in November 2016. As part of this preparation, the French Ministry for Environment, Energy and the Sea, and COP21 Presidency, hosted on 12 May, 2016 the 4^th Union for the Mediterranean Climate Change Expert Group (UfMCCEG) in the Oceanographic Institute of Paris.

More than 50 climate expert representatives from UfM member countries, key international organisations working in the field of climate change such as the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), as well as civil society representatives gathered in Paris. Participants will follow up on the Paris Agreement and on the implementation of actions related to the fields of local authorities, private sector investments and capacity building. A work programme for 2016 aiming at enhancing the Mediterranean climate agenda under a regional umbrella of medium-term strategy was adopted at the end of the meeting.

Keeping the global temperature rise to below 2^oC, the target set by the Paris Agreement, calls for actions that cannot only rely on nationally-determined contributions. A coordinated regional approach on Climate Action is needed to successfully achieve this target in the Mediterranean, one of the most sensitive areas in terms of the impact of climate change.

Call for papers: Journal of Business, Peace and Sustainable Development

28 April 2016/0 Comments/in News/by WEEC Network

Contributions are also invited for BPSD’s Peace Dialogues section. This is the non-peer-reviewed section of BPSD, designed for publishing short essays and thought pieces on the role of business in enhancing peace and sustainable development. In addition to the main section of BPSD, in which academic papers and empirical articles are published, essays in the PD section focus on the practice of business and peace (e.g. tools, examples or case studies) philosophical essay (e.g. new ideas and approaches), as well as on analyses of the role of businesses in contemporary conflicts and current affairs.

centr’ERE -espace RESSOURCES. Directory of journals on EE and ESD

20 April 2016/0 Comments/in News/by WEEC Network

uqam centrere

Espace Recherche provides a variety of theoretical and methodological resources in education related to the Environment and Eco-citizenship.

The directory offers access to a list of core journals in several languages (French, English, Spanish and Portuguese) in Education Related to the Environment (ERE) and Education for Sustainable Development (

ESD). You will find training tools and useful material to support and disseminate research activities and educational thinking.

Here some reviews and articles reviewed by Lucie Sauvée, Director of Centr’ERE, Prof. at the faculty of “Sciences of Education” at UQAM – University of Québec in Montréal.

Special Issue of the JEE: The Politics of Policy in Education for Sustainable Development

13 April 2016/0 Comments/in News/by WEEC Network

Stefan Bengtsson, including a Rejoinder to:

Heila Lotz-Sisitika

Tom Berryman/Lucy Sauve

Edgar Gonzalez-Gaudiano

Bob Jickling

Helen Kopnina

Kelly Teamey/Udi Mandel

With the transition now well underway from the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD, 2006-2015), this SI provides a timely response and critical insights into the continuing challenges confronting local, translocal, international, and global education for ecologically sustainable development activities relevant to policy, curriculum, NGOs, and pedagogy.

The Journal of Environmental Education, Volume 47, Issue 2, April 2, 2016 is available online on Taylor & Francis Online.

The Conclusion is free for download here What next? Post-critical materialisms in environmental education – Phillip G. Payne Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

8th WEEC Gothenburg 2015

4 April 2016/0 Comments/in News/by WEEC Network

Planet and People – How They Can Develop Together?

Gothenburg (Sweden), 29 June/ 2 July 2015

The 8^th World Environment Education Congress (WEEC 2015) was hosted by the Centre for Environment and Sustainability at Chalmers University of Technology and University of Gothenburg.

The Congress themes were 11 and ranged from the digital age to poverty reduction, green cities, climate change adaptation and educational policy development for environment and sustainability.

The 8th WEEC registered 800 delegates of 73 nationalities and youth from different countries. Students from Sweden, Slovakia and Turkey were sent by the Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) – coordinated by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) – to report from the congress.

The Manifesto for Environmental Education in Europe

1 April 2016/0 Comments/in News/by WEEC Network

Support the manifesto for EESD in Europe!

Environmental education towards sustainable development (EESD) is a necessity. There’s a wide acknowledgement about that on several European and International papers. Recently, the Paris Agreement resulting from the CoP21 dedicates its conclusions on the World Wide View global debate, which involved 10,000 people from 76 countries and places education at the first level action against the climate challenge!

The Manifesto “Educate towards environment and sustainable development“, at which contributed more than 150 participants, associations and institutions involved in EESD from different European countries, assumes that the commitments made by Member States, as well as by the European Union, are still not enough significant.

In order to realize an ambitious EESD in Europe, the Manifesto brings together 20 proposals that seek school sector, non-formal education, higher education, the labor sector, professionalism and evaluation of the EESD, and finally, an effective integration of EESD in the heart of European policies.

The Manifesto is destined to MEPs, to the European Commission, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of Regions and all citizens.

To maximize its reach, we invite you to support this Manifesto, through your organization and individually, and to spread it widely into your networks.

Read the Manifesto!

We thank you in advance.

Thank you to the participants of the European Days which have took part in discussions and writing of the Manifesto!

3rd of March: Africa Environment Day and Wangari Maathai Day

3 March 2016/0 Comments/in News/by WEEC Network

The occasion symbolizes challenge and hope for Africa. The aim of the celebrations of this international day is to raise awareness on sustainable environmental management among all stakeholders at national, regional and continental levels, to draw attention to the increasing environmental problems faced by Africa which are being exacerbated by climate change, desertification and demographic changes and to encourage the development of appropriate policies and strategies at national and regional levels and to enhance environmental sustainability. The commemoration of both Wangari Maathai Day and Africa Environment Day remind us the role of women in environment and the importance of empowering women in sustainable natural resource management.

The 3rd of March is the celebration of World Wildlife Day too, Pope Francis’ words in Laudato Si’, remind us that “the earth’s resources are being plundered because of short-sighted approaches to the economy, commerce and production” [LS.32].

Meeting of the Mediterranean Wetlands Committee

22 February 2016/0 Comments/in News/by WEEC Network

Le Ministère français de l’Écologie a accueilli la 12e réunion du Comité des zones humides méditerranéennes qui s’est tenue à Paris du 7 au 10 Février 2016.

La réunion a rassemblé des représentants de gouvernements, des organisations nationales et internationales, et des experts des zones humides de 24 pays méditerranéens pour discuter et adopter le Cadre d’action 2016-2030 intitulé «Les zones humides pour le développement durable dans la région méditerranéenne». Le Cadre d’action a été conçu comme une contribution anticipée pour aider les pays à atteindre certains des Objectifs de Développement Durable approuvés par les Nations Unies en Septembre 2015. Il est prévu qu’en 2030, grâce à un engagement actif des pays de la Méditerranée et de la communauté des donateurs, les zones humides bien gérées apporteront une contribution importante au bien-être des populations de la région et au bon fonctionnement des systèmes naturels.

C’est disponible le lancement officiel du Cadre d’Action 2016-2030 (communiqué de presse & photos) et le discours du Secrétaire Général par intérim de la Convention de Ramsar, clôture du MedWet/Com 12discours du Secrétaire Général par intérim de la Convention de Ramsar, clôture du MedWet/Com 12.

Vous pouvez visiter aussi l’album de photos du MedWet/Com 12

Environmental performance Index Report 2016

16 February 2016/0 Comments/in News/by WEEC Network

The index

The 2016 Environmental Performance Index is a project lead by the Yale University and Columbia University, in collaboration with the Samuel Family Foundation, McCall MacBain Foundation, and the World Economic Forum.

Environmental Health and Ecosystem Vitality are the two main objectives of EPI. The index is constructed through the calculation and aggregation of more than 20 indicators reflecting national-level environmental data. These indicators are combined into nine issue categories that encompass high-priority environmental policy issues including agriculture, air quality, biodiversity and habitat, climate and energy, forests, fisheries, health impacts, water resources, and water and sanitation.

Complete methods, data, and results are available online at www.epi.yale.edu.

Key findings

In the ranking Finland has taken the top spot, followed by Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, and Slovenia. Somalia again takes last place followed, in ascending order, by Eritrea, Madagascar, Niger, and Afghanistan.

Examining trends in environmental performance over the last decade, nearly every country has improved. Particularly countries in SubSaharan Africa have seen the greatest gains, investments in clean water, sanitation, and energy infrastructure are the main contributors to improvements in these nations’ scores.

The world is making progress addressing some environmental issues while others have worsened considerably. The number of people lacking access to clean water has been nearly cut in half from 960 million in 2000 to 550 million today, nations also show strong commitments to habitat protection. Butmore deaths globally occur due to poor air quality than water; 23 percent of countries have no wastewater treatment; 2.4 billion people lack access to sanitation; more than 3.5 billion people live in nations with unsafe air quality; 34 percent of global fish stocks are overexploited or collapsed.

EPI and other environmental indicators

The EPI is not a fully comprehensive picture of national and global environmental issues. But it represents an important signal policymakers, aligning EPI’s indicators with the Sustainable Development Goals provides a baseline for evaluating national performance and shows how far countries are from reaching global targets innovating in key areas.

EPI measures the environmental performance in preservation human health and ecosystem, this not necessarily coincide with the environmental impacts of the countries. A lot of other index can be observed to have a more complete vision of the environmental problematic, as the Planetary Boundaires and Ecological Footprint. Linked to the footprint, the Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year.

Read the report.

World Wetlands Day

1 February 2016/0 Comments/in News/by WEEC Network

Celebrating the World Wetlands Day

On February 2, in more than 80 countries worldwide, we celebrate the World Wetlands Day. The event commemorates the historical adoption of the Ramsar Convention (Iran) on 2 February 1971, that for the first time put the basis for a shared management of wetlands, aimed to their conservation.

Wetlands, which are by definition swamps and marshes, bogs and ponds or dams, are indeed an incredible source of biodiversity. A floristic biodiversity but also of wildlife, composed of species of water birds typical of these environments.

Wetlands also provide extremely important ecosystem services since they perform control functions (pollution, salinity of coastal waters, erosion, nutrient intake), support to agricultural activities as well as being a hub of cultural and touristic interest.

It is now more important than ever, to celebrate this day to raise awareness among citizens and institutions to take care and protect these environments, which are essential for the maintenance of biodiversity and tackling climate change.

#WorldWetlandsDay #WetlandsForOurFuture

Below the cartoon made by MedWet.org to celebrate the day.

Célébration de la Journée mondiale des zones humides

Les moyens d’existence dépendant de la pêche, de la riziculture, des voyages et du tourisme, ainsi que l’approvisionnement en eau : tout cela dépend des zones humides. Et pour nous, les zones humides sont vitales à bien d’autres égards. Elles abritent des formes de vie extrêmement diverses, protègent nos littoraux, agissent comme des éponges naturelles pour absorber les crues des rivières et stockent le dioxyde de carbone pour réguler les changements climatiques.

Malheureusement, les zones humides sont souvent considérées comme des espaces perdus et plus de 64% d’entre elles ont disparu depuis 1900.
Permettre aux populations de vivre décemment et garantir que les zones humides continuent de fournir leurs avantages essentiels ne doivent pas être des objectifs contradictoires! – See more at: http://www.worldwetlandsday.org/fr/#sthash.6e5d24lz.dpuf

#WorldWetlandsDay #WetlandsForOurFuture

Les moyens d’existence dépendant de la pêche, de la riziculture, des voyages et du tourisme, ainsi que l’approvisionnement en eau: tout cela dépend des zones humides. Et pour nous, les zones humides sont vitales à bien d’autres égards. Elles abritent des formes de vie extrêmement diverses, protègent nos littoraux, agissent comme des éponges naturelles pour absorber les crues des rivières et stockent le dioxyde de carbone pour réguler les changements climatiques.

Malheureusement, les zones humides sont souvent considérées comme des espaces perdus et plus de 64% d’entre elles ont disparu depuis 1900. Permettre aux populations de vivre décemment et garantir que les zones humides continuent de fournir leurs avantages essentiels ne doivent pas être des objectifs contradictoires!

#LesZonesHumidesPourNotreAvenir #JMZH

Ci-dessous la bande dessinée faite par MedWet.org pour célébrer cette journée.