On 2 December the biennial meeting of the delegations of 197 signatory countries of of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has started and it will last until 13 December 2024. Italy has been a signatory to the UNCCD since 1994. This year the theme of COP 16 is “Our Land. Our Future” and, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the UNCCD, will represent a key moment in the process of combating desertification, land degradation and drought, marking a renewed global commitment to accelerate investments and actions
The 13th edition of the Italy-China Week of Science, Technology and Innovation begins today (26-28 November – Naples, Venice) to discuss the value of science and technology in tackling the great challenges of our time. The event takes place as part of the Italy-China bilateral scientific and technological cooperation program and is promoted by the Governments of the two countries through the Ministry of University and Research of the Italian Republic and the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic Popular Chinese. The program is coordinated, for Italy, by the Idis-Città della Scienza Foundation in collaboration with the National Research Council.
ISPRA participates in the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), COP29, which is held this year in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 to 22 November 2024. ISPRA experts bring their contribution to the negotiations , offering technical-scientific support to the delegation of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (MASE) on a series of crucial topics in compliance with the commitments of the Paris Agreement and the prerogatives of the Institute which is the theme of Transparency. In particular, the definition of the new reporting for national greenhouse gas inventories, the information to be reported on policies and measures, and the expert review processes of the information transmitted, to be sent by 31 December 2024.
ISPRA is participating at the conference "A change in the water: the fate of seas and oceans under climate and pollution" that will be held in Paris. In this occasion ISPRA will present the project PNRR MER and two exhibitions “ 20,000 nets under the sea ” and “ Carrie, a brave turtle in a changing world ” will be set up. The topics addressed are the impact of plastics and microplastics on the marine environment.
The President of ISPRA, Vice-chair of the Management Board of the EEA, took part today in the 102nd meeting of the Management Board. During the meeting, in the context of the Agency's strategic orientation decisions and in particular in the context of the EEA-Eionet Strategy 2021-2030, he highlighted the need to implement coherent measures to reorganize the Agency's staff and which are reflected in the relevant economic-financial planning documents, in order to achieve the expected strategic objectives.
The event on 22 May which will be held at the European partnership pavilion at the Water World Forum in Bali is dedicated to the presentation of Water4All' s activities. Water4all is the EU's largest partnership for water: it contributes significantly to sustainable water management efforts and supports the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, as well as stepping up efforts to achieve the Green Goals Deal.
Four ISPRA experts participate in the negotiations 15 months after the historic adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF for short) in December 2022 at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), attention is now focused on its actual implementation. Establishing a path towards achieving the 23 goals for 2030 and the four strategic goals for 2050 of the GBF is the only way to achieve the global vision of a world that, as the text of the CBD requires, «lives in harmony with nature" by 2050.
On the occasion of the tenth anniversary (2014-2024) of the activities to promote excellent postgraduate education in Africa carried out by the Africa Centers of Excellence (ACE) will take place in Mauritius from 8 to 10 May 2024, the First Workshop of International Partnerships of African Centers of Excellence.
The Report highlights how urgent it is to implement adaptation actions in cities to make them more resilient to climate dangers such as heat waves, intense rainfall, drought and provides useful indications to administrations committed to combating the impacts of climate change at urban level.
ISPRA continues in the collaboration for the implementation of the London Convention and the 1996 Protocol on the prevention of marine pollution caused by the dumping of wastes and other matter.
The G7 Climate, Energy and Environment ministers met in Turin, in the Royal Palace of Venaria, from 28 to 30 April. At the end of the working sessions they adopted a Joint Declaration which gives a precise follow-up to the objectives agreed at COP 28 and sends a clear message to other countries, in particular the major economies, on the level of commitment needed to adequately respond to the challenge of change climate, in an ambitious and effective way.
The 18th Session of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System in the North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and Connected Seas it will be take place in Paris from 5 to 8 February
The 110th meeting of the Management Board of the European Environment Agency was held today in Copenhagen, attended by the President of ISPRA and SNPA, Stefano Laporta. Among the topics covered and of particular interest, in a moment of political transition at European level, was that of the implementation and involvement of institutional stakeholders and civil society in the Agency's activities. "This strengthening is a fundamental strategic point and must be considered with a horizontal approach with respect to the different issues and challenges where the Agencies are involved." declared ISPRA President Laporta
Slovenia is currently hosting COP23 , the meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and Coasts of the Mediterranean and its Protocols. Present were government officials and accredited representatives of the Contracting Parties (21 Mediterranean coastal countries and the European Union) together with observers and intergovernmental organizations.
CRIC 21, the twenty-first session of the Committee for Review of the Implementation of the Convention, subsidiary body of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), will take place from 13 to 17 November in Samarkand (Uzbekistan). The event will be attended by delegations from 197 countries that have signed the Convention, including Italy which has been a signatory to the UNCCD since 1994, as well as representatives of the private sector and civil society.
The ISPRA responsible of the Area for the conservation and management of flora, vegetation and forests, habitats and soil ecosystems and for the sustainable use of agroforestry resources met in Nairobi (Kenya) with the responsibles of the Institute of "Wangari Maathai" research to evaluate possible areas of international cooperation and strengthening of local capacities on topics of mutual interest: nature protection-restoration, environmental impact assessment, sustainable bioenergy, waste management and environmental communication.
The summary for policy makers of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the highest scientific authority on nature and the tangible and intangible contributions that nature offers to people, was published today. The approval had taken place at the end of the 10th plenary session of the Ipbes by the 141 member countries, including Italy. The drafting of the report involved a hundred scientists from all over the world, required over four years of work and the consultation of over 12,000 bibliographic references
The laboratories were set up at the respective locations of the Zhejiang Ocean University (ZJOU) Haida South Road campus, Lincheng Changzhi Island, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, and at the ISPRA headquarters in Livorno, as part of the Experimental Section for Ecological Risk Assessment in marine-coastal areas of the National Center for environmental characterization and protection of the coastal strip, marine climatology and operational oceanography
The 31st session of the Network of European Agencies for Nature Conservation (ENCA network) opens today in Stirling (Scotland). The topics of the meeting are: land use; the contribution of agencies in the implementation of policies for the conservation of species and habitats; the support of the agencies for the implementation of the global agreement approved at the end of 2022 at the COP15 of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity; the approval of a document of the ENCA network, drawn up also with the contribution of ISPRA, on the concept of "transformative change". This latest report contains a number of illustrative examples for moving towards the transformational shift needed to contrast the loss of the planet's biological integrity.
ISPRA participated, together with the project partners, in the mid-term conference of the European project PanAfGeo-2 , organized in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. The results of the project activities, especially training courses on geosciences for young African geologists, were illustrated to representatives of the European Union, Organization of African Geological Surveys (OAGS), UNESCO and other organizations involved. The opening and closing ceremonies of the conference were attended by the Hon. Pierre Oba, Minister of State and Minister of Mines, Industry and Geology who underlined the importance and positive impact of PanAfGeo-2 on scientific cooperation and the exchange of knowledge between Africa and Europe.
On June 8, a Chinese delegation from the city of Chengdu took visited ISPRA. The delegation led by the Vice Mayor that included managers and officials of the Chengdu municipal administration and the Academy of Environmental Sciences discussed aspects related to drought, climate change and air quality with ISPRA experts. Chengdu city in the Sichuan province in southwest China is one of the most important economic centers in the country and has about 20 million inhabitants.
ISPRA participates on behalf of the Urban Geology Expert Group (UGEG) of EuroGeoSurveys at the Urban Geology Workshop 2023 organized by "Coordinating Committee for Geoscience Programmes in East and Southeast Asia ( CCOP )", the Geological Survey of Korea KIGAM and by Mines and Geoscience Bureau of Philippines , and which is taking place these days in Davao City (Philippines). The workshop entitled "Understanding and Mitigating Subsidence Hazards in Urban Areas" focuses in general on geological hazards in urban areas, with particular reference to problems relating to subsidence.
ISPRA participated from 24 to 26 April in the mission to Ankara, organized by the Civil Protection Department in collaboration with the Italian Embassy in Turkey, aimed at meeting the main Turkish institutions involved in the emergency and post-emergency phases of the seismic sequence of 6 and 7 February that hit Turkey and Syria. The meetings were preparatory to the new mission underway from 7 to 13 May, agreed with AFAD (Turkish Civil Protection), on the places affected by the earthquakes.
The 24 March in the whole of UN 2023 Water Conference it will be held side event organized by FAO in which the work, carried out by ISPRA in the context of an agreement with FAO and with the support of Istat, on the pilot case "Italy" and the disaggregation of the SDG 6.4.2 indicator at the scale of river basin district. SDG 6.4.2 tracks the amount of freshwater withdrawn by all economic activities, relative to the total freshwater renewable resources available (net of environmental water needs). This indicator evaluates the water stress to which water bodies are subjected due to withdrawals.
From 13 to 17 March 2023 in Casablanca, hosted by the Ministry of Transport and Logistics of Morocco, delegates from 24 countries and 2 NGOs met for the 46th meeting of the "Scientific Groups" of the London Convention, 1972 and the 1996 Protocol on the prevention of marine pollution by dumping of wastes and other matters. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) of the United Nations, taking part at the meetings with the Secretariat of the Office for London Convention/Protocol & Ocean Affairs , is the body in charge of the application of these international treaties in countries which, like Italy, have incorporated the rules into their own regulations .
The second UN Conference on Wate r kicks off today in New York, co-organized by the Netherlands and Tajikistan with the United Nations. During the opening ceremony, UN Secretary General Guterres reiterated the risk to resources and ecosystems due to water scarcity. ISPRA is participating with the Italian delegation in the interactive dialogues on the theme of integration between States for the protection of water and ecosystems and for the mitigation of flood and drought risk in a constantly changing and evolving climate.
ISPRA President Stefano Laporta and General Director Maria Siclari attended the 39th plenary meeting of the EPA Network in Brussels. Among the topics addressed, the need to develop cooperation and the arguments of the interest group on sustainable finance and to make it more effective for the stakeholders involved. ISPRA is working on green finance with a task force to help operators understand environmental data.
A week of meetings of scientists and experts from all over the world, called by the United Nations Environment Agency (UNEP) to draw up the seventh edition of the report on the state and prospects of the global environment ( Global Environment Outlook, GEO-7 ).
From 7 to 19 December 2022, governments from around the world will gather to take stock of the health of our ecosystems and agree on a new set of goals to guide global action through 2030 to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.
The 14th Meeting of the Conference of Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (COP14) is held November 5-13 in Wuhan, China, and Geneva, Switzerland. The theme of the COP is Wetlands Action for People and Nature. The Convention has as its objective the international protection of wetlands through their identification and delimitation, the study of the characteristic aspects, in particular of the avifauna, and the implementation of programs that allow the conservation of their habitats, flora and fauna. Currently 172 countries have signed up to the Convention, including all EU member states, and 2,455 Ramsar sites have been designated for a total area of 255,897,678 hectares.
