The Age of Sustainable Development

by Jeffrey D. Sachs

NEW YORK – A half-century ago, John F. Kennedy observed that, “man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life.” Those words speak to us today with special urgency.

Our generation can indeed end the ancient scourge of extreme poverty. Yet it can also destroy the earth’s life-support system through human-induced environmental devastation.

Read more at http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/jeffrey-d--sachs-proposes-a-new-curriculum-for-a-new-era#xBU49XyjsVRWDsbd.99

DENR e-books on Energy and Enviornment

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Supporting REDD+Safeguards

• This paper briefly describes relevant policy documents that serve as a basis for developing a common approach such as the UNFCCC agreements, guidance provided by three global REDD+-related initiatives as well as relevant strategy papers of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). It also highlights the full spectrum of approaches and activities on REDD+ and especially safeguards implementation.

Seeds of Knowledge: Contributing to Climate Change Solutions

• Presents 24 lessons learned from 17 UN Joint Programmes in the area of environment and climate change, in 17 countries extending from Peru to the Philippines. 

Renewable Energy in the Philippines: Costly or Competitive?

• A GIZ Desk Study on the facts and explanations on the price of renewable energies for electricity production

Key Messages from the Cities and Biodiversity Outlook

by Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity

São Paulo’s Green Belt Biosphere Reserve, established in 1994, helps counteract the urban heat island effect by reducing the ambient temperatures of adjacent areas by up to 10°C.

Key Messages

1. Urbanization is both a challenge and an opportunity to manage ecosystem services globally.
2. Rich biodiversity can exist in cities.
3. Biodiversity and ecosystem services are critical natural capital.
4. Maintaining functioning urban ecosystems can significantly enhance human health and well-being.
5. Urban ecosystem services and biodiversity can help contribute to climate-change mitigation and adaptation.
6. Increasing the biodiversity of urban food systems can enhance food and nutrition security.
7. Ecosystem services must be integrated in urban policy and planning.
8. Successful management of biodiversity and ecosystem services must be based on multi-scale, multi-sectoral, and multi-stakeholder involvement.
9. Cities offer unique opportunities for learning and education about a resilient and sustainable future.
10. Cities have a large potential to generate innovations and governance tools and therefore can—and must— take the lead in sustainable development.

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Incorporating ecosystem services into urban planning

by Stockholm Resilience Centre














Centre researchers have helped to introduce and integrate the concept of ecosystem services (ES) into Stockholm's regional planning.

Ecosystem services are environmental and social services that are produced by ecosystems through intricate interactions between organisms and the environment and that humans benefit from.

Two major reports have been published by the Stockholm County Council addressing ecosystem services. These are Svaga Samband i Stockholmsregionens Gröna Kilar (2012) and "Att planera för ekosystemtjänster i en växande Stockholmsregion" (2013).

Both reports were developed by the Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC) together with its partner the Beijer Institute for Ecological Economics in collaboration with the Office for Regional Growth, Environment and Planning (TMR) at the Stockholm County Council. The reports seek to achieve a shared vision for how the unique assets and strengths of the Stockholm region can best be managed and developed.

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Climate Change and Health Reference Manual

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MESSAGES, iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, vi

BACKGROUND, 1

INTRODUCTION, 5

MODULE 1 SCIENCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE, 7

   Session 1 Key Concepts of Climate Change Variability

   Session 2 Global Climate Trends, Challenges

   Session 3 Philippine Climate Scenario

MODULE 2 THREATS, VULNERABILITIES AND IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE, 36

   Session 1 Sectoral Impacts of Climate Variability and Change

   Session 2 Assessing Threats and Vulnerabilities of Climate Change to Health

   Session 3 Capacity Assessment in Climate-related Health Risks

MODULE 3 CLIMATE CHANGE INITIATIVES AND ADAPTATION STRATEGIES, 115

   Session 1 Climate Change Initiatives for Health

   Session 2 Vulnerability and Adaptation Framework

   Session 3 Capacity Assessment in Climate-related Health Risks

MODULE 4 PLANNING ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH, 127

   Session 1 Local Climate Change and Health Planning BIBLIOGRAPHY, 130

Sanitation and Related Topics

100 issues of the WASHplus Weekly – March 2011 to May 4, 2013

Below are links to the past 100 issues of the WASHplus Weekly on various sanitation and other topics. We welcome suggestions on how to make the Weekly more useful.

2013

May 4: Water & Food Security

Apr 26: Focus on Cookstoves & the Environment

Apr 19: Focus on Handwashing

Apr 12: Focus on Financing WASH Services

Apr 5:  Focus on Urban Sanitation

Mar 29: Focus on Household Air Pollution

Mar 21: Focus on World Water Day 2013

Mar 15: Focus on WASH Sustainability

Mar 8: Focus on Gender Issues

Feb 22: Focus on Sanitation Marketing

Feb 15: Focus on Household Water Treatment & Safe Storage

Feb 8: Focus on Neglected Tropical Diseases

Feb 1: Focus on Cookstove Stacking

Jan 25: Focus on WASH & Maternal Health

Jan 18: Focus on Post-2015 MDG Goals

Jan 11: Focus on WASH and Environmental Conservation

2012

Dec 21: Focus on HAP & the Global Burden of Disease

Dec 14: Focus on Community-Led Total Sanitation

Dec 7: Focus on Water Kiosks

Nov 30: Focus on Fecal Sludge Management

Nov 16: Focus on World Toilet Day 2012

Nov 9: Focus on World Pneumonia Day 2012

Nov 2: Focus on Water Conflicts

Oct 26: Focus on Climate Change

Oct 19: Focus on Waste Pickers

Oct 12: Focus on Global Handwashing Day 2012

Oct 5: Focus on Water Technologies

Sept 28: Focus on WASH & Household Energy Entrepreneurs

Sept 14: Focus on Household Water Treatment & Safe Storage

Sept 7: Focus on WASH & Child Survival

Aug 31: Focus on Biogas for Cookstoves

Aug 24: Focus on Multiple-Use Water Services

Aug 17: Focus on WASH & Food Security

Aug 10: Focus on Cholera Prevention & Control

Aug 3: Focus on Menstrual Hygiene Management

July 27: Focus on Marketing Cookstoves

July 20: Focus on HIV/AIDS & WASH

July 13: Focus on Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections

July 6: Focus on Community-Led Total Sanitation

June 29: Focus on WASH in Emergencies

June 8: Focus Public-Private Partnerships

June 1: Focus on WASH-related Diseases

May 25: Focus on WASH & Indoor Air Pollution

May 18: Focus on Water Security

May 11: Focus on Sludge Management

May 4: Focus on Self-Supply

Apr 27: Focus on Cookstove Adoption

Apr 20: Focus on Small-Scale WASH Service Providers

Apr 13: Focus on Hygiene Behavior

Apr 6: Focus on the Informal Sector & Solid Waste Management

Mar 30: Focus on Nanotechnology

Mar 23: Focus on Urban Health

Mar 8: Focus on Gender Issues in WASH and IAP

Mar 2: Focus on Multiple-Use Water Services

Feb 24: Adoption of WASH & IAP Interventions

Feb 17: Focus on Ecological Sanitation

Feb 10: Focus on Neglected Tropical Diseases

Feb 3: Focus on Household Water Treatment & Safe Storage

Jan 27: Focus on Health Impacts of WASH & IAP Interventions

Jan 20: Focus on Community-Led Total Sanitation

Jan 6: Focus on WASH & IAP Technologies

2011

Dec 16: Focus on Financing WASH & IAP Interventions

Dec 9: Focus Water Safety Plans

Dec 2: Focus on Rainwater Harvesting

Nov 18: Focus on World Toilet Day

Nov 11: Focus on Pneumonia Prevention

Nov 4: Focus on Water Point Mapping

Oct 28: Focus on Menstrual Hygiene Management

Oct 21: Focus on Carrying Water

Oct 14: Focus on Climate Change

Oct 7: Focus on Handwashing

Sep 30: Focus on Humanitarian Assistance

Sep 23: Focus on Sanitation Marketing

Sep 9: Focus on Reuse in Sanitation

Sep 2: Focus on WASH for the Disabled

Aug 19: Focus on Sludge Management

Aug 12: Focus on Cholera Prevention & Control

Aug 5: Focus on Indoor Air Quality

July 29: Focus on Prevention of Diarrhea

July 22: Focus on Drinking Water Quality

July 15: Focus on HIV/AIDS & WASH

July 8: Focus on Marketing Approaches

July 1: Focus on Household Water Treatment & Safe Storage

June 24: Focus on Hygiene Behavior

June 17: Focus on Mobile Technologies

June 10: Focus on Monitoring & Evaluation

June 3: Focus on Health Impacts

May 27: Focus on Financing

May 20: Focus on WASH & Urban Issues

May 13: Focus on Community-Led Total Sanitation

May 6: Focus on Gender & WASH

Apr 29: Focus on WASH & IAQ in Schools

Apr 22: Focus on WASH & IAP Integration

Apr 15: Focus on Household Water Treatment & Safe Storage

Apr 8: Focus on Handwashing

Apr 1: Focus on Sanitation

Mar 1: WASHplus Updates

Readings in Sustainable Development

1. Foreword
2. Preface
3. Ecosystems and Ecological Principles
4. General State of the Philippine Ecosystems
5. Introduction to Sustainable Development
6. Philippine Agenda 21
7. Biological Capacity 
8. The Value of EIA 
9. Academe and the Environment 
10. Cleaning Up Manila Bay 
11. Introduction to Ecotourism 
12. Governance of the Electricity Sector: Selected Cases in Renewable Energy 

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