Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Africa Water & Sanitation & Hygiene May -June 2017 | Page 27

International Day for Biological Diversity - 22 May The United Nations has proclaimed May 22 The International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues. When first created by the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly in late 1993, 29 December (the date of entry into force of the Convention of Biological Diversity), was designated The International Day for Biological Diversity. In December 2000, the UN General Assembly adopted 22 May as IDB, to commemorate the adoption of the text of the Convention on 22 May 1992 by the Nairobi Final Act of the Conference for the Adoption of the Agreed Text of the Convention on Biological Diversity. This was partly done because it was difficult for many countries to plan and carry out suitable celebrations for the date of 29 December, given the number of holidays that coincide around that time of year. The 2017 theme will be ‘Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism’ World Environment Day 5 June Aquariums, and many other partners in its network of 2,000 organizations, has been promoting World Oceans Day since 2002. World Oceans Day events include a variety of activities and actions, such as special outdoor explorations, beach cleanups, educational and action programs, art contests, film festivals, and sustainable seafood events. The World Oceans Day theme for 2017 is ‘”Our Oceans, Our Future”. 40th WEDC International Conference Date 24 – 28 July, 2017 Location: Loughborough University, UK Theme: Local Action with International Cooperation to Improve and Sustain Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Services Papers should focus on innovations, experience, ideas and learning contributing to further thinking about CLTS and other community-wide behaviour change approaches. We are most interested on papers that focus on: World Environment Day (WED) is observed every year on 5 June to raise global awareness to take positive environmental action to protect nature and the planet Earth. It is run by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “World Environment Day(WED) is the United Nations’ most important day for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment. Since it began in 1974, it has grown to become a global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated in over 100 countries.” • Implementing CLTS at scale • How CLTS programming has ensured equity and inclusion • Challenges to and lessons learnt using CLTS • Ways of linking CLTS to other programming • Using CLTS in different contexts The theme for 2017 is ‘Connecting People to Nature – in the city and on the land, from the poles to the equator’ The theme for World Environment Day 2017, implores us to get outdoors and into nature, to appreciate its beauty and its importance, and to take forward the call to protect the Earth that we share. This year’s theme invites you to think about how we are part of nature and how intimately we depend on it. It challenges us to find fun and exciting ways to experience and cherish this vital relationship. The host country for this year is Canada 27 August – 1 September 2017 World Oceans Day 8 June World Oceans Day is celebrated every June 8. It was celebrated unofficially since its original proposal in 1992 by Canada at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was officially recognized by the United Nations in late 2008. The Ocean Project, working in partnership with the World Ocean Network, Association of Zoos and Building learning into CLTS programmes Contact E-Mail: [email protected] Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone] World Water Week in Stockholm World Water Week in Stockholm is the annual focal point for the global water issues. It is organized by SIWI. In 2017, the World Water Week will address the theme “water and waste – reduce and reuse”. In 2016, over 3,200 individuals and around the world 330 convening organizations from 130 countries participated in the Week. Experts, practitioners, decision makers, business innovators and young professionals from a range of sectors and countries come to Stockholm to network, exchange ideas, foster new thinking and develop solutions to the most pressing water related challenges of today. We Believe water is key to our future prosperity, and that together, we can achieve a water wise world. Contact Ms. Annie Strand Email: [email protected] Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • May - June 2017 27