Natural Sciences
The ‘S’ in UNESCO
Presentation of the Natural Sciences Sector with a focus on climate change, COP 21 and the post-2015 development agenda
Meeting of Members of
National Commissions for UNESCO 196th session of the Executive Board
UNESCO, Paris, 16 April, 2015
Flavia Schlegel
Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences
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UNESCO
Peace and Sustainable Development
Global priorities
Africa
Gender equality
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UNESCO Science for Peace and
Sustainable Development • Natural Sciences Sector (SC) • Intergovernmental Oceanographic
Commission (IOC) • Social and Human Sciences Sector
(SHS)
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Natural Sciences Sector
Policy and Capacity Building
Freshwater
Ecosystems and Biodiversity
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Natural Sciences Networks and Partners
• National Commissions – Field Offices
• Major Partners in the Scientific Community - ICSU, WFEO, IUCN, etc. • Category 2 Centres - Under the Auspices of UNESCO - Nearly 50 Centres in the fields of Water, Science Policy, Biotechnology, Physics, Geosciences, Remote Sensing, Renewable Energy and Engineering
• Major International Science Bodies- IHP, MAB, IGCP, IBSP, IOC
• Category 1 Institutes - Integral Part of the Organization and Programme - UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Delft, Netherlands - Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste,
Italy
• Around 300 Chairs in the Fields of Basic and Engineering Sciences, Ecological and Earth Sciences, Water and Ocean Sciences
• Extensive Network of Scientific Partners in Each Thematic Area
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Policy and Capacity Building
GOSPIN is a global observatory of science, engineering, technology and innovation policies, policy instruments and indicators which provides new and revolutionary tools for knowledge brokers, decision-makers and STI policy experts
Building Institutional and Human Capacities in Science and Engineering through networks
and partnenships
International Basic Sciences Programme Science Education
Engineering Renewable Energy
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Freshwater
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Ecosystems and Biodiversity
Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) Helping Member States achieve a balance between biodiversity conservation and local sustainable development
Specific research focus on: Mountains, Drylands, Tropical forests, Urban systems, Wetlands, Marine, Island and coastal systems
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Multisectoral Initiatives
– UN Secretary-General’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) – World Science Forum (WSF) – World Science Day for Peace and Development (WSDPD) – International Years: 2015 International Year of Light (IYoL) – Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
(IPBES) – Future Earth (FE) – Academy of Science for the Developing World (TWAS)
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2015 – a pivotal year
• Climate Change - COP 21 • Post – 2015 agenda
• 70th anniversary of UNESCO
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Climate Change and COP21
UNESCO is therefore actively supporting Member States in their climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts throughout the Organizations mandates:
Climate Change Education and Public Awareness (Lead: ED, CI)
Climate science and knowledge, including traditional and indigenous knowledge (Lead: SC, IOC, SHS)
UNESCO Sites (World Heritage Sites and Biosphere Reserves) as climate change observatories (Lead: SC, CLT)
Priorities: Africa and gender equality
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Climate Change and COP21
Examples of main events at UNESCO leading up to COP21: Business and Climate Change Summit, 20-21 May 2015
World Oceans Day, 8 June 2015
The International Scientific Conference – Our Future under
Climate Change, 7-10 July 2015
9th UNESCO Youth Forum, 26-28 October 2015 with strong focus on climate change and sustainable development
Complete list of events available at: https://en.unesco.org/themes/cop21
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The Post-2015 Development Agenda
The process:
• Formal negotiations in New York (January through July 2015) • The main elements of the Agenda:
– Declaration – SDGs, targets and indicators (the latter to be proposed by the
Statistical Commission only in March 2016)
– Means of Implementation (and relevance of the Financing for development Conference in Addis Ababa next July)
– “Accountability Frameworks” (monitoring & evaluation)
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The Post-2015 Development Agenda
UNESCO’s Objectives
1. Science in the Preamble of the Outcome Document 1. Keep the science-related SDGs 1. Formal mandate for monitoring and assessments
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Challenges for the Future
Defining the role of UNESCO science in the post-2015
development agenda Increasing focus in programmes Developing a foresight function Human and financial resources Making the most of the Field network and increasing
collaboration with the National Commissions to have greater impact in Member States
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Science in the National Commissions
• Examples of activites in all regions
• Proposals for increased cooperation
• Your questions and remarks
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Thank You Merci
Muchas gracias Спасибо شكرا 謝謝
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