The seminar will be held at the Alumni Lounge on the second floor of the Campus Center at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The public is welcome to attend.

Entitled “A New Global Architecture for Sustainable Governance,” Prof. Ivanova’s chapter examines the possibility of an optimal design for the international environmental governance architecture. Relevant to the upcoming climate negotiations at Rio+20, during which environmental governance and the future of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will be key negotiation topics, Prof. Ivanova’s chapter discusses the on-going debate surrounding UNEP: whether it should be transformed into an independent UN Specialized Agency like the World Health Organization, or whether it should be strengthened in its current capacity as a subsidiary of the UN General Assembly.

The lecture will take place at the Tellus Institute’s office on 11 Arlington St, Boston. For those wishing to attend, RSVP by Tuesday, April 24th by emailing Kate Robinson: krobinson@tellus.org. To prepare for the lecture, Prof. Ivanova’s chapter can be found here.

Prof. Bawa is known for his research on population biology in rainforest areas. His breadth of work includes biological discoveries made in Central America, the Western Ghats, and the Himalayas in India. He is also noted for founding, and serving as president, of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) in Bangalore. ATREE is a research institution in the areas of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development which focuses on applied science through research, education and action that influence policy and practice on conservation of nature, management of natural resources, and sustainable development. Its mission is to promote socially just environmental conservation and sustainable development by generating rigorous interdisciplinary knowledge that engages actively with academia, policy makers, practitioners, activists, students and wider public audiences.

Until recently, Prof. Bawa held the Ruffolo Giorgio Fellowship in Sustainability Science and Bullard Fellowship at Harvard University.

The Gunnerus award is the first major international prize for outstanding scientific work that promotes sustainable development globally, and will be awarded every two years starting in 2012. The award is named after the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters founder, Bishop Johan Ernst Gunnerus (1718-1773), and is the result of a collaboration between the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters, Sparebank1, SMN, and the society Technoport. The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters has been responsible for the international launch and the selection of the winner. The selection took place after a jury process in which five internationally prominent researchers considered a number of nominees from around the world.

The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2010, and is among the oldest academies worldwide. Bishop Johan Ernst Gunnerus legacy is still very much felt in Trondheim today, the city from which he led the Society. For more information on the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters click here

Technoport is dedicated to promoting the development of smart technology as a tool in the transition to a greener economy. It will host the biannual Technoport Conference 2012, a conference that marks the kick-off of a new scientific approach and a shared knowledge platform where dialogue is the catalyst for change. For more information click here.

Watch Professor Philos Kristian Fossheim, President of The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters, announce the Gunnerus Sustainability Award Competition  here.

Leading up to Stockhold+40, the Swedish government is providing daily blog posts with interviews from key participants, perspectives from emerging leaders, and information relevant to the conference. Available on the blog is an interview with Achim Steiner, director of UNEP, where he shares his perspective on the importance of Stockholm 1972 and the progression of global environmental governance.  Also available is an interview with Prof. Johan Rockstrom, Executive Director of Stockholm Resilience Centre, in which he discusses sustainable development and the transition to global sustainability.

In 2009, the Global Environmental Governance Project gathered 80 past, present, and future leaders in global environmental governance at the Global Environmental Governance Forum: Reflecting on the Past, Moving into the Future. The Forum included all five successive UNEP Executive Directors, together for the first time under one roof, in order to discuss the hurdles of environmental governance and the way forward. Participants identified a set of five core functions that need to be performed by the GEG system as a whole: monitoring, assessment, and early warning; policy and norm development; capacity development; enforcement; and coordination.

Additionally, the Forum led to the creation of an international network of emerging leaders in environmental governance and three documentaries about global environmental governance: Quest for Symphony, Way Ahead Not Closed, and Quest for Leadership.

While the sponsors Nike and NASA may seem like unlikely collaborators, the Nike Corporation has proven itself committed to social responsibility, and is looking to improve sustainability and waste disposal in its global supply chain. In this regard, Nike joins NASA in seeking solutions for reducing waste, transforming waste products into products of value, and improving energy efficiency.

Launch: Beyond Waste should peak the interests of those in environmental governance because it represents a clear example of Type II Partnerships (public-private) outlined at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. By building on their common interests and access to resources, Nike and the three U.S. governmental institutions are creating a platform for entrepreneurs and thinkers to expose their innovative ideas and technologies regarding sustainability, ideas that may have stayed muted in an international, state-dominated context.

To read more about the conference, click here.

The Pan African Forum on E-waste, held at the Nairobi headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on March 16th, 2012, was the first of its kind on the continent. It was jointly organized by the Basel Convention and UNEP.

Old mobile phones, fridges, television sets, and computers are among the most common kinds of e-waste, and their quantities are rising fast across Africa. E-waste can release harmful substances into the environment, such as mercury and lead, that damage human health. Rising demand for electronic goods coupled with shipments of old electronic products to Africa means the continent could generate more e-waste than Europe by 2017. A good example is Nigeria, where the widespread use of telephone handsets and imports of cheap electronics have transformed the country into one of Africa’s highest-volume producers of e-waste.

Part of the agreement reached by African governments, the UN, electronic manufacturers, and others in Nairobi underlines the economic potential of e-waste. Old electronics contain valuable materials such as gold, silver, and other rare earth metals. Harvesting these materials from discarded electronics could generate substantial income. For example, one tonne of obsolete mobile phones contains approximately 350 grams of gold, which is worth between $20 – 30 per gram.

Other priorities agreed on in Nairobi were the need to improve the collection and transportation of e-waste and the formalization of the recycling sector. Action in both areas intends to limit risks to the environment and to the health of people working in dump sites. Much of the recycling of e-waste that takes place in Africa today occurs on an informal basis – often on uncontrolled dumpsites or landfills. Hazardous substances can be released during these dismantling and disposal operations.

For more on this story click here.