09 June 2016 - 10 June 2016
Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA

Regional Policy Dialogue: Delivering on the Environmental Dimension of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Michael Obersteiner is among various international executive leaders as an International Resource Panel member and a delegate for IIASA at the Regional Policy Dialogue organized by the Department of Environmental Affairs, Republic of South Africa, the International Resource Panel (IRP) and UNEP Regional Office for Africa.

© Alain Lacroix | Dreamstime.com

© Alain Lacroix | Dreamstime.com

The Regional Policy Dialogue provides an opportunity for leading scientists and policy-makers to dialogue and identify critical opportunities and challenges to collaboratively and effectively implement the environmental dimension of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, with a focus on the Africa regional context and through the lens of a systems based approach to natural resource management.

During the various sessions scheduled for the Regional Policy Dialogue, Michael will deliver expertise on a keynote address “decoupling socio-economic development from escalating resource use and environmental degradation” and participate in the 'all-star' IRP panel discussion “Critical Inter-linkages in the Natural Resource Nexus and Comprehensive Policy Responses to Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa” to include input on a session for Sustainable Agricultural Systems on the following day.

 The objectives of the Regional Policy Dialogue are:

  1. To discuss and agree on IRP strategic and operational issues;
  2. To accelerate and approve the development and publication of scientific assessment reports;
  3. To reach out and present findings of IRP reports to regional stakeholders and discuss, through interactive dialogue, key areas of resource management, sustained poverty eradication and sustainable development for African policy makers to consider. 

(c) Jonellelouw | Dreamstime.com

Outcomes of the Regional Policy Dialogue:

 (1)  Awareness and understanding about the impacts and need for the sustainable management of natural resources in poverty eradication and economic development efforts, and policy coherence in the implementation of the SDGs is increased. 

(2)  Awareness and understanding about key challenges, opportunities for harnessing double-dividends of poverty eradication and environmental sustainability, and best-practices in implementation across a selection of key priority sectors for Africa (including agriculture, natural resource management with a focus on the extractives sector, and urbanization and land management) is improved. 

(3)  Areas where further research and analysis is required are identified in order to support innovative and coherent policy responses to the SDGs, and areas for future science-policy interface between the IRP and stakeholders are agreed.

(4)  Areas of additional support at the Regional level post the adoption of the 2030 Development Agenda identified.

 Organized by

Department of Environmental Affairs, Republic of South Africa

https://www.environment.gov.za/

 The International Resource Panel

http://www.unep.org/resourcepanel/

 UNEP Regional Office for Africa

http://web.unep.org/regions/roa

 


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Last edited: 16 June 2016

CONTACT DETAILS

Michael Obersteiner

Principal Research Scholar Exploratory Modeling of Human-natural Systems Research Group - Advancing Systems Analysis Program

CONTACT DETAILS

Cynthia Festin

Program and Project Officer Economic Frontiers Program

PUBLICATIONS

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria
Phone: (+43 2236) 807 0 Fax:(+43 2236) 71 313