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Climate change - some available publications and other materials (15/11/07)

Greetings everyone:

Here are a few materials that I have gathered over the months on climate change including a CBD publication in the subject that was produced for their International Day for Biological Diversity earlier this year, a useful brief document from Futerra on communications tactics for climate change, a link to the BBC web site for some helpful facts and figures and great graphics on the subject, and finally some further information on the joint CBD/Ramsar poster on climate change.

1. Biodiversity and Climate Change highlights some of the causes of climate change and its impacts on biodiversity, as well as the various links between biodiversity and climate change. In its 48 pages it also presents the major climate change threats that are specific to various ecosystems as well as the opportunities for mitigation and adaptation, covering polar, agricultural, dry and sub-humid lands, forests, inland waters, islands, mountain and marine & coastal ecosystems. Produced by the CBD, the booklet can be downloaded as a PDF file here: http://www.cbd.int/doc/bioday/2007/ibd-2007-booklet-01-en.pdf.

2. Beginning with a wonderful quotation from Mark Twain “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it”, New rules: new game is an easy-to-read 12-page booklet providing a practical guide for action on changing behaviour to stop damaging the climate. It’s intended for businesses, NGOs, government authorities and international agencies undertaking or planning climate change communication and its authors suggest using it to inspire new communications, check the messages and activities of planned communications, and adapt existing communications. Produced by the communications company Futerra, it is available as a PDF file and can be downloaded here: http://www.futerracom.org/downloads/NewRules:NewGame.pdf.

3. The BBC web site is a mine of useful information and, from time to time, they create special areas on the web site to cover topical issues. They have done this for climate change. Start here http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/sci_nat/04/climate_change/html/climate.stm and you will find good sound bites of information as well as longer articles and some great graphics.

4. You may remember some months ago I posted a message on a climate change poster. This was one of the outcomes of a joint Ramsar/CBD expert workshop on Wetlands, Water, Biodiversity, and Climate change in March of this year. The poster summarises the importance and role of wetlands in climate change mitigation and adaptation and is available in PDF format on the Ramsar Web site at http://www.ramsar.org/wn/w.n.climate_change_poster.pdf. What we have available now are the design files for the poster. Should anyone like to translate or personalise the poster, please write to me at hails@ramsar.org and I will send the files on CD.

With best wishes, Sandra Hails, Ramsar Secretariat

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