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SD-learning at Rio+20

SD-Learning is a capacity building event consisting of multiple courses on crucial aspects of sustainable development. The courses aim at providing participants with practical knowledge and hands-on training from experts around the world.

Please see the schedule of SD-Learning courses below.

Click on the name of the courses to see full details of each course.

Day 1, Wed 13 June

3:00 - 6:00

Social and environmental protection: the Brazilian experience with the programs Bolsa Familia (Family Allowance), Bolsa Verde (Green Grant) and Brasil Sem Mis�ria (Brazil Without Poverty)
Brazil

Keynote Speaker: H.E. Luis Henrique Paiva Head of Brazil's National Secretariat of Citizenship Income (Senarc/MDS), Ministry of Social Development of Brazil

3:00 - 6:00

Brazil

Cash transfer initiatives, which started back in 1990, have expanded social protection in Brazil. These include state and local programs of school grants. The federal version started in 2001. The Family Allowance program (?Bolsa Familia?) was created in 2004, which unified the main existing programs (School Grants ?Bolsa Escola?, Gas Vouchers ?Vale G�s?, and Food Card ?Cart�o Alimenta��o?) into a single initiative, unifying the entries in the Register of the Federal Government's Social Programs (?Cad�nico?). From an institutional point of view, the unification was based on the strengthening of the three federal levels of Brazil through the division of mandates and the creation of incentive mechanisms, among which the resources transferred by the central government to states and municipalities. This transfer is conducted according to the Index of Decentralised Management-IDM. According to this index, financial resources are transferred to sub-national entities on the basis of their performance in the management of the Register ?Cad�nico? and the monitoring of conditionalities legally established for families benefiting from the programme Family Allowance (Bolsa Fam�lia).

The beginning of the Government of President Dilma Rousseff, in January 2011, was marked by the establishment of the goal to eradicate of extreme poverty in Brazil. Estimates of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), based on the 2010 census data, indicated the existence of 16.2 million people living in extreme poverty, i.e. with family per capita income below 70 Brazilian Real.
To achieve this goal, the Program Brazil Without misery was launched in June 2011. This program is grounded on three axes: income security, productive inclusion and access to services.
Among the actions of productive inclusion in rural areas, the Green Grant provides quarterly transfers 300 Brazilian Real, for families engaged in environmental conservation activities, maintenance of vegetation cover and its sustainable use, in areas such as Units of Conservation and Projects of Settlement.

Day 2, Thu 14 June

10:00 - 1:00

UN System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA)
Australian Bureau of Statistics

3:00 - 6:00

The ?footprint family? and its application
WWF International

Day 3, Fri 15 June

10:00 - 1:00

One Planet Living: a practical framework for achieving sustainable consumption and production
BioRegional Development Group

Day 4, Sat 16 June

10:00 - 1:00

Streams of Law: water legislation and legal reform for IWRM
Cap-Net UNDP

3:00 - 6:00

Putting People First: Building Sustainable Cities with Communities
LEAD International

Day 5, Sun 17 June

10:00 - 1:00

Policy-Making for Renewable Energies
International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)

2:00 - 4:00

From the Ground to the Cloud: New Tools for Sustainable Development
Google Earth Outreach

Keynote Speaker: Senator Eduardo Braga, Senator of Amazonas, Brazil

4:00 - 6:00

mHealth: Mobile Technologies to Improve Health
mHealth Alliance/United Nations Foundation

Day 6, Mon 18 June

10:00 - 1:00

Sustainable management of Natural Resources to support Post-Conflict Peacebuilding
Environmental Law Institute

Keynote Speaker: Ms. Haddijatou Jallow, Head of Sierra Leone�s Environment Protection Agency

3:00 - 6:00

Assessing Sustainable Transport in the context of Green Economy
Partnership on Sustainable Low Carbon Transport

Day 7, Tue 19 June

10:00 - 1:00

Organic Agriculture ? Locally Driven Solutions to Global Priorities
International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM)

Keynote Speaker: Honourable Prime Minister of Bhutan, Lyonchoen Jigmi Yoezer Thinley

3:00 - 6:00

Capacity Development for Environmental Fiscal Reform
Deutsche Gesellschaft f�r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)

Keynote Speaker: Mr. Nitin Desai, Deputy Secretary-General of the Rio Conference and Secretary General of the Johannesburg Summit on Sustainable Development

Day 8, Wed 20 June

4:30 - 7:30

Water harvesting and afforestation as a means to rehabilitate degraded lands
Israel

Day 9, Thu 21 June

10:00 - 1:00

Energy Planning
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Keynote Speaker: Mr. Kandeh K. Yumkella, Director General of UNIDO

3:00 - 6:00

Tools and Methodologies to build Sustainable Cities
United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Joan Clos, Executive Director, UN-Habitat

Day 10, Fri 22 June

10:00 - 1:00

Reducing the Impacts of Disasters on Sustainable Development in SIDS
University Consortium for Small Island States

Keynote Speaker: His Excellency Mr. Rolph A. Payet, Minister for Environment and Energy, Government of Seychelles and Vice Chancellor of University of Seychelles

10:00 - 1:00

University Consortium for Small Island States

Most SIDS are affected profoundly by disasters which can lead to loss of life, destruction of property and erosion of livelihoods. The economic and social impact of disasters in SIDS is among the world?s highest. The events can be devastating, causing loss of life and economic impact of over 100% of GDP. Additionally, the repeated effect of many events over time profoundly affects SIDS ability to develop. SIDS are vulnerable to anthropogenic hazards and predictions indicate that the severity of meteorological hazards will increase due to climate change. With few exceptions, SIDS are located in hazardous locations. The majority of SIDS populations and infrastructure, including the majority of vital civil infrastructure pertaining to health and transportation, are located near the coast or on flood plains. Small size limits the options that island populations have in terms of hazard avoidance or relocation. Significant proportions of SIDS populations are vulnerable to hazards because of poverty or because the country they live in has a small economy or Governance mechanisms that are overwhelmed by relevant events.

Despite frequently occurring hazards and their vulnerability, it is possible to reduce their Disaster Risk in SIDS by reducing exposure or vulnerability for non-anthropogenic hazards. Sound physical and economic planning can reduce disaster risk and save individuals and countries money and protecting lives and livelihoods. The course reviews the options available to SIDS to reduce disaster risk and indicates the needs they have, and reviews examples of actions taken and lessons learned.

This course is given by instructors of the University Consortium of Small Island States (UCSIS). The mission of UCSIS is to enhance the capacity of graduate education institutions in small island states by facilitating the development of the institutional and systemic capacity needed to implement the Barbados Programme of Action (BPoA). The members are The University of Mauritius, The University of Malta, University of Las Palmas de Gran canaria, The University of Seychelles, The University of the South Pacific, The University of the US Virgin Islands and the The University of the West Indies.