Omani authorities arrested El-Mamaari two days after the protest and after his return from a meeting with some other members of the Shura Council at the Sahar police station wherein they discussed toxic emissions caused by the facilities in the area.

He was detained for 14 days by the sultunate’s security forces before being referred to the public prosecution, which in turn renewed his imprisonment for another week.

“The Omani authorities’ arrest of Taleb El-Mamaari for his show of solidarity with families in his constituency is a clear encroachment on freedom of opinion and expression,” said ANHRI, “It is a violation of the citizens’ right to participate in the shaping of their country through their elected representatives. Furthermore, it is also considered a violation of Omani laws, which prevent the arrest of a member of the Shura Council before he is stripped of his parliamentary immunity, which is not applicable in El-Mamaari’s case.”

The organization added that the Omani security forces evaded article 58 of the basic law of the state, which states that “except in the case of flagrante delicto [caught redhanded]. No punitive action shall be taken against a member of the Shura Council during the annual session except with the prior permission of the council concerned.”

ANHRI calls on the Omani authorities to release Taleb El-Mamaari, to secure his health and his integrity, and to not legally pursue him.

The Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) received plans from China, Kenya, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Uganda, Tanzania and Viet Nam – identified as primary source, transit and import countries affected by the illegal trade in ivory.

The plans – which contain specific activities in the areas of legislation and regulations, national and international enforcement, outreach and public awareness – were requested by the CITES Standing Committee as a response to the dramatic rise in the number of elephants poached for their ivory.

Data gathered by CITES-led programme known as MIKE, or Monitoring Illegal Killing of Elephants, found that an estimated 17,000 elephants were illegally killed in 2011. Data for 2012 shows the situation did not improve, and actual figures for last year may be much higher.

The illegal killing of large numbers of elephants for their ivory, according to CITES, is increasingly involving organized crime and, in some cases, well-armed rebel militias. Unknown amounts of poached ivory are believed to be exchanged for money, weapons and ammunition to support conflicts in several African countries.

Significant poaching incidents have recently occurred in Cameroon (Bouba N’Djida National Park), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Garamba National Park) and the Central African Republic (Dzanga-Ndoki National Park).

The eight countries that have submitted action plans are requested to take urgent measures to put their plans into practice before July 2014, when the CITES Standing Committee will review their implementation, the Secretariat said in a news release.

“Full implementation of the landmark decisions that CITES member States adopted by consensus last March to combat wildlife crime, together with the complementary decisions taken by the CITES Standing Committee, is key to winning the fight against illegal wildlife trade,” said John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary-General.

He added that the CITES Secretariat will continue to support member States in their efforts and to rally further political and financial support to assist them with on-the-ground implementation.

In July 2014, the Secretariat will provide the Standing Committee with its evaluation of the activities conducted by each country, and recommend potential further measures to intensify efforts in critical areas.

Two additional groups of countries that need to adopt measures in the near future have also been identified. The first group – comprising Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Mozambique and Nigeria – will need to develop and start implementing similar national action plans to combat illegal trade in ivory this year.

Also, the Secretariat will be seeking clarification from Angola, Cambodia, Japan, Laos, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on how they control trade in ivory.

With 176 member States, CITES is one of the world’s most powerful tools for biodiversity conservation, regulating international trade in close to 35,000 species of plants and animals, including their products and derivatives, ensuring their survival in the wild with benefits for the livelihoods of local people and the global environment.

“Energy demand is growing and the global thermostat continues to rise,” he told the fourth Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) meeting in New Delhi in a video message. “More than 1.2 billion people need access to electricity — for dignity and health, for opportunity and prosperity. But we cannot ask future generations to pay the price.”

CEM, a high-level global forum that seeks to share best practices and promote policies and programmes that encourage and facilitate the transition to a global clean energy economy, is a natural ally for the UN in its efforts to advance sustainable energy, Ban said.

He cited the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative that he launched in 2011 with the aim of achieving three inter-linked global targets by 2030: universal access to modern energy services, the doubling of energy efficiency, and the doubling of the share of renewable energy in the world’s energy mix.

“Sustainable Energy for All and the Clean Energy Ministerial have important synergies,” he said. “Both promote public-private collaboration. Both focus on energy efficiency and clean energy. Both call for urgent action. Let us work together to bypass outmoded systems and build the clean energy economies of the future.

“Together we can overcome obstacles, generate investments and develop and spread clean technologies. Together we can support developing countries as they define their own paths toward sustainable energy,” he added, stressing that when everybody has access to sustainable energy, everybody wins.

“It can power economic growth, lift people from poverty, strengthen social equity, protect the environment and help in the fight against climate change. Together we can realize this dream.”

In addition to five “Forest Heroes” from Brazil, Rwanda, Thailand, Turkey and the United States, the UN Forests for People Awards also recognized filmmakers and photographers for their creative efforts to raise awareness about forests and their contributions to people’s lives.

“The winners of these awards are remarkable individuals who have been working to make a difference through community activities, film, or photography. Their stories serve as inspiration to us all,” said Wu Hongo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.

Nearly 600 entries from 68 countries competed for the Awards, which are being presented today at the tenth session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF10) in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Forest Hero Award recognizes people who are working in their own ways to sustain, protect and manage forests, as well as inspire change, such as Rose Mukankomeje.

Ms. Mukankomeje, who lost her parents and siblings during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, has devoted her life to the protection and restoration of forests and has pioneered a unique home-grown solution – Umuganda – which ensures that the growth of forests in Rwanda supports livelihoods and benefits the rural poor.

Hayrettin Karaca, 92, is a successful textile businessman, who became aware of the dangers of environmental degradation as he travelled about his native Turkey. He went on to found TEMA, one of the country’s largest environmental non-governmental organizations.

Preecha Siri from Thailand has helped guide his community into a model ecosystem management village by successfully integrating wet terrace fields, rotational farming, beekeeping, native tea and bamboo farming along with forest conservation.

Environmentalist and political activist Almir Narayamoga Surui was elected chief of his Paiter-Surui tribe in Brazil’s Amazon at the age of 17, and has been fighting to safeguard both his tribe and the rainforest for more than 20 years.

Ariel Lugo, a scientist from Puerto Rico in the US, has published over 470 scientific articles, and has worked to conserve forests and improve communities around the world. His most recent project helps to prevent violence and promote healthy childhood development by encouraging the participation of youth in planting seasonal organic products and native trees.

Jan McAlpine, Director of the UN Forum on Forests Secretariat, said this year’s recipients represent a “truly amazing” group of individuals who have devoted their lives to nurturing communities and forests.

“Through their eyes we see that there are creative pathways to realizing that we are an integral part of forests, and forests are a vital part of us all. Their stories are our shining inspiration and they our heroes.”

The Forum’s Secretariat partnered with the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival to honour “the power of the narrative” and the creative efforts of filmmakers who visually capture what forests mean to people – with short films of five minutes or less.

“Over the years I have seen hundreds of environmental films, most of them made for broadcast television and running 40 to 55 minutes,” said juror William Grant, Chairman Emeritus of the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival. “Watching so many beautifully done short films was a new experience and a pleasure. And to see the work of so many talented young filmmakers from all across the globe was an added delight.”

The winning filmmakers are Rowan Pybus of South Africa (“Amazing Grace”), Paul Rosolie of the US (“An Unseen World”), Elio Alonso Vasquez Miranda of Peru (“Feel Like a Mountain”), Sébastien Pins of Belgium (“Ma Forêt”), and Dan Childs and Nick Werber of the United Kingdom (“Reynaldo”).

Chaim Litewski, Chief of the UN’s Television Section said, “While watching the films, I was transported to a familiar and yet alien world. In my imagination I could feel the smells, sounds, texture, colours and shapes of all living things. In spite of seeing it through a computer screen, I felt that I belonged, it was part of me and I was part of it.”

The winning photographs of the first ever International Forest Photograph Contest – chosen from over 400 submissions from more than 40 countries – were taken by Atakan Baykal of Turkey, Eka Fendiaspara of Indonesia, Riccardo Gangale of Italy, Olga Lavrushko of Ukraine, Prasetyo Nurramdhan of Indonesia, and Pablo Pro of Spain.

The warning came at the latest meeting of the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), held in Paris, France, over the weekend, where health advocates were told that indoor air pollution had become the leading risk factor for “burden of disease” in South Asia while it was ranked second in Eastern, Central and Western Sub-Saharan Africa and third in Southeast Asia.

“The estimations we have now tell us there are 3.5 million premature deaths every year caused by household air pollution, and 3.3 million death every year caused by outdoor air pollution,” Dr. Maria Neira, the WHO’s Director of Public Health and Environment, told the CCAC meeting.

Ground-level ozone pollution was estimated to cause an additionally 200,000 premature deaths every year, the agency said in a press release, which notes that “burden of disease” is a calculation based on years of life lost combined with years lived at less than full health.

“Air pollution is becoming one of the biggest health issues we have in front of us at the moment,” Dr. Neira said.

The CCAC, whose partners include Member States and civil society health advocates, targets so-called short-lived climate pollutants, or SLCPs, as major culprits in the damage to health, as well as the cause of crop loss and climate change.

SLCPs that are harmful to human health are released through numerous sources ranging from diesel engine exhaust and smoke and soot from inefficient cook stoves to leakage and flaring from oil and natural gas production and emissions from solid waste disposal.

Pointing to cook stoves, for example, the UN health agency stated that many of those appliances emit carbon monoxide and other pollutants at levels up to 100 times higher than recommended limits.

In a press statement marking the meeting, UNEP noted that fast action on SLCPs could “dramatically” reduce the number of annual deaths from air pollution. Efforts to lower black carbon emissions from heavy-duty vehicles and engines were receiving “particularly strong attention” from the CCAC.

In addition, it added that the CCAC had already launched efforts to reduce black carbon and other pollutants from brick production through the adoption of modern technologies, which can lower the emission of pollutants by 10 to 50 per cent, while efforts to distribute clean cook stoves were already underway in Bangladesh.

The Asian nation was chosen for its efforts to shift towards a green economy in its major economic sectors such as mining and for promoting environmental awareness among youth, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a news release.

“Mongolia is facing enormous challenges, including growing pressure on food security, traditional nomadic herding and water supplies as a result of the impacts of climate change,” said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.

“Indeed it is estimated that annual mean temperature has increased by over 2°C during the last 70 years and precipitation has decreased in most regions, except the western part of the country, indicating that Mongolia is among the most vulnerable nations in the world to global warming.

“Yet its Government is also determined to meet these challenges and seize the opportunities of a less-polluting and more-sustainable future – from a moratorium on new mining pending improved environmental regulations to plans to become a renewable energy power-house and exporter of clean energy regionally,” he said.

Observance of World Environment Day began in 1972 as a way to raise awareness of the environment and encourage political attention and action. This year’s theme for the Day is “Think.Eat.Save. Reduce Your Foodprint,” which builds on a global campaign of the same name launched earlier this year by UNEP, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other partners to reduce food and waste loss.

The announcement was made during UNEP’s Governing Council session in Nairobi, Kenya, where hundreds of environment ministers and civil society representatives met to discuss some of the most pressing environmental issues.

“I am sure that as the global host of WED, Mongolia will demonstrate to the world that a transition to a green economy is possible, even within some of the most traditionally challenging industrial sectors, when leadership, vision, smart policies and political will are translated into action on the ground,” Mr. Steiner said.

During the Council session, Mr. Steiner also announced that a UNEP mission to Mongolia was scheduled to depart in April to assist the country in its transition to a green economy in areas such as energy, land and water.

Produced by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the studies note how parts of Africa, Asia and South America could see increasing emissions of mercury into the environment, due mainly to the use of the toxic element in small-scale gold mining, and through the burning of coal for electricity generation.

“Mercury, which exists in various forms, remains a major global, regional and national challenge in terms of threats to human health and the environment,” UNEP’s Executive Director, Achim Steiner, said in a news release on the studies.

Mercury – a naturally-occurring, silvery-white metal that is liquid at ordinary temperatures – can be harmful to humans and the environment. When released from industry and other man-made sources, it can circulate in the environment for up to centuries at a time. This, according to UNEP, means that it is likely to be several years or decades before reductions in mercury emissions have a demonstrable effect on mercury levels in nature and the food chain.

One of the UNEP studies, the Global Mercury Assessment 2013 – which provides a comprehensive breakdown of mercury emissions by region and economic sector – reports that emissions of the toxic metal from artisanal gold mining have doubled since 2005, in part due to new and better information, but also due to rising gold prices that are expected to lead to further increases

Due to rapid industrialization, it further notes, Asia is the largest regional emitter of mercury, and accounts for just under half of all global releases.

The UNEP study also assesses, for the first time at a global level, releases of mercury into rivers and lakes. Much human exposure to mercury is through the consumption of contaminated fish, making aquatic environments the critical link to human health.

In the past 100 years, man-made emissions have caused the amount of mercury in the top 100 metres of the world’s oceans to double. Concentrations in deeper waters have increased by up to 25 per cent.

The study highlights significant releases into the environment linked to contaminated sites and deforestation, with an estimated 260 tonnes of mercury – previously held in soils – being released into rivers and lakes.

Along with a parallel UNEP study, Mercury: Time to Act, the new assessment will be formally presented at the International Negotiating Committee on Mercury, to be held in Geneva from 13 to 18 January this year.

According to UNEP, governments attending the conference are aiming to conclude discussions on a global legally binding treaty to minimize risks to people and the environment from exposure to mercury.

The UN agency notes this would reduce cases of neurological and behavioural disorders, and other health problems linked to mercury, as well as the contamination of soils and rivers caused by man-made emissions of the metal.

Governments gave the green light to negotiations towards a global treaty at the UNEP Governing Council held in Nairobi, Kenya, some years ago.

“In 2009, at the UNEP Governing Council, nations agreed to launch negotiations for a legally binding treaty aimed at bringing down releases from sources such as industry and mining, address mercury-containing products, and tackle historical pollution sites—the final negotiations begin in just a few days’ time,” said Mr. Steiner.

“Mercury has been known as a toxin and a hazard for centuries – but today we have many of the alternative technologies and processes needed to reduce the risks for tens of millions of people, including pregnant mothers and their babies,” the UNEP chief added. “A good outcome can also assist in a more sustainable future for generations to come.”

The UNEP studies state the fact that mercury released from man-made sources can circulate for such a long time reinforces the need for swift action by governments, industry and civil society to strengthen efforts to reduce mercury emissions and releases.

Delays in action, according to the reports, will lead to slower recovery of ecosystems and a greater legacy of pollution.

Amongst other findings in the studies, UNEP highlights the rising levels of mercury present in the Arctic, where an estimated 200 tonnes of mercury are deposited each year, generally far from where it originated. Studies have shown a ten-fold increase in levels of mercury in certain Arctic wildlife species in the past 150 years, due mainly, it is thought, to human activity.

The two UNEP studies state that global emissions of mercury have remained relatively stable in the last 20 years, with 2010 emissions from human activities thought to be just under 2,000 tonnes.

However, despite improved availability of data on mercury, the emissions estimate is still subject to uncertainty, and covers a range of 1,010 to 4,070 tonnes.

Coal burning is responsible for some 475 tonnes of mercury emissions annually, or around 24 per cent of the global total. UNEP notes that despite increased coal combustion in certain regions, more stringent regulations on pollution in several countries have contributed to reducing overall mercury emissions from coal burning and off-setting part of the emissions arising from increased industrial activity.

Along with coal burning, the use of mercury to separate metal from ore in small-scale gold mining remains the chief source of emissions worldwide, according to UNEP. Annual emissions from small-scale gold mining are estimated at 727 tonnes, or 35 per cent of the global total.

Greater exposure to mercury poses a direct threat to the health of some 10-15 million people who are directly involved in small-scale gold mining, mainly in Africa, Asia and South America. An estimated three million women and children work in the industry.

Mercury-free methods and other low-cost solutions for reducing emissions during gold extraction are available, UNEP notes, but socio-economic conditions, and low awareness of the risks of mercury, are barriers to adopting safer techniques.

“UNWTO welcomes the adoption of this resolution on the importance of ecotourism,” said the Secretary-General of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Taleb Rifai, in a news release.

“The remarkable support that the resolution has received, from all regions and across the development spectrum, is a clear testimony that sustainable tourism has a vital role to play in a fairer and sustainable future for all,” he added.

The resolution, adopted on 21 December and entitled ‘Promotion of ecotourism for poverty eradication and environment protection,’ calls on UN Member States to adopt policies that promote ecotourism, highlighting its “positive impact on income generation, job creation and education, and thus on the fight against poverty and hunger.”

It further recognizes that “ecotourism creates significant opportunities for the conservation, protection and sustainable use of biodiversity and of natural areas by encouraging local and indigenous communities in host countries and tourists alike to preserve and respect the natural and cultural heritage.”

According to UNWTO, the resolution – facilitated by Morocco and sponsored by a record 105 delegations – draws on the recommendations contained in one of its reports, put together on the basis of responses from 48 Member States, “which, in a notable departure from its normal practice, was welcomed by the UN General Assembly.”

In line with the UNWTO report’s recommendations, the resolution underscores the need for national tourism plans to account for market demand and local competitive advantages.

It also encourages Member States to promote investment in ecotourism, in accordance with their national legislation, including creating small and medium-sized enterprises, promoting cooperatives and facilitating access to finance through inclusive financial services such as microcredit initiatives for the poor, local and indigenous communities, in areas of ecotourism potential and rural areas.

UNWTO added that the resolution builds on a 2010 resolution on the same subject, and reflects developments since then – namely, the inclusion of tourism in the outcome document of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), held in Brazil in mid-2012, and the results of the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity.

Rio+20 saw world leaders acknowledge the importance of an inclusive, transparent, strengthened and effective multilateral system to better address the urgent global challenges of sustainable development.

Held in the Indian city of Hyderabad, the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity unveiled a strategy to combat unprecedented levels of biodiversity loss and called for “significant” increases in biodiversity investments in 100 countries – while at the same time aiming to foster economic growth and create jobs in addition to protecting endangered species and habitats.

“The resolution keeps ecotourism clearly on the agenda of the United Nations as it requires UNWTO to submit a follow up report to the sixty-ninth session of the UN General Assembly in 2014,” UNWTO added.

Last year, the UNWTO said that despite global economic uncertainty, international tourism continued to grow in 2012, with the estimated number of tourists travelling that year reaching a record one billion.

Tourism accounted for nine per cent of global gross domestic product when totalling its direct, indirect and induced impact, according to the agency, which also noted that one in every 12 jobs and up to eight per cent of the total exports of the world’s UN-designated Least Developed Countries (LDCs) depend on tourism.

Speaking at the launch of a new UN Development Programme (UNDP) report held in Washington, D.C, Andrew Hudson, the head of UNDP’s Water & Ocean Governance Programme and UN-Oceans Coordinator, noted that continuing ocean degradation threatened the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people, primarily in the world’s least developed countries.

“Oceans are an integral part of life on earth, regulating our climate and producing oxygen for the planet, yet they are under serious threat due to pollution, over-exploitation, habitat loss, invasive species, and climate change,” Hudson told reporters. “We need to improve the way we manage the oceans, before the damage is irreversible.”

The report – entitled Catalysing Ocean Finance and co-authored with the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) – indicates how sustainable ocean management could become a legacy of today’s global leaders if ocean planning and policy instruments are scaled up.

It also illustrates the accelerating degradation of the maritime environment as a result of market and policy failures, leading to the over exploitation of fisheries, skyrocketing low-oxygen zones in coastal areas, continued introductions of destructive alien species and increased ocean acidification.

According to research undertaken by the UNDP and GEF, these same market and policy failures have led to the under-financing of ocean-friendly projects such as better wastewater treatment facilities and coastal habitat protection, ultimately eating away at resources which contribute at least $3 trillion annually in global economic output.

The report’s goal was to help both the public and private sectors create “clear incentives and policies” to protect the world’s oceans, added Dr. Naoko Ishii, the Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson of the GEF – a UN-backed entity that partners 182 countries with international institutions, civil society organizations and the private sector to address global environmental issues while supporting national sustainable development initiatives.

“It is very reassuring to learn from this report that an initial public investment on the order of $5 billion over the next 10 to 20 years could be sufficient to catalyze many hundreds of billions of dollars in public and private finance,” Dr. Ishii stated.

“We now have the right tools to identify and remove those market and policy failures which have unfortunately sped up the degradation of marine environments,” she added.

“The seas and oceans host some of the most vulnerable and important ecosystems on Earth, but the diversity of life they host is under ever-increasing strain,” Ban said at an event in the city of Yeosu in the Republic of Korea (ROK), to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the opening for signature of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The Convention, also known as the “constitution of the oceans,” governs all aspects of ocean space, from delimitation of maritime boundaries, environmental regulations, scientific research, commerce and the settlement of international disputes involving marine issues. It was first opened for signature in 1982 and entered into force in 1994; there are 162 parties to it – 161 States and the European Union.

Ban praised the achievements of the Convention in helping countries establish a legal framework to guide the management of the oceans, the settlement of disputes, and the administration of the international seabed.

“Among its principles, the Law of the Sea recognizes that all ocean issues are related and that they need to be addressed as a whole,” Ban said, adding that this is in line with the development framework put forward at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in June in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

However, Ban also emphasized the need to address multiple issues that threaten the marine environment. To do this, he announced the launch of the Oceans Compact, which will seek to support and strengthen the implementation of the Law of the Sea.

“What we need is to create new momentum for ocean sustainability,” Ban said. “The Oceans Compact sets out a strategic vision for the UN System to deliver more coherently and effectively on its oceans-related mandates, consistent with the Rio+20 outcome.”

The Compact, Ban added, will provide a platform to help countries protect the ocean’s natural resources, restore their full food production to help people’s whose livelihoods depend on the sea, and increase awareness and knowledge about the management of the oceans.

To achieve the objectives of the Compact, Ban proposed a results-oriented Action Plan along with the creation of an Ocean Advisory Group made up of high-level policymakers, scientists and experts, as well as representatives of the private sector and civil society.

During his visit, Ban also spoke to young people at the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) youth forum, where he asked participants to practice solidarity among generations and lead the way in implementing sustainable measures in all aspects of society.

“From public squares to cyberspace, youth are a transformative force; you are creative, resourceful and enthusiastic agents of change,” Ban said. “A sustainable future can be ours. The work starts now, and it starts with you. This is a generational imperative… a generational opportunity… that your generation must seize.”