|DESA News Vol. 12, No. 12||December 2008|
Technology is a critical means by which countries rich and poor can adapt to and mitigate climate change. Indeed, technology will be the key to averting catastrophic climate change in this century. Through the development and deployment of clean and climate-friendly technologies, the world can adopt a powerful, integrated approach to tackling climate change and promoting sustainable development.
Reliable and up-to-date statistics are the foundation for effective national development policies. As Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Development Sha Zukang puts it, “statistics are an integral part of the United Nations Development Agenda. The challenge now,” proposes Sha Zukang, “is to step up their implementation, and further strengthen the monitoring of and accountability for progress.”
At the opening of the International Conference on Financing for Development in Doha on 29 November, the Secretary-General of the United Nations called for bold and effective efforts to ensure that today’s financial turmoil does not become tomorrow’s human crises with particularly devastating effects on the world’s poorest.
This book is an authoritative analysis of the social and economic implications of this trend. Providing a wealth of statistical and quantitative evidence and complied by leading economists working in this area, this book provides an analysis of the social and economic implications of population ageing and development. It argues that the challenges are not insurmountable, but societies need to put in place the required policies to confront these challenges effectively.
This issue of the Population and Vital Statistics Report presents data for countries or areas on population size from the latest available census, estimated total population size for 2006 or 2007, and the number and rate of vital events (live births, deaths, and infant deaths) for the latest available year within the past 15 years (1993-2007). This issue also presents data for the world and its major areas and regions on estimated population size for both 2005 and 2006.
Ms. Jan McAlpine joined the Department as new Director of the United Nations Forum on Forests Secretariat (UNFFS) on 5 November and brings an extensive experience in international forest policy matters. Before joining the United Nations, she was a Visiting Scholar and Senior Research Fellow for International Forestry Resources & Institutions (IFRI) at the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment and was working on the IFRI and National Science Foundation.
We also welcome Mr. Tariq Banuri as new Director of the Division for Sustainable Development on 12 November. A national of Pakistan, he brings to the United Nations a broad experience on the interface between policy, research, and practical actions on the realization of the goal of sustainable development. Mr. Banuri worked in government, academia, civil society, and the international system. Before joining DESA, he was a Senior Fellow and Director of the Future Sustainability Programme of the Stockholm Environment Institute.