NewzIntel.com

Category: Climate Change

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Citizens urged to exercise caution as weather conditions worsen

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Disaster Management Centre (PDMC) this morning convened a Joint Operations Centre (JOC) meeting, where District Disaster Management Centres provided updates on relief efforts following the disruptive snowstorm that affected interior parts of the province on Friday.

    The snowstorm has blocked major routes, including the R74 (Harrismith to Bergville), R74 Greytown/Colenso Road, N3 (Harrismith to Tugela Toll), R617 (Kokstad to Underberg), and the N3 Northbound, among others. 

    Multidisciplinary interventions have begun to yield results, with some stranded motorists receiving support in the form of soup kitchens, shelter and blankets. 

    Local municipalities, in conjunction with other State organs, have mobilised graders to clear snow in affected regions, prioritising major routes to facilitate emergency access. 

    Residents are urged to stay off the roads and avoid using alternative routes, as inclement weather conditions are expected to worsen. 

    According to the South African Weather Service, a Level 8 warning for further disruptive snow is in effect for Alfred Duma Ladysmith, Dr N. Dlamini-Zuma – Underberg, Greater Kokstad, Impendle, Inkosi Langalibalele Escourt, Inkosi Langalibalele Sobabili, Mpofana Giants Castle, Mpofana Mooi River, Okhahlamba and uMngeni. 

    “This warning indicates a potentially life-threatening weather occurrence. The heavy snowfall has also caused fallen trees, further complicating the situation. Residents living near the N3, who can assist stranded motorists with supplies are encouraged to do so safely.

    “The heavy snow has disrupted essential services, including water and electricity, in several communities. 

    “Technical teams are working to restore these services as quickly as possible, but residents should prepare for potential delays due to the weather conditions,” the PDMC said.

    Residents are strongly advised against snow chasing, as road conditions are extremely dangerous. 

    “Communities in the northern parts of the province continue to experience heavy rains, raising concerns about localised flooding. Disaster management teams are providing support to these areas, and residents are warned to remain vigilant. Residents are urged to stay informed through official channels,” the PDMC said. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Readout of the Secretary-General’s meeting with H.E. Mr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, President of the Republic of Malawi and Commander-in-Chief of the Malawi Defence Force

    Source: United Nations secretary general

    The Secretary-General met with H.E. Mr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, President of the Republic of Malawi and Commander-in-Chief of the Malawi Defence Force. The Secretary-General and the President discussed the situation in Malawi, including the elections scheduled for 2025, sustainable agriculture, food security, economic governance, and the lingering impact of Cyclone Freddy.
     

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: UN Summit of the Future: AI opportunity for everyone

    Source: Google

    Editor’s note: This week in New York City, leaders from around the world are gathering for the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) — including the first ever “Summit of the Future” — where Google CEO Sundar Pichai delivered a keynote address today.

    What follows is a transcript of the remarks, as prepared for delivery.

    Introduction

    Mr. Secretary-General, President of the General Assembly, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen — it’s a privilege to join you today.

    I’m energized by the summit’s focus on the future. We have a once-in-a- generation opportunity to unlock human potential, for everyone, everywhere.

    I believe that technology is a foundational enabler of progress. Just as the internet and mobile devices expanded opportunities for people around the world, now AI is poised to accelerate progress at unprecedented scale.

    I’m here today to make the case for three things:

    • Why I believe AI is so transformative
    • How it can be applied to benefit humanity and make progress on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
    • And where we can drive deeper partnerships to ensure that the technology benefits everyone

    Expanding opportunity through technology

    But first let me share why this is so important — to me personally, and to Google as a company.

    Growing up in Chennai, India, with my family, the arrival of each new technology improved our lives in meaningful ways. Our first rotary phone saved us hours of travel to the hospital to get test results. Our first refrigerator gave us more time to spend as a family, rather than rushing to cook ingredients before they spoiled.

    The technology that changed my life the most was the computer. I didn’t have much access to one growing up. When I came to graduate school in the US, there were labs full of machines I could use anytime I wanted — it was mind blowing. Access to computing inspired me to pursue a career where I could bring technology to more people.

    And that path led me to Google 20 years ago. I was excited by its mission: to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.

    That mission has had incredible impact:

    Google Search democratized information access, and opened up opportunities in education and entrepreneurship. Platforms like Chrome and Android helped bring one billion people online.

    Today, 15 of our products serve more than half a billion people and businesses each. And six of them – such as Search, Maps and Drive – each serve more than 2 billion. There’s no cost to use them, and most of our users are in the developing world.

    The AI opportunity

    Today we’re working on the most transformative technology yet: AI.

    We’ve been investing in AI research, tools, and infrastructure for two decades because it’s the most profound way we can deliver on our mission — and improve people’s lives.

    I want to talk today about four of the biggest opportunities we see, many of which align with the SDGs.

    One is helping people access the world’s information and knowledge in their own language.

    Using AI, in just the last year, we have added 110 new languages to Google Translate, spoken by half a billion people around the world. That brings our total to 246 languages, and we’re working toward 1,000 of the world’s most spoken languages.

    A second area is accelerating scientific discovery to benefit humanity.

    Our AlphaFold breakthrough is solving big challenges in predicting some of the building blocks of life, including proteins and DNA. We opened up AlphaFold to the scientific community free of charge, and it’s been accessed by more than two million researchers from over one hundred and ninety countries. Thirty percent are in the developing world – for example over 25,000 researchers just in Brazil. Globally, AlphaFold is being used in research that could help make crops more resistant to disease, discover new drugs in areas like malaria vaccines and cancer treatments, and much more.

    A third opportunity is helping people in the path of climate-related disaster, building on the UN’s initiative for “Early Warnings for All.” Our Flood Hub system provides early warnings up to seven days in advance, helping protect over 460 million people in over 80 countries.

    And for millions in the paths of wildfires, our boundary tracking systems are already in 22 countries on Google Maps. We also just announced FireSat technology, which will use satellites to detect and track early-stage wildfires, with imagery updated every 20 minutes globally, so firefighters can respond. AI gives a boost in accuracy, speed and scale.

    Fourth, we see the opportunity for AI to meaningfully contribute to economic progress. It’s already enabling entrepreneurs and small businesses …empowering governments to provide public services… and boosting productivity across sectors. Some studies show that AI could boost global labor productivity by 1.4 percentage points, and increase global GDP by 7%, within the next decade.

    For example, AI is helping improve operations and logistics in emerging markets, where connectivity, infrastructure and traffic congestion are big challenges. Freight startup Gary Logistics in Ethiopia is using AI to help move goods to market faster and bring more work opportunities to freelance drivers.

    These are just early examples. And there are so many others across education, health and sustainability. As technology improves, so will the benefits.

    The risks of AI

    As with any emerging technology, AI will have limitations … be it issues with accuracy, factuality, and bias … as well as the risks of misapplication and misuse, like the creation of deep fakes.

    It also presents new complexities, for example the impact on the future of work.

    For all these reasons, we believe that AI must be developed, deployed, and used responsibly, from the start.

    We’re guided by our AI Principles, which we published back in 2018. And we work with others across the industry, academia, the UN, and governments in efforts like the Frontier Model Forum, the O.E.C.D., and the G7 Hiroshima Process.

    Preventing an AI divide

    But I want to talk about another risk that I worry about.

    I think about where I grew up, and how fortunate I was to have access to technology, even if it came slowly.

    Not everyone had that experience. And while good progress has been made by UN institutions like the I.T.U., gaps persist today in the form of a well known digital divide.

    With AI, we have the chance to be inclusive from the start, and to ensure that the digital divide doesn’t become an AI divide. This is a challenge that needs to be met by the private sector and public sector working together. We can focus in three key areas:

    First is digital infrastructure.

    Google has made big investments globally in subsea and terrestrial fiber optic cables.

    One connects Africa with Europe, and two others will be the first intercontinental fiber optic routes that connect Asia Pacific and South America, and Australia and Africa.

    These fiber optic routes stitch together our network of 40 cloud regions around the world that provide digital services to governments, entrepreneurs, SMBs and companies across all sectors.

    In addition to compute access, we also open up our technology to others. We did this with Android; and now our Gemma AI models are open to developers and researchers, and we will continue to invest here.

    A second area is about investing in people.

    That starts with making sure people have the skills they need to seize new opportunities.

    Our Grow with Google program has already trained one hundred million people around the world in digital skills.

    And today I’m proud to announce our Global AI Opportunity Fund. This will invest one hundred and twenty million dollars to make AI education and training available in communities around the world. We’re providing this in local languages, in partnership with nonprofits and NGOs.

    We’re also helping to support entrepreneurs for the AI revolution. In Brazil, we worked with thousands of women entrepreneurs to use Google AI to grow their businesses. In Asia, where fewer than six percent of start-ups are founded by women, we’re providing many with mentorship, capital, and training.

    An enabling policy environment

    The third area is one where we especially need the help of the member countries and leaders in this room: creating an enabling policy environment. One that addresses both the risks and worries around new technologies, and also encourages the kinds of applications that improve lives at scale.

    This requires a few things:

    • Government policymaking that supports investments in infrastructure, people, and innovation that benefits humanity,
    • Country development strategies and frameworks like the Global Digital Compact that prioritize the adoption of AI solutions,
    • And smart product regulation that mitigates harms and resists national protectionist impulses — that could widen an AI divide and limit AI’s benefits.

    We are excited to be your partner, and to work with you to make sure bold innovations are deployed responsibly so that AI is truly helpful for everyone.

    The opportunities are too great … the challenges too urgent … and this technology too transformational, to do anything less.

    Thank you.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI USA: The Wilmington Declaration Joint Statement from the Leaders of Australia, India, Japan, and the United  States

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
    Today, we—Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan, and President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. of the United States—met for the fourth in-person Quad Leaders Summit, hosted by President Biden in Wilmington, Delaware.
    Four years since elevating the Quad to a leader-level format, the Quad is more strategically aligned than ever before and is a force for good that delivers real, positive, and enduring impact for the Indo-Pacific. We celebrate the fact that over just four years, Quad countries have built a vital and enduring regional grouping that will buttress the Indo-Pacific for decades to come.
    Anchored by shared values, we seek to uphold the international order based on the rule of law. Together we represent nearly two billion people and over one-third of global gross domestic product. We reaffirm our steadfast commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient. Through our cooperation, the Quad is harnessing all of our collective strengths and resources, from governments to the private sector to people-to-people relationships, to support the region’s sustainable development, stability, and prosperity by delivering tangible benefits to the people of the Indo-Pacific.
    As four leading maritime democracies in the Indo-Pacific, we unequivocally stand for the maintenance of peace and stability across this dynamic region, as an indispensable element of global security and prosperity. We strongly oppose any destabilizing or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion. We condemn recent illicit missile launches in the region that violate UN Security Council resolutions. We express serious concern over recent dangerous and aggressive actions in the maritime domain. We seek a region where no country dominates and no country is dominated—one where all countries are free from coercion, and can exercise their agency to determine their futures. We are united in our commitment to upholding a stable and open international system, with its strong support for human rights, the principle of freedom, rule of law, democratic values, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and peaceful settlement of disputes and prohibition on the threat or use of force in accordance with international law, including the UN Charter.
    Reflecting the Vision Statement issued by Leaders at the 2023 Quad Summit, we are and will continue to be transparent in what we do. Respect for the leadership of regional institutions, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), is and will remain at the center of the Quad’s efforts.
    A Global Force for Good
    Health Security
    The COVID-19 pandemic reminded the world how important health security is to our societies, our economies, and the stability of our region. In 2021 and 2022, the Quad came together to deliver more than 400 million safe and effective COVID-19 doses to Indo-Pacific countries and almost 800 million vaccines globally, and provided $5.6 billion to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment for vaccine supply to low and middle-income countries. In 2023, we announced the Quad Health Security Partnership, through which the Quad continues to deliver for partners across the region, including through the delivery of pandemic preparedness training.
    In response to the current clade I mpox outbreak, as well as the ongoing clade II mpox outbreak, we plan to coordinate our efforts to promote equitable access to safe, effective, quality-assured mpox vaccines, including where appropriate expanding vaccine manufacturing in low and middle-income countries.
    Today we are proud to announce the Quad Cancer Moonshot, a groundbreaking partnership to save lives in the Indo-Pacific region. Building on the Quad’s successful partnership during the COVID-19 pandemic, our collective investments to address cancer in the region, our scientific and medical capabilities, and contributions from our private and non-profit sectors, we will collaborate with partner nations to reduce the burden of cancer in the region.
    The Quad Cancer Moonshot will focus initially on combatting cervical cancer—a preventable cancer that continues to claim too many lives—in the Indo-Pacific region, while laying the groundwork to address other forms of cancer as well. The United States intends to support this initiative, including through U.S. Navy medical trainings and professional exchanges around cervical cancer prevention in the region starting in 2025, and through U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) openness to finance eligible private sector-driven projects to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer, including cervical cancer. Australia is announcing the expansion of the Elimination Partnership in the Indo-Pacific for Cervical Cancer Program (EPICC) with support of the Australian Government and the Minderoo Foundation to AUD 29.6 million, to cover up to eleven countries in the Indo-Pacific in helping advance the elimination of cervical cancer and support complementary initiatives focused on cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. India commits to providing HPV sampling kits, detection kits, and cervical cancer vaccines worth $7.5 million to the Indo-Pacific region.  India, through its $10 million commitment to the WHO’s Global Initiative on Digital Health, will offer technical assistance to interested countries in the Indo-Pacific region for the adoption and deployment of its Digital Public Infrastructure that helps in cancer screening and care. Japan is providing medical equipment, including CT and MRI scanners, and other assistance worth approximately $27 million, including in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Timor-Leste, and is contributing to international organizations such as the Gavi Vaccine Alliance. Quad partners also intend to work, within respective national contexts, to collaborate in advancing research and development in the area of cancer and to increase private sector and non-governmental sector activities in support of reducing the burden of cervical cancer in the region. We welcome a number of new, ambitious commitments from non-governmental institutions, including the Serum Institute of India, in partnership with Gavi, which will support orders of up to 40 million HPV vaccine doses, subject to necessary approvals, for the Indo-Pacific region, and which may be increased consistent with demand. We also welcome a new $100 million commitment from Women’s Health and Empowerment Network to address cervical cancer in Southeast Asia.
    Altogether, our scientific experts assess that the Quad Cancer Moonshot will save hundreds of thousands of lives over the coming decades.
    Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR)
    Twenty years since the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, when the Quad first came together to surge humanitarian assistance, we continue to respond to the vulnerabilities caused by natural disasters in the Indo-Pacific. In 2022, the Quad established the “Quad Partnership on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief in the Indo-Pacific” and signed Guidelines for the Quad Partnership on HADR in the Indo-Pacific, which enable Quad countries to rapidly coordinate in the face of natural disasters. We welcome Quad governments working to ensure readiness to rapidly respond, including through pre-positioning of essential relief supplies, in the event of a natural disaster; this effort extends from the Indian Ocean region, to Southeast Asia, to the Pacific.
    In May 2024, following a tragic landslide in Papua New Guinea, Quad partners collectively contributed over $5 million in humanitarian assistance. Quad partners are working together to provide over $4 million in humanitarian assistance to support the people of Vietnam in light of the devastating consequences of Typhoon Yagi. The Quad continues to support partners in the region in their longer-term resiliency efforts.
    Maritime Security
    In 2022, we announced the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) to offer near-real-time, integrated, and cost-effective maritime domain awareness information to partners in the region. Since then, in consultation with partners, we have successfully scaled the program across the Indo-Pacific region—through the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, with partners in Southeast Asia, to the Information Fusion Center—Indian Ocean Region, Gurugram. In doing so, the Quad has helped well over two dozen countries access dark vessel maritime domain awareness data, so they can better monitor the activities in their exclusive economic zones—including unlawful activity. Australia commits to boosting its cooperation with the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency to enhance regional maritime domain awareness in the Pacific through satellite data, training, and capacity building.
    Today we are announcing a new regional Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific (MAITRI), to enable our partners in the region to maximize tools provided through IPMDA and other Quad partner initiatives, to monitor and secure their waters, enforce their laws, and deter unlawful behavior. We look forward to India hosting the inaugural MAITRI workshop in 2025. Furthermore, we welcome the launch of a Quad maritime legal dialogue to support efforts to uphold the rules-based maritime order in the Indo-Pacific. In addition, Quad partners intend to layer new technology and data into IPMDA over the coming year, to continue to deliver cutting edge capability and information to the region.
    We are also announcing today that the U.S. Coast Guard, Japan Coast Guard, Australian Border Force, and Indian Coast Guard, plan to launch a first-ever Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission in 2025, to improve interoperability and advance maritime safety, and continuing with further missions in future years across the Indo-Pacific.  
    We also announce today the launch of a Quad Indo-Pacific Logistics Network pilot project, to pursue shared airlift capacity among our nations and leverage our collective logistics strengths, in order to support civilian response to natural disasters more rapidly and efficiently across the Indo-Pacific region.
    Quality Infrastructure
    The Quad remains committed to improving the region’s connectivity through the development of quality, resilient infrastructure.
    We are pleased to announce the Quad Ports of the Future Partnership, which will harness the Quad’s expertise to support sustainable and resilient port infrastructure development across the Indo-Pacific, in collaboration with regional partners. In 2025, we intend to hold a Quad Regional Ports and Transportation Conference, hosted by India in Mumbai. Through this new partnership, Quad partners intend to coordinate, exchange information, share best practices with partners in the region, and leverage resources to mobilize government and private sector investments in quality port infrastructure across the Indo-Pacific region.
    We applaud the expansion of the Quad Infrastructure Fellowships to more than 2,200 experts, and note that Quad partners have already provided well over 1,300 fellowships since the initiative was announced at last year’s Summit. We also appreciate the workshop organized by the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure in India, working to empower partners across the Indo-Pacific to strengthen power sector resilience.
    Through the Quad Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience, we continue to support and strengthen quality undersea cable networks in the Indo-Pacific, the capacity, durability, and reliability of which are inextricably linked to the security and prosperity of the region and the world. In support of these efforts, Australia launched the Cable Connectivity and Resilience Centre in July, which is delivering workshops and policy and regulatory assistance in response to requests from across the region. Japan will extend technical cooperation to improve public ICT infrastructure management capacity for an undersea cable in Nauru and Kiribati. The United States has conducted over 1,300 capacity building trainings for telecommunication officials and executives from 25 countries in the Indo-Pacific; today the U.S. announces its intent, working with Congress, to invest an additional $3.4 million to extend and expand this training program.
    Investments in cable projects by Quad partners will help support all Pacific island countries in achieving primary telecommunication cable connectivity by the end of 2025. Since the last Quad Leaders’ Summit, Quad partners have committed over $140 million to undersea cable builds in the Pacific, alongside contributions from other likeminded partners. Complementing these investments in new undersea cables, India has commissioned a feasibility study to examine expansion of undersea cable maintenance and repair capabilities in the Indo-Pacific.
    We reaffirm our support for the Pacific Quality Infrastructure Principles, which are an expression of Pacific voices on infrastructure.
    We underscore our commitment to an inclusive, open, sustainable, fair, safe, reliable and secure digital future to advance our shared prosperity and sustainable development across the Indo-Pacific. In this context, we welcome the Quad Principles for Development and Deployment of Digital Public Infrastructure.
    Critical and Emerging Technologies
    Today, we are proud to announce an ambitious expansion of our partnership to deliver trusted technology solutions to the broader Indo-Pacific region.
    Last year, Quad partners launched a landmark initiative to deploy the first Open Radio Access Network (RAN) in the Pacific, in Palau, to support a secure, resilient, and interconnected telecommunications ecosystem. Since then, the Quad has pledged approximately $20 million to this effort.
    Quad partners also welcome the opportunity to explore additional Open RAN projects in Southeast Asia. We plan to expand support for ongoing Open RAN field trials and the Asia Open RAN Academy (AORA) in the Philippines, building on the initial $8 million in support that the United States and Japan pledged earlier this year. The United States also plans to invest over $7 million to support the global expansion of AORA, including through establishing a first-of-its-kind Open RAN workforce training initiative at scale in South Asia, in partnership with Indian institutions.
    Quad partners will also explore collaborating with the Tuvalu Telecommunications Corporation to ensure the country’s readiness for nationwide 5G deployment.
    We remain committed to advancing our cooperation on semiconductors through better leveraging of our complementary strengths to realize a diversified and competitive market and enhance resilience of Quad’s semiconductor supply chains. We welcome a Memorandum of Cooperation between Quad countries for the Semiconductor Supply Chains Contingency Network.
    Through the Advancing Innovations for Empowering NextGen Agriculture (AI-ENGAGE) initiative announced at last year’s Summit, our governments are deepening leading-edge collaborative research to harness artificial intelligence, robotics, and sensing to transform agricultural approaches and empower farmers across the Indo-Pacific. We are pleased to announce an inaugural $7.5+ million in funding opportunities for joint research, and welcome the recent signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between our science agencies to connect our research communities and advance shared research principles.
    The United States, Australia, India, and Japan look forward to launching the Quad BioExplore Initiative—a funded mechanism that will support joint AI-driven exploration of diverse non-human biological data across all four countries.
    This project will also be underpinned by the forthcoming Quad Principles for Research and Development Collaborations in Critical and Emerging Technologies.
    Climate and Clean Energy
    As we underscore the severe economic, social, and environmental consequences posed by the climate crisis, we continue to work together with Indo-Pacific partners, including through Quad Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Package (Q-CHAMP), to enhance climate and clean energy cooperation as well as promote adaptation and resilience. We emphasize the significant benefits of transitioning to a clean energy economy for our people, our planet, and our shared prosperity. Our countries intend to strengthen our cooperation to align policies, incentives, standards, and investments around creating high-quality, diversified clean energy supply chains that will enhance our collective energy security, create new economic opportunities across the region, and benefit local workers and communities around the world, particularly across the Indo-Pacific.
    We will work together, through policy and public finance, to operationalize our commitment to catalyzing complementary and high-standard private sector investment in allied and partner clean energy supply chains. To this end, Australia will open applications for the Quad Clean Energy Supply Chains Diversification Program in November, providing AUD 50 million to support projects that develop and diversify solar panel, hydrogen electrolyzer and battery supply chains in the Indo-Pacific. India commits to invest $2 million in new solar projects in Fiji, Comoros, Madagascar, and Seychelles. Japan has committed to $122 million grants and loans in renewable energy projects in Indo-Pacific countries. The United States, through DFC, will continue to seek opportunities to mobilize private capital to solar, as well as wind, cooling, batteries, and critical minerals to expand and diversify supply chains.
    We are pleased to announce a focused Quad effort to boost energy efficiency, including the deployment and manufacturing of high-efficiency affordable, cooling systems to enable climate-vulnerable communities to adapt to rising temperatures while simultaneously reducing strain on the electricity grid.
    We jointly affirm our commitment to addressing the challenges posed by climate change and ensure the resilience and sustainability of port infrastructure. Quad partners will leverage our learning and expertise to forge a path towards sustainable and resilient port infrastructure, including through the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).
    Cyber
    In the face of a deteriorating security environment in the cyber domain, Quad countries intend to enhance our cybersecurity partnership to address common threats posed by state-sponsored actors, cybercriminals, and other non-state malicious actors. Our countries commit to taking concrete steps to increase our collective network defense and advance technical capabilities through greater threat information sharing and capacity building. We plan to coordinate joint efforts to identify vulnerabilities, protect national security networks and critical infrastructure networks, and coordinate more closely including on policy responses to significant cybersecurity incidents affecting the Quad’s shared priorities.
    Quad countries are also partnering with software manufacturers, industry trade groups, and research centers to expand our commitmentto pursuing secure software development standards and certification, as endorsed in the Quad’s 2023 Secure Software Joint Principles. We will work to harmonize these standards to not only ensure that the development, procurement, and end-use of software for government networks is more secure, but that the cyber resilience of our supply chains, digital economies, and societies are collectively improved. Throughout this fall, Quad countries each plan to host campaigns to mark the annual Quad Cyber Challenge promoting responsible cyber ecosystems, public resources, and cybersecurity awareness. We are constructively engaging on the Quad Action Plan to Protect Commercial Undersea Telecommunications Cables, developed by the Quad Senior Cyber Group, as a complementary effort to the Quad Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience. Our coordinated actions to protect global telecommunications infrastructure as guided by the Action Plan will advance our shared vision for future digital connectivity, global commerce, and prosperity. 
    Space
    We recognize the essential contribution of space-related applications and technologies in the Indo-Pacific. Our four countries intend to continue delivering Earth Observation data and other space-related applications to assist nations across the Indo-Pacific to strengthen climate early warning systems and better manage the impacts of extreme weather events. In this context, we welcome India’s establishment of a space-based web portal for Mauritius, to support the concept of open science for space-based monitoring of extreme weather events and climate impact.
    Quad Investors Network (QUIN)
    We welcome private sector initiatives—including the Quad Investors Network (QUIN), which facilitates investments in strategic technologies, including clean energy, semiconductors, critical minerals, and quantum. The QUIN is mobilizing a number of investments to promote supply chain resilience, advance joint research and development, commercialize new technologies, and invest in our future workforce.
    People-to-People Initiatives
    The Quad is committed to strengthening the deep and enduring ties between our people, and among our partners. Through the Quad Fellowship, we are building a network of the next generation of science, technology, and policy leaders. Together with the Institute of International Education, which leads implementation of the Quad Fellowship, Quad governments welcome the second cohort of Quad Fellows and the expansion of the program to include students from ASEAN countries for the first time. The Government of Japan is supporting the program to enable Quad Fellows to study in Japan. The Quad welcomes the generous support of private sector partners for the next cohort of fellows, including Google, the Pratt Foundation, and Western Digital.
    India is pleased to announce a new initiative to award fifty Quad scholarships, worth $500,000, to students from the Indo-Pacific to pursue a 4-year undergraduate engineering program at a Government of India-funded technical institution.
    Working Together to Address Regional and Global Issues
    Today we reaffirm our consistent and unwavering support for ASEAN centrality and unity. We continue to support implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and are committed to ensuring the Quad’s work is aligned with ASEAN’s principles and priorities.
    We underscore ASEAN’s regional leadership role, including in the East Asia Summit, the region’s premier leader-led forum for strategic dialogue, and the ASEAN Regional Forum. As comprehensive strategic partners of ASEAN, our four countries intend to continue to strengthen our respective relationships with ASEAN and seek opportunities for greater Quad collaboration in support of the AOIP.
    We recommit to working in partnership with Pacific island countries to achieve shared aspirations and address shared challenges. We reaffirm our support for Pacific regional institutions that have served the region well over many years, with the PIF as the region’s premier political and economic policy organization, and warmly welcome Tonga’s leadership as the current PIF Chair in 2024-2025. We continue to support the objectives of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. We and our governments will continue to listen to and be guided at every step by Pacific priorities, including climate action, ocean health, resilient infrastructure, maritime security and financial integrity. In particular, we acknowledge climate change remains the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the peoples of the Pacific and applaud Pacific island countries’ global leadership on climate action.
    We remain committed to strengthening cooperation in the Indian Ocean region. We strongly support IORA as the Indian Ocean region’s premier forum for addressing the region’s challenges. We recognize India’s leadership in finalizing the IORA Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (IOIP) and express our support for its implementation. We thank Sri Lanka for its continued leadership as IORA Chair through this year and look forward to India’s assuming the IORA Chair in 2025.  
    As Leaders, we are steadfast in our conviction that international law, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the maintenance of peace, safety, security and stability in the maritime domain, underpin the sustainable development, and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific. We emphasize the importance of adherence to international law, particularly as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to address challenges to the global maritime rules-based order, including with respect to maritime claims. We are seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas. We continue to express our serious concern about the militarization of disputed features, and coercive and intimidating maneuvers in the South China Sea. We condemn the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels, including increasing use of dangerous maneuvers. We also oppose efforts to disrupt other countries’ offshore resource exploitation activities.We reaffirm that maritime disputes must be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law, as reflected in UNCLOS. We re-emphasize the importance of maintaining and upholding freedom of navigation and overflight, other lawful uses of the sea, and unimpeded commerce consistent with international law. We re-emphasize the universal and unified character of UNCLOS and reaffirm that UNCLOS sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and the seas must be carried out. We underscore that the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea is a significant milestone and the basis for peacefully resolving disputes between the parties.
    Together, with our global and regional partners, we continue to support international institutions and initiatives that underpin global peace, prosperity and sustainable development. We reiterate our unwavering support for the UN Charter and the three pillars of the UN system. In consultation with our partners, we will work collectively to address attempts to unilaterally undermine the integrity of the UN, its Charter, and its agencies. We will reform the UN Security Council, recognizing the urgent need to make it more representative, inclusive, transparent, efficient, effective, democratic and accountable through expansion in permanent and non-permanent categories of membership of the UN Security Council. This expansion of permanent seats should include representation for Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean in a reformed Security Council.
    We stand for adherence to international law and respect for principles of the UN Charter, including territorial integrity, sovereignty of all states, and peaceful resolution of disputes. We express our deepest concern over the war raging in Ukraine including the terrible and tragic humanitarian consequences. Each of us has visited Ukraine since the war began, and seen this first-hand; we reiterate the need for a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in line with international law, consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. We also note the negative impacts of the war in Ukraine with regard to global food and energy security, especially for developing and least developed countries. In the context of this war, we share the view that the use, or threat of use, of nuclear weapons is unacceptable. We underscore the importance of upholding international law, and in line with the UN Charter, reiterate that all states must refrain from the threat of or use of force against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state.
    We condemn North Korea’s destabilizing ballistic missile launches and its continued pursuit of nuclear weapons in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs). These launches pose a grave threat to international peace and stability. We urge North Korea to abide by all its obligations under the UNSCRs, refrain from further provocations and engage in substantive dialogue. We reaffirm our commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula consistent with relevant UNSCRs and call on all countries to fully implement these UNSCRs. We stress the need to prevent any proliferation of nuclear and missile technologies related to North Korea in the region and beyond. We express our grave concern over North Korea’s use of proliferation networks, malicious cyber activity and workers abroad to fund its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. In that context, we urge all UN Member States to abide by the relevant UNSCRs including the prohibition on the transfer to North Korea or procurement from North Korea of all arms and related materiel. We express deep concern about countries that are deepening military cooperation with North Korea, which directly undermines the global nonproliferation regime. As the mandate of the UN Panel of Experts tasked with monitoring violations of North Korea-related UNSCR sanctions was not renewed, we reiterate our commitment to continued implementation of the relevant UNSCRs which remain in full force. We reconfirm the necessity of immediate resolution of the abductions issue.
    We remain deeply concerned by the worsening political, security and humanitarian situation in Myanmar, including in Rakhine State, and again call for an immediate cessation of violence, the release of all those unjustly and arbitrarily detained, safe and unhindered humanitarian access, resolution of the crisis through constructive and inclusive dialogue among all stakeholders, and a return to the path of inclusive democracy. We reaffirm our strong support for ASEAN-led efforts, including the work of the ASEAN Chair and the Special Envoy of the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar. We call for full implementation of all commitments under the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus. The ongoing conflict and instability have serious implications for the region, including increases in transnational crime such as cybercrime, the illegal drug trade, and human trafficking. We restate our appeal to all States to prevent the flow of arms and dual-use material, including jet fuel. We remain resolute in our support for the people of Myanmar and commit to continuing to work with all stakeholders in a pragmatic and constructive way, to find a sustainable solution to the crisis in a process which is led by the people of Myanmar and returns Myanmar to the path of democracy.
    We call upon all States to contribute to the safe, peaceful, responsible, and sustainable use of outer space. We remain committed to fostering international cooperation and transparency, as well as confidence-building measures with the goal of improving the security of outer space for all States. We reaffirm the importance of upholding the existing international legal framework for outer space activities, including the Outer Space Treaty, and the obligation of all States Parties to the Treaty not to place in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, install such weapons on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space in any other manner.
    The Quad reaffirms its commitment to fostering a resilient information environment including through its Countering Disinformation Working Group by supporting media freedom and addressing foreign information manipulation and interference, including disinformation, which undermines trust and sows discord in the international community. We recognize these tactics are intended to interfere with domestic and international interests, and we are committed, together with our regional partners, to leverage our collective expertise and capacity to respond. We reaffirm our commitment to respect international human rights law, strengthen civil society, support media freedom, address online harassment and abuse, including technology-facilitated gender-based violence, and counter unethical practices.
    We unequivocally condemn terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism. We are committed to international cooperation and will work with our regional partners in a comprehensive and sustained manner to strengthen their capability to prevent, detect and respond to threats posed by terrorism and violent extremism, including threats posed by the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes, consistent with international law. We are committed to working together to promote accountability for the perpetrators of such terrorist attacks. We reiterate our condemnation of terrorist attacks including the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai and in Pathankot, and our commitment to pursuing designations, as appropriate, by the UN Security Council 1267 Sanctions Committee.  We welcome the constructive discussions held at the first Quad Working Group on Counter-Terrorism and the fourth tabletop exercise in Honolulu last year, and look forward to Japan hosting the next meeting and tabletop exercise in November 2024.
    We share great interest in achieving peace and stability in the Middle East. We unequivocally condemn the terror attacks on October 7, 2023. The large-scale loss of civilian lives and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is unacceptable. We affirm the imperative of securing the release of all hostages held by Hamas, and emphasize that the deal to release hostages would bring an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza. We underscore the urgent need to significantly increase deliveries of life-saving humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza as well as the crucial need to prevent regional escalation. We urge all parties to comply with international law, including international humanitarian law, as applicable. We welcome UNSCR S/RES/2735 (2024), and strongly urge all parties concerned to work immediately and steadily toward the release of all hostages and an immediate ceasefire. We call on all parties to take every feasible step to protect the lives of civilians including aid workers, and facilitate the rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian relief to civilians. We also encourage other countries, including those in the Indo-Pacific, to increase their support in order to address the dire humanitarian need on the ground. We underscore that the future recovery and reconstruction of Gaza should be supported by the international community. We remain committed to a sovereign, viable and independent Palestinian state taking into account Israel’s legitimate security concerns as part of a two-state solution that enables both Israelis and Palestinians to live in a just, lasting, and secure peace. Any unilateral actions that undermine the prospect of a two-state solution, including Israeli expansion of settlements and violent extremism on all sides, must end. We underscore the need to prevent the conflict from escalating and spilling over in the region.
    We condemn the ongoing attacks perpetrated by the Houthis and their supporters against international and commercial vessels transiting through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which are destabilizing the region and impeding navigational rights and freedoms and trade flows, and jeopardize the safety of vessels and people on board including sailors.
    We reaffirm our commitment to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the achievement of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We underscore the importance of achieving the SDGs in a comprehensive manner without selectively prioritizing a narrow set of such goals, and reaffirm that the UN has a central role in supporting countries in their implementation. With six years left, we remain steadfast in our commitment to the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and accelerating progress toward all the SDGs in a comprehensive manner that is balanced across three dimensions – economic, social and environmental. From global health to sustainable development and climate change, the global community benefits when all stakeholders have the opportunity to contribute to addressing these challenges. We affirm our commitment to contributing to and implementing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda and to achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. We underscore our commitment to strongly engaging constructively in the discussion on advancing sustainable development, including at the Summit of the Future. The Quad continues to realize a safe and secure world where human rights and human dignity are protected, based on the central premise of the SDGs: “Leave no one behind.”
    We, the Quad Leaders, remain dedicated to working in partnership with Indo-Pacific countries in deciding our future and shaping the region we all want to live in.
    Enduring Partners for the Indo-Pacific
    Over the past four years, Quad Leaders have met together six times, including twice virtually, and Quad Foreign Ministers have met eight times in the last five years. Quad country representatives meet together on a regular basis, at all levels, including among ambassadors across the four countries’ extensive diplomatic networks, to consult one another, exchange ideas to advance shared priorities, and deliver benefits with and for partners across the Indo-Pacific region. We welcome our Commerce and Industry ministers preparing to meet for the first time in the coming months. We also welcome the leaders of our Development Finance Institutions and Agencies deciding to meet to explore future investments by the four countries in the Indo-Pacific. Altogether, our four countries are cooperating at an unprecedented pace and scale.
    Each of our governments has committed to working through our respective budgetary processes to secure robust funding for Quad priorities in the Indo-Pacific region to ensure an enduring impact. We intend to work with our legislatures to deepen interparliamentary exchanges, and encourage other stakeholders to deepen engagement with Quad counterparts.
    We look forward to the next Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting hosted by the United States in 2025, and the next Quad Leaders’ Summit hosted by India in 2025. The Quad is here to stay.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA News: Fact Sheet: 2024 Quad Leaders’  Summit

    Source: The White House

    On September 21, 2024, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. hosted Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India in Wilmington, Delaware, for the fourth Quad Leaders’ Summit.
     
    The Quad was established to be a global force for good. This year, the Quad is proudly executing tangible projects that benefit partner countries across the Indo-Pacific—including in the Pacific, Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean Region. The Quad is working together at unprecedented scope and scale to deliver on Indo-Pacific partners’ priorities. Together, the Quad is leading ambitious projects to help partners address pandemics and disease; respond to natural disasters; strengthen their maritime domain awareness and maritime security; mobilize and build high-standard physical and digital infrastructure; invest in and benefit from critical and emerging technologies; confront the threat of climate change; bolster cyber security; and cultivate the next generation of technology leaders.
     
    ENDURING PARTNERS FOR THE INDO-PACIFIC
     
    Over the past four years, Quad Leaders have met six times, including twice virtually. Quad Foreign Ministers have met eight times, most recently in Tokyo in July. Quad country representatives convene on a regular basis, at all levels, to consult one another, exchange ideas to advance shared priorities, and deliver benefits for partners across the Indo-Pacific region. All Quad governments have institutionalized the Quad at all levels and across a diverse array of departments and agencies. Today, Quad Leaders announced new initiatives to solidify these habits of cooperation and to set up the Quad to endure for the long-term.
     

    • Each Quad government has committed to work through their respective budgetary processes to secure robust funding for Quad priorities in the Indo-Pacific region to ensure an enduring impact.
    • The Quad governments also intend to work with their respective legislatures to deepen interparliamentary exchanges, and encourage other stakeholders to deepen engagement with Quad counterparts. Yesterday, Members of Congress announced the creation of a bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Quad Caucus.
    • In the coming months, Quad Commerce and Industry ministers will meet for the first time.
    • Quad Leaders also welcome the leaders of the Quad Development Finance Institutions and Agencies deciding to meet to explore future investments by the four countries in the Indo-Pacific, including in health security, food security, clean energy, and quality infrastructure. This builds on a previous meeting in 2022 between the heads of the Export Finance Australia, the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific, India Export-Import Bank, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, and U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
    • The United States will host the 2025 Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting, and India will host the 2025 Quad Leaders Summit.

    GLOBAL HEALTH & HEALTH SECURITY

    In 2023, the Quad announced the Quad Health Security Partnership to strengthen coordination and collaboration in support of health security in the Indo-Pacific. The Quad Health Security Partnership is delivering on its commitments to strengthen the Indo-Pacific’s ability to detect and respond to outbreaks of diseases with epidemic or pandemic potential, including through a set of new initiatives announced today.

    Quad Cancer Moonshot

    • The Quad is launching the historic Quad Cancer Moonshot, a collective effort to leverage public and private resources to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer in the Indo-Pacific, with an initial focus on cervical cancer. Altogether, the Quad Cancer Moonshot announced today is projected to save hundreds of thousands of lives over the coming decades. More information can be found here.

    Pandemic Preparedness

    • Quad countries are committed to supporting health security and resiliency efforts across the region, including continued support for the Pandemic Fund.
    • The Quad reaffirms commitment to bolstering health security across the Indo-Pacific region. In 2024, the Quad Health Security Partnership advanced regional resilience through the second pandemic preparedness table top exercise, building on the success of the Quad Vaccine Partnership to enhance prevention, early detection, and response to potential disease outbreaks, and is exploring developing Standard Operating Procedures for Pandemic Response. The Quad’s collaborative efforts included training health specialists from the Indo-Pacific to strengthen regional capabilities for health emergencies.
    • India will host a workshop on pandemic preparedness and release a white paper outlining emergency public health responses.
    • Australia is increasing the pool of public health specialists who are ready to deploy, in-country or in the region, in response to disease outbreaks, with the first training session to commence in Darwin, Australia, in the coming days.
    • In coordination with Quad partners, the United States is pledging over $84.5 million to partner with fourteen countries in the Indo-Pacific region to strengthen capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats.

    Mpox

    • In response to the current clade I mpox outbreak, as well as the ongoing clade II mpox outbreak, the Quad plans to coordinate our efforts to promote equitable access to safe, effective, quality-assured mpox vaccines, including where appropriate expanding vaccine manufacturing in low and middle-income countries.

    HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND DISASTER RELIEF (HADR)

    Twenty years ago, the Quad first came together to respond to the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, surging humanitarian assistance to affected countries. In 2022, Quad Foreign Ministers signed the Guidelines for the Quad Partnership on HADR in the Indo-Pacific. In May 2024, following a tragic landslide in Papua New Guinea, Quad countries coordinated their response in accordance with these guidelines. The Quad collectively provided over $5 million in humanitarian assistance. Quad partners continue to support Papua New Guinea in its longer-term resiliency efforts. The Quad continues to deepen HADR coordination and support partners in the region in their longer-term resiliency efforts.

    • Quad governments are working to ensure readiness to rapidly respond, including through pre-positioning of essential relief supplies, in the event of a natural disaster; this effort extends from the Indian Ocean region, to Southeast Asia, to the Pacific.
    • In the coming months, Quad HADR experts will conduct a tabletop exercise to prepare for potential future disasters in the region.
    • Quad partners are working together to provide over $4 million in humanitarian assistance to support the people of Vietnam in light of the devastating consequences of Typhoon Yagi.

    MARITIME SECURITY

    Quad partners are working side-by-side with partners throughout the region to bolster maritime security, improve maritime domain awareness, and uphold a free and open Indo-Pacific.

    Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness and Maritime Training

    • Quad Leaders launched the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) at the 2022 Quad Leaders’ Summit in Tokyo. This initiative provides partners with near-real-time, cost-effective, cutting-edge radio frequency data, enabling them to better monitor their waters; counter illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; respond to climate change and natural disasters; and enforce their laws within their waters.
    • Since the announcement, in consultation with partners, the Quad has successfully scaled the program across the Indo-Pacific region—through the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, with partners in Southeast Asia, to the Information Fusion Center—Indian Ocean Region, Gurugram. In doing so, the Quad has helped well over two dozen countries access dark vessel maritime domain awareness data, so they can better monitor the activities in their exclusive economic zones—including unlawful activity.
    • In the next phase of implementation, announced today, the Quad intends to layer new technology and data into IPMDA over the coming year, to continue to deliver cutting edge capability and information to the region. The Quad intends to leverage electro-optical data and advanced analytic software to sharpen the maritime domain awareness picture for partners.
    • Today the Quad announced a new regional Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific (MAITRI) to enable our partners in the region Indo-Pacific partners to maximize tools provided through IPMDA and other Quad partner initiatives, to monitor and secure their waters, enforce their laws, and deter unlawful behavior. The Quad countries look forward to India hosting the inaugural MAITRI workshop in 2025. 
    • Quad countries are coordinating comprehensive and complementary training across the full suite of legal, operational, and technical maritime security and law enforcement knowledge domains. Quad partners have pledged to expand engagement with regional maritime law enforcement fora, share best practices, and improve civil maritime cooperation.

    Indo-Pacific Logistics Network

    • The Quad launches today a Quad Indo-Pacific Logistics Network pilot project, to pursue shared airlift capacity among the four nations and leverage collective logistics strengths, in order to support civilian response to natural disasters more rapidly and efficiently across the Indo-Pacific region. This effort will complement existing efforts with Indo-Pacific partners.

    Coast Guard Cooperation

    • The U.S. Coast Guard, Japan Coast Guard, Australian Border Force, and Indian Coast Guard plan to launch a first-ever Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission in 2025 in the Indo-Pacific to improve interoperability. Through this effort, members of Japan Coast Guard, Australian Border Force, and Indian Coast Guard will spend time on board a U.S. Coast Guard vessel operating in the Indo-Pacific.  The Quad intends to continue with further missions in the Indo-Pacific.

    QUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE

    The Quad is delivering quality, resilient infrastructure to the region to increase connectivity, build regional capacity, and meet critical needs.

    • This year, the Quad countries’ export credit agencies (ECAs) signed and are implementing a Memorandum of Cooperation, which supports supply chain resilience, critical and emerging technologies, renewable energy, and other high-quality projects in the Indo-Pacific. Quad ECAs are strengthening communication on pipeline information and provision of relevant financing for projects in the Indo-Pacific region, and will pursue joint business promotion efforts that involve industry experts, project developers, and other major market players.
    • The Quad released joint Principles for Development and Deployment of Digital Public Infrastructure, underscoring the Quad’s commitment to an inclusive, open, sustainable, fair, safe, reliable, and secure digital future to advance shared prosperity and sustainable development.
    • The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure organized a workshop in India to empower partners across the Indo-Pacific to strengthen power sector resilience.

    Quad Ports of the Future Partnership

    • The Quad Ports of the Future Partnership will harness the Quad’s expertise to support sustainable and resilient port infrastructure development across the Indo-Pacific, in collaboration with regional partners.
    • In 2025, Quad partners intend to hold the inaugural Regional Ports and Transportation Conference, hosted by India in Mumbai.
    • Through this new partnership, Quad partners intend to coordinate, exchange information, share best practices with partners in the region, and leverage resources to mobilize government and private sector investments in quality port infrastructure across the Indo-Pacific region.

    Quad Infrastructure Fellows

    • The Quad Infrastructure Fellowship was announced at the 2023 Quad Leaders’ Summit to improve capacity and deepen professional networks across the region to design, manage, and attract investment in infrastructure projects. Over the past year, it has expanded to more than 2,200 experts, and Quad partners have already provided well over 1,300 fellowships.

    Undersea Cables and Digital Connectivity

    • Through the Quad Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience, Quad partners continue to support and strengthen quality undersea cable networks in the Indo-Pacific, the capacity, durability, and reliability of which are inextricably linked to the security and prosperity of the region and the world.
    • In support of these efforts, Australia launched the Cable Connectivity and Resilience Centre in July, which is delivering workshops and policy and regulatory assistance in response to requests from across the region.
    • Japan has conducted capacity building trainings to enhance connectivity and resilience in the Indo-Pacific through cooperation with specialized agencies and international organizations. Japan intends to further extend technical cooperation to improve public information and communication technology infrastructure management capacity for an undersea cable in Nauru and Kiribati.
    • The United States has conducted over 1,300 capacity building trainings for telecommunication officials and executives from 25 countries in the Indo-Pacific; today the U.S. announces its intent, working with Congress, to invest an additional $3.4 million to extend and expand this training program.
    • Investments in cable projects by Quad partners will help support all Pacific island countries in achieving primary telecommunication cable connectivity by the end of 2025. Since the last Quad Leaders’ Summit, Quad partners have committed over $140 million to undersea cable builds in the Pacific, alongside contributions from other likeminded partners.
    • Complementing these investments in new undersea cables, India has commissioned a feasibility study to examine expansion of undersea cable maintenance and repair capabilities in the Indo-Pacific.

    CRITICAL AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGY

    The Quad is working in lockstep to stay at the forefront of technology innovation, and remains committed to harnessing emerging technologies for the benefit of people across the Indo-Pacific, and deploying these technologies to facilitate economic prosperity, openness, and connectivity.

    Open Radio Access Network (RAN) and 5G

    • In 2023, Quad partners announced the first-ever Open RAN deployment in the Pacific, in Palau, to support a secure, resilient, and interconnected telecommunications ecosystem. Since then, the Quad has committed approximately $20 million to this effort. Building on this initiative, the Quad announces an expansion of Open RAN collaboration to deliver trusted technology solutions.
    • The Quad plans to expand support for ongoing Open RAN field trials and the Asia Open RAN Academy (AORA) in the Philippines, building on the initial $8 million in support that the United States and Japan pledged earlier this year.
    • In addition, the United States plans to invest over $7 million to support the global expansion of AORA, including through establishing a first-of-its-kind Open RAN workforce training initiative at scale in South Asia, in partnership with Indian institutions.
    • Quad partners also welcome the opportunity to explore additional Open RAN projects in Southeast Asia.
    • Quad partners will also explore collaborating with the Tuvalu Telecommunications Corporation to ensure the country’s readiness for nationwide 5G deployment.

    Artificial Intelligence (AI)

    • Through the Advancing Innovations for Empowering NextGen Agriculture (AI-ENGAGE) initiative announced at the 2023 Quad Leaders’ Summit, Quad governments are deepening leading-edge collaborative research to harness artificial intelligence, robotics, and sensing, to transform agricultural approaches and empower farmers across the Indo-Pacific. The Quad announces an inaugural $7.5+ million in funding opportunities for joint research, and highlights the recent signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation among the four countries’ science agencies to connect research communities and advance shared research principles.
    • The Quad recognizes the importance of advancing international efforts to achieve safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems, including through the outcomes of the Hiroshima AI Process, GPAI New Delhi Ministerial Declaration 2023, and UN General Assembly resolution 78/625 on “Seizing the opportunities of safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems for sustainable development.” The Quad seeks to further deepen international cooperation on artificial intelligence systems and interoperability among artificial intelligence governance frameworks.
    • Quad countries, through the Standards Sub-Group, launched two Track 1.5 dialogues on AI and Advanced Communications Technologies to promote international standardization cooperation, including frameworks for AI conformity assessment.

    Biotechnology

    • The Quad partners look forward to launching the BioExplore Initiative – a joint effort supported by an initial $2 million in funding to use AI technology to study and analyze biological ecosystems across all four countries. This initiative will help advance our ability to discover and use the diverse capabilities found in living organisms to yield new products and innovations with the potential to diagnose and treat disease, develop resilient crops, generate clean energy, and much more. The initiative will also aim to build technological capacity across the Quad nations. 
    • This project will also be underpinned by the forthcoming Quad Principles for Research and Development Collaborations in Critical and Emerging Technologies, which advances sustainable, responsible, safe and secure collaborations in biotechnologies and other critical technologies among the Quad and across the region.

    Semiconductors

    • Quad Leaders welcome the finalization of a Memorandum of Cooperation for the Semiconductor Supply Chains Contingency Network to facilitate collaboration in addressing semiconductor supply chain risks.

    The Quad Investors Network

    The Quad Investors Network (QUIN) is a nonprofit initiative launched at the 2023 Quad Leaders’ Summit. The QUIN aims to accelerate investments in critical and emerging technologies across the Indo-Pacific region, bringing together investors, entrepreneurs, technologists, and public institutions from the Quad countries to support innovation that aligns with the Quad’s shared values and promotes economic growth, resilience, and regional stability. This year, the QUIN supported ten major strategic investments and partnerships across the Quad in the critical minerals, renewable energy, cybersecurity, and aerospace sectors.

    • The QUIN has advanced additional frameworks to foster the development of new technologies and facilitate investment partnerships for emerging startups, including through finalizing a Memorandum of Understanding for the creation of a startup campus in Tokyo, supported by the QUIN and the Chiba Institute of Technology’s Center for Radical Transformation.
    • The QUIN is also working to establish a new venture accelerator in Tokyo through a collaboration between the University of Tokyo, Northeastern University, and the QUIN.  These collaborations will not only fuel technological advancements but also strengthen the economic ties among the Quad nations, contributing to a more integrated and resilient Indo-Pacific region. 
    • Finally, the QUIN developed a Quantum Center of Excellence, which produced a report this year highlighting ways each Quad country’s Quantum ecosystems can work together to collectively leverage capital and expertise.

    CLIMATE AND CLEAN ENERGY

    The Quad recognizes the existential threat climate change poses to the world, the Indo-Pacific, and in particular island nations in the Pacific and in the Indian Ocean region, and is taking ambitious steps to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change, promote clean energy innovation and adoption, and support sustainable development.

    Climate Adaptation

    • The Quad intends to expand its Early Warning Systems and the Climate Information Services Initiative (CIS), announced at the 2023 Leaders’ Summit. This will help improve Pacific Island countries’ access to high-quality climate data and services, and increase partners’ capacity to prepare for and respond to climate change and its impacts.
    • The United States plans to provide 3D-printed automatic weather stations to the Pacific in 2025 to support local weather and climate forecasts, and also train experts in Fiji with the goal of operating a regional center to develop and deploy this technology.
    • Australia is also strengthening Early Warning Systems through Weather Ready Pacific, a Pacific-led initiative supported by the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders in 2021 that drives and delivers on the EWS4ALL UN initiative in the Pacific.
    • Japan is also enhancing cooperation with Pacific Island countries under its “Pacific Climate Resilience Initiative”, inter alia, by strengthening disaster risk reduction and preparedness through satellite technology and by promoting clean energy through capacity building and installation of renewable energies.
    • The Quad also plans to train experts in Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu to better monitor and forecast flash floods, for timely and accurate warnings, reducing human and economic losses from flash floods.

    Clean Energy

    • Our countries intend to strengthen our cooperation to align policies, incentives, standards, and investments around creating high-quality, diversified clean energy supply chains that will enhance our collective energy security, create new economic opportunities across the region, and benefit local workers and communities around the world, particularly across the Indo-Pacific. We will work together, through policy and public finance, to operationalize our commitment to catalyzing complementary and high-standard private sector investment in allied and partner clean energy supply chains. We note the uniquely complementary capabilities Quad partners share across the battery supply chain, and pledge to focus near-term efforts on strengthening mineral production, recycling, and battery manufacturing across our respective industries.
    • Quad Leaders announced a Quad Clean Energy Supply Chain Diversification Program last year, which aims to support the development of secure and diversified clean energy supply chains in the Indo-Pacific region. Australia will open applications for the Quad Clean Energy Supply Chains Diversification Program in November, providing AUD 50 million to support projects that develop and diversify solar panel, hydrogen electrolyzer and battery supply chains. Secure and diversified clean energy supply chains are an integral part of achieving the Indo-Pacific’s collective energy security, emissions reduction goals and transition to a net zero future.
    • India commits to invest $2 million in new solar projects in Fiji, Comoros, Madagascar, and Seychelles.
    • Japan has committed to $122 million grants and loans, both public and private, in renewable energy projects in the Indo-Pacific.
    • The United States, through the DFC, has extended a $250 million loan to Tata Power Solar to construct a solar cell manufacturing facility and a $500 million loan to First Solar to construct and operate a solar module manufacturing facility in India, and continues to seek opportunities to mobilize private capital to solar, as well as wind, cooling, batteries, and critical minerals to expand capacity and diversify supply chains.
    • The Quad announces an initiative to boost energy efficiency, including the deployment and manufacturing of affordable, high-efficiency, cooling systems, to enable climate-vulnerable communities to adapt to rising temperatures while simultaneously reducing strain on the electricity grid. The United States intends to invest an initial $1.25 million of technical assistance financing to this effort.

    CYBER SECURITY

    The Quad is working together to build a more resilient, secure, and complementary cyber security environment for Quad countries and partners.

    • The Quad has [developed/released] the Quad Action Plan to Protect Commercial Undersea Telecommunications Cables, to advance the Quad’s shared vision for future digital connectivity, global commerce, and prosperity.
    • Quad countries are also partnering with software manufacturers, industry trade groups, and research centers to expand the Quad’s commitment to pursuing secure software development standards and certification, as endorsed in the Quad’s 2023 Secure Software Joint Principles.
    • Quad partners will work to harmonize these standards to not only ensure that the development, procurement, and end-use of software for government networks is more secure, but that the cyber resilience of our supply chains, digital economies, and societies are collectively improved.
    • Throughout this fall, each Quad country plans to host events to mark the annual Quad Cyber Challenge promoting responsible cyber ecosystems, public resources, and cybersecurity awareness. This year’s Cyber Challenge campaigns will focus on establishing career pathway programs to increase the number and diversity of global cybersecurity professionals, including increased participation by women, in this rapidly growing field. Last year’s Quad Cyber Challenge included over 85,000 participants across the Indo-Pacific region.
    • Capacity building projects like the Quad Cyber Bootcamp and the international conference on cyber capacity building in the Philippines are important initiatives to enhance cybersecurity and workforce development in the Indo-Pacific region.
    • The Quad is undertaking joint efforts to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities to national security and protection of critical infrastructure networks, and coordinate more closely including on policy responses to sharing of cyber threat information on significant cybersecurity incidents affecting shared priorities.

    COUNTERING DISINFORMATION

    The Quad is working together to foster a resilient information environment, including through its Countering Disinformation Working Group, by supporting media freedom and addressing foreign information manipulation and interference, including disinformation, which undermines trust and sows discord in the international community.

    PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE TIES

    Quad countries are building enduring ties between their peoples. Stakeholders from Quad countries have participated in International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) and other exchanges, on topics related to cyber security, workforce development for critical and emerging technologies, women in STEM, government transparency and accountability, combating disinformation, and regional maritime governance.

    The Quad Fellowship

    • Together with the Institute of International Education, which leads implementation of the Quad Fellowship, Quad governments welcome the second cohort of Quad Fellows and the expansion of the program to include students from ASEAN countries for the first time. The Government of Japan is supporting the program to enable Quad Fellows to study in Japan. The Quad welcomes the generous support of private sector partners for the next cohort of fellows, including Google, the Pratt Foundation, and Western Digital.
    • The Quad looks forward to the Quad Fellowship Summit in Washington, DC, in October, organized by the Institute of International Education.

    Additional People-to-People Initiatives

    • India announces a new initiative to award fifty Quad scholarships, worth $500,000, to students from the Indo-Pacific to pursue a 4-year undergraduate engineering program at a Government of India-funded technical institution.

    SPACE

    The Quad recognizes the essential contribution of space-related applications and technologies in the Indo-Pacific. The four countries plan to continue delivering Earth Observation data and other space-related applications to assist nations across the Indo-Pacific to strengthen climate early warning systems and better manage the impacts of extreme weather events.

    • The Quad welcomes India’s establishment of a space-based web portal for Mauritius to support the concept of open science for space-based monitoring of extreme weather events and climate impact.

    Space Situational Awareness Initiative

    • Quad partners intend to share expertise and experience in space situational awareness (SSA), contributing to long-term sustainability of the space environment. Cooperation is intended to leverage SSA and space traffic coordination capabilities in the civil domain, including to help avoid collisions in outer space and manage debris.

     
    COUNTERING TERRORISM
     
    The Quad hosted its first Counter Terrorism Working Group (CTWG) in 2023 and will meet annually to discuss CT threats, Quad CT good practices, and ways the Quad can work together to mitigate acts of terrorism through information sharing, consequence management and strategic messaging.  The Quad CTWG currently focuses on countering the use of unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS), chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear devices (CBRN), and the internet for terrorist purposes. The Quad CTWG discusses new CT lines of effort on which to collaborate, hosts technical workshops for establishing CT good practices, and explores ways to engage non-Quad members with Quad-established CT expertise.

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Myanmar’s flood death toll rises to 384

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    The death toll from Myanmar’s floods has risen to 384, with 89 people still missing as of Saturday morning, the Information Team of Myanmar’s State Administration Council reported on Saturday.

    The deaths included 164 from Nay Pyi Taw Union Territory, 134 from Mandalay Region, 78 from Shan State, five from Kayin State, two from Bago Region and one from Ayeyarwady Region, the report said.

    The floods have affected dozens of townships across nine regions and states, covering about 16 percent of the country, it said.

    It also said that 2,149 buildings were completely destroyed, 3,455 were partially damaged, and 546 schools were submerged and damaged. Additionally, 533 roads and bridges, 2,489 power poles, and 99 communication towers were also destroyed, it said.

    A total of 148,643 people were affected by the floods. which have devastated 735,461 acres of paddy fields and killed 144,998 animals, the report added.

    Triggered by Typhoon Yagi and a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal, the floods were the most devastating in the last 50 years, it said. Heavy rains in the nighttime combined with mountain runoff have contributed to the rising casualties.

    Local authorities, rescue organizations, and residents are working together to clean the affected areas, provide healthcare, and distribute food and other essentials to the victims, it said.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Government prioritises providing shelter for stranded motorists in anticipation of more snow

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    In light of the South African Weather Service (SAWS) forecast of severe snow and wet conditions across the country,  Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa has directed the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) to coordinate readiness and response efforts with the relevant stakeholders.

    The severe weather has resulted in extreme cold nationwide, especially in KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State, prompting a robust multisectoral response. 

    According to CoGTA, the focus will be on humanitarian relief, with shelter being provided for those stranded, coordinated by the Department of Social Development. 

    The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) will lead rescue operations, while the Department of Transport will focus on road clearance.

    “Our current priority is saving lives by providing necessities and ensuring the safety of those trapped. 

    “We understand families may have travel plans, but we strongly advise against travelling during these conditions. We urge everyone to cooperate with us, as cooperation can help save lives,” Hlabisa said. 

    The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport said although thousands of motorists and truck drivers have been freed on the N3 highway, others are still trapped.

    Hlabisa’s Office said all affected provinces have activated their disaster response structures. 

    This was confirmed during a national coordination meeting with Provincial Disaster Management Centres (PDMCs), which provided updated reports to pinpoint areas that need urgent intervention.

    According to the department, disaster teams are working tirelessly to ensure the safety of those caught in these conditions. 

    The SAWS has since issued a Level 8 warning for additional disruptive snow in several areas, including Alfred Duma (Ladysmith), Dr N. Dlamini-Zuma (Underberg), Greater Kokstad, and others. 

    “This warning signifies potentially life-threatening weather that could impact people, animals, and infrastructure,” the department said.

    In addition, windy conditions, rain and heavy snowfall have disrupted essential services such as water and electricity.

    “Government teams are actively working to restore these services to safeguard lives. KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State continue to experience heavy rains, raising concerns about localised flooding that could affect pedestrians and drivers,” the department said.

    Hlabisa urged the public to exercise caution as disaster teams are continuing to provide emergency assistance. 

    While these teams are dedicated to supporting and rescuing those in need, the department said vigilance is paramount. 

    “The public is advised to stay alert and heed warnings from the SAWS, disaster management teams and law enforcement agencies,” the Minister said.

    In addition, various communication channels will be utilised to keep everyone informed and safe. 

    For emergencies, contact your local municipal disaster management center, the nearest police station, or national emergency numbers 112, 10177, or 107. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Union Secretary for Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change delivers opening remarks at Summit of the Future Side Event in the United Nations Headquarters

    Source: Government of India

    Union Secretary for Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change delivers opening remarks at Summit of the Future Side Event in the United Nations Headquarters

    Adopting LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) globally will reduce Green Houses Gases Emissions by 2 billion Tonnes by 2030 as per IEA, says Union Secretary Ms. Leena Nandan

    Ms. Leena Nandan highlights Prime Minister’s ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ visionary initiative to Inspire Global citizens worldwide to plant Trees in the name of their own Mother and for Mother Earth

    750 million trees planted across India between 5th June and 17th September i.e. 7 million trees per day, says Ms. Nandan

    India’s New Education Policy and Skill Council for Green Jobs hold the key to skilling youth for green jobs in India, says Ms. Nandan

    Posted On: 21 SEP 2024 5:24PM by PIB Delhi

    Ms. Leena Nandan, Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, in her opening remarks, addressed the Summit of the Future Side Event at the United Nations Headquarters today, which focused on Empowering Youth for Sustainable Futures: Intergenerational Responsibility and Skills for a Just Transition.

    The two-minute video on LiFE i.e Lifestyle for Environment was screened in the opening remarks. The Union Secretary Ms. Leena Nandan said that two-minute video on life was an attempt to capture the philosophy and true spirit of India’s multidimensional approach to address the challenge of Climate Change.  She further added that LiFE i.e. Lifestyle for Environment is one of the key strategies enunciated by Prime Minister of India in COP-26.

    She highlighted that Mission LiFE was launched globally by the Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi in October, 2022, in the presence of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The Mission LiFE is being implemented across the country and the globe under the leadership of Shri Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

    Speaking on the occasion, she stated that Mission LiFE promotes a shift in our daily behaviours towards environmentally friendly choices and the adoption of sustainable lifestyles. By integrating sustainable consumption practices, LiFE can drive significant progress on SDG12.

    She emphasized that the climate action resolution sponsored by India received support from Bolivia and Sri Lanka. Building on this momentum, she stated that the United Nations Environment Assembly adopted a resolution promoting sustainable lifestyles at its sixth session in Nairobi on March 1, 2024. She further said that the International Energy Agency estimates that implementing the actions promoted by Mission LiFE could reduce global GHG emissions by 2 billion tonnes annually by 2030.

    She highlighted that today’s children and youth are essential for ensuring intergenerational equity. This responsibility requires us to equip them with the skills and tools necessary for a just transition, she added. 

    She explained that our youth, who make up nearly 28% of the population, hold great potential for leading the transition to a green economy. As one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, we see this demographic dividend as essential for achieving sustainable and inclusive growth.

    Ms. Leena Nandan stated that the New Education Policy of India, along with the Green Skill Development Programme and the Skill Council for Green Jobs (SCGJ), offers a comprehensive solution to address the increasing demand for Green Jobs.

    She stated that the SCGJ’s vision for 2047 expects the clean energy transition to generate 30-35 million new jobs in India. Programs like the International Solar Alliance and the Global Biofuel Alliance aim to create green jobs globally by empowering youth and equipping them with skills. Recognising the contribution of India in promoting LiFE i.e Lifestyle for Environment for sustainable consumption and production, it has been nominated for a two-year seat on the board of 10-Year Framework of Programmes (10YFP) under UNEP.

    She quoted Prime Minister of India for special attention to Mission LiFE i.e Lifestyle for Environment “Too often, our discussion is reduced to an argument about emission cuts. But we are more likely to succeed if we offer affordable solutions, not simply impose decisions. And, it is for the same reason that I call for a change in lifestyle. Because, the emission reduction that we seek will be the natural outcome of how we live and work”.

    Union Secretary Ms. Leena Nandan highlighted the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in launching “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” or “Plant4Mother” aimed at involving the citizens of India and the world in planting trees as a mark of love and respect for one’s own Mother and Mother Earth. She announced that more than 750 million trees have been planted in India between June 5 and September 17 under the initiative, which amounts to about 7 million trees per day.

    She urged everyone to come together and move forward, recognizing that our choices today will not only benefit the planet but also shape the future for our children and youth.

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: International Coastal Clean-up Day: Maharashtra Governor, Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, participate in the Beach Clean-Up Campaign in Mumbai

    Source: Government of India

    International Coastal Clean-up Day: Maharashtra Governor, Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, participate in the Beach Clean-Up Campaign in Mumbai

    Environment Minister Sh. Bhupender Yadav Announces Guidelines to Support Startups in Waste recycling

    Maharashtra celebrates International Coastal Cleanup Day with a Mega Beach Cleaning Campaign at Juhu, Mumbai

    Posted On: 21 SEP 2024 1:20PM by PIB Mumbai

    Mumbai, 21 September 2024

     

    “Ministry of Environment and Climate Change will provide one-time financial support for youth-led recycling startups aimed at creating a cleaner and greener planet,” Union Minister for Environment and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav announced Guidelines for One-Time Financial Support for Establishing Recycling Plants while taking part in Beach Clean-up Drive at Juhu, Mumbai today. On the occasion of International Coastal Cleanup Day- 21st September 2024, Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in partnership with Ministry of Earth Sciences and the Government of Maharashtra, organised a Mega Beach Cleaning Drive at Juhu Beach.

    The Minister also mentioned that we human beings often forget the importance of cleanliness despite our understanding of resource utilization. “While nature generously provides us with pure resources, our return to the earth often consists of waste,” remarked. 

    He also spoke about the necessity of several steps to be taken to save environment; Water conservation,Promoting technologies that reduce solid waste, Creative Waste Disposal  Encouraging innovative methods for waste management, Healthy Lifestyle Promotion, Ban on Single-Use Plastics and Food Waste Reduction. 

       

    The Minister also encouraged the citizens to join “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam,” initiative as inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “By planting a tree, we express our gratitude to Mother Earth, recognizing the dual role of our mothers in nurturing life,” he added.

    He also spoke that the Government and the Ministry is committed to taking actionable steps, pledging to clean Mumbai’s beaches.

    Addressing the participants, Governor of Maharashtra, Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan said that one day of action is simply not enough. This initiative should be carried out throughout the year and repeated annually, as small beginnings can lead to significant transformations. “By engaging young people in these efforts, we are working towards a “Clean Mumbai, Green Mumbai” and ultimately a “Clean Bharat, Green Bharat.” he said. 

       

    Maharashtra Chief Minister Shri Eknath Shinde emphasized the importance of cleanliness as a service, highlighting the state’s 720 km-long coastline and its potential to boost tourism. He expressed satisfaction in citizens’ participation in the cleanliness drive launched on September 17 at Girgaum Chowpatty, which will continue until October 2. 

    This coast cleanliness drive is conducted alongside more than 100 other beaches across coastal states and Union Territories. This year, the theme for the cleanliness campaign is “Swabhav Swachhata – Sanskaar Swachhata,” emphasizing the importance of natural cleanliness and cultural responsibility towards maintaining clean beaches and marine ecosystems.

    During the Drive, participants took a pledge on “I Am Saving My Beach” and committed to cleanliness. This communal effort aligns with the broader national campaign initiated by the Prime Minister, who has called for cleanliness to be a national priority. Participants also formed human chains and actively participated in direct beach cleaning efforts.

       

    Principal Secretary of the Department of Environment and Climate Change, Shri Pravin Darade, delivered the welcome address. 
    Shri Tanmay Kumar, Special Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change and Shri Bhushan Gagrani, Municipal Commissioner, Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, Govt. of Maharashtra also spoke during the event.

     

    Background

    Since its inception, the beach cleaning drive has gained momentum, with notable milestones. The MoEFCC launched the #IAM SAVING MY BEACH campaign on World Environment Day in 2018, which has evolved into a regular series of clean-up activities across the nation. In 2022, the campaign under the banner of “Swachh Sagar, Surakshit Sagar” saw participation from over 15,000 volunteers, collecting more than 1,500 tons of waste from 75 beaches.

    Last year, during the G20 Presidency, a Janbhagidari movement further enhanced community engagement, witnessing participation from 14 G20 countries and various invitee nations. The collective effort resulted in the cleanup of over 55 beaches globally, demonstrating the power of international cooperation in environmental conservation.

    The International Coastal Cleanup Day serves not just as a cleanup drive but as a vital educational platform. It raises awareness about the impact of marine litter and the importance of preserving our oceans.  This year’s campaign features activities such as signature campaigns, tree planting, and awareness displays aimed at inspiring a lifestyle that minimizes plastic use and promotes sustainable practices. A centralized database will track achievements, ensuring transparency and encouraging continued community involvement.

     

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    PIB Mumbai | DL/ DR

     

    Follow us on social media: @PIBMumbai    /PIBMumbai     /pibmumbai   pibmumbai[at]gmail[dot]com  /PIBMumbai     /pibmumbai

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Ministry achieves 100-Day Target of 100 Nagar Vans with objective to Enhance Urban Greenery

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Ministry achieves 100-Day Target of 100 Nagar Vans with objective to Enhance Urban Greenery

    111 Nagar Vans approved against the target of 100 Nagar Vans in 100 Days Action Plan

    Scheme Offers Rs. 4 Lakh Per Hectare to Promote Urban Forests with Citizen Involvement

    It aims to develop 1000 Nagar Vans by 2027 with the financial support of National Fund of National Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning Authority

    Nagar Van to Feature Biodiversity Parks, Smriti Vans, Butterfly Conservatories, Herbal Gardens

    Posted On: 22 SEP 2024 12:40PM by PIB Delhi

    The activities proposed under Nagar Van Yojana during the first 100 days of the Government was to approve 100 Nagar Vans. With the collective effort of the Central and Sate/UT Governments, this target has been achieved and surpassed, with 111 Nagar Vans being sanctioned within the 100 days. These 111 Nagar Vans are spread across 6 States and 1 UT of the country.

    The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India had launched revised Nagar Van Yojana (NVY) in 2020 in an effort to enhance the urban greenery for improving the quality of life and increasing social cohesion in cities. These Nagar Vans will not only be vital environmental resources but also be a space for recreation, environment education, biodiversity conservation and a tool for adaptation towards climate change making the cities climate resilient.

    The scheme provides financial assistance of Rs. 4 lakh per hectare for the creation and maintenance of these urban forests, encouraging the involvement of citizens, students, and other stakeholders in the creation and management of these green spaces. Nagar Van areas range from a minimum of 10 ha to 50 ha. The scheme covers all cities with Municipal Corporations, Municipalities and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). Emphasis is on biodiversity, Planting fruit-bearing, medicinal, and native species to attract wildlife and promote ecological balance. Community participation is central, with opportunities for public engagement through tree planting, educational programs, and sustainable management. Each Nagar Van must have at least two-thirds of its area under tree cover and will feature components like Biodiversity Parks, Smriti Vans, Butterfly Conservatories, and Herbal Gardens and now Matri Van created under Ek Ped Ma Ke Naam.

    Presently, the Nagar Van Yojana aims to develop 1000 Nagar Vans by the year 2027 with the financial support of National Fund of National Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning Authority (National CAMPA). This initiative will help in protecting forest land within and around urban centers from degradation and encroachment and will also address environmental concerns such as air pollution, urban heat islands, the loss of biodiversity, degradation of habitat etc.

    Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam, a special country wide Tree Plantation campaign has been launched by Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi on World Environment Day on 5th June 2024. Drawing a parallel between the nurturing of nature by Mother Earth and human lives by our mothers, Prime Minister extorted people across the world to plant a tree as a mark of love, respect and honour for their mother also take a pledge for protecting trees and mother earth.

    This initiative not only pays tribute to maternal figures but also instills a culture of tree planting among individuals and communities. The campaign emphasizes the dual purpose of environmental stewardship and personal gratitude, symbolizing the nurturing role of both trees and mothers in our lives. The campaign aims at involving everyone in halting and reversing land degradation, building draught resistance and preventing desertification. Under this mass tree plantation special campaign, it is targeted to plant 80 crore trees this year by September end and 140 crores by next year March end. Provision has been made on MeriLiFE portal for uploading details of plantation done by any individual or institution or organization private or government and tracking plantation efforts. More than 75 crore saplings have been planted by now under this campaign and detailed information has been uploaded on MeriLiFE portal.

    A Tree Plantation drive was organized on 17th of September, 2024 under Ek Ped Ma Ke Naam in newly approved Nagar Vans in various cities to create Matri Van. Through the active participation of citizens, government agencies, and private entities in the citizen driven special campaign “Ek Ped Ma Ke Naam”, the aim of transforming cities into eco-friendly spaces that promote sustainability and well-being is sought to be achieved.

     

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Celebrating World Rhino Day

    Source: Government of India

    Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

    Celebrating World Rhino Day


    Assam’s Role in Protecting the Greater One-Horned Rhino

    Posted On:
    22 SEP 2024 11:23AM by PIB Delhi

    Celebrating World Rhino Day

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    (Release ID: 2057486)
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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Fact Sheet: 2024 Quad Leaders’ Summit

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 22 SEP 2024 8:58AM by PIB Delhi

    On September 21, 2024, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. hosted Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India in Wilmington, Delaware, for the fourth Quad Leaders’ Summit.

    The Quad was established to be a global force for good. This year, the Quad is proudly executing tangible projects that benefit partner countries across the Indo-Pacific—including in the Pacific, Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean Region. The Quad is working together at unprecedented scope and scale to deliver on Indo-Pacific partners’ priorities. Together, the Quad is leading ambitious projects to help partners address pandemics and disease; respond to natural disasters; strengthen their maritime domain awareness and maritime security; mobilize and build high-standard physical and digital infrastructure; invest in and benefit from critical and emerging technologies; confront the threat of climate change; bolster cyber security; and cultivate the next generation of technology leaders.

    ENDURING PARTNERS FOR THE INDO-PACIFIC

    Over the past four years, Quad Leaders have met six times, including twice virtually. Quad Foreign Ministers have met eight times, most recently in Tokyo in July. Quad country representatives convene on a regular basis, at all levels, to consult one another, exchange ideas to advance shared priorities, and deliver benefits for partners across the Indo-Pacific region. All Quad governments have institutionalized the Quad at all levels and across a diverse array of departments and agencies. Today, Quad Leaders announced new initiatives to solidify these habits of cooperation and to set up the Quad to endure for the long-term.

    Each Quad government has committed to work through their respective budgetary processes to secure robust funding for Quad priorities in the Indo-Pacific region to ensure an enduring impact.

    The Quad governments also intend to work with their respective legislatures to deepen interparliamentary exchanges, and encourage other stakeholders to deepen engagement with Quad counterparts. Yesterday, Members of Congress announced the creation of a bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Quad Caucus.

    In the coming months, Quad Commerce and Industry ministers will meet for the first time.

    Quad Leaders also welcome the leaders of the Quad Development Finance Institutions and Agencies deciding to meet to explore future investments by the four countries in the Indo-Pacific, including in health security, food security, clean energy, and quality infrastructure. This builds on a previous meeting in 2022 between the heads of the Export Finance Australia, the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific, India Export-Import Bank, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, and U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).

    The United States will host the 2025 Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting, and India will host the 2025 Quad Leaders Summit.

    GLOBAL HEALTH & HEALTH SECURITY

    In 2023, the Quad announced the Quad Health Security Partnership to strengthen coordination and collaboration in support of health security in the Indo-Pacific. The Quad Health Security Partnership is delivering on its commitments to strengthen the Indo-Pacific’s ability to detect and respond to outbreaks of diseases with epidemic or pandemic potential, including through a set of new initiatives announced today.

    Quad Cancer Moonshot

    The Quad is launching the historic Quad Cancer Moonshot, a collective effort to leverage public and private resources to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer in the Indo-Pacific, with an initial focus on cervical cancer. Altogether, the Quad Cancer Moonshot announced today is projected to save hundreds of thousands of lives over the coming decades. More information can be found here.

    Pandemic Preparedness

    Quad countries are committed to supporting health security and resiliency efforts across the region, including continued support for the Pandemic Fund.

    The Quad reaffirms commitment to bolstering health security across the Indo-Pacific region. In 2024, the Quad Health Security Partnership advanced regional resilience through the second pandemic preparedness table top exercise, building on the success of the Quad Vaccine Partnership to enhance prevention, early detection, and response to potential disease outbreaks, and is exploring developing Standard Operating Procedures for Pandemic Response. The Quad’s collaborative efforts included training health specialists from the Indo-Pacific to strengthen regional capabilities for health emergencies.

    India will host a workshop on pandemic preparedness and release a white paper outlining emergency public health responses.

    Australia is increasing the pool of public health specialists who are ready to deploy, in-country or in the region, in response to disease outbreaks, with the first training session to commence in Darwin, Australia, in the coming days.

    In coordination with Quad partners, the United States is pledging over $84.5 million to partner with fourteen countries in the Indo-Pacific region to strengthen capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats.

    Mpox

    In response to the current clade I mpox outbreak, as well as the ongoing clade II mpox outbreak, the Quad plans to coordinate our efforts to promote equitable access to safe, effective, quality-assured mpox vaccines, including where appropriate expanding vaccine manufacturing in low and middle-income countries.

    HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND DISASTER RELIEF (HADR)

    Twenty years ago, the Quad first came together to respond to the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, surging humanitarian assistance to affected countries. In 2022, Quad Foreign Ministers signed the Guidelines for the Quad Partnership on HADR in the Indo-Pacific. In May 2024, following a tragic landslide in Papua New Guinea, Quad countries coordinated their response in accordance with these guidelines. The Quad collectively provided over $5 million in humanitarian assistance. Quad partners continue to support Papua New Guinea in its longer-term resiliency efforts. The Quad continues to deepen HADR coordination and support partners in the region in their longer-term resiliency efforts.

    Quad governments are working to ensure readiness to rapidly respond, including through pre-positioning of essential relief supplies, in the event of a natural disaster; this effort extends from the Indian Ocean region, to Southeast Asia, to the Pacific.

    In the coming months, Quad HADR experts will conduct a tabletop exercise to prepare for potential future disasters in the region.

    Quad partners are working together to provide over $4 million in humanitarian assistance to support the people of Vietnam in light of the devastating consequences of Typhoon Yagi.

    MARITIME SECURITY

    Quad partners are working side-by-side with partners throughout the region to bolster maritime security, improve maritime domain awareness, and uphold a free and open Indo-Pacific.

    Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness and Maritime Training

    Quad Leaders launched the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) at the 2022 Quad Leaders’ Summit in Tokyo. This initiative provides partners with near-real-time, cost-effective, cutting-edge radio frequency data, enabling them to better monitor their waters; counter illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; respond to climate change and natural disasters; and enforce their laws within their waters.

    Since the announcement, in consultation with partners, the Quad has successfully scaled the program across the Indo-Pacific region—through the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, with partners in Southeast Asia, to the Information Fusion Center—Indian Ocean Region, Gurugram. In doing so, the Quad has helped well over two dozen countries access dark vessel maritime domain awareness data, so they can better monitor the activities in their exclusive economic zones—including unlawful activity.

    In the next phase of implementation, announced today, the Quad intends to layer new technology and data into IPMDA over the coming year, to continue to deliver cutting edge capability and information to the region. The Quad intends to leverage electro-optical data and advanced analytic software to sharpen the maritime domain awareness picture for partners.

    Today the Quad announced a new regional Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific (MAITRI) to enable our partners in the region Indo-Pacific partners to maximize tools provided through IPMDA and other Quad partner initiatives, to monitor and secure their waters, enforce their laws, and deter unlawful behavior. The Quad countries look forward to India hosting the inaugural MAITRI workshop in 2025.

    Quad countries are coordinating comprehensive and complementary training across the full suite of legal, operational, and technical maritime security and law enforcement knowledge domains. Quad partners have pledged to expand engagement with regional maritime law enforcement fora, share best practices, and improve civil maritime cooperation.

    Indo-Pacific Logistics Network

    The Quad launches today a Quad Indo-Pacific Logistics Network pilot project, to pursue shared airlift capacity among the four nations and leverage collective logistics strengths, in order to support civilian response to natural disasters more rapidly and efficiently across the Indo-Pacific region. This effort will complement existing efforts with Indo-Pacific partners.

    Coast Guard Cooperation

    The U.S. Coast Guard, Japan Coast Guard, Australian Border Force, and Indian Coast Guard plan to launch a first-ever Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission in 2025 in the Indo-Pacific to improve interoperability. Through this effort, members of Japan Coast Guard, Australian Border Force, and Indian Coast Guard will spend time on board a U.S. Coast Guard vessel operating in the Indo-Pacific. The Quad intends to continue with further missions in the Indo-Pacific.

    QUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE

    The Quad is delivering quality, resilient infrastructure to the region to increase connectivity, build regional capacity, and meet critical needs.

    This year, the Quad countries’ export credit agencies (ECAs) signed and are implementing a Memorandum of Cooperation, which supports supply chain resilience, critical and emerging technologies, renewable energy, and other high-quality projects in the Indo-Pacific. Quad ECAs are strengthening communication on pipeline information and provision of relevant financing for projects in the Indo-Pacific region, and will pursue joint business promotion efforts that involve industry experts, project developers, and other major market players.

    The Quad released joint Principles for Development and Deployment of Digital Public Infrastructure, underscoring the Quad’s commitment to an inclusive, open, sustainable, fair, safe, reliable, and secure digital future to advance shared prosperity and sustainable development.

    The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure organized a workshop in India to empower partners across the Indo-Pacific to strengthen power sector resilience.

    Quad Ports of the Future Partnership

    The Quad Ports of the Future Partnership will harness the Quad’s expertise to support sustainable and resilient port infrastructure development across the Indo-Pacific, in collaboration with regional partners.

    In 2025, Quad partners intend to hold the inaugural Regional Ports and Transportation Conference, hosted by India in Mumbai.

    Through this new partnership, Quad partners intend to coordinate, exchange information, share best practices with partners in the region, and leverage resources to mobilize government and private sector investments in quality port infrastructure across the Indo-Pacific region.

    Quad Infrastructure Fellows

    The Quad Infrastructure Fellowship was announced at the 2023 Quad Leaders’ Summit to improve capacity and deepen professional networks across the region to design, manage, and attract investment in infrastructure projects. Over the past year, it has expanded to more than 2,200 experts, and Quad partners have already provided well over 1,300 fellowships.

    Undersea Cables and Digital Connectivity

    Through the Quad Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience, Quad partners continue to support and strengthen quality undersea cable networks in the Indo-Pacific, the capacity, durability, and reliability of which are inextricably linked to the security and prosperity of the region and the world.

    In support of these efforts, Australia launched the Cable Connectivity and Resilience Centre in July, which is delivering workshops and policy and regulatory assistance in response to requests from across the region.

    Japan has conducted capacity building trainings to enhance connectivity and resilience in the Indo-Pacific through cooperation with specialized agencies and international organizations. Japan intends to further extend technical cooperation to improve public information and communication technology infrastructure management capacity for an undersea cable in Nauru and Kiribati.

    The United States has conducted over 1,300 capacity building trainings for telecommunication officials and executives from 25 countries in the Indo-Pacific; today the U.S. announces its intent, working with Congress, to invest an additional $3.4 million to extend and expand this training program.

    Investments in cable projects by Quad partners will help support all Pacific island countries in achieving primary telecommunication cable connectivity by the end of 2025. Since the last Quad Leaders’ Summit, Quad partners have committed over $140 million to undersea cable builds in the Pacific, alongside contributions from other likeminded partners.

    Complementing these investments in new undersea cables, India has commissioned a feasibility study to examine expansion of undersea cable maintenance and repair capabilities in the Indo-Pacific.

    CRITICAL AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGY

    The Quad is working in lockstep to stay at the forefront of technology innovation, and remains committed to harnessing emerging technologies for the benefit of people across the Indo-Pacific, and deploying these technologies to facilitate economic prosperity, openness, and connectivity.

    Open Radio Access Network (RAN) and 5G

    In 2023, Quad partners announced the first-ever Open RAN deployment in the Pacific, in Palau, to support a secure, resilient, and interconnected telecommunications ecosystem. Since then, the Quad has committed approximately $20 million to this effort. Building on this initiative, the Quad announces an expansion of Open RAN collaboration to deliver trusted technology solutions.

    The Quad plans to expand support for ongoing Open RAN field trials and the Asia Open RAN Academy (AORA) in the Philippines, building on the initial $8 million in support that the United States and Japan pledged earlier this year.

    In addition, the United States plans to invest over $7 million to support the global expansion of AORA, including through establishing a first-of-its-kind Open RAN workforce training initiative at scale in South Asia, in partnership with Indian institutions.

    Quad partners also welcome the opportunity to explore additional Open RAN projects in Southeast Asia.

    Quad partners will also explore collaborating with the Tuvalu Telecommunications Corporation to ensure the country’s readiness for nationwide 5G deployment.

    Artificial Intelligence (AI)

    Through the Advancing Innovations for Empowering NextGen Agriculture (AI-ENGAGE) initiative announced at the 2023 Quad Leaders’ Summit, Quad governments are deepening leading-edge collaborative research to harness artificial intelligence, robotics, and sensing, to transform agricultural approaches and empower farmers across the Indo-Pacific. The Quad announces an inaugural $7.5+ million in funding opportunities for joint research, and highlights the recent signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation among the four countries’ science agencies to connect research communities and advance shared research principles.

    The Quad recognizes the importance of advancing international efforts to achieve safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems, including through the outcomes of the Hiroshima AI Process, GPAI New Delhi Ministerial Declaration 2023, and UN General Assembly resolution 78/625 on “Seizing the opportunities of safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems for sustainable development.” The Quad seeks to further deepen international cooperation on artificial intelligence systems and interoperability among artificial intelligence governance frameworks.

    Quad countries, through the Standards Sub-Group, launched two Track 1.5 dialogues on AI and Advanced Communications Technologies to promote international standardization cooperation, including frameworks for AI conformity assessment.

    Biotechnology

    The Quad partners look forward to launching the BioExplore Initiative – a joint effort supported by an initial $2 million in funding to use AI technology to study and analyze biological ecosystems across all four countries. This initiative will help advance our ability to discover and use the diverse capabilities found in living organisms to yield new products and innovations with the potential to diagnose and treat disease, develop resilient crops, generate clean energy, and much more. The initiative will also aim to build technological capacity across the Quad nations.

    This project will also be underpinned by the forthcoming Quad Principles for Research and Development Collaborations in Critical and Emerging Technologies, which advances sustainable, responsible, safe and secure collaborations in biotechnologies and other critical technologies among the Quad and across the region.

    Semiconductors

    Quad Leaders welcome the finalization of a Memorandum of Cooperation for the Semiconductor Supply Chains Contingency Network to facilitate collaboration in addressing semiconductor supply chain risks.

    The Quad Investors Network

    The Quad Investors Network (QUIN) is a nonprofit initiative launched at the 2023 Quad Leaders’ Summit. The QUIN aims to accelerate investments in critical and emerging technologies across the Indo-Pacific region, bringing together investors, entrepreneurs, technologists, and public institutions from the Quad countries to support innovation that aligns with the Quad’s shared values and promotes economic growth, resilience, and regional stability. This year, the QUIN supported ten major strategic investments and partnerships across the Quad in the critical minerals, renewable energy, cybersecurity, and aerospace sectors.

    The QUIN has advanced additional frameworks to foster the development of new technologies and facilitate investment partnerships for emerging startups, including through finalizing a Memorandum of Understanding for the creation of a startup campus in Tokyo, supported by the QUIN and the Chiba Institute of Technology’s Center for Radical Transformation.

    The QUIN is also working to establish a new venture accelerator in Tokyo through a collaboration between the University of Tokyo, Northeastern University, and the QUIN. These collaborations will not only fuel technological advancements but also strengthen the economic ties among the Quad nations, contributing to a more integrated and resilient Indo-Pacific region.

    Finally, the QUIN developed a Quantum Center of Excellence, which produced a report this year highlighting ways each Quad country’s Quantum ecosystems can work together to collectively leverage capital and expertise.

    CLIMATE AND CLEAN ENERGY

    The Quad recognizes the existential threat climate change poses to the world, the Indo-Pacific, and in particular island nations in the Pacific and in the Indian Ocean region, and is taking ambitious steps to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change, promote clean energy innovation and adoption, and support sustainable development.

    Climate Adaptation

    The Quad intends to expand its Early Warning Systems and the Climate Information Services Initiative (CIS), announced at the 2023 Leaders’ Summit. This will help improve Pacific Island countries’ access to high-quality climate data and services, and increase partners’ capacity to prepare for and respond to climate change and its impacts.

    The United States plans to provide 3D-printed automatic weather stations to the Pacific in 2025 to support local weather and climate forecasts, and also train experts in Fiji with the goal of operating a regional center to develop and deploy this technology.

    Australia is also strengthening Early Warning Systems through Weather Ready Pacific, a Pacific-led initiative supported by the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders in 2021 that drives and delivers on the EWS4ALL UN initiative in the Pacific.

    Japan is also enhancing cooperation with Pacific Island countries under its “Pacific Climate Resilience Initiative”, inter alia, by strengthening disaster risk reduction and preparedness through satellite technology and by promoting clean energy through capacity building and installation of renewable energies.

    The Quad also plans to train experts in Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu to better monitor and forecast flash floods, for timely and accurate warnings, reducing human and economic losses from flash floods.

    Clean Energy

    Our countries intend to strengthen our cooperation to align policies, incentives, standards, and investments around creating high-quality, diversified clean energy supply chains that will enhance our collective energy security, create new economic opportunities across the region, and benefit local workers and communities around the world, particularly across the Indo-Pacific. We will work together, through policy and public finance, to operationalize our commitment to catalyzing complementary and high-standard private sector investment in allied and partner clean energy supply chains. We note the uniquely complementary capabilities Quad partners share across the battery supply chain, and pledge to focus near-term efforts on strengthening mineral production, recycling, and battery manufacturing across our respective industries.

    Quad Leaders announced a Quad Clean Energy Supply Chain Diversification Program last year, which aims to support the development of secure and diversified clean energy supply chains in the Indo-Pacific region. Australia will open applications for the Quad Clean Energy Supply Chains Diversification Program in November, providing AUD 50 million to support projects that develop and diversify solar panel, hydrogen electrolyzer and battery supply chains. Secure and diversified clean energy supply chains are an integral part of achieving the Indo-Pacific’s collective energy security, emissions reduction goals and transition to a net zero future.

    India commits to invest $2 million in new solar projects in Fiji, Comoros, Madagascar, and Seychelles.

    Japan has committed to $122 million grants and loans, both public and private, in renewable energy projects in the Indo-Pacific.

    The United States, through the DFC, has extended a $250 million loan to Tata Power Solar to construct a solar cell manufacturing facility and a $500 million loan to First Solar to construct and operate a solar module manufacturing facility in India, and continues to seek opportunities to mobilize private capital to solar, as well as wind, cooling, batteries, and critical minerals to expand capacity and diversify supply chains.

    The Quad announces an initiative to boost energy efficiency, including the deployment and manufacturing of affordable, high-efficiency, cooling systems, to enable climate-vulnerable communities to adapt to rising temperatures while simultaneously reducing strain on the electricity grid. The United States intends to invest an initial $1.25 million of technical assistance financing to this effort.

    CYBER SECURITY

    The Quad is working together to build a more resilient, secure, and complementary cyber security environment for Quad countries and partners.

    The Quad has [developed/released] the Quad Action Plan to Protect Commercial Undersea Telecommunications Cables, to advance the Quad’s shared vision for future digital connectivity, global commerce, and prosperity.

    Quad countries are also partnering with software manufacturers, industry trade groups, and research centers to expand the Quad’s commitment to pursuing secure software development standards and certification, as endorsed in the Quad’s 2023 Secure Software Joint Principles.

    Quad partners will work to harmonize these standards to not only ensure that the development, procurement, and end-use of software for government networks is more secure, but that the cyber resilience of our supply chains, digital economies, and societies are collectively improved.

    Throughout this fall, each Quad country plans to host events to mark the annual Quad Cyber Challenge promoting responsible cyber ecosystems, public resources, and cybersecurity awareness. This year’s Cyber Challenge campaigns will focus on establishing career pathway programs to increase the number and diversity of global cybersecurity professionals, including increased participation by women, in this rapidly growing field. Last year’s Quad Cyber Challenge included over 85,000 participants across the Indo-Pacific region.

    Capacity building projects like the Quad Cyber Bootcamp and the international conference on cyber capacity building in the Philippines are important initiatives to enhance cybersecurity and workforce development in the Indo-Pacific region.

    The Quad is undertaking joint efforts to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities to national security and protection of critical infrastructure networks, and coordinate more closely including on policy responses to sharing of cyber threat information on significant cybersecurity incidents affecting shared priorities.

    COUNTERING DISINFORMATION

    The Quad is working together to foster a resilient information environment, including through its Countering Disinformation Working Group, by supporting media freedom and addressing foreign information manipulation and interference, including disinformation, which undermines trust and sows discord in the international community.

    PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE TIES

    Quad countries are building enduring ties between their peoples. Stakeholders from Quad countries have participated in International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) and other exchanges, on topics related to cyber security, workforce development for critical and emerging technologies, women in STEM, government transparency and accountability, combating disinformation, and regional maritime governance.

    The Quad Fellowship

    Together with the Institute of International Education, which leads implementation of the Quad Fellowship, Quad governments welcome the second cohort of Quad Fellows and the expansion of the program to include students from ASEAN countries for the first time. The Government of Japan is supporting the program to enable Quad Fellows to study in Japan. The Quad welcomes the generous support of private sector partners for the next cohort of fellows, including Google, the Pratt Foundation, and Western Digital.

    The Quad looks forward to the Quad Fellowship Summit in Washington, DC, in October, organized by the Institute of International Education.

    Additional People-to-People Initiatives

    India announces a new initiative to award fifty Quad scholarships, worth $500,000, to students from the Indo-Pacific to pursue a 4-year undergraduate engineering program at a Government of India-funded technical institution.

    SPACE

    The Quad recognizes the essential contribution of space-related applications and technologies in the Indo-Pacific. The four countries plan to continue delivering Earth Observation data and other space-related applications to assist nations across the Indo-Pacific to strengthen climate early warning systems and better manage the impacts of extreme weather events.

    The Quad welcomes India’s establishment of a space-based web portal for Mauritius to support the concept of open science for space-based monitoring of extreme weather events and climate impact.

    Space Situational Awareness Initiative

    Quad partners intend to share expertise and experience in space situational awareness (SSA), contributing to long-term sustainability of the space environment. Cooperation is intended to leverage SSA and space traffic coordination capabilities in the civil domain, including to help avoid collisions in outer space and manage debris.

    COUNTERING TERRORISM

    The Quad hosted its first Counter Terrorism Working Group (CTWG) in 2023 and will meet annually to discuss CT threats, Quad CT good practices, and ways the Quad can work together to mitigate acts of terrorism through information sharing, consequence management and strategic messaging. The Quad CTWG currently focuses on countering the use of unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS), chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear devices (CBRN), and the internet for terrorist purposes. The Quad CTWG discusses new CT lines of effort on which to collaborate, hosts technical workshops for establishing CT good practices, and explores ways to engage non-Quad members with Quad-established CT expertise.

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    MJPS/ST/SKS

    (Release ID: 2057460) Visitor Counter : 32

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: The Wilmington Declaration Joint Statement from the Leaders of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 22 SEP 2024 8:15AM by PIB Delhi

    Today, we—Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan, and President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. of the United States—met for the fourth in-person Quad Leaders Summit, hosted by President Biden in Wilmington, Delaware.

    Four years since elevating the Quad to a leader-level format, the Quad is more strategically aligned than ever before and is a force for good that delivers real, positive, and enduring impact for the Indo-Pacific. We celebrate the fact that over just four years, Quad countries have built a vital and enduring regional grouping that will buttress the Indo-Pacific for decades to come.

    Anchored by shared values, we seek to uphold the international order based on the rule of law. Together we represent nearly two billion people and over one-third of global gross domestic product. We reaffirm our steadfast commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient. Through our cooperation, the Quad is harnessing all of our collective strengths and resources, from governments to the private sector to people-to-people relationships, to support the region’s sustainable development, stability, and prosperity by delivering tangible benefits to the people of the Indo-Pacific.

    As four leading maritime democracies in the Indo-Pacific, we unequivocally stand for the maintenance of peace and stability across this dynamic region, as an indispensable element of global security and prosperity. We strongly oppose any destabilizing or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion. We condemn recent illicit missile launches in the region that violate UN Security Council resolutions. We express serious concern over recent dangerous and aggressive actions in the maritime domain. We seek a region where no country dominates and no country is dominated—one where all countries are free from coercion, and can exercise their agency to determine their futures. We are united in our commitment to upholding a stable and open international system, with its strong support for human rights, the principle of freedom, rule of law, democratic values, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and peaceful settlement of disputes and prohibition on the threat or use of force in accordance with international law, including the UN Charter.

    Reflecting the Vision Statement issued by Leaders at the 2023 Quad Summit, we are and will continue to be transparent in what we do. Respect for the leadership of regional institutions, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), is and will remain at the center of the Quad’s efforts.

    A Global Force for Good

    Health Security

    The COVID-19 pandemic reminded the world how important health security is to our societies, our economies, and the stability of our region. In 2021 and 2022, the Quad came together to deliver more than 400 million safe and effective COVID-19 doses to Indo-Pacific countries and almost 800 million vaccines globally, and provided $5.6 billion to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment for vaccine supply to low and middle-income countries. In 2023, we announced the Quad Health Security Partnership, through which the Quad continues to deliver for partners across the region, including through the delivery of pandemic preparedness training.

    In response to the current clade I mpox outbreak, as well as the ongoing clade II mpox outbreak, we plan to coordinate our efforts to promote equitable access to safe, effective, quality-assured mpox vaccines, including where appropriate expanding vaccine manufacturing in low and middle-income countries.

    Today we are proud to announce the Quad Cancer Moonshot, a groundbreaking partnership to save lives in the Indo-Pacific region. Building on the Quad’s successful partnership during the COVID-19 pandemic, our collective investments to address cancer in the region, our scientific and medical capabilities, and contributions from our private and non-profit sectors, we will collaborate with partner nations to reduce the burden of cancer in the region.

    The Quad Cancer Moonshot will focus initially on combatting cervical cancer—a preventable cancer that continues to claim too many lives—in the Indo-Pacific region, while laying the groundwork to address other forms of cancer as well. The United States intends to support this initiative, including through U.S. Navy medical trainings and professional exchanges around cervical cancer prevention in the region starting in 2025, and through U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) openness to finance eligible private sector-driven projects to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer, including cervical cancer. Australia is announcing the expansion of the Elimination Partnership in the Indo-Pacific for Cervical Cancer Program (EPICC) with support of the Australian Government and the Minderoo Foundation to AUD 29.6 million, to cover up to eleven countries in the Indo-Pacific in helping advance the elimination of cervical cancer and support complementary initiatives focused on cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. India commits to providing HPV sampling kits, detection kits, and cervical cancer vaccines worth $7.5 million to the Indo-Pacific region. India, through its $10 million commitment to the WHO’s Global Initiative on Digital Health, will offer technical assistance to interested countries in the Indo-Pacific region for the adoption and deployment of its Digital Public Infrastructure that helps in cancer screening and care. Japan is providing medical equipment, including CT and MRI scanners, and other assistance worth approximately $27 million, including in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Timor-Leste, and is contributing to international organizations such as the Gavi Vaccine Alliance. Quad partners also intend to work, within respective national contexts, to collaborate in advancing research and development in the area of cancer and to increase private sector and non-governmental sector activities in support of reducing the burden of cervical cancer in the region. We welcome a number of new, ambitious commitments from non-governmental institutions, including the Serum Institute of India, in partnership with Gavi, which will support orders of up to 40 million HPV vaccine doses, subject to necessary approvals, for the Indo-Pacific region, and which may be increased consistent with demand. We also welcome a new $100 million commitment from Women’s Health and Empowerment Network to address cervical cancer in Southeast Asia.

    Altogether, our scientific experts assess that the Quad Cancer Moonshot will save hundreds of thousands of lives over the coming decades.

    Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR)

    Twenty years since the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, when the Quad first came together to surge humanitarian assistance, we continue to respond to the vulnerabilities caused by natural disasters in the Indo-Pacific. In 2022, the Quad established the “Quad Partnership on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief in the Indo-Pacific” and signed Guidelines for the Quad Partnership on HADR in the Indo-Pacific, which enable Quad countries to rapidly coordinate in the face of natural disasters. We welcome Quad governments working to ensure readiness to rapidly respond, including through pre-positioning of essential relief supplies, in the event of a natural disaster; this effort extends from the Indian Ocean region, to Southeast Asia, to the Pacific.

    In May 2024, following a tragic landslide in Papua New Guinea, Quad partners collectively contributed over $5 million in humanitarian assistance. Quad partners are working together to provide over $4 million in humanitarian assistance to support the people of Vietnam in light of the devastating consequences of Typhoon Yagi. The Quad continues to support partners in the region in their longer-term resiliency efforts.

    Maritime Security

    In 2022, we announced the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) to offer near-real-time, integrated, and cost-effective maritime domain awareness information to partners in the region. Since then, in consultation with partners, we have successfully scaled the program across the Indo-Pacific region—through the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, with partners in Southeast Asia, to the Information Fusion Center—Indian Ocean Region, Gurugram. In doing so, the Quad has helped well over two dozen countries access dark vessel maritime domain awareness data, so they can better monitor the activities in their exclusive economic zones—including unlawful activity. Australia commits to boosting its cooperation with the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency to enhance regional maritime domain awareness in the Pacific through satellite data, training, and capacity building.

    Today we are announcing a new regional Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific (MAITRI), to enable our partners in the region to maximize tools provided through IPMDA and other Quad partner initiatives, to monitor and secure their waters, enforce their laws, and deter unlawful behavior. We look forward to India hosting the inaugural MAITRI workshop in 2025. Furthermore, we welcome the launch of a Quad maritime legal dialogue to support efforts to uphold the rules-based maritime order in the Indo-Pacific. In addition, Quad partners intend to layer new technology and data into IPMDA over the coming year, to continue to deliver cutting edge capability and information to the region.

    We are also announcing today that the U.S. Coast Guard, Japan Coast Guard, Australian Border Force, and Indian Coast Guard, plan to launch a first-ever Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission in 2025, to improve interoperability and advance maritime safety, and continuing with further missions in future years across the Indo-Pacific. 

    We also announce today the launch of a Quad Indo-Pacific Logistics Network pilot project, to pursue shared airlift capacity among our nations and leverage our collective logistics strengths, in order to support civilian response to natural disasters more rapidly and efficiently across the Indo-Pacific region.

    Quality Infrastructure

    The Quad remains committed to improving the region’s connectivity through the development of quality, resilient infrastructure.

    We are pleased to announce the Quad Ports of the Future Partnership, which will harness the Quad’s expertise to support sustainable and resilient port infrastructure development across the Indo-Pacific, in collaboration with regional partners. In 2025, we intend to hold a Quad Regional Ports and Transportation Conference, hosted by India in Mumbai. Through this new partnership, Quad partners intend to coordinate, exchange information, share best practices with partners in the region, and leverage resources to mobilize government and private sector investments in quality port infrastructure across the Indo-Pacific region.

    We applaud the expansion of the Quad Infrastructure Fellowships to more than 2,200 experts, and note that Quad partners have already provided well over 1,300 fellowships since the initiative was announced at last year’s Summit. We also appreciate the workshop organized by the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure in India, working to empower partners across the Indo-Pacific to strengthen power sector resilience.

    Through the Quad Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience, we continue to support and strengthen quality undersea cable networks in the Indo-Pacific, the capacity, durability, and reliability of which are inextricably linked to the security and prosperity of the region and the world. In support of these efforts, Australia launched the Cable Connectivity and Resilience Centre in July, which is delivering workshops and policy and regulatory assistance in response to requests from across the region. Japan will extend technical cooperation to improve public ICT infrastructure management capacity for an undersea cable in Nauru and Kiribati. The United States has conducted over 1,300 capacity building trainings for telecommunication officials and executives from 25 countries in the Indo-Pacific; today the U.S. announces its intent, working with Congress, to invest an additional $3.4 million to extend and expand this training program.

    Investments in cable projects by Quad partners will help support all Pacific island countries in achieving primary telecommunication cable connectivity by the end of 2025. Since the last Quad Leaders’ Summit, Quad partners have committed over $140 million to undersea cable builds in the Pacific, alongside contributions from other likeminded partners. Complementing these investments in new undersea cables, India has commissioned a feasibility study to examine expansion of undersea cable maintenance and repair capabilities in the Indo-Pacific.

    We reaffirm our support for the Pacific Quality Infrastructure Principles, which are an expression of Pacific voices on infrastructure.

    We underscore our commitment to an inclusive, open, sustainable, fair, safe, reliable and secure digital future to advance our shared prosperity and sustainable development across the Indo-Pacific. In this context, we welcome the Quad Principles for Development and Deployment of Digital Public Infrastructure.

    Critical and Emerging Technologies

    Today, we are proud to announce an ambitious expansion of our partnership to deliver trusted technology solutions to the broader Indo-Pacific region.

    Last year, Quad partners launched a landmark initiative to deploy the first Open Radio Access Network (RAN) in the Pacific, in Palau, to support a secure, resilient, and interconnected telecommunications ecosystem. Since then, the Quad has pledged approximately $20 million to this effort.

    Quad partners also welcome the opportunity to explore additional Open RAN projects in Southeast Asia. We plan to expand support for ongoing Open RAN field trials and the Asia Open RAN Academy (AORA) in the Philippines, building on the initial $8 million in support that the United States and Japan pledged earlier this year. The United States also plans to invest over $7 million to support the global expansion of AORA, including through establishing a first-of-its-kind Open RAN workforce training initiative at scale in South Asia, in partnership with Indian institutions.

    Quad partners will also explore collaborating with the Tuvalu Telecommunications Corporation to ensure the country’s readiness for nationwide 5G deployment.

    We remain committed to advancing our cooperation on semiconductors through better leveraging of our complementary strengths to realize a diversified and competitive market and enhance resilience of Quad’s semiconductor supply chains. We welcome a Memorandum of Cooperation between Quad countries for the Semiconductor Supply Chains Contingency Network.

    Through the Advancing Innovations for Empowering NextGen Agriculture (AI-ENGAGE) initiative announced at last year’s Summit, our governments are deepening leading-edge collaborative research to harness artificial intelligence, robotics, and sensing to transform agricultural approaches and empower farmers across the Indo-Pacific. We are pleased to announce an inaugural $7.5+ million in funding opportunities for joint research, and welcome the recent signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between our science agencies to connect our research communities and advance shared research principles.

    The United States, Australia, India, and Japan look forward to launching the Quad BioExplore Initiative—a funded mechanism that will support joint AI-driven exploration of diverse non-human biological data across all four countries.

    This project will also be underpinned by the forthcoming Quad Principles for Research and Development Collaborations in Critical and Emerging Technologies.

    Climate and Clean Energy

    As we underscore the severe economic, social, and environmental consequences posed by the climate crisis, we continue to work together with Indo-Pacific partners, including through Quad Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Package (Q-CHAMP), to enhance climate and clean energy cooperation as well as promote adaptation and resilience. We emphasize the significant benefits of transitioning to a clean energy economy for our people, our planet, and our shared prosperity. Our countries intend to strengthen our cooperation to align policies, incentives, standards, and investments around creating high-quality, diversified clean energy supply chains that will enhance our collective energy security, create new economic opportunities across the region, and benefit local workers and communities around the world, particularly across the Indo-Pacific.

    We will work together, through policy and public finance, to operationalize our commitment to catalyzing complementary and high-standard private sector investment in allied and partner clean energy supply chains. To this end, Australia will open applications for the Quad Clean Energy Supply Chains Diversification Program in November, providing AUD 50 million to support projects that develop and diversify solar panel, hydrogen electrolyzer and battery supply chains in the Indo-Pacific. India commits to invest $2 million in new solar projects in Fiji, Comoros, Madagascar, and Seychelles. Japan has committed to $122 million grants and loans in renewable energy projects in Indo-Pacific countries. The United States, through DFC, will continue to seek opportunities to mobilize private capital to solar, as well as wind, cooling, batteries, and critical minerals to expand and diversify supply chains.

    We are pleased to announce a focused Quad effort to boost energy efficiency, including the deployment and manufacturing of high-efficiency affordable, cooling systems to enable climate-vulnerable communities to adapt to rising temperatures while simultaneously reducing strain on the electricity grid.

    We jointly affirm our commitment to addressing the challenges posed by climate change and ensure the resilience and sustainability of port infrastructure. Quad partners will leverage our learning and expertise to forge a path towards sustainable and resilient port infrastructure, including through the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

    Cyber

    In the face of a deteriorating security environment in the cyber domain, Quad countries intend to enhance our cybersecurity partnership to address common threats posed by state-sponsored actors, cybercriminals, and other non-state malicious actors. Our countries commit to taking concrete steps to increase our collective network defense and advance technical capabilities through greater threat information sharing and capacity building. We plan to coordinate joint efforts to identify vulnerabilities, protect national security networks and critical infrastructure networks, and coordinate more closely including on policy responses to significant cybersecurity incidents affecting the Quad’s shared priorities.

    Quad countries are also partnering with software manufacturers, industry trade groups, and research centers to expand our commitmentto pursuing secure software development standards and certification, as endorsed in the Quad’s 2023 Secure Software Joint Principles. We will work to harmonize these standards to not only ensure that the development, procurement, and end-use of software for government networks is more secure, but that the cyber resilience of our supply chains, digital economies, and societies are collectively improved. Throughout this fall, Quad countries each plan to host campaigns to mark the annual Quad Cyber Challenge promoting responsible cyber ecosystems, public resources, and cybersecurity awareness. We are constructively engaging on the Quad Action Plan to Protect Commercial Undersea Telecommunications Cables, developed by the Quad Senior Cyber Group, as a complementary effort to the Quad Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience. Our coordinated actions to protect global telecommunications infrastructure as guided by the Action Plan will advance our shared vision for future digital connectivity, global commerce, and prosperity. 

    Space

    We recognize the essential contribution of space-related applications and technologies in the Indo-Pacific. Our four countries intend to continue delivering Earth Observation data and other space-related applications to assist nations across the Indo-Pacific to strengthen climate early warning systems and better manage the impacts of extreme weather events. In this context, we welcome India’s establishment of a space-based web portal for Mauritius, to support the concept of open science for space-based monitoring of extreme weather events and climate impact.

    Quad Investors Network (QUIN)

    We welcome private sector initiatives—including the Quad Investors Network (QUIN), which facilitates investments in strategic technologies, including clean energy, semiconductors, critical minerals, and quantum. The QUIN is mobilizing a number of investments to promote supply chain resilience, advance joint research and development, commercialize new technologies, and invest in our future workforce.

    People-to-People Initiatives

    The Quad is committed to strengthening the deep and enduring ties between our people, and among our partners. Through the Quad Fellowship, we are building a network of the next generation of science, technology, and policy leaders. Together with the Institute of International Education, which leads implementation of the Quad Fellowship, Quad governments welcome the second cohort of Quad Fellows and the expansion of the program to include students from ASEAN countries for the first time. The Government of Japan is supporting the program to enable Quad Fellows to study in Japan. The Quad welcomes the generous support of private sector partners for the next cohort of fellows, including Google, the Pratt Foundation, and Western Digital.

    India is pleased to announce a new initiative to award fifty Quad scholarships, worth $500,000, to students from the Indo-Pacific to pursue a 4-year undergraduate engineering program at a Government of India-funded technical institution.

    Working Together to Address Regional and Global Issues

    Today we reaffirm our consistent and unwavering support for ASEAN centrality and unity. We continue to support implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and are committed to ensuring the Quad’s work is aligned with ASEAN’s principles and priorities.

    We underscore ASEAN’s regional leadership role, including in the East Asia Summit, the region’s premier leader-led forum for strategic dialogue, and the ASEAN Regional Forum. As comprehensive strategic partners of ASEAN, our four countries intend to continue to strengthen our respective relationships with ASEAN and seek opportunities for greater Quad collaboration in support of the AOIP.

    We recommit to working in partnership with Pacific island countries to achieve shared aspirations and address shared challenges. We reaffirm our support for Pacific regional institutions that have served the region well over many years, with the PIF as the region’s premier political and economic policy organization, and warmly welcome Tonga’s leadership as the current PIF Chair in 2024-2025. We continue to support the objectives of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. We and our governments will continue to listen to and be guided at every step by Pacific priorities, including climate action, ocean health, resilient infrastructure, maritime security and financial integrity. In particular, we acknowledge climate change remains the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the peoples of the Pacific and applaud Pacific island countries’ global leadership on climate action.

    We remain committed to strengthening cooperation in the Indian Ocean region. We strongly support IORA as the Indian Ocean region’s premier forum for addressing the region’s challenges. We recognize India’s leadership in finalizing the IORA Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (IOIP) and express our support for its implementation. We thank Sri Lanka for its continued leadership as IORA Chair through this year and look forward to India’s assuming the IORA Chair in 2025. 

    As Leaders, we are steadfast in our conviction that international law, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the maintenance of peace, safety, security and stability in the maritime domain, underpin the sustainable development, and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific. We emphasize the importance of adherence to international law, particularly as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to address challenges to the global maritime rules-based order, including with respect to maritime claims. We are seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas. We continue to express our serious concern about the militarization of disputed features, and coercive and intimidating maneuvers in the South China Sea. We condemn the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels, including increasing use of dangerous maneuvers. We also oppose efforts to disrupt other countries’ offshore resource exploitation activities.We reaffirm that maritime disputes must be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law, as reflected in UNCLOS. We re-emphasize the importance of maintaining and upholding freedom of navigation and overflight, other lawful uses of the sea, and unimpeded commerce consistent with international law. We re-emphasize the universal and unified character of UNCLOS and reaffirm that UNCLOS sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and the seas must be carried out. We underscore that the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea is a significant milestone and the basis for peacefully resolving disputes between the parties.

    Together, with our global and regional partners, we continue to support international institutions and initiatives that underpin global peace, prosperity and sustainable development. We reiterate our unwavering support for the UN Charter and the three pillars of the UN system. In consultation with our partners, we will work collectively to address attempts to unilaterally undermine the integrity of the UN, its Charter, and its agencies. We will reform the UN Security Council, recognizing the urgent need to make it more representative, inclusive, transparent, efficient, effective, democratic and accountable through expansion in permanent and non-permanent categories of membership of the UN Security Council. This expansion of permanent seats should include representation for Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean in a reformed Security Council.

    We stand for adherence to international law and respect for principles of the UN Charter, including territorial integrity, sovereignty of all states, and peaceful resolution of disputes. We express our deepest concern over the war raging in Ukraine including the terrible and tragic humanitarian consequences. Each of us has visited Ukraine since the war began, and seen this first-hand; we reiterate the need for a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in line with international law, consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. We also note the negative impacts of the war in Ukraine with regard to global food and energy security, especially for developing and least developed countries. In the context of this war, we share the view that the use, or threat of use, of nuclear weapons is unacceptable. We underscore the importance of upholding international law, and in line with the UN Charter, reiterate that all states must refrain from the threat of or use of force against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state.

    We condemn North Korea’s destabilizing ballistic missile launches and its continued pursuit of nuclear weapons in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs). These launches pose a grave threat to international peace and stability. We urge North Korea to abide by all its obligations under the UNSCRs, refrain from further provocations and engage in substantive dialogue. We reaffirm our commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula consistent with relevant UNSCRs and call on all countries to fully implement these UNSCRs. We stress the need to prevent any proliferation of nuclear and missile technologies related to North Korea in the region and beyond. We express our grave concern over North Korea’s use of proliferation networks, malicious cyber activity and workers abroad to fund its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. In that context, we urge all UN Member States to abide by the relevant UNSCRs including the prohibition on the transfer to North Korea or procurement from North Korea of all arms and related materiel. We express deep concern about countries that are deepening military cooperation with North Korea, which directly undermines the global nonproliferation regime. As the mandate of the UN Panel of Experts tasked with monitoring violations of North Korea-related UNSCR sanctions was not renewed, we reiterate our commitment to continued implementation of the relevant UNSCRs which remain in full force. We reconfirm the necessity of immediate resolution of the abductions issue.

    We remain deeply concerned by the worsening political, security and humanitarian situation in Myanmar, including in Rakhine State, and again call for an immediate cessation of violence, the release of all those unjustly and arbitrarily detained, safe and unhindered humanitarian access, resolution of the crisis through constructive and inclusive dialogue among all stakeholders, and a return to the path of inclusive democracy. We reaffirm our strong support for ASEAN-led efforts, including the work of the ASEAN Chair and the Special Envoy of the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar. We call for full implementation of all commitments under the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus. The ongoing conflict and instability have serious implications for the region, including increases in transnational crime such as cybercrime, the illegal drug trade, and human trafficking. We restate our appeal to all States to prevent the flow of arms and dual-use material, including jet fuel. We remain resolute in our support for the people of Myanmar and commit to continuing to work with all stakeholders in a pragmatic and constructive way, to find a sustainable solution to the crisis in a process which is led by the people of Myanmar and returns Myanmar to the path of democracy.

    We call upon all States to contribute to the safe, peaceful, responsible, and sustainable use of outer space. We remain committed to fostering international cooperation and transparency, as well as confidence-building measures with the goal of improving the security of outer space for all States. We reaffirm the importance of upholding the existing international legal framework for outer space activities, including the Outer Space Treaty, and the obligation of all States Parties to the Treaty not to place in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, install such weapons on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space in any other manner.

    The Quad reaffirms its commitment to fostering a resilient information environment including through its Countering Disinformation Working Group by supporting media freedom and addressing foreign information manipulation and interference, including disinformation, which undermines trust and sows discord in the international community. We recognize these tactics are intended to interfere with domestic and international interests, and we are committed, together with our regional partners, to leverage our collective expertise and capacity to respond. We reaffirm our commitment to respect international human rights law, strengthen civil society, support media freedom, address online harassment and abuse, including technology-facilitated gender-based violence, and counter unethical practices.

    We unequivocally condemn terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism. We are committed to international cooperation and will work with our regional partners in a comprehensive and sustained manner to strengthen their capability to prevent, detect and respond to threats posed by terrorism and violent extremism, including threats posed by the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes, consistent with international law. We are committed to working together to promote accountability for the perpetrators of such terrorist attacks. We reiterate our condemnation of terrorist attacks including the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai and in Pathankot, and our commitment to pursuing designations, as appropriate, by the UN Security Council 1267 Sanctions Committee. We welcome the constructive discussions held at the first Quad Working Group on Counter-Terrorism and the fourth tabletop exercise in Honolulu last year, and look forward to Japan hosting the next meeting and tabletop exercise in November 2024.

    We share great interest in achieving peace and stability in the Middle East. We unequivocally condemn the terror attacks on October 7, 2023. The large-scale loss of civilian lives and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is unacceptable. We affirm the imperative of securing the release of all hostages held by Hamas, and emphasize that the deal to release hostages would bring an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza. We underscore the urgent need to significantly increase deliveries of life-saving humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza as well as the crucial need to prevent regional escalation. We urge all parties to comply with international law, including international humanitarian law, as applicable. We welcome UNSCR S/RES/2735 (2024), and strongly urge all parties concerned to work immediately and steadily toward the release of all hostages and an immediate ceasefire. We call on all parties to take every feasible step to protect the lives of civilians including aid workers, and facilitate the rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian relief to civilians. We also encourage other countries, including those in the Indo-Pacific, to increase their support in order to address the dire humanitarian need on the ground. We underscore that the future recovery and reconstruction of Gaza should be supported by the international community. We remain committed to a sovereign, viable and independent Palestinian state taking into account Israel’s legitimate security concerns as part of a two-state solution that enables both Israelis and Palestinians to live in a just, lasting, and secure peace. Any unilateral actions that undermine the prospect of a two-state solution, including Israeli expansion of settlements and violent extremism on all sides, must end. We underscore the need to prevent the conflict from escalating and spilling over in the region.

    We condemn the ongoing attacks perpetrated by the Houthis and their supporters against international and commercial vessels transiting through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which are destabilizing the region and impeding navigational rights and freedoms and trade flows, and jeopardize the safety of vessels and people on board including sailors.

    We reaffirm our commitment to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the achievement of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We underscore the importance of achieving the SDGs in a comprehensive manner without selectively prioritizing a narrow set of such goals, and reaffirm that the UN has a central role in supporting countries in their implementation. With six years left, we remain steadfast in our commitment to the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and accelerating progress toward all the SDGs in a comprehensive manner that is balanced across three dimensions – economic, social and environmental. From global health to sustainable development and climate change, the global community benefits when all stakeholders have the opportunity to contribute to addressing these challenges. We affirm our commitment to contributing to and implementing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda and to achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. We underscore our commitment to strongly engaging constructively in the discussion on advancing sustainable development, including at the Summit of the Future. The Quad continues to realize a safe and secure world where human rights and human dignity are protected, based on the central premise of the SDGs: “Leave no one behind.”

    We, the Quad Leaders, remain dedicated to working in partnership with Indo-Pacific countries in deciding our future and shaping the region we all want to live in.

    Enduring Partners for the Indo-Pacific

    Over the past four years, Quad Leaders have met together six times, including twice virtually, and Quad Foreign Ministers have met eight times in the last five years. Quad country representatives meet together on a regular basis, at all levels, including among ambassadors across the four countries’ extensive diplomatic networks, to consult one another, exchange ideas to advance shared priorities, and deliver benefits with and for partners across the Indo-Pacific region. We welcome our Commerce and Industry ministers preparing to meet for the first time in the coming months. We also welcome the leaders of our Development Finance Institutions and Agencies deciding to meet to explore future investments by the four countries in the Indo-Pacific. Altogether, our four countries are cooperating at an unprecedented pace and scale.

    Each of our governments has committed to working through our respective budgetary processes to secure robust funding for Quad priorities in the Indo-Pacific region to ensure an enduring impact. We intend to work with our legislatures to deepen interparliamentary exchanges, and encourage other stakeholders to deepen engagement with Quad counterparts.

    We look forward to the next Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting hosted by the United States in 2025, and the next Quad Leaders’ Summit hosted by India in 2025. The Quad is here to stay.

    *********

    MJPS/ST

    (Release ID: 2057454) Visitor Counter : 48

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Tips for safer driving on icy roads

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    Sunday, September 22, 2024

    The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has warned motorists to exercise extreme caution when driving on icy roads. 

    Severe snow and wet conditions have been reported in parts of the country, especially in KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State.

    READ | Government prioritises providing shelter for stranded motorists in anticipation of more snow

    “The South African Weather Service has issued an alert for strong surface winds, severe thunderstorms affecting Gauteng, and snow fall affecting the Eastern Cape and some parts of the country,” the RTMC said at the weekend.

    During this period, the RTMC advises road users to adhere to Arrive Alive road safety messages and follow the advice below: 

    Driving safely on icy roads

    1. Decrease your speed and leave yourself plenty of room to stop. You should allow at least three times more space than usual between you and the car in front of you.
    2. Brake gently to avoid skidding. If your wheels start to lock up, ease off the brake.
    3. Turn on your lights to increase your visibility to other motorists.
    4. Keep your lights and windshield clean.
    5. Use low gears to keep traction, especially on hills.
    6. Don’t use cruise control or overdrive on icy roads.
    7. Be especially careful on bridges, overpasses and infrequently travelled roads, which will freeze first. Even at temperatures above freezing, if the conditions are wet, you might encounter ice in shady areas or on exposed roadways like bridges.
    8. Don’t pass snow ploughs and sanding trucks. The drivers have limited visibility, and you’re likely to find the road in front of them worse than the road behind.
    9. Don’t assume your vehicle can handle all conditions. Even four-wheel and front-wheel drive vehicles can encounter trouble on icy roads. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: IOM Chief and COP29 Presidency to Address Climate-Peace-Human Mobility Nexus During UNGA

    Source: International Organization for Migration (IOM)

    New York, 22 September – The COP29 Presidency and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) will co-host a High-Level Roundtable on Climate, Peace, and Human Mobility during the UN General Assembly week on September 22, 2024. With climate change being a major driver of displacement and migration, the event will underscore the urgent need for concrete policy recommendations and practical strategies to address the root causes of climate-induced displacement. 

    The roundtable will focus on the critical intersections of the climate and peace nexus with water scarcity, food insecurity, and land degradation. It aims to catalyze actionable solutions and inform COP29 discussions on key issues related to the climate and peace nexus. 

    “The convergence of climate change and conflict is one of the most pressing challenges of our time, with devastating consequences for some of the most vulnerable people on our planet,” said IOM Director General Amy Pope. “We need to act now to address the root causes of climate-induced displacement and build resilience in affected communities.” 

    The event will also empower a new Centre of Excellence envisaged in the Joint Communique of the COP29 Climate and Peace co-lead initiative to address the gaps in scaling up international cooperation and finance for the most vulnerable, and build synergies between the outcomes of the Summit of the Future and the Peace, Relief and Recovery Day at COP29. 

    “The forthcoming COP29 Peace Relief and Recovery Day in Baku is envisaged to deliver concrete outcomes to scale up support to the countries under multiple stress of climate extremes and conflicts.” said Ambassador Elshad Iskandarov, Senior Adviser to COP29 Presidency, highlighted the importance of international collaboration. “The high-level roundtable is an important milestone on the road to November to provide a crucial platform for governments, UN agencies, and other stakeholders to come together and develop concrete solutions to address the complex challenges represented by the intersection of climate, peace and human mobility. In the face of the climate driven challenges to human security we must work together to ensure a more sustainable, inclusive and peaceful future for all.” 

    The roundtable will feature high-level participants, including representatives from the COP29 Presidency, IOM, the governments of Italy and Egypt, the Green Climate Fund, the Asian Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, the World Bank Group, and the UN Department for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. 

    The event is expected to produce concrete policy recommendations to inform COP29 discussions and support the launch of the Centre of Excellence on Climate Action for Peace.  

    The Centre will serve as a hub for knowledge exchange, collaboration, and innovation, focusing on solutions to climate-induced displacement and other human security challenges driven by climate extremes, including water scarcity, food insecurity, and land degradation  

     

    Note to Editor:  

     

    The High-Level Roundtable on Climate, Peace, and Human Mobility will take place on September 22, 2024, from 1:15 PM to 2:30 PM in Room 11 at the UN Headquarters in New York.  

     

    About COP29  

    The 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11-22 November 2024. COP29 will focus on accelerating climate action and delivering on the commitments made under the Paris Agreement.  

     

    For more information, please contact : 
     

    COP29 Presidency: 

    gafgaz.adigozalov@cop29.az or visit www.COP29.az 

    IOM:

    Media@iom.int or rsharshr@iom.int 

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Surface water flooding expected on Monday 23 September

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Heavy rain and thunderstorms expected on Monday 23 September could lead to significant surface water flooding across parts of the country.

    Heavy rain and thunderstorms expected on Monday 23 September could lead to significant surface water flooding across parts of the country. We are urging people to keep an eye on the weather, check their flood risk, and take care planning their journeys.

    Sarah Cook, Flood Duty Manager at the Environment Agency, said:

    Persistent heavy rain and thunderstorms could lead to significant surface water flooding on Monday across parts of England. The impacts could include localised flooding in urban areas and fast responding catchments, including some property flooding as well as travel disruption. The risk from river flooding remains low.

    Environment Agency teams are out on the ground, and ready to support local authorities in responding to surface water flooding. We urge people to plan their journeys carefully, follow the advice of local emergency services on the roads and not to drive through flood water – it is often deeper than it looks and just 30cm of flowing water is enough to float your car.

    People should check their flood risk, sign up for free flood warnings and keep up to date with the latest situation as well as following @EnvAgency on X, formerly Twitter, for the latest flood updates.

    Updates to this page

    Published 22 September 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General James and CUNY Announce Ruschell Boone Scholarship

    Source: US State of New York

    NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James and the City University of New York (CUNY) Board of Trustees Chairperson William C. Thompson, Jr. today announced the establishment of the Ruschell Boone Scholarship, a memorial fund in honor of the late award-winning journalist that will support West Indian students pursuing journalism degrees at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY or Baruch College. Ruschell Boone was an Emmy award-winning reporter at Spectrum News NY1, and a graduate of CUNY’s Baruch College who passed away in 2023 following a brave battle against pancreatic cancer. The scholarship is supported by an initial endowment of $125,000 pledged by the CUNY Board of Trustees and University supporters and will help defray the cost of college-related expenses for students.

    “Ruschell Boone was a brilliant journalist who touched the lives of everyone she encountered,” said Attorney General James. “Her understanding of this city, its communities, and its people truly made her a New York City treasure. She uplifted people whose stories were often overlooked, and always showed up during the tough and scary times because she knew her reporting brought comfort to this city. With this scholarship, Ruschell’s legacy lives on – empowering a future generation of journalists to embody her authenticity and compassion. I am so grateful to Chair Thompson and CUNY for providing this scholarship and honoring Ruschell in the most impactful way.”

    “We are proud to honor Ruschell Boone, continuing the principle she lived by, with this new scholarship in her name for CUNY students,” said CUNY Board of Trustees Chairperson William C. Thompson Jr. “We are appreciative to her fellow CUNY alumna, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, for having the idea to preserve Ruschell’s legacy in this meaningful way.”

    “Ruschell Boone made a name for herself in her two decades keeping New Yorkers informed on NY1, even as she battled pancreatic cancer,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “She was an inspirational Baruch alumna who made it her mission to support those who came after her, and it is our honor to keep the memory of her dedication to mentorship alive with this scholarship.”

    “Ruschell’s presence leapt off the screen,” said Spectrum Networks Executive Vice President Michael Bair. “She was effervescent, on and off camera. She was also a fierce, ambitious, and determined journalist. She set high standards for herself, NY1, and our whole city. It is only fitting that her incomparable legacy live on through this investment in the next generation of journalists.”

    Ruschell dedicated her career to telling the stories of New York’s diverse communities and made it her personal mission to give back to the community and inspire youth to pursue their passions. In recognition of this mission, Attorney General James and the CUNY Board of Trustees established the Ruschell Boone Scholarship to defray the cost of tuition, fees, and other college-related expenses for West Indian students pursuing degrees in journalism at CUNY.

    Ruschell was born in Kingston, Jamaica, where she spent her early childhood before immigrating to the Bronx at age 11. As a student at Baruch College, Ruschell discovered a passion for journalism, which first led her to CNBC and CNN, and ultimately landed her at Spectrum News NY1 in 2002. In her 20 years at NY1, Ruschell was beloved by New Yorkers for her thoughtful, informative reporting and focus on communities that were often ignored, marginalized, or misrepresented.

    In addition to her coverage of countless major events, including the pandemic, Hurricane Sandy, the 2016 bombing in Manhattan, and protests for racial justice, Ruschell was known as a strong community presence and a familiar face at many marquee New York events. She was the first to interview Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez after the then-candidate’s stunning Democratic primary win, an exclusive interview that quickly became a viral sensation. Ruschell earned multiple awards for her work, including Best Spot News Reporting from the New York Association of Black Journalists, Best Feature Reporting from the New York Press Club, and a New York Emmy Award for her series, “New York: Unfiltered.”

    For donations to the Ruschell Boone Scholarship Fund, checks may be payable to the City University of New York and will be deposited in a separate account at the CUNY Endowment Fund for the purpose of funding the scholarships. If a 501(c)3 is required for the donation, then checks may be made payable to the Research Foundation of the City University of New York, where they will be held in a separate account.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Translation: Announcement of the appointment of the Government.

    MIL OSI Translation. Government of the Republic of France statements from French to English –

    The composition of the Government resulting from the decree signed today on the proposal of the Prime Minister, responsible for Ecological and Energy Planning, is as follows:

    Ministers:

    Mr. Didier MIGAUD, Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice;

    Ms. Catherine VAUTRIN, Minister for Partnership with the Territories and Decentralization;

    Mr. Bruno RETAILLEAU, Minister of the Interior;

    Ms. Anne GENETET, Minister of National Education;

    Mr. Jean-Noël BARROT, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs;

    Ms. Rachida DATI, Minister of Culture;

    Mr. Sébastien LECORNU, Minister of the Armed Forces and Veterans;

    Ms. Agnès PANNIER-RUNACHER, Minister of Ecological Transition, Energy, Climate and Risk Prevention;

    Mr. Antoine ARMAND, Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry;

    Ms. Geneviève DARRIEUSSECQ, Minister of Health and Access to Healthcare;

    Mr. Paul CHRISTOPHE, Minister of Solidarity, Autonomy and Equality between Women and Men;

    Ms. Valérie LÉTARD, Minister of Housing and Urban Renewal;

    Ms. Annie GENEVARD, Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry;

    Ms. Astrid PANOSYAN-BOUVET, Minister of Labor and Employment;

    Mr. Gil AVÉROUS, Minister of Sports, Youth and Community Life;

    Mr. Patrick HETZEL, Minister of Higher Education and Research;

    Mr. Guillaume KASBARIAN, Minister of Civil Service, Simplification and Transformation of Public Action;

    Mr. François-Noël BUFFET, Minister to the Prime Minister, responsible for Overseas Territories;

    Mr. Laurent SAINT-MARTIN, Minister to the Prime Minister, responsible for the Budget and Public Accounts.

    Ministers Delegate:

    To the Prime Minister and the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs:

    Mr. Benjamin HADDAD, responsible for Europe;

    To the Prime Minister:

    Ms Nathalie DELATTRE, responsible for Relations with Parliament;

    Ms Maud BREGEON, Government spokesperson;

    Ms. Marie-Claire CARRÈRE-GÉE, responsible for Government Coordination;

    To the Minister for Partnership with the Territories and Decentralization:

    Mrs. Françoise GATEL, responsible for Rural Affairs, Trade and Crafts;

    Mr. François DUROVRAY, responsible for Transport;

    Mr. Fabrice LOHER, responsible for the Sea and Fisheries;

    To the Minister of the Interior:

    Mr. Nicolas DARAGON, responsible for daily security;

    To the Minister of National Education:

    Mr. Alexandre PORTIER, responsible for Academic Success and Professional Education;

    To the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs:

    Ms Sophie PRIMAS, responsible for Foreign Trade and French Nationals Abroad;

    To the Minister of Ecological Transition, Energy, Climate and Risk Prevention:

    Ms. Olga GIVERNET, responsible for Energy;

    To the Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry:

    Mr. Marc FERRACCI, responsible for Industry;

    Ms Marie-Agnès POUSSIER-WINSBACK, responsible for the Social and Solidarity Economy, Profit-Sharing and Participation;

    Ms. Marina FERRARI, responsible for the Tourism Economy;

    To the Minister of Solidarity, Autonomy and Equality between Women and Men:

    Ms. Agnès CANAYER, responsible for Family and Early Childhood.

    Secretaries of State:

    To the Minister of the Interior:

    Mr. Othman NASROU, responsible for Citizenship and the Fight against Discrimination;

    To the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs:

    Mr. Thani MOHAMED SOILIHI, responsible for Francophonie and International Partnerships;

    To the Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry:

    Ms. Laurence GARNIER, responsible for Consumption;

    To the Minister of Solidarity, Autonomy and Equality between Women and Men:

    Ms. Salima SAA, responsible for Equality between women and men;

    To the Minister of Higher Education and Research:

    Ms. Clara CHAPPAZ, responsible for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technology.

    The President of the Republic will bring together all members of the Government for a Council of Ministers which will be held on Monday, September 23 at 3:00 p.m.

    EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Funding round open for Greenhouse Gas Inventory Research

    Source: Ministry for Primary Industries

    The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is seeking research proposals to help improve New Zealand’s reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, forestry, and other land uses.

    The annual funding round for the Greenhouse Gas Inventory Research (GHGIR) fund is now open, with $2.9 million of funding available for new GHGIR projects in the 2024/25 financial year.

    “The GHGIR focuses on improving our knowledge of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, to ensure we have the best possible data to help manage New Zealand’s emissions and inform policy decisions,” says Stephanie Preston, MPI’s director of programmes and planning, policy and trade.

    “This year we’re looking for very specific research proposals in 10 priority areas, ranging from improving liveweight estimation of sheep and beef to exploring remote sensing methods of collecting data, such as using satellite data to measure feed type and quality.

    “The outcomes will inform MPI’s reporting to the New Zealand Greenhouse Gas Inventory and the United Nations under the Paris Climate Agreement.”

    Applications close on 30 October 2024, with successful proposals expected to be announced by the end of February 2025.

    Background information

    The annual Greenhouse Gas Inventory reports on human-induced emissions and removals of greenhouse gases for energy, industrial processes, agriculture, land use, land-use change and forestry, and waste.

    The Inventory is produced by government agencies, with MPI being responsible for producing the chapter on agricultural emissions (the Agriculture Greenhouse Gas Inventory). The report is submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change secretariat each year.

    The 10 priorities for this year’s funding round are:

    • non-forest land-use emissions model
    • review and improve energy equations and intake
    • review QA/QC of inventory model code
    • review liming emissions
    • measure values relevant to the inventory using remote sensing techniques 
    • improving the modelling of dairy beef cattle 
    • improve liveweight estimation of sheep and beef
    • seasonal dairy supplementary feed data intake 
    • new afforestation and deforestation intentions survey 
    • improved activity data and parameters for deer.

    The priorities paper for 2024 is on MPI’s Applying for Greenhouse Gas Inventory Research funding web page.

    Applying for Greenhouse Gas Inventory Research funding

    Research funded via GHGIR has led to improvements in the accuracy of estimated emissions from agriculture and forestry including: 

    • new data to reflect the use of non-pasture feed for dairy cattle, beef cattle and sheep
    • New Zealand-specific nitrous oxide emission factors from animal excreta split by stock type and hill slope.

    Previous examples of projects recently funded

    Reports from completed GHGIR funded research

    For general enquiries, call MPI on 0800 00 83 33 or email info@mpi.govt.nz

    For media enquiries, contact the media team on 029 894 0328

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Rural Flood Resilience Partnership launched to help farmers and rural communities adapt to a changing climate

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Partnership unites six organisations including: Action with Communities in Rural England; Association of Drainage Authorities; Country Land and Business Association; Environment Agency; National Farmers Union; and Natural England

    With rural communities increasingly on the frontline of extreme weather and the devastating impacts of flooding, a unique partnership has been launched today (23 September 2024) to support rural flood resilience and help farmers and communities adapt to a changing climate. 

    Climate change means that people, places and nature are facing more frequent and more severe storms and floods. Last winter saw one of England’s wettest periods since records began in 1836. 

    The Rural Flood Resilience Partnership has been established to improve collaboration, deepen understanding of vulnerabilities, and support rural communities and agricultural businesses in building their resilience to present and future flood risks and coastal erosion. 

    The Partnership unites organisations representing government agencies, trade associations, rural communities and businesses to tackle a joint challenge with joint solutions. 

    The six equal founding partners are: Action with Communities in Rural England; the Association of Drainage Authorities; Country Land and Business Association; the Environment Agency; the National Farmers Union; and Natural England. 

    Today, the Partnership publishes its work plan covering 2024 to 2026. Partners and a wide range of projects will work together to improve their evidence base and will draw on this to co-develop solutions. 

    The work plan sets out 21 actions supporting seven strategic outcomes focused on: developing the evidence base behind decision-making to increase resilience; ensuring communities, farmers and landowners have access to quality advice and support; and engaging rural communities in flood resilience.  

    James Blake, Chair of Trustees Action with Communities in Rural England, said:

    It’s vital that everyone living and working in rural communities – not just those involved in land management and agriculture – have an opportunity to engage with and influence plans to manage the consequences of climate change.  

    As one of the founding members of this partnership, we look forward to drawing on the experience and reach of ACRE members to build the capacity of rural communities to come together and consider what can be done based on local circumstances in response to this most pressing global issue.

    Robert Caudwell, Chair of the Association of Drainage Authorities, said:  

    Our climate is changing rapidly, and those living and working in rural parts of England are some of the most aware of, and most vulnerable to, those changes.

    Listening to the voice of rural communities is essential if we are to build England’s resilience to flooding and drought in the future. 

    The best solutions can often be achieved when public authorities work together with local businesses and communities, combining their land and water management expertise with a deeper understanding of our local landscape and those impacted. 

    ADA is proud to play its part in this new Partnership in support of our members, England’s flood and water management authorities.

    Country Land and Business Association (CLA) President Victoria Vyvyan said:

    The damage to rural land and businesses from flooding is localised but acute, and the frequency of these events will increase with climate change.  

    It is crucial to improve the resilience of rural businesses and communities to flooding. The CLA hopes this partnership will provide the evidence, awareness of risks, and access to practical advice that will allow them to improve their resilience.  

    This partnership will look for short and medium-term solutions whilst raising awareness of the rural-specific costs and challenges from flooding which our members face.

    Caroline Douglass, Executive Director for Flood and Coastal Risk Management, Environment Agency, said: 

    Flooding presents specific challenges to those living and working in rural communities, from ruined crops to having road access cut off by floodwaters.  

    Since 2015, flooding and coastal change projects have been completed to protect more than 400,000 hectares of agricultural land better. This includes 280,000 hectares between 2015-2021, helping to avoid more than £500 million worth of economic damage to agricultural land production.

    While the Environment Agency continues to work to strengthen rural flood resilience, no single organisation can tackle these challenges in isolation. This partnership provides the opportunity to accomplish more than any one organisation can manage alone. 

    The new Rural Flood Resilience Partnership will help farmers, land managers and rural communities become more resilient to the impacts of climate change while retaining the vital role of managing land and producing sustainable food.

    NFU Vice President Rachel Hallos said: 

    The NFU is pleased to be involved in this new Partnership and hope it will enable farmers and rural communities to strengthen the resilience of their homes and businesses by providing practical solutions based on tangible evidence to some of the challenges they face in the event of flooding. 

    It will also give rural communities the means to influence decision making, provide access to resources and support action on the ground, strengthening rural resilience to flooding in a changing climate. 

    Farmers are on the frontline of climate change – our biggest challenge. The extreme weather this brings is one of the main threats to UK food security and more severe storms, devastating floods, and increased periods of little or no rain are all impacting our ability to produce food. 

    The country has just experienced its wettest 18 months since records began in 1836 which left many thousands of acres of productive farmland under water. There are still many farm businesses in dire need of support, and we are awaiting details of how the Farming Recovery Fund can help those businesses recover from the impacts of the devastating flooding and saturated ground.

    Natural England’s Greener Farming & Fisheries Director, Brad Tooze, said:

    Natural England champions the power of nature and nature-based solutions to help tackle the joint climate and biodiversity emergencies.  

    NE welcomes the opportunity to join this partnership and add our science and evidence expertise and our local farm advice offer into the mix. Together we can support farmers and land managers to farm in more flood resilient ways – supporting communities to become more flood resilient and recovering nature at the same time. 

    From signing up to the Sustainable Farming Incentive to manage arable land for flood/drought resilience and water quality or by working with others to restore a river and floodplain in Landscape Recovery every farmer and land manager can make a difference.

    The Partnership forms part of the wider work that all partners are undertaking on flood and coastal resilience.  

    All flood and coastal risk management schemes delivered by risk management authorities in England are carefully assessed to make sure they benefit the most people and property. Approximately 40% of all schemes and 45% of investment better protect properties in rural communities.

    Updates to this page

    Published 23 September 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Disaster Recovery Center Opens in St. Mary Parish

    Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

    Headline: Disaster Recovery Center Opens in St. Mary Parish

    Disaster Recovery Center Opens in St. Mary Parish

    BATON ROUGE, La. – FEMA and the State of Louisiana will open a Disaster Recovery Center in Morgan City on Monday, Sept. 23 to provide one-on-one help to Louisiana residents affected by Hurricane Francine. 

    Center location:

    St. Mary Parish

    Morgan City Municipal Auditorium
    728 Myrtle Street
    Morgan City, LA 70380
     

    The center will operate from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

    Residents in Ascension, Assumption, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Mary and Terrebonne parishes can visit the center to meet with representatives of FEMA, the U.S. Small Business Administration, along with other community partners. No appointment is needed to visit the center. 

    The center is accessible to people with disabilities or access and functional needs and is equipped with assistive technology. If you need a reasonable accommodation or sign language interpreter, please call 833-285-7448 (press 2 for Spanish).

    You do not have to visit the center to apply for FEMA disaster assistance. The quickest way to apply is by going online at disasterassistance.gov/.

    Additional options when applying include:

    • Download the FEMA App for mobile devices. 
    • Call the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362 between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. Help is available in most languages. If you use a relay service, such as video relay (VRS), captioned telephone or other service, give FEMA your number for that service.
    • To view an accessible video about how to apply visit: Three Ways to Register for FEMA Disaster Assistance – YouTube.

    For the latest information visit fema.gov/disaster/4817. Follow FEMA Region 6 social media at X.com/FEMARegion6 or on Facebook at facebook.com/FEMARegion6/.

    alexa.brown

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Taree NPWS hazard reduction burn 22 September 2024

    Source: New South Wales Environment and Heritage

    The 72 hectare ‘Starrs Creek HR – Stage 2’ aims to provide a fuel reduced zone within Coorabakh National Park, aiding in the suppression of bushfire in the area.

    The burn will also stimulate reproduction of the critically endangered Banksia conferta within the prescribed burn area.

    NPWS crews will be working on roads and trails throughout Coorabakh National Park to implement the burn. The public are advised that smoke may affect roads in the area and motorists are reminded to exercise caution when driving along roads in the area.

    Hazard reduction burns are essential to reduce bushfire fuel loads to help protect parks, neighbours and communities from future bushfires. Fires such as this one are also specifically planned to have an ecological outcome.

    All burns around the state are coordinated with the NSW Rural Fire Service.

    People with known health conditions can sign up to receive air quality reports, forecasts and alerts via email or SMS from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (NSW DCCEEW).

    For health information relating to smoke from bush fires and hazard reduction burning, visit the NSW Health or Asthma Australia.

    More information on hazard reduction activities is available at NSW Rural Fire Service and the NSW Government Hazards Near Me website and app.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Defense News: ASN EI&E Hosts Climate & Energy Tech Demo to Kick Off Climate Week NYC

    Source: United States Navy

    New York-based Sea Cadets and Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets attended the event, held at the U.S. Armed Forces Recruiting Station in Times Square.

    “Having these young Sea Cadets and NJROTC cadets – the future of our nation – learn about our climate and energy technologies was a fantastic way for the Department of the Navy to kick off its participation in Climate Week NYC,” said Berger. “They understand firsthand how climate change is impacting our world today, and we were able to help make the connection for them of how climate readiness is mission readiness for our Sailors and Marines.”

    DON researchers and engineers from various commands showcased technologies, such as hydrogen-powered fuel cells, small unit power systems, water-conserving firefighting nozzles, atmospheric water generation, and green concrete, to educate the students about the DON’s commitment to climate action and inspire them about DON careers in climate- and energy-focused roles.

    Madeleine White, resilience innovation research portfolio manager at Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center, explained green concrete, which uses sustainable materials to reduce traditional concrete’s environmental impact, such as lowering the carbon footprint of construction. 

    “Working on this [technology] as it is as an engineer has been great, but being able to show it to the individuals who are one day going to use it or be involved with it makes my job all worthwhile,” White said. “And doing [the event] out in a space like this and having these engineer technologies out in such a public space for people to see is such a fun environment to be in.”

    Jeremiah Rodriguez, a junior and NJROTC cadet at Curtis High School in Staten Island, N.Y., said he would think about global warming and its impact.

    “It would be in the back of my mind, such as how it would continuously get hotter,” he said. “One day, it’ll get to the point where you can cook an egg on the sidewalk. With this new technology, I really hope we can figure out a way to significantly reduce the impact of climate change. After this presentation, I really find it hopeful for our generation’s future.”

    Climate Week NYC is the largest annual climate event of its kind, bringing together more than 600 events and activities across New York City in person, hybrid and online. Climate Group hosts the official program during the week that brings together the most senior international figures from business, government, civil society and the climate sector. 

    This year, Climate Week NYC is being held Sept. 22-29, 2024. The event takes place every year in partnership with the United Nations General Assembly and is run in coordination with the United Nations and the City of New York.

    In May 2022, the Department of the Navy released Climate Action 2030 in which Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro recognized climate change as one of the most destabilizing forces of our time and charged the Department with building a climate-ready force.

    Berger is responsible for providing oversight and policy for Navy and Marine Corps energy and climate resilience; infrastructure sustainment, restoration and modernization; military construction; acquisition, utilization and disposal of real property and facilities; environmental protection, planning, restoration and natural resources conservation; and safety and occupational health.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: York Walls in Bloom

    Source: City of York

    Residents and visitors will be able to experience areas of the city walls from a fresh perspective next spring, as this unique and historic space blooms into life.

    Volunteers and businesses from across the city are coming together this week to help transform the City Walls embankments, for the first phase of the York Walls in Bloom project.

    This unique green space will evolve into a beautiful biodiverse landscape, where residents and visitors will be able to enjoy seeing many different pollinators thrive.

    Over its 2,000-year-old history, the city walls embankments (ramparts) have constantly evolved and changed from being cleared sheer slopes, areas of grazing until the mid-20th century and in recent years manicured lawns and bedding plants.

    The first phase of the York in Bloom project will be in the city centre at Station Rise. The area around the Station Rise rampart has over the centuries seen some of the most dramatic changes in landscape visible anywhere on the city walls.

    The season bedding displays here will be familiar to many residents and visitors, but this approach is not without its downsides. It’s resource intensive in terms of water and carbon used in the growing, transporting, planting, weeding and removing bedding plants. This makes the practice increasingly unsustainable for the city and the planet.

    Cllr Jenny Kent, Executive Member for Environment and Climate Emergency, said “York is proud to have some of the UK’s best preserved medieval walls, and this partnership project to cover the site at Station Rise in meadow flowers for York Walls in Bloom will not only look beautiful, it will also help support York’s bees, moths and butterflies, and help preserve the ramparts underneath.

    We are lucky to have expert advice from many partners and are also in the process of reviewing our maintenance of the walls overall. We will ensure that we adopt the very best heritage and ecology conservation practices to prevent soil erosion, which increases with extreme heat and increased rainfall, maximise the environmental benefit, and keep the Walls looking great for generations to come.”

    Inspired by projects such as the Tower of London ‘Moat in Bloom’, the council believes that carefully managed wild flowering could offer the right mix of stunning visuals, increased sustainability and improved habitat.

    York Walls in Bloom is being carefully introduced over the course of 2024. Earlier this year, the area was left to grow naturally for several months so that the ecological study could be undertaken. This was critical so that the council knew that any intervention wouldn’t endanger existing habitats.

    While next year will see a spectacular floral display near Station Rise, the area will still be very carefully managed over several years to balance the ecology of the site. The second phase of the project will be extended to the Red Tower, Walmgate next year.

    This will transform the flatter sections of rampart on the outside of the city walls by sowing wildflowers in Spring, to create a floral display in summer 2025, which over the following years will be carefully managed into a sustainable natural floral meadow.

    Introducing a more sustainable, natural environment in the coming years, including changing how frequently the grass is cut in this area, will ensure a healthier soil and more wildflower growth.

    The York in Walls project has gained the backing and sponsorship of local businesses.

    Simon Mahon, General Manager of The Grand York, said: “We’re delighted to be working on the York Walls in Bloom project. We’re very proud sponsors and are looking forward seeing wildflowers being introduced along the walls, which naturally will make this historical part of York even more beautiful.

    Here at The Grand, York, as part of our sustainability initiative we house approximately 50,000 bees on our roof – the honey they produce is used throughout The Grand in desserts, pastries and cocktails. So, we’re really happy to support this project.”

    From Tuesday 24 September, works will be visible on the ground when the turf will be ‘wither stripped’ to allow for the sowing of the wildflowers.

    With the help on York Cares, volunteers from across the city will come together to support the project and help sow the seeds.

    Holly Hennell, Manager, York Cares: “The 16th annual York Cares Big Community Challenge is taking place between 16 September and 11 October in partnership with City of York Council, St Nicks and the University of York. The challenge aims to connect communities with nature, providing volunteering opportunities at over 30 sites across the city along routes leading into the city centre around the city walls.

    “Employee-volunteers will get involved with a variety of practical activities to enhance biodiversity across the city including sowing seeds as part of the York Walls in Bloom project, a fantastic initiative which will really brighten up the city whilst also benefiting the environment. The York Cares team is excited to be able to get involved in one of the sessions alongside their members, demonstrating the difference we can make when we come together.”

    The York in Bloom project is funded by the Green Corridors project , the National Lottery Community Fund and is sponsored by local businesses including The Grand York.

    For more information visit York Walls in Bloom.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Move over Olympians, Australia’s wildlife are incredible athletes

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University

    Now that the Paris Olympics and Paralympics have disappeared from our screens, let’s get back to watching animal videos.

    But seriously, have you ever paused to think about the athletic abilities of Australian wildlife?

    In my research as an ecologist, I’m constantly amazed by the strength, speed and resilience of our native animals. Their prowess is testament to the wonders of evolution, and the necessity of species having to adapt to challenging and changing environments in order to survive.

    Let’s take a closer look at some of our best competitors and how might they fare, against humans and overseas entrants. On your marks, get set… swim, hop, dig, dance, glide!

    Swimming

    Australians are renowned for being strong swimmers. But what is the fastest swimmer in the animal kingdom?

    On this there is much debate. Some suggest it’s the Indo Pacific sailfish, clocking in at about 30km/hr. That’s impressive, but much slower than oft-cited (but inaccurate) claims it can travel at more than 100km/hr.

    For perspective, the fastest human to swim the 50 metres freestyle is American Caeleb Dressel, completing this in a time of 20.16 seconds. That’s roughly 9km/h – faster than many people jog, but still no match for a sailfish.

    As in humans, swimming speed in fishes tends to increase with body length. Larger species that challenge sailfish for the fastest swimmer title include blue or black marlin. Shorter, torpedo-like bluefin tuna are also in contention. All are found in Australian waters, though not exclusively.

    While American swimmer Michael Phelps put in an impressive showing against a simulated great white shark, no human would beat much faster sailfish, marlin and tuna.

    Sprinting, long and high jump

    Aussie icons, red kangaroos can reach speeds of around 60-70km/hr. But they are no match for cheetahs, which can move at more than 120km/hr.

    Long jump is surely the kangaroo’s main event. Red kangaroos can jump a staggering 13 metres or more. Amazingly, this might not be enough to clinch gold. Snow leopards can jump more than 15 metres.

    Kangaroos can clear heights of up to 3m, so would perform well in the high jump. But they’d finish behind bottlenose dolphins, which can jump over 7m in the air, just for kicks.

    Scaled for body size, though, both species would be embarrassed by a tiny insect known as a froghopper. It jumps to heights of more than 140 times its body length.

    Kangaroos sure can jump, but they’re not the greatest of all in the animal kingdom.

    Battles of strength

    African elephants can lift more than 1,000kg and weaver ants more than 100 times their own body weight.

    But relative to size, a truly impressive champion is Australia’s horned dung beetle. At just a centimetre long, these diminutive powerhouses can pull more than 1,100 times their own body weight, roughly equating to an average man lifting two fully-loaded 18-wheeler trucks.

    And yet, horned dung beetles might still only claim silver. Another invertebrate Aussie, the tiny tropical moss mite, is perhaps the world’s strongest animal. It can pull more than 1,180 times its weight.

    Bigger does not always equal stronger.

    Packing the fastest, deadliest punch

    In terms of combat sports, bigger is not always better.

    Peacock mantis shrimps – invertebrates found in Australian marine waters and elsewhere – have the swiftest and most powerful punch in the lightweight crustacean division.

    They kill prey by punching them with strong, club-like appendages. They deliver blows at up to 23m per sec, akin to the speed and force of a .22 calibre bullet being fired.

    So powerful is the punch, it vaporises water and creates a super-hot shockwave that breaks up and incapacitates its prey.

    Nature’s deadliest punch?

    Tantalising contests

    What about a digging contest? Eastern barred bandicoots can shift 4.8 tonnes of soil a year. How would that stack up against marsupial moles, which can disappear almost instantly into desert sands? Or the expert excavations of wombats and aardvarks that can dig more than half a metre in 15 seconds?

    In terms of free-diving and flying, there’s really no contest. Cuvier’s beaked whale can dive nearly 3000m and peregrine falcons can reach over 320 km/hr. These animals are found across the globe, however – not just in Australia.

    Australia’s largest gliding marsupial, the greater glider, can sail up to 100m between trees. But gliding gold would surely go to the giant flying squirrel, which can glide up to 450m.

    I’d love to see a shooting contest between Australia’s archer fish and Madagascar’s panther chameleon. But finding the right arena for both aquatic and land-based sharpshooters would be tricky.

    Raygun’s kangaroo hop is now legendary, but a breaking (break dancing) contest between a peacock spider, spanish dancer (a type of nudibranch) and a magnificent riflebird might genuinely break the internet.

    Step aside, Raygun, peacock spiders are taking the floor.

    Appreciating wildlife athletes

    So who would win a global contest for the best wildlife athlete overall?

    If the competition was on land and focused on running, jumping, strength and climbing, it’s hard to go past the overall abilities of a Bengal tiger.

    Many amazing wildlife athletes are threatened with extinction. Others are gone forever.

    They include the incredible oolacunta – also known as the desert rat kangaroo. It’s powers of endurance in the desert are the stuff of folklore. As legendary Australian mammalogist Hedley Herbert Finlayson wrote in 1931:

    Its speed for such an atom, was wonderful, and its endurance amazing … when we finally got it, it had taken the starch out of three mounts and run us 12 miles; all under such adverse conditions of heat and rough going, as to make it almost incredible that so small a frame should be capable of such an immense output of energy.

    Let’s celebrate wildlife and their athletic abilities and ensure they have a secure future.

    Euan Ritchie receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Action. Euan is a Councillor within the Biodiversity Council, a member of the Ecological Society of Australia and the Australian Mammal Society, and President of the Australian Mammal Society.

    – ref. Move over Olympians, Australia’s wildlife are incredible athletes – https://theconversation.com/move-over-olympians-australias-wildlife-are-incredible-athletes-238303

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: The United Nations has a plan to govern AI – but has it bought the industry’s hype?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zena Assaad, Senior Lecturer, School of Engineering, Australian National University

    saiko3p/Shutterstock

    The United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Artificial Intelligence (AI) has released its final report on governing AI for humanity.

    The report presents a blueprint for addressing AI-related risks while still enabling the potential of this technology. It also includes a call to action for all governments and stakeholders to work together in governing AI to foster development and protection of all human rights.

    On the surface, this report seems to be a positive step forward for AI, encouraging developments while also mitigating potential harms.

    However, the finer details of the report expose a number of concerns.

    Reminiscent of the IPCC

    The UN advisory board on AI was first convened on October 26, 2023. The purpose of this committee is to advance recommendations for the international governance of AI. It says this approach is needed to ensure the benefits of AI, such as opening new areas of scientific inquiry, are evenly distributed, while the risks of this technology, such as mass surveillance and the spread of misinformation, are mitigated.

    The advisory board consists of 39 members from a diversity of regions and professional sectors. Among them are industry representatives from Microsoft, Mozilla, Sony, Collinear AI and OpenAI.

    The committee is reminiscent of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which aims to provide key input into international climate change negotiations.

    The inclusion of prominent industry representatives in the advisory board on AI is a point of difference from the IPCC. This may have advantages, such as a more informed understanding of AI technologies. But it may also have disadvantages, such as biased viewpoints in favour of commercial interests.

    The recent release of the final report on governing AI for humanity provides a vital insight into what we can likely expect from this committee.

    What’s in the report?

    The final report on governing AI for humanity follows an interim report released in December 2023. It proposes seven recommendations for addressing gaps in current AI governance arrangements.

    These include the creation of an independent international scientific panel on AI, the creation of an AI standards exchange and the creation of a global AI data framework. The report also ends with a call to action for all governments and relevant stakeholders to collectively govern AI.

    What’s disconcerting about the report are the imbalanced and at times contradictory claims made throughout.

    For example, the report rightly advocates for governance measures to address the impact of AI on concentrated power and wealth, geopolitical and geoeconomic implications.

    However, it also claims that:

    no one currently understands all of AI’s inner workings enough to fully control its outputs or predict its evolution.

    This claim is not factually correct on many accounts. It is true that there are some “black box” systems – those in which the input is known, but the computational process for generating outputs is not. But AI systems more generally are well understood on a technical level.

    AI reflects a spectrum of capabilities. This spectrum ranges from generative AI systems such as ChatGPT, through to deep learning systems such as facial recognition. The assumption that all these systems embody the same level of impenetrable complexity is not accurate.

    The inclusion of this claim calls into question the advantages of including industry representatives in the advisory board, as they should be bringing a more informed understanding of AI technologies.

    The other issue this claim raises is the notion of AI evolving of its own accord. What has been interesting about the rise of AI over recent years is the accompanying narratives which falsely position AI as a system of agency.

    This inaccurate narrative shifts perceived liability and responsibility away from those who design and develop these systems, providing a creative scapegoat for industry.

    Despite the subtle undertone of powerlessness in the face of AI technologies and the imbalanced claims made throughout, the report does positively progress the discourse in some ways.

    A small step forward

    Overall, the report and its call to action are a positive step forward because they emphasise that AI can be governed and regulated, despite contradictory claims throughout the report which imply otherwise.

    The inclusion of the term “hallucinations” is a salient example of these contradictions.

    The term itself was popularised by OpenAI’s chief executive Sam Altman when he used the term to reframe nonsensical outputs as part of the “magic” of AI. Hallucinations is not a technically accepted term – it’s a creative marketing agenda. Pushing for governance of AI while simultaneously endorsing a term which implies a technology that cannot be governed is not constructive.

    What the report lacks is consistency in how AI is perceived and understood.

    It also lacks application specificity – a common limitation among many AI initiatives. A global approach to AI governance will only work if it is able to capture the nuances of application and domain specificity.

    The report is one step forward in the right direction. However, it will need refinement and amendments to ensure it encourages developments while mitigating the many harms of AI.

    Zena Assaad does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. The United Nations has a plan to govern AI – but has it bought the industry’s hype? – https://theconversation.com/the-united-nations-has-a-plan-to-govern-ai-but-has-it-bought-the-industrys-hype-239494

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Windy Weather Warning for Wairarapa Drivers

    Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

    Drivers travelling on State Highway 2 over the Remutaka Hill and through Wairarapa will need to be ready for another burst of rough spring weather tomorrow.

    The Metservice has issued a Strong Wind Warning for Wairarapa, Tararua District, and Hawke’s Bay south of Hastings between  8 am and 5 pm tomorrow (Tuesday, 24 September).

    Severe gale west to northwest winds are forecast and will coincide with morning and afternoon commuting times.

    It means drivers must take extra care on exposed routes like Remutaka Hill. This particularly applies to trucks, vans, motorcycles, light vehicles, and towing vehicles.

    Strong winds increase the risk of tree falls, downed powerlines, and windblown debris. Road users must be prepared for these hazards and drive accordingly.

    It is also recommended to check road and weather conditions before travelling, as bad weather can cause roads to be closed on short notice.

    It is also recommended to check road and weather conditions before travelling, as bad weather can cause roads to be closed on short notice.

    Highway Conditions – Wellington/Wairarapa(external link)

    Metservice Weather Warnings(external link)

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: CAF promotes a global network of scientists to protect the biodiversity of Latin America and the Caribbean

    Source: CAF Development Bank of Latin America

    CAF is fostering dialogue with scientific institutions to ensure the voice of science is heard ahead of COP16 and the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework. This effort aims to help promote and implement science-based solutions in its operations and in dialogue with countries.

    In this context, CAF, which will host a Latin America and Caribbean Pavilion open to all countries in the region at COP16, convened over twenty international scientific institutions to raise awareness about the importance of data, science, regional collaboration, and the application of scientific methods to solve problems related to biodiversity loss and restoration. The Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Astrid Schomaker, closed the event, highlighting the importance of science. The conclusions of the meeting, along with CAF’s proposals to address the identified challenges, will be presented in Cali.

    “We are engaging with scientists to identify what we can do to be more effective in preserving biodiversity. We need to understand how scientific recommendations can be translated into efficient public policies and explore new ideas and proposals that help us find solutions to the dilemmas modern societies are facing due to climate change,” said Sergio Díaz-Granados, CAF’s Executive President.

    CAF’s work with international scientists aims to strengthen multilateralism by connecting scientific advances and generating new lines of work being carried out in various countries to stop and reverse biodiversity loss.

    “To halt biodiversity loss, it is essential to develop robust scientific knowledge and, most importantly, put it into practice. This requires creating communication channels that accelerate the implementation of science-based policies and integrate them into national development agendas and business strategies,” said Alicia Montalvo, CAF’s Manager of Climate Action and Positive Biodiversity.

    In this regard, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) plays a fundamental role by fostering closer ties between the scientific community and decision-makers to build capacity and strengthen the use of science in public policy development. CAF aims to reinforce this work by bringing science closer to public and private financial institutions, promoting investment in biodiversity.

    CAF’s commitment to an ecosystem and science-based approach

    Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the richest regions in terrestrial and marine biodiversity. IPBES values the region’s terrestrial and coastal ecosystem services at $24.3 trillion per year. The region is home to six of the world’s seventeen megadiverse countries (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela) and contains between 60% and 70% of all known species, approximately 25% of tropical forests, and the most biodiverse habitat on the planet: the Amazon rainforest.

    In this context, CAF has adopted an ecosystem approach in its operations, addressing not only the needs of countries for the integrated management of land, water, and living resources but also the needs of ecosystems for sustainable and equitable conservation and resource use.

    Examples of this new approach include the Program for Integrated and Sustainable Management of Sargassum in the Greater Caribbean, which will benefit Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela through the promotion of sustainable sargassum management. Other examples include the coral reef restoration project in Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Costa Rica; The Americas Flyways Initiative (AFI), which aims to identify and conserve more than 30 critical landscapes along migratory routes in North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean; and projects to strengthen the management of protected natural areas in Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Mount Royal National Park hazard reduction burn 24 September 2024

    Source: New South Wales Environment and Heritage

    A 140-hectare burn will take place adjacent to Kurranulla Creek, on the southernmost tip of Mount Royal National Park, east of Muswellbrook, and 5 km due north of Carrowbrook.

    The burn will begin in the morning, with crews continuing into the late evening. Crews will be present for a number of days after the burn.

    The low intensity burn is being undertaken to reduce fuel loads in the area and protect neighbouring properties.

    NPWS will be assisted by the NSW Rural Fire Service.

    Smoke may be visible and impact on the area around Carrowbrook and Mount Royal for a number of days. Motorists should exercise caution when driving along roads in the area.

    People with asthma or who are susceptible to respiratory problems are advised to stay indoors, close windows and doors, and follow their health plan.

    This burn is one of many hazard reduction operations undertaken by NPWS each year, many with assistance from the Rural Fire Service and Fire and Rescue NSW.

    All burns around the state are coordinated with the NSW Rural Fire Service to ensure the impact on the community is assessed at a regional level.

    People with known health conditions can sign up to receive air quality reports, forecasts and alerts via email or SMS from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

    For health information relating to smoke from bushfires and hazard reduction burns, visit NSW Health or Asthma Australia.

    More information on hazard reduction activities is available at NSW Rural Fire Service and the NSW Government’s Hazard’s Near Me website and app.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: FEMA Specialists Helping Floridians Apply for Assistance After Hurricane Debby

    Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

    Headline: FEMA Specialists Helping Floridians Apply for Assistance After Hurricane Debby

    FEMA Specialists Helping Floridians Apply for Assistance After Hurricane Debby

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance crews continue to work in Florida neighborhoods helping people apply for FEMA assistance after Hurricane Debby.

    The crews have worked in Alachua, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Sarasota, Suwannee and Taylor counties. Now they are beginning work in Baker, Citrus, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

    DSA specialists wear FEMA attire and have federal photo identification badges. They go door to door in impacted neighborhoods using mobile devices to help residents apply for assistance, check the status of an application, identify potential needs and make connections with organizations that can provide resources. DSA specialists never ask for, or accept, money. Local law enforcement officials are informed when DSA crews work in a community and residents can verify their presence with local law enforcement.

    The quickest way to apply is to go online to DisasterAssistance.gov. You can also apply using the FEMA App for mobile devices or calling toll-free 800-621-3362. The telephone line is open every day and help is available in most languages. If you use a relay service, such as Video Relay Service (VRS), captioned telephone or other service, give FEMA your number for that service.

    To view an accessible video on how to apply visit Three Ways to Apply for FEMA Disaster Assistance – YouTube. The deadline for applications is Oct. 9, 2024.

    For the latest information about Florida’s recovery, visit fema.gov/disaster/4806. Follow FEMA on X at x.com/femaregion4 or on Facebook at facebook.com/fema.

    kirsten.chambers

    MIL OSI USA News –