June 2008: In an effort to
engage vulnerable groups in international debates on climate change, the UN
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Coasts and Small Islands Platform and Local
and Indigenous Knowledge Systems Programme has launched an Internet-based
discussion forum on climate change.

The Frontlines of Climate Change Forum was created in
partnership with the Secretariats of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the
UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Office of the High Commissioner
for Human Rights. The Forum aims to explore the experiences of rural or
indigenous communities living in small islands, the circumpolar Arctic,
high-altitude zones, low-lying coastal areas, tropical forests, desert margins
and other vulnerable environments. [The Frontlines of Climate Change Forum]