Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/614946
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2015 40 This Week 40 2015 is a landmark year for international aid and development cooperation as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) come to their conclusion. Based on these, the world has come together to agree new global commitments to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice and combat climate change. Each month, the EYD2015 has been focusing on a different development theme, to raise awareness of the benefits of the EU's development cooperation in that field and encourage direct involvement, critical thinking and active interest of EU citizens. Sustainable development is about improving people's lives without depleting the natural resources and ecosystems on which economies and human societies depend. Eradicating poverty, preserving the planet, creating sustained and inclusive economic growth and fostering social inclusion all reinforce and depend upon each other. While the world has achieved significant progress over the last few decades, big development challenges remain. Persisting poverty, rising inequalities, frequent disasters, natural resource depletion, environmental degradation and climate change require action at all levels, from governments to individuals. Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time and its adverse impacts undermine the ability of all countries to achieve sustainable development. Humans are increasingly influencing the climate due to greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels, cutting down forests and farming livestock. Many developing countries are among the most affected, as these countries depend more on the natural environment while they have the least resources to cope with a changing climate At first glance you might mistake a grebe for a duck, but given the chance of a closer, binoculars-aided view you would notice that the rather long tapering, pointed beak looks nothing like a duck's. That beak is the ideal tool for snapping up the small, slippery, wriggly fish that make up these birds' main diet – aquatic insects, shrimps and other invertebrates complete the menu. As can be guessed from their food, grebes are expert divers and more at home in water than on land, they only manage an ungainly waddle out of water. About the size of a small pigeon, the Little Grebe (M: blonġun żgħir) is the smallest of the three species of grebe that occur in Malta. It is also the only grebe that nests in our country, virtually every year now at Is-Simar nature reserve, its only breeding site so far in the Maltese Islands. So if you wish to enjoy this shy bird, your best bet would be to pop over to Is-Simar in Xemxija (open Sundays 10am-4pm, entrance free) where someone from BirdLife will be at hand to help you maybe spot it. 484. LITTLE GREBE GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 387: FIND OUT MORE – Visit the official EYD2015 website and find stories, infographics and other information on 'Sustainable Development and Climate Action'. Also find out more about events, initiatives and activities organised by EYD partners! https://europa.eu/eyd2015/ Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate Text Victor Falzon Photo Aron Tanti European Year of Development 2015 - Sustainable Development and Climate Action Enkor hold traditional Christmas concert in Valletta UNDER the auspices of heritage NGO Din l-Art Helwa, the ENKOR tradi- tional Christmas Concert at Our Lady of Victory Church will be held on De- cember 19 at 19:30. The Christmas concert has become a yearly tradi- tion, which attracts a great number of aficionados keen to enter the Christ- mas spirit by enjoying an hour of traditional Christ- mas music in the congenial surroundings of Valletta's oldest church. An added bonus this year will be the viewing of the newly uncovered Erardi vault, which has recently been freed of the scaffold- ing that has hidden it for years while the Courtauld Institute of Art carried out conservation work. The cycle of the Life of the Virgin was commissioned by Grand Mas- ter Perellos to Alessio Erardi and is the largest single work by a Maltese Baroque painter on the island. The public is invited to donate €10 for attending the Christmas Choir 'Bright Morning Star'. Funds will be used for the con- tinued conservation works of the church. For more information: Din l- Art Helwa 2122 5952 info@din- larthelwa.org The newly uncovered Erardi vault at Our Lady of Victory Church, Valletta