World Wetlands Day organizers announce the 2026 global observance themed around wetlands and traditional knowledge.

• World Wetlands Day 2026 will be held on February 2, 2026 (all day, Asia/Colombo time zone), focusing on the connections between wetlands and cultural practices, traditions, and knowledge systems of communities worldwide.
• The 2026 theme, “Wetlands and traditional knowledge: Celebrating cultural heritage,” emphasizes the role of traditional knowledge in sustaining wetland ecosystems and preserving cultural identity, with event calendar integrations provided via ICS, Google Calendar, iCalendar, Office 365, and Outlook Live links.

The United Nations, with Senegal as co-host, has scheduled a high-level preparatory meeting for the 2026 UN Water Conference to advance Sustainable Development Goal 6 on clean water and sanitation.

• Event details: Two-day high-level preparatory meeting on January 26-27, 2026, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm (Africa/Dakar), organized by co-host Senegal to promote the achievement and accelerated implementation of SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation).
• Purpose and context: The meeting will agree on preparations for the 2026 UN Water Conference, focusing on accelerating implementation of SDG 6; calendar integration links are provided for ICS, Google Calendar, iCalendar, Office 365, and Outlook Live via the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) event page.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) will hold its Annual Meeting 2026 to address global and regional challenges, including a just, inclusive energy transition.

• Event details: Scheduled for 19–23 January 2026, from 09:00 to 17:00 (UTC+01:00), the meeting will gather leaders from government, business, civil society and academia to discuss growth, living standards, geopolitical shocks, and energy transition.

• Background and access: The event is listed by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) with multiple calendar integration options (ICS, Google Calendar, iCalendar, Office 365, Outlook Live) and further information available via the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 webpage.

• Date: 19–23 January 2026

  • Time: 09:00–17:00 (UTC+01:00)
  • Location: Not specified
  • Subject/agenda: Global and regional challenges, including growth, living standards, geopolitical shocks, and a just, inclusive energy transition.

The UK Government has launched a major consultation on wide-ranging reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework to accelerate delivery of 1.5 million homes, supporting infrastructure, clean energy, and data centres.

• Planning reforms & housing targets: Proposals include a default ‘yes’ near rail stations, higher-density development (including building upwards and more flats), streamlined energy efficiency and Biodiversity Net Gain rules, a new medium site category (10–49 homes) with proportionate costs (including possible Building Safety Levy exemption), and preferential treatment for developments that strengthen local economies and services; the new rail/densification policies are expected to unlock up to 1.8 million homes, contribute to the goal of 1.5 million homes this Parliament, and override conflicting local policies from day one.
• Investments, capacity & infrastructure/data centres: Measures include £5 million to expand the Small Sites Aggregator in Bristol, Sheffield and Lewisham to transform up to 60 brownfield sites into social housing, £8 million for capacity in local planning authorities with many major schemes pending (including London boroughs), an extra £48 million for planning capacity (including £28.8 million for the Planning Capacity & Capability Programme and ~350 additional planners), reforms to BNG with area-based exemptions for small sites (≤0.2 ha) and proposed exemptions for residential brownfield (testing up to 2.5 ha) plus offsite BNG simplification (implementation timeline due in the new year; NSIP BNG goes live May 2026), acceleration of data centres co-located near energy sites via a single planning route to support AI Growth Zones, and confirmation that the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will become law before Christmas alongside a £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme and future reforms such as a National Scheme of Delegation and pattern-book standard house designs from 2026 onward.

The UK Treasury has appointed Professor Mark Freeman and Professor Ben Groom to co-lead an independent review of the Green Book discount rate used in government appraisal of long-term investments.

• The review, committed to in June after the Green Book Review, will examine how the discount rate reflects long-term benefits from transformational investments, with full terms of reference published online and oversight by Chief Secretary to the Treasury James Murray.
• Professor Freeman is a Professor of Finance at the University of York and Deputy Chair of the FCA Cost Benefit Analysis Panel, while Professor Groom holds the Dragon Capital Chair in Biodiversity Economics at the University of Exeter and is a visiting professor at the LSE, indicating a focus on finance and biodiversity economics in the review’s design.