UNEP
UNEP
including The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), The Executive Director Inger Andersen (since
2019)
Minamata Convention on Mercury, The Basel, Rotterdam and
Denmark
Stockholm Conventions, The Convention on Migratory
Parent United Nations
Species and The Convention on International Trade in
organization
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), among
Website www.unep.org
others.[6]
In 1988, the World Meteorological Organization and UNEP established the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC).[7] UNEP is also one of several Implementing Agencies for the Global Environment
Facility (GEF) and the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol.[8][9] UNEP
sometimes uses the alternative name UN Environment.[10] The headquarters of the agency is in Nairobi,
Kenya.
History [ edit ]
After developing organisations such as the International Labour Organization, the Food and Agriculture
Organization and the World Health Organization, the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human
Environment (the Stockholm Conference) was convened. In this conference various topics were discussed
such as pollution, marine life, protection of resources, environmental change, and disasters relating to
natural and biological change. This conference resulted in a Declaration on the Human Environment
(Stockholm Declaration) and the establishment of an environmental management body, which was later
named the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). UNEP was established by General Assembly
Resolution 2997.[12] Headquarters were established in Nairobi, Kenya, with a staff of 300, including 100
professionals in a variety of fields, and with a five-year fund of more than US$100 million. At the time, US$40
million were pledged by the United States and the remainder by 50 other nations. The 'Voluntary Indicative
Scale of Contribution' established in 2002 has the role to increase the supporters of the UNEP.[13] The
finances related to all programs of UNEP is voluntarily contributed by Member states of the United Nations.
The Environmental Fund, which all nations of UNEP invest in, is the core source of UNEP's programs.[12]
Between 1974 and 1986 UNEP produced more than 200 technical guidelines or manuals on environment
including forest and water management, pest control, pollution monitoring, the relationship between
chemical use and health, and management of industry.[14]
The location of the headquarters proved to be a major controversy, with developed countries preferring
Geneva, where several other UN offices are based, while developing countries preferred Nairobi, as that
would be the first international organization headquartered in the Global South. At first, Mexico City, New
Delhi, and Cairo were also competing to be the headquarters, but they pulled out to support Nairobi.[11]
Many of the developing countries were "not particularly supportive of creating a new formal institution for
environmental governance", but supported its creation as an act of "Southern solidarity".[15]
In 2000, the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, based in Cambridge and sponsored by IUCN, became
part of UNEP.
Governance [ edit ]
UNEP's acting executive director, Joyce Msuya, took office in November 2018 following the resignation of
Erik Solheim. Prior to that appointment, she was UNEP's deputy executive director.[16] Inger Andersen was
appointed executive director of UNEP by UN secretary-general António Guterres in February 2019.[17]
Name
# Picture Nationality Took office Left office
(birth–death)
Maurice Strong[18]
1 Canada 1972 1975
(1929–2015)
Elizabeth Dowdeswell
3 Canada 1992 1998
(born 1944)
Klaus Töpfer
4 Germany 1998 2006
(born 1938)
Achim Steiner
5 Brazil 2006 2016
(born 1961)
Erik Solheim
6 Norway 2016 2018
(born 1955)
Joyce Msuya
(born 1968)
Inger Andersen
8 Denmark 2019 Present
(born 1958)
The United Nations Environment Assembly is UNEP's governing body. Created in 2012 to replace the
Governing Council, it currently has 193 members and meets every two years.[19][20]
Structure [ edit ]
Activities [ edit ]
1. Climate Change[22]
UNEP is a partner of the Territorial Approach to Climate
Change, which engages governmental entities in climate
resilience efforts.[23]
2. Disasters and Conflicts[24]
UNEP has endeavored to lighten the influence of
emergencies or natural disasters on human health and to Presentation on climate finance by
Søren E. Lütken, UNEP Senior
prepare for future disasters. It contributes to the Adviser, 2012
reduction of the origin of disasters by controlling the
balance of ecosystems and actively support Sendai
Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, which aims to reduce the risk of disasters (DRR). As well
as preventing natural disasters, the UNEP supports countries such as to make laws or policies
which protect the countries from getting serious damage by disasters. Since 1999 it has helped
40 countries to recover from the effect of disasters.[25]
3. Ecosystem Management[26]
4. Environmental Governance[27]
5. Environment under Review[28]
UNEP provides information and data on the global environment to stakeholders including
governments, non-governmental organizations and the public for them to engage in realizing the
Sustainable Development Goals. The information which UNEP shares is based on the latest
science and is collected in a proper way. This makes policy makers find reliable information
effectively. Through this The Environment Outlook and the Sustainable Development Goals
stakeholders can have access to information easily. In addition, the UN environment Live
Platform and Online Access to Research in Environment (OARE) provide transparent information
collected by UNEP.[29]
6. Chemicals and Waste[30]
7. Resource Efficiency[31]
Main articles: Global 500 Roll of Honour and Champions of the Earth
Several awards programs have been established to recognize outstanding work in the environmental field.
The Global 500 Roll of Honour was initiated in 1987 and ended in 2003. Its 2005 successor, Champions of
the Earth, and a similar award, Young Champions of the Earth, are given annually to entrepreneurs,
scientists, policy leaders, upcoming talent, individuals and organizations who make significant positive
impacts on resources and the environment in their areas.
UNEP has registered several successes, such as the 1987 Montreal Protocol for limiting emissions of gases
blamed for thinning the planet's protective ozone layer, and the 2017 Minamata Convention, a treaty to limit
toxic mercury.[32]
UNEP has sponsored the development of solar loan programmes, with attractive return rates, to buffer the
initial deployment costs and entice consumers to consider and purchase solar PV systems. The most
famous example is the solar loan programme sponsored by UNEP that helped 100,000 people finance solar
power systems in India.[33] Success in India's solar programme has led to similar projects in other parts of
the developing world, including Tunisia, Morocco, Indonesia and Mexico.
In 2001, UNEP alerted about the destruction of the Marshlands when it released satellite images showing
that 90 percent of the marsh had been lost. The UNEP "support for environmental management of the Iraqi
Marshland" began in 2004, to manage the marshland area in an environmentally sound manner.[34]
UNEP has a programme for young people known as Tunza. Within this programme are other projects like
the AEO for Youth.[35]
For two decades, UNESCO and UNEP led the International Environmental Education Programme (1975-
1995), which set out a vision for, and gave practical guidance on how to mobilize education for
environmental awareness. In 1976 UNESCO launched an environmental education newsletter Connect as
the official organ of the UNESCO-UNEP International Environmental Education Programme (IEEP). Until
2007 it served as a clearinghouse to exchange information on environmental education in general and to
promote the aims and activities of the IEEP in particular, as well as being a network for institutions and
individuals interested and active in environment education.[36]
Climate change
UNEP in 1989, 34 years ago, predicted "entire nations could be wiped off the face of the Earth by sea level
rise if the global warming trend is not reversed by the year 2000".[37][38]
UNEP in 2005, 19 years ago, predicted "50 million people could become environmental refugees by 2010,
fleeing the effects of climate change".[39]
Glaciers are shrinking at record rates and many could disappear within decades, the UNEP said in 2008.
The scientists measuring the health of almost 30 glaciers around the world found that ice loss reached
record levels in 2006. On average, the glaciers shrank by 4.9 feet in 2006. Norway's Breidalblikkbrea glacier
shrank 10.2 feet in 2006. Glaciers lost an average of about a foot of ice a year between 1980 and 1999, but
since the turn of the millennium the average loss has increased to about 20 inches.[40]
Electric vehicles
At the fifth Magdeburg Environmental Forum held in 2008, in Magdeburg, Germany, UNEP and car
manufacturer Daimler AG called for the establishment of infrastructure for electric vehicles. At this
international conference 250 politicians and representatives of non-government organizations discussed
future road transportation under the motto of "Sustainable Mobility–the Post-2012 CO2 Agenda".[41]
Circular economy
UNEP is the co-chair and a founding partner (along with groups such as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation) for
the Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy, which is a public-private partnership of over 50 global
organizations and governments seeking to support the transition to a global circular economy.[42]
The Regional Seas Programme [ edit ]
Established in 1974, this is the world's only legal programme for the purpose of protecting the oceans and
seas at the regional level. More than 143 countries participate in 18 regional programmes established by the
Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans, with 14 of them underpinned by legally binding international
conventions, such as the Helsinki Convention, the Oslo Dumping Convention, the Barcelona Convention or
the Bucharest Convention. The RSCAPs include the Caribbean region, East Asian seas, East African region,
Mediterranean Basin, Pacific Northwest region, West African region, Caspian Sea, Black Sea region,
Northeast Pacific region, Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, ROPME Sea Area, South Asian seas, Southeast Pacific
region, Pacific region, Arctic region, Antarctic region, Baltic Sea, and Northeast Atlantic region. Each
programme consists of countries which share the same sea and manages this sea at the regional level. The
programmes are controlled by secretariats or Regional Coordinating Units and Regional Activity Centers.[43]
UNEP protects seas by promoting international conventions through education and training.[44]
The Mediterranean Action Plan[45] of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP/MAP) was
established in 1975 as the first regional action plan under the Regional Seas Programme.
Launched in 2017, the initiative's goal is to encourage and collaborate with faith-based organizations to
protect the environment and invest in green resources.[46] In 2020, UNEP published a book with the
Parliament of the World's Religions Climate Action Program entitled, "Faith for Earth: A Call for Action."[47]
The book serves as an educational resource for students, teachers, and leaders across the world and
highlights the role that faith-based organizations can play in addressing critical environmental issues.[47]
Following the 2007 publication of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment
Report, the Paris Call for Action, presented by French president Jacques Chirac and supported by 46
countries, called for the UNEP to be replaced by a new and more powerful "United Nations Environment
Organization", to be modeled on the World Health Organization. The 46 countries included the European
Union nations, but notably did not include the United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and China, the top four
emitters of greenhouse gases.[61]
In December 2012, following the Rio+20 Summit, a decision by the General Assembly of the United Nations
to "strengthen and upgrade" the UNEP and establish universal membership of its governing body was
confirmed.[62]
Funding [ edit ]
The European Investment Bank and the United Nations Environment Programme created the Renewable
Energy Performance Platform (REPP) in 2015 to assist a United Nations project dubbed Sustainable Energy
for All. Renewable Energy Performance Platform was established with $67 million from the United
Kingdom's International Climate Finance initiative, administered by the Department for Business, Energy
and Industrial Strategy, in 2015, and $128 million in 2018. REPP was established with a five-year goal of
improving energy access for at least two million people in Sub-Saharan Africa. It has so far invested around
$45 million to renewable energy projects in 13 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Solar power and
hydropower are among the energy methods used in the projects.[63][64]
In September 2018, a series of allegations were made against the executive director of the UNEP, Eric
Solheim, at that time, including excessive number of days spent outside the headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.
As a result, Eric Solheim resigned. Several donor countries withdrew their donation in the aftermath of the
allegation, including the Dutch government who announced it would withhold $8 million in funding to UNEP
until nepotism issues were resolved.[65] Sweden and Denmark stopped funding as well. A spokesman for the
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs said the freezing of funds was probably unprecedented.[66]
This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA (license
statement/permission ). Text taken from Issues and trends in Education for Sustainable Development ,
26, 27, UNESCO.
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