50 Years of UNEP

  • March 26, 2022
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
No Comments

 

 

50 Years of UNEP

Subject: Environment

Section: International Organizations and Conventions

Context: UNEP celebrates 50 years of solving world’s environmental challenges.

Concept:

UNEP- Background:

  • In 1972, the UNGA passed what is formally known as UN-Resolution 2997.It would be the last step in the establishment of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) – an organisation conceived to spearhead a global effort to minimize humanity’s footprint on the planet.
  • Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya.
  • Governing Body: UNEA(formed in 2012) – meets once in two years.
  • Major Functions: It hosts various Conventions like Minamata Convention, UNCBD, CITES, Basel Convention, Stockholm Convention, Rotterdam Convention, Montreal Protocol, Vienna Convention, CMS, Carpathian, Bamako, Tehran Convention.
  • Main activities: are related to Climate Change, Disasters and Conflicts, Ecosystem management, Environmental Governance, Chemicals and waste, Resource Efficiency.
  • Important Treaties signed under UNEP: IPCC, Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS), Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Multilateral Fund for the implementation of Montreal Protocol.
  • In 2021, member states approved UNEP’s new Medium-Term Strategy (MTS)for 2022- 25that outlines UNEP’s contribution to the ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ and the Programme for Work 2022-23.
  • Multilateral Organization Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN) was initiated in 2021 by Belgium, Netherlands and Switzerland and comprises of 21 countries that assess the performance (2016-20)of the major multilateral organizations they fund.

Important Initiatives undertaken by UNEP so far:

  1. Regional Seas Programme, 1974
  2. Clean up the world Campaign, 1993
  3. TUNZA, 2003
  4. Billion Tree Campaign, 2006
  5. Faith for Earth Initiative, 2008
  6. World Environment Day (June 5th)
  7. Earth Hour
  8. Not all animals migrate by choice campaign, 2019

Reports of UNEP:

  1. Emission Gap Report
  2. Adaptation Gap Report
  3. Frontiers
  4. Global Environment Outlook
  5. Invest in a Healthy Planet
50 Years of UNEP Environment