UNEP Digital Platform for sustainable tourism

Subject : Environment

Context : UNEP launches a new worldwide digital platform to encourage sustainable marine tourism.

Concept :

The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), along with UK-based charity Reef-World Foundation, recently launched the Green Fins Hub, a global digital platform they said would give sustainable marine tourism a ‘major boost’.
The platform will help diving and snorkelling operators worldwide to make simple, cost-efficient changes to their daily practices by utilising tried and tested solutions.
Green Fins Hub will host two types of membership. One would be digital membership available for diving, snorkelling and live aboard operations globally.
Green Fins Certified Members will continue to be assessed annually and trained in person at their operation.

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:

Reports of UNEP:

Coral reefs: https://optimizeias.com/coral-reefs-3/