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Monitoring The UN > The UN and Sustainable Development United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Origins and Background
The renewed goal of UNEP is: ...to be the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, that promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and that serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. Excerpt from The Nairobi Declaration (1997) Since the establishment of UNEP is 1972, the world has changed significantly. First, we have realized, through repeated disasters, the extent to which the natural environment itself cannot be compartmentalized.This alone has required that we significantly alter the way we approach environmental problems from the conceptualization of the problem, to the research, the policy development and the implementation phase. Second, what were once essentially local, national or regional problems have now expanded to global proportions. Thirdly, our local, national and international governance structure - the way decision-making processes are approached in society today- have changed considerably. The exponential rise in the numbers of non-governmental organizations, the increasing demands for participation by civil society (NGOs, trade unions, industry, etc.) in decision-making processes, characterize this change. The globalization of the economic system alone has altered the rules of the governance game and has rendered more complex attempts to protect the environment. Finally, following the catalytic impact of the Earth Summit in 1992, many United Nations institutions undertook initiatives in the field of environment, weakening the role of UNEP within the UN System. The combination of these changing realities has required
restructuring of UNEP and the United Nations System as a whole. The
reform process within UNEP was initiated in 1997 with the adoption of
the Nairobi Declaration at the Nineteenth Session of the UNEP Governing
Council. In the spring of 1998, the new Executive Director, Mr. Klaus
Tšpfer, pursued vigorously the reform process leading to the adoption
of a new plan for UNEP's future at the Fifth Special Session and the
20th Session of the Governing Council in 1999.
UNEP has now defined key areas of concentration upon which their Programme of Work is developed. These five areas of concentration are:
The Nairobi Declaration A cornerstone document of UNEP's reform, the Nairobi Declaration, is the foundation upon which UNEP focuses its programme of work. In addition to defining the Role and Mandate of the Organization, the Declaration represents a renewed commitment by donor governments to ensure the capacity of the Organization to fulfill its role as the leading global environment authority. |
