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Environment Press Releases

Displaying Results 201 - 225 of 339

A safety monitoring system on the Ortotokoi dam in Kyrgyzstan, installed with the support of UNECE, was inaugurated on Wednesday, 16 September.  The dam is situated on the Chu River, which is shared by Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. An accident on the dam would have serious consequences for
Every summer, Stockholm becomes the world’s water capital during World Water Week, which is being celebrated from 23 to 28 August this year.Organized by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), this is the largest annual gathering of approximately 3,000 water professionals, who come
On 29 July 2015, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia deposited its instrument of accession to the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention), including the amendments to the Convention that allow accession by
Ukraine made an important step towards sustainable development on 1 July 2015 with the ratification by the Ukrainian parliament (or Verkhovna Rada) of a law on the country’s accession to the UNECE Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment to the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment
Waste management, wastewater treatment and adaptation to climate change are some of the most pressing environmental challenges for Montenegro. These are the main findings of the third Environmental Performance Review (EPR) of Montenegro, undertaken by UNECE. The findings were presented by UNECE
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have pressing water quantity and quality issues regarding the shared resources of the Chu and Talas Basins. During the difficult dry year of 2014 both countries had problems with the water supply from the two rivers. In addition, the two countries estimate the level of
The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), Christian Friis Bach, and the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Achim Steiner, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to reinforce the collaboration between UNEP and
A staggering US$ 1.6 trillion is the economic cost of the approximate 600 000 premature deaths and of the diseases caused by air pollution in the WHO European Region in 2010, according to the first-ever study of these costs conducted for the Region. The amount is nearly equivalent to one tenth
Serhiy Kurykin, Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine, and Lazar Chirica, Deputy Minister of Environment of the Republic of Moldova, met today in Kyiv to launch the Strategic Framework for Adaptation to Climate Change for the Dniester Basin.The Strategic Framework will
Over 50 different experiences from river basins around the world have been compiled and analysed in the new publication “Water and climate change adaptation in transboundary basins: lessons learned and good practices”, prepared by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the
For the first time, on 24 March 2015, the Republic of Moldova, Romania and Ukraine tested how the three countries would jointly cooperate to respond to an industrial accident with possible transboundary consequences, such as an oil spill that might reach the Danube Delta. After more than 2,000
Jordan has decided to study the implications of joining the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention), launching the process on 10 March 2015 with a national workshop on “
Ammonia emissions into the air is a major threat to human health, causing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Atmospheric ammonia is also a significant source of acidification and excess nutrient loading, causing loss of biodiversity in many of the most vulnerable ecosystems. This calls for
At the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents (Industrial Accidents Convention), held from 3 to 5 December 2014 in Geneva, Parties adopted a revised list of chemical substances to include an additional 13 categories
On 3 December 2014, 30 years to the day after the largest chemical accident in human history occurred in Bhopal, India, the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents
On this day 35 years ago, 34 Governments and the European Community signed the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (Air Convention) out of a growing awareness that the ecological and human health problems throughout the region were caused by air pollution which did not respect
On 30 and 31 October 2014, Belarus and Lithuania negotiated a bilateral technical protocol on transboundary water cooperation for the shared Neman River Basin, facilitated by UNECE and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Belarus, in the framework of the project “River Basin
Through the entry into force yesterday, 26 August 2014, of its first amendment, the Espoo Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context is now open to all United Nations Member States. “This opening will fill an important gap in international law and will further
More than 400 participants from some 50 countries gathered in Maastricht, the Netherlands, last week to attend the fifth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (
On 23 June 2014, Montenegro joined the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) and the amendments to the Convention that allow accession by countries outside the UNECE
On 19 and 20 June 2014, experts and representatives from environmental authorities in Belarus, Lithuania and the Kaliningrad oblast of the Russian Federation met in Vilnius to discuss the results of the draft strategic framework for basin adaptation in the Neman Basin, as well as options for
Parties to the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo Convention) and its Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment decided last week to turn the Protocol into a fully global instrument and to simplify the future accession of non-United Nations
On 10 June 2014 – Parties to the Espoo Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context and its Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment adopted a declaration on the application of these instruments to nuclear energy issues last week at back to back sessions of the
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) can be a source of inspiration for progress in the management of shared surface waters and groundwaters in the Arab region and
Despite progress in recent years in the country’s policy framework related to the environment and sustainable development, the Republic of Moldova faces significant challenges with regard to wastewater management, municipal solid waste management and biodiversity conservation. These are the main