Press Releases
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As governments worldwide declared lockdowns in an attempt to contain the spread of COVID-19, animals and plants started reclaiming spaces previously seen as being reserved for human activities: fish, ducks and dolphins inhabited canals and approached shores, while deer, wild goats and monkeys
Trade facilitation is at the centre of the policy agenda for regional integration among the transition economies in Central Asia. UNECE has been a resolute partner, supporting countries’ efforts to achieve their trade-related policy-priorities. The Kyrgyz Republic is one of the Central Asian
Investment in transforming the transport sector could create millions of new jobs and help countries move to greener, healthier economies, says new report.
The recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be a return to business as usual. It must be an opportunity to push the advancement of the
How will urban mobility change in the aftermath of COVID-19 lockdowns? In the short term, if passengers avoid public transport due to health fears, passenger car journeys could increase significantly, which would choke cities with traffic and pollution. Many cities have been reallocating space to
During the lockdown, city- and town-dwellers enjoyed clear blue skies and clean bodies of water thanks to reductions in air pollution and began to hear birdsong owing to lower levels of noise pollution. Pollution levels in Barcelona, for instance, dropped by an estimated 62 per cent. Similar
Fairtrade International has signed UNECE’s Declaration for Gender Responsive Standards and Standards Development, on the anniversary of its opening. The Declaration, which has 64 signatories, aims to provide a practical framework for standard bodies seeking to make the standards they develop, and
Pollution in the air is not only harming human health and the environment but is also degrading surfaces of historical buildings and monuments. The impact of dirty air on materials is enormous and can destroy our cultural heritage, an important component of our individual and collective identity
Statistics on social and demographic topics are usually produced from surveys of individuals living in private households. But what about older people who are not part of a private household, but who instead live in an institution, such as a care home or assisted living centre? Such people are
When ships enter and leave ports, vital information about cargoes, dangerous goods, crews, vessel details and many other things has to be exchanged with the authorities ashore. Under International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) so-called FAL Convention, public authorities are now required to set
Shared among Albania, Greece, Kosovo*, Montenegro and North Macedonia (the five ‘Riparians’), the Drin River Basin provides water resources for drinking, energy, fishing and agriculture, biodiversity, tourism and industry. The Strategic Action Programme (SAP) for the sustainable management of the
With almost half of the world under lockdown, the continued supply of certain critical raw materials needed for an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic has become a concern.
The Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and excipients of several drugs, including antibiotics such as
The world is facing a crisis like no other. Policymakers are pursuing the combined aims of saving lives and minimizing the adverse economic, social and environmental impacts, and to do so they must take hard decisions and bold moves, quickly and transparently. Such decisions depend on solid data
Prevention, preparedness and response are key pillars of the UNECE Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents which will celebrate its 20th anniversary of entry into force on 19 April 2020.The Convention was negotiated in response to the 1986 Sandoz chemical spill, which put
Coronaviruses, including the one responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, are a large family of viruses that are common in animals, and can occasionally be transmitted to humans – a phenomenon known as “zoonosis”.Ensuring proper controls on the international trade in animals and animal products and
It is clear that the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic cannot simply be a return to business as usual. With the mobility that societies take for granted severely limited in many countries due to emergency measures, one area that calls for a critical re-assessment is how we can shift to more
Faced with a road safety emergency that costs 1.35 million lives a year, the 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, held in Stockholm, launched a call for unprecedented efforts to halve road fatalities by 2030. The milestone Stockholm Declaration recognizes the urgent need for
Improving energy efficiency is one of the most cost-effective options for meeting growing energy demand, ensuring more rational use of energy, contributing to a better environment and to energy security in most countries, and securing economic well-being and improved quality of life.Today,
Scaling up the use of inland waterways can accelerate the decarbonisation of the transport sector, and offer a sustainable complement to the shipping of goods by road and rail. Transport by water also improves safety, reliability and reduces congestion. As a cost-effective and sustainable mode
A variety of products used or produced daily by hospitals need to be handled and transported with special care because they are infectious, hazardous or radioactive substances. The United Nations have developed Recommendations for the Transport of Dangerous Goods to ensure their safe and
With only ten years left to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Regional Forum 2020 kickstarted the Decade of Action and Delivery in the UNECE region. Attracting more than 300 key stakeholders for a virtual meeting on 19 March, this year’s Regional Forum demonstrated the
Two stark trends are becoming ever-more present in today’s world: rapid urbanization, and a growing number and intensity of hazardous events related to climate change. The combination of these two forces makes for an increasing exposure to risk for people, the economy and the environment. The
International movement and connectivity are facing unprecedented challenges as an increasing number of countries around the world close their borders and impose travel restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The patchwork of uncoordinated measures taken complicates compliance by
Water is crucial for climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as health, hygiene, sustainable development and life. The global climate crisis is inextricably linked to water.: 90% of all disasters are water-related. Over two billion people live in countries experiencing high water stress
All over the world, mayors and local authorities are taking climate action through tree-planting in and around cities. The benefits of urban forests are plentiful: aside from filtering air pollutants, a single tree can absorb up to 150kg of CO2 per year, help regulate urban temperatures, reduce
UNECE has today launched a first Regional report on progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This comes at a key juncture in the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda since its adoption in 2015, and will help to sharpen efforts as we enter the Decade of Action to deliver the