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Environment

Zimbabwe joins UN Water Convention, leading wave of countries in Southern Africa 

Zimbabwe, a landlocked country in drought-stricken Southern Africa, has joined the UN Water Convention in a clear demonstration of political will for water cooperation across borders. Home to some 17 million people, Zimbabwe faces pressing water challenges linked to climate change and competing socio-economic, environmental and political demands and interdependencies for the water its shares with its neighbours. 

Executive Secretary calls for targeted policies in key SDG transition areas at UN High-Level Political Forum

Taking part in the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York (8 – 17 July), UNECE Executive Secretary Tatiana Molcean presented UNECE regional perspectives on SDGs localization, climate action, energy, transport, water and engaged with civil society, youth, and the private sector. She also met with leaders from governments, UN Regional Commissions and UN partners, to advance cooperation ahead of the Summit of the Future in September this year. 

Cote d’Ivoire is 10th African nation to join UN Water Convention in milestone for water cooperation worldwide

Faced with increasing water stress and climate change impacts on the water resources it shares with its neighbours, Cote d’Ivoire has joined the United Nations Water Convention – a UN treaty to improve joint water management across borders. 

Mapping Air Pollutant Emissions: UNECE Supports Clean Air Policies in Armenia 

Mapping air pollutant emission sources in a country helps experts and decision-makers identify the most effective policies. Understanding the regional distribution of emissions is crucial for effective policy implementation. 

Spatially allocating—or gridding—emissions is technically challenging. It involves applying a gridding matrix to transform source-based inventory emissions into gridded emissions. 

Make sustainability integral to education for entrepreneurs, urge youth and governments from Europe, North America and Central Asia 

Young entrepreneurs and changemakers must be equipped with the necessary knowledge, skills, and mindsets to navigate complex challenges and lead change towards a healthier and more sustainable world. At first of its kind international Forum for Europe, Central Asia and North America, held this week in Limassol, Cyprus, governments, young people and key stakeholders underscored the importance of strengthening entrepreneurship education as part of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). 

Zimbabwe fast-tracks progress on UN Water Convention accession, aiming to accrue multiple benefits

Zimbabwe, a landlocked country in Southern Africa, lies entirely within a total of five transboundary river basins (Buzi, Limpopo, Pungwe, Save and Zambezi) and one international lake (Kariba) while the number of transboundary aquifers is yet to be ascertained. These transboundary basins create socio-economic, environmental and political interdependencies between countries, making cooperation over them crucial.  

Central Asia advancing integrated climate and clean air planning ahead of COP29

Representatives from countries across Central Asia and experts on the climate and clean air came together in Astana, Kazakhstan this week (11-13 June 2024) for the Sub-Regional Workshop on Integrated Planning for Climate and Air organized by the UNEP-convened Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) and the UNECE Air Convention secretariat. The participants engaged in interactive conversations, exchanged best practices, and gained practical knowledge of integrated planning methodologies and approaches to tackle global warming and air pollution at the same time.  

UNECE, UNEP and OECD launch Platform for Action on the Green Recovery of Ukraine

More than two years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the country has experienced considerable environmental destruction with both immediate and longer-term consequences on human health, ecosystems, the Ukrainian economy and beyond. Attacks on infrastructure and industry have resulted in pollution to air, water and land; waste infrastructure has been overwhelmed; debris and hazardous waste created in massive amounts; agricultural lands and forests burned, damaged and nature degraded. 

In Kyiv, UNECE Executive Secretary reaffirms support for reconstruction of Ukraine

Ahead of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin on 11 – 12 June 2024, UNECE Executive Secretary Tatiana Molcean visited Kyiv from 4 to 6 June to discuss UNECE support for the country’s reconstruction and recovery with Ukrainian government officials, the United Nations Country Team, the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine, and other international partners.    

Mediterranean countries come together to increase climate resilience of water and sanitation sectors

The Mediterranean region is warming 20% faster than the global average and for every 1-degree global temperature increase, it would warm up by at least 1.5-2 degrees. This is severely impacting water and sanitation and the health and well-being of the region’s population. According to the World Economic Forum, the Mediterranean region hosts 60% of the world’s water-poor population (with less than 1,000m³ per inhabitant, per year).