News
Displaying Results 751 - 775 of 1265
Sustained efforts in the area of trade facilitation are playing an important role in unlocking economic development potential in Central Asia, at both country and regional levels.The reintegration of Uzbekistan into these practical efforts comes as a positive sign of advancing economic…
How can companies demonstrate compliance with sustainability criteria? How can small and medium enterprise suppliers avoid administrative burdens when doing so for cross-border trade? What policies, standards and good practices for sustainable procurement, and their impact on trade facilitation…
The restructuring of forestry institutions is now high on the political agenda in Azerbaijan, gaining full support from the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources. One of the key steps is to review and update the draft National Forestry Programme. In this regard, on 11-12 July 2018, more…
Forest fashion takes centre stage at the United Nations Headquarters in New York for the 2018 High Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development.As part of the UNECE/FAO Forests for Fashion initiative, together with the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) and a…
As a result of integrated air pollution management strategies developed under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (Air Convention), air quality has improved in the region over the past few decades. However, progress has also been uneven as the increase in energy…
Blockchain is an important emerging innovation that has the potential to bring together all the stakeholders involved in value chains and those regulating them. Blockchain can be used to advance the implementation and monitoring of many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as…
Technological, economic, and institutional innovation will be essential to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. To this end, the UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA), which includes Afghanistan,…
The participants in the twenty-second meeting of the Working Group of the Parties to the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention), held in Geneva from 19 to 21 June 2018, considered a wide…
How could blockchain technology be used to facilitate trade? What do government decision-makers who deal with information technology need to be aware of? And how could UNECE contribute to the development of this technology as a trade facilitation tool? UNECE’s United Nations Centre for…
Since 2014, reforming the forestry institutional structure is high on the political agenda of Ukraine. There are several options for reforming the national forestry institutional structure. Strengths and weaknesses of various reforms are actively discussed by interested stakeholders. However, an…
Active Ageing is by now a widely known and well-established concept referring to a situation where we continue to participate in the labour market, engage in unpaid productive activities such as care provision to family members and volunteering and live healthy, independent and secure lives as…
The need to ensure equitable access to water and sanitation is getting more and more visibility in global, regional and national agendas. The Human Rights to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation were recognized in 2010. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly under Sustainable…
Semi-automated driving functionalities are becoming increasingly popular. On 17 September, UNECE hosted a demonstration of vehicles’ automated parking systems in the park of the Palais des Nations. Participants witnessed how the Remote Control Parking (RCP) system allows drivers to get out of…
Did you know that air pollutants come from numerous human activities, such as transport, agriculture, and industry? But even when we repaint our house, have our clothes dry-cleaned or when we make a charcoal barbecue, air pollutants are released. Knowing where exactly air pollutant emissions are…
It is recognized that raw materials and energy are the backbones for sustainable development. In a world facing multiple social, climatic and environmental challenges, managing the supply of mineral and energy resources is becoming more and more complex. In this context, investors…
Statistics are often used in the media “as a drunken man uses lamp posts—for support rather than illumination”.Martin Nicholls, head of strategic communication at the UK’s Office for National Statistics quoted the novelist Andrew Lang as he called on producers of gender statistics to guide their…
The ready-made garment industry continues to accelerate its pace. Its growth is estimated at a 2% annual rate, according to the Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), while clothing utilisation has decreased by 36% in the last 15 years, meaning more clothes are being produced and then disposed of after a…
Unemployment rates generally fell in 2017 compared to the previous year in the UNECE member countries. In many countries, unemployment has come down close to the level before the global financial crisis in 2007-2009, but not in all.In eight countries - Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland,…
Improving transboundary water cooperation across the world requires constant dialogue and discussions between countries to exchange good practices, lessons learned and progress achieved. In this regard, on 28-30 May, the second joint meeting of the Working Group on Monitoring and Assessment and…
The Port Community System (PCS) in Odessa, Ukraine, is a success story for trade facilitation. The PCS system, launched after UNECE capacity-building seminars in Kiev in 2010 and Odessa in 2011, is up and running and today inspires broader work on trade facilitation in the country thanks to its…
Knowing where air pollutant emissions are coming from is important to make viable policy decisions. While air quality in the UNECE region has improved over the past few decades as a result of integrated air pollution management strategies developed under the Convention on Long-range…
Ever heard of nitrogen pollution as one of the major problems of our times? The answer is probably no. While everyone knows about climate change and carbon footprints, few people are aware of nitrogen pollution, the nitrogen cycle and the impacts of its imbalance.Indeed, nitrogen pollution…
Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked transition economy, like other Central Asian countries. According to the World Bank’s 2018 Doing Business report, the cost for documentary, domestic transport and border formalities for one export shipment is USD 590. Reductions in time and cost can contribute to…
Efficient production and supply of energy and raw material resources are vital to attaining the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Making resource development activities sustainable has emerged as a critical challenge. While the performance…
Many women-owned small businesses in Kyrgyzstan specialize in traditional crafts and ensure that know-how that has been passed on for generations – in particular in the textile and clothing industry – continues to be enjoyed by locals, tourists, and offered on international markets.For women…