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After months of the COVID-19 crisis challenging healthcare systems and undermining economies, governments worldwide are looking for ways to jump-start the economic recovery. Without factoring in environmental concerns, recovery packages risk undermining the foundations for sustainable development, …
Effective public access to environmental information is critical for promoting a green and circular economy, increased biosafety and community resilience. The need to further such access using modern digital technologies has been increasingly voiced across countries in the light of the coronavirus…
A vision for transboundary cooperation around the Senegal-Mauritanian Aquifer Basin (SMAB) has been developed by representatives of the States that share this aquifer system, namely The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Mauritania and Senegal.
This work was carried out in the second meeting of the…
While the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the extent to which water, sanitation and hygiene are key to human health through frequent handwashing, in the UNECE region over 16 million people still lack access to drinking water and more than 31 million are currently living without basic…
To avoid damage to the environment, public health and the economy, adopting targets to reduce emissions and introducing measures to enforce them is essential. Providing a framework to facilitate these measures, UNECE assists countries in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia in…
Policy solutions to abate air pollutant emissions need to be targeted to the main emission sources in a given country. To know where exactly the emissions are coming from is therefore the first step in designing a viable air quality management system. The UNECE Convention on Long-range…
Forest ecosystems are affected by many different stressors, such as climate change and air pollution. Drought periods, like the one in 2018, strongly reduce tree growth and increase tree mortality in the UNECE region. At the same time, air pollution affects forests from the leaf to the ecosystem…
UNECE, UNEP and UNESCO, as co-leads, together with 15 other UN agencies, funds and programmes active in Europe and Central Asia, have joined forces to address environmental and climate change challenges. They have established a regional interagency Issue-based Coalition on Environment and…
We all need clean air to live. It is one of the things that we don’t think much about, we breathe in and breathe out automatically and take the air around us for granted. But dirty air takes a heavy toll on human health and the environment, leading to 7 million premature deaths annually,…
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the importance of an integrated approach to water management and the crucial role played by transboundary water cooperation in supporting recovery and prevention. Timely and sufficient availability of water of adequate quality is a prerequisite for the…
When the amendments to the Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-level Ozone (Gothenburg Protocol) under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (Air Convention) were adopted in 2012, flexibilities were introduced to facilitate ratification by new…
Data published by the European Environment Agency and other research institutes have shown a sharp decline in air pollutant concentrations in many European cities where lockdown measures have been implemented. This specifically holds true for levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and the decrease is…
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted access to water and sanitation as the first line of defence, enabling people to frequently wash their hands in line with good hygiene practices. Governments must take all efforts to ensure equitable access, especially for vulnerable groups (people living in…
While the world is attempting to address major environmental problems of our times, such as climate change, biodiversity loss and deforestation, nitrogen pollution remains a major unresolved challenge, but has, so far, received very little attention from decision-makers. Everyone knows about…
Just about 6 months after the entry into force of amendments to the Gothenburg Protocol, representing an important step in international efforts to address the air pollution challenge, several expert groups under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution met virtually this…
By enhancing transparency and accountability, Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs) can play a central role in promoting peaceful and inclusive societies and good governance (Sustainable Development Goal 16) across the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. PRTRs can also make an…
The exchange of data and information on water resources in shared basins – which are home to over 40 per cent of the world’s population – is crucial for effective cooperation between countries in this critical area for sustainable development.Over 70 countries from Latin America, the Pan-…
Romania has requested UNECE to review its environmental performance for a third time. To provide the groundwork for the review, a team of UNECE and international experts will participate in a mission to the country from 3 to 11 December 2019.UNECE Environmental Performance Reviews (EPRs) offer a…
With a view to possible accession of Uganda to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention), a national meeting was organized on 15 November in collaboration with the Ugandan Ministry of Water and Environment to increase…
Transboundary water resources constitute nearly 80% of Africa’s freshwater resources. In this context, increased regional cooperation and joint planning, development and management of water investments and infrastructure are essential to meet targets for agricultural and industrial development,…
Cameroon shares most of its water resources - such as Lake Chad, the Congo, Sanaga and Niger rivers - with other states. Cooperation on these shared waters is therefore essential to ensure economic development and preserve regional stability.As a result, Cameroon is also a heavily involved in…
Sustainable development is high on the United Nations agenda this year. To stand up for sustainable development and environmental protection, UNECE is contributing to World Environment Day celebrations taking place in Geneva from 3 to 5 June 2015. World Environment Day, celebrated annually on 5…
Emissions of air pollutants have been reduced considerably in the UNECE region over the past few decades as a result of integrated air pollution management strategies developed under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (Air Convention). However, as evidenced by recent…
Countries in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia need to increase water-use efficiency in view of pressures on the subregion’s water resources, in particular from economic development and climate change. Opportunities and challenges to achieve this were at the centre of the debates…
With help from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), Belarus is currently assessing its legislation with a view to implementing the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment (Espoo Convention) and its Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment (Protocol on SEA).…