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UNECE environmental performance reviews (EPRs) can play an important role in supporting the achievement and monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). EPRs can assess the progress made by a country in achieving the relevant SDGs, identify challenges and provide recommendations to…
Following up on member States’ pledges to improve air quality across the region at the Eighth Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference in Batumi, Georgia earlier this year (8-10 June 2016), Parties to the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (Air Convention) this week…
Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) and environmental impact assessment (EIA) are tools for greening economic development at the planning and project levels. Since 2013, UNECE has supported Georgia’s efforts towards establishing full-scale national SEA and EIA systems in accordance with the…
Delegations from Bulgaria and Tajikistan meeting with expert representatives from other UNECE countries in Geneva from 6 to 8 December 2016 discussed and finalized recommendations arising from environmental performance reviews (EPRs) undertaken in those countries. In January 2017, the Committee…
Much progress has been made since the 1990s in the countries of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan) to address severe environmental problems while…
Water quality is a serious problem in Central Asia, but until now there was no formal cooperation between the countries in the region. A new regional working group on water quality, established under the project “Strengthening cooperation on water quality management in Central Asia” funded by…
Today, genetically modified crops are grown on some 450 million acres in over two dozen countries, but there are also numerous countries that ban or prohibit genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Even among countries that prohibit GMO cultivation, most still allow GMO products — in particular…
The beginning of November marked the thirtieth anniversary of the Sandoz accident, one of the worst transboundary environmental disasters in the UNECE region. The end of the month will see the Conference of the Parties to the UNECE Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents…
The Paris Agreement entered into force just three days before the United Nations Climate Change Conference — also known as COP22 — kicked-off on 7 November in Marrakech, Morocco. “Our work here in Marrakech must reflect our new reality. No politician or citizen, no business manager or investor…
How can public participation procedures in environmental decision-making be best designed to ensure that the public’s views are taken into consideration and improve the quality of the decisions taken? What public notification methods are the most effective nowadays? How can the human and…
The preliminary results of a new UNECE study on the Drina River Basin in the Western Balkans suggest that broadening and intensifying transboundary water cooperation between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia would have potential benefits, including security benefits. Of particular…
The need to develop water quality cooperation with neighbouring countries was at the centre of the debates in Astana this week. A seminar discussed a draft Review of Policy and Recommendations for Kazakhstan in the Field of Transboundary Water Resources Management, prepared by UNECE experts in…
The Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention), adopted in Helsinki on 17 March 1992, entered into force 20 years ago, on 6 October 1996. Over the past two decades, the Water Convention, which is serviced by UNECE, has become a…
Approximately 71% of the total surface water flow in Latin America is derived from shared basins, which cover 55% of the total area of the region. In South America, international basins provide 75% of the total flow, and in Mexico and Central America, 24%. Increasing impacts from climate change…
Effectively adapting water management to climate change will require the allocation of additional funds for transboundary and regional projects, or at least considering transboundary aspects in national projects, where relevant. With more than 60% of all freshwater courses worldwide and the…
How best to implement Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs)? What synergies with other international instruments, in particular with the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (Air Convention) and its protocols, can be used? These were some of the main topics…
Kazakh university professors took part in a course on political and technical aspects of integrated water resources management (IWRM) at the German-Kazakh University in Almaty from 15-26 August. This was the first part of training for academic staff from the largest Kazakh universities within…
Decarbonisation, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, energy efficiency and renewable energies have become urgent priorities after the signing of the UN Paris Climate Agreement. Decarbonising transport is part of the vision for the future of a green and healthy mobility. The Austrian Ministry of…
On June 23-24, 2016 Russian and Kazakh experts met in Astana to discuss the first results of assessments of transboundary rivers Ural and Kigac. Final results will be presented at the annual meeting of Russian-Kazakh Intergovernmental Commission on Joint Use and Protection of Transboundary…
2016 Aarhus week - How the Aarhus Convention contributes to sustainable development The three pillars of the UNECE Aarhus Convention - access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters - are universal environmental rights…
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).…
The use of nitrogen fertilizers and the combustion of fossil fuels have led to a doubling of the flow of nitrogen compounds around the world in the past 100 years. Nitrogen (N) is important for plant growth and sufficient amounts are needed for plants to achieve optimum crop yields. However,…