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Everybody is likely to become a carer at some point in life, providing care for a spouse, family member, friend or neighbour with long-term care needs. The majority of such non-professional care, referred to as informal care, is provided by women.Societies in the UNECE region heavily depend on…
The European inland waterway network of international importance spans more than 29,000 km and includes over 400 important ports and terminals. Inland water transport is a multifunctional, reliable, economical and environmentally friendly mode of transport with considerable untapped capacities…
Tackling inequality between women and men in the sharing of power and decision-making at all levels is essential to strengthen democracy and achieve peace and sustainable development. Back in 1995, this was identified as one of twelve critical areas of concern in the landmark Beijing Platform…
Innovation is great, but it is even more powerful when it is shared. That is the premise of a new venture by UNECE: an “Innovation Lab”, taking place on the margins of the World Statistics Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, later this month.As in all fields and industries, innovation in…
The global problem of plastic waste and the need to cut CO2 emissions call for alternative materials and products that are renewable, biodegradable, easily recyclable and that store rather than release carbon.Forests can help to respond to these challenges. The key role of the forest sector in a…
With rapidly growing competition for resources and increasing waste and pollution, the need to move towards an inclusive circular economic system is growing. A circular economy has the incentives and means to use existing resources in an efficient and sustainable fashion – relying on…
The task of achieving effective and inclusive public participation in national, transboundary and international contexts was in the spotlight at the twenty-third meeting of the Working Group of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention (Geneva, 26–28 June 2019). Two thematic sessions, one on public…
Every year, World Population Day celebrated on 11 July invites us to consider the importance of population dynamics for sustainable development. This year, World Population Day draws global attention to the unfinished business of the ambitious goals of the Programme of Action of the…
UN member States are moving towards more seamless and efficient trading environments, within and beyond their national borders. In general, countries across the globe have made the formalities in international trading simpler and increasingly digital or electronic. The key preliminary findings…
High-level decision makers from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have come together for strengthened action to harness trade as a driver of sustainable development.Under the auspices of the Trade Working Group of the United Nations Special…
Energy and water resources are integrally related and strongly interdependent. Facilitating their integrated management and monitoring can therefore offer an important foundation for sustainable development. The United Nations Framework Classification of Resources (UNFC), developed at UNECE, can…
Forest tree nuts and dried fruits can contribute to the sustainable use of natural resources as well as livelihoods of producers, supporting cross-cutting progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). More than 1.6 billion people, mostly in developing countries, depend on forests…
The ILO Centenary Declaration on the Future of Work, adopted on Friday by the 108th International Labour Conference, acknowledges that alongside other driving factors such as technological innovations, climate change and globalization, demographic change will shape the future of work. Because of…
Azerbaijan is strengthening its forest sector with a new ten-year national forestry programme, developed with UNECE support. Strong emphasis is put on increasing forest cover while conserving and improving the country’s forest resources. The sustainable development of forests is among the main…
With 90% of water resources in Africa located in 63 transboundary basins, water management requires strong transboundary cooperation. This cooperation can bring multiple benefits in terms of human health, sustainable agriculture, climate change adaptation, ecosystem protection, peace and…
Turkey and Ukraine are important coal producers. With in-country reserves, coal is central to both countries’ near-term and long-term energy strategies. Each of them has vast experience in coal mining; however, they still face multiple challenges associated with methane gas released from…
We all commute daily for work or leisure purposes. Public or private transport is an integral part of our lives and plays a fundamental role for social and economic development, connecting people and economies. At the same time, the transport sector puts significant pressures on the environment…
Montenegro has validated the preliminary results of the country’s Needs Assessment as part of a project to strengthen evidence‐based environmental governance and sustainable environmental policies in support of the 2030 Agenda in South‐East Europe. The project, which is implemented by UNECE and…
With the adoption of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), United Nations Member States approved over 230 different indicators for measuring the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. While some of these indicators are based on well-known concepts with well-…
The world is full of data. There are new, large data sources, such as smartphone records, social media usage, store purchase information from barcode scanners, satellite images. Other sources of data have been around for a long time: hospital records, vehicle registrations, border crossings,…
Optimizing the combination of different modes of transport for the movement of goods can bring significant efficiency gains. Supporting improved data sharing between transport modes is crucial to unlock this potential.UNECE and its subsidiary body – the United Nations Centre for Trade…
The economies of Central Asia rely heavily on activities that produce, process or use large quantities of hazardous substances. The waste generated by activities including the extraction and processing of minerals and metals including mercury and uranium cannot be released into the environment…
Air pollution is by far the world’s largest single environmental health risk and cause of death by cancer. Dubbed “the invisible killer”, it is estimated to be responsible for about 7 million deaths annually – a situation that in reality could be much worse, as indicated by recent scientific…
Major industrial accidents can have far-reaching, transboundary and long-term impacts on populations and the environment. Without adequate coordination between land-use planning and industrial safety communities to ensure, for example, appropriate land use zoning and safety distances, the…
Poor air quality and climate change are closely linked. Burning fossil fuels releases both air pollutants and greenhouse gases. Thus, reducing air pollution from these sources will help to improve air quality and address climate change at the same time. Some air pollutants are also climate-…