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South Sudan, the world’s newest nation and a landlocked country in Eastern Central Africa, is situated in the middle of the basin of the Nile River, Africa’s longest river. Sharing significant transboundary wetlands, experiencing annual catastrophic floods and droughts and facing immense…
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…
The shift towards the digital exchange of trade data and documents can improve efficiency, reduce costs, enhance transparency, and enable better accessibility to and analysis of data. Furthermore, it has the potential to foster greener and more inclusive trade. Yet, efforts to digitalize data and…
Recent data from the UNCTAD Global Trade Update reveals a promising outlook for global trade. Following a decline in the last year, the volume of world merchandise trade is forecast to increase by 2.6% in 2024 and 3.3% in 2025. One of the most notable trends in 2024 is the significant rise in…
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…
Responding to the request of the Governing Council of the United Nations Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA), UNECE is building the capacity of public and private experts in the SPECA participating States to use the semantic standards and reference data models of the UN…
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)…
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…
In an important move to secure the supply of essential raw materials, the European Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) entered into force on 23 May 2024. This legislation is a cornerstone in enhancing the EU's capabilities in sourcing, processing, and recycling critical raw materials (CRMs), which…
In the face of global crises, progressing towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16—promoting peaceful, inclusive societies, justice for all, and accountable institutions—is a cross-cutting enabler for the 2030 Agenda. SDG16 intertwines with the other SDGs, underscoring the importance of…
UNECE Resource Management Week 2024 spotlighted the growing roles of the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) and the United Nations Resource Management System (UNRMS) in promoting sustainable development through enhanced integration and effective management of natural…
Iraq grapples with severe water challenges exacerbated by climate change, population growth, upstream dam construction, and decades of conflict and instability. The Euphrates and Tigris rivers, vital lifelines for the region’s agriculture, ecosystems, and communities, face increasing threats from…
The Water Convention has facilitated the First round of Technical & Planning Negotiations of the Draft ‘Agreement on the Establishment of the Luapula River and Lake Mweru Authority between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia on 18 and 19 April, concerning the transboundary Lake…
Preventing accidental water pollution remains a key challenge for many countries within and beyond the UNECE region. Approximately 60% of the world’s freshwater flows occur in transboundary river basins where 40% of the world’s population live. Countries rely increasingly on transboundary water…
On 29 February 2024 Zambia declared a National Crisis and Emergency regarding a drought gripping the country and which has decimated food and energy supply. Other Southern African countries have declared similar National Emergencies due to severe drought, including Zimbabwe in April. Severe…
Critical minerals are essential for the energy transition as are intergenerational equity in resource management and the engagement of youth. With this in mind "Critical Minerals for the Sustainable Energy Transition: A Guidebook to Support Intergenerational Action” was launched today at the UNECE…
Much of Chad's water resources are shared, notably the Lake Chad basin and its many tributaries and distributaries (shared with Cameroon, Central African Republic, Libya, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan and Algeria), the Niger River basin (shared with Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea,…
Guaranteeing safe access to drinking water and sanitation remains a challenge in the pan-European region, with 16 million people still lacking access to basic drinking water services and over 29 million people not having access to basic sanitation, including hundreds of thousands who have to…
Around 3.6 billion people live in contexts that are highly vulnerable to climate change and many of them are in transboundary basins. Droughts do not recognize borders, pose transboundary risks, and require cooperation to address them. The 6th IPCC assessment (2022) and the IPCC synthesis (2023)…
Four years ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it disrupted the normal functioning of open markets. The ensuing crisis had crippling effects on global trade and productive capacities: it broke supply chains, reduced connectivity and slowed the flow of essential goods. Global food and energy…
The raw materials sector is at the forefront of global challenges and opportunities of the 21st century, as it plays a vital role in the energy, transport, and digital transitions required to mitigate and adapt to climate change. However, the sector also faces significant pressures from consumers,…
In recent years, Montenegro and its capital city, Podgorica, have been committed to accelerate sustainable and smart urban development through a variety of ambitious national and regional and local measures, such as digitalization of public services, modernization of public transport, and to…
Sierra Leone shares four major rivers with the neighbouring countries of Guinea and Liberia, including the Great Scarcies, Little Scarcies and Moa shared with Guinea, and Mano River shared with Liberia. All provide crucial freshwater that sustains ecosystems, livelihoods and the well-being of…
At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, UNECE Executive Secretary Tatiana Molcean highlighted the role of UNECE’s legal instruments, standards and tools in dealing with the most pressing global challenges, namely climate change, digital and green transformations, low-carbon energy…
Burkina Faso is one of the Sahelian countries hardest hit by the effects of climate change, experiencing torrential rains and floods, as well as periods of insufficient rainfall.
To help address these challenges, through adaptation, resilience and concerted, shared management of its water…