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In the pan-European region, citizens are feeling the impacts of climate change through extreme weather events. This undermines equitable access to water and sanitation as human rights, due to increasing water scarcity and increased burden of water diseases due to overflow of untreated sewerage…
Transboundary rivers, lakes, and aquifers play a vital role in supporting the livelihoods of billions of people worldwide. Roughly 60% of global freshwater flow is in shared basins. About 40% of the world’s population lives in shared basins. The development and management of transboundary water…
Central Asia has significant untapped potential to decarbonize its energy systems and accelerate the sustainable energy transition, including through renewable energy development and enhanced resource management. To help the region capitalize on these opportunities, UNECE, the United Nations…
According to the 2023 Global Circularity Gap Report by the Circle Economy Foundation, transitioning to a circular economy will allow us to fulfil people's needs with only 70% of the materials we currently extract and use. The benefits of the circular economy are tremendous, as it not only addresses…
Almost all of Botswana’s territory sits within transboundary rivers basins. Although landlocked, Botswana is therefore a ‘water-linked’ country. The Cubango-Okavango, Limpopo, Orange-Senqu and Zambezi Rivers all provide crucial freshwater arteries that supply people and nature, including the…
UNECE support for the revision of the Georgian Mining Code Act is shaping the future of resource classification and estimation standards in Georgia. During a workshop in Tbilisi participants discussed how Georgian standards could play a crucial role in harmonizing with the global dimensions of the…
An estimated 3.6 billion people face inadequate access to water at least a month per year – a figure expected to increase to more than 5 billion by 2050. According to WMO, over 50% of global catchment areas and reservoirs displayed deviations from normal conditions in 2022, of which the majority…
Decades of unsustainable consumption and production patterns have resulted in the exhaustion of finite resources and environmental degradation. As governments reassess scenarios, the circular economy model - where resources are reused, recycled, and repurposed to reduce waste - has become a pillar…
In the Drina River Basin, shared mainly by Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia, working together across borders and jointly addressing water and energy challenges is a key part of effective climate action and the green transition.
As part of the Sarajevo Energy and Climate Week (25-29…
UNECE and partners have started implementation of a multi-year project on “Improving the energy efficiency of the global building supply chain industry and its products to deliver high performance buildings” (full project budget EUR 19.8 million), funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI…
Bringing together countries to share progress and experience on how to effectively manage their shared waters is a key characteristic of the Water Convention. Cooperation for the management of transboundary waters to promote sustainability, peace and security is the Convention’s mantra - especially…
Central Asian countries are actively working towards improving access to water and sanitation. Despite recent progress, Kazakhstan's aging infrastructure, lack of human resources and financial constraints still limit the access of rural population to improved water and sanitation services. In 2022…
UNECE presented its innovation policy insights during the Small Business Act for Europe (SBA) stakeholder meeting at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on 19 June 2023 in Paris. This meeting was a platform for experts on small and medium enterprises (SME) policy,…
For some time now, Uzbekistan has been engaged in various activities under the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention).
An international round table entitled “Aarhus Convention: Effective…
As the global economy emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic and governments strengthen efforts to “build-back-better”, trade as an engine of growth has re-emerged in policy agendas. For developing countries and countries with economies in transition that are still in the process of accession to the…
For many people around the world, the work and achievements of the United Nations remain in the realms of grand summits of heads of state on pressing global issues, of diplomatic brokering of peace agreements, of urgent humanitarian interventions for people in the greatest need, and other high-…
Over two-thirds of Togo’s water resources are shared, notably through the Mono River basin (shared with Benin) and Volta River basin (shared with Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Mali), as well as aquifers in the coastal sedimentary basin (shared with Ghana, Benin and Nigeria).
In a…
On 8 June 2023 Namibia became the first Southern African country, and 8th country in Africa, to accede to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (UN Water Convention).
Namibia, which has a population of some 2.5 million people, shares…
Countries in the Eastern Europe and South Caucasus (EESC) sub-region (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine) must boost their efforts to diversify and upgrade their economies through innovation for long-term, sustainable growth and resilience, in light of recent crises…
Mining is an important sector and economic contributor in Central Asian countries due to their rich mineral base. However, the mining activities also generate huge amount of waste which can contain hazardous substances and must be safely stored in so-called tailings management facilities (TMFs).…
Finland and the Republic of Namibia, both countries which are strong advocates for transboundary water cooperation in their respective regions and globally, have just embarked on a two-year pilot Twinning Initiative to exchange experiences, build capacity and strengthen bilateral cooperation on…
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…
20 May marks the World Metrology Day, celebrating the international system of units, which coincides with the anniversary of the signing of the Metre Convention in 1875. This treaty created the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) which coordinate international metrology and the…
How can regional and international cooperation be fostered in a region that faces unprecedented water scarcity? How can the benefits of this vital resource be shared to increase resilience to climate change?
The Third Baghdad International Water Conference titled "Water Scarcity, the Mesopotamian…
Originally published as a guest article by IISD’s SDG Knowledge Hub.
How can we rescue the vision of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and get in shape for Our Common Agenda for 2050? Part of the way forward is without doubt to embrace the digital and green transitions.
As we heard…