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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…
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-…
When it comes to choosing techniques to reduce emissions from industrial processes, for example, in a plant producing cement, operators might find themselves in a difficult spot. To comply with national regulations on permissible emissions from this plant, the operator, who might have been in…
Water-related ecosystems can be significantly impacted by climate change. At the same time, healthy and sustainable ecosystems increase our resilience to the adverse impacts of climate change because of the services they could provide. Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) is one of the nature-based…
The Niger River Basin, shared by Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Chad, is the second largest river Basin in West Africa and home to 140 million people. With increasing demands on its water resources, ensuring cooperation for their management is…
The revision of the Gothenburg Protocol in 2012 marked a milestone in the development of the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution as it resulted in the first binding agreement to include emission reduction commitments for fine particulate matter. Also for the first time,…
Strong cooperation between the World Bank and UNECE, which services the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and international Lakes (Water Convention), can bring many benefits: the Convention can increase the sustainability of regional and basin cooperation…
Despite being a relatively water-rich country for the Middle East, water is an increasingly scarce resource in Lebanon. Transboundary cooperation for the sustainable management of its three transboundary watercourses — the Asi-Orontes, the Nahr al-Kabir and the Hasbani-Wazzani Rivers — as well…
Climate change, the loss of biodiversity and air and water pollution are among the global environmental problems that affect everyone’s health and wellbeing. Tackling such challenges in the context of social and economic development is at the very heart of efforts to attain the Sustainable…
The North West Saharan Aquifer System (NWSAS) is one of the most important reserves of water in the North African Region, largely non-renewable in nature and shared by Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia. Economic and social developments of the past decades led to a significant pressure on this resource…
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,…
While increasing carbon dioxide levels are the dominant factor contributing to climate change in the Arctic, short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) also play a significant role. Targeting SLCPs by reducing black carbon and methane emissions will help to slow Arctic warming in the near term.The…
Algeria and Morocco are currently looking into revising their national legislation on environmental impact assessment (EIA) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA) to reduce the environmental impact of economic activities both nationally and across borders, while ensuring sustainable…
UNECE will be contributing to the Seventh World Water Forum, to be held from 12 to 17 April in Daegu and Gyeongju, Republic of Korea. The Forum, the world’s largest meeting on water, is where the water community — policy and decision makers, parliamentarians, civil society and experts from…
Experts from UNECE member States and the secretariat are visiting Belarus from 17 to 25 March for a field mission in the framework of the third environmental performance review (EPR) of the country. Following today’s plenary meeting, the team will meet governmental officials and representatives…
UNECE has been actively engaged in the preparations of the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (Sendai, 14-18 March). At the conference, UNECE Executive Secretary Christian Friis Bach will showcase at various sessions how UNECE work helps member States reduce disasters risks, build…
Azerbaijan is assessing a draft law on Environmental Impact Assessment prepared with support from UNECE. Following a first round of discussions with all stakeholders (representatives from the relevant Ministries, members of Parliament, local authorities, representatives from NGOs and the private…
Air pollution is a key factor in the degradation of surfaces of historical buildings and monuments. The impact of pollutants emitted into the atmosphere on materials is enormous and often irreversible. Corrosion caused by chemicals and soiling caused by particles can lead to economic losses but…
What is the best way to effectively identify and notify the public concerned about proposed activities affecting the environment? Are countries providing early public participation when all options, including the “zero” option (doing nothing), are genuinely open? Is it right if at public…
A new study led by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) shows that current legislation in Europe, while significantly improving air quality, is insufficient to remove the region’s many pollution hotspots . Hosting a centre for the Co-operative Programme for…
The Executive Secretary will be in Madrid on 23 February to participate in the sixth meeting of the Environment and Health Ministerial Board. On this occasion the Ministers of Environment of Armenia, Montenegro, Portugal and the Russian Federation, who were appointed by the Committee on…