Contribution of the United Nations Environment Programme to the Implementation of Agenda 21 and the Programme for the further Implementation of Agenda 21

Report of the Executive Director

1. In accordance with the Nairobi Declaration on the Role and Mandate of the United Nations Environment Programme (Governing Council decision 19/1, annex), UNEP's role is that of the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. This role was affirmed by the General Assembly in the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, adopted at its nineteenth special session n the occasion of the five-year review of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.

2. The programme of work of UNEP is developed in conformity with the Nairobi Declaration and the concentration areas identified in its mandate, and fully incorporates the activities envisaged in Agenda 21. UNEP activities have multifaceted programme components to address sectoral and cross-sectoral issues, contributing to the implementation of various chapters of Agenda 21 simultaneously. Highlights of the recent activities of UNEP will be found in the report of the Executive Director on activities of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP/GCSS.VI/6).

3. In connection with the preparation for the 10-year review of the implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, the General Assembly, in its resolution 54/218, invited the Governing Council of UNEP to consider how the activities of UNEP were contributing to the implementation of Agenda 21 and the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, and to submit its views to the General Assembly at the earliest opportunity.

4. The Commission on Sustainable Development, at its eighth session, stressed the importance of early and effective preparations for the 2002 review and assessment of progress achieved in the implementation of Agenda 21 and the other outcomes of the Rio Conference, to be carried out at the local, national, regional and international levels by Governments and the United Nations system, so as to ensure high-quality inputs to the review process. The Commission invited the United Nations Secretariat, working in close cooperation with UNEP, inter alia, to support preparatory activities, in particular at the national and regional levels, in a coordinated and mutually reinforcing way. The Commission invited the Governing Council of UNEP, in line with the Nairobi Declaration, to promote the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development in the United Nations system and to provide its views to the Commission at its tenth session as an important input to the preparatory process on the environmental aspects of the implementation of Agenda 21 and the other outcomes of the Rio Conference. The Commission invited the General Assembly to decide at its fifty-fifth session on the agenda, possible main themes, timing and venue of the 2002 event, the number of intergovernmental preparatory meetings and other organizational and procedural matters related to the 2002 review, taking into account the views of the Commission, the Governing Council of UNEP and the Economic and Social Council.

5. In view of the above, the Governing Council may wish to consider means by which the Governing Council will submit to the General Assembly its views on how the activities of UNEP are contributing to the implementation of Agenda 21 and the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, as well as its views on the preparatory process for the 10-year review of the implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. The following process is suggested for consideration:

(a) The Governing Council at the present session requests the Committee of Permanent Representatives to review, on its behalf, how the activities of UNEP are contributing to the implementation of Agenda 21 and the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21. For this purpose, the Executive Director is to prepare a report for consideration by the Committee of Permanent Representatives. The outcome of the review is a report incorporating views of Governments conveyed through the Committee of Permanent Representatives. The report should be ready in time to become part of the documentation for the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly;

(b) The Governing Council at the present session authorizes the Executive Director to submit the above-mentioned report through the Secretary-General to the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth session;

(c) The Governing Council at the present session also requests the Executive Director to take action to ensure UNEP's active contribution to the preparatory process for the 10-year review of the implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development;

(d) The Governing Council at its twenty-first session should consider the contribution of UNEP to the preparatory process for the 10-year review of the implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. The Executive Director will submit a report on the subject to the Council. On the basis of this report and its consideration of the issue, the Governing Council may wish to take a decision concerning the active involvement and contribution of UNEP to the preparatory process for the 10-year review of the implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.

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