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United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
The principal outcome of the 1972 UN Stockholm
Conference on the Human Environment was the establishment of the United Nations
Environment Programme. Providing an integrative and interactive mechanism through which a
large number of separate efforts by intergovernmental, non-governmental, national and
regional bodies in the service of the environment are reinforced and interrelated. UNEP
advocated a concept of environmentally sound development, which later led to the adoption
of Sustainable Development, paving the way for the Programmes integrated approach through
all sectors.
The primary challenge for UNEP is to ...further catalyse, promote and implement an
environmental agenda that is integrated strategically with the goals of economic
development and social well being - an agenda for sustainable development.
UNEPs functions for achieving this focus around the promotion of environmental
science and information. This facilitates a process of raising awareness on emerging
environmental problems within an organisation which has the structure and direction to
address them.
UNEPs activities have included work on the following:
 | Sustainable management and use of natural resources, including
focussing on: Water security in Africa; Regional seas programmes and the protection of the
marine environment from human activities; Global bio-diversity assessments; Depletion of
forests; Wildlife conservation; Climate and Desertifcation
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 | Sustainable Consumption & Production, including; Cleaner
production; Green technologies; Ecotourism
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 | Human health & well-being
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 | Globalisation of the economy and the environment
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UNEP has also supported a number of conventions, treaties and protocols
which have facilitated work on emerging issues. These include Ozone, Climate, Endangered
species (CITES), Hazardous wastes (Basel).
In addition the Programme has produced reports on the State of the Environment, Indicators
of Sustainable Development and World Resources. To support this UNEP co-ordinates network
programmes including Environmental & Natural Resource Information Networking and
Infoterra. These are designed to facilitate global networks for environmental information
sharing.
The latest major publication is the Global Environment Outlook Report
2000 (GEO 2000).
For further information on UNEP visit http://www.unep.org
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