Representatives from 65 countries have agreed to step up efforts to protect the world's oceans from land-based activities, while underlining the central role played by the marine environment in the transition to a green economy.
Ecological health and economic productivity of marine and coastal ecosystems, which are currently in decline around the globe, can be boosted by shifting to a more sustainable economic paradigm that taps their natural potential
2011 has proven to be a defining year for the environmental pillar of sustainable development as the world heads towards Rio+20 in June 2012.
From UNEP's contribution to the UN's 'International Year of Forests' to the rapidly evolving analysis of how to catalyze a global transition towards a Green Economy, 2011 has proven to be a defining year for the environmental pillar of sustainable development as the world heads towards Rio+20 in June 2012.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is closing its Climate Neutral Network (CN Net) and inviting members to join similar platforms that promote low carbon transformations in the public and private sectors.
In the first-ever inter-agency report on the Green Economy, the Environment Management Group (EMG), representing the work of UN agencies, the Bretton Woods Institutions and other intergovernmental bodies - many of whom have a human and social development mandate - outlines steps and policies for pursuing a green economic transformation that generates new sources of sustainable and equitable economic growth that will assist in a global economic recovery.
The UNEP application draws attention to the critical role played by ecosystems such as salt marshes, mangroves, tropical forests and seagrasses in tackling climate change.
Glaciers in the four biggest mountain ranges in the world (Andes, Himalayas, Alps and Rockies) are melting at unprecedented rates.
New Partnerships Emerging from Climate Change Action that are Accelerating Sustainability Strategies
New Phase for Campaign Which Has Planted Over 12 Billion Trees Worldwide
A new study has found that the impacts of changing climatic conditions on the availability of natural resources, combined with population growth and weak governance, have led to greater competition over scarce resources and to changing migration patterns in the region.
UNEP launches global rice initiative
As part of Sudan's progress towards establishing a climate change National Adaptation Plan by June 2013, representatives from all 15 states have recently completed a capacity building workshop in Khartoum
Launch of €2.3 m landmark Project to Promote Conservation, Economic Growth & Sustainable Livelihoods in Kenya & the Region
London/Nairobi, 25 November 2011-A package of 16 measures could, if fully implemented across the globe, save close to 2.5 million lives a year; avoid crop losses amounting to 32 million tonnes annually and deliver near-term climate protection of about half a degree C by 2040.
New UNEP Report Outlines the Pathways to 2020 Able to Deliver the Additional 6 to 11 Gigatonne Cuts Needed to Get World onto Safe track
Keeping a global, 21st century temperature rise under 2 degrees Celsius will require urgent action on a group of chemicals increasingly being used in products such as air conditioners, refrigerators, firefighting equipment and insulation foams.
Ecosystems are the foundations of human life and livelihoods, but for too long, humanity has ignored this fundamental truth at its own peril, and the Earth ecosystems have been altered more rapidly and extensively than ever before. He stressed that the sustainable management of ecosystems will play a critical role in advancing green economies worldwide.