Civil Society forum - 21-22 February

The Civil Society forum will bring together representatives of major groups and stakeholders to discuss vital environmental issues. It will include sessions on‘Enhancing Cooperation and Coordination among the three Conventions - Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions’.
There will be a dialogue with UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner, as well as a panel discussion on the theme ‘Towards a World Summit on Sustainable Development (Rio+20 Summit) in 2012 ’. Participants will also discuss ‘The environment in the multilateral system’, the key theme of the UNEP Governing Council Special Session which starts on 24 February – with sessions on International Environmental Governance and Sustainable Development, the Green Economy, and Biodiversity and Ecosystems.

Chemicals Ministerial Meeting - 22-24 February

The Chemicals meeting is the first Extraordinary Meeting of the Conference of Parties to the three key conventions in the areas of international chemicals and waste management:

• the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal
• the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade
• the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants

In the spirit of International environmental governance, the joint meeting is a key signal that the three global conventions have agreed to consolidate their common functions and enhance cooperation and coordination at the administrative and programmatic levels.

UNEP Governing Council Special Session - 24-26 February

The 11th Special Session of the Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum will bring together about one hundred Environment Ministers from around the world to hold talks, consultations and discussions under the overarching theme of ‘The Environment in the multilateral system’.

Under this overarching theme, three topics that are high up on the international agenda will be addressed:
a. ‘International Environmental Governance and sustainable development’
Ministerial Consultations will focus on:

• Reviewing the inputs from the Consultative Group of Ministers or their high-level representatives on IEG and discussing the next course of action.
• Discussing the outcomes from the first meetings of the Extraordinary COPs of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (ExCOP) and the lessons learned for the biodiversity related conventions.
• Discussing reports on the JIU report, including the Secretary-General’s response to the UNGA, and the Executive Director’s response to the Governing Council.

b. ‘The green economy’
Ministerial Consultations will focus on:

• Obtaining a comprehensive update on all of the recent green economy developments within the UNGA, CSD, G8, G20, OECD, and UNEP through its Green Economy Initiative. 
•  Discussing how the concept of the green economy has been implemented at the country level.

c. ‘Biodiversity and Ecosystems’
Ministerial Consultations will focus on:

• Discussing the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity, the progress made towards the 2010 biodiversity target and other relevant targets, including those for MDG 7, and the next steps.
• Discussing the The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) progress report and its implications for biodiversity.

Obtaining an update on, and discussing the progress made, in implementing the decision on the policy/science interface – IPBES.