Right to a clean environment
In October 2021, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) adopted a resolution on the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment in a breakthrough moment for UNEP’s social and environmental justice work.
The new resolution recognizes the damage caused by climate change and the destruction of the environment on millions of people worldwide. It anchors the work of environmental defenders in the human rights framework and helps protect those persecuted for activism.
The new resolution also emboldens governments, legislators, courts and citizen groups to pursue the Common Agenda for renewed solidarity, as well as the 2020 Call to Action on Human Rights.
Transforming natural capital accounting
In 2021, the UN Statistical Commission adopted the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounting in what UN Secretary-General António Guterres called “a historic step towards transforming how we view and value nature.” Through a project implemented by UNEP and UNDESA, South Africa has become the first developing country to launch a 10-year strategy for Natural Capital Accounting.
UNEP communicated with more than 200 countries and territories to collect and report data for the SDG environment-related indicators under UNEP custodianship - up 10 per cent from 2020. This new data reported to the Global SDG Database is helping to close the gap on SDG indicator data.
Fostering global biodiversity
In October 2021, Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) gathered for the first part of the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP-15) and committed to develop, adopt and implement an effective post-2020 framework. UNEP continued to support the CBD Secretariat and Parties to ensure the framework is based on the latest science and data and that accountability for progress towards its global ambitions is strengthened. Working with the GEF and UNDP, UNEP has also been developing plans for early support to Parties to implement the framework once adopted.
UNEP-WCMC partnered with UNDP and the CBD Secretariat to develop the UN Biodiversity Lab 2.0 – a free, open-source platform with more than 400 state-of-the-art maps and data on nature, climate change and human development as a digital public good. Microsoft has committed to supporting the platform with its Planetary Computer and custom analytics. So far, more than 60 countries have accessed the UN Biodiversity Lab data as part of their national reporting to the CBD.
In May 2021, the UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination endorsed the UN Common Approach to Biodiversity, integrating biodiversity and nature-based solutions for sustainable development into UN policy and programme planning and delivery. Through the common approach, the UN system has committed to mainstream biodiversity and catalyse collective action to address the drivers of biodiversity loss, restore ecosystems and ultimately live in harmony with nature.
Restoring the planet’s ecosystems
On 5 June, World Environment Day 2021, UNEP and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) launched the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
FAO and UNEP have jointly established a Multi-Partner Trust Fund for the implementation of core activities of the Decade. Major commitments to the fund included USD 16 million from Germany and USD 11 million from Denmark. World Environment Day-host Pakistan also made a strong commitment through its Green Stimulus plan, which aims to protect and increase forest cover, create thousands of green jobs and address climate change. More than 100 countries have made pledges to restore their land and coastlines as part of commitments to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation. The promises add up to over one billion hectares – an area larger than China.
Launched by UNEP and the Global Peatlands Initiative at COP26, the Economics of Peatlands Conservation, Restoration and Sustainable Management report identifies the principal cause for peatlands mismanagement as the undervaluation of their economic contributions. It further highlights that protecting and restoring peatlands can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 800 million metric tons per year – equivalent to Germany’s annual emissions.
The report called for investments of up to USD 46 billion annually by 2050 in order to almost halve the emissions caused by draining and burning peatlands. At the Global Peatlands Pavilion, led by UNEP and partners, Chile and Scotland signed an agreement to conserve peatlands, whilst Ireland committed to establishing a European Peatlands Initiative. Peru, Indonesia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo also promised to include peatlands in their NDCs.
Sustainable management of nature
UNEP and the Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction started the year with a new Massive Open Online Course on Nature-based Solutions for Disaster and Climate Resilience. Over 50,000 people from over 190 countries enrolled in the course. At ten years old, Indivara, the youngest graduate of the course, said, “It was really interesting, and it made me understand more in-depth ways of how you can use nature to save nature itself.”
Transforming food systems for a more sustainable and inclusive planet
UNEP led the UN Task Force at the Food Systems Summit, where more than 100 countries committed to national pathways for food system transformation. UNEP and partners are also bringing industry leaders together through the Good Food Finance Network to ensure sustainable food system finance becomes the mainstream standard.
Ahead of the Summit, UNEP’s Food Waste Index Report 2021 found that people waste almost one billion tons of food each year – about 17 per cent of all food available for human consumption. The report showed for the first time that food waste is an issue in almost every country, including middle-and lower-income countries.
Preventing health risks
UNEP is working with UN partners to strengthen the One Health approach, which recognizes the interconnection between people, animals, and nature. This will be critical to tackling the triple planetary crisis. In 2021, the G7 and G20 both issued declarations backing the One Health approach.
UNEP supported the Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and a new One Health High Level Advisory Panel to advise on pandemic prevention. These initiatives will help improve science for coordinated interventions to ensure strong global stewardship of nature to prevent health risks.
Conserving habitats and ecosystems
The Shar Mountain National Park – established by the Government of North Macedonia with support from UNEP, the GEF and partners – wrote a green page in the country’s history book after a campaign spanning almost 30 years. The new park has contributed to the creation of one of the largest trans-boundary protected areas in Europe. Spanning 67,000 hectares, it harbors around 6,000 different animal and plant species, including the critically endangered Balkan Lynx, of which less than 35 remain. UNEP also assisted the Government of Montenegro to establish its first-ever two Marine Protected Areas – a major milestone towards achieving international biodiversity standards.
The UNEP-supported Sixth Status of Corals of the World: 2020 Report found that 14 per cent of the world’s coral has been lost in less than a decade due to climate change.
This informed the post-2020 global biodiversity framework processes. UNEP, the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund and partners also raised more than USD 30 million through the Global Fund for Coral Reefs in 2021. The Global Fund for Coral Reefs also raised an additional USD 125 million through the Green Climate Fund to support private investment for the protection of coral reefs.
Meanwhile, the new Freshwater Ecosystem Explorer – created by UNEP in partnership with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and the Google Earth Engine – provides crucial information on how different freshwater ecosystems change over time within every country worldwide.