The UNECE Housing and Land Management Unit is the secretariat to the Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management (CUDHLM) and its subsidiary bodies. This includes three major tasks as outlined below:
The secretariat:
1. Serves and coordinates the work of the Committee and its subsidiary bodies:
- Working on Land Administration (WPLA)
- Real Estate Market Advisory Group (REM)
- Forum of Mayors (FoM)
2. Initiates and manages activities approved by the Committee.
Among these important tasks, the Secretariat:
- Develops country-specific policy recommendations on challenges related to housing and land management in the UNECE region
- Issues in-depth assessments and policy guidelines.
- Publishes flagship reports including series of Country Profiles on the housing and urban development sectors, as well as Land Administration Reviews.
- Organizes national training workshops and pilot projects to help member States speed up the policy reform process.
3. Identifies emerging topics and developments, and brings them to the attention of member States.
For example, to tackle climate change, the secretariat commissioned a report which analyses potential emission reductions in the housing sector. The result is an Action Plan on energy-efficient housing in the UNECE region. Another upcoming area of action is the green economy, and the secretariat is exploring ways to support countries with economies in transition to realize the shift towards green economic growth in the housing sector.