Today, a new project to be implemented by UNECE with the support of Switzerland was launched in Tashkent, underscoring Uzbekistan's commitment to improving water and health governance and safe management of industrial and tailing facilities.
Around 3.6 billion people live in contexts that are highly vulnerable to climate change and many of them are in transboundary basins. Droughts do not recognize borders, pose transboundary risks, and require cooperation to address them.
Faced with increasing impacts of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss, which together constitute the “triple planetary crisis”, no country can act alone. Like nature itself, these challenges know no borders, which makes international cooperation a crucial part of action to address them.
The impact of different air pollutants on vegetation and crops has been studied for over 35 years in the framework of the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, through its International Cooperative Programme on Effects of Air Pollution on Natural Vegetation and Crops (ICP Vegetation), led by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.
On 28 February 2024, the UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders under the Aarhus Convention, Michel Forst, released a position paper on state repression of environmental protest and civil disobedience: a major threat to human rights and democracy.
Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) will be at the forefront of discussions at the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) on how to tackle the triple planetary crisis.
Executive Secretary Tatiana Molcean will lead a UNECE delegation to UNEA-6, the world’s highest decision-making body on the environment, which takes place from 26 February to 1 March at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.
In her first visit to Brussels as UNECE Executive Secretary, Tatiana Molcean held strategic discussions this week with European Commissioners for environment and energy, and high-level officials responsible for industrial policy, trade and cooperation with EU acceding, candidate and neighbouring countries.
Ensuring the principles of environmental democracy are upheld in relation to modified organisms/genetically modified organisms (LMOs/GMOs) can help countries to address biodiversity loss and support progress on a number of Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goals 2 (zero hunger), 15 (life on land) and 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions).
Following the adoption last year of a methodology to measure the emissions from braking systems, UNECE’s World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) now turns to tackling emissions from tyres.
Made from a mixture of natural and synthetic rubber and plastic polymers, including other chemical components, tyres represent a significant source of non-exhaust emissions.
Sierra Leone shares four major rivers with the neighbouring countries of Guinea and Liberia, including the Great Scarcies, Little Scarcies and Moa shared with Guinea, and Mano River shared with Liberia. All provide crucial freshwater that sustains ecosystems, livelihoods and the well-being of communities.