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UNECE Executive Secretary Olga Algayerova was in Kyiv on Sunday 9 and Monday 10 October to meet with Government officials to discuss UNECE support to the reconstruction of Ukraine. Since the start of the war, upon official requests for assistance from the government, UNECE has been providing
The 9th Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference closed today in Nicosia, Cyprus, with the adoption of a ministerial declaration affirming countries’ commitment to transition to a green economy with sustainable infrastructure at its core.   The declaration also calls on countries to join and
New assessment reveals progress on air quality and protected areas, but calls for urgent action to tackle emissions, waste, pollution and biodiversity loss  A circular economy and sustainable infrastructure offer solutions  Despite progress in certain areas, governments in the pan-European
Due to the increasing popularity of the UNECE Environmental Performance Review (EPR) Programme, the Government of Mauritania has asked the UNECE secretariat to review the country’s environmental performance. On 10–11 August 2022, the EPR Programme Manager met in Nouakchott with Ministry of
Nigeria has taken a significant step towards ensuring the sustainable management of its cross-border waters with a milestone commitment to join and implement a United Nations treaty known as the Water Convention.    This commitment, guided by a road map, will be the key outcome of the National
Ukraine will become a Party to the UNECE Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents, following the deposit of its instrument of accession with the UN Secretary-General in New York on 6 July 2022. The Convention will enter into force for Ukraine on 4 October 2022. This follows
UNECE delivers a wide range of technical assistance and capacity building activities to support the countries of the Caucasus and Eastern Europe to enhance strategic environmental assessment (SEA) and transboundary environmental impact assessment (EIA). An effective system for environmental
More than 3 billion people depend on water that crosses national borders. As climate impacts – from drought to flooding – are felt more and more acutely worldwide, and with rising demands, pollution and tensions threatening increasingly scarce water resources, cooperation on shared waters offers a
The Meeting of the Parties to the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) has elected, by consensus, Mr. Michel Forst as the world’s first Special Rapporteur on environmental defenders. 
From insufficient drinking water supply to contamination by sewage overflow and disease outbreaks from improper wastewater treatment, existing risks from climate change to water, sanitation and hygiene in the pan-European region are set to increase significantly, UNECE and the WHO Regional Office
Representatives from the water, energy, and environment sectors of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia - the three riparians of the Drina River Basin - met on 4 May 2022 to discuss ways forward on sustainable development and transboundary cooperation. The meeting of the Steering
UNECE notes with concern the attacks on industrial facilities in Ukraine since the beginning of the war and calls for a prompt end of the hostilities and the prevention of technological disasters, which could affect the population and environment of Ukraine and neighbouring countries. Since the
A pilot project in Georgia was kicked off as part of UNECE’s longstanding support to enhancing the country’s strategic environmental assessment (SEA) and transboundary environmental impact assessment systems in accordance with the UNECE Protocol on SEA and the Convention on Environmental Impact
The centrality of transboundary water cooperation for peace and sustainable development has been stressed in recent years at the global and regional levels, notably in the Sustainable Development Goals, at the United Nations Security Council, and at the African Ministers’ Council on Water. However
While agriculture and food production cause significant air pollution, air pollution can also have significant impacts on crops, other vegetation and entire ecosystems. This, in turn, can impact on agricultural yields and food production and can lead to significant economic losses. To review new
Uganda has 98 per cent of its water resources within the Nile River Basin. The Nile River is the longest transboundary river in Africa. Cooperation on the Nile Basin water resources, according to Uganda’s Minister for Water and Environment, His Excellency, Hon. Sam Cheptoris, is therefore “not a
Heavy metals such as mercury have led to great harm to human health and the environment, for example in the 1950s in Minamata, Japan, when the release of methylmercury in the industrial wastewater from a chemical factory poisoned many people. Even in smaller quantities, heavy metals released into
Developed in the first half of the 20th century, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have been regulated or banned as widespread public concern over their toxicological effects for human health and the environment has increased. Research has shown that exposure to POPs can lead to serious health
“The explosion came at a very high cost with over 218 deaths, 6,000 injured, and at least 15 billion USD in destruction to infrastructure. In around 15 minutes Beirut lost over 15 years of development gains. We must learn lessons from this catastrophic disaster, not just for Lebanon but for the
Which users may use how much water of a river, lake, aquifer or other source? For what purposes, where and when? These are the questions which a new Handbook on transboundary ‘water allocation’–which is the process and/or outcome of determining how different stakeholders use water–published under
Almost 2 years into the pandemic, we have all experienced long and repeated lockdowns. Recent news from New Delhi, however, tell us that the city has gone into another lockdown – this time because of heavy air pollution.   Winter is also the season when air pollution problems in the UNECE region
Today, the Inaugural Meeting of the Working Group on Tailings Safety and the Prevention of Accidental Water Pollution (IIWG) took place in Tajikistan, bringing together representatives of different national authorities, operators, international institutions and interested specialists to strengthen
The Beirut port explosion in August 2020, caused by fire spreading across a storage area detonating a large amount of ammonium nitrate (AN), resulted in 300 deaths and 6,500 injuries, the displacement of about 300,000 people and severe damage to the port and city, including healthcare facilities
Increasingly frequent and intense extreme weather events due to climate change that can lead to industrial accidents and unchecked urban and regional development could together be a recipe for disaster, warn the UN and the governments of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia
Today, Serbia became the first country in the pan-European region to launch a National Policy Dialogue (NPD) on Industrial Safety, supported by UNECE in the framework of the Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents (Industrial Accidents Convention). Since its accession to the