Panel on Environment and U.N. Reform

Frankly, we are surprised by the pronouncements we have heard in some quarters suggesting, erroneously, that UNEP is a broken institution. On the contrary, we think that UNEP is doing a solid job now and will continue to improve under its new leadership. Some of the most important steps that we have seen UNEP take recently to become more effective and relevant include the Bali Plan and a series of partnerships with other UN and intergovernmental organizations, governments, the scientific community, and NGOs including the private sector. These partnerships include:

• More positive and effective collaboration with other UN Agencies and the Multilateral Development Banks;
• New cooperation with UNDP;
• A new collaborative program on poverty and the environment;
• An enhanced role in UN response to natural disasters;
• More cooperation with the private sector;
• Greater collaboration between UNEP and national scientific institutions, scientific societies, think tanks and academia;
• Enhanced support for collecting and assessing environmental data;
• And the use of new communication tools for the timely distribution of environmental information.

It seems to us that those who have made pronouncements that UNEP is somehow broken are not familiar with its programs. We have looked at UNEP programs carefully, and believe they are catalyzing change for the better.

One example is early warning and assessment, which has been a core responsibility of UNEP since its inception. While we question the net benefit of conducting too many assessments, many UNEP publications on early warning and assessment have played a valuable role in cataloguing current environmental knowledge. The publication of the important and massive African Environmental Outlook, for example, has made an invaluable contribution to increasing public awareness of the environmental challenges on this continent. The African Outlook builds on the sharing of satellite databases and images from 1970, 1980 and 2000, which clearly reveal alarming patterns of land use change across the African continent. The capacity building efforts that followed the Outlook Document are even more important. UNEP is actively working with national scientists and public servants throughout the continent to improve environmental data sharing and assessment capacity. These, in turn, inform and empower policy makers and the public to address the tremendous environmental changes that are taking place in Africa.

On a global scale, UNEP has seen the publication of the award-winning book One Planet, Many People , which has become the best selling UN publication of all time. The book led to collaboration between UNEP and Google, whereby the popular Internet tool “Google Earth” will include “before and after” satellite images of global environmental hotspots.  Talks are also now underway for UNEP to develop a Global Environmental Alert Service (GEAS), which would partner with Google and/or other Internet providers to supply online access to important information about on-going environmental changes.

Another widely successful program that UNEP has spearheaded is the Global Program of Action to reduce the impacts of land based sources of pollution on the marine environment. The GPA, as it is known, recently celebrated its 10 th anniversary with an important meeting in Beijing , China . This program has had significant impact on countries grappling with coastal development, human waste management and land use changes that have produced polluted runoff into the marine environment. The Beijing meeting called for a renewal and strengthening of the GPA and we expect this Governing Council to endorse that call.

The new joint effort between UNEP and UNDP on poverty and the environment is an important pilot project that will help governments better incorporate environmental considerations into national development plans. Environmental protection will not be effective if imposed from outside. This UNEP/UNDP partnership helps countries to identify their own environmental challenges and priorities in a sustainable way. UNEP has been a leader in gaining local “buy-in” as part and parcel of integrating environmental sustainability into national planning and development efforts.

UNEP played an important role at the Kobe Conference on natural disasters by bringing the private sector to the table. Private sector engagement in managing toxic chemicals in the aftermath of natural disasters has spurred the development of UNEP's highly successful program for emergency preparedness at the local level. This program has produced a flexible tool, developed in conjunction with industry and governments, to help prevent industrial accidents as well as mitigate the impacts of natural disasters such as the 2005 tsunami that devastated several countries in Asia. In addition, UNEP's publication on the value of reefs and mangrove swamps in mitigating environmental destruction from tsunamis was critical in influencing the way in which countries look at coastal development.

UNEP is also a leader among UN organizations in working with the private sector. This public - private collaboration has allowed UNEP to leverage its expertise to effect measurable changes on the ground. For example, the clean fuels and vehicles partnership -- which recently won an important UN award -- has resulted in real improvements in the health of millions in Africa and around the world by getting lead out of gasoline. Another example of public-private partnerships is the UNEP – Finance Initiative, under which UNEP provides secretariat and technical assistance to private lending companies to come together to set and enforce their own environmental standards. Yet another example is the work between UNEP's Energy Office and the private sector in financing new technologies and renewable energy. UNEP's Energy Office is also working with the mining and tourism sectors to encourage them to set operational environmental standards, identify best practices, and share lessons learned in protecting the environment.

We believe that the adoption of the Bali Strategic Plan is the most important step UNEP has taken to make itself more relevant in the new millennium. We know that agreeing to protect the environment is not enough and we must now implement our agreements. Bali puts UNEP in the vanguard of this effort.

Through these and other programs UNEP has become a catalyst for environmental responsibility. UNEP is a vibrant, functioning body that is having significant impacts throughout the world. Yes, UNEP can be improved further. But we should redirect the effort that some would have us expend creating a new environmental organization toward enhancing the activities that UNEP already undertakes. In this way, governments and civil society can work even more effectively to protect our environment and enhance the quality of lives of all people. Thank you.