United Nations Environment Programme

Background

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was established after the UN Conference on the Human Environment, which was held in Stockholm in 1972. It was established as a global body to act as the environmental conscience of the UN system.

In its Organisational Profile, UNEP describes its purpose as: 'To provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.'

UNEP goes on to describe the Stockholm Conference as marking 'the formal acceptance by the international community that development and the environment are inextricably linked'.

UNEP undertakes conferences and conventions to address various environmental issues which includes issues relating to endangered species, controlling the movement of hazardous wastes and the depletion of the ozone layer. It has established conventions such as the 1987 Montreal Protocol of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, the Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity. UNEP states that it provides information, policy advice and practical support to UN member states in relation to the Millennium Development Goals and Agenda 21. It was also involved with the establishment of the Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change‎ and the UN Global Compact

UNEP describes its 5 priority areas as being: environmental assessment and early warning, Development of policy instruments, enhanced coordination with environmental conventions, technology transfer and support to Africa. Its reponsibilities are described as including:

• Promoting international cooperation in the field of the environment and recommending appropriate policies.
• Monitoring the status of the global environment and gathering and disseminating environmental information.
• Catalyzing environmental awareness and action to address major environmental threats among governments, the private sector and civil society.
• Facilitating the coordination of UN activities on matters concerned with the environment, and ensuring, through cooperation, liaison and participation, that their activities take environmental considerations into account.
• Developing regional programmes for environmental sustainability.
• Helping, upon request, environment ministries and other environmental authorities, in particular in developing countries and countries with economies in transition, to formulate and implement environmental policies.
• Providing country-level environmental capacity building and technology support.
• Helping to develop international environmental law, and providing expert advice on the development and use of environmental concepts and instruments.

UNEP states that it works with many partners, which includes UN entities, international organizations, national governments, non-governmental organizations, business, industry, the media and civil society. Part of its work includes encouraging new partnerships and approaches within civil society and the private sector, which includes promoting cooperation between UNEP, non-governmental organizations and the private sector.

People

UNEP has staff from almost 100 countries with approximately 1,000 of them (about a third) living and working in Nairobi. The rest are located around the world in more than 28 cities in 25 countries.

Executive Director

Achim Steiner - UNEP Executive Director. Elected in 2006 for a period of 4 years. Steiner is described as serving on a number of international advisory boards, including the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) and was previously Director General of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) from 2001 to 2006.

The appointment of Steiner was criticised by The Heritage Foundation who accused Annan of a conflict of interest after having received an award of $500,000 by a jury which included Steiner

Senior Management Team

In 2009, the Senior Management Team is listed as Angela Cropper - UNEP Deputy Executive Director and United Nations Assistant Secretary General Officer-in-Charge, Division of Regional Cooperation and Representation (DRC) | Maryam Niamir-Fuller - Director, Division of Global Environment Facility Coordination (DGEF) | Bakary Kante - Director, Division of Environmental Law and Conventions (DELC) | Sylvie Lemmet - Director, Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE) | Satinder Bindra - Director, Division of Communications & Public Information (DCPI) | Peter Gilruth - Director, Division of Early Warning and Assessment (DEWA) | Ibrahim Thiaw - Director, Division of Environmental Policy Implementation (DEPI) | John Scanlon - Principal Advisor, Policy and Programme Executive Office (EO) | Paul Akiwumi - Chief, Executive Office (EO) | Ivar A. Baste - Director, Environment Management Group (EMG)

Funding

In 2002, UNEP is reported to have a annual budget of approximately $100 million. The report argues that international environmental cooperation and protection require sufficient financial resources and highlights how UNEP's budget is tiny compared to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency which had a budget of $7.8 billion in 2000.

In 1999, Heimer wrote of how UNEP faced bankruptcy and institutional extinction. Contributing factors included the lack of funds from the donating nations, who had given less than they had originally pledged. Heimer questioned the effectiveness of the global institution when it was stretched in so many different directions whilst operating 'on the brink of banruptcy'.

Contact

UNEP has a major office in Paris, France (where its Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE) is headquartered). UNEP DTIE also has branches in Geneva, Switzerland, and Osaka, Japan.

UNEP is represented across the globe by six regional offices: Nairobi, Kenya; Bangkok, Thailand; Geneva, Switzerland; Mexico City, Mexico; Washington DC, USA; Manama, Bahrain.

It also has offices in New York, USA (to provide liaison with the UN General Assembly and Secretariat), in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Brussels, Belgium; Cairo, Egypt; Brasilia, Brazil; Beijing, China; Moscow, Russia.

UNEP Headquarters:

P.O. Box 30552

Nairobi 00100

Kenya

Phone: +254 20 7621 234

Fax: +254 20 7623 927 / 692

Telex: 22068 / 22173

E-mail: unepinfo@unep.org

Web: www.unep.org