11th
Special Session of the UN Environment Programme's
Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment
Forum
Bali (Indonesia), 26
February 2010 - In the first landmark Declaration
issued by ministers of the environment in
a decade, governments pledged to step up
the global response to the major environmental
and sustainability challenges of this generation.
The wide-ranging Nusa
Dua Declaration, agreed today in the closing
session of the UN Environment Programme's
(UNEP) Governing Council/Global Ministerial
Environment Forum, underlines the vital
importance of biodiversity, the urgent need
to combat climate change and work towards
a good outcome in Mexico later in the year
and the key opportunities from accelerating
a transition to a low-carbon resource-efficient
Green Economy.
The statement also highlights
the need to improve the overall management
of the global environment, accepting that
that 'governance architecture' has in many
ways become too complex and fragmented.
An important step forward
was made earlier in the week in the areas
of chemicals, hazardous wastes and human
health. Governments agreed at an Extraordinary
Meeting to have more cooperative action
by the three relevant treaties-the Basel,
Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions - as
a first step to boosting their delivery
within countries.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary
and UNEP Executive Director, said: "The
ministers responsible for the environment,
meeting just over a month after the climate
change conference in Copenhagen, have spoken
with a clear, united and unequivocal voice."
"Faced with the
continued erosion of the natural environment,
the persistent and emerging challenges of
chemical pollution and wastes and the overarching
challenge of issues such as climate change,
the status quo is not an option and change
is urgently needed," he added.
"This change starts
with recognition that the way we are managing
the environmental dimension of sustainable
development is currently too complex and
fragmented. Change is needed here and the
ministers signaled their determination to
realize this through a political process,"
said Mr. Steiner.
"But the ministers
also recognized that action towards a Green
Economy -one able to meet multiple challenges
and seize multiple opportunities- is taking
route in economies across the globe. Accelerating
this is a key element of the Nusa Dua Declaration
and one that can direct future action towards
realizing the kinds of transitions needed
on a planet of six billion people, rising
to nine billion by 2050," he added.
The Declaration, the
first by world environment ministers since
they met in Malmö, Sweden in 2000,
will be transmitted to the UN General Assembly
later this year.
There governments will
begin preparations for a landmark conference
in Brazil, called Rio plus 20.
Rio plus 20 comes two
decades after the first Rio Earth Summit,
which gave birth to many of the key treaties,
ranging from climate change to biodiversity,
which to date have defined the international
response to environmental challenges.
Green Economy
Case studies, illuminating
the multiple benefits of a Green Economy,
were presented to delegates in advance of
a landmark Green Economy report to be released
later this year.
Uganda
- The area of land under
organic agriculture has risen from 185,000
hectares in 2004 to close to 300,000 hectares
in 2008, with a 360 per cent rise in the
number of farmers engaged in the sector
- from 45,000 certified farmers to 207,000.
- Certified organic
exports have risen from US$3.7 million in
2003-2004 to US$22.8 million in 2007-2008.
- The country is also
contributing to combating climate change.
C02 emissions per hectare are up to 68 per
cent less than on conventionally farmed
land, with studies indicating that organic
fields sequester 3-8 tonnes more carbon
per hectare.
China
- More than 10 per cent
of Chinese households rely on the sun to
heat their water, with more than 40 million
solar water heating systems in place.
- The renewable energy
sector as a whole generates output worth
US$17 billion and employs 1 million workers,
of which 600,000 are employed in solar thermal
panel making and installing products, such
as solar water heaters.
- The warm water from
solar water heaters is also reducing rheumatoid
arthritis among women as they now have hot
water for laundry and dishwashing done by
hand instead of only cold water.
Brazil
- The city of Curitiba
has, through sustainable urban planning
and transport, cut per capita loss from
severe congestion. It is about 6.7 and 11
times less than per capita losses in Rio
de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.
- In 2002, Curitiba's
annual fuel losses from severe traffic congestion
equaled R$1.98 million (US$930,000). On
per capita terms, this loss is about 13
times and 4.3 times less than those in Sao
Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
- Curitiba's fuel usage
is also 30 per cent lower than in Brazil's
other major cities.
Other Highlights of
the UNEP GC/GMEF
The Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
The delegates were addressed
by Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the IPCC
which is co- hosted by UNEP and the World
Meteorological Organization.
Ministers re-affirmed
the central importance of the IPCC and the
importance of sound science upon which to
base a response to climate change.
However, as a result
of recent criticism of the IPCC and some
key errors in the body's fourth assessment
report, several governments called for an
independent review of the IPCC.
Full details of the
review and its scope will be announced next
week with the report to be presented to
the IPCC Plenary taking place in the Republic
of Korea in October.
Several key decisions
were adopted, including ones on oceans put
forward by the Government of Indonesia and
the strengthening the environment via the
Environmental Management Group which UNEP
hosts.
Intergovernmental Platform
on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)
Many experts believe
a science panel or platform for biodiversity
and ecosystems is needed to assist governments
in combating the erosion of plants and animals
and ecosystems such as forests, freshwaters
and soils.
Governments agreed to
a final meeting in June 2010, halfway through
the UN's International Year of Biodiversity,
to decide whether to establish such a body.
Haiti
Delegates also backed
UNEP's support to Haiti in the wake of the
devastating earthquake of 12 January 2010
and called on the organization to assist
the UN country team to incorporate environmental
issues in the rehabilitation and reconstruction
and restoration phases.
Gaza
Delegates asked UNEP
to assist in implementing recommendations
from its environmental assessment of the
Gaza Strip compiled following the escalation
of hostilities in December 2008 through
to January 2009.
The assessment covers
issues such as solid waste management, pollution
and the acute decline of Gaza's underground
water supplies.
Nick Nuttall, Spokesperson/ Head of Media,
Office of the Executive Director, UNEP
Further Resources
XIth Special Session of the Governing Council
UNEP Green Economy Initiative
Press release - Spanish version
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