The Law Division leads UNEP's work on the development and facilitation of international environmental law, governance and policy.

The Law Division focuses on the following work streams [click to direct]:

1. Advancing Environmental Rights
2. Climate Action with OzonAction
3. Promoting Environmental Rule of Law
4. Strengthening Institutions
5. Supporting Environmental Treaties

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) stands in solidarity with the billions of people around the world that are suffering from the impact of the global pandemic.

COVID-19 is a reminder that human health is linked to the planet’s health. We need to work with the environment to protect people. This global health emergency requires a sound environmental response. The Law Division has been involved in UNEP’s response to this crisis; as well as continued to address the climate emergency, biodiversity loss and unsustainable patterns of consumption and production.

Environmentally friendly waste management during COVID-19:

UNEP contributed to enhancing legal readiness of states to handle the additional waste generated by the pandemic. The factsheet, 'Policy and legislation on waste management linked to COVID-19 pandemics', released in June 2020, seeks to guide states on how to establish a legal and institutional basis for better responsiveness to future waste emergencies, as well as to guide them on immediate actions to be taken in addressing increasing waste from COVID-19. It will be supplemented by a review and comparative analysis of measures adopted on waste management during the pandemic. The fact sheet is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, Hindi and Portuguese.

Environmentally-sensitive legal and regulatory responses to COVID-19:

UNEP monitored states’ COVID-19 legislative and regulatory measures, and increased awareness amongst lawmakers and decision-makers on these measures' environmental impacts. Together with the Inter-Parliamentary Union, UNEP has utilized this assessment to develop a publication entitled, 'Green approaches to COVID-19 recovery: Policy note for parliamentarians'. The note, available in English and French, highlights the unique role of parliamentarians in the COVID-19 emergency and recovery processes. It presents practical approaches towards an environmentally sustainable economic recovery, with examples at national and regional levels. The note touches upon clean energy transition, circularity, just transition to green jobs, and environmental rule of law, among others.

Based on this assessment, UNEP was invited to present and participate in a panel discussion on 'Building back better to prevent climate crisis: What states and businesses need to do' held on 18 November at the 2020 United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights.

Human rights, the environment and COVID-19 key messages:

UNEP and the UN Human Rights Office jointly developed key messages on human rights, the environment and COVID-19. This resource highlights essential human rights obligations and responsibilities of states and others, including businesses, in addressing and responding to the COVID-19 crisis. Available in English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

Pacific Countries Determined to Advance Climate and Ozone Action Despite the Pandemic:

“We’re not taking any time off on this issue, pandemic or not,” said Roselyn Bue, National Ozone Officer for Vanuatu. “We in the Pacific are doing everything we can to mitigate the impacts of climate change and phasing out HCFCs is a big part of that.” Read More...

The African Elephant Fund call for COVID-19 Project Proposals:

The African Elephant Fund (AEF) launched the tenth round of call for project proposals. The purpose of this call was to allow African elephant range states to seek emergency funding to address elephant conservation challenges related to COVID-19. Out of 84 proposals received 19 projects were approved for funding.

InforMEA

InforMEA is a tool that allows easy access and navigation of international environmental law texts. With a huge rise in people across the world turning to virtual learning spaces due to COVID-19, InforMEA's new e-learning platform sees a record numbers of users.

This new e-learning platform was launched on World Environment Day (5th June). The platform now offers over 33 courses on international environmental law and governance, environmental agreements and cross cutting topics like pollution- and accommodates 6 UN languages. Each course has been reviewed by one or several multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) or collaborating partners such as UNITAR. Since last year, the platform also offers deeper-learning diplomas around six topics, which are awarded upon the successful completion of a selection of topic-relevant courses. Users can search for MEA foundational courses, explore more advanced courses or look for courses by SDG Goals.

New free self-paced courses on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ)

Updated course on the Minamata Convention on Mercury:

Mercury is a heavy metal that occurs naturally but can also be released into air, water, and soil through anthropogenic activities such as mining, metal and cement production, and combustion of fossil fuels. It is highly toxic and persistent in the environment. It can be transported in the atmosphere great distances, and can enter the food chain and accumulate in flora and fauna. This free and self-paced course introduces you to the Minamata Convention on Mercury, which seeks to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds. Participants can complete a quiz on completion of the course to earn a certificate. An updated version of this course can be accessed here.

Chemicals and Waste topic in InforMEA

Modernizing Environmental Governance

“In spite of restrictions in many of the countries where UNEP has presence, we remain open for business.” UNEP, Executive Director, Inger Andersen

To continue fulfilling our mandate, we pivoted towards virtual and online working spaces. Over the year, the Law Division organized, supported and participated in scores of virtual forums, workshops, dialogues, webinars, colloquiums, consultations and other meetings; with small and large audiences that included, among others, government representatives, academics, environmental treaty secretariats, private sector groups, lawyers and civil society organizations. We delivered statements and presentations, gave technical and legal advise, discussed problems and solutions with stakeholders, agreed on next steps with relevant parties, and were in involved in the development of the reports that came out of these meetings, such as framework principle and guidance forms. This virtual work included:

• UNEP OzonAction and the Government of Qatar teamed up to deliver the first Montreal Protocol-related virtual training for refrigeration trainers and customs officers on safe handling and replacement of ozone-depleting substances. Read more...
• Discursive and educational sessions for the private sector during the OECD Global Forum on Responsible Business Conduct and the United Nations Virtual Forum on Responsible Business and Human Rights.
• UNEP facilitated a virtual network meeting where countries were able to discuss and brainstorm different approaches for the organization of future meetings, workshops and trainings in light of COVID-19. UNEP e-learning courses and training modules were introduced as a resource for countries to access online.
• Consultative webinars for parliamentary, government agencies and ministerial representatives, as well as a webinar for waste crime enforcement officers, so as to provide them with an overview of key issues in the prosecution and enforcement of waste crime.
• Transformed an in-person workshop on the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements into an online course, the first ever in the region. 37 national focal points of biodiversity and chemicals and waste-related Conventions from five African countries participated.
• The Data Reporting Tool for MEAs – DaRT took advantage of digital format, conducting a virtual national workshop in Cameroon as a pilot case and a series of other webinars targeted to MEA Parties and Secretariats and related stakeholders engaging in knowledge management, resulting in soliciting more interests and the tool’s uptakes in the wider audience.
• Due to the pandemic, the Bern II Consultation Workshop with an objective to facilitate inputs of MEAs to the post -2020 biodiversty framework was postponed from March 2020 to early 2021. Meanwhile UNEP, as the organizer of the workshop continued preparations virtually, maintaining the momentum through well-attended online briefings with interactive discussions held in March and September 2020 respectively.
• South Asia-Southeast Asia Networks Meet Virtually to Map-out Montreal Protocol Implementation under COVID-19.
• Mongolia Uses "Right-Sized" Approach to Successfully Hold RAC Training Workshops During COVID-19 Pandemic.

Working with the environment to protect people: UNEP's COVID-19 response on Global Environmental Governance

UNEP and the secretariats of Multilateral Environment Agreements have been reviewing legal, logistical, and environmental implications of modernizing methods of environmental governance and multilateralism. The Law Division has prepared a study on virtual/online meetings that provides guidance on how interactive inter-governmental meetings can happen online or “virtually” in a manner that respects the legal framework for such meetings, including its rules of procedure. The study identified barriers and possible changes to be explored in order to move towards more inter-governmental meetings being held virtually.

In moving to intergovernmental meetings happening virtually, the Law Division has helped guide the UNEP Committee of Permanent Representatives and the United Nations Environment Assembly, the secretariats of Multilateral Environment Agreements through providing legal and procedural advice and has also provided training to Member States and their focal points for the conduct of such meetings.

Finally and specifically related to COVID, the Law Division has assisted inter-governmental bodies adopt decisions during the COVID pandemic via a silent procedure when these bodies are not in session. This has related mainly to the adoption of administrative and budgetary decisions and has enabled the secretariats of inter-governmental bodies to continue their work and “remain in business” despite the fact that their governing bodies could not meet either on line or in person.

Adjudicating in the time of COVID-19:

UNEP facilitated the affirmation by judges and judicial officers from the Asia-Pacific region of their commitment to take into account environmental principles- such as the right to a healthy environment, public participation in environmental matters and protection from the impacts of climate change- in their legal decisions and court administrative procedures.

UNEP, together with the Asian Development Bank and the Global Justice Institute on the Environment and Client Earth, organized the Asia Pacific Judicial Conference on Climate Change: Adjudication in the Time of COVID-19. It brought together over 100 participants, including judges from the region under the banner of the Asian Judges Network on Environment. The conference addressed increasing anthropogenic impacts on nature, the role of judges and judicial officers in addressing these impacts, and the procedural and substantive challenges that these officers are facing in managing cases during a pandemic. The discussions were guided by numerous international and regional environmental agreements and declarations. An official conference statement was issued, which among others, recognized the need to reinforce international and national laws for the protection of the environment for present and future generations.

UNEP supports the upholding of environmental rights through The Environmental Rights Initiative, which is a coalition of state and non-state actors united to promote, protect, and respect environmental rights.

Learn about environmental rights

Everyone should be able to understand environmental rights and identify their effects on their lives.

Introductory Course on SDG 16 and the access rights, Aarhus Convention, and Escazú Agreement:

Through the lens of Sustainable Development Goal 16, this free and self-paced course looks at how the access rights described in the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development – i.e. access to information, public participation and access to justice – have become critical to our understanding of how the state of the environment interplays with human wellbeing.

The course looks in depth at how these rights form the cornerstones of two MEAs, the Aarhus Convention and the Escazú Agreement, and how these treaties promote sustainable and environmentally sound development for present and future generations. Participants can complete a quiz on completion of the course to earn a certificate.

Linking human rights and the environment: illustrations

These illustrations, available in English and Portuguese, are a visual representation of human rights obligations related to the environment. The illustrations are accompanied by legal sources for the 47 environmental rights depicted in the illustrations.

Enhancing protection of environmental human rights defenders and expanding civic space

Court ruling a milestone in environmental justice:

UNEP’s years of support for and partnership with Phyllis Omido (a Kenyan Environmental Human Rights Defender) and her organization, resulted in a landmark court ruling in Kenya. Phyllis Omido and her organization won the equivalent of USD $13 million in compensation for damage to the environment and to the health of a community blighted by lead poisoning. The court in Mombasa awarded the compensation to residents of Owino Uhuru settlement for deaths and health impacts caused by lead poisoning from an adjacent smelter for recycling batteries. The ruling, delivered by a judge of the Land and Environment Court on 16 July 2020, declared that the community’s rights to a healthy environment, highest attainable standard of health, clean and safe water, and life had been contravened, and ordered the Kenyan government and two companies to pay compensation. UNEP continues to partner with OHCHR-Kenya in support of Environmental Human Rights Defenders in Kenya.

Protecting environmental defenders and implementing the Escazú Agreement in South America:

More than 60 human rights and environmental rights defenders met on 4 and 5 November 2020 at the Forum for People Defending the Environment in South America. The online event offered a space to analyze the situation of environmental defense in the region, as well as to exchange experiences, good practices and recommendations regarding these activities in a safe environment. At the event, the participants identified lines of action with an emphasis on the protection of environmental defenders. The Forum also made it possible to disseminate human rights standards and mechanisms of the United Nations system as well as of regional frameworks such as the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (the Escazú Agreement). The Escazú Agreement is the first environmental treaty in the region and the first in the world to contain specific provisions on human rights defenders in environmental matters.

The meeting was attended by environmental defenders and representatives of civil society from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay, in addition to guest defenders from Colombia, Honduras and Guatemala, among others. It was organized by the Office for South America of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean and UNEP. The event also featured the support of the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), Protection International (PI), Global Witness and the International Land Coalition (ILC). Key messages from the event’s high level speakers are available here.

Business:

In June 2020, UNEP partnered with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to deliver a session during the OECD Global Forum on Responsible Business Conduct (RBC), on building environmental resilience and responding to global crises through supply chain due diligence. The session highlighted the importance of observing RBC standards by companies, and showed that implementing due diligence in their response to the COVID-19 crisis will help ensure that business decisions avoid and address potential adverse impacts on people and the planet. Read More...

Virtual Forum on Responsible Business & Human Rights: New Challenges. New Approaches: UNEP is engaging with business actors through the Responsible Business and Human Rights Forum to exchange information and practical ideas for policies and business practices that enhance environmental rights for all. UNEP is also working very closely with the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights (UNWG) United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), International Labour Organisation (ILO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to provide further stimulus to the responsible business and human rights discourse in Asia and the Pacific. UNEP organized four exciting events during 2020's 'United Nations Virtual Forum on Responsible Business and Human Rights: New Challenges. New Approaches', held on 9-12 June 2020.

Enhancing states’ abilities to promote and protect the human right to a healthy environment

Advancing children’s rights to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment in ASEAN:

In July 2020, UNEP, UNICEF, and UN Human Rights jointly held a meeting to, among other objectives, develop policy guidance for advancing children’s rights to a healthy environment in the ASEAN region. These three UN agencies thus convened a Virtual Expert Group Meeting on 15, 16 and 23 July to develop this policy guidance. A key output of the meeting was the development of 37 draft guiding principles which will form part of a policy guidance document that will provide direction to children, public and private sectors, civil society organizations and the media on applying the principles. Seventeen youth experts from eight ASEAN countries were part of the experts that drafted the principles. Subsequently, on 16 October 2020, UNEP held a webinar to further raise awareness of children’s rights to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment as well as to collect input on the draft principles and policy guidance.

Joint UNICEF-UNEP-OHCHR Expert Group Meeting: Policy guidance for promoting and protecting children’s rights to a healthy environment in the ASEAN region

ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights:

UNEP provided technical assistance to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) in November to further develop a background paper and proposal to establish an ASEAN Taskforce to advance regional rights based approaches to environmental decision making and Environmental Impact Assessment. On 25 November UNEP participated in the annual meeting between the UN and the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights. During the meeting the AICHR representative from Myanmar thanked UNEP for support to them in the area of environment and human rights, and noted that AICHR would continue to seek support from the UN to advance their work in this area. Read more...

Access Rights in ASEAN:

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) initiated a collaboration with the UNEP Regional Office in Asia and the Pacific to foster access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters (known also as access rights) in Asia and the Pacific.

Between August and October 2020, UNEP and UNESCAP conducted preliminary meetings to scope issues and discuss with key stakeholders. Consequently, on 16 November, UNEP and UNESCAP held a workshop with regional representatives from UNEP in Europe and LAC region, as well as representatives of The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN ECLAC).

The envisaged long-term outcome of this collaboration is the building of consensus around an intergovernmental mechanism on access to information, public participation and access to justice in the Asia Pacific Region. Drawing from the experience in the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean, a regional agreement for access rights in Asia and the Pacific paves the way to necessary reforms in policy, regulation and judicial procedure to ensure environmental rights are protected at the national level.

National Human Rights Institutions:

National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) are state-mandated bodies, independent of government, with a broad constitutional or legal mandate to protect and promote human rights at the national level. NHRIs address the full range of human rights, including civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.

The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), at its annual conference on 4 December, adopted an outcome statement on climate change, to which UNEP provided technical and legal advice. The statement expressed NHRIs commitment to promote the rights-based approach to climate and environmental actions at the national and global levels. It also calls upon the UN system, including UNEP, to support NHRIs to implement the statement.

Integrating environmental rights into UN processes

The UN Secretary General’s Call to Action on Human Rights adopted in February 2020 features an action on “Rights of Future Generations, Especially Climate Justice” explicitly calling for the UN system to support the efforts of member states related to the human right to a healthy environment. The UN Environment Management Group, in close collaboration with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and UNEP, organized a virtual nexus dialogue series on The Right to a Healthy Environment. This nexus dialogue was aligned with UNEP’s COVID-19 response, emphasizing modernizing environmental governance and multilateralism with a move towards virtual e-platforms, while simultaneously lowering the overall environmental footprint. Read more...

The universal right to a healthy environment:

UNEP supports the call, by the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, for the universal recognition of the right to a healthy environment. Watch the below video and learn more about UNEP's position from our Executive Director, Inger Anderson.

To kick-start discussions at the UN, on universal recognition of the right to a healthy environment, UNEP supported the Council core group of member States in convening an expert seminar on 6 February 2020. We supported this event alongside Universal Rights Group, the Commonwealth Small States Office in Geneva, the Geneva Academy, UNICEF, and OHCHR.

In October 2020, a group of Governments (Costa Rica, Maldives, Morocco, Slovenia and Switzerland) delivered a joint statement confirming their intention to table a resolution on the right to a healthy environment at the 45th session of the UN Human Rights Council. A coalition of civil society organizations (CSOs) have additionally sent a letter to all Permanent Missions in Geneva in September 2020 calling for the UN to formally recognize the right to a healthy environment. The letter was joined by over 950 global and local civil society organizations, making the global recognition of this right as one of the most urgent and important issues brought by CSOs to the Council.

Human Rights Council and Children’s Rights to a Healthy Environment:

In July 2020, UNEP participated in a meeting organized by the UN Human Rights Council, following the annual meeting on the rights of the child, setting the scene for a healthy environment as a child rights concern. UNEP delivered a statement highlighting the interdependence of human rights and the environment, and its contribution to efforts to advance the rights of the child in the context of the right to a healthy environment. UNEP also supported the publication of a guidance note on how to report on children’s rights and the environment to the Committee on the Rights of the Child. Read more...

UNEP’s technical cooperation and partnership with States and civil society organizations resulted in the adoption of a significant resolution to protect and promote children’s rights to a healthy environment. In October 2020, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on realizing the rights of the child through a healthy environment. The resolution, adopted by consensus, calls upon states to provide, “a safe and empowering context for initiatives organized by children and child- and youth-led movements that defend human rights relating to a healthy, safe and sustainable environment, and ensuring their protection from all acts of intimidation, harassment and abuse,” and to promote and protect children’s rights from environmental harm- such as climate change and pollution- by implementing obligations under MEAs.

Furthermore, UNEP supported a side event at the Convention on Rights of the Child committee, sitting in Samoa in March 2020. UNEP's environmental rights materials were used to support and promote children's rights to a healthy environment, alongside the high level intergovernmental forum.

Partnership with OHCHR:

In 2020, UNEP initiated several successful interventions to implement the Memorandum of Understanding between UNEP and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) as well as to operationalize the Secretary General’s Call to Action for Human Rights.

UNEP and OHCHR follow a collaborative organizational approach to: promote greater protection for environmental defenders; build on the two organization’s capacity-building and legal support programme for environmental defenders; and strengthen legal and technical support for environmental defenders. UNEP and OHCHR have also established a community of practice consisting of over 100 colleagues from the two organisations. The community of practice meets virtually every six weeks to share information on joint activities at the global, regional, and field/country levels.

The UNEP-OHCHR MOU has been welcomed and mentioned in several different international fora, including in a resolution of the European Parliament adopted in January 2020. Since the beginning of 2020, the two organizations have convened a number of meetings of the community of practice; launched the first ever joint UNEP-OHCHR Environmental Rights Bulletin (above) to document and share joint initiatives on an online platform, as well as to promote information sharing and awareness-raising on human rights and the environment; issued joint messages on COVID-19, human rights and the environment; and organized a series of nexus dialogues on human rights and the environment in cooperation with the Environment Management Group.

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer protects human health and the environment by phasing out nearly 100 industrial chemicals known as ozone depleting substances (ODS) - which include hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). These are potent greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. The Montreal Protocol also works to phase down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are not ODS but are also powerful greenhouse gases. The Montreal Protocol is the only international treaty to have universal membership. Thus all countries in the world are taking specific, time-targeted actions to reduce and eliminate their production and consumption of man-made chemicals that destroy the stratospheric ozone layer, Earth’s protective shield.

OzonAction services:

UNEP's OzonAction supports 147 developing countries in making the Montreal Protocol targets; ranging from Niue, the smallest consuming country, to China, the largest. This varied client base also includes 48 countries classified by the UN system as Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and 38 countries classified as Small Island Developing States (SIDS). OzonAction provides developing countries with the following core services:

1) National Ozone Officers (NOOs) Networks

Regional Networks of Ozone Officers are a highly-successful and effective capacity-building mechanism that promotes the exchange of information, experience and know-how required to report data, set and enforce policies, and adopt technologies. These networks comprise of 147 developing countries, divided over 10 networks, in 4 continents, that convene through annual and thematic meetings, and country-to-country cooperation. They have regular communication with OzonAction teams that provide information and assistance to share best practices and resolve any difficulties encountered. Additionally, South-South cooperation enables targeted cooperation between two or more countries on specific technical or policy challenges. OzonAction managed to successfully keep these networks alive during the pandemic through redesigning sessions to be virtual, concise, interactive and regular.

Examples from OzonAction Smart Networking activities in 2020 include:

• The Africa Anglophone Network conducted workshops to build East African countries' capacity and strengthen cooperation to combat illegal trade in Ozone Depleting Substances.
• Interregional Thematic Network sessions on Alternative Refrigerants for High Ambient Temperature Countries- two sessions in English and French.
• A Regional Network Meeting on Regulating the Refrigeration Servicing Sector in African English Speaking Countries.

2) Capacity Building:

OzonAction provides training, information and support services that help developing countries build the national capacity of strategic stakeholders – notably customs officers, refrigeration technicians, and Ozone Officers.

Importantly, we provide an information clearinghouse; a global information, communication, education service that provides National Ozone Units (NOUs) and other stakeholders with publications, e-services and other tools that can be used for national information and awareness campaigns.

Oman: UNEP OzonAction in West Asia, in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change of the Sultanate of Oman, as well as the Directorate General-Customs Authority, trained Customs Officers and enforcement officials from the different ports of the Sultanate of Oman on how to effectively implement the country's updated regulations and policies on ozone depleting substances. Read more...

Bhutan: Technicians who work in refrigeration and air conditioning play a major role in their country's compliance with the Montreal Protocol. UNEP and the Government of Bhutan developed and carried out a Technical and Vocational Education Training curriculum. Participants in the training programme will be the first generation of systematically-trained technicians, who will help the country to progress with the safe adoption of hydrofluorocarbon alternatives in the country. Read more...

3) Compliance assistance services

We provide country-specific support designed to address the individual compliance-related needs articulated by NOUs.

Compliance with obligations: UNEP’s OzonAction provided support to countries to implement Montreal Protocol related activities and to comply with reporting requirements. In 2020, all 38 Article 5 countries in one of our regions complied with 2019 reporting requirements. Based on official consumption, 37 out of these 38 Article 5 countries met 2019 HCFC phase-out obligations under the Montreal Protocol.

Lao People’s Democratic Republic clamps down on refrigerant smugglers

Outreach: UNEP collaborated with Indonesia under a South-South cooperation framework to develop 2020-2021 Montreal Protocol public awareness materials to enhance public outreach activities for countries in Asia and the Pacific. The English version of the booklet on ozone layer protection was circulated for feedback and an interactive e-calendar, “2021 Important Dates for Montreal Protocol Activities”, was shared to network countries in the region.

Online Licensing Systems: Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, UNEP successfully held a special virtual meeting to discuss and facilitate the sharing of experiences when shifting from a paper-based to an online licensing system to facilitate the application and approval of permits to import or export controlled substances under the Montreal Protocol. An online licensing system not only aides the application and approval process, especially pertinent considering current travel restrictions, it also increases the effectiveness and accuracy of data monitoring. This year, UNEP supported Micronesia, Mongolia and the Solomon Islands in the development of their own online licensing systems.

4) Project support

UNEP’s OzonAction provided policy and technical support to Afghanistan, Brunei Darussalam, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and 12 Pacific Island Countries (Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu) to conduct comprehensive data surveys, data analyses and develop long-term strategies and action plans to meet HCFC phase-out obligations- through virtual meetings. With the support of UNEP, the HCFC Phase-out Management Plans of these countries were approved.

We additionally provided technical assistance and advisory services to countries through a series of virtual meetings on the Harmonized System Code for HFCs and HFC Blends in three networks: Pacific Island Countries, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. This is in line with new 2022 World Customs Organization (WCO) subheadings to facilitate accurate data reporting of HFC consumption under the Montreal Protocol.

Gender in the Montreal Protocol:

In the summer of 2020, the UNEP OzonAction team in Panama developed a series of interactive webinars on the Montreal Protocol and gender mainstreaming. The facilitator used a teleconference platform where she engaged participants in using annotating tools to express their ideas on national gender issues. The significance of addressing and mainstreaming gender issues is an important element of United Nations policies; it is reflected in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. In this sense, the financial mechanism of the Montreal Protocol (the Multilateral Fund) has been seeking more systematic ways to mainstream gender in the whole project lifecycle.

Gender-mainstreaming webinars were organized for regional networks in Latin America, Europe and central Asia, West Asia and English-speaking Africa in 2020.

Women in Refrigeration & Air-Conditioning. Stories from:

• Namibia
• Myanmar
• Mexico and Mongolia
• Malawi
• Kuwait
• Iran
• Indonesia
• Honduras and India
• France, The Gambia, Georgia and Germany
• Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Fiji
• Colombia

The Kigali Amendment:

The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal protocol will reduce the projected production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by more than 80 per cent over the next 30 years.

Ratification of the Kigali Amendment: As the world struggled with the impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic, it was crucial that Africa Anglophone Network countries remained ahead of climate action. The network recorded the highest number of countries in the regions that ratified the Kigali Amendment; through assistance provided by the CAP team. Six countries, namely Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Liberia, Mozambique and Sierra Leone successfully ratified the Kigali Amendment in 2020. UNEP’s OzonAction Regional Office for Asia and Pacific assisted 25 countries in HFC phasedown by providing advisory support for the ratification of the Kigali Amendment; including, but not limited to, Fiji, Cambodia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste. Furthermore, UNEP, in cooperation with the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, hosted a webinar to provide information to institutions on how obligations under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol can be reflected in national law. The webinar expanded on observed trends in legislation developed to respond to the Kigali Amendment, and provided an opportunity to discuss considerations that countries could take into account in light of COVID-19.

Kigali Amendment hits milestone 100th ratification, boosting climate action: Liberia became the 100th nation to ratify the Amendment. Liberia's ratification is part of an accelerating trend of nations approving the treaty and beginning work on phasing down the gases. Mali was the first country to ratify the Amendment in 2017, followed by Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, and Rwanda. Read more...

Licensing System for hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs): Accurate and timely data are the bedrock of the Montreal Protocol. Countries that have ratified the Kigali Amendment are facing novel challenges regarding data reporting for HFCs. These countries must report annual statistical data by substance to the UNEP Ozone Secretariat, and are obliged to establish a licensing system to control imports and exports of HFCs by 1 January 2021. To help countries meet these data challenges, UNEP’s OzonAction Regional Office for Asia and Pacific provided legislative support to countries- including Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Cook Islands, Iran, Kiribati, Lao PDR, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste and Vanuatu- to review existing ozone depleting substances regulations and amend or establish regulations to control the import and export of HFCs. Read more...

World Ozone Day- 16 September:

Asia Pacific “Happy World Ozone Day 2020”: This video conveys the breadth and variety of the region with short messages in local languages to raise concern for as well as invite collaboration on the ozone layer and climate protection. Ministers, National Ozone Officers, staff in environmental agencies, partner stakeholders and school children, dressed in national attire and participated in the making of the video.

Celebrating World Ozone Day with the UN Secretary General

Commemorating World Ozone Day: Activities by the Regional Networks

In preparation for the celebration of World Ozone Day, UNEP shared a communication toolkit. This toolkit equipped National Ozone Officers with communication tools and activities to reach out to as many people as possible and educate the general public on the significance of the ozone layer and climate protection, and the impact of refrigeration and air-conditioning in our daily lives. UNEP shared ideas for organizing events using mass media, social media and local celebrities.

Cold Chain

The cold chain is a series of actions and equipment applied to maintain a product within a specified low-temperature range from harvest/ production to consumption. The Cold Chain sector is critical in meeting phase-out and phase-down targets for ozone depleting substances and high global warming refrigerants. It is additionally vital to food security, food safety and sustainable consumption. OzonAction engaged actively with key international partners to support the needs of developing countries in tackling cold chain technology.

Cold Chain Database Model: A database model is being piloted by in cooperation with Global Food Cold Chain Council (GFCCC) to assist countries in holistically unfolding feasible strategies and policies to reduce food loss through cold chain processes- while observing technological and environmental goals. It is being piloted in in Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Maldives, Paraguay and Senegal.

Virtual Training on Good Servicing Practices: UNEP facilitated a virtual thematic meeting on the Integration of Good Servicing Practices into National Vocational Training and Certification Programmes for Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (RAC) Technicians. The meeting brought together National Ozone Officers, Technical and Vocational Education and Training authorities and RAC Associations in Pacific Island Countries. They discussed how to strengthen capacity and infrastructure in the RAC servicing sector; thereby contributing to ozone layer protection and climate temperature reduction. Due to COVID-19, UNEP developed a virtual modular training approach and is in the process of developing more modules. The virtual training will be delivered to countries in the region in 2021.

Africa Inaugurates Its First Regional Refrigeration Association

Cold Chain Technology Briefs: A handy, in-depth and simplified set of documents to support policy makers, investors and professionals in better understanding the context, challenges and opportunities across cold chain sub-sectors. Jointly developed in cooperation with the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR).

• Cold Chain Technology Brief - Fishing Vessel Application
• Cold Chain Technology Brief - Commercial, Professional and Domestic Refrigeration
• Cold Chain Technology Brief - Transport Refrigeration
• Cold Chain Technology Brief - Cold Storage and Refrigerated Warehouse
• Cold Chain Technology Brief - Refrigeration in Food Production and Processing
• IIR and UNEP OzonAction release the French and Spanish versions of the ‘Cold Chain Technology Briefs’
• Checklist on Auctioning of Seized Refrigerants - How to Get it Right - Europe and Central Asia Network
• Updated Refrigerants Designations and Safety Classifications - 2020
• RAC Technician Videos - Full length films! with English and Russian flyer
• Refrigerant Cylinder Colours - What has changed?

World Refrigeration Day- 26 June

Why it’s important to celebrate World Refrigeration Day

Much of the world's refrigeration and air conditioning equipment relies on gases that are controlled under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, notably, hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). HCFCs deplete the stratospheric ozone layer and HFCs are potent greenhouse gases. The environmental performance of this sector is key to the success of multilateral environmental agreements.

As part of the 2020 celebrations for World Refrigeration Day- and in cooperation with ASHRAE, European Partnership for Energy and Environment (EPEE), the Global Food Cold Chain Council (GFCCC) and the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR)- we designed a global campaign to bring governments', public and professionals' attention to the different challenges facing the cold chain sector. The campaign was promoted by National Ozone Units, local refrigeration associations and the private sector, who all benefitted off the information kit offered by the UN in all six UN languages.

World Refrigeration Day: Cold Chain 4 Life - What is the Cold Chain and Why Does It Matter?

ASHRAE

ASHRAE is a global society advancing human well-being through sustainable technology for the built environment. UNEP and ASHRAE have a MOU for cooperation on the refrigeration, air condition (RAC) sector, as well as a bi-annual work plan covering multiple subjects including capacity building, information exchange, standards, information and communication, and technical subjects.

UNEP OzonAction, UNIDO and ASHRAE virtually convene the High Ambient temperature (HAT) countries

UNEP partners with ASHRAE and the American University in Beirut on policies and codes in the building sector from the Montreal Protocol perspective

The Caribbean Network Thematic Meeting:

The Caribbean Network Meeting of Ozone Officers is a part of the UNEP Compliance Assistance Programme (CAP) support for the implementation of the Montreal Protocol in the Caribbean region. OzonAction partnered with ASHRAE to hold the meeting to:

1. give access to world-renowned technical experts on critical topics.
2. give Caribbean Ozone officers, RAC technicians and importers of RAC equipment access to the technology exhibition.
3. organize a technology tour of refrigeration servicing companies.

26 participants from 11 Caribbean countries attended. The meeting:

1. Assisted Caribbean Governments in maintaining their 10% HCFC reduction target, achieving the 35% reduction step in 2020, and prepared them to achieve future HCFC and HFC reduction targets, as per the Montreal Protocol phase-out and phase-down schedules.
2. Strengthened the capacity of the refrigeration servicing sector and reduced the barriers for the introduction of new technologies in the 14 Caribbean countries.
3. Rebuilt the relationship between National Ozone Officers and National RAC Technician Associations towards enhanced partnerships in the implementation of Montreal Protocol projects.
4. Allowed Caribbean governments to explore state of the art technologies currently available on the market.

ASHRAE Winter Conference: Took place 1-5 February in Orlando, Florida. It included 3000 participants from 100+ countries, and the technical programme featured around 350 presentations and 300 speakers. OzonAction participated to further develop the joint work programme, outreach Montreal Protocol issues, participate as a member of the Refrigerant Committee, hold joint meetings with various RAC sector stakeholders, and to co-organise meetings with ASHRAE and other partners.

Tools

iPIC:

The informal Prior Informed Consent (iPIC) mechanism enables the exchange of information on intended trade between countries in ozone depleting substances (ODS) and HFCs, mixtures containing these, as well as products and equipment- through a secure online platform. It is a global voluntary initiative used by like-minded states who wish to: strengthen the implementation of their national licensing systems for ODS; reduce discrepancies between import and export data; and identify and reduce illegal trade and cases of non-compliance with domestic legislation. iPIC has helped to clarify the status of hundreds of suspicious or uncertain shipments since its inception, and has been responsible for preventing hundreds of illegal, unauthorized and “unwanted” shipments.

Following the release of a revised and improved iPIC platform in 2020, there has been a steep uptake in its usage. The new iPIC platform currently has over 100 participating countries and a database with more than 2000 companies authorized to trade ozone-depleting substances and hydrofluorocarbons.

To provide countries with more information on the revamped iPIC platform and demonstrate its functionality, OzonAction carried a series of regional webinars on the issue.

HCFC Quota and Licence Tracker:

The HCFC Quota and Licence Tracker Desktop Application is a simple but powerful tool designed to assist National Ozone Officers. The tracker enables the planning, calculating, monitoring and management of consumption quotas and licenses for HCFCs. It can be simply used as a tracking tool or for future planning, by analyzing and making adjustments with substances and quantities, and directly assess the potential results of a nation's consumption.

The inbuilt gauge and summary information in the application will instantly display the HCFC quota used and that remaining, according to what has been entered in terms of allocations assigned to specific companies.

Read more about the app with the flyer available in English, French and Spanish.

The HFC Outlook Model project:

The HFC Outlook Model project was developed to provide a comprehensive modelling tool that supports countries in: understanding their trends of HFC and HCFC usage; forecasting their future use of HFCs in order to evaluate their compliance with phase-down targets under the Kigali Amendment of the Montreal Protocol; and investigating the impact of different HFC phase-down strategies. The ten pilot countries involved are Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dominican Republic, Gabon, Guatemala, Honduras, Kuwait, Mali, Senegal and Sri-Lanka. The project was initiated by UNEP OzonAction, and in cooperation with the European Partnership for Energy and the Environment (EPEE). In 2020, the national beta versions of the HFC Outlook model were finalized and delivered to the National Ozone Units (NoUs) in the ten pilot countries. Currently, UNEP is working closely with the NoUs to provide further technical support and to update some of their recently collected input data; so as to ensure full utilization of the model.

WhatGas?

The WhatGas? application is an information and identification tool for the Montreal Protocol community on refrigerant gases. It is intended to provide a number of stakeholders with a modern, easy-to-use tool that can be accessed via mobile devices when inspecting ozone-depleting substances (ODS) and alternatives. In 2020, the WhatGas? application was updated and improved. Learn more with the English or Russian WhatGas? flyer.

GWP-ODP Calculator:

The new updated OzonAction GWP-ODP Calculator Application “Quickly, efficiently and accurately converts between values in metric tonnes, ODP tonnes and CO2-equivalent tonnes”. GWP-ODP Calculator - Updated and Improved!

Training programme for National Ozone Officers:

A comprehensive modular training programme for new National Ozone Officers (NOOs), assistants and other staff of National Ozone Units.

News...

• First Montreal Protocol-related Online Training During the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Evento virtual sobre códigos del Sistema Armonizado (SA) para los hidrofluorocarbonos (HFC)
• Remise au niveau de formateurs en froid en Afrique francophone
• Two stimulating OzonAction Virtual Side Events at the 32nd Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol
• Europe and Central Asia Meeting with Montreal Protocol Officers and RAC Associations/Experts & Participation in International Exhibition in Belgrade

... and Resources

• Dealing with Seized ODS - Options for Article 5 Countries
• Servicing Tail for HCFCs - What is it & Why Does it Matter?
• Cheat Sheet - Proposed Additional HS Code Sub-Headings for HFCs in Advance of the 2022 HS Code Update

Environmental rule of law integrates environmental needs with the essential elements of the rule of law, and provides the basis for improving environmental governance. We support the development of adequate and effective environmental legislation and legal frameworks to address environmental issues.

Providing legal advice to countries and the UN system

Climate readiness in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region:

Under the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding between UNEP and PARLATINO (Latin American and Caribbean Parliament), UNEP provided legal advice in developing environmental model laws which were approved by PARLATINO’s Commission on Environment. The model laws (below), on climate change and food security, electric mobility, and energy efficiency, will be adopted in the next Ordinary Assembly of PARLATINO.

1. The model framework law on climate change and food security establishes minimum environmental protection standards to ensure appropriate adaptation to and mitigation of climate change, as well as the adoption of instruments and strategies in LAC countries; to address the challenges imposed by climate change in line with the specific objectives of the Paris Agreement.
2. The electric mobility model law seeks to address the rapidly advancing transition to electric transportation within the LAC region. The key objective of the model law is to establish a framework for promoting public policies that enhance electric mobility and environmental protection in line with international scientific recommendations. The law includes provisions on obligations for electric automobile importers and producers, state investment mechanisms, waste management and capacity building, among others.
3. The energy efficiency model law: defines obligations for states towards achieving energy efficiency; requires the adoption of energy efficiency plans in each country; and contains model provisions on energy efficiency related capacity building, knowledge sharing, innovation, financing and incentive mechanisms, and regional cooperation, among others.

Establishing robust legal and institutional frameworks for environmental protection:

Guinea Bissau and Uzbekistan are on their way to adopting framework environmental laws that could significantly improve the basic legal and institutional framework for environmental protection in the countries.

In Guinea Bissau, UNEP provided advisory services and technical assistance to revise and update the 2011 Framework Law on Environment; leading to a draft that addresses gaps identified in the current law and takes into account new legal approaches. The revised draft includes provisions on environmental impact assessments and public participation, among others. It will be submitted for Cabinet approval before it is submitted to Parliament for its consideration and thereafter for Presidential assent.

In Uzbekistan, UNEP reviewed the country’s draft Environmental Code and partnered with the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) and the World Bank, to organize two consultative webinars for parliamentary, government agencies and ministerial representatives. The webinars’ participants acknowledged UNEP’s feedback on the draft code, which had, among others, highlighted gaps in institutional mandates and in thematic areas, such as climate change, air pollution, green and circular economies, and environmental assessments. The second iteration of the draft was sent to the Legal Service of the Parliament for review in October 2020.

Strengthening International Legal Frameworks to Combat Environmental Crime:

A resolution on environmental crime was adopted by the 10th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (UNTOC). The resolution on “Preventing and combating crimes that affect the environment falling within the scope of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime” confirms the interest of Member States in placing environmental crimes higher in the political agenda. Amongst other provisions, it urges State parties to implement UNTOC to effectively prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish crimes that affect the environment. This resolution acknowledges the valuable contribution of UNEP in supporting States in their efforts to fight transnational organized crimes that affect the environment. The resolution requests the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to further enhance and expand its cooperation and coordination with various international organizations, including UNEP.

Global Climate Litigation Report: 2020 Status Review

People, including children and indigenous communities, are increasingly turning to the courts to compel governments and businesses to respect and accelerate commitments on climate change.

“This tidal wave of climate cases is driving much-needed change,” said Inger Andersen, UNEP’s Executive Director, "judiciaries around the world are increasingly playing a critical role in addressing climate change.” Read More...

The UNEP Global Climate Litigation Report: 2020 Status Review, provides an overview of the current state of climate change litigation globally, as well as an assessment of global climate change litigation trends. The number of climate change litigation cases has surged in the last four years and now stands at 1,550 in 38 countries (39 including the courts of the European Union). This is almost double the number identified in UNEP's inaugural 2017 report on the subject.

The report, developed with the support of the Sabin Centre for Climate Change at Columbia University, found litigation is being used to force companies to disclose climate-related risks and end “corporate greenwashing”, the practice of making inflated sustainability claims to distract from a questionable environmental record.

Montevideo Environmental Law Programme: a decade of action on environmental law

The Fifth Montevideo Programme on the Development and Periodic Review of Environmental Law (also known as the Montevideo Environmental Law Programme) is a ten year intergovernmental programme, implemented by UNEP, that will support countries in developing and implementing environmental law. Running from 2020 to 2030, the programme is a global partnership that involves a wide range of environmental law stakeholders. As this fifth iteration begins (previous versions of the programme have guided UNEP's environmental law activities since 1982), the Law Division developed various resources to introduce and explain the programme whilst welcoming stakeholders. These include:

i) A general brochure on the Montevideo Environmental Law Programme: learn about its vision, objectives, history, strategic activities, global partnership program, contacts and more.

ii) A factsheet for National Focal Points of the Montevideo Environmental Law Programme.

iii) Montevideo Environmental Law Programme Explainer Video

Please note that no activities under the programme have officially started. These will begin at the first global meeting of National Focal Points and stakeholders. Currently, there is a planned initial virtual meeting from 2-4 June 2021 with a fuller meeting in 2022.

Enhancing education and awareness of the rule of law

Promoting the role of law in climate resilience in urban areas:

UNEP’s Law Division engaged with over 100 lawyers, academics, local government practitioners, researchers and natural scientists at the 2020 Urban Law Day - Virtual Colloquium that explored how law can be leveraged to increase the resilience of urban areas. The event was organized by the South African Research Chair in Cities, Law and Environmental Sustainability (CLES) in partnership with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) and UN-Habitat. It examined the strengths and weaknesses of the strategies and legal interventions that cities from different parts in the world currently employ to become more climate change-ready, including addressing community vulnerability. UNEP presented on “The City, Climate Change and Vulnerability: Leveraging Law for Climate Resilience”. In the keynote address UNEP: expounded on how legislative development plays a crucial role in addressing climate change, including promoting climate resilience and directed climate action, both at a national level and a sub-national level; recalled that law has already taken an important role in the development of many urban areas in an environmentally-conscious manner; and pointed to the need for law reform in order to fully harness the ability of urban areas to meet the climate change challenge and the objectives of the New Urban Agenda. This outreach is part of the collaboration between UNEP and UN-Habitat, which promotes the role of law in achieving climate-friendly urban planning and land use.

Increasing awareness on environmental jurisprudence in the Pacific:

In collaboration with the Fiji Environmental Law Association, UNEP endeavors to strengthen partnerships on environmental law amongst environmental law professionals in the Pacific. Through this collaboration, UNEP is assisting in the development of a training curriculum on environmental law that is tailored to the needs and the context of the Pacific region as well as a guidance material in a form of a “bench book” on selected environmental law jurisprudence relevant to the region. This exercise is accompanied by the promotion of the use of online tools and platforms through the population of the Global Judicial Portal (below) and InforMEA with case law from the region. In 2020, landmark environmental law cases in the Pacific were identified and associated data submitted to the Global Judicial Portal, thereby enhancing the geographical balance of the cases on the portal and highlighting the contribution of the Pacific to the growing body of environmental jurisprudence.

Global Judicial Portal:

A tool designed “for judges, by judges”; the Global Judicial Portal is a platform that promotes and provides greater access to judges and the global environmental law community on environmental law information and jurisprudence. It seeks to collect and catalogue environment-related jurisprudence from different vetted sources in the most cost-effective manner. The Portal is a tool being developed by UNEP's InforMEA, in partnership with the Global Judicial Institute for the Environment (GJIE).

The Portal has three main sections: Information, Judicial Network, and E-Learning. Users will be able to search for environmental jurisprudence and legislation from around the world, access commentaries from judges on landmark decisions, and take online environmental law courses.

A beta version of the Portal was introduced and launched at a virtual Conference of Asian and Pacific Judges held from 9-11 Dec 2020, co-organized by the Asian Development Bank and the United Nations Environment Programme, with support from the GJIE and ClientEarth.

Training the trainers on environmental law in India:

Early and mid-career legal educators gained deeper knowledge of environmental law- that they could integrate into their teaching practices and disseminate to their peers. In November 2020, UNEP supported a Train the Trainer (TTT) Programme on environmental law in India. This TTT was conducted together with the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University and the Centre for Environmental Sustainable Development and Climate Change from Gujarat National University. About 40 educators from across India were trained on current and emerging environmental issues and challenges, as well as best practices, tools and techniques for teaching environmental law.

Resources:

International Environmental Law-Making and Diplomacy:

UNEP has been working with the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) for the past 17 years to offer an annual course on Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). As part of their collaboration, UNEP and UEF developed the International Environmental Law Making and Diplomacy Review 2019 which was released online in 2020. This publication provides practical guidance, professional perspective and historical background for decision-makers, diplomats, negotiators, practitioners, researchers, students, teachers and different stakeholders who work within international environmental law-making and diplomacy. It captures experiences from other environmental diplomacy practitioners, in order to improve the impact and implementation of key treaties. The ultimate goal is to strengthen and build environmental negotiation capacity and governance worldwide.

Illegal Trade in Chemicals : UNEP Exposes Fight Against Illegal Trade in Pesticides, Mercury

Legislative approaches to sustainable agriculture and natural resources governance:

UNEP and the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) released a publication entitled Legislative Approaches to Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resources Governance. The publication documents recent approaches in natural resource legislative frameworks, using examples from countries that have applied these approaches, to illustrate their viability and to foster experience sharing and learning in the course of updating national natural resource legislation. It encompasses a broad range of natural resource sectors, with discrete chapters on water, land, forestry, fisheries, mining, petroleum and agriculture. The publication offers the specific prism of highlighting approaches that embrace the pillars of sustainable development, that is, approaches that recognize and are informed by economic, social and environmental considerations and impacts. UNEP and FAO plan to use this publication to assist countries in updating their natural resources related legislation upon request.

Publications made available in different languages:

• Arabic and French versions of Legal Readiness for Climate Finance: Private Sector Opportunities were made available this year. This report, which was launched in July 2019, sets out key characteristics of the legal and regulatory dimensions of climate finance. It will serve as input for ongoing discussions in the UK, Europe and Kenya on how to increase collaboration between public and private stakeholders in developing and developed countries, and strengthen national laws and regulations to enable financial opportunities at scale.
• French and Chinese versions of the publication Strengthening legal frameworks for licit and illicit trade in wildlife and forest products are now available. The Chinese translation was developed in partnership with the National Academy of Forestry and Grassland Administration of China. This publication, now available in 3 languages, takes stock and gives a ‘gap analysis’ of the current status of institutions and legal frameworks relating to the regulation of licit trade, and the prevention, detection and penalization of illicit trade, in wildlife and forest products. It will further contribute to enhancing institutional capacity to regulate wildlife, whose increasing use and exploitation has been linked to emerging zoonoses such as COVID-19.

InforMEA:

InforMEA is a one-stop portal for information on Multilateral Environmental Agreements searchable by key terms across treaty texts, COP decisions, national plans and reports, laws, court decisions and more.

Protecting Peatlands - how InforMEA works

Peatlands cover just 3% of the earth's surface yet by some estimates absorb more carbon than all the world's forest combined, and provide many other essential ecosystem services. Protecting peatlands is therefore a critical environmental challenge. This video explains how to use InforMEA to understand the full spectrum of MEA actions on peatlands to create synergies, identify complimentary needs, and seize opportunities offered by environmental law.

The Buzz about Town - how InforMEA can help to protect the bees

We are losing bees at an alarming rate. The causes are complex and interlinked, ranging from habitat loss from intensive farming and land use change, to the increased spread of parasites and pathogens, the use of chemical pesticides, and climate change. A comprehensive and coherent response to this issue requires policy makers to be aware of the existing policies and mechanisms MEAs have in place with respect to the different drivers and consequences of pollinator loss.

Tackling Plastic Pollution - how InforMEA works

As a global issue requiring a global response, the legal and policy framework provided by Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), international goals and policies, and national legislation is essential to meet the challenges posed by plastic. This video shows how to use InforMEA to search and retrieve all this diverse and scattered information in order to understand how the international community is seeking to tackle this cross-cutting and highly relevant issue.

Good Environmental Governance in action:

Joining forces with MEAs in exploring cutting edge technologies harnessing the member's potential and available knowledge assets for the benefit of the larger MEA community in the field of artificial intelligence/automated indexing, accelerating the application of UN wide standards helping MEAs and their parties to achieve more with the same.

The 11th InforMEA Steering Committee Meeting was held remotely on 27th November 2020 and despite the special situation participation was unwavering and encouraging. Nine dedicated 90–120 minute virtual working group meetings preceded the 11th Steering Committee Meeting. Each of the workstreams drafted a set of recommendations which were presented and then endorsed by the Steering Committee meeting which was attended by six heads of conventions.

At this meeting, the International Whaling Commission was officially welcomed as a member of the InforMEA Initiative.

We build national, regional and international capacities to develop and enforce laws as well as to achieve global environmental objectives.

Strengthening international environmental governance

In accordance with United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) decision 4/2, the Law Division coordinated the development of the action plan for the implementation of paragraph 88 of “The future we want” outcome document, adopted by world leaders at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). Paragraph 88 is one of the key milestones in international environmental governance, paving the way for, among others, the establishment of universal membership in the UNEP governing body. This action plan, which will be submitted for consideration at the fifth session of UNEA, was prepared in close consultation with relevant Divisions as guided by Member States through a series of meetings of the Committee of Permanent Representatives.

Towards coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of the SDGs

The Law Division is leading the implementation of the United Nations Development Account (UNDA) project entitled "Towards the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)", aimed at strengthening the capacity of national institutions of four countries (Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Colombia, and Guyana) to coherently implement and monitor the environmental dimension of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The project analyzed activities in each country as a baseline for case studies. All the countries have adopted different approaches to integrating the environment into sustainable development.

In 2020, following the COVID-19 outbreak, the UNDA Secretariat allowed countries to use the remaining funds to address COVID-19 related responses by helping the governments address environmental and socio-economic challenges related to the pandemic. Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Colombia, and Guyana have initiated activities based on their different political, socio-economic circumstances and priorities.

Bangladesh: UNEP signed an agreement with the UNDP Country Office in 2020 on UN reform to support the development of Bangladesh’s voluntary national review (VNR) and the national SDGs progress report, while deepening the joint work on the poverty-environment nexus. UNEP also helped organize interagency meetings that provided training on the SDGs and their indicators. UNEP and UNDP additionally held a virtual workshop to strengthen generating statistics and policy-related integrated approaches- focusing on climate change and disaster risk reduction in collaboration with the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Bangladesh has registered a positive change for 15 out of the 93-environment related SDGs through the World Environment Situation Room, where UNEP provides a country summary of all 93 environmental dimensions of the SDG indicators.

Burkina Faso: UNEP supported decentralization efforts of the government and organized three national/sub-regional capacity-building workshops. In collaboration with IUCN and UN country teams, these workshops focused on integrating environmental issues- including targets related to MEAs and the SDGs- into public policy and local planning. Due to COVID-19, UNEP reached an agreement with national authorities to undertake a diagnostic study of the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 on the implementation of the national development plan (PNDES), and the formulation of the PNDES-2 to propose workable recommendations for achieving the SDGs by 2030.

Colombia: Guidelines on environmental responsibilities of municipalities and the SDGs were finalized. The project is currently contributing to the preparation of analysis on COVID-19 socioeconomic impact by the UN Country Team, in collaboration with Fundacion Natura- focused on deforestation and mining. Colombia has witnessed increased deforestation and illegal economic activities in natural resources due to movement restrictions.

Guyana: With support from the UNEP, the country finalized the integration of environmental elements in the Green State Development Strategy (GSDS) and joined the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) initiative led by UNEP. Due to the change in government, the new administration has discontinued the Green State Development Strategy (GSDS) and it is not considered relevant to the new administration’s national low carbon policies. However, UNEP organized two workshops on indicators and data, that demonstrated the need for Guyana to strengthen its environmental statistics. In June 2020, a policy brief was produced to strengthen the governance of environmental data and information in Guyana to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the GSDS vision 2040. The remaining project funding has been redirected to support the country on its COVID-19 economic recovery response.

Contributing to Policy Coherence in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

UNEP is a custodian agency for 25 environment-related Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators, including SDG indicator 17.14.1, “Number of countries with mechanisms in place to enhance policy coherence of sustainable development”. As the custodian agency, UNEP has developed, in close collaboration with experts and other international organizations, a methodology framework to measure progress toward this indicator. As a result of our work, this indicator was reclassified from Tier 3 (No internationally established methodology or standards are yet available for the indicator, but methodology/standards are being (or will be) developed or test), to Tier 2 (Indicator is conceptually clear, has an internationally established methodology and standards are available, but data are not regularly produced by countries).

The Law Division will continue to collaborate closely with the Science Division and other partners, such as OECD, to inform countries about SDGs. In the longer-term, efforts will be expanded to help countries build capacities to strengthen their institutional and policy mechanisms to enhance policy coherence for sustainable development.

WasteForce: Battling illegal trade in waste

In light of the increase in plastic and hazardous medical waste brought on by COVID-19, as well as to foster international cooperation in the management of waste and in combatting the illegal trade in waste, UNEP, under its WasteForce initiative, released four publications:

1. Assessment of information exchange mechanisms used in illegal shipments of waste
2. Best practices of repatriation of illegal waste shipments from Asia to Europe
3. Underused information exchange mechanisms in illegal waste shipments
4. Guidance for Prosecutors of Waste Crime

All these guidance products aim at strengthening operational networking between the European Union and Asia Pacific Region on illegal trade in waste, whilst contributing to a green COVID-19 recovery.

UNEP also organized a webinar for waste crime enforcement officers, so as to provide them with an overview of key issues in the prosecution and enforcement of waste crime. The webinar was attended by over 60 participants. A video recording as well as questions and answers of the webinar are available here.

Strengthening border protection through the Green Customs Initiative

The Green Customs Initiative (GCI), hosted by UNEP's Law Daivision, is a partnership of international entities cooperating to enhance the capacity of customs and other border control officers in:

• preventing the illegal trade of environmentally-sensitive commodities
• and facilitating their legal trade.

UNEP released a pilot green customs curriculum for customs authorities in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The curriculum, available in English and Spanish, was the outcome of a needs assessment conducted in close consultation with 14 national customs training institutes in the Spanish-speaking countries of the region. The curriculum is a tool to raise custom authorities' environmental awareness as well as to increase their capacity to effectively manage environmentally sensitive commodities- including the detection and containment of illegal trade.

The curriculum provides a structured outline to guide the region’s national customs training institutions in their courses related to international trade in environmentally sensitive commodities; touching upon relevant multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), the role of customs officers in addressing environmentally sensitive commodities, health and safety protocols, identification and tariff classification, as well as how to prevent illegal trade of such commodities. At the end, a list of useful knowledge resources is included.

Although based on a survey and consultations with countries in the Latin America and Caribbean region, it is expected that the curriculum can be used beyond the countries of this region.

UNEP is also collaborating with the Kenya School of Revenue Administration (KESRA), to develop a national green customs training curriculum. The pilot curriculum prepared for Latin America and the Caribbean (mentioned above) will be used as a model to build upon, taking into account the findings of a Kenyan needs assessment survey that was carried out in 2020. Upon release of the survey’s findings, UNEP and KESRA held an information session for 30 customs and frontline officers, to discuss the findings and raise awareness about the trade of environmentally sensitive commodities and environmental crime, the relevant MEAs, and the role of customs and frontline officers in enforcing relevant national legislation. The GCI team additionally held an Information Session for Kenyan customs officers on Environmental Protection.

Furthermore, UNEP created appreciation amongst students of public policy for the role of customs authorities in the enforcement of international environmental law; by presenting GCI activities to the Masters class in Public Policy and Management of the Strathmore University of Kenya.

UNEP additionally introduced the GCI to over 100 border control officers from the Caribbean region in a training workshop organized by the Basel Convention Regional Centre for Training and Technology Transfer for the Caribbean. The workshop’s attendees gained an understanding of their role in enforcing trade-related multilateral environmental agreements through controlling transboundary movement of environmentally sensitive goods.

Support to the Governing Bodies and the Secretariats of MEAs

Working in close cooperation with multilateral environmental agreement (MEA) Secretariats, the Law Division coordinates UNEP’s preparations for Conference of the Parties (CoP) and meetings of subsidiary bodies. This work includes compilation of the Executive Director’s reports to the CoPs, and providing substantive, legal, and procedural support to the MEA Secretariats. The Division contributes to following up on and implementing relevant decisions of the MEA governing bodies that are directed at UNEP. In 2020, The Law Division supported UNEP’s preparations for the Thirteenth Session for the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP13), the third Conference of the Parties to the Bamako Convention, second meeting of the Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG2) on Post-2020 global biodiversity framework, and the twelfth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Basel Convention (OEWG-12).

Moreover, the Law Division engaged with MEA secretariats and Parties to support the new post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and implement CoP decisions that promote cooperation and synergies amongst biodiversity-related conventions. This included: coordinating UNEP’s Working Group activities on the Framework; facilitating thematic consultative processes with MEAs; developing policy and knowledge tools as well as communication and outreach resources; and supporting national-level implementation through National Biodiversity Action Plans and gender mainstreaming.

As for the chemicals and waste cluster, the Law Division actively participated in the preparation of the new framework for Strategic Approach and Sound Management of Chemicals and Waste beyond 2020. The focus of this work is on institutional strengthening- which includes support to work streams improving coherence and coordination among MEAs. With the growing awareness of the impacts of unsound management of chemicals and waste on biodiversity, the Law Division facilitated dialogue and communication between the post-2020 biodiversity as well as chemicals and wastes processes; identifying common goals, indicators, and areas of joint implementation and monitoring.

In line with UNEP’s mandate of promoting policy coherence and synergies across MEAs and in support of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Law Division continued to convene quarterly technical level meetings with MEA focal points. The meetings offered an opportunity to discuss work relevant for strengthening programmatic cooperation and coordination among MEAs and UNEP.

Promoting synergies across Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs)

Supporting the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework:

The project 'Realizing synergies for biodiversity' was designed to support countries in implementing environmental treaties and improve international environmental governance to achieve the SDGs and other globally agreed environmental goals. The project has increased visibility and awareness of the topic of synergies globally, through engaging with MEA secretariats, responding to MEA decisions, communicating on global biodiversity challenges, supporting the development of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, enabling enhanced access to synergy tools, and sharing scientific knowledge.

The Law Division is organizing the Bern II Workshop of Biodiversity-Related Conventions on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework- initially planned for March 2020 but postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Law Division kept momentum towards the adoption of the post-2020 GBF through engaging with all Conventions related to biodiversity, chemicals, waste and the Rio Declaration through online surveys, virtual briefings, and developing guidance and background documents- in collaboration with UNEP-WCMC- that helped participants prepare for the workshop. The Co-Leads of the Workshop, Cambodia and the EU, produced a paper to help prioritize issues for discussion and provide concrete proposals for participants to consider. The workshop will be held in January 2021 under a virtual setting in written and verbal modalities. It is envisaged that the workshop outcome will feed into the CBD’s Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI-3), the third meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on post2020 global biodiversity framework, and the CBD CoP 15.

DaRT:

The Data Reporting Tool for MEAs (DaRT) is the first tool of its kind; it supports countries in effectively using synergies in knowledge and information management for national reporting to biodiversity-related conventions. It addresses the national reporting burden by: promoting effective knowledge management across Ministries and administrative units; enhancing synergies across Conventions; and increasing the effectiveness of national efforts to achieve global environmental targets. Since the launch of the tool in March 2020, several biodiversity milestones have been achieved, including, supporting Parties (countries) at national level in enhancing synergies, integrating gender mainstreaming into national biodiversity goals and targets, and replicating best practices.

In 2020, DaRT received recognition from and incorporation into MEAs:

• A Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) Resolution on Synergies and Partnerships states (para 25) “harmonized knowledge management and national reporting by making use of the Data Reporting tool (DaRT) developed by the United Nations Environment Programme as well as through adoption of coherent national positions in respect of each MEA”.
• A Convention Decision on the implementation of the Carpathian Convention states (para 3) “to include the reporting of the Carpathian Convention under the global Data Reporting Tool for Multilateral Environmental Agreements (DaRT)”.

UNEP conducted outreach activities on DaRT through guidance, virtual webinars, and videos, with generous support from the Government of Switzerland and the EU. The tool has successfully been rolled out to Africa and Asia. UNEP thus provided support to these countries to initiate national training workshops. Lessons learned from these national examples will be summarized in case studies to identify effective means of roll-out, to be showcased at the Convention of Biological Diversity’s CoP 15 in China.

Realizing synergies between biodiversity as well as chemicals and waste clusters:

The Law Division and the Center for Governance and Sustainability at the University of Massachusetts Boston organized an online course on the implementation of MEAs. An in-person workshop for government representatives from selected countries in Africa was scheduled for June 2020. However, due to the current pandemic, in-person gatherings were impossible, and the partners decided to transform the workshop into an online course.

The course brought together 37 national focal points of biodiversity as well as chemicals and waste-related Conventions from five African countries (The Gambia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, and Uganda) to promote synergies across the two clusters by identifying gaps, best practices, challenges, and recommendations in the implementation of MEAs. The feedback from the course was positive. It established the foundations for the creation of an online community that supports the policy process around the implementation of MEAs and capacity building at the regional level.

Gender in MEAs:

UNEP strives to enhance collaboration on gender mainstreaming amongst MEAs. In 2020, the Law Division established the Network of MEA Gender Officers and Focal Points, in which these representatives freely exchange information and ideas on an information-sharing platform to identify possible collaborative areas amongst different MEAs on gender mainstreaming.

Providing capacity building to countries in implementation of MEAs

Enhancing national and institutional capacities to implement Multilateral Environmental Agreements in Africa, Caribbean, and Pacific countries:

UNEP is coordinating the third phase of the ACP MEAs programme. This programme builds national and institutional capacities of the 79 African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries; so as to support them in implementing biodiversity, ocean governance, and chemicals and waste multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs).

The programme provided support to the Secretariat of the Bamako Convention by bringing together over 150 participants- including national ministers, diplomats, experts, private sector, and civil society representatives- during its Conference of Parties meeting to discuss the ratification of the Convention. This meeting culminated in the adoption of nine decisions. These decisions are critical for Africa’s future as they reaffirm the parties’ (countries) commitment to implementing the Bamako Convention and banning the importation of hazardous chemicals and wastes into Africa, while promoting the sound management of locally produced chemicals and waste.

To improve ocean governance, the ACP MEAs programme, in partnership with the Nairobi and Cartagena Conventions: developed a background document for ocean governance; finalized the development of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Outlook; established a marine spatial planning technical working group in Africa; contributed to the publication of the Caribbean Blue Economy Book; established a Coordination Mechanism for Networks of MPAs; developed a booklet on Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) listed MPAs; and developed other MPAs communication products for the Wider Caribbean Region. These achievements are part of the programme’s strategic objective to support ACP countries in better managing their coasts and oceans as well as in effectively implementing their related regional seas conventions.

Sustainable Management and Conservation of Wildlife through the African Elephant Fund:

The Law Division hosts the Secretariat of the African Elephant Fund (AEF) which supports range states in implementing the African Elephant Action Plan (AEAP). In 2020, the Secretariat started the implementation of 19 projects to support range states in facing challenges experienced in the conservation of elephants during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The implementation of AEAP led to many positive achievements in the year 2020 which include: the training of law enforcers as well as public awareness campaigns that helped combat the illegal killing of elephants and trafficking of ivory in Kasungu and Nyika National Parks, and Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve, in Malawi; training on community techniques for managing human-elephant conflicts in Togo; and improving habitat and conservation assessments across the Zambezi Landscape in Zimbabwe, through training on the use of drones and Geospatial Information System (GIS).

Promoting sustainable and coherent biosafety decision-making at the national level:

UNEP is currently implementing a Global Environmental Facility (GEF) funded project that provides support to eligible parties to build and sustain their individual and institutional capacities for effective participation in the Biosafety Clearing House. The Biosafety Clearing House (BCH) is a mechanism set up by the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to facilitate the exchange of information between countries on Living Modified Organisms (LMOs).

In 2020, BCH project activities were negatively impacted by international travel restrictions imposed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. While successful national workshops were held in Eritrea, Gambia, Malawi, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, five others had to be cancelled in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Gabon, Jamaica, Pakistan and Rwanda.

At regional and global level, the BCH Regional Training of Trainers (ToT) was conducted in New Delhi, India. The workshop promoted networking between and amongst Asian biosafety focal points and other relevant stakeholders; and equipped them with the necessary skills and knowledge to be able to replicate biosafety and BCH capacity building activities in their respective countries.

A global capacity building needs assessment survey was conducted in July and August 2020. With 250 respondents from 71 countries, the survey results identified gaps, capacity-building needs, and suggested interventions relevant to the BCH project and the biosafety sector in general. A Cooperation Agreement with the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) has been signed to develop a clear Communication and Outreach Strategy for the project, as well as to provide project countries and stakeholders with clear messages and communication tools on Biosafety, the BCH and its importance in national biosafety decision-making.

The Law Division additionally developed online resources and online workshop training materials during the second half of 2020. The transition to online activities proved to be more practical since in-person activities were no longer feasible in context of the pandemic. As a result, Bangladesh and Albania will be the first two BCH project participating countries to conduct online workshops in 2021, with the support of BCH project Regional Advisors (BCH project Biosafety experts).

The Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) was also made more user-friendly and was migrated to UNEP servers, guaranteeing long-term sustainability and ownership of the platform beyond the project. Two Internal Cooperation Agreements (ICAs) with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) were concluded in February and July 2020, to support and fast track the migration and integration of the Biosafety Clearing House (BCH) with other CBD Clearing Houses.

Nagoya protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing:

The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, provides a transparent legal framework for the effective implementation of one of the three objectives of the CBD: the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.

In 2020, UNEP continued to provide support to Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC) member countries in the ratification and implementation of the Nagoya Protocol through the establishment of legal, policy, institutional, and Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) frameworks. Rwanda has designed its Access and Benefit-Sharing Clearinghouse (ABS CH) where prospective users of associated traditional knowledge will access useful information. The ABS CH will serve as a portal to access Rwanda's Genetic Resources, including the issuance of Prior Informed Consent (PIC) and Mutually Agreed Terms (MAT). We additionally supported Rwanda in developing a training manual on the valuation of traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, whilst providing technical support to Equatorial Guinea and Rwanda on developing ABS regulations and associated traditional knowledge and benefit-sharing.

UNEP provided technical support to the Democratic Republic of Congo for effective implementation of ABS and valorization of botanicals (medicinal, cosmetic, and nutraceuticals) plants in the country. As a result, the country successfully reviewed and updated its national ABS strategy and action plan, reviewed existing regulations, and developed ABS regulations for monitoring the circulation and use of biological and genetic resources.

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD):

Managing wastewater and biodiversity conservation through tree planting:

UNEP, with financial support from the Korea Forest Service, supported 6 African countries in mitigating land degradation and biodiversity loss using treated wastewater for tree planting and greening drylands; towards restoring degraded lands and combating desertification. The project contributed to the improvement of livelihoods and wellbeing of local communities through job creation. The project sites continue to promote approaches to achieve Sustainable Development Goals 1, 3, 5, 6, 13, and 17.

Ghana: 200 coconut seedlings were purchased and planted. Weedicide, insecticide, and fungicide were purchased and applied to maintain the 40 hectares of the old coconuts tree stands and new tree saplings. Through the project’s initiatives, community livelihoods have been improved through employment creation and generation of alternative sources of income by harvesting and selling coconut fruits as well as making and selling broomsticks from coconut leaves. So far, 800 coconut fruits have been harvested by women groups.

Morocco: As a long-term solution to combat desertification, the project supported the establishment of a tree nursery (over 3000 m2) with an annual production capacity of around 50 to 60 thousand plants.

Niger: 20,000 seedlings of woody tree species Azadirata indica commonly referred to as "neem" were produced in the central nursery and will be transplanted to replace some of the dead trees in the Green belt, along the road of Niamey, and in the degraded areas of the Green belt of Niamey. Awareness-raising and capacity building on biodiversity conservation and income-generating activities for the population have been conducted. Five hectares of degraded land were rehabilitated for Soudji Ma Zoumbo women to produce market garden products intended for their consumption and the surplus for sale as a relevant alternative income for the most vulnerable population, contributing to the strengthening of livelihood systems.

Togo: To support the establishment of two tree-nurseries, and provided a reliable supply of water, the project has constructed two water tanks in Kara and Sotouboua project sites. A total of 82,300 plants of agroforestry tree species (Gmelina Arborea and Parkia biglobosa) were produced and will be distributed to local communities for the restoration of fragile degraded mountain landscapes and activities to ensure survival of the planted trees. UNEP developed a further initiative to promote mainstreaming gender considerations into biodiversity conservation and local community development in Togo.

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES):

Strengthened implementation of CITES in West Asia:

UNEP and the CITES Secretariat jointly organized a series of meetings on national legislation for the effective implementation of CITES. The first meeting brought together representatives of the CITES Management Authorities from the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Republic of Iraq, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the State of Kuwait, the Sultanate of Oman and the Syrian Arab Republic. These nations gave updates on their legislative processes, and shared their experiences and best practices in developing national legislation and implementing the CITES Convention at the national level.

The Parties discussed the challenges they faced in adopting adequate national legislation and in implementing the Convention. They shared their experiences, and together with CITES and UNEP, agreed on a list of recommendations to move forward. Another technical meeting, specifically on e-permitting under the CITES framework, was held on 25 November 2020. In this meeting, Parties implementing e-permitting shared their experiences and participants were taken through the eCITES Base Solution and the Electronic Permit Information Exchange systems.

CITES and Fisheries legal frameworks:

FAO developed 'A Guide for Implementing CITES through Fisheries Legal Frameworks' and organized a meeting to allow legal and technical experts to provide input into the guide. During this meeting, experts- including a representative from UNEP’s Law Division- guided FAO on the review, finalization and dissemination of the guide, as well as provided substantive inputs on its design, content and structure. UNEP's Law Division expressed its willingness to continue collaborating with FAO and CITES.

Implementing chemicals and waste related MEAs in Asia:

The Law Division, in collaboration with the Economy Division of UNEP, conducted a mapping exercise of the legal frameworks and standards, as well as institutional frameworks that manage and control chemicals and waste in Asia (China, Mongolia, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam). The objective of the report was to strengthen the capacity for sound chemicals management in participating Asian countries; by understanding the legislative and policy instruments needed to meet the requirements of the Basel and Stockholm Conventions and the SDGs. The report created highlighted recommendations for improvement and capacity needs of the countries involved.

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Contact Information

Paula.Waibochi[at]un.org / Fadi.AbouElias[at]un.org / Catherine.Abuto[at]un.org

Environmental Rights & Governance