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Launched in 2003,
a French Initiative gave new impetus into the debate about upgrading
UNEP to a United Nation Environment Organisation (UNEO). In this
context Ecologic - in cooperation with IDDRI - organizes a conference
in May 2005. It is the conference's objective to discuss and explore
the potential benefits of a UNEO. 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Prof. Wangari Maathai as well as Federal Minister of Environment
Juergen Trittin will be among the conference's speakers.
 
Over
the last decades, UNEP, as a major player of the existing international
environmental regimes, has successfully contributed to global environmental
policies. Despite this success, the general consensus is that UNEP
performance is not completely satisfying. The perceived shortcomings
are particularly related to the following aspects:
- UNEP lacks authority at international
level and within the UN.
- Partly because of this lack of authority,
the work of international institutions concerned with environmental
questions is insufficiently co-ordinated.
- This deficient co-ordination results
in a lack of political leadership in the area of global environmental
politics.
Against
this background, Germany and France are calling for the upgrading
of UNEP to a UN environmental organisation (UNEO) with the status
of a UN specialised agency, so that the UN environmental agency
can operate on the same level as the other large UN organisations
(e.g. FAO, WHO). It is assumed that a UNEO would be in a better
position than UNEP presently is to co-operate with the World Bank
and UNDP at the same footing and realise - among others - the necessary
progress in the area of Capacity Building for efficient environmental
management in developing countries.
Conference
Summary [pdf, 23 KB, englsih]
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