Implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity

Review of UNEP program activities in support of the Convention on Biological Diversity and of the implementation of the decisions of the First Conference of the Parties to the Convention. The paper also previews topics to be discussed at the Second Conference of the Parties to the Convention scheduled for November 1995. It was presented at CGIAR International Centers Week, October - November 1995

UN Environmental Programme Annual Report

The 2009 UNEP annual report provides detailed information about various UNEP activities during the year of 2009, including analysis of the outcome of the Copenhagen United Nations Climate Change Conference. The report emphasizes the need to mobilize behind climate action in 2009 and to continue to ensure that environmental sustainability is recognized both as a legitmate goal in itself and as a means to achieving all other development objectives including the Millennium Development Goals

Overview of the Republic of Korea's national strategy for green growth

노트 : Prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme as part of its Green Economy Initiativ

Green Jobs: Towards Decent Work in a Sustainable, Low-Carbon World

[Excerpt] Green Jobs: Towards Decent Work in a Sustainable, Low-Carbon World assembles evidence—quantitative, anecdotal, and conceptual—for currently existing green jobs in key economic sectors (renewable energy, buildings and construction, transportation, basic industry, agriculture, and forestry) and presents estimates for future green employment. The pace of green job creation is likely to accelerate in the years ahead. A global transition to a low-carbon and sustainable economy can create large numbers of green jobs across many sectors of the economy, and indeed can become an engine of development. Current green job creation is taking place in both the rich countries and in some of the major developing economies

Building disaster-resilient communities and economies

Executive summary The need for building resilience Natural hazards have the potential to devastate communities and economies around the world. Natural hazards are inevitable, but not natural disasters. When a natural hazard occurs, it is the collective societal resilience that will determine whether that event results in a natural disaster. This century, more than one million people have lost their lives to natural disasters. Last year alone around 20,000 people were killed or went missing in natural disasters, the majority in storms, floods and other severe weather events. The impact of natural disasters can reverberate long after the event itself—global economic losses due to natural disasters in 2013 amounted to USD 131 billion, which represents almost 2% of GDP. The costs of recovery from these natural disasters—borne by governments, NGOs, business and communities—consume scarce public and private resources which could otherwise be used to develop social, economic and natural capital. Much of this can be prevented by building disaster-resilient communities and economies. Reducing disaster risk before an event can have a direct impact on how well, and how quickly, communities recover. Across many nations, there is a funding imbalance between investing in pre-disaster resilience and paying the costs of post-disaster relief and recovery. Investment in building up- front resilience and hazard preparedness provides a positive return and reduces the need for recovery. It is estimated that every dollar spent in disaster risk reduction returns between two and ten dollars in recovery savings. Building resilience to natural hazards requires an awareness of risk, a commitment by all stakeholders to make change happen, and a structured approach to funding and implementing effective measures for disaster risk reduction.   NOTE: This report is Phase 1 of the The Global Resilience Project. Phase 2: The Global Risk Map (interactive map resource) can be accessed in Related Content below

Green Economy in a Blue World

The objective of ‘Green Economy in a Blue World’ is to analyse the challenges and opportunities of a potential transition towards a green economy in key sectors heavily linked to the marine and coastal environment – the blue world. The report will also analyse the necessary policy and institutional adjustments required for a green transition and will highlight several transformative action items that could come out of Rio+20 to accelerate transition to ocean sustainability. The key sectors (chapters) covered include Fisheries, Transport (shipping), Tourism (coastal), Energy, Marine mineral resources, and ocean nutrient pollution

Environmental Effects of Ozone Depletion: 1994 Assessment

A change in the composition of the stratosphere becomes relevant to society only if it has noticeable effects. This places the assessment of effects in a pivotal role in the problem of ozone depletion. Decreases in the quantity of total-column ozone, as now observed in many places, tend to cause increased penetration of solar UV-B radiation (290-315 nm) to the Earth's surface. UV-B radiation is the most energetic component of sunlight reaching the surface. It has profound effects on human health, animals, plants, microorganisms, materials and on air quality. Thus any perturbation which leads to an increase in UV-B radiation demands careful consideration of the possible consequences. This is the topic of the present assessment made by the Panel on Environmental Effects of Ozone Depletion