Joint UNEP/OCHA Environment Unit

Further improvement of environmental emergency prevention, preparedness, assessment, response and mitigation

UNEP Governing Council Decision 22/8 of 7 February 2003

The Governing Council,

Recalling the Nairobi Declaration on the Role and Mandate of the United Nations Environment Programme¹,

Recalling also that the Malmö Ministerial Declaration² underscored increasing environmental emergencies as one of the major environmental challenges of the twenty-first century,

Acknowledging the value prevention, assessment and early warning, preparedness and response have in reducing the impact of environmental emergencies and noting that the Awareness and Preparedness for Emergencies on the Local Level programme provides an important framework for awareness and preparedness for emergencies at local level,

  Expressing its satisfaction with the continued positive collaboration between the United Nations Environment Programme and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to enhance the ability of the international community to assist developing countries and countries with economies in transition to respond to environmental emergencies,

  Aware of the value of regional cooperation between countries in cases of environmental emergencies involving or threatening several countries,

  Mindful of its decisions 21/17 of 9 February 2001, 20/8 of 5 February 1999, 19/9E of 7 February 1997, 18/9 of 22 May 1995 and SS.V/2 of 22 May 1998,

1.Takes note of the report of the Executive Director in implementing decision 21/17 in documents UNEP/GC.22/3 and UNEP/GC.22/INF/5, specifically concerning an analysis of the causes and long-term environmental effects of emergencies the United Nations Environment Programme had worked on and the possible policy implications for national Governments and the international community;

2.Welcomes the findings of the report including the recommendations set out in chapter IV of the report;

3.Invites Governments and relevant United Nations agencies and bodies, other international organizations and non-governmental organizations to continue their cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme in its efforts to provide assistance to countries particularly to developing countries and to countries with economies in transition to prevent, prepare for and respond to environmental emergencies;

  4.Also welcomes the actions being undertaken by the Environment Unit of the United Nations Environment Programme/Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, as well as that of the advisory group on environmental emergencies, in particular its partnership programme on an integrated approach to prevention, preparedness and response to environmental emergencies in support of sustainable development;

5. Recommends to Governments that they develop and improve prevention, preparedness and response arrangements including policies and institutions, to the extent feasible so as to enable them deal with environmental emergencies;

  6. Urges Governments to develop as appropriate joint contingency arrangements at a regional subregional or on a bilateral basis if they have not already done so;

  7. Expresses its appreciation to Governments contributing to the General Trust Fund for Environmental Emergencies and further urges Governments and international organizations which are in a position to do so, to contribute to the General Trust Fund for Environmental Emergencies;

  8. Invites States that have not yet signed, ratified or acceded to existing conventions, protocols and legal instruments which may have a bearing on environmental emergency prevention, preparedness, assessment, response and mitigation, to consider doing so expeditiously and to proceed with their implementation and enforcement;

  9. Requests the Executive Director to establish a process, with the participation of Governments for the regular review of the Strategic Framework on Emergency Prevention, Preparedness, Assessment, Mitigation and Response and to facilitate the implementation of its Agenda for Action;

10. Also requests the Executive Director, in close cooperation with other relevant agencies, to develop and pursue programmes on capacity-building with respect to improving the ability of developing countries and countries with economies in transition to prevent, prepare for and respond to environmental emergencies;

11. Requests the Executive Director to provide, within the mandate of the United Nations Environment Programme, support to refugee hosting countries in undertaking assessments and rehabilitating environments, including ecosystems and habitats, that have been damaged in the process of receiving and resettling refugees, through inter-agency cooperation frameworks;

  12. Encourages the Executive Director to continue activities in cooperation with United Nations High Commissioner for Refuges to minimize the adverse environmental impacts of refugees on recipient countries;

  13. Decides that work on capacity-building focuses in the first instance on those regions in most need of assistance, consistent with the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development; ³

  14. Urges the Executive Director to take steps to ensure support to regional offices as appropriate in the development and implementation of these capacity-building programmes that would assist in promoting regional arrangements for dealing with environmental emergencies;

Requests the Executive Director to report to the Governing Council at its next regular session on the progress made in the field of environmental emergencies.

1 Governing Council decision 19/1, annex

3 Report of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, South Africa, 26 August, .. September 2002 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.03.II.A.1) chap.I, resolution 2, annex