UNEP and Biodiversity

The majority of experts are of the opinion that the current pace of extinction of species is hundreds, or perhaps thousands of times greater than the background rate of extinction that occurs naturally. The environmental catastrophe and the primary factors contributing to it, including habitat loss, overexploitation, pollution, and climate change, have been frequently brought to the attention of the scientific community.The Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework will be absolutely necessary in order to put a stop to the extinction of species, the consequences of which are becoming more obvious and terrible with each passing year.

The 6th Global Environment Outlook, the Global Resources Outlook, the IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, and the IPCC report on climate and land are the four reports that are affiliated with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) that brought these implications to light in 2019. At the United Nations Summit on Biodiversity, which will take place on September 30, 2020, the catastrophe that mankind is currently facing as a result of the destruction of biodiversity will be highlighted,

as will the urgent need to expedite action for sustainable development. The COVID-19 pandemic has shed additional light on the significance of the connection that exists between humans and their natural surroundings. At the summit, heads of state and government will have the opportunity to discuss raising the bar for the creation of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, which will be established at the 15th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2021.

What is the UN doing to protect biodiversity?

On Monday, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat announced the release of a new Global Framework for Managing Nature Through 2030. This plan is an evolving blueprint that offers a United Nations agreement on the loss of biodiversity in the style of Paris. Its purpose is to direct actions all over the world that “preserve and protect nature and its essential services to people.”The United Nations has commenced a Decade on Ecosystem Restoration in an effort to forestall, halt, and turn around the process of ecosystem degradation around the globe (2021-2030). This internationally coordinated response to the loss and degradation of ecosystems will concentrate on establishing political will and ability in order to restore the relationship between humans and nature. It is also a direct response to the call from science, as articulated in the Special Report on Climate Change and Land of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,

and to the decisions taken by all UN Member States in the Rio Conventions on climate change and biodiversity, As well as the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. Both of these conventions were held in Rio de Janeiro.

The primary responsibilities of UNEP

UNEP has been successful in a number of areas, including the creation of the Montreal Protocol in 1987 for the purpose of reducing emissions of gases that are thought to be responsible for the depletion of the ozone layer that protects the earth and the Minamata Convention in 2012, which is a treaty that restricts the use of toxic mercury.UNEP has funded the development of solar financing programmes that offer enticing return rates in order to cushion the initial deployment costs and encourage consumers to explore and maybe invest in solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. The most well-known example is the UNEP-sponsored solar loan scheme, which assisted one hundred thousand families in India in securing financing for solar power installations. Following the success of India’s solar programme, several countries in developing regions of the world,like Tunisia, Morocco, Indonesia, and Mexico, have begun implementing solar energy programmes of their own.

In 2001, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) issued a warning about the devastation of the Marshlands by releasing satellite photographs demonstrating that 90 percent of the marsh had been destroyed. Since 2004, the United Nations Environment Program has been providing “assistance for environmental management of the Iraqi Marshland,”with the goal of ensuring that the marshland region is managed in an environmentally responsible manner.Tunza is the name of the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) youth initiative. Other programmes, such as the AEO for Youth project, are included in this larger programme.

International Environmental Education Programme (1975–1995)

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) were in charge of the International Environmental Education Programme (IEEP) from 1975 until 1995. This programme outlined a vision for, and provided practical guidance on how to mobilise education for environmental awareness. As the official organ of the UNESCO-UNEP International Environmental Education Programme, The UNESCO weekly Connect was first distributed in the field of environmental education in 1976. Up until the year 2007, it acted as a clearinghouse for the exchange of information on environmental education in general and promoted the objectives and activities of the IEEP in particular. Additionally, it acted as a network for institutions and individuals who were interested and active in environment education.

Full form of UNEP:–

The United Nations Environment Programme, is the full form of UNEP, is the organisation within the United Nations system in charge of coordinating responses to environmental challenges. 

After the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment that took place in Stockholm in June 1972, Maurice Strong, who would go on to become the organisation’s first director, created it.It is tasked with the responsibility of providing leadership, delivering scientific findings, and developing solutions to a wide variety of problems, such as climate change, the management of marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and green economic growth. In addition to these activities, the organisation works to create worldwide environmental accords, publishes and promotes environmental science, and provides assistance to national governments in their efforts to meet environmental goals.

Conclusion

The United Nations Development Group, also known as UNEP, is dedicated to assisting the international community in achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Minamata Convention on Mercury, the Convention on Migratory Species, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora are some of the multilateral environmental agreements and research bodies that have their secretariats housed at UNEP (CITES).The World Meteorological Organisation and the United Nations Environment Programme came together in 1988 to form the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).Additionally, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is one of several Implementing Agencies for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol.The United Nations Environment Program will occasionally refer to itself as “UN Environment.”