THE FUTURE OF UNEP

Despite the more than 200 existing multilateral environmental agreements and various secretariats with their respective connection to the UN system, the governance structures within international environmental policy remain ineffective, badly coordinated and underfinanced. Until today UNEP depends on voluntary financial support; it does not have any operative authority and is politically isolated due to its location in Nairobi.

The lack of financial resources leads to temporary employment, which puts of many qualified candidates. Therefore, UNEP is not only lacking personal but cannot even guarantee long term planning. Since the UNEP has no operative authority, the organisation is not able to organise pilot programmes for the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements in developing countries.

The Nairobi location cannot be disputed with Southern countries because the UNEP is the only UN institution in Africa. Therefore, the Nairobi location must be technically better equipped and better integrated into other international institutions.

For the reform of the UNEP, several suggestions have been made that include aspects such as the transition from voluntary commitments to establishing mandatory financial provisions by the governments. Eventually, UNEP would be transformed from a UN programme into an UN subsidiary organisation, giving UNEP the exclusive competence to work out new multilateral environmental agreements and to carry out environmental projects in Southern countries. In order to preserve the institutional uniqueness of the great variety of already existing environmental agreements as well as to further institutional innovation, subordination under the UNEP umbrella may seem neither desirable nor practical. However, there is the need to create a mechanism for conflict resolution between different existing environmental agreements within UNEP. Eventually, the co-ordination between UNEP and the CSD within the ongoing CSD process must be strengthened.

Another international body with an unclear future are the Global Environment Facility and the Commission for Sustainable Development. It has been recommended that CSD should continue to organise annual meetings on the Ministerial level beyond the World Summit. There are several suggestions about the future of the CSD as well.