What is covered in this initial overview?

1. An Overview of UNEP’s Assessment and Reporting Activities (incl. methods and tools) in the transitional countries Regional Environmental Information Networking Meeting for the Caucasus and Eastern Europe, Hotel Khreschatyk, Kyiv, Ukraine, 3-5 November 2009

2. What is covered in this initial overview? • UNEP’s mandates and methods in environment assessment and reporting, particularly IEA. • Sub-regional assessments such as the Caucasus, Carpathians and Balkans/Dinaric Arc and Environment Outlook processes. • Environment & Security (ENVSEC) Initiative. • GEO-Cities and other sub-national activities. • Events/meetings/trainings/workshops and “other” current or recent reporting exercises.

3. UNEP’s Assessment Mandate • Since 1972, UNEP has had a mandate (UNGA • res. 2997) to review the global environment. • This is fulfilled in two main ways: • 1) Establish a common methodology for assess- • ments of environmental developments; and • 2) Prepare reports on the environmental state and outlook globally, and for regions, sub-regions, countries and at local level .

4. The Bali Strategic Plan (BSP) andrelated Capacity Development • A plan to help countries achieve environmental sustain- ability through technology and capacity building. • Adopted by UNEP’s Governing Council in 2005. • Gives UNEP a mandate to assist with capacity building • at national and regional levels. • Three priority areas: - integration and implementation of environmental aspects of national sustainable development plans (e.g. UNDAFs); - support national institutions with data collection & monitoring; - develop capacity for research, monitoring, assessment and early warning activities/projects.

5. UNEP’s Assessment Mandate Keep under review the state of & trends in the global environment, and provide early warning of emerging environmental problems and threats. is to provide leader ship and encourage

6. UNEP’s Division of Early Warningand Assessment (DEWA) DEWA implements the UNEP mandate in line with the following “mission statement”: Provide the world community with improved access to meaningful environmental data and information, and help increase the capacity of governments to use environmental information for decision-making and action planning for sustainable human development.

7. UNEP’s GEO Assessments • The GEO Assessment series is the UN’s • “flagship” assessment reporting process. • DEWA with other divisions of UNEP and a series of partners worldwide (e.g. CCs), manages the entire GEO process. • Reports have been published in 1997, 1999, • 2003 and Oct. 2007 (GEO-4).

8. IEA/GEO as both a process and products… • Global Environment Outlook (GEO) series of reports on the state of the global environ- ment, and associated products. • the GEO Process: a consultative, participatory, capacity-building process initiated and led since 1995 by UNEP for global environ- mental assessment and reporting.

9. UNEP’s GEO Report Series

10. Annual GEO “UNEP Yearbooks” Each volume covers major environmental events of the previous year…

11. Pan-European Reporting by EEA et al. (regional reporting examples) …pan-European Reporting Series.

12. A Sub-regional GEO Report “Caucasus Environment Outlook (CEO)” (2001-02)

13. Caucasus Environment Outlook report • First attempt to look at the trans-Caucasian environment in a holistic fashion. • Prepared at the request of governments and with inputs from Armenian, Azeri, Georgian and Russian environmental experts. • Included different scenarios of “potential futures” for the region ‘a la GEO. • CEO was launched by the Georgian Minister of Environment in Tbilisi on 24 June 2002.

15. GEO Sub-regional report for the Carpathian Mountains: Karpaths Env. Outlook (KEO)

16. KEO Chapter Lead Authors • Dr. Dan Balteanu, Prof. Institute of Geography, Romanian Academy of Sciences, Bucharest, Romania (Chapter 1). • Dr. Aristita Busuioc, Head of the Climatology Division, National Meteorological Administration, Bucharest (Chapter 3). • Dr. Mikulás Huba, Prof Institute of Geography, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia (Chapter 3). • Dr. Istvan Pomazi, Chief Advisor, Ministry of Environ-ment and Water, Budapest, Hungary (Chapters 2 and 4). • Dr. Mircea Sandulescu, Prof. Romanian Academy of Sciences, Bucharest, Romania (Chapter 3). • Dr. Zbigniew Witkowski, Prof. Academy of Physical Education, Krakow, Poland (Chapter 3).

17. Carpathians Environment Outlook (KEO) Prepared by national experts of Czech Rep., Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Ukraine in a three-year process led by UNEP DEWA and ROE and launched at the Sixth Ministerial Conference “Environment for Europe” Sava Conference Centre Belgrade, Serbia 10 October 2007

18. Dinaric Arc/Balkans in SE Europe

19. Proposed Contents of the DABEO Main issues to be addressed: • Clear and mutually agreed definition of the Dinaric Arc and Balkan mountains region for purposes of this study; • Thematic issues relating to sustainable development of the Balkans/Dinaric Arc region (six UNEP priority areas); • Interlinkages between the physical environment, human well-being and traditional economic sectors; • Common environmental issues of high interest to most Dinaric Arc/Balkan countries; • Geo-political issues which both divide and unite countries of the region; • Specific environmental and human-related problems of the high mountain zone.

20. Preliminary DABEO Website

21. Environment and Security (ENVSEC) • The ENVSEC initiative was begun by UNEP with OSCE and UNDP in 2000; later joined by NATO, REC and UNECE. • The ENVSEC initiative/partners hold regular consultations with countries and conduct project activities in four sub-regions: the Caucasus, Central Asia, Eastern & SE Europe. • A total of nearly 100 ENVSEC projects have been completed and/or are in progress as of 10/09.

22. Sample list of ENVSEC Projects • Eastern Europe Assessment (overall) for Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine (completed 2008). • Donbas mining risks (Ukraine) completed (year). • Dniester River Basin (Moldova-Ukraine) ongoing. • Drisviaty Lake Basin (Belarus-Lithuania) ongoing. • Pripyat Lake Basin (Belarus-Ukraine) ongoing. • Energy security vs. environment (Belarus- Moldova-Ukraine) ongoing. • Danube Delta region (Moldova-Romania-Ukraine) assessment and monitoring to be undertaken.

23. GEO-Cities and local area reporting • GEO-Cities initiative began in 2000 to extend GEO- style Assessment and Reporting to the city level. • Initiated by the Latin and Caribbean region (LAC Forum of Ministers; UNEP Governing Council) and more than 30 cities in LAC have participated. • Similar activities are underway in Africa, Asia & Pacific and the European regionsince 2008. • Other world cities include Nairobi, Lusaka, Dakar, Dhaka, Kathmandu and Shenzhen (China).

24. GEO-Cities: Summary of Objectives • Set up an IEA process with local authorities; • Contribute to local capacity through IEA training in an urban/municipal context; • Establish consensus on the most critical environ-mental problems in each city; • Promote the creation of networks of institutions in each city assessed; plus… • Set up a longer-term sustainable process for keeping the urban environment under review.

25. Examples of GEO-Cities / local studies • Yerevan city (Armenia) completed in 2009. • Donetsk oblast (Ukraine) ongoing since 2008. • Hrazdan (Arm.), Gumri (Az.) and Alaverdi (Ge.) cities are also all ongoing projects. • Tirana (Albania) is getting under way in late 2009. • Novopolotsk city (Belarus) and the Crimea (env’l. trends) are both forthcoming in near future. • others to be considered..?

26. GEO-Cities for Yerevan report

27. Events, meetings and other reporting • Environment & Health pilot assessment (Moldova). • Customisation of the IEA Training Manual and GEO Cities manual for Europe; translation of both into Russian (ongoing). • IEA Training course (Caucasus Sept. ‘09). • ENVSEC regional meetings and GEO-Cities mtgs. • Media tours and training courses (Donetsk in 2008-09 and Belarus/Dniester in 2010). • EnviroGRIDs Project for Black Sea basin.

28. Spasibo / Thanks for your attention!