Institutional and Financial Arrangements for International Environmental Co-Operation

A/RES/2997(XXVII)View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, published in 1972.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

A dot marks an entity citing this document in its “Mandates and background” narrative rather than only its Legislative mandates list. Many do both.

Extracted automatically from each entity’s budget submission.

What subjects does this mandate have?

8 topics

Election of Members Environmental Protection Establishment Financing Funds Members Organizational Structure Terms of Reference

What does this mandate say?

35 operative paragraphs

I

Decides to establish a Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme, composed of fifty-eight members elected by the General Assembly for three-year terms on the following basis:

Sixteen seats for African States;

( b) Thirteen seats for Asian States;

( c) Six seats for Eastern European States;

Ten seats for Latin American States;

Thirteen seats for Western European and other States;

Decides that the Governing Council shall have the following ma.in functions and responsibilities:

To promote international co-operation in the field of the environment and to recommend; as appropriate, policies to this end;

( b) To provide general policy guidance for the direction and co-ordination of environmental programmes within the United Nations system;

( c) To 1eceive and review the periodic reports of the Executive Dkector of the United Nations Environment Programme, refer1ed to in section II, paragraph 2, below, on tlle implementation of environmental programmes within the United Nations system;

To keep under revlew the world environmental situation in order to ensure that emerging environmental problems of wide international significance receive appropriate and adequate consideration by Governments;

( e) To rromote the contribution of the relevant internationa scientific and other professional communities to the acquisition, assessment and exchange of environmental knowledge and in.formation and, as appropriate, to the teclmical aspects of the formulation and implementation of environmental programmes within the United Nations system;

To maintain under continuing review the impact of national and international environmental policies and measures on developing countries, as well as the problem of additional costs that may be incurred by developing countries in the implementation of environmental programmes and projects, and to ensure that such programmes and projects s11all be compatible with the development plans and priorities of those countries;

To review and approve annually the programme of utilization of resources of the Environment Fund referred to jn section III below~

Decides that the Governing Council shall report annually to tbe General Assembly through the Economic and Social Council, which will transmit to the Assembly such comments on the report as it may deem necessary, particularly with regard to questions of co-ordination and to the :relationship of,..onvironmental policies and programmes within the U1lited Nations system to overall economic and social policies and priorities;

II

Decides that a small secretariat shall be established in the United Nations to serve as a focal point for environmental action and co-ordination within the

-qnited Nations system in such a way as to ensure a high degree of effective management;

Decides that the environment secretariat shall be headed by the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, who shall be elected by the General Assembly on the nomination of the Secretary-General for a term of four years and who shall be entrusted, inter aliaJ with the following responsibilities:

To provide substantive support to the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme;

To co-ordinate, -under the guidance of the Governing Council, environmental programmes within the United Nations system, to keep their implementation under review and to assess thek. effectiveness;

To advise, as appropriate and under the guidance of the Governing Council, intergovernmental bodies of the United Nations system on the formulation and implementation of environmental programmes;

To secure the effective co-operation of, and contribution from, the relevant scientific and other professional communities in all parts of the world;

To provide, at the request of all parties concerned, advisory services for the promotion of international co-operation in. the field of the environment;

To submit to the Governing Council, on his own initiative or upon request, proposals embodying medium-irange and long-range planning for United Nations programmes in. 1:'he field of the environment;

To bring to the attention of tl1e Governing Council any matter which he deems to require consideration by it;

To administer, 11nder the authority and policy guidance of the Governing Council, the Environment Fund referred to in section III below;

To report on environmental matters to the Governing Council;

To perform such other functions as may be entrusted to him by the Governing Council;

Decides that the costs of servicing the Governing Council and providing the small secretariat referred to in paragraph 1 aboYe shall be borne by the regular budget of the United Nations and that operational programme costs, programme support and administrative costs of the Environment Fund established under section III below shall be borne by the Fund;

III

Decides that, in order to provide for additional financing for environmental programmes, a voluntary fund shall be established, with effect from 1 January 1973, in accordance with existing United Nations financia1 procedures;

Decides that, in order to enable the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme to fulfil its policy-guidance role for the direction and co-ordination of environmental activities, the Environment Fund shall finance wholly or partly the costs of the new environmental initiatives undertaken within the United Nations system-which will include the initiatives envisaged in the Action Plan Genern] Assen1bly-TweJ1ty-seventh Session

for ,the Human Environment43 adopted by the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment with particular attention to integrated projects, and' such other environmental activit!ies as may be decided upon by th~ Governing Council-and that the Governing Coune1l shall review these initiatives with a view to

taking appropriate decisions as to their continued :financing;

3.- Decides that the Environment Fund shall be used for :financing such programmes of general interest as regional and global monitoring, assessment and datacollecting systems, including, as appropriate, costs for national counterparts; the improvement of environmental quality management; environmental research; information exchange and dissemination; public educatio11 and training; assistance for national, regional and global environmental institutions; the promotion of environmental research and studies for the development of industrial and other technologies best suited to a poli.cy of economic growth compatible with adequate environmental safeguards; and such other programmes as the Governing Council may decide upon, and that in the implementation of such programmes due account should. be taken o.f the special needs of the developing countnes;

Decides that, in order to ensure that the development priorities of developing count,ries shall not be adversely affected, adequate measures shall be taken to £rovide additional financial resources on terms compatible with the economic situation of the recipient developing country, and that, to this end, the Executive Director, in co-operation with competent organizations, shall keep this problem under continuing review;

Decides that the Environment Fund, in pursuance of the objectives stated in paragraphs 2 and 3 above, shall be directed to the need for effective co-ordination in the implementation of international environmental programmes of the organizations in the United Nations system and other international organizations;

Decides that, in the in1plementation of programmes to be financed by the Environment Fund, organizations outside the. United Nations system, particularly those in the countries and regions concerned, shall also be utilized as appropriate, in accordance with the prncedures established by the Governing Council, and that such organizations are invited to support the United Nations environmental programmes by com- . plementary initiatives and contributions;

Decides that the Governing Council shall formulate such general ,procedures as a,re necessary to govern the operations of the· Environment Fund;

IV

ENVIRONMENT CO-ORDINATION BOARD . 1. Decides that, in order to provide for the most efficient co-ordination of United Nations environmental programmes, an Environment Co-ordination Board, under the chairmanship of the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, shall be established under the auspices and within the framework of the Administrative Committee on Co-ordination;

Further decides that the Enviroriment Co-ordination Board shall meet periodically for the purpose of ensuring co-operation and co-ordination . among all

43 A/CONF.48/ 14 and Corr.1, chap. II.

bodies concerned in the implementation of environmental programmes and that it sha11 report annually to the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme;

Invites the organizations of the United Nations system to adopt the measures that may be required to undertake concerted and co~ordinnted programmes with regard to international environmental problems, taking into account existing procedures for prior consultation, particularly on programme and budgetary matters;

Invites the regional economic commissions and the United Nations Economic and Social Office at Beirut, in co..operation where necessary with other npproprinte regional bodies, to intensify further tl1cir efforts directed towards contributing to the implementation of environmental programmes jn view of the particular need for the rapid development of regional cooperation in this field;

Also invites other intergovernmental and those non-governmental organizations that have an interest in the field of the environment to lend their full support and collaboration to the United Nations with a view to achieving the largest possible degree of co-operation and co-ordination;

Calls upon Governments to ensure that appropriate national institutions shall be entrusted with the task of the co-ordination of environmental action, botb national and international;

Decides to review as appropriate, at its thirtyfirst session, the above institutional arrangements, bearing in mind, inter alia, the responsibilities of the Economic and Social Council under the Charter of the United Nations.

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Who created this mandate?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What does this mandate say?

I

II

III

IV

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