CLIMATE CHANGE | a

PROGRAMMEPERFORMANCEREPORT 2016–2017

2016–2017Coverb | CLIMATE CHANGE

Published by the UN Environment Programme
Copyright © April 2018

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Design and layout: Jennifer Odallo, UNON
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CLIMATE CHANGE | i

Programme Performance Report 2016–2017

Chemicals andWaste

Environment
under review

ii | CONTENTSCONTENTS1OVERVIEW

8CLIMATE CHANGE

18
24
32
40
46
54

Climate Change

Disasters and Conflicts
DISASTERS AND CONFLICTS
Ecosystem
Management
ECOSYSTEMMANAGEMENT
Environmental
Governance
ENVIRONMENTAL
GOVERNANCECHEMICALS AND WASTEUNEP at the Heart of the EnvironmentRESOURCE EFFICIENCYENVIRONMENT UNDER REVIEW

63
68

FINANCIAL OVERVIEWORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESSCONTENTS | iii

UN Environment Progrmmes’s results framework

CLIMATE CHANGE• EA 1/Climate resilience• EA 2/Low emission growth• EA 3/REDD+ENVIRONMENT UNDER REVIEW• EA 1/Assessment• EA 2/Early Warning• EA 3/Information

RESOURCE EFFICIENCY• EA 1/Enabling environment• EA 2/Sustainability in businesses• EA 3/Lifestyles and consumption

DISASTERS AND CONFLICTS• EA 1/Risk reduction• EA 2/Response and recovery

ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT• EA 1/Production• EA 2/Marine issues• EA 3/Enabling environment

CHEMICALS AND WASTEENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE• EA 1/Enabling environment• EA 2/Chemicals• EA 3/Waste• EA 1/Coherence and synergies• EA 2/Law• EA 3/Mainstreaming
environmental sustainability

iv

Our products and services give us abroad array of tools to catalyse change
in response to demand.

v

We partnerwith United Nations
sister agencies, secretariats
of multilateral environmental
agreements and other strategicallyplaced institutions, including private
sector, driven by the potential
impact leveraged from each
opportunity.

UN Environment Programme is the leadorganization to coordinate environmental matterswithin the United Nations system. We produce
environmental assessments and analyses, norms,
guidelines and methods for use by stakeholders looking
for guidance on how to effectively manage the environment
for their sustainable development and economic growth. Witha global remit, some 870 staff and a 2016–2017 expenditureof $954 million, our ability to achieve significant impact
is based on partnerships—integral to the organization’s
strategy to place environment and sustainable
development, at the heart of everything
we do.

We are committed to strengthening
our operations to enforce results-based
management.

OVERALL PERFORMANCE METRICS
Status of achievement of indicator targets in the
Programme of work Status of achievement of indicator targets in the Programme of Work

Overall performance 2016–2017
Overall Performance 2016–2017

100

70

Achieved
Partially achieved

80

Percentage of achievement

Percentage of achievement

60
50
40
30

65

20

25

10

Not achieved

60

40

20

10

Achieved
Partially achieved

0

Not achieved

0

ClimateChangePerformance

Disastersand Conflicts

Ecosystem
Management

Environmental
GovernanceChemicals
and Waste

Resource
Efficiency

Environment
under Review

Programmes

The majority of results in each Programme have been achieved andwhere not, adaptive measures have been taken to improve future
performance.

65 per cent of indicator targets were met in 2016–2017
biennium.

Evaluation
findings
showingbyoverallsustainability of outcome by year 2010-2017
Evaluation findings showing overallsustainabilityof outcome
year 2010-2017
80
70
62

59

60

48

Percentage

50

44

40

19

20

0

4
S

19

15

11

7
HS

29

23

MS MU U

0

0

HU

HS

2010

23 0 0SMS MU U

4

31

16

0 0

0

15

5

0

2012

2013

26

20

0

0

MS MU U

2014

5

3

0 0

HS
S MS MUU HUshowing
HS overall
S MS sustainability
MU U HU
S MS by
MUyear
U 2010-2017
HU
HS S
Evaluation
findings
ofHSoutcome

2011

80

32

29

16

0

HU

26

49

46

42

37

33

30

10

HU

HS

2015

S

14
0

MS MU U

9

3

HU

HS

0
S

2016

MS MU U

HU

2017

70
62

59
60 proportion of projects that received a ‘Satisfactory’ or better rating for the extent to which project outcomes are sustained /
The
49
48
replicatedincreased from 34% in 2014-2015 to 39% of projects in 2016-2017.
50
46

Highly satisfactory
Satisfactory

Percentage

44

40

37

42

The likelihood of impact achievement
was considered‘Highly Likely’or ‘Likely’ 31
in only 41% of the projects evaluated in 2016-2017 whilst
33
32
29
29
30
26 previous biennium (47%) it highlights the need26
thisshows a small reduction
compared to thefor a much larger proportion of projects
23
20
19
19
20
designs
and implementation
actions to focus
on, and invest
processesthat lead to higher level results.
16
16 more in, shaping the change
15
15
14

Moderately satisfactory
Moderately unsatisfactory
Unsatisfactory

10

Highly unsatisfactory

11

7

0

HS

4
S

MS MU U

0

0

HU

HS

2010

23 0 0SMS MU U

4

0

HU

HS

S

MS MU U

2011

0 0

0
HU

HS

S

MS MU U

2012

5

0

HU

HS

S

MS MU U

2013

0

0

HU

HS

MS MU U

2014

5

3

0 0
S

HU

HS

2015

S

9

3

0

MS MU U

HU

HS

0
S

2016

MS MU U

HU

2017

Evaluation findings showing overall performance by year

Evaluation findings showing overall performance by year
80
70
60

56

50

44

40

10
0

35

33

4
HS

7

MS MU U

0 0

HU

HS

S

2010

MS MU U

7

4

HU

S

8

5
0 0

HS

MS MU UHSSMS MU U

5

5

0 0

HU

HU

HS

S

3 3

3

0 0

MS MU U

HU

Evaluation findings showing overall performance by year
2012
2013
2014

2011

29

18

16

14
0 0

S

30

38

19
11

58

41

36

30
20

64

60

55

43

41

HS

S

MS MU U

2015

8
3

0
HU

HS

S

MS MU U

2016

0
HU

8

5
HS

0 0
S

MS MU U

HU

2017

80
70

64

60

Highly satisfactory
Satisfactory
Moderately satisfactory
Moderately unsatisfactory
Unsatisfactory
Highly unsatisfactory

58

56
55
In 60
the 2016 – 2017 biennium the
Evaluation Office completed
more than eighty evaluations of UN Environment Programme interventions.
50
More
than
two thirds43(67%) of projects had an evaluation rating of ‘Satisfactory’ or better for their overall performance, a 12% increase on
44
41
41
the40previous biennium.
36
35

Percentage

Percentageyvi | OVERVIEWOVERALL PERFORMANCE METRICS

33

30

10
0

HS

7
0 0

S

MS MU U

2010

HU

0 0
HS

S

MS MU U

2011

HU

7

4
HS

S

MS MU U

2012

8

5
0 0
HU

0 0
HS

S

MS MU U

2013

29

18

16

14

11
4

30

38

19

20

HU

5

5
HS

S

0 0

MS MU U

2014

HU

3 3

3
HS

S

MS MU U

2015

8
3

0
HU

HS

S

MS MU U

2016

0
HU

8

5
HS

0 0
S

MS MU U2017

HU

OVERALL PERFORMANCEOVERVIEWMETRICS | vii

Evaluation findings showing project relevance by year

Evaluation findings showing strategic relevance by year
80

73

70

65

63

60

ory

atisfactory
5469Percentage

sfactory
16-2017

25

19

20

ctory
13

4

12

HS

8

MS MU U

0 0 0

HU

HS

S

2010

1

3
1

S

4 4

MS MU U

HU

HS

S

2011

3

0 0

MS MU U

HU

HS

S

2012

13

10

8

7
0 0 0

0

3

16

11

10

3

39

30

30

3

12

45

43 43

43

41

40

55

53

50

48

50

MS MU U

HU

HS

S

2013

MS MU U

HU

3

0 0 0

0 0 0

0 0

HS

S

MS MU U

2014

HU

HS

2015

S

5

0 00

MS MU U

HU

2016

HS

S

0 0 0

MS MU U

HU

2017

7
3

3 1

13

Satisfactory
Moderately satisfactory32‘Strategic relevance’ remains the evaluation criterion that attains the highest ratings, with this biennium having 100% of the projects
evaluated being rated as ‘Satisfactory’ or better. The figure shows how projects have been rated for their relevance over the past
eight years (2010-2017). The criterion focusses on alignment of the intervention’s intentionality with respect to: strategic andthematic priorities; regional, sub-regional and / or national environmental priorities; the needs and priorities of the target groups; andcomplementarity to other recent, ongoing or planned interventions in the project area.

Highly satisfactory

124Moderately unsatisfactory

14

3

16

1

90

100

Unsatisfactory
Highly unsatisfactory

findings
showingcriteria
project2010-2017
performance by evaluation criteria 2016-2017
Evaluation findings showing projectEvaluation
performanceby evaluation
Overall project performance

61

6

Communication and public awarenessSupervision, guidance and technical backstopping

42

22

Project Implementation and management
Delivery of outputs

23

Likelihood of impact

8

3

42
14

3

Achievement of direct outcomes

4

49

30

16

1

90

100

0

10

20

30

40

3

13

3 1

2

3
4

60

80

70

Satisfactory

Moderately satisfacto

Unsatisfactory
Highly unsatisfactory

Percentage

1

7

12

50

Highly satisfactory

Moderately unsatisfac

32

8
3

4

49

3

1

3

22

26

54
3

4

13
12

39

3 1

13

Effectiveness

3

12

3
12

9
42

33
10

7

25
39

Strategic Relevance

6
9

1

49

1

3

31

36

Efﬁciency
4

17

40

3

3
8

18

62

Stakeholder participation, cooperation, and partnerships

3
4

12

19

21

3

13

37

17

Sustainability and replication

18

55
32

5

Country ownership & driven-ness

5

34

12

Preparation and readiness

9
12

8

31

28

4
6

24

38

3

Monitoring and Evaluation

5

34

31

9

Financial planning and management

16-2017

23

29

Some trends established in previous biennia continue; the aggregate project performance against a few evaluation criteria show low
performance levels, implying that these are areas that still require more attention if performance is to be enhanced and sustained.
These include: ‘project preparation and readiness’, ‘financial planning and management’, and ‘monitoring and reporting’.

Highly satisfactory
Satisfactory
Moderately satisfactory
Moderately unsatisfactory

3

16

1

90

100

Unsatisfactory
Highly unsatisfactory

Trends in Audit recommendations
40

Trends in Audit Recommendations

38

35
Number of audit recommendations

14

30

28

25
20

20

16

10

17
14

15
10

Critical

6

Important 5
Total

0

4

2010

2011

3
2012

0

2
0

2013

2014

Year

0
2015

0

0

2016

2017

Audit recommendations in the categoriesof ‘critical’ and ‘important’ have gradually
reduced since 2010. In 2016–2017, UN
Environment Programme has no pending
critical/important recommendations.

viii | OVERVIEWOVERALL PERFORMANCE METRICS
Financial overview 2016–2017
2016-2017 Financial Overview

1,216.5

1,500

888.9
683.1

900
US$ million

953.7

1,200

600

300

0

BudgetFunds recieved

Funds available*

ExpenditureFunds received (income) was higher than the planned budget.

2016-2017
2016–2017 Budget performance by funding
sourceBudget performance by Funding Source
1,400

706.6

US$ million

1,000

800

743.8

1,001.9

1,200

271.0

400

Environment
Fund

Regular
BudgetTrust Funds
and Earmarked
contributions

35.8

22.9
38.1

45.4

Expenditures

45.3

200

Funds received

45.4
45.4

131.2
136.9
128.7

BudgetFunds available

343.8

600

Programme
Support Costs

Earmarked funding was
higher than targeted for
2016–2017 while theEnvironment Fund was lower.

Funding source

388.4

Financial overview by Programme 2016–2017
Financial overview by Programme 2016-2017
400

288.0

ClimateChangeDisasters
Ecosystem Environmental Chemicals
and Conflicts Management Governance and Wastes

Programme*Funds available for 2016–2017 include funds rolled over for 2014–2015 biennium
The figures provided are as of 31 January 2018.

43.7
33.1
27.7

0

86.2
106.2
83.9

50

Expenditures as at
31 December 2017

62.7
83.5
69.4

100

Funds available asat 31 December 2017

47.5
39.2
30.6

2016-2017 Budget

131.0

150

151.1

200

82.8

250

181.6
146.0

232.6

300

US$ million

301.1

350

Resource
Efﬁciency

Environment
under Review

More areas of UN Environment
Programme work received
more funding than projectedbudgets because of earmarked
funding.

OVERALL PERFORMANCEOVERVIEWMETRICS | ix
2016-2017 Member States and other donors fundingof UN
Environment
by fund type
Distribution of income(fundsreceived)
Regular
Budget$45M
5%

Environment
Fund $137M
15%

Earmarked
contributions
$707M
80%

Earmarked Funds constitute themajority of funds received for the
UN Environment Programme.

Overview of Environment Fund300

US$ million

250

200

150
BudgetFunds received
100

2012–20132014–2015

2016–2017Year

Budget was planned to increase, but funds received has been going down.

Overview of post and non-posts for 2016–2017

Post and non-posts

1,500

US$ million

1,200

900

940.8

600

704.9

300

Post costs
Non-post costs

275.8

149.0
248.8

35.5
122.0

0

Available
Resources

Total
Expenditure

Environment Fund
Budget95.7

Environment Fund
Funds available

26.6
100.3

Environment Fund
Expenditure

Status of achievement of expected accomplishments in the Programme of Work 2016-2017
Status of achievement of expected accomplishments in the Programme of Work 2016-2017

Status of Achievement of Expected Accomplishments in the Programme of Work

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OVERVIEW | 1

Overview
During 2016 and 2017, the UN Environment
Programme implemented a Programme of Workthat represents the second half of the organization’s
Medium-Term Strategy for the period 2014-2017.
In doing so, we partnered with governments, theprivate sector, the scientific community, the UN
system, and ordinary citizens across the planet. What
we are presenting here is an account of the changed
situation which exists as a result of all our work. In
some instances, our work has made a direct impact
on the outcome described. In many more instances,
we were merely one of many contributors. The main
point is that change has occurred and progress has
been registered. We have taken care to record, in a
detailed manner, the extent of the change, the degree
to which we contributed, or the extent to which thatchange can be attributed to our work.
These records have been summarized, for the
purpose of brevity, in the account below.

THE GLOBAL POLICY LANDSCAPE
IMPROVES
Significant improvements occurred in the global
policy landscape for our planet’s environment during
2016 and 2017. Many of them demonstrate ourleadership role or active participation.
Climate change remains the most criticalenvironmental challenge of our time. Less than ayear after it was adopted, the Paris Agreement on
Climate Change came into force on 4 November
2016, following ratification by 55 countries whose
economies account for 55 per cent of all global
greenhouse gas emissions. The unprecedented
speed with which the Paris Agreement was ratified isa powerful signal that countries have recognized thescale of the danger and are committed to urgently
tackle climate change. Much of our work on climatechange represents a relentless effort to support ourMember States to deliver concrete results under theParis Agreement.
The Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substancesthat Deplete the Ozone Layer struck a landmark dealin October 2016 in Kigali to reduce the emissionsof powerful greenhouse gases, hydrofluorocarbons(HFCs). If implemented, the agreement could
contribute to preventing as much as 0.5°C in

temperature rise by the end of the century. This
represents one quarter of what the world needs
to reach the increase beyond which, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has
concluded, we run the risk of runaway temperature
increases. The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal
Protocol, whose Secretariat we host, thus becomesan additional element in the struggle to containglobal warming.
Mercury contamination can result in serious healthrisks given its negative impact on our nervous
systems. Fifty years after scientific evidence
confirmed the dangers of mercury to people andto our planet, the world finally reached consensus
on effective, concerted global action. On 16 August
2017, the Minamata Convention on Mercury enteredinto force. The first Conference of the Parties
meeting took place two months later, in October
2017. The UN Environment Programme has playeda crucial role in driving this process forward. We
continue to support countries – at their request – inthe implementation of the Convention with support
from the Global Environment Facility.
The oceans cover three quarters of our planet. They
connect populations and markets. They play a vitalrole in the water cycle and climate system. They
are a key source of biodiversity and ecosystemservices, providing food and livelihoods for overa billion people. 2016 and 2017 were significant
years for ocean governance. On 9 June 2017, theUN Conference to support the Implementation of
Sustainable Development Goal 14 – sustainable
use of the oceans – adopted a Declaration on Our
Ocean, Our Future: Call for Action. This call to action
reflects the stated intention of nations to preserve
our oceans, the next step must be action to live up to
the Declaration’s noble goals.
One area for urgent action is plastic – and especially
microplastics. More than 8 million tons of plastic
enter the ocean every year. Microplastics are known
to disrupt our hormonal systems and we risk facing
growing health problems if microplastics continue
to enter our food chain, for example, through theseafood we eat. At current rates, the ocean could
contain more plastic than fish by the year 2050. The
UN Environment Programme’s Clean Seas campaign
helped draw global public attention to the problem
and offer solutions.

2 | OVERVIEW

After five years of negotiations – coupled with thetireless “Speedo diplomacy” of endurance swimmer
and UN Environment Programme Patron of the
Oceans, Lewis Pugh – Antarctica’s Ross Sea was
finally declared a Marine Protected Area in October
2016. The Ross Sea, known as the “Polar Gardenof Eden”, is widely considered to be the last great
wilderness area on Earth. The 1.6 million squarekilometre polar expanse is now the world’s largest
protected area.
Across all continents, greater attention was paid
during 2016-2017 to environmental causes orconsequences of conflicts and disasters. Never
has the demand for our services in this particularfield been higher. In Mosul, the UN Environment
Programme helped Iraq to address environmental
challenges like oil and sulfur pollution resulting
from wanton destruction by the withdrawing IslamicState of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). We also helped
communities recovering from the destruction of theircities manage 11 million tonnes of conflict-related
debris.
Sadly, in the same period, we saw a worldwide
increase in number of deaths of environmental
defenders. To guide our actions on promoting greater
protection for environmental defenders, we haveadopted a policy to raise awareness on this sensitive
issue and advocate for the protection of those whoplace their lives in harm’s way to protect our planet.
With the world’s urban population expected tonearly double by 2050, urbanization is one of the
21st century’s most transformational trends, posing
massive sustainability challenges and opportunities
in terms of housing, infrastructure, transport,
basic services, food security, health, education,
decent jobs, safety, and natural resources. But withchallenges come opportunities. Member States
adopted the Quito Declaration on Sustainable Cities
and Human Settlements for All to fast-track solutions
on this front. The Quito Declaration shows how cities
can become low-carbon, resource-efficient andresilient, while also offering opportunities for newjobs and investments and other social and economic
benefits.
We also now have in place the building blocks of afuture sustainable financial system. During 20162017, the UN Environment Programme Inquiry
into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System,
commonly known as “The Inquiry”, continued todeliver innovative thinking about sustainable andgreen financial and monetary policies, standards
and regulations. Change is happening throughcollaboration between the G20, the G7, the UN
and the Financial Stability Board, with increasing
involvement of the private sector, as well as
through international financial institutions andmultilateral development banks. The UN Environment
Programme has catalysed this process, and counts

on continued support from Member States to convert
the many Inquiry innovations into reality.
There has never been a better time to embedenvironmental sustainability into the way economies
run and societies function. Global trends show a
growing recognition that environmental sustainability
and an economy based on renewable energy areinterconnected. The picture is becoming clearer.
Opportunities to invest, to create jobs, to improve
peoples’ health and well-being are entirely consistent
with maintaining the vitality of the planet’s ecosystems. These are the very foundations that support
our lives.
These developments, along with the actions of
the two UN Environment Assemblies which took
place during the reporting period, together with
regional ministerial forums, continue to build themomentum and foundations required to support theimplementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development.

BUILDING ON OUR REPUTATION AS
A TRUSTED PARTNER
In 2016, the “Multilateral Organization Performance
Assessment Network” (MOPAN) conducted athorough review of the organization’s strategy,
delivery model, systems and operations. The UN
Environment Programme was confirmed as atrusted partner: one that “meets the requirementsof an effective multilateral organization”, and“shows continued strength in terms of being a
global authority on environmental issues andproviding a robust evidence base for advocacy andpolicy dialogue… with… a sound operational model,
appropriate policies, processes and proceduresin place that are expected of a well-functioning
multilateral organization”.
The review stated that strategically, we have built,
over time, a “...results framework that provides
clear vision and strategic direction” as well asorganizational systems and processes that are “fitfor purpose” and can form “effective partnerships
which are central to the service delivery model”.
The task of underpinning the organization’s strategic
and programmatic work with adequate, and efficientsystems remains constant. We continue to use thekey parameters and criteria offered by the review tofurther improve. We intend to align our programmes
even more with the 2030 Agenda and with thework of other UN agencies. This will help to build arobust business intelligence framework that allows
effective use of performance data, and greater ability
to conduct analysis and reviews. Done well, this will
strengthen our partnerships and alliances and allow
us to successfully tackle the growing complexityof the environment and development landscapeglobally.

OVERVIEW | 3

OUR PROGRAMMATIC RELEVANCEAND SCALE OF INTERVENTION

to direct resources towards the priorities mandated
by the Member States in the Programme of Work.

At a time when the relevance of having a healthyplanet to sustain human development has
become incontrovertible, the scale and quality of
UN Environment Programme’s work needs to beassessed in that context.

Several key results were achieved in 2016 and 2017.
To address climate change, we supported morecountries to integrate ecosystem-based and otheradaptation approaches into national plans. The
result is that a total of 23 countries have increased
their capacity to adapt to climate change, withsupport from the UN Environment Programme.

The powerfully strengthened global policy landscapeof the second half of the Medium-Term Strategy
period of 2014-2017 provides the backdrop. Against
this backdrop, we reflect on our ability to meetcountries’ demands for services and solutions. The
demand is generally to help them build stronger
institutions, better legal instruments, enhanced
technical capacity, greater knowledge, greener
investments, better cross-border collaboration andlouder voices calling for all of the above.
As of December 2017, we have fully achieved
65 per cent of our indicator targets for 2016-2017
and partially achieved 25 per cent. We did notachieve 10 per cent of our indicator targets. We
achieved 10 of our 20 expected accomplishments
outright and partially the other 10. This result isbased on efforts across the entire Medium-Term
Strategy period, but also including 2016-2017. In
2016-2017, it is based on an expenditure across ourdifferent funding sources of US$954 million. This is
US$271 million more than the projected budget of
US$683 million owing to an income that exceeded
the projected budget. However, despite this higher
income, there has been a worrisome decline in theEnvironment Fund. The relative increase in extrabudgetary resources – most of which are earmarked
by partners – may herald a situation where UN
Environment Programme has reduced overall ability

We brought together first-mover financiers andrenewable energy project developers to mitigate
risks and share some of the early-stage investment
costs. Globally, new additions of installed renewableenergy capacity, particularly for solar photovoltaic
and wind power, reached record levels in 2016. An
estimated 161 gigawatts (GW) of capacity was added
bringing the total capacity, up by 9 percent, to almost
2,017GW at the end of 2016.
In 2016-2017, the Seed Capital Assistance Facility
signed new agreements with key players in theprivate sector, and now has a total capitalization of
US$657 million and US$20 million of seed capital
invested in eight renewable energy projects. Morecountries finalized national REDD+ strategies thatrecognize multiple benefits and the role of private
sector, an important step in enabling countries toreceive results-based payments, bringing the total to
25 countries.
We also supported 29 countries to reduce their
exposure to the risk of natural disasters, industrial
accidents and conflicts.
In order to help create an enabling environment for
countries to manage ecosystems in a sustainable

Overall Performance 2016–2017
70

Achieved
Partially achieved
Not achieved

Percentage of achievement

60
50
40
30

65

20
10

25
10

0

Performance4 | OVERVIEW

way, we helped countries take account of ecosystemservices, assess water quality and incorporate
considerations of the health and productivity of
ecosystems into their policy frameworks. By the endof 2017, 13 countries had operational ecosystem
accounts in place. A further 15 countries had taken
steps to update their water quality frameworks.
With our support, 13 new countries, five regions
and ten counties or cities adopted or started
implementing green economy policies andsustainable consumption and production actions
plans by 2017.
We launched six regional environment outlooks
and the first Global Gender and Environment
Outlook at the 2016 UN Environment Assembly.
Together, these provide not only an assessment of
the state of the environment but also a perspectiveon the importance of the social aspects of theenvironmental dimension of the 2030 Agenda. The
regional assessments are the building blocks forthe global assessment, which is on its way to bedelivered at the 4th UN Environment Assembly in2019.
We made significant contributions to the UN
system’s new guidance on country Development
Assistance Frameworks. The new guidance, whichis informed by the 2030 Agenda, has four principles
for integrated programming: leave no one behind;human rights, gender equality and women’s
empowerment; sustainability and resilience; andaccountability.

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT AND
ACHIEVING FURTHER IMPACT
While we have made progress towards achieving
lasting results across our seven areas of focus –climate change, disasters and conflicts, ecosystemmanagement, environmental governance, chemicals
and waste, resource efficiency, and environment
under review – some challenges remain.
Reductions in the Environment Fund stress the very
foundation of our business model, which relies on
the use of this Fund to leverage a strategic portfolio,aligned to the Programme of Work which is approvedby our Member States. With fewer Environment Fundresources, the implementation of the Programme ofWork may evolve in a direction not intended by theframers of the Medium-Term Strategy.
We have increased our ability to more effectively
engage new partners from the private sector andhave signed a number of agreements with them.
Our key challenge is now to ensure that these
agreements translate into tangible impact. We haveto ensure that the partners we work with in theprivate sector can help leverage change in a given
sector at a level that is transformative and critical todelivering the results we are committed to deliveringin our Medium-Term Strategy.
We also improved the way we inform, engage andinvolve citizens in our work. We are now improving
our advocacy and outreach on key strategic areas:
pollution; oceans; biodiversity and wildlife; green
finance and environment and security. While a firstkey step is building new coalitions of partners, an
important second step is to ensure that the interest
created in these areas can be combined with
substantive action that achieves tangible change.
Ideally, we should be able to track how this scaleof change we aim for moves from advocacy andoutreach to tangible outcomes and impacts in the
future.
The scaling-up of green finance is critical in thisregard. World leaders meeting at the G20 Summit inHangzhou, China in September 2016 recognized theimportance of scaling up green finance practices.
They welcomed options put forward by the G20
Green Finance Study Group, whose secretariat ishosted by UN Environment Programme, which shows
what practical steps can be taken to improve policies
and market capacity, and support the development ofgreen bond markets.
We need to be able to scale up support to countries
to enable them to review their regulatory and policy
frameworks and bring about a policy transformationthat creates the rules and conditions for suchinvestment. Our work on the Financial Inquiry
has been critical in this regard, which has been
instrumental in delivering key results:•

China has developed comprehensive policies forGreening the Financial System.

•

Italy has established an inter-ministerial
Observatory on Sustainable Finance to takespecific policy action.

•

Sustainable finance has also been integrated
into the work of the G7, which has led to a new
network of financial centres for sustainability.

•

As a result of this, Milan and Toronto areestablishing new green/sustainable financeinitiatives; Nigeria issued Africa’s first green
sovereign bond in 2017; and, in the UK, the Cityof London launched its Green Finance Initiative
and the UK now has a government-backed Green
Finance Task Force.

The United Nations, with 19 banks and investors
worldwide (totalling US$6.6 trillion in assets),launched a global framework aimed at channellingthe money they manage towards clean, lowcarbon and inclusive projects. The framework– The Principles for Positive Impact Finance – isa first of its kind, setting criteria for investments

OVERVIEW | 5

to be considered sustainable. It spans different
business lines, including retail and wholesalelending, corporate and investment lending and asset
management. The principles provide guidance forfinanciers and investors to analyse, monitor anddisclose the social, environmental and economic
impacts of the financial products and services they
deliver. We need more such game-changers to create
the kind of transformative change necessary toachieve the sustainable development goals.
In Indonesia, the Tropical Landscape Finance Facility
was established with UN Environment Programme,
World Agroforestry Centre, BNP Paribas and ADM
Capital. The Facility will provide loans and grants tocommercial projects, with significant positive socialand environmental impact. The first project deal for
restoring degraded rubber plantations worth US$70
million was signed during this reporting period. The
target is to capitalize the facility at a level of US$1
billion, mostly in private sector financing. We arealso replicating this finance facility for India. Suchinnovation will enable the transformational change
and effective partnerships the world is looking for.
Our key issue now is to implement our strategy on
green finance so that this work can be propelledforward across these multiple areas of intervention ina coherent manner that takes advantage of the initial
successes highlighted above.
The 10-Year Framework of Programmes on
Sustainable Consumption and Production with its
programmes on buildings and construction, foodsystems, tourism, consumer information, public
procurement and sustainable lifestyles, hosted by
UN Environment Programme, the Climate Technology
Centre and Network, that we jointly host with the
UN Industrial and Development Organization, the18 regional seas conventions and programmesthat we support, and the UN REDD+ partnership arejust some of the vehicles that can be used for thistransformative change.
As the custodian agency for 26 of the Sustainable
Development Goals indicators, we are well placed tosupport countries to become well equipped and able
to track their progress. A total of 48 UN agencies areengaging with us on a UN system-wide framework on
environmental strategies and aligning their strategies
to the environmental dimension of the 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development. This will facilitate ourwork with the rest of the UN system to leverage evenfurther change.
UN Environment Programme is an accredited
agency with the Green Climate Fund, in addition
to its consolidated role as a key partner of theEuropean Union’s Programme for the Environment
and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources,
and its role as an Implementing Agency for both

the Multilateral Fund of the Montreal Protocol and
the Global Environment Facility. There is potential
for far greater integration of these global funding
instruments with our strategic priorities; for a moreorganized, strategic “blending” of what we do withthese funding sources and what we do with our otheropportunities for engagement on green finance:
especially if we are to capitalize a far greater scale ofimpact.
On the biodiversity front, we have been extremely
engaged as the host of key biodiversity related
conventions but also through the activities
implemented under the ecosystems management
programme in the organization. Unfortunately, as thenegative effects of human pressure on wildlife andbiodiversity rapidly increase in magnitude, global
responses remain fragmented and uncoordinated:
relying mainly on “specialist” inputs and initiatives
promoted by individual countries, conservation
organizations, institutions, international conventions,and multilateral environmental agreements.
Poaching and trafficking of wildlife are increasing.
Wildlife populations worldwide are significantly
threatened as they lose their habitat to rapid humanpopulation growth and expanding agriculture.
Even if the fight against the current high levels ofpoaching were successful, habitat and range loss
will continue to threaten the future of wild species
across the world and exacerbate the level of humanwildlife conflicts. The currently fragmented nature of
responses to biodiversity and wildlife losses reveals
the difficulty decision-makers face in articulating amechanism – or series of coordinated mechanisms –to successfully reverse the ongoing decline. This,
however, is a significant opportunity to scale up ourwork on biodiversity and wildlife and address thisglobal challenge in a more coordinated, politically
impacting fashion.
Pollution of our air, water and soil causes a
significant number of deaths every year. We needto create a significant movement globally in whichsociety sees the reduction of pollution as criticalto health and in our oceans, critical to livelihoods
and fisheries. This will help shift public opinion andcreate political momentum for change. Together
with a greater government, citizen and businessmovement, we can help countries tackle root causesof critical problems. Recognizing the urgent need toaddress pollution, the UN Environment Assembly met
under the theme, “Towards a Pollution Free Planet”.
It adopted a political declaration giving politicalweight to these efforts. In the run-up to the Assembly,
we launched the Beat Pollution Campaign. Uniting
stakeholders from all sectors in the fight against
pollution, the 2017 UN Environment Assembly was afitting conclusion to the biennium 2016-2017.

6 | OVERVIEWORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESSAREAS OF STRENGTH
Sustainable Development Goals
Environmental dimension integrated into 2030
Agenda; a number of indicators being measured to
track progress
Business Model
Increased number of campaigns raising the criticalmass needed to focus on strategic priorities
Increased number of partnerships establishedwith the private sector to strengthen organization’s
business model of working through partnerships
Emphasis on green finance showing important initial
results
GenderGender well integrated into the design of initiatives
BudgetTotal income across all funding sources exceededbudgetResource allocation process approved to improve theway in which corporate funding is allocated acrossthe organization
Human resources
Greater representation of personnel fromunderrepresented member states
Information for decision making
Availability of a project-level risk system

Evidence of results
High rate of evaluations that rate project quality“Satisfactory” or better; Positive rating of usefulnessof our products and services from Evaluation

AREAS TO STRENGTHEN
Need for more coordinated capacity for implementation of
Sustainable Development Goals and tracking of progress

Need to ensure interest and awareness created throughcampaigns is combined with substantive action achieving key
outcomes and impacts
Need to ensure private sector partnerships result in tangible
outcomes and impacts in line with results targeted inprogramme of work
Scaling up of green finance would benefit from coordinatedimplementation of our green finance strategy
Need to track quality of our results from integrating gender inthe programme implementation stage
Environment Fund has fallen short of budget, thus need forstrengthening partnerships with contributors and resource
mobilization
Need to strengthen the use of programme performance
information in strategic decision making, including theresource allocation process
Reduction needed in number of days to fill vacant posts andneed for gender balance especially at senior levels
Need for investment in a corporate-level risk system; needfor using programme performance information for adaptive
management
Need for adequate budget to complete planned evaluations inline with approved evaluation plan

2016–2017 in numbers

OVERVIEW | 7

Total
planned budget

Total
actual income

Total
expenditures

USD million

USD million

USD million

683
271

889 954*
137

129

Environment fund

Enviornment FundEnvironment fund

343

707**

744

Extrabudgetary resources

Extrabudgetary resources

45

45

Regular budget

Regular budget

23–

Programme support

Extrabudgetary resources

45

Regular budget

36

Programme support*Expenditures were able to exceed income as a result of balances brought forward from thepast biennium that were to be spent in 2016–2017.
**Income inclusive of programme support.

8 | CLIMATE CHANGE

CLIMATE CHANGE
In our work on climate change, we focus on achieving results in three areas:•

Climate resilience, where we support countries in using ecosystem-based and otherapproaches to adapt and build resilience to climate change;•

Low-emission growth, where we support countries to adopt energy efficiency
measures, access clean energy finance, and reduce their emissions of greenhousegases and other pollutants by transitioning to renewable sources of energy;•

REDD+, where we enable countries to capitalize on investment opportunities that
reduce greenhouse emissions from deforestation and forest degradation withadequate social and environmental safeguards.

During 2016-2017, we met all of our targets for climate change,with 2 exceptions; in thosecases, we have made progress but not to the full extent we had targeted.

CLIMATE CHANGE | 9

Ind
ica
to
ra

100%

80%

11

60%
Ind
ica
to
ra

50%
100%

RE
Indi
cat
DD
or
c(i
)
+

90%
40%

CL

(i)

IM

Indi
cat
or
c(i
)

7%

70%

CE
LIEN
Indicator a(ii)ESIER
2017 Target
AT

80%

30%

11
7%

70%

20%
60%
10%
50%

40%
30%
20%
10%

)
I

nd
Ind
ica
tor
ica
b(iv)
tor
b(iv)

%
10

1

240%

240% i)Indicator b(ii

tor
ica
Ind

i) S
(iiN
LOWIndEiM
orSbIO
caItS

Achieved

1i1i)

b(

tor
ica
Ind

b(

ii)

to
r

In

di

Partially achieved (60%–99%)
2017 target

Achieved

Partially achieved (60%–99%)

Not achieved (below 60%)2017 target

INDICATORS OF ACHIEVEMENT(a) i)di

LOW EMISSIONS

Not achieved (below 60%)

CLIMATE RESILIENCE

In
0%

ca

(v

ca

to

rb

)

to
r

ica

to

b(
i)

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rb

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2017 Target
AT

RE
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(i)

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CL

Increase in the number of countries implementing ecosystem-based and other supporting adaptation approaches as a result of UN Environment
Programme support

INDICATORS OF ACHIEVEMENT(a) ii) Increase in number of countries that have progressed in integrating ecosystem based and supporting adaptation approaches in sectoral and national
development strategies with the assistance of UN Environment Programme

CLIMATE RESILIENCE LOW EMISSION GROWTH(a) i)(b) i) Increased
percentageimplementingof renewable energy
in the global energy mix and(including
breakdown
by countries
assisted byapproaches
UN Environment as
Programme)
Increase in the numberof countries
ecosystem-basedothersupporting
adaptationa result of UN Environmentb) ii)
Programme supportb) iii)b) iv)

Increased number of policies implemented and actions taken by countries to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and other climate pollutants as aresult of UN Environment Programme-led public-private partnership initiatives(a) ii) Increase in number of countries that have progressed in integrating ecosystem based and supporting adaptation approaches in sectoral and nationalb) (v)
development strategies with the assistance of UN Environment Programme
REDD+
(c)
LOW EMISSION GROWTH(b) i)

Increased number and percentage of countries that have progressed through both of the following steps in the development and implementation of
REDD-plus strategies: step (i): national REDD-plus readiness plan approved; step (ii): national or subnational climate change strategies recognize

based on
REDD-plus
a means
forenergytransformation
Increased percentageinvestmentsof renewableenergyin as
theglobalmix (including breakdown by countries assisted by UN Environment Programme)b) ii)b) iii)b) iv)

Increased number of policies implemented and actions taken by countries to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and other climate pollutants as aresult of UN Environment Programme-led public-private partnership initiativesb) (v)
REDD+(c)

Increased number and percentage of countries that have progressed through both of the following steps in the development and implementation of
REDD-plus strategies: step (i): national REDD-plus readiness plan approved; step (ii): national or subnational climate change strategies recognize
investments based on REDD-plus as a means for transformation

10 | CLIMATE CHANGE

CLIMATE RESILIENCE: EQUIPPINGMORE COUNTRIES TO ADAPT TO
CLIMATE CHANGE
Even if efforts to limit average global temperature
increased to between 1.5°C to 2°C were successful,countries, communities and the private sector would
still have to have to adapt to the negative climatechange impact of greenhouse gases already in theatmosphere. We therefore need to continue ourefforts to ensure that countries are equipped toadapt to climate change. The Adaptation Gap 2017:
Towards Global Assessment report highlighted theenormous amount of work ahead of us to monitor
progress towards the global goal on adaptation. Our
strategy has been to ensure countries create the rightenabling environment for adaptation. This meanscountries must have the technical and institutional
capacity to adapt to climate change throughmanaging their ecosystems in a way that contributes
to their overall adaptation strategies.
By December 2015, we had supported 42
countries to create an enabling environment for
implementing ecosystem-based and other adaptation
approaches.1 Our target for 2017 was to enable four
more countries to achieve the same result. During
2016-2017, the organization enabled Albania, Angola,
Antigua and Barbuda and Mauritania to accessand utilize adaptation finance for ecosystem-based
adaptation. This brings the cumulative number
to 46 countries implementing ecosystem-based
adaptation measures, which means we met thetargets set out in the programme of work.
To help ensure that ecosystem-based approaches
demonstrated in one site are sustained andreplicated elsewhere, we also support countries tointegrate this thinking into national-level planning. As
of December 2015, 19 countries had progressed withintegrating ecosystem-based and other adaptation
approaches into national plans. By end of 2017, weenabled four more countries (Grenada, Lesotho,
Seychelles and Uganda) to integrate ecosystembased and other adaptation approaches into national
plans, bringing the cumulative total to 23 countries.
Thus, our target has been fully met.
Countries are increasingly recognizing ecosystembased adaptation as an effective approach, withsome governments scaling up their ongoingecosystem-based adaptation work and incorporating
ecosystems in their Nationally Determined
Contributions2 as part of their vision for adaptation.
By end of 2017, four countries (The Gambia, Nepal,
Peru and Rwanda) had successfully scaled up theirecosystem-based adaptation work with additional
1
2

Twenty did so in 2014-2015; the others were before that biennium.
Nationally Determined Contributions are national plans which outline
what post-2020 climate actions counties intend to undertake under theParis Climate Agreement.

resources, including from the Green Climate Fund(The Gambia and Peru3).
During 2016-2017, Cook Island’s Ministry of Financeand Economic Management became accredited andBhutan’s Trust Fund for Conservation of Nature wasable to submit its application for accreditation to the
Adaptation Fund. We provided readiness support inaccessing financing from the Green Climate Fundto 14 countries4. Two entities, National Environment
Management Authority (NEMA), Kenya and Fiji
Development Bank (FDB), Fiji were accredited in2016 and 2017 respectively. Fifteen entities in
Benin, Colombia, El Salvador, Ghana, Kenya, Nepal,
Philippines and Uzbekistan are at various stages ofGreen Climate Fund accreditation. In addition, we
have supported access to climate finance throughGreen Climate Fund proposal development. With
our support ten project concept notes have beendeveloped and submitted to the Green Climate Fund
Secretariat for review. In 2017, one project proposal
for Colombia was approved entitled: “Scaling up
Climate Resilient Water Management Practices for
Vulnerable Communities in La Mojana”.
In addition, we helped countries increase theavailability of microfinance for ecosystem-based
adaptation. During 2016-2017, five microfinanceinstitutions in Colombia and Peru delivered 1,300
microfinance pilots that were focused on ecosystembased adaptation. These ranged from finance fordrip-irrigation to sustainable forest management.
These pilots will inform larger-scale work of thepartner institutions, which have committed to provide
farmers with loans worth US$26 million of private
funds benefitting 7,000 farmers.
While we met our targets on climate change
adaptation, if countries are to successfully
implement the Paris Agreement and National
Adaptation, we need to scale up and catalyse
adaptation at a much broader scale. More countries,
communities and private sector organizations willneed to have access to adaptation finance, andpartnerships will have to be strengthened andbroadened.

34

http://www4.unfccc.int/ndcregistry/PublishedDocuments/Peru%20
First/iNDC%20Per%C3%¯BA%20english.pdf
Albania*, Benin*, Comoros*, Colombia, El Salvador, Fiji, Ghana, Kenya,
Montenegro, Nepal, Philippines, Serbia*, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe*.
(Countries marked with (*) are funded by Green Climate Fund readinessfunds and the rest from funds provided by Germany’s Environment
Ministry.

CLIMATE CHANGE | 11

46 countries implementing
ecosystem-based
adaptation–23 have integrated
adaptation in national plans

LOW-EMISSION GROWTH:PROMOTING RENEWABLES AND
IMPROVING ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Complementing our work on adaptation to climatechange is our work to support low-emission
growth. This work focuses on increasing the useof renewables and improving energy efficiency byproviding guidance on policy, technology and accessto finance.
Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment5,6

Estimated Renewable Energy Share of Global Electricity Production, End-2014(REN21 report, 2015

5

6

Available at http://fs-unep-centre.org/publications/global-trendsrenewable-energy-investment-2017 Published by Frankfurt School, a
UN Environment Programme Collaborating Centre. Data for 2017 yet tobe published.
Available at http://www.ren21.net/gsr-2017/ Published by REN21 theglobal renewable energy policy multi-stakeholder network.

We bring together first-mover financiers andrenewable energy project developers to mitigate risks
and share some of the early-stage investment costs.
During 2016-2017, our Seed Capital AssistanceFacility (SCAF), signed new cooperating partner
agreements with Asia Capital Partners (ACP),
GreenWish Capital, The Blue Circle and Zoscales,
bringing the number of cooperating partner funds toseven.7 The Facility now has a total capitalization of
US$657 million, and US$20 million of seed capital
invested in eight renewable energy projects in
Cambodia, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda andViet Nam. In addition, we mobilized US$40 million

Estimated Renewable Energy Share of Global Electricity Production, End-2016

worth of investments through the Mediterranean
Investment Facility, supported by the Italian Ministryof Environment. In summary, in 2016-2017, wemobilized US$94 million, just 6 million short of thetarget of US$100 million.
7

Asia Climate Partners, GreenWish Capital, The Blue Circle, CIIE
Initiatives, DI Frontier Fund, JCM Capital, Zoscales.

12 | CLIMATE CHANGE

of improvement in energy efficiency by 2030. We
contribute to the energy efficiency goal of the
Sustainable Energy for All Initiative through its
global Energy Efficiency Accelerator Platform. On
this initiative, we co-lead work on energy-efficient
lighting, appliances and equipment, transport anddistrict energy, and contribute to the workstream
on buildings. The Copenhagen Centre on Energy
Efficiency, part of the UN Environment ProgrammeTechnical University of Denmark (UNEP-DTU)
Partnership, further assists to coordinate thisPlatform and to support quick replication of goodpractices.
We also supported the uptake of renewables. In
collaboration with the UN Development Programme,
we helped five countries (Albania, Chile, India,
Lebanon and Mexico) transform the market forsolar water heating. We enabled the installationof 3 million square meters of solar water heating
panels in the five countries, while removing barriers
to the widespread uptake of solar water heaters.
A key challenge is to catalyse this kind of market
transformation at a much broader scale. Member
States’ leadership on this issue could help create
new jobs and drive investment in an area proven to
be financially and technically feasible.
With funding from the Global Environment Facility
and support from UN Environment Programme,
six East African countries (Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya,
Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda) are exploring theirpotential and have moved towards investments in
geothermal energy. An additional seven countries(Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Democratic Republicof Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia) are
getting support in the form of investments andassistance with removing barriers to geothermalenergy. In 2016-2017, two surface exploration
projects in Ngozi (Tanzania) and Kibiro (Uganda)
were successfully completed.
Our Emission Gap Report for 20178 highlights thesignificant gap between Nationally Determined
Contributions and the emission reductions thatare needed for achieving the long-term objectiveof the Paris Agreement, to limit global warming towell below 2°C. Energy efficiency implementationis considered fundamental to this objective and an
overwhelming majority of Nationally Determined
Contributions recognise energy efficiency as a
primary delivery strategy. Our portfolio on lowemission growth includes work to support energy
efficiency implementation, including lighting,appliances, transport, and district energy. Throughthis work, which includes multi-stakeholder
partnerships, we are working toward Sustainable
Development Goal 7.3, to double the global rate

Our target for 2017 was to support ten new countries
to meet energy-efficiency standards in specificsectors. We exceeded this target by supporting
progress in 11 countries9, for example, throughpilot cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia todevelop district energy policy-investment roadmaps
and pioneering an interactive approach to building
energy efficiency and district energy modernization
with the City of Belgrade. Fuel efficiency was
supported through the Clean Air Action Plan in
Sri Lanka. This work has unlocked significant
investment from development banks operating in theregion. During 2016-2017, with our support, Russia
implemented 10 ppm diesel fuel standards andPhilippines implemented Euro 4/IV vehicle emission
standards. In addition, through the UN Environment
Programme hosted Global Alliance for Buildings andConstruction, we supported regional approaches forzero-carbon and efficient buildings and construction
through Regional Roundtables for Asia-Pacific(Singapore, Hong Kong), Latin America (Peru)
and West Africa (Cote D’Ivoire). These Regional
Roundtables focused on peer-to-peer learning,
Nationally Determined Contributions, and climateconducive building regulation. Linked to the Global
Alliance for Buildings and Construction, Morocco
has established a national Alliance of Buildings for
Climate. Progress is also underway in many othercountries: Peru has developed a National EfficientLighting Strategy (NELS) and is in the process ofadopting it. Similar strategies are under development
in Bolivia, Chile, Morocco and Pakistan. In India, fivepilot cities10 have district energy policy-investment
roadmaps under development.
Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA)
concepts were developed and finalized for thebuilding sector in four countries11, with Thailand
submitting their concepts into the UNFCCC NAMA
Registry and seeking further support, including Green
Climate Fund Readiness funds through the Climate
Technology Centre and Network in early 2018.

98

Available at https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/
handle/20.500.11822/22070/EGR_2017.pdf

Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canada, Kenya, Mexico, Philippines, Russia,
Rwanda, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Uganda, USA.
10 Coimbatore, Pune, Rajkot, Bhopal and Thane.
11 Indonesia, The Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

CLIMATE CHANGE | 13

MORE COUNTRIES ADOPT ACTIONS TO IMPROVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY NATIONALLY
Sector2016-2017 Results

Lighting

47 countries now have national efficient lighting strategies, with 10 Association of Southeast Asian
Nation (ASEAN) countries agreeing to harmonise their lighting standards in 2017.

District energy

212 countries have developed district energy policy investment roadmaps and feasibility studies
leading to loan investments.

Appliances andEquipment

8 new countries13 have joined the United for Efficiency (U4E) initiative, which aims to transformmarkets for the deployment of energy efficient appliances, bringing the total to 33.

Transport

The Philippines and Russia adopted fuel efficiency policies, bringing the total number of countries
with cleaner vehicle and fuel efficiency policies to 12.

Our target for 2016-2017 was to support the1213
implementation of ten initiatives on the transfer
of advanced technologies in renewable energy orenergy efficiency. During 2016-2017, we assisted 24
countries14 in the process of transferring advanced
technologies related to renewable energy and energy
efficiency, thus exceeding the target of ten countries.

and Rayong and Bangkok in Thailand. Furthermore,
Philippines, Sri Lanka and Ukraine demonstrated
preferential policies for electric vehicles while
California (USA), Canada and the European Unionalso made progress to further address short-lived
climate pollutants such as black carbon.

Our target for 2016-2017 of 20 policies and actions
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and otherclimate pollutants was achieved. We supported anagreement on cleaner fuels in 23 regions of Peru
and Paraguay and waste management actions inSão Paolo in Brazil, Quezon city in the Philippines,

Through major partnership initiatives, such as the
Clean Air and Climate Coalition15, we broadened ourreach and expanded our impact. The key challenge
for these initiatives is to increase the space andcapability of partners and countries to translatetechnical assistance and policies into bankable
investment objects.

12 Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia.
13 Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Rwanda, Bahamas, Barbados,
Jamaica, St Lucia and the Maldives.
14 Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bhutan, Bosnia andHerzegovina, Botswana, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Guinea, Indonesia,
Iran, Jordan, Laos, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal, Seychelles, Tanzania,
Thailand, Tunisia, Uganda, Vietnam, Zimbabwe.

15 http://ccacoalition.org/en

14 | CLIMATE CHANGE

MAJOR PARTNERSHIPS ARE LEVERAGING ACTION AND TRANSPARENCY ON CLIMATE CHANGE 16 171819
The 1 Gigaton
Coalition

Launched at the climate conference in Lima in 2014, this initiative enables countries to measure
and report emission savings resulting from renewable energy and energy efficiency. To date, theCoalition comprises of 25 countries and 40 organizations. The Coalition’s 2017 report found thatexisting renewable energy projects in developing countries will contribute 0.6Gt of CO2 emissions
savings per year by 2020.

Portfolio Decarbonization Coalition

Launched at the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Summit in 2014, this initiative encourages
institutional investors to decarbonize their portfolios. The target is to decarbonize US$100
billion worth of investment portfolios by 2020. The coalition has grown from two members in2014 to 2716 in 2016-2017, with commitments to decarbonize over US$600 billion in assets undermanagement.17 To date, all Coalition members have taken substantive action to decarbonize
their investment portfolios and 17 members have now adopted formal decarbonization-related
objectives and targets.

The Climate andClean Air Coalition

This multi-stakeholder partnership has grown to 112 partners, including 51 governments,
who have made pledges worth US$58 million. Eleven high-impact initiatives are being
implemented to catalyse and scale-up action to reduce black carbon and methane and to
avoid hydrofluorocarbon in agriculture, brick production, cooking, heating, diesel vehicles, oiland gas production, and municipal solid waste. The coalition’s activities are relevant to 12 of
the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Coalition partners led a group calling for an ambitious
amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which was achieved in 2016. Eight partner countries18
pledged to target short-lived climate pollutants in their nationally determined contributions.

The Climate
Technology Centre
and Network

The Centre, which we manage in partnership with the UN Industrial and Development
Organization (UNIDO), is the operational arm of the Climate Change convention’s technology
mechanism. It provides technical assistance to countries on their climate technology challenges.
As of December 2017, 22 countries were taking advantage of the technology assistance.

National Determined
Contributions (NDC)
Partnership

The NDC Partnership is a global initiative that was launched in November 2016 at the climate
conference in Marrakech. It aims to help countries achieve their national climate commitments
and ensure that financial and technical assistance is delivered as efficiently as possible. We are apartner of this initiative, which is hosted by the World Resource Institute. Our role is to support incountry implementation as well as technical assistance. We supported 36 countries19 to develop
their Intended National Determined Contributions (INDCs) before the Paris Climate Conference
and we are currently supporting countries with readiness for implementation, among others,
developing implementation plans, assessing specific sectoral actions to achieve their National
Determined Contributions, including national climate finance roadmaps.

Copenhagen Centre
on Energy Efficiency

The Centre continued to establish itself as an important contributor to global energy efficiency
implementation and in 2017 supported release of a range of publications to build the evidencebase for energy efficiency. The Centre also provides the technical deployment team to UN
Environment Programme’s District Energy in Cities Initiative and widened this technical resource
to assist with projects in other sectors, notably buildings and public lighting, with a focus on
outreach and engagement of the private sector and sub-national governments.

16 A Capital, ABP, Allianz, Amundi Asset Management, AP4, Australian Ethical, BNP Paribas Investment Partners, Caisse des Dépôts (CDC), Church of
Sweden, Environment Agency Pension Fund (UK), Fonds de réserves pour les retraites, Hermes Investment Management (UK), Humanis, Inflection Point
Capital Management, KLP, Le Régime de Retraite additionnelle de la Fonction publique (ERAFP), Local Government Super (Australia), Mandatum Life,
Mirova Natixis, MN, Ohman, Robecco SAM, Sonen Capital, Storebrand, Toronto Atmospheric Fund, University of Sydney and Wheb Asset Management.
17 See http://www.unepfi.org/fileadmin/climatechange/PDC2015pressrelease.pdf.
18 Central African Republic, Chile, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria and Togo.
19 Antigua and Barbuda, Afghanistan, Benin, Burundi, Cambodia, Chad, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Eritrea, Fiji, Gabon,
Guinea Bissau, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Maldives, Mauritania, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Niger, Papua New Guinea,
Rwanda, São Tomé & Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

CLIMATE CHANGE | 15

UNEP DTU
Partnership, Centre
on energy, climate
and sustainable
development (UDP),
hosted by theTechnical Universityof Denmark (DTU)

Through its Collaborating Centre (UDP) the UN Environment Programme provides technicaland scientific based support on clean energy and climate policy to developing countries. This
includes projects such as the Global Technology Needs Assessment, which is implemented
in close collaboration with the UNFCCC Technology Mechanism20. The Project supported 36
countries between 2009 and 2013, and 26 countries between 2014 and 2018. The third phaseof the project with 23 countries is expected to start by mid 2018. It will include mainly Least
Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States.
Through UDP, UN Environment Programme is also contributing to the implementation of
the enhanced transparency framework, by implementing the Initiative for Climate Action
Transparency (ICAT). ICAT supports improved transparency and capacity building under theParis Agreement by providing policymakers around the world with guidance and support tomeasure and assess the impacts of their climate actions. Working initially with 21 developing
countries21, ICAT is helping governments build capacity to measure the effects of their policies
and report progress publicly. This will foster greater transparency, trust and ambition in climate
policies worldwide. The initiative works to improve the availability and quality of data and enablecountries to promote efficient, cost-effective policies.
UN Environment Programme and UDP are jointly supporting the Capacity Building Initiative forTransparency (CBIT), operationalized by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). We are supporting
more than 20 countries22 to develop project proposals and subsequently implement the projects(Preparation of Project Identification Forms, PIF, and CEO Endorsement Documents). In addition,
we are supporting the countries to develop their institutional and technical capacities forenhanced transparency.
We are also implementing the CBIT Global Coordination Platform, which aims to facilitate
coordination, information sharing, and knowledge management in the area of transparency. The
Platform is designed to centralizing information on countries’ status and needs for transparency;
support provided by different initiatives to improve national monitoring, reporting and verification
systems in developing countries, and the available knowledge resources. By convening Parties,
support initiatives, agencies and other practitioners to a virtual meeting place, the platform will
facilitate knowledge exchange and community building.
20212220 The Technology Mechanism consists of the Technology Executive Committee and the Climate Technology Centre and Network.
21 Brazil, Cambodia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Peru, Philippines,
Rwanda, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago.
22 Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Chile, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Georgia, Ghana, Honduras, Lao
People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Liberia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Togo, Uganda.

16 | CLIMATE CHANGE

REDUCING EMISSIONS FROM
DEFORESTATION AND FOREST
DEGRADATION AND HELPING
COUNTRIES SEIZE INVESTMENTOPPORTUNITIESThe Paris Climate Agreement recognizes thecentral role of forests in achieving the goal of
keeping temperatures well below 2°C throughmitigation options that aim to reduce emissions
from deforestation and forest degradation. To date,
118 countries have included forestry and land use
measures as part of their pledges in their Nationally
Determined Contributions.23 This represents
162 million hectares of restored, reforested andafforested land, which is in line with the Bonn
Challenge and the New York Declaration on Forests.
The UN-REDD Programme, jointly implemented
by UN Environment Programme, the Food andAgricultural Organization of the UN and the UN
Development Programme, is supporting 64 countries
to become “REDD+ ready”, or prepared to welcome
relevant investment opportunities. In 2016-2017,seven countries (Chile, Costa Rica, the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Peru, Sri Lanka andVietnam) finalized and/or adopted national REDD+
strategies that recognize multiple benefits and/or the role of private sector. This exceeds the UN
Environment Programme target of six additionalcountries having attained this goal by December
2017. This progress marks an important step incomplying with the Climate Change Convention’s
Warsaw Framework requirements for allowing
countries to receive results-based payments. Since
the start of the REDD+ programme, a total of 23
countries24 have been developing, adopting or
implementing national REDD+ strategies.

from a capital finance programme via long-dated
Tropical Landscapes Bonds. The Facility seeks toprovide the world’s first-ever large-scale financeprogramme for landscape protection and rural
livelihoods; with its motto being “leveraging private
finance for public good”. The Facility aims to lend
more than US$1 billion to commercial projects, withsignificant positive social and environmental impact
in Indonesia.
In addition, the Norwegian Government – inpartnership with tropical forest countries, theSustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), UN Environment
Programme, the Global Environment Facility26,
and supported by major food companies andinternational environmental non-governmentalorganizations – is setting up The Tropical Forest
and Agriculture Fund. The fund will seek to trigger
private investment in deforestation-free agriculture
in countries that are working to reduce theirdeforestation and forest and peat degradation. The
fund aims to protect over five million hectares offorests and peatlands through projects secured by
2020.

To complement the support to countries to develop
and implement national REDD+ strategies, newinnovative partnerships for transformative land
management have been established. In Indonesia,25
the Tropical Landscape Finance Facility wasestablished, with UN Environment Programme as
Secretariat of the Facility. The World Agroforestry
Centre, BNP Paribas and ADM Capital are key
partners in the Facility, which will include both a loan
and grant window. The Facility will provide longdated and concessional debt, securing refinancing

23 Nationally Determined Contributions are national plans that outline
what post-2020 climate actions counties intend to undertake under theParis Climate Agreement.
24 Argentina, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bolivia, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia,
Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador,
Kenya, Mexico, Mongolia, Nigeria, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Republic ofCongo, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Viet Nam and Zambia.
25 Indonesia has a funding gap of more than US$ 20 billion for projects
that address climate change mitigation and adaptation through, interalia, inclusive access to energy, improved smallholder productivity, rural
livelihoods and poverty alleviation.

26 The Global Environment Facility has provided a US$2 million
reimbursable grant.

CLIMATE CHANGE | 17

Financial Performance: Climate Change
400

365.6

300

US$ million

265.3

200

100
84.8

42.0

18.7 18.7
4.1

4.1

4.1

0
Environment Fund

Trust Funds & Earmarked
contributions

Regular Budget

Source of Funding
2016–2017 Budget

Available Resources as at 31 December 2017

Expenditure as at 31 December 201718 | DISASTERS AND CONFLICTS

DISASTERS AND
CONFLICTS
In our work on disasters and conflicts, we focus on achieving results in two areas:•

Risk reduction, where we improve the capacity of countries to use environmental
management to prevent and reduce the risks of natural hazards, industrial disasters
and conflict.

•Response and recovery, where we support countries in the aftermath of a disaster orconflict to identify and address environmental risks that could have serious social andeconomic impacts.

We performed well against most of our indicator targets for the 2016-2017 biennium,
exceeding four of the five.

DISASTERS AND CONFLICTS | 19

+

90%

In

70%

80%

60%

ED
D+

70%

o

50%

60%

40%

50%

2017 Target

30%
40%

2017 Target

20%
30%
20%
10%

r
Ind
ica a(i
t
o
ra
(i

P
RES

10%

7% 17%

1i)

11

110088%%i)

Indicator b(ii)

In

80%

10

RECOVERSE ANDY R
NOERP SE ANIDndicaC
V(Eii)RY
ED
toO
r
S
b
E
D
R ON
R

%
105

90%
100%

EISK REDUCTION
NCR
ILIE
ES
CEISK REDUCTION
ER
IEN R
Ind
AT
SIL
i
IM
c
RE
i)
ato
CL r a( ATE

to
ca
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d
In

100%

)
ct IM
di CL8% r a(i10 icto
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ii)
b(i
r
to 105%
ica
d
(iii)
In
rb

IInnddiica
ca to
t
o
r rbb(i(i) )Achieved

Achieved
Not achieved (below 60%)
Not achieved (below 60%)

Partially achieved (60%–99%)

Partially
2017
target achieved (60%–99%)
2017 target

INDICATORS OF ACHIEVEMENT

INDICATORSOF ACHIEVEMENTRISK REDUCTIONa) i)Percentage of countries vulnerable to natural and man-made disasters that progress at least one step in four of six categories in the country

capacity framework for natural resource and environmental management, with the assistance of UN Environment Programme
RISK REDUCTIONii) Increasedof United
Nations
programmes
anddisasters
training courses
on risk reduction
bestofpracticesin sustainablea) i) a)Percentage
of numbercountries
vulnerable
to policies,
natural andman-madethat progress
at least thatoneintegrate
step in four
six categories
in the country
natural resource management based on UN Environment Programme reports and inputs
capacity framework for natural resource and environmental management, with the assistance of UN Environment Programmea) ii)

Increased number of United Nations policies, programmes and training courses on risk reduction that integrate best practices in sustainable
natural resource management based on UN Environment Programme reports and inputs

RESPONSE AND RECOVERY(b) (i) The capacity of countries to use natural resource and environmental management to support sustainable recovery from natural and man-madedisasters is improved

RESPONSERECOVERY(b) (ii) AND
Increased
percentage of national recovery plans that prioritize environment and natural resource management needs based on

UN Environment
Programme(b) (i) The capacityof countries
to useassistancenatural resource and environmental management to support sustainable recovery from natural and man-madeis improved(b)disasters(iii) Percentage
of country requests for emergency response met by assistance(b) (ii) Increased percentage of national recovery plans that prioritize environment and natural resource management needs based on
UN Environment Programme assistance(b) (iii) Percentage of country requests for emergency response met by assistance20 | DISASTERS AND CONFLICTSRISK REDUCTION
During the biennium, UN Environment Programme
supported 29 countries1 to reduce the risks ofnatural disasters, industrial accidents and conflicts.
We gauge our progress with two indicators. The firstindicator (EA.A.i), on country capacity, is repeated(also EA.B.iii) as a way of tracking our progress on
both risk reduction and response and recovery. At thenational level we have supported Afghanistan, Sudan,South Sudan and Haiti to reduce risks in the context
of post-crisis recovery, as evidenced by forward
progress along a yearly assessed country capacity

framework (81% forward progress against a biennial
target of 100%).
Our risk reduction work is also assessed throughthe extent to which we can integrate ecosystembased solutions for disaster risk reduction andpeacebuilding across the wider United Nations
system. By the end of 2017, we had significantly
influenced the programmes of three UN partners, twomajor UN policies and two trainings, exceeding ourtarget for the biennium (biennial target: +2 each ofpolicies, programmes and trainings over the end of
the previous biennium baseline).

MORE COUNTRIES REDUCE THEIR RISKS TO DISASTERS WITH OUR SUPPORT IN 2016-2017

1

Country

ResultChina

Improved emergency preparedness in the industrial city of Tianjin through capacity building on
Awareness and Preparedness for Environmental Emergency at a Local Level (APELL) methodology
done in partnership with Tsinghua University.

JordanCo-delivered Capacity for Disaster Reduction Initiative (CADRI) assessment for the country, highlighting
areas for improvement in environment, water and agriculture.

Kazakhstan

Capacity was built on environmental emergency risk in disaster risk management, in partnership with
the Central Asian Centre on Emergency Response and Disaster Risk Reduction

UgandaCapacity built in government on environmental emergency response and environmental management in
the oil industry in support of Norway’s Oil for Development Programme

Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire,
China, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Georgia,
Haiti, India, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Morocco, Nepal, Palestine,
Peru, Philippines, Slovenia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand,
Turkmenistan, Uganda and Ukraine.

DISASTERS AND CONFLICTS | 21

INFLUENCING POLICES, PROGRAMMES AND TRAINING COURSES IN 2016-2017 TO REDUCE RISK

Who weinfluenced

What weinfluenced

What we did

Why it is important

Humanitarianagencies
operatingacross Sudan

The Sudan
Humanitarian
Fund

We worked with the Sudan
Office for the Coordinationof Humanitarian Affairs tointegrate environmental issues
into their manual and screen
projects for environmental
effectivenessAll 54 project proposals to the humanitarianfund, valued at many millions of dollars, werescreened for their environmental performance,a catalytic intervention that helps to improve theoverall performance and sustainability of thesector.

Countries andinternationalorganizationsin the Extractive
Industry
Transparency
Initiative (EITI)The Extractive
Industry
Transparency
Initiative’s
open data
standards

In collaboration with
the Extractive Industry
Transparency Initiative andthe World Bank, we provided
detailed inputs on the content
of the new open data policy,
drawing in particular on
experience from fragile states,
and improving environmental
transparency.

The Extractive Industry Transparency Initiativeis one of the primary mechanisms for promoting
public awareness about how countries manage
their oil, gas and mineral resources. Originallyfocusing on revenue payments the Extractive
Industry Transparency Initiative’s expansion
into social and environmental issues offersa powerful avenue to improve environmental
management in the extractive sector, particularly
in fragile states.

Member states,
13 members
within the UN
systemThe Anticipate,
Absorb andReshape(A2R) initiativeon climate
resilience

We have been closely involvedin the development of the
Anticipate, Absorb and Reshapeinitiative on climate resilienceand provides A2R with shared
Secretariat (with the Food andAgriculture Organization)

This initiative was launched at the Paris
Conference of the Parties in 2015 but began
operating with its Leadership group in 2016.
The new initiative will strengthen the ability ofcountries to anticipate hazards, absorb shocks,
and reshape development to reduce climate
risks.

RESPONSE AND RECOVERY
During the biennium, we helped 28 countries2 assess,and respond to, and recover from a variety of natural
disasters, industrial accidents and armed conflicts.
Our response and recovery work is assessed throughthree indicators.
The first indicator tracks our responsiveness inproviding technical assistance to countries affectedby environmental emergencies. During the biennium,
we deployed 17 technical assessment missions,
meeting all but one request (from Syria, wheresecurity considerations precluded deployment).
The second indicator tracks the extent to which
our recommendations as part of those technicalmissions substantially influence recovery plans.
In the 60-month period between July 2012 andJune 2017, 28 assessment missions madesubstantial recommendations for addressing
environmental priorities in the post crisis phase.
Follow-up monitoring showed that in 18 cases ourrecommendations were significantly acted uponby the national government or our international
2

Afghanistan, Armenia, Bangladesh, Benin, Bolivia, Cote d’Ivoire,
Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Ecuador, Haiti,
Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Liberia, Mali, Nepal, Nigeria, Palestine, Paraguay,
Peru, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic,
Ukraine and Yemen.

partners. This reflects our ability to influence
outcomes significantly roughly 64% of the time(or 76% of the target). This is work which we willcontinue to build on and improve following the United
Nations Environment Assemblies in May 2016 andDecember 2017 which passed two resolutions asking
UN Environment Programme to expand its services
in areas affected by armed conflict and to address
conflict related pollution caused by armed conflict or
terrorism.
The third indicator returns to our country capacity
indicator, where we support countries emerging
from crisis as they seek to put in place criticalenvironmental policies, plans and institutions aspart of a wider recovery process. In 2017, additional
progress reached a total of 13 cumulative steps
along the Country Capacity Framework (out of arequired 16), hence the estimated score of 81%

22 | DISASTERS AND CONFLICTS

MORE COUNTRIES RESPOND TO EMERGENCIES IN 2016-2017 WITH OUR SUPPORTCountry

Our support

ResultIraq (damage fromthe Islamic state;stability of the Mosul
dam; response to
the December 2017
earthquake)

Several assessment teams deployed toassess damage in and around Mosul
as a result of the fighting against theIslamic state group

The government is informed about a variety ofurgent environmental risks which have informed
management of polluted conflict waste and therecovery programme for the country.

Sierra Leone (2017landslides andfloods)In response to the August 2017 landslidethat claimed the lives of 500 people, anenvironmental expert was mobilized.

The expert’s work, contributed to the environmental
and waste management part of the World Bank
post disaster assessment and early recovery plans,
including dialogue over how to reduce the risks offuture flooding and landslide impacts around thecapital, Freetown.

Haiti (October 2016hurricane)

An environmental emergency expert
was mobilized through the Joint UN
Environment Programme/ UN Officefor the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA) Environment Unit (JEU),
with support of the European Union Civil
Protection Mechanism, as part of theUnited Nations Disaster Assessment andCoordination (UNDAC) team deployed
to support the response to Hurricane
Matthew.

The environment was integrated in humanitarianplans (Flash Appeal, Humanitarian Response Plan)
and the Post Disaster Needs Assessment. Recovery
in the South is being coordinated around agriculture
and incorporating environmental considerations.

Countries receiving UN Environment’s long-term support progress in building capacity
2014

Afghanistan
2015
2016

2017

2014

Haiti
2015
2016

2017

2014

South Sudan
2015
2016

2017

2014

Sudan
2015
2016

2017

Access to information, data availability
Policy and planning
Legal environment
Institutions
Implementation and enforcement capacity
Public participation
No progressof the target.3 Post crisis countries continue to bechallenging places in which to work, requiring carefulplanning, close coordination and patient support
to deliver meaningful services to the countries.
During this period UN Environment Programme also
3

The country capacity framework aims to provide an objective
assessment of the extent to which UN Environment Programme has
built overall country-level capacity for environmental governancein six dimensions: 1. Access to information and availability of datafor informed decision-making; 2. Enhanced planning and policy
development skills; 3. Improved regulatory frameworks; 4. Stronger
environmental institutions; 5. Implementation and enforcement
capacity; and 6. Public participation in decision-making. Eachdimension has six components or steps. Country project teams, incollaboration with national partners, assess the level of environmental
governance across each of these components at the end of each year
and decide the extent to which they have been achieved (incomplete,partially met, mostly met, or complete). A cumulative equivalent scoreof four components progressing from incomplete to complete isneeded to meet the expected accomplishment. The original indicator
anticipated baseline information being available from 2010 and acrossa wider group of countries. However, it was felt that the indicator would
appropriately apply to only those countries in which UN Environment
Programme is providing long-term support (currently four). In addition,
full baseline information for these four countries was collected in 2013,
thereby reducing the time for the achievement of the indicator andskewing the percentage necessary for full achievement of the indicator.

Slight progress

Strong progress

Setback

established country presence in Colombia, Somalia
and Iraq, which will be reported on in future periods.
Our Disasters and Conflicts programme isrelevant to the achievement of all 17 Sustainable
Development Goals, as external shocks such as
natural disasters, industrial accidents and especiallyarmed conflict have proven to be extremely powerful‘brakes’ on development and progress. However,
the organization in particular aims to deliver on
Sustainable Development Goal 1 (poverty), 11(cities), 13 (climate action) and 16 (peace).

DISASTERS AND CONFLICTS | 23

Financial Performance: Disasters and Conflicts

30.0

28.7

23.5

20.5

US$ million

20.0

19.7

20

10.0
7.0

7.5

3.4

3.4

3.4

0
Environment Fund

Trust Funds & Earmarked
contributions

Regular Budget

Source of Funding
2016–2017 Budget

Available Resources as at 31 December 2017

Expenditure as at 31 December 201724 | ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENTECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT
In our work on ecosystem management, we focus on achieving results in the following
areas:•The enabling environment, where we assist countries in incorporating the value and thelong-term functioning of ecosystems in planning and accounting frameworks to meet
multiple objectives;•

The productivity of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, where we help countries use an
ecosystem approach to managing terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems; and•The productivity of marine ecosystems, where we help countries use an ecosystemapproach in marine ecosystem management.

Our Ecosystems management programme is relevant to the achievement of all 17
Sustainable Development Goals; however, under this programme the organization inparticular aims to deliver on SDGs 1 (poverty), 2 (zero hunger), 3 (health and well-being) 6(clean water and sanitation), 7 (affordable and clean energy), 11 (cities and communities),
12 (consumption and production), 13 (climate action), 14 (life bellow water),15 (life on land)and 17 (partnerships).
In 2017, we exceeded two of our targets: on marine litter and wastewater management.
However, we were slightly less effective in achieving other targets, which have progressedsolidly but not to the extent we had anticipated.

ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT | 25

90%
70%

60%

70%

t

50%

o

20
17
Ta
rg
e

80%

QUATIC
AL/A
a(iv)
rU
I
n
d
C
I
T
TRI
A
i
icatoQ
c
ator
IndL
a(v
ES
A /A
RR r a(iiEi)STRI Indicator a(iv) Indicator a)

100%
80%

20Ind
17ic
Taator
rga(
ei

TE

ON

Indicator a(i)t
ica RR r a(iii)
to
ica
Ind

T
EN
M

90%

Ind TE

)
c(ii
tor
a
ic
Ind

Ind
ica
to
ra
(i

i)t

ENABL
ING
EN
ica
EInNdA
t
o
c(i)
BLrIN
VIR
GE
Indicator c
ON
N
(i)
VIR

100%

i)

T
EN
M

Indicator a
(i)

)
c(ii
tor
a
ic
Ind

60%

40%

50%

30%

40%

20%

30%

10%

20%

10%

(v)

or (i)b(i)

44%1
11 1 t at
ca ic
diInd
n
I
or
b

ic

to
ica
i ndato

i nd

%

rb r
(iv b() iv)
IndIndiciactatororbb(i(iii)
ii)

220000%%i) i)
r rb(bi (iIInnddicicaatoto

MA
AR
RIIN
M
NEE
Achieved

Partially achieved (60%–99%)

Not achieved (below 60%)2017 target

Achieved

Not achieved (below 60%)

Partially achieved (60%–99%)
2017 target

INDICATORS OF ACHIEVEMENT

INDICATORSOF ACHIEVEMENTPRODUCTIVITY OF TERRESTRIAL AND AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMSa) (i) Increased
percentage ofcountries
integrating
the ecosystem approach into sector-based natural resource management, with the assistance of
PRODUCTIVITYOF TERRESTRIALAND
AQUATICECOSYSTEMSa) (i)a) (ii)a) (iii)a) (iv)a) (v)UN Environment Programme

Increased
percentage
countries
integrating
the ecosystemintonaturalresource
management,
withtotheofa) (ii) Increased
ratio ofof
river
basins where
the ecosystemapproachapproach
is approved
bysector-based
governing bodies
or underimplementation
by parties,
theassistancetotal
number of river
basins in countries, with the assistance of UN Environment Programme
UN Environment
Programmea) (iii) Increased
percentage
of countries
thatare improving
their water
quality frameworks
basedbodies
on the orinternational
water quality guidelines,
withIncreasedratio ofriver basins
where theecosystem
approach
is approvedby governing
under implementation
by parties,
to thethe totalof UN Environment
numberassistanceof river basins
in countries,Programmewith the assistance of UN Environment Programmea)(iv)
Increased
percentageofareamanagedusing
anecosystem
approach
out
of
the
total
area
coveredbycountries,
withtheassistanceof
Increased percentage of countries that are improving their water quality frameworks based on the international water quality guidelines, with the
UN Environment Programme
assistanceof UN Environment Programmea) (v) Increased percentage of area, by country or by group of countries that share transboundary ecosystems, of land or watershed ecosystem
Increased
percentage
of areamanagedan ecosystemapproach out of the total area covered by countries, with the assistance of
restoration,with theassistanceof UNusing
Environment
Programme
UN Environment Programme
Increased
percentage
of area,by country or by group of countries that share transboundary ecosystems, of land or watershed ecosystem
PRODUCTIVITY
OF MARINEECOSYSTEMS
restoration, with the assistance of UN Environment Programmeb)(i)Increased percentage of countries and corporations adopting action plans to reduce marine litter and wastewater in coastal and marine
ecosystems, with the assistance of UN Environment Programme
Increased percentage of countries and corporations adopting action plans to reduce untreated wastewater in coastal and marine systems, withthe assistance
UNcountries
Environment
Increased
percentageofof
andProgramme
corporations adopting action plans to reduce marine litter and wastewater in coastal and marineb)(iii) Increased percentage of regional seas for which the ecosystem approach is being implemented by parties, with the assistance of
ecosystems, with the assistance of UN Environment Programme
UN Environment Programme
Increased
percentage
of countries
and corporations
adopting actionplans toplan
reduceuntreated
wastewaterin coastal
systems, withb)(iv) Increased
percentage
of area coveredby an ecosystem¬-based
managementout ofthe total area
covered bycountries,andwithmarine
the assistancethe assistanceof UN Environmentof UN Environment
ProgrammeProgramme

PRODUCTIVITY OF MARINE ECOSYSTEMSb)(ii)b)(i)b)(ii)b)(iii) Increased percentage of regional seas for which the ecosystem approach is being implemented by parties, with the assistance ofUN
Environment
Programme
BUILDING
KNOWLEDGE
AND ENABLING CONDITIONS
b)(iv) Increased percentage of area covered by an ecosystem¬-based management plan out of the total area covered by countries, with the assistance(c) i) increase in the number of countries that integrate the ecosystem approach in development planning, with the assistance of UN Environmentof UN Environment Programme
Programme.
(c) ii) Increase in the number of countries that integrate priority ecosystem services into their national accounting and budgeting processes, with the

BUILDING KNOWLEDGE
assistance AND
of UNENABLING
EnvironmentCONDITIONSProgramme capacity framework for natural resource and environmental management, with the assistance of(c) i)UN Environment Programme.

increase in the number of countries that integrate the ecosystem approach in development planning, with the assistance of UN Environment
Programme.
(c) ii) Increase in the number of countries that integrate priority ecosystem services into their national accounting and budgeting processes, with theassistance of UN Environment Programme capacity framework for natural resource and environmental management, with the assistance of
UN Environment Programme.

26 | ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENTBUILDING KNOWLEDGE AND
ENABLING CONDITIONS
To help create an enabling environment for countries
to manage ecosystems in a sustainable way, we
help countries take account of ecosystem services,and use the valuation results and scenario analysis
to inform policy, assess freshwater ecosystems,
water quality and water resource management,
incorporate considerations of the health andproductivity of ecosystems and landscapes into
their policy frameworks and monitor and report on
SDG 6 (water). By the end of 2017, 131 countries
had incorporated ecosystem services values into
their planning processes. Fifteen2 countries hadtaken steps to adopt and implement the international
water quality guidelines to improve water quality
and more than 90 countries had reported about thestatus of water quality. Forty-five countries3 had
also incorporated the health and productivity of
ecosystems as an element in at least two of theirpolicy frameworks.

1
2
3Australia, Brazil, Botswana, Canada, Colombia, Ethiopia, Guatemala,Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, Philippines, Rwanda and Uganda.
Comoros, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Japan, Maldives,
Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Senegal, South Africa, Switzerland,
Uganda, United States of America.
Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Benin, BosniaHerzegovina, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde ,Comoros, Côte d‘Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica,
Equatorial Guinea, Egypt, Eritrea, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, India,
Iraq, Kenya, Lao PDR, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania,
Mexico, Namibia, Nepal, Niue, Niger, Philippines, Republic of Congo,
Samoa, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,
Senegal, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Togo, Turkey and Tanzania.

We offer several products and services in our work toachieve this result. The following were used in 20162017:
•

•
•

•

Our products and services that contribute to
the establishment of accounts on ecosystemservices which include valuations; standard
setting; capacity building; The Economics of
Ecosystems andBiodiversity study for Agriculture and Food; andthe Inclusive Wealth Index.
As per resolution 27/3 of the UN Environment
Programme Governing Council, we worked
with countries to compile best practices andframeworks for water quality. The document“A Framework for Freshwater Ecosystem
Management” was launched during the 3rd
session of the UN Environment Assembly.
As custodian agency for three of the indicators
within Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6
on water, we provided technical guidance andcapacity support to over 90 countries to enable
monitoring and reporting on ambient water
quality (50 countries reported), integrated water•

resources management (135 countries reported),water-related ecosystems (38 countries
reported).

•

The UN Environment Programme Freshwater
Strategy 2017 - 2021 was developed andpublished, setting the ambition and scope ofactivities to be undertaken in this five-year
period. A further publication on using indicators

ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT | 27•

for improved water resources management wasdeveloped and published by UN Environment
Programme/Danish Hydrological Institute Centre
for Water and Environment.

to take steps to secure the health and productivityof terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. We have also
supported the establishment of protected areas andthe advancement of ecosystem restoration.6

For the third session of the UN Environment
Assembly, we supported representatives from
the Member States in merging three draft
resolutions on water. A new resolution on water
quality (UNEP/EA.3/Res.10) was adopted, whichcalls for more actions to tackle global waterpollution as well as increased efforts on water
quality monitoring and relevant data.

We offer several products and services in our work toachieve this result. The following were used in 2016 2017:•

During the third UN Environment Assembly, we
also supported Member States to merge two
draft resolutions on soil pollution resulting in the
resolution “Managing soil pollution to achieve
Sustainable Development (UNEP/EA.3/Res.6)”.

We provided technical support through UN Waterand the Global Integrated Monitoring Initiative on
Water to monitor and report on the indicators under
the Sustainable Development Goal 6. We havefurther compiled best practices on water quality andpublished A Framework for Freshwater Ecosystem
Management. Furthermore, in collaboration withcountries, we have raised the level of awareness andcapacity to monitor, address and report on water
quality and water-related ecosystems.

•

We worked with more than 100 countries to put
in place policies and strategies on biodiversity,
desertification, biosafety, agriculture, forestry andaccess and benefit sharing. We further supported
country work through global forums, capacity
building, review and data.

Through collaboration with the Global ResearchPartnership and the members of the Landscape for
People Food and Nature initiative, PROTEUS andthe Finance Initiative, we made best practice anddata available to the finance, extractive, agriculture,
forestry, water and energy sectors.

•

As per UN Environment Assembly Resolution
2/14, we compiled a review of best practices
in engaging rural communities in wildlife
management and compiled an analysis of themultiple threats faced by wildlife around theglobe.

We initiated the Global Peatlands Initiative in 2016,
which has grown to 28 partners including four
pilot countries (Indonesia, Republic of the Congo,
Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Peru).
Peatlands are found in over 180 countries, and while
they cover less than 3 per cent of the world’s land
surface, they emit an estimated 5 per cent of all
greenhouse gas emissions and are home to globally
important biodiversity. The Initiative provides stateof the art scientific and technical advice to countries
requesting support for the conservation, sustainable
management and restoration of peatlands.

PRODUCTIVITY OF TERRESTRIAL
AND AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
By the end of 2017, we had enabled different sectors
in a total of 364 countries to use an ecosystemapproach. We had also enabled nine water basins5

More countries use an ecosystem approach to improve productivity

4

5Country

Result

Nepal

Pollination management plans have been adopted and pollinator conservation has been included in therevised Agrobiodiversity Policy.

Cambodia

Cambodia incorporated UN Environment Programme knowledge products and scenario analysis of thelandscape approach in their national climate change plan. They also completed and endorsed a National
Invasive Species Strategy and Action Plan.

MalawiA new fisheries and aquaculture policy was adopted.

Seychelles

A National Integrated Water Resources Management plan and a national Water Policy were developed
and approved.

Angola, Australia, Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Côte d’Ivoire,
Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominican Republic, Ecuador,
Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iraq,
Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Nepal, Nigeria, Papua New
Guinea, Peru, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone,
South Africa, Togo, Uganda and Ukraine.
Lukaya, Mekong, Mixteca, Molopo-Nossob, Tana and Tigris-Euphrates,
La Plata, Mutsamundu river and Provaz basin.

6

Argentina, Bolivia, China, Cook Island, Cuba, Ecuador, Ethiopia, MarshallIslands, Mexico, Micronesia, Mozambique, Nauru, Palau, Paraguay,
Peru, Tanzania and Zambia.

28 | ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENTPRODUCTIVITY OF MARINEECOSYSTEMSCountry action on marine litter and wastewatercontinued to increase in 2017, with another 22
countries, sub-national level governments andprivate sector entities7 agreeing on marine litteror wastewater action plans. As requested by the
UN Environment Assembly, the overall study ofthe global, and regional policies and governanceframeworks was completed and submitted to thethird session of the Assembly. Forty countries
joined the UN Environment Programme Clean Seas
campaign.
UN Environment’s Regional Seas Programmes andthe Global Programme of Action for the Protectionof the Marine Environment from Land-Based
Activities (GPA) are the main vehicles that we use
to support countries in integrating the ecosystemapproach in their efforts to sustain coastal andmarine ecosystems. By the end of 2017, 61 per
cent8 of regional seas (11 out of 18 regional seas
programmes or action plans) or their member states
had demonstrated the usage of an ecosystemapproach to improve the management of the marine
environment. For example, Regional Organization of
the Protection of the Marine Environment advanced
its preparation of an ecosystem-based management

7
8

Marine litter (Hawaii, United States of America; Lanzarote, Spain;
Indonesia; G20 countries; and Tesco) and wastewater (Cabo Verde,
Gambia, Guinea, Mauritania, Maldives, Senegal).
Abidjan Convention, Barcelona Convention, Cartagena Convention,
Helsinki Convention, Jeddah Convention, Nairobi Convention, NorthWest Pacific Action Plan, OSPAR Convention, South Asian Seas Action
Plan, Lima Convention, Tehran Convention.

strategy with the preliminary ecosystem assessment
and baseline study of policy instruments andinstitutions completed. Under the South PacificCommission, three out of the four member statescompleted or are progressing on the national
integrated ocean policy development processes.
We offer several products and services in our work toachieve this result. The following were used in 20162017:•

We provided support to countries to establish
action plans to address marine litter andwastewater at the regional, national and subnational levels.

•

We provided secretarial support to the Tehran
Convention (Caspian Sea) to establish thetrust fund and for the ratification of the Aktau
Protocol on regional preparedness, response andcooperation in combating oil pollution incidents.

•

The Clean Seas campaign was launched by UN
Environment Programme at the end of February
2017. In the ten months that followed, Clean
Seas significantly contributed to unprecedented
media attention and to a growing political
momentum to find global solutions for the issueof marine plastic pollution. Forty9 countries

9

Barbados, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Finland, France, Grenada,
Iceland, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Madagascar,
Maldives, Malta, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Panama,
Peru, Philippines, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa,
Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, United Kingdom and Uruguay.

ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT | 29

Increased action to maintain the health and productivity of oceans
Country, groups of countries or company

ResultCabo Verde, Gambia, Guinea,
Mauritania, Senegal

Adopted or updated wastewater action plans

Tesco

Banned microbeads from all products

Barbados

Piloted a financial mechanism for reef management

MexicoPledged to increase marine protection to 23% (more than double the target
percentage)

Indonesia

Developed Plan of Action on Marine and Plastic Debris

G20

Approved Marine Litter Action Plan

Maldives

Strategic Action plan developed

joined the campaign, most of them making
specific commitments to tackle marine litter.
Over 50,000 individual pledges to change
behaviours and reduce plastic consumption
were recorded across different platforms. Major
private sector and institutional partnerships were
established, including with DELL, Volvo Ocean
Race and the World Association of Zoos andAquariums.
We also worked with several countries to harness
opportunities from sustainable wastewater
management through pilot projects, fact sheets,
videos and workshops.

•

The Green Fins programme has continued to
improve business practices in the scuba diving
sector. It now operates in eight countries withover 500 diving and snorkelling operators.

© UN Environment•

In preparation for the 2018-2021 Mid-Term Strategy,
we have increased our focus on how finance isallocated in the public and private sector withseveral knowledge products and partnerships. This
work seeks to substantially shift private financial
flow to improved ecosystems management. In
2016, UN Environment, in collaboration with several
finance institutions (S&P Global ratings and HSBC)
put forward ground-breaking insight into therole of natural resource-related risk in Sovereign
Credit Analysis. Furthermore, we facilitated theestablishment of the Tropical Landscapes Finance
Facility, which is reducing financial barriers tosustainable land management in Indonesia.

Erik Solheim, Head of UN Environment, joins Afroz Shah in his long-running efforts to clean up Mumbai's Versova Beach.

30 | ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT

Financial Performance: Ecosystem Management
300
277.2

250

208.7

US$ million

200

150

106.5

100

50

40.0

19.3

19.2
4.6

4.6

4.6

0
Environment Fund

Trust Funds & Earmarked
contributions

Regular Budget

Source of Funding
2016–2017 Budget

Available Resources as at 31 December 2017

Expenditure as at 31 December 2017

ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT | 31

32 | ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCEENVIRONMENTAL
GOVERNANCE
Environmental Governance comprises the rules, practices, policies and institutions thatshape how humanity interacts with the environment. We work to improve environmental
governance by fostering:•

Coherence and synergies: by helping the UN system and multilateral environmental
agreements to work together more coherently,•

Stronger laws and institutions: by supporting national efforts to develop and enforce laws
and strengthening institutional arrangements for achieving environmental objectives intandem with social and economic goals, and•Mainstreaming of environment into development planning and decision-making: by assisting
countries to integrate environmental sustainability into development planning.

We have made good progress, achieving all our targets across the 11 indicators agreed tomeasure programme performance for the biennium 2016/2017. Through our programmaticefforts we have also contributed to the implementation of relevant UN Environment
Assembly Resolutions and Sustainable Development Goals.1

1

The subprogramme contributes to strengthening enabling conditions that are relevant to all the Sustainable Development Goals.
However, it has most direct relevance to Goals 1, 16 and 17.

ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE | 33

150%

100%

%

90%

12

5%

80%
Indicator a(i)

%

150

100%

50%

40%

150%

90%

Ind
ica
to
ra
12

5%

80%

201
7T
arg
et

30% 70%20% 60%
10%

50%
40%
30%
20%

230%

10%

)
ator c(i
Indic

C

GY
SYNER
ND
ator a(iv)

T
EN
M

)
(ii

MIN
G E 2017
NV
Ta
Indi
cat
rge
IR
or
c(i
O
t
i)
N

70%

c(iii)
tor
60%
ica
Ind

C

Ind
ica
to
ra

IndicaA
Indic
CE
YNERGY tor a(v)
EN tor a(iii % E A16N0%D S Indicator 1a2(i5v) In)dicato
r a(v
%
C
ER ica
)
133
)
160%
Ind
EN tor a(iii %
125
OH
%
0%
ER ica
133
14
Ind
OH
0%
14

150

)
(ii

T
EN
M

MAINSTREA
MIN
GE
)
i
(
c
ator
NV
Indi
Indic
cat
IR
or
c(i
ON
230%
i)
MAINSTREA

Indicator a(i)i)r c(ii
ato
c
i
Ind

0%
25333%

0%
ca
di
In

to
rb
(ii
i)

rb
to

0% ica
25nd

15

0%

to
rb
(ii
i)

I

(i)

ca
di
In

15

(i)

333%

rb
to
a
c
i
Ind

200%

Indicator 200%b(ii)Indicator b(ii)

LAW

LAW

Achieved Achieved

Partially(60%–99%)
Partiallyachievedachieved (60%–99%)

Not(below
achieved60%)(below 60%)
Not achieved

2017
2017target
target

INDICATORS OF ACHIEVEMENT

INDICATORS OF ACHIEVEMENTCOHERENCE AND SYNERGIESa i)
Increased number of joint initiatives to handle environmental issues in a coordinated manner in the United Nations system and multilateral
COHERENCE AND SYNERGIES
environmental agreement bodies as a result of UN Environment Programme efforts

a i)

Increased numberof joint initiatives
to handle arrangements
environmental
in a coordinatedmanner inenvironmental
the United agreements
Nations systemandinmultilaterala ii)Increased
number of collaborative
withissues
the secretariats
of selected multilateral
which result
increased bodies
coherencesynergyof
betweenthe UN Environment
Programme
programme of work and the programmes of work of those agreements
environmental agreement
asand
a result
UN Environment
Programme
effortsa ii)

a iii) Increased
number ofarrangements
policy instrumentswith
or actionplans adopted by
and United Nations
bodies pursuant
to the post-2015
Increased numberof collaborative
the secretariats
of Governments
selected multilateralenvironmental
agreements
which result indevelopment framework, [1] including the sustainable development goals, that incorporate environmental objectives
increased coherence and synergy between the UN Environment Programme programme of work and the programmes of work of those agreements

a iii)

Increased number ofenvironmental
policy instruments
orasaction
adopted byProgramme
Governments
objectives,a resultplansof UN Environment
effortsand United Nations bodies pursuant to the post-2015
development framework,[1]ofincluding
the sustainable
development
goals,Nations
that incorporate
environmental• Numberpolicy instruments
or action plans
adopted by United
bodies pursuant
to the post-2015objectives
development framework that

• Number of policy instruments or action plans adopted by Governments pursuant to the post-2015 development framework that incorporate

environmental objectives• Number of policy incorporate
instruments
or action plans adopted by Governments pursuant to the post-2015 development framework that incorporatea iv) objectives,
Increased number
Unitedof
Nations
entities implementing
emissions
reduction strategies and/or environmental management systems
environmental
as aofresult
UN Environment
Programme
effortsa v)

Increased number of environmental policy issues or approaches emerging from UN Environment Programme policy advice or from United Nations system-wide• Number of policy
instruments
or action that
plans
United Nations bodies pursuant to the post-2015 development framework thatstrategies
for the environment
areadopted
referred toby
bodiesincorporate
LAWenvironmental objectives

a iv)

Increased numberof United
Nations
entities
implementing
emissions
reduction
strategies
and/orenvironmental
management
b i)
Increased
numberof legaland institutional
measurestaken by countries
to enforce
the ruleof law andimprove the implementationof systems

a v)

Increased number of environmental policy issues or approaches emerging from UN Environment Programme policy advice or from United Nations system-wideb ii)
Increased number of countries that undertake a review of, and adopt recommendations for, enhanced compliance with, and enforcement of,strategies forthe environmentthat are referred to bodies
international environmental obligations, with the assistance of UN Environment Programme upon the request of the countries

LAW

internationally agreed environmental objectives and goals, with the assistance of UN Environment Programmeb iii)

Increased number of initiatives and partnerships of major groups and stakeholders in support of the development and implementation of nationalb i)international environmental law, with the assistance of UN Environment Programme
Increased numberandof legaland institutional measures taken by countries to enforce the rule of law and improve the implementation of
MAINSTREAMINGENVIRONMENTALSUSTAINABILITY
internationallyagreed environmental
objectives
and goals, with the assistance of UN Environment Programme

b ii)

c i)
Increased
numberof United
Nations
Assistance(UNDAFs) infor,
countriesthat incorporate
the principles
of enforcement
environmental of,
Increased numberof countries
that
undertakea Development
review of, andadoptFrameworks
recommendations
enhancedcompliancewith, andsustainability, with the assistance of UN Environment Programme and its partners
international environmental obligations, with the assistance of UN Environment Programme upon the request of the countries

b iii)

Increased number of initiatives and partnerships of major groups and stakeholders in support of the development and implementation of national
UN Environment Programme
supportand international environmental
law, with theassistance of UN Environment Programmec ii)

Increased number of countries that advance by at least one level in the UN Environment Programme results measurement framework for assessing public sectorc iii)

Increased number of policies and plans from subregional and regional forums that incorporate the principles of environmental sustainability, as a

MAINSTREAMING ENVIRONMENTALSUSTAINABILITY
result of UN Environment
Programme support
c i)Increased number of United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks (UNDAFs) in countries that incorporate the principles of environmental
sustainability, with the assistance of UN Environment Programme and its partners

c ii)Increased number of countries that advance by at least one level in the UN Environment Programme results measurement framework for assessing public sectorc iii)

Increased number of policies and plans from subregional and regional forums that incorporate the principles of environmental sustainability, as aresult of UN Environment Programme support

UN Environment Programme support

34 | ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCECOHERENCE AND SYNERGIESIn a complex international context where a multitudeof actors work on issues that affect the environment,
UN Environment Programme promotes coherence
and synergy in the multilateral efforts to addressenvironmental issues, for a more consistent andefficient approach. Five indicators have been agreed
to measure progress in this area, which reflect thewide range of ways in which we can better aligninternational efforts on the environment. These
indicators, all of which have been met, measure joint
initiatives in the UN system to address emerging
issues (a(i)), better alignment of efforts with andamong multilateral environmental agreements (a(ii)),
how environment is reflected in the implementationof Agenda 2030 (a(iii)) and to what extent UN

1
2

3
4

5

Environment Programme policy approaches,
especially emerging from UN Environment Assembly
Resolutions, influence decision-making by otherentities and bodies in the UN system (a(v)).
One indicator measures to what extent UN entities“walk the talk”, that is, their commitment andmeasures to reduce their own environmental
footprint (a(iv)). Progress on each of these issummarized in the following box.
i:
ii:
iii:
iv:
v:

Joint UN initiatives
MEA Synergies
Environment in Agenda 2030
Greening the UN
UN uptake of Policies and Approaches

a.iJoint initiatives to handle environmental issues in a coordinated manner across the UN system and by
Multilateral Environmental Agreements. In order to have a more coordinated response from the UN system tothe environmental dimension of the Sustainable Development Goals, developments are taking place at both
the global and regional levels, within interagency mechanisms including the Environment Management Group(EMG)1 and the United Nations Development Group (UNDG). Six new initiatives were launched.2 Among others,
heads of agencies have decided to scale up collaboration and coordination on issues of common concern
including biodiversity, greening humanitarian work and environmental law. On wildlife, an Inter-Agency Task
Force was established to strengthen the impact potential on fighting Illegal trade in Wildlife and forest products.

a.ii

Collaborative arrangements between UN Environment Programme and the secretariats of multilateralenvironmental agreements have been set up. This resulted in increased coherence and synergy between theorganizations in support of UN Environment Assembly resolutions. Five new arrangements were established3(exceeding the target for the biennium). Most progress was achieved in the areas of biodiversity and climate,particularly in the areas of wetlands broad biodiversity objectives.

a.iii

Environmental objectives were embedded into action to implement the 2030 Agenda and better linkages
between Multilateral Environmental Agreements and Sustainable Development Goals were established.
Tangible results were achieved with UN Environment Programme support in seven cases at the country level,
and four in the United Nations context. For example, at country level there have been many instances inwhich different institutional arrangements were put in place to help implement the Sustainable Development
Goals in an integrated way, and to strongly reflect environmental data and policy coinsiderations into specificSustainable Development Goal action.4

a.iv

Greening the operations of the UN system: 8 additional UN entities (see table below) including the United
Nations Headquarters in New York adopted revised environmental policies throughout the biennium, achieving a
total of 34 strategies.

a.v

UN bodies5 integrated issues or approaches emerging from UN Environment Programme policy advice in theirdecisions in the area of environment-human rights linkages; crimes that affect the environment; climate andillegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products.

The Environment Management Group is the UN-wide system coordination body on the environment, for which UN Environment Programme provides thesecretariat and chairmanship.
These results are in support of UN Environment Assembly Resolution 2/5, Delivering on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The initiatives
include: UN system-wide framework on environmental strategies, Task Force on Illegal trade in Wildlife, EMG approved three new issues requiring joint
action for the Issue Management Groups, UN Environment and Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights adopted Policy and operational
messages on Human Rights and the Environment to support UN Country Teams, Thematic Working group on resource-efficient growth created as part of
the Asia Pacific United Nations Asia-Pacific Regional Coordination Mechanism and Peer Review of the environmental management of the IMF HQ
Strategic collaboration to support the future of wetlands with the Ramsar Convention, revision of national strategies and action plans on biodiversity with
UN Environment’s support in six countries, climate change law toolkit to support national implementation by UN Environment and UN Climate Change,
African Elephant Resolution at Convention on Migratory Species COP, Environment Treaties Programme (joint project with MEA Secretariats).
Azerbaijan: National Coordination Council on Sustainable Development established for the effective implementation of the global goals; Costa Rica:
voluntary national review uses integrated approach with strong environmental objectives; Mongolia: Data assessment findings integrated into the National
Statistics Office Plan to strengthen data capacity for the SDGs; Myanmar: Green economy and green growth and SDG implementation linked in Myanmar’splan on green economy and growth; Vanuatu Environmental Policy and Implementation action plan integrates SDG implementation objectives; Africa:
Outcome document of Regional Seminar addresses role of Parliaments in Sub-Saharan Africa to implement SDGs; Global: Cancun Declaration adopted by
the Conference of the Parties 13 of the Convention on Biological Diversity reemphasizes the linkages between Multilateral Environmental Agreements andSustainable Development Goals implementation.
UN General Assembly, Human Rights Council and High-Level Committee on Programmes.

ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE | 35

Concrete actions to green the UN
UN Entity

ActionBrindisi Global Support center

ISO 14001 certification

International Labour Organization

New Environmental Management System

United Nations Department of Field
SupportEnvironment strategy

World Bank

New strategic plan on corporate responsibility

UN Office for Project Services

ISO 14001 for entire agency

Food and Agricultural Organization of
the United Nations

Corporate Environmental Responsibility Strategy 2017 – 2020

World Food Programme

Environmental Policy 2017

United Nations Headquarters

Action Plan for integrating sustainable development practices into
Secretariat-wide operations and facilities management

Two examples of coherence and synergy in action: biodiversity and wildlife, and human rights andenvironment
National action (or country
level result)

UN action• UN Agencies working on
Biodiversity post 2020
Biodiversity andWildlife• UN Agencies aligning andreinforcing their efforts to fightillegal trade in wildlife andforest products• UNGA-resolution calls forstrengthened cooperation in
combating transnational crime(including against illicit trafficin wildlife)

Human Rights andEnvironment• Strengthening of
mechanism by UN andmultilateral environmental
agreements-secretariats tointegrate implementationof conventions• African Elephant fundendorsed by Convention on
Migratory Species• Countries enhancesynergies between
Biodiversity and SDGs intheir national strategies andaction plans (Bahrain, Iran,
Lao PDR, State of Palestine,
Sri Lanka and Thailand• Countries review Wildlife
policies (Angola, Kenya)

UN

MEAS

NATIONAL• UN Environment Programme
and the Office of the HighCommissioner for Human
Rights joined forces resulting
in policy and operational
messages on the human rights& environment linkages for the
UN Country Teams• Adoption of theRegional Agreement on
Access to Information,
Participation and Justicein Environmental Mattersin Latin America and the
Caribbean on Principle 10.

• UN Environment Programme
supports countries forstronger recognitionof rights regarding theenvironment and access to
information, participation
and access to justice inenvironmental matters.

• UN General Assemblyrecognized the Human Rights
Council Resolution on Human
Rights and Environment(34/L.33)

36 | ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE

While our programme of work indicators mostly
measure joint initiatives, collaborative arrangements
and policy measures, the impact of our efforts isachieved over a much longer time span and depends
on efforts beyond UN Environment Programme. For
example, through the new issues management groupon greening humanitarian work in the context of theUnited Nations Environment Management Group,
the ultimate goal is a new way of working: a lowemission and low-impact humanitarian assistancesystem. This requires not only time but especiallycontinued commitment and investment by agencies
and their member states.
Tracking progress in this area of work has demanded
heavy investment of time due to the high number ofindicators (five) and has demonstrated a need formore systematic data collection, not only to measurecompliance with the programme of work indicators
but also to keep track of developments in global
decision-making on the environment.
The 2018/19 programme of work has taken on board
lessons learned from the 2016/17 biennium withfewer indicators for measuring policy coherence andwith a stronger focus on the results of joint initiatives
and collaborative arrangements and on overall
progress in addressing emerging environmental
issues, with a strong link to UN Environment
Assembly resolutions and the Sustainable
Development Goals.

STRENGTHENING LAWS AND
INSTITUTIONS

We exceeded our targets for strengthening
governance in the areas of engagement highlighted
above.
In the biennium 2016-2017, countries took steps
to strengthen their legal or institutional measures
to improve implementation of international
environmental goals.
One of our key challenges is how to meet countries’
individual needs considering the limited resources
available, while at the same ensuring that our support
contributes to tackling problems of a global nature.
Partnerships with international organizations suchas the Organization of American States and Interpol,
and with networks of parliamentarians, judges, andcustoms officials and other enforcers at the global
and regional levels are helping us mainstream our
support on environmental rule of law through theefforts of others.
Working with secretariats of multilateralenvironmental agreements to support
implementation is also an efficient way to help
countries comply with their commitments and thus
contribute to global efforts to curb environmental
problems. The range of partnerships we rely on
needs to be expanded to further upscale successful
initiatives. To this end, the leadership of individual
Member States is a key driver to promote SouthSouth cooperation, sharing lessons learned andpromoting regional or sub-regional efforts to tackle
issues.

Strong environmental rule of law is the bedrockof environmental governance and one of thecornerstones of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development. We build national capacities to develop
and enforce laws and strengthen institutions forachieving environmental objectives in the following
areas:
i: Legal and institutional measures
ii: Compliance measuresiii: Major groups and stakeholders

Strengthening laws and institutions at the global and regional levels
GlobalMember States led a process to support the implementation of the Montevideo Programme; Statute of
the Global Judicial Institute on the Environment

Africa20 countries adopted the Johannesburg plan of Action on Judicial Education on Environmental Law inAfricaCarpathians
Adoption of a new protocol on sustainable agriculture and rural development in the context of the
Carpathian Convention
Caspian Sea
Aktau Protocol on addressing oil pollution incidents under the Tehran Convention for the Protection of
the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea entered into force

ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE | 37

Strengthening laws and institutions at the national level
Angola

Review/development of wildlife legislation or policies; Ratification of the Nagoya Protocol
on Access and Benefit Sharing

Antigua and Barbuda

Plastic waste regulation

Cameroon

Ratification of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing

Central African Republic

Ratification of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing

Chad

Ratification of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing

Ghana

Establishment of Environmental Courts

Kenya

Review/development of wildlife legislation or policies

KuwaitRatification of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing

Lao PDR

Development of Agreements and other instruments to operationalize the Nagoya Protocol

Malawi

Guidelines/manuals and standards to support environmental enforcement; capacity
development for the judiciary and prosecutorial sectors

MyanmarDevelopment of Agreements and other instruments to operationalize the Nagoya Protocol

Nigeria

Amendment of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act; Guidelines/manuals andstandards to support environmental enforcement

Sao Tome & Principe

Ratification of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing

Sierra Leone

Ratification of multilateral environmental agreements

Swaziland

Ratification of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing

Tanzania

Guidelines/manuals and standards to support environmental enforcement

Togo

Ratification of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing

Viet Nam

Development of Agreements and other instruments to operationalize the Nagoya Protocol;
Guidelines/manuals and standards to support environmental enforcement

Zimbabwe

Ratification of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing

MAINSTREAMING ENVIRONMENTINTO DEVELOPMENT
We assist countries to mainstream environmental
sustainability objectives into national and regional
development policies and plans.
Twenty-three countries or groups of countries1(see table below) finalized their UN Development
Assistance Frameworks (UNDAFs) during 20162017 and now fully integrate environmental priorities

in these plans, exceeding2 the target of 10. In
addition, over 80 countries were supported throughour regional offices in the areas of environmental
data, training of country teams, support in strategicplanning and programme implementation.
We also measured the overall progress wehave made that enabled countries to integrate
poverty-environment objectives into their national

2

1

Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, Caribbean Countries (18) China, Costa
Rica, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Dominican Republic,
Eritrea, Ethiopia, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Lao PDR, Lebanon,
Mongolia, Montenegro, Palestine, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab
Republic, Tanzania.

While UN Environment Programme systematically supports the effortsof the countries to integrate environmental objectives in their national
plans, the time of finalization and signature of the plans varies and thisresults at times in under-performing or over-performing with respect tothe indicator, which was the case during this reporting period. Besides
the actual finalization of the plans, support provided to country teams
in terms of data provision and capacities strengthening is key for moresustained embracing of the importance of the environment as part ofUN planning processes.

38 | ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE

Caribbean countriesand territories (Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Aruba, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands,
Commonwealth of Dominica, Curaҫao, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Maarten, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago) Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, China,
Costa Rica, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Dominican Republic, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran,
Jordan, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Mongolia, Montenegro, State of Palestine, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic andTanzania.

policy, planning and budgeting processes.3 The
UN Development Programme-UN Environment
Programme joint Poverty-Environment initiative
has continued to support countries in achieving
progress in this direction. Twelve countries4 havedemonstrated progress, resulting in full achievementof the indicator.
Political dialogue and cooperation throughministerial forums and related mechanisms waspromoted, resulting in incorporation of environmental
objectives in the outcomes of these regional forums.
The outcomes of these regional forums in Africa,
Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, the Arabregion and Asia Pacific, cover priority issues forthese regions.
The work done to support the integration ofenvironment into national and regional policy,

3

4

The indicator measures (ii) Increased number of countries that
advance by at least one level in the UN Environment Programme results
measurement framework for assessing public sector engagement instrengthening and applying financial planning instruments for pro‑poor
growth and environmental sustainability, as a result of UN Environment
Programme support. See footnote 16 in the 2016-2017 approved
Programme of Work document.
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Lao PDR, Malawi,
Mauritania, Myanmar, Philippines, Rwanda, Tajikistan and Tanzania.

planning and political processes needs to go handin hand with efforts to promote better alignmentof efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda, as mostdecision-making processes on environmental
matters are realigning to the Sustainable
Development Goals. UN Environment Assembly
Resolution 2/2 on regional ministerial forums is an
important step in promoting a better link between
regional decision-making processes and the UN
Environment Assembly itself, which in turn has
the potential to influence the wider international
community to ensure that environmental
considerations are fully integrated in theimplementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development, as stressed in UN Environment
Assembly 3 Resolution on “Contributions of theUnited Nations Environment Assembly to the HighLevel Political Forum on Sustainable Development”.

ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE | 39

To obtain long-term results on the ground,
there is an opportunity to build on the in-depth
results in countries supported through the joint
UN Development Programme-UN Environment
Programme Poverty-Environment Initiative, by better
integrating this work with other support including
on legal and policy measures. This approach isreflected in the 2018-19 Programme of Work, which
has a more targeted focus in terms of what we planto achieve in terms of measuring progress at thenational level in a more integrated manner. This is inline with UN Environment Assembly Resolution 2/5
on the 2030 Agenda, for support at all governancelevels.

Financial Performance: Environmental Governance

60

53.8

50

41.2

US$ million

40

30

29.9

25.0

20.9
19.5

20

10

8.8

8.8

8.7

0
Environment Fund

Trust Funds & Earmarked
contributions

Regular Budget

Source of Funding
2016–2017 Budget

Available Resources as at 31 December 2017

Expenditure as at 31 December 2017

40 | CHEMICALS AND WASTECHEMICALS AND WASTE
IIn our work on chemicals and waste, we focus on achieving results in three areas:•

The enabling environment, where we support countries to have the policies andinstitutional capacity to manage chemicals and waste soundly;•

Chemicals, where we help countries and other stakeholders implement soundchemicals management and the related multilateral environmental agreements; and•Waste, where we help countries and other stakeholders implement sound waste
management and the related multilateral environmental agreements.

Our work on chemicals and waste achieved nearly two-thirds of the targets set for theperiod 2016-2017. The indicators, however, show that results are uneven – with good
progress made by countries adopting policies for the sound management of chemicals
and waste, and less progress made in using industry reporting schemes and promoting
economic and market-based incentives, business policies and practices. In the area ofwaste, on the contrary, the number of businesses and industries addressing priority issues
through the use of tools and methodology provided by UN Environment Programme wellexceeded the target whereas the progress by governments lagged behind. For chemicals,
overall good progress was made in all target areas recognizing the increasing importancethat countries and other stakeholders are attaching to sound chemicals and waste
management as a critical component of the 2030 development agenda.

r c(iii)
cato
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17%

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Indica
tor a
(i)
10
7%

c(i
i)
0%

15

60%

r c(iii)
cato
i
d
In

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117

100%
40%

232%

Indica
tor a
(i)
10
7%

80%

c(i
i)

20%

20
17

70%

0%

et
rg
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15

60%
50%
40%
30%
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tor c(i)Indica

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ica
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(i)

20
to
%
rb
(iii
)

MENT
RON
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NVI
(iii)
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LIN tor a(
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30%

Ind
ica
tor

EN

117

%

90%

WAS
TE

et
rg
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Ind
ica
tor

20
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MENT
RON
Indicator a
NVI
(iii)
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LIN tor a(
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%

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WAS
TE

EN

117

90%

tor c(i)IndicaCHEMICALS AND WASTE | 41

(i)

ica
Ind

101%

1

20
to
%
rb
(iii
)

b
or
t
ica
Ind
b
or
at
c
i
Ind

Indicator b(ii)

CHEM

IC101%
ALS

Indicator b(ii)Achieved

CHEM

Not achieved (below 60%)

IC A L S

Partially achieved (60%–99%)
2017 target

Achieved

Partially achieved (60%–99%)

Not achieved (below 60%)2017 target

INDICATORS OF ACHIEVEMENT
INDICATORS OF ACHIEVEMENTENABLING ENVIRONMENTa(i)Increasein the number of countries reporting the adoption of policies for the sound management of chemicals and waste
ENABLING ENVIRONMENT• Numberandpercentage
of countries
by adoption
UN Environment
Programme
reporting the
adoptionofwastepolicies for the sound managementa(i)Increasein the numberof countriesassisted
reporting theof policies forthe sound managementof chemicals
andof chemicals
and waste,
relatedoftocountries
obligations
under
the
relevant Programme
multilateralenvironmental
agreements• Numberand percentage
assisted
by UN
Environment
reportingthe adoptionof policies for the sound managementof percentage
chemicals andof
waste,
related assisted
to obligations
the relevant multilateralenvironmental
agreements• Number andcountries
by underUN Environment
Programme
reportingthe adoption of policies for the sound management• Numberand percentage
assisted
by UN
Environment
Programmeof chemicals
and waste,
relatedoftocountries
adoptedSAICM
emerging
policyissues reporting the adoption of policies for the sound managementof chemicals and waste, related to adopted SAICM emerging policy issues• Number andpercentage of countries assisted by UN Environment Programme reporting the adoption of “other” policies (e.g., related to• Number and percentage of countries assisted by UN Environment Programme reporting the adoption of “other” policies (e.g., related tomainstreaming,etc.) for etc.)
the soundmanagementof ofchemicals
andwastewaste
mainstreaming,
for the soundmanagement
chemicals and(a)ii) number
Increased
numberand percentage
of countries
reportingthe
theuseuse ofandandmarket-based
incentives
and businessand practices(a)ii) Increased
andpercentage
of countries
reportingofeconomic
economic
market-based
incentives
andpolicies
business
policies and practices
thatpromotesound managementof chemicals
andwaste, with
with theof UN
Programmethat promote
thesoundthemanagementof chemicals
andwaste,
theassistanceassistanceofEnvironment
UN Environment
Programme(a)iii) Increased number and percentage of countries assisted by UN Environment Programme reporting the use of industry reporting schemes that(a)iii) Increased number
and percentage of countries assisted by UN Environment Programme reporting the use of industry reporting schemes that
promote the take up of sound chemicals and waste management
promote the take up of sound chemicals and waste management
CHEMICALSCHEMICALS (b) i) Increased number and percentage of Governments addressing priority chemical issues, towards SAICM objectives and their obligations under
the chemicals multilateral environmental agreements, through the use of risk assessment and management tools provided by UN Environment(b) i) Increased number
and percentage of Governments addressing priority chemical issues, towards SAICM objectives and their obligations under
Programme
the chemicals multilateral environmental agreements, through the use of risk assessment and management tools provided by UN Environment(b)ii) Increased number of businesses and industries addressing priority chemical issues through the use of risk assessment and management tools
Programmeprovided by UN Environment Programme(b)ii) Increased
ofnumberbusinesses
and industries
addressing
chemicalissues
issuesthroughthe useof risk assessment(b)iii) number
Increasedof civil society
organizations
addressingpriority
priority chemicals
under
the chemicals
multilateralenvironmental and management tools
through Programme
the use of risk assessment and management tools provided by UN Environment Programme
provided by agreements,
UN Environment(b)iii) Increased
number of civil society organizations addressing priority chemicals issues under the chemicals multilateral environmental
WASTE
agreements,
throughnumber
the userisk assessmentand management
tools
providedby UNSAICM
Environment
Programme(c)i) Increased
andofpercentage
of Governments
addressing priority
waste
issues towards
and their obligations
under the related
multilateral environmental agreements, through the use of tools and methodologies provided by UN Environment ProgrammeWASTE(c)ii) Increased number of businesses and industries addressing priority waste issues, through the use of tools and methodologies provided by UN
Environment(c)i) Increased number
andProgramme
percentage of Governments addressing priority waste issues towards SAICM and their obligations under the related(c)iii) Increased
number agreements,of civil society organizations
prioritywaste
issues under thewaste-related
multilateralenvironmental
agreements,
multilateralenvironmental
through theaddressing
use of tools
andmethodologies
provided
by UN
Environment
Programme
through the use of risk assessment and management tools provided by UN Environment Programme(c)ii) Increased number of businesses and industries addressing priority waste issues, through the use of tools and methodologies provided by UN
Environment Programme(c)iii) Increased number of civil society organizations addressing priority waste issues under the waste-related multilateral environmental agreements,
through the use of risk assessment and management tools provided by UN Environment Programme

42 | CHEMICALS AND WASTE

THE ENABLING ENVIRONMENT
In 2017 – over a century after early warnings fromscientists that mercury is highly dangerous to people
and the environment – the Minamata Convention
on Mercury entered into force. The first Conferenceof the Parties was held in Geneva from 24 to 29
September 2017. This concerted international action
under the convention builds on previous efforts suchas UN Environment Programme’s Global Mercury
Partnership. The Convention had 128 signatories and
88 ratifications by the end of the year. In the period
2016-2017, we assisted 26 additional countries
in conducting their Minamata Initial Assessment,
creating an enabling environment for them to comply
with the new multilateral environmental agreement.
The success in controlling mercury was precededin 2016 by the agreement on the Kigali amendment
at the 28th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal
Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone
Layer, held from10 to15 October 2016. By the endof 2017, 28 countries had accepted or ratified theamendment.
Our foundational work on chemicals and waste
focuses on supporting countries create an enabling
national policy environment that promotes soundchemicals and waste management. Policies include
those that would enable better management ofdifferent types of chemicals, such as mercury, lead,persistent organic pollutants and ozone-depleting
substances. Our work also includes policies that
help countries put in place market-based incentives
for better management of chemicals and waste.
With the Minamata Convention on Mercury and theKigali Amendment entering into force, the number ofcountries reporting the adoption of policies for thesound management of chemicals and waste wellexceeded the target set for this biennium. However,few countries reported that our assistance resulted
in increased use of economic and market-based
incentives and business policies and practices that
promote the sound management of chemicals andwaste, or an increase in industry reporting schemesthat promote the take-up of sound chemicals andwaste.
Nevertheless, a promising programme to support
small- and medium sized enterprises is underway topromote eco-innovation approaches. The challenge
is how to take this innovative work with the businesssector to scale to achieve the kind of change needed
to transform business operations. This would
require adequate investment and involvement ofmajor business players. First results are expectedin the coming biennium. As improvements insound management of chemicals and waste inbusiness and industry often go hand in hand withimprovements in resource efficiency, some of thiscombined work is reported under the Resource
Efficiency programme.

CHEMICALS AND WASTE | 43

CHEMICALS
Chemicals are part of our daily lives. Present ineverything, from food to mobile phones, they are
essential to modern life. But they can also damage
human health, the environment and economies, often
through a lack of knowledge on their appropriate use.
The Strategic Approach to International Chemicals
Management (SAICM) has been working for overa decade to ensure that chemicals are produced
and used in ways that minimize these impacts. As
pointed out in the draft independent evaluation,
its unique inclusive multi-stakeholder, multi-sector
voluntary global policy framework on soundchemicals management has provided the space andopportunity for government and non-government
actors alike, to discuss and deliberate on the
management of chemicals throughout their life cycle
in an atmosphere of trust and cooperation.
Since its establishment in 2006, the Quick
Start Programme of the Strategic Approach toInternational Chemicals Management (SAICM) has
mobilized over US$136 million for 184 projects
in 108 countries through its Trust Fund, which isadministered by UN Environment Programme.
In addition, US$88.5 million in non-Trust Fundcontributions came in since 2006. The programme
has played a critical role in supporting countries
and other stakeholders to implement the Basel,
Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions and theStrategic Approach by improving chemicals andwaste management and addressing emerging
policy issues. For example, it has helped to change
business practices to protect workers. The Special
Programme to support national institutional
strengthening for the implementation of theBasel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, theMinamata Convention, and the Strategic Approach
to International Chemicals Management builds
upon the lessons learned under the Quick Start
Programme. Since 2016, 24 countries have directly
benefitted from the special programme worth US$
6.85 million.
In the period 2016-2017, the increase in the numberof governments addressing priority chemical
issues, including their obligations under thechemicals agreements, using risk assessment andmanagement tools provided by UN Environment
Programme, almost met the target (94 per cent). The
targets for businesses and industries addressing
priority chemical issues using risk assessment andmanagement tools provided by the UN Environment
Programme and civil society organizations
addressing priority chemical issues were fully met or
exceeded.
One of the emerging policy issues under the Strategic
Approach to International Chemicals Management
is lead in paint. By December 2017, 68 countries had
controls in place to regulate lead in paint. Exposure
to lead can cause brain damage, loss of intelligencequotient and behavioural issues. Children are

Pollution: Going Forward1
From January 2018, air quality and marine pollution will be part the portfolio – allowing us to build stronger
linkages and synergies between the work undertaken upstream and downstream to prevent and address
waste and other forms of pollution.
Environment and HealthWith the Executive Director’s report Towards a Pollution-Free Planet, the Lancet Commission’s study on
the health impact of pollution, and public campaigns such as BreatheLife (on air pollution), CleanSeas (onmarine litter) and #BeatPollution (on pollution), the urgency of addressing pollution to protect the healthof people and the environment has never been clearer. Governments confirmed the need for action by
adopting the Environment and Health resolution at the third UN Environment Assembly (UNEA 3/8). This
resolution will help inform the future direction of the chemicals and waste programme.
Transformative change and targeted interventions
In 2017, UN Environment Programme offered a platform for sharing experiences in sustainable chemistryfrom different parts of the world. Whereas such transformative change in business practices forms the key
for long term success, there is also legacy of highly hazardous chemicals that need to be dealt with without
further delay. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has funded important work on persistent organic
pollutants, such as facilitation of the safe removal and disposal of highly toxic transformer fluid containing
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) by a number of African and Latin American countries. In November
2017, the Global Environment Facility GOLD1 project was launched; the project will help reduce the use of
mercury in artisanal small-scale gold mining. Going forward, such initiatives addressing the legacy of highly
hazardous chemicals should be scaled up.
1

Global Opportunities for Long-term Development (GOLD) in the Artisanal Small Gold Mining Sector.

44 | CHEMICALS AND WASTE

especially at risk, with 600,000 developing intellectual
disabilities from lead exposure every year. Exposureof pregnant women to high levels of lead can cause
miscarriage, still birth and malformations.
After successfully addressing lead in fuel throughthe Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles, UN
Environment Programme is now partnering with theWorld Health Organization and civil society in the
Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint. Comparedto the previous biennium, the work has somewhat
slowed: only one third of countries have legal limits
on lead in paint. Work needs to continue through theAlliance. The 3rd UN Environment Assembly, which
had the theme “Towards a Pollution-Free Planet”,
further advanced the agenda to limit lead exposure
by adopting a resolution on the environmentallysound management of waste lead-acid batteries(UN Environment Assembly Resolution 3/9). Suchbatteries are commonly used in motor vehicles
and uninterrupted power supply systems. Their
growing use and disposal are likely to have serious
implications for sound waste management in the
coming years.

WASTE
We work with governments, businesses andindustries, and civil society organizations to help
them use innovative tools and methodologies
to address priority waste issues. Our support
particularly focuses on the development of strategies
for environmental management of waste based ona “waste as resource” approach, prioritizing waste
avoidance, prevention, segregation for reuse andrecycling, treatment and disposal.
In 2016-2017, the programme component addressing
waste issues met two out of the three targets. The
number of governments addressing priority waste
issues, including their obligations under the related
multilateral environmental agreements, using tools
and methodologies provided by UN Environment
Programme increased from 22 in 2015 to 39 by
December 2017. Despite steady progress, thetarget of 62 was not met. The targets set for nongovernmental actors (businesses and industries,
civil society organizations) addressing priority
waste issues under the waste-related multilateralenvironmental agreements using risk assessmentand management tools provided by UN Environment
Programme were exceeded.
The number of stakeholders benefitting from UN
Environment Programme’s assistance has increased
over time. With the support of UN Environment
Programme’s International Environment Technology
Center, Mongolia, for example, developed anational waste management strategy as well as
one for its capital city, Ulaanbaatar. However, theexponential increase expected in the uptake of waste
management strategies by governments, assumed in
the target, did not occur.

CHEMICALS AND WASTE | 45

Financial Performance: Chemicals and Waste
200

163.9

150

US$ million

127.9

100

50
43.4
36.0

14.2

14.5
3.5

3.5

3.6

0
Environment Fund

Trust Funds & Earmarked
contributions

Regular Budget

Source of Funding
2016–2017 Budget

Available Resources as at 31 December 2017

Expenditure as at 31 December 201746 | RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AND SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTIONRESOURCE EFFICIENCY
In our work on resource efficiency, we focus on achieving results in three areas:•

Enabling policy environment, where we help countries make the transition to inclusive
green economies and adopt sustainable consumption and production action plans;•

Sustainability in businesses, where we work with governments, businesses and otherstakeholders to make global supply chains more sustainable; and•Sustainable lifestyles and consumption, where we empower countries, businesses, civilsociety and individuals to live and consume responsibly and sustainably.

In the 2016-2017 biennium we exceeded all of the five targets set for December 2017.

N
IO (ii)T
P tor cM
U ndica 0%IN
IO (ii)T
P tor cM
U ndica 0%
15

LIFESTYL
ES A
c(i)
ND
Indicator
CO
140%
NS

Ind
ica
tor

100%

I

15

10

80%

100%

70%

90%

60%

80%

50%

70%

40%

60%

30%

50%

20%

40%

10%

30%

a

(i)
201 4%
7 T Inarg dica
e tor
1 t

90%

0

201 4%
7T
arg
et

a(
i)

20%
10%

MTENT
NN
OE
ONIRM
NVIERNVIndicaIntodricaa(toii)r a(ii)
G E ING
LIN BL
2878%
2878%
AB ENAENLIFESTYL
ES A
(
i
c
)
r
o
t
ND
a
c
i
d
In
CO
140%
NS

RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AND SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION | 47

333%

333%

SU

SU

STA

223% 223%

Ini)
STIndicatordbic(ai)tor b(

A A
S
B TYBIN
INABIIN
USBIUNLITYILIIN

Achieved

Achieved

SES
E
S
S
S
SE
EIN

Not achieved (below 60%)

Not achieved (below 60%)

Partially achieved (60%–99%)

Partially
achieved
2017
target (60%–99%)
2017 target

INDICATORS OF ACHIEVEMENTENABLING ENVIRONMENT

INDICATORS OF ACHIEVEMENT(a) i) Increase in the number of UN Environment Programme-supported regional, national and local institutions that make progress in the development
and integration of the green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication and sustainable consumption and

ENABLING ENVIRONMENT
production approaches and tools in their policies(a) i) Increase in the number of UN Environment Programme-supported regional, national and local institutions that make progress in the development(a) ii)ofIncreasein thenumber of
to UN
Environment Programme
resource
efﬁciency
assessments
andreports in policy
and strategic
and integration
the green
economyin references
the context
of sustainable
development
and poverty
eradication
andsustainableconsumption
anddocuments
globalforums, national institutions, business organizations and academia
production approaches
andby
tools
in andtheirregional
policies
SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESSES(a) ii) Increase in (b)thei) numberof references to UN Environment Programme resource efﬁciency assessments and reports in policy and strategic
Increase in the number of stakeholders reporting progress in their improved management practices and use of more resource efﬁcient tools anddocuments by global
and regional
forums,nationalorganizations
andandacademia
instruments
in sectoral
policieswith theinstitutions,assistance ofbusiness
UN Environment
Programme
its partners
SUSTAINABILITY LIFESTYLESIN BUSINESSESAND CONSUMPTION
Increase
the number of reporting
stakeholders
reportingin the development
and useof toolsand
conducive
more resource
sustainableconsumption(b) i) Increase in (c)thei) number
ofinstakeholders
progress
inprogress
their improved
management
practicesuse oftomore
efﬁcient
tools andpatternspolicies
with thewith
assistanceof UN Environment
Programme andits partnersand its partners
instruments in sectoral
the assistanceof UN Environment
Programme(c) ii) Increase in the number of projects initiated by stakeholders to promote more sustainable consumption and lifestyles that are catalysed by

LIFESTYLES AND CONSUMPTION
UN Environment Programme(c) i) Increase in the number of stakeholders reporting progress in the development and use of tools conducive to more sustainable consumption
patterns with the assistance of UN Environment Programme and its partners(c) ii) Increase in the number of projects initiated by stakeholders to promote more sustainable consumption and lifestyles that are catalysed by
UN Environment Programme48 | RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AND SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTIONENABLING POLICY ENVIRONMENT
We support countries and regions in their transition
to an inclusive green economy and adoption ofsustainable consumption and production actionplans at national and sub-national levels. Inclusive
green economies are defined as low-carbon,
resource-efficient, circular and socially inclusive
economies that create decent jobs and enhance
human well-being. Country assessments, planningand implementation tools and knowledge platforms
enable policymakers and businesses to actively
pursue inclusive green economy pathways.

the total to 42 countries,4 19 counties and cities,5
and 5 regions6 that have adopted and/or started
the implementation of sustainable consumption
and production action plans or green economy
pathways since 2011 with our support. The biennial
target of 27 countries has been slightly exceeded.
In the next biennium we will set the bar higher andconsider only those countries that actually move toimplementation of these pathways.

In 2016 and 2017, five regions,1 thirteen countries,2and ten counties or cities3 adopted or started
to implement green economy or sustainableconsumption and production plans with our
support, exceeding our biennial target. This brings

4

1
2
3

Regions: Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, theMediterranean, Pan-Europe (Regional Roadmaps/Action Plans on
Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP)).
Countries: Algeria, Belarus, Cambodia, Colombia, Egypt, Jordan,
Lebanon, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, State of Palestine, andTunisia.
Counties and Cities: Bambasi, Welmera and Wonsho woredas(Ethiopia); Kumasi, Tema, and Tolon (Ghana); Mombasa and Nakuru(Kenya), Bilene and Chokwé (Mozambique).

56Countries (2011-2017): Algeria, Barbados, Belarus, Bhutan, Brazil,
Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia,
Dominica, Egypt, Finland, Ghana, Haiti, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan,
Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia,
Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, State of Palestine, Pakistan, Republic ofKorea, Rwanda, Saint-Lucia, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Tunisia,
Uganda, Viet Nam and Zambia.
Counties and Cities (2011-2017): Baku (Icheri Sheher), Azerbaijan;
Kampot, Cambodia; Addis Ababa and Bahir Dar, Ethiopia; Eco Town
Penang, Malaysia; Balti, Moldova; Pathum Thani, Thailand; Vinnystsia,
Ukraine; Da Nang, Viet Nam; Bambasi, Welmera and Wonsho woredas(Ethiopia); Kumasi, Tema, and Tolon (Ghana); Mombasa and Nakuru(Kenya), Bilene and Chokwé (Mozambique).
Regions (2011-2017): Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the
Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Pan-Europe (Regional Roadmaps/Action
Plans on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP).

RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AND SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION | 49

More regions, countries, counties and cities adopt policies for greener economies in 2016-2017
Regions

Asia-Pacific counties have adopted a Regional Sustainable Consumption
and Production Roadmap;
African countries have adopted a revised Regional Roadmap on
Sustainable Consumption and Production;
Latin-America and the Caribbean countries have adopted regional Strategy
on Sustainable Consumption and Production;
Mediterranean countries have adopted a regional Action Plan on
Sustainable Consumption and Production;
Pan-European countries have adopted a Strategic Framework for Greening
the Economy

Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco,
Niger, Pakistan, State of Palestine, Tunisia

These countries have adopted Sustainable Consumption and Production
National Action Plans (SCP NAP) and/or started with its implementation.

Belarus

The National Green Economy Action Plan for the Republic of Belarus(2016-2020) was approved by the Council of Ministers in December 2016,
with our support.

Cambodia

Cambodia has mainstreamed Sustainable Consumption and Production
into its new national environmental law that we supported in collaboration
with the UN Development Programme.

Colombia

A National Development Plan with a chapter on green growth has beenformulated with our support; it was subsequently adopted.

Nigeria

With the support of the UN Environment Programme Inquiry into a
Sustainable Financial System and the Climate Bonds Initiative, thegovernment of Nigeria launched its first sovereign green bond. This bondwill raise US$30 million to finance renewable-energy micro-utilities andforestation programs.

Ethiopia: Bambasi, Welmera and Wonsho
woredasGhana: Kumasi, Tema , and Tolon
Kenya: Mombasa and Nakuru counties
Mozambique: Bilene and Chokwé

These counties or sub-national entities/cities have mainstreamed inclusive
green economy approaches into their local development plans.

To achieve these results, we delivered various
assessments, tools and services to countries in2016 and 2017:
In 2016-2017, the International Resource Panelproduced several flagship resource assessmentsthat provide countries with scientific evidence
on resource efficiency. The assessments include
the following: Unlocking the Sustainable Potentialof Land Resources: Evaluation Systems, Strategies
and Tools;7 Food Systems and Natural Resources;8Green Energy Choices: The Benefits, Risks and TradeOffs of Low-Carbon Technologies for Electricity
Production;9 Global Material Flows and Resource
Productivity.10 Commissioned by the Group of
Seven (G7), the Panel issued a summary report
titled Resource Efficiency: Potential and Economic
Implications.11 The report was released in Berlin in
7

http://www.resourcepanel.org/reports/unlocking-sustainable-potentialland-resources
8 http://www.resourcepanel.org/reports/food-systems-and-naturalresources
9 http://www.resourcepanel.org/reports/green-energy-choices-benefitsrisks-and-trade-offs-low-carbon-technologies-electricity
10 http://www.resourcepanel.org/reports/global-material-flows-andresource-productivity
11 http://www.resourcepanel.org/reports/resource-efficiency

2017 at a workshop on resource efficiency for theGroup of Twenty (G20) countries. Based on a request
made during the second United Nations Environment
Assembly, the International Resource Panel released
a preliminary report: Assessing Global Resource Use:
A systems approach to resource efficiency and pollution
reduction.12 The report provides an assessment of thestate, trends and outlook of global natural resourceuse, with a focus on material resources as part ofthe evidence base for policymaking for sustainableconsumption and production. During subsequent UN
Environment Assembly meetings, updated versionsof the report will be released, keeping global resource
use under review.
Overall, International Resource Panel reports havegained significant attention in 2016 and 2017. Its
reports attracted 1,197 references from academia,
international organizations, non-governmentalorganizations, and the public and private sector,
signifying their increased relevance. Each report
comes with a summary for policymakers thathighlights key findings, messages and policy options.
The fact that the target has been overachieved by
12 http://www.resourcepanel.org/reports/assessing-global-resource-use

50 | RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AND SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION

more than 2,800% is testimony to the increased
relevance of UN Environment Programme’s scientificreports and assessments as well as increased
number of reports released by the International
Resource Panel. Future targets will reflect thisincreased relevance and introduce a higher level ofambition
The European Union-funded SWITCH projects haveassisted 15 countries13 to develop Sustainable
Consumption and Production Actions plans (or tomainstream Sustainable Consumption & Production(SCP) into national planning instruments), with 13
countries14 already engaged in their implementation.
Five regions15 have adopted a Sustainable
Consumption and Production Roadmaps or Green
Economy Strategies that will guide implementation
across the region.
Belarus adopted a National Green Economy Action
Plan with our support and Cambodia mainstreamed
sustainable consumption and production into theirenvironmental code. Mauritius and Mongolia havereceived support from the Partnership for Action on
Green Economy in the formulation and adoption ofGreen Economy development plans.

SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESSAt the core of our work is the enhancement of thecapacity of governments, businesses and otherstakeholders to adopt sustainable production andmanagement practices in global supply chains in

the following sectors: building and construction,
food and agriculture, finance and tourism and withsmall and medium enterprises across a numberof manufacturing sectors. In 2016 and 2017,with our support, 89 countries, institutions andbusinesses improved management practices or
sectoral strategies in these sectors. That brings thetotal number of stakeholders reporting improved
management practices and the use of moreresource-efficient tools and instruments in sectoral
policies to 311 (since 2011), exceeding the biennial
target of 242.
These results were delivered with the following
supporting products and services:
The tourism industry in Morocco was supported
to calculate environmental performance througha set of indicators covering water consumption,
greenhouse gas emissions, consumption of
biological products and waste generation. Our
eco-innovation methodology enabled companies
to adopt new business strategies and businessmodels, as well as implement operational changes
that affect their value chains. The SWITCH Africa
Green Business Development component provided
grants to various small and medium size enterprises
to assist their transition to cleaner and resource
efficient production. As a result, waste and pollution
have been reduced, such as demonstrated by atannery in Uganda that now feeds the 60 tons ofwaste they used to produce daily into the value
chains of other industries where it is resource. EachMore countries and businesses adopt practices to improve efficiency and sustainability with UN Environment
Programme support [selected examples]
GlobalFinance Initiative

19 stock exchanges have become members of Sustainable Stock Exchanges
Initiative and adopted sustainability practices and standards

AfricaSWITCH Africa Green

9 Small and Medium Enterprises have adopted cleaner and resource efficient
production approaches, such as industrial symbiosis resulting in reduced
waste and pollution

Egypt, Peru,
Viet Nam

Eco-innovation,
Small and Medium
Enterprises

Eco-innovation was included in national development policies or Sustainable
Consumption and Production National Action Plans and is now implemented
nationallyFranceSustainability
reportingFrance approved legislation for disclosure requirements of certain greenhousegas emissions. Private sector is now following this disclosure standard

Morocco(Marrakech)

Tourism

10 hotels (including Small and Medium Enterprises) in Morocco were able toimprove their environmental performance and communicate this through anenvironmental footprint label and operate now more sustainably

Various

Eco-innovation

25 companies have implemented new and sustainable business strategies andbusiness models

ZambiaSustainable Buildings
and Construction

Sustainable housing guidelines have been approved and are now being
implemented

13 Algeria, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Indonesia,
Israel, Malaysia, Morocco, State of Palestine, Pakistan, Tunisia, andVietnam.
14 Algeria, Bhutan, China, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Indonesia, Israel,
Malaysia, Morocco, State of Palestine, Tunisia, and Vietnam.
15 Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, theMediterranean, Pan-Europe.

year, the company saves US$380,000 on waste
disposal and brings in US$580,000 from sales of theoxidized splits. The tannery employs 250 people –paid for by what was once waste.

RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AND SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION | 51

LIFESTYLES AND CONSUMPTION
We aim to provide enabling conditions forthe promotion of sustainable consumption
choices and lifestyles. Progress on this front isdemonstrated by the number of public and private
sector institutions that put in place policies andmeasures that are conducive to more sustainableconsumption patterns. Supporting sustainable public
procurement is one way to stimulate demand for, andsupply of, sustainable products. In 2016 and 2017,
we supported 10 countries16 on sustainable public
procurement. Nine17 of those countries are alreadydeveloping or implementing sustainable public
procurement action plans in close coordination withthe relevant 10-Year Framework Programme on
Sustainable Public Procurement.18 In total, we havesupported 20 countries since 2010 on Sustainable
Public Procurement.19 Going forward we aim to be
more ambitious as to ensure that sustainable public
procurement policies are being implemented and thatthey make a tangible impact on demand for moresustainable products and services at country level.

16 Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mongolia, Morocco, Peru,
Togo and Vietnam.
17 Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mongolia, Morocco, Peru
and Vietnam.
18 Please note that for purposes of reporting against the indicator, not
all countries we engaged with are being count in 2016-2017. These
countries were either part of the baseline in 2011 or were count in thetwo previous biennia (2012-13, 2014-15) and are hence not double
count.
19 Initiation of process and preliminary studies: Belarus, Côte d’Ivoire,
India, Maldives, Panama, Sri Lanka, Togo; Policy adoption andimplementation: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador,
Mauritius, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Peru, Ukraine and Vietnam.

With our support, ten hotels in Morocco20 haveapplied life cycle-based approaches and tools to label
their enterprises according to their environmental
impact. In a next step, these hotels will develop
action plans to further improve their sustainability
performance.
Companies increasingly adopt life-cycle approaches
and improve product sustainability information toincrease competitiveness
Activities based on life cycle approaches andconsumer information deliver effective tools
and enabling conditions for implementation oflife cycle thinking in decision and policy making,enabling more prioritized and useful results
towards Sustainable Consumption and Production.
Significant work with the private sector additional
includes the support of UN Environment received by
Brazil, Thailand and Malaysia towards the creation of
additional life cycle inventory datasets with format
interoperability, and the review of those datasets by apanel of international experts.

20 Please note that the ten hotels have also been counted against
indicator EA b) since they not only adopted more sustainable
management practices but also applied the life-cycle approach totheir sustainability reporting. This result emerged from collaboration
between the sustainable tourism project and the life-cycle project/initiative that aims to mainstream life-cycle thinking and approaches
throughout our projects.

52 | RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AND SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION

BrazilSustainable Public
Procurement (SPP) and
Eco-Labeling34 companies were trained on the Guideline’s principles in Brazil,
developed in partnership with UN Global Compact Brazil Network.
22 companies, mainly SMEs, were trained in sustainable public
procurement and ecolabeling. Technical support was provided forthree companies with the objective of developing a roadmap for
obtaining certification under Brazilian Ecolabel Colibri.

Colombia

Sustainable Public
Procurement (SPP) and
Eco-Labeling

33 SMEs were trained on Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) andeco-labelling material, so they can meet the sustainability criteria of
the national ecolabel (Sello Ambiental Colombiano). 11 out of those 33
SMEs went through an assessment of their companies and production
practices. Based on the findings, roadmaps were produced, to guidethem in the process of complying with the criteria and obtaining ecolabelling certification.

Egypt, Peru, Viet
Nam

Sustainable Public
Procurement (SPP) and
Eco-Labeling10 companies were trained in Sustainable Public Procurement(SPP) and Eco-labelling and technical support was provided for fivecompanies with the objective of developing a roadmap for obtaining
certification under Vietnam Green Label. 3 companies received theVietnam Green Label certification.

VariousLife Cycle Initiative

14 Small and Medium Enterprises successfully applied and reported
improvements based on the Life Cycle Management Capability
Maturity Model

Various

Organizational Life Cycle
Assessment

The “Guidance on Organizational Life Cycle Assessment” was appliedby 12 diverse organizations from around the world. The learnings are
helping them improve environmental performance.

Education and awareness-raising are importantenabling conditions for more sustainable lifestyles.
In 2016 and 2017, we supported activities thatcatalysed the engagement of six stakeholders in the
promotion of sustainable lifestyles, bringing the total
to 30 stakeholders, exceeding our biennial target by
10. Since 2011 we have been able to catalyse a totalof 58 projects with various partners. While we have asolid achievement against the indicator, we will focus
on scaling up of these initiatives and projects during
the next biennium.

These results were delivered using
the following supporting products
and services:
We provided analytical tools and methodologies toenable small and medium enterprises in Morocco
to measure their environmental impact based onlife-cycle principles. We provided policy support
to countries to formulate and adopt sustainablepublic procurement policies. We also provided
various educational and advocacy tools to promotesustainable lifestyles.

RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AND SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION | 53

Financial Performance: Resource Efficiency

100

81.0

80

59.2

US$ million

60

49.0

40
33.3

20

21.3 20.8

3.8

3.9

3.9

0
Environment Fund

Trust Funds & Earmarked
contributions

Regular Budget

Source of Funding
2016–2017 Budget

•
•
•
•
•

•

Available Resources as at 31 December 20172016-17 Budget: US$86.1 million
2016-17 Expenditure: US$83.9 million (97%)
Lower income Environment Fund
Higher mobilization of Trust Funds andEarmarked Contributions (multi-year
Out of the planned Environment Fund budget
for 2016-2017 of US$49.0 million, only US$21.3
million was received. This is due to the fact thatUN Environment Programme received a smaller
amount of Environment Fund contributions thanprojected.
The Trust Fund and Earmarked contributions
have been used to some extent to compensate
for the Environment Fund shortfall. The
subprogramme received US$81 million (against••

Expenditure as at 31 December 2017a planned budget of US$33.3 million). However, thisamount represents multi-year contributions.
Overall expenditure is at US$83.9 million, which is
97 per cent of the target budget of US$86.1 million.
Hence, the budget is close to 100 per cent delivery.
This picture, however, does not show the distribution
across projects as well as the shortfall in certain
projects. It does also not indicate the need for
additional resources to take several interventions to
the next and more impactful level, particularly whenit comes to initiatives addressing our work on foodwaste or the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on
Sustainable Consumption and Production and others.
To take several initiatives to scale and to implement
relevant UN Environment Assembly resolutions,additional funding is required.

54 | ENVIRONMENT UNDER REVIEWENVIRONMENT UNDERREVIEW
In our work to keep the environment under review, we focus on bridging the gap between
the producers and users of environmental information, so that science can be better linked
with policies. We provide results in the following areas:•

Assessments, where we support global, regional and national policy-making using
environmental information accessible on open platforms;•

Early warning, where we provide planning authorities with information on emerging
environmental issues of global importance early warning systems; and•Information management, where we strengthen the capacity of countries to generate,
access, analyze, use and communicate environmental information and knowledge.

During 2016-2017, we met or partially met our targets for Environment under Review
except for three targets, which have progressed satisfactorily but not to the full extent we
had targeted since countries take time to adopt and adapt to new systematic ways of datacalibration, to monitoring, and to the findings of the assessments report for a meaningful
impact.

Indicator a
(i)

iii)
r c(
o
t
ica
Ind
2017
Dec.
le in
ailab
be av

18
8%

ii

a(
i

I

30%
80%
20%
70%
10%
60%

Data

wil

18
8%

ii

)

Ind
ica
tor

8%
10

le in D
vailabl be aDa

40% 2017 Targe
t
90%

tor
ica
nd

INFO
RM
AT
Indic
IO
ato
rc
N
(

100%

50%
40%
30%

Indicator a(v)

or c(i)Indicat20%
10%

Indicat
or a
(v)

T
MEN
ator a(iv)
SS
Indic
SE
250%
AS a(iii)
180%17
ec. 20 ta will

INFO
RM
AT
Indic
IO
ato
rc
N
(

3%
22

Indicator a
(i)

50%

i)

or c(i)Indicat

60%

)
c(iii
tor
ica
d
In

T
MEN ator a(iv)
SS
Indic
SE
250%
AS a(iii)
180%

70%

I

tor
ica
nd

80%

2017 Tar
get

8%
10

)

90%

Ind
ica ENVIRONMENT UNDER REVIEW | 55
tor
a(
i

i)

3%
22

100%

357%
357%

IndInidcicaattoorr bb(i()i)

IN G
EAERALRYLY W
WAARRNNING
Achieved

Achieved Not achieved (below 60%)
Not achieved (below 60%)

Partially achieved (60%–99%)
2017 target

Partially achieved (60%–99%)
2017 target

INDICATORS OF ACHIEVEMENTASSESSMENT(a) i)

INDICATORS OF ACHIEVEMENT
through UN Environment Programme, to influence their policy(a)(ii)UN Environment Programme to influence their policy(a)(iii) Level of accessibility and ease of use of UN Environment Programme environmental information through open platforms measured againstinternationally recognized standards for open access to information• Percentage improvement in the level of accessibility measured by usability tests•
through UN Environment
Programme, to influence their policy(a)(iv) Increase in the number of United Nations inter agency initiatives and external partnerships catalysed by UN Environment Programme that

ASSESSMENT(a) i)(a)(ii)•UN Environment Programme
to Programme
influenceassessment
their policy
UN Environment
processes(a)(iii) Level of accessibility
and easeofNationsuse ofagencies
UN Environment
environmental
information
throughopen
platforms measured against• Numberof Unitedand secretariatsProgrammeof multilateral environmental
agreementsthat have linked
their dataand information
systems to
UN Environment
Live to informationinternationally recognized
standards
for Programme
open access(a)(v)• Percentage improvementin the level
ofand
accessibility
by usability
tests processes
relevant environmental
data
indicators to UNmeasured
Environment Programme
assessment•
EARLY WARNING(a)(iv) Increase in thenumber of United Nations inter agency initiatives and external partnerships catalysed by UN Environment Programme that(b) i)

Increase in the number of stakeholders surveyed that acknowledge the uptake in assessment and policy development processes of scenarios•(a)(v)INFORMATION
UN Environment
Programme assessment processes(c) i) Increasein thenumber ofand
countriesthat take theof
leadmultilateralin generating, analysing,managing andusing environmental
informationin comparable• Number of United
Nations
agencies
secretariats
environmental
agreementsthat havelinkedtheir data and information
formats and with a focus on gender-sensitive tools, and making the information and knowledge available to the public and policy makers, as asystems to UN Environment
Programme
Live intervention
result of UN Environment
Programme• Number of countries developing information systems and documents/reports that include analysed data and information having their origins

in UN Environment Programme outputs and processes (e.g., citations in documents such as green economy transition plans, climate change
relevant environmental
data and indicators to UN Environment Programme assessment processes
and disaster risk reduction action plans

EARLY WARNING(b) i)(c) ii)• Number of countries making available environmentally relevant gender disaggregated data
information in comparable formats available on public platforms(c)numberiii) Increased
number of major groups
and stakeholders
surveyed that acknowledge
involvement in theandgeneration,
to and use ofprocesses of scenarios
Increase in theof stakeholders
surveyedthat acknowledge
the uptaketheirin assessment
policyaccessdevelopment
environmental information available on public platforms

INFORMATION(c) i)(c) ii)Increase in the number of countries that take the lead in generating, analysing, managing and using environmental information in comparable
formats and with a focus on gender-sensitive tools, and making the information and knowledge available to the public and policy makers, as aresult of UN Environment Programme intervention• Number of countries developing information systems and documents/reports that include analysed data and information having their origins
in UN Environment Programme outputs and processes (e.g., citations in documents such as green economy transition plans, climate change
and disaster risk reduction action plans• Number of countries making available environmentally relevant gender disaggregated data

information in comparable formats available on public platforms(c) iii) Increased number of major groups and stakeholders surveyed that acknowledge their involvement in the generation, access to and use ofenvironmental information available on public platforms

56 | ENVIRONMENT UNDER REVIEWASSESSMENTS: TO KEEP THE
ENVIRONMENT UNDER REVIEW
We are progressing on keeping the environment
under review, identifying emerging issues andimproving access to information and knowledgesharing and knowledge-transfer. What is needed
is to establish a robust approach whereby all
UN agencies, countries and partners monitor
their institutional growth on how they are using
knowledge-based performance to quantify impacts
in the short- and long-run in relation to environmental
data and trends.
The Sustainable Development Goals moved tothe implementation phase in 2016. Through themandate from UN Environment Assembly Resolution
2/5, “Delivering on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development”, we are fully engaged in this global
effort. We are now deeply involved in generating
data and statistics for monitoring progress1 andare the custodian agency for 26 of the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDG) indicators. We werealso heavily involved in the preparation of the UN
Secretary-General’s annual report to the High-Level
Political Forum.

Methodolog
y01

Our landmark method in indicator reporting andassessment methods were instrumental to numerous
UN organizations and multilateral environment
agreements as we champion systematic processes
in monitoring Sustainable Development Goals andgauge the impacts of related policy implementation.
For example, the United Nations SecretaryGeneral’s Sustainable Development Goals progress
report 2017 is using indicator data coming fromUN Environment for the content of the Chapterson SDG 12 (SCP), 14 (oceans) and 15 (land), andsome data has also been used in other Sustainable
Development Goal chapters.2 As for the multilateralenvironmental agreements, the Basel Convention’s
decision (BC-13/16) on international cooperationand coordination on the collection of data relevantto the indicators of the Sustainable Development
Goals, requested the Secretariat to continue tocooperate with UN Environment Programme and thesecretariats of other chemicals and waste-related
multilateral environmental agreements to ensure

eporting
dR
n
a

An
aly

UN
Environment
Statistics

C

ap

ac

ity B

Visualizat
ion
and
sis

• Custodian of 26 Sustainable
Development Goal indicators,
co-custodian for 6 andinvolved in many others.
• Building synergies amongst
the indicators for the
Sustainable Development
Goals, Multilateral
Environment Agreements andinternational initiatives.
• Research on emerging areasof environment statistics.

institutionalized monitoring and reporting on water
indicators. This is the result of intensive cooperative
efforts between different UN agencies and local
authorities.

02• Contribute to UNEP Live toprovide users with access to
Sustainable Development Goal
indicators, environmental data
and assessments.
• Promote data and statistics in
UN Environment reports andassessments including the
Global Environment Outlook.

uil d i n g

03• Provide tools and training to countries to measure, monitor and report on the environmental dimensionof the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Promote knowledge and sharing best practices on environment statistics and data dissemination.
• Technical assistance for environment statistics and accounting, with speciﬁc links to promoting natural
capital accounting and valuation.

The interactive Environment Live is aligned
to enable countries to monitor and report onenvironmental related indicators and the progress
made towards identified targets. For example,
Sustainable Development Goal 6 on Clean Water andSanitation Indicator, the Environment Live platform
demonstrates the degree to which countries have
1More information about the SDG indicators can be found on
Environment Live (uneplive.unep.org/projects).

a coordinated approach to the implementation of
the methodology. In addition, the United Nations
Economic and Social Commission for West Asia
used the outcome of our Global Environment Outlook
regional assessments to identify regional priorities
for Sustainable Development Goal action plan on
enhancing environmental protection in the Arab
Region through implementing the environmental
2

https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2017/

ENVIRONMENT UNDER REVIEW | 57

dimension of Sustainable Development Goals3 tocomplement their work in the region.

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT:CAPTURING SYNERGIES IN ACTION
Environment Live contains over 900 indicators anda similar number of maps. As the use of reliable
environmental data platforms becomes pivotal tosound decision-making and policymaking to quantify
the enhancement in Sustainable Development Goal
targets, more countries and regional forums areseeking Environment Live’s trusted data streams andusing the platform, including our assessment reports,
as a credible data source. Currently, 193 countries
have access to the new environmental data sets
and public platforms in comparable formats (e.g.
websites, information or data portals). This is a major
leap forward in terms of access to data comparedto earlier years. Through our partnership with theManagement and Development of the Marine andCoastal Environment of the Northwest Pacific Region(NOWPAP), we have linked their data and information
systems to Environment Live.

To strengthen national reporting systems,4 wehave joined up with the UN Statistics Division, theUN regional economic commissions and key UN
entities. The joint work focuses on developing thecapacity to deliver environmental statistics andreport on the Sustainable Development Goals. The
UN Environment Programme is working with UN
Statistics Division and all five Regional Commissions
to build capacity on environment statistics on theuse of the Environment Statistics Diagnostic Tool todevelop a strategy on environment statistics and toestablish a working group on environmental data.
This positive experience leverages the presence of
UN Environment Programme staff on the ground,partnerships with the Regional Commissions andexpertise in environment statistics to produce
meaningful results.
The six regional Global Environment Outlooks are thebuilding blocks for the Global Environment Outlook
assessment to be delivered at the 4th Session of
the UN Environment Assembly in 2019. A progress
report and information was prepared for the third UN
Environment Assembly in 2017.

The Environment Live data portal tracks progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 15 (specifically, on indicators 15.1.2
and 15.4.1) on “Life on Land”. On the Environment Live platform, we show the many relationships and synergies between theGoals and existing agreements related to water.

3

https://www.unescwa.org/sites/www.unescwa.org/files/page_attachments/technical_paper_.12-_environmental_sdgs.pdf

4Supported, by and large, by the European Commission and the Global
Environment Facility.

58 | ENVIRONMENT UNDER REVIEWThe Global Environment Outlook Regional Assessments

FOCUS OF GEO-6
THEMATIC AREAS

Air

Biota

Fresh Water

Land

OceansChemicals

Climate Change

Education

EnergyEnvironmental
Disasters

Food

Gender

HealthPolar

Resource Use

Urbanization

Waste and
Waste Water

Drivers

Outlooks© Aditya Kavoor

CROSS-CUTTING AREAS

Policy Effectivenessand GovernanceDegradation of infrastructure due to sand and dust storms

The utility of our assessments and data is measured
through the number of institutions, political forums
and processes using them in their policymaking
and decision-making. The 2017 target to influence
16 additional UN agencies or multilateralenvironmental agreements with information fromour outlooks has not yet been met (14 out of 16),
but we anticipate that relevant parties will be able toprovide examples and further evidence of this. Goingforward, we understand that our work is essential
to our stakeholders and we are working on a morestructured process to track the impacts of providing
data and information on the environment.
Eight additional partnerships contributed data andindicators to our assessment processes. We had an
exciting year of building on existing networks andexpanding capacity building efforts on the use of ourdata and portals. For example, we piloted low-cost
air quality monitoring with UN-HABITAT, Universityof Nairobi and Safaricom to inform smart urban
planning and explore the feasibility of private sector
ownership and operation of air pollution monitoring
networks.

EARLY WARNING: MEANS WITH AN
END INSIGHT
Our work on emerging environmental issues,
communicated through the new Frontiers series,
enabled stakeholders to consider these issues intheir own processes. The Frontier Report 2016 wasused as a reference in scientific journals and a book,including academic publications5,6,7,8,9,10 among
others.
The global sand and dust storm assessment
prepared for the second UN Environment Assemblyin 2016 was used in consultations prior to the UN
General Assembly.11 Some countries have sinceused the assessment in their decision-making andpolicy action plan to early action plans and mitigation
measures.

5

Attilani, P., Stroka, J. and Magan, N. (2016). Foreword: mycotoxins in achanging world.
6 World Mycotoxin Journal, 9(5), 647-651. http://www.
wageningenacademic.com/doi/pdf/10.3920/WMJ2016.x004
7 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305793780_Marine_
microplastic_debris_a_targeted_plan_for_understanding_and_quantifying_interactions_with_marine_life
8 http://www.dw.com/en/is-marine-plastic-pollution-a-threat-to-humanhealth/a-39161868
9 Kilgariff, S. (2016). Microbeads in Aesthetics. Aesthetics website, 7
October 2016. https://aestheticsjournal.com/feature/microbeads-inaesthetics
10 Lindsay, K. (2016). Microplastic: Not fantastic. Blank Gold Coastwebsite, 25 August 2016. http://blankgc.com.au/microplastic-notfantastic/
11 GA71

ENVIRONMENT UNDER REVIEW | 59

To support countries and stakeholders in using data on environmental issues and trends, we provided the following
products and services in 2016-2017:
•
•
•
•
•

The Emissions Gap Report 2017
Frontiers 2017
Strengthening the Science-Policy Interface, a Gap Analysis (published under the GEO-6 umbrella)
Eco-restoration and Wealth Creation – Elion’s Kubuqi Business Model
Environment Live, the organization’s open online platform, was expanded and redesigned to improve people’s
access to environmental data and information.
• Assessments were published on sand and dust storms, Ugandan wetlands, African mountains, Kubuqi landdegradation and desertification, emerging issues, gender and environment, emissions gap for climate change
mitigation, transboundary waters, and loss and damage to ecosystems caused by climate change.
• Technical support was provided to countries on data and environmental reporting, demonstrating the use of the
Indicator Reporting Information System and Environment Live.12• An air quality monitoring network was piloted in Nairobi, Kenya.
Major groups and stakeholders were included in all major assessment processes.

We sent stakeholders a follow-up questionnaireon their involvement and access to environmental
information to better understand their views andideas for improvement. Nearly half (49 per cent)confirmed that they had accessed environmental
information generated by UN Environment to a large
or very large extent. The information was mainly
used for education, as guidance, and to conduct
analyses. In over 40 per cent of cases, stakeholders
used the information to influence policy. Making
information more accessible online will further
enhance stakeholder engagement and the level ofinfluence.

© Aditya Kavoor

In summary, we are progressing with the Global
Environment Outlook, a range of thematic
assessments, delivering environmental indicators,
and improving access to data and knowledge
through Environment Live. At the same time, weare enabling more UN entities and other partners
to use this information, but this needs to bebetter documented. We need to inspire all actors– including countries, citizens, and the private
sector – to participate in generating information,
sharing their knowledge through open platforms,

such as Environment Live, and using it to bring aboutsocial, economic and environmental benefits. We are
therefore seeking champions among our Member
States and other stakeholders, including data
philanthropists, who can provide leadership in thisnew world of data sharing.
17

1

16

2

15

3

14

4

13

5

Environment
under review
12

6
11

7
10

9

8

ENVIRONMENT UNDER REVIEW
Targets: 1.5, 2.4, 3.9, 4.7, 5.a, 6.3, 6.6, 7.2, 7.3, 8.4, 9.4,
10.7, 11.5-7, 12.3-5, 13.1, 14.1, 14.3, 14.5, 15.1-5,
15c, 16.4, 16.10, 17.6, 17.7, 17.18, 17.19

60 | ENVIRONMENT UNDER REVIEW

Financial Performance: Environment under Review

20
19.0
18.1

16.8

15

US$ million

11.9

10

9.7
9.2

6.6

6.6

6.5

5

0
Environment Fund

Trust Funds & Earmarked
contributions

Regular Budget

Source of Funding
2016–2017 Budget

Available Resources as at 31 December 2017

Expenditure as at 31 December 2017

ENVIRONMENT UNDER REVIEW | 61

“I’m with nature” was the theme ofWorld Environment Day 2017, which
saw record-breaking engagement
around the globe. More than 1,800
events were registered, from treeplanting in Mumbai to ivory burningin Angola to a running race throughBrazil’s Iguaçu National Park.
Canada, the host country, offered
free admission to all of the country’s
national parks to encourage everyone
to connect with nature. The World
Environment Day festivities also
played an important role in Canada’s
150th birthday celebrations.

62 | FINANCIAL OVERVIEWFINANCIAL OVERVIEW | 63

FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
Our projected overall budget for the 2016-2017
biennium was US$683.1 million. This budget
comprises the Environment Fund, Trust Funds andEarmarked Contributions, the Global Environment
Facility (GEF), the Programme Support Costs (PSC),
and the Regular Budget of the United Nations,
including the United Nations Scientific Committee on
the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) and UN
Development Account allocations.

but that had not been made by the end of that year
and thus had to be recorded as allocations in 2017.
Thirdly, the budget allocation included unspent fundbalances from the latter part of the last bienniumthat were brought forward as allocations in 20162017. These factors make it difficult to draw a directcomparison with the projected budget.
We had more resources available than our projectedbudget for the 2016-2017 biennium. This resulted
in a total expenditure for the biennium of US$953.7
million , approximately 139.6 per cent of the year’s
targeted budget.

The overall budget allocation for the biennium was
US$1,216.5 million. The budget allocation had threeelements. First, it included income received andrecorded in the biennium, even if the contributions
received were not all meant for use in the samebiennium. This is because some donors targeted
their contributions for use in projects that will
extend beyond 2017. Secondly, the budget allocation
included disbursements that were already in thepipeline late in the last biennium that is late 2015,

As in previous years, a significant part of thecontributions we received was earmarked for specificprojects and thus unavailable for meeting demands
for services in other areas where results wereenvisaged.

2016-2017 Budget performance by Funding Source
1,400

Environment
Fund

Trust Funds
and Earmarked
contributions

Regular
BudgetFunding source

35.8

22.9
38.1

45.3

Expenditures

45.4
45.4

200

45.4

Funds received

271.0

Budget

343.8

600

400

Funds available

706.6

800

131.2
136.9
128.7

US$ million

1,000

743.8

1,001.9

1,200

Programme
Support Costs

64 | FINANCIAL OVERVIEW

2016-2017 Member States and other donors fundingof UN Environment by fund type2016-2017 Financial Overview
1,216.5

1,500

Regular
Budget
$45M
5%

888.9

Environment
Fund $137M
15%

683.1

900
US$ million

953.7

1,200

600

300

0

BudgetFunds available

Funds recieved

Expenditure

Earmarked
contributions
$707M
80%

INCOME ANALYSIS
We received US$888.91 million in the biennium
2016-2017 against the budget of US$683.1 million.
The UN Regular Budget and the Environment
Fund formed the core funding for the biennium,
amounting to 20 per cent of total income received.
The earmarked income received in the biennium
2016-2017 comprised all trust funds and othercontributions from the member states, Global
Environment Facility, Green Climate Fund, European
Commission, foundations, private sector and UN
sister organizations.

SOURCES OF INCOME AND THEIRPURPOSEThe UN Regular Budget, including the UN
Development Account, covers substantive
support to the Governing Bodies, coordination ofenvironmental programmes in the UN system andensuring effective cooperation with relevant global
scientific and professional communities. There areno gaps between the budget and income because
the budget approved by the General Assembly isfollowed by disbursements from the assessed
contributions of the Member States of the UN.
However, it provides only 5 per cent of the total
income which does not adequately provide for core

Budget and funds received by funding sources

45.4

Source of fundRegular Budget

45.4

271

Environment Fund
136.9

366.7

Earmarked
Contributions
BudgetFunds received

1

706.6

0

100

200

The figures do not include Multilateral Fund and Conventions andProtocols administered by UN Environment, whose income amounted
to US$465 million for the biennium 2016-2017.

300

400

USD millions

500

600

700

800

FINANCIAL OVERVIEW | 65

functions such as servicing Governing Bodies,including the Environment Assembly and needs tobe complemented from the Environment Fund andearmarked resources.

and with more partners.Income received, including
for future years, was twice the biennial budget. It
remains a challenge to reduce the distorting effect ofearmarking on the balanced programme delivery.

The Environment Fund finances the essential
capacity needed for the delivery of UN Environment’s
Programme of Work globally and from a strong
regional basis. It focuses on identification of
emerging issues, innovative solutions, advocacy andawareness raising, capacity building and resultsfocused programme management and oversight.
Despite its critical role for the balanced delivery of
the organisation’s programme, it continued to receive
only 50 per cent of the approved biennial budget.

FUNDING PARTNERS

Earmarked Contributions enable upscaling andreplication of results of the organization’s core
work including capacity building in more countries

We thank all the funding partners for theircommitment and contribution to the organization,
especially the top 15 funding partners, which
continue to provide 88 per cent of the core funding,and the other 85 Member States that contributed to
the Environment Fund during the biennium.
With regard to earmarked contributions, the top 15
funding partners provided about 91 per cent of thetotal earmarked income. However, this is not enoughfor an organization with a global mandate that is 95
per cent voluntarily funded.

Top 15 Contributors to the Environment Fund 2017
Germany
FranceNetherlands
USA
SwedenBelgium
United Kingdom
Switzerland
NorwayItaly
Japan
CanadaDenmark
Finland
Russian Federation
0

2

4

6

8

10

8

10

USD million

Top 15 Contributors to the Environment Fund 2016
Germany
FranceNetherlands
USA
SwedenBelgium
United Kingdom
Switzerland
NorwayItaly
Japan
CanadaDenmark
Finland
Russian Federation
0

2

4

6

USD million

66 | FINANCIAL OVERVIEW

Top 15 Contributors to Earmarked Funding 2017
GEF
European Commission
Green Climate Fund
Germany
NorwayJapan
CanadaRepublic of Korea
Adaptation Fund Board
World Bank
Climate Works Foundation
Natural Environment Research Council
China
Switzerland
0

30

60

90

120

150

USD million

Top 15 Contributors to earmarked funding 2016
GEF
European Commission
NorwayUnited States of America
GermanyJapan
Switzerland
UNDP-HQ
Italy
Denmark
SwedenFia Foundation
China
FranceRepublic of Korea

0

50

100

150

200

250

USD million

GOING FORWARD

EXPENDITURE ANALYSISWorld leaders have committed to provide a stronger
financial foundation for our strengthened mandate.
This should mean more secure funding with a broad
range of reliable donors; more stable funding withearly and steady receipt of funds; adequate funding
to deliver the effective work programme that saving
our planet dictates and; increased funding to matchthe ambitious expectations of Member States andother stakeholders with respect to our capacity
to address environmental challenges and exploit
opportunities.

Total expenditure for the biennium 2016-2017
was US$953.7 million. The available resources in
the Global Environment Facility (GEF), other TrustFunds and Earmarked Contributions continue tobe much higher than the projected budget. This ispartly because the available resources captured in
Umoja may relate to multi-year contributions andpartly because we continue to demonstrate ourstrength in attracting earmarked funding. Thus,
multi-year contributions received in 2015 andprior years enabled the organization to have moreresources available to use in the current biennium.
This resulted in higher expenditure than the projectedbudget for the period. With earmarked funding at
levels so much higher than non-earmarked biennial
funds (Environment Fund and Regular Budget of theUN), the emphasis of our work risks moving out ofalignment with agreed priorities in the programme ofwork.

In November 2017, we developed a Resource
Mobilization Strategy to secure sufficient funding
for the implementation of the Medium-Term Strategy
and Programme of Work for 2018-2021. All the 193
Member States and our non-state partners are called
upon to deliver on the strategy and enable us toefficiently and effectively deliver our mandate andstrengthen our role as the authoritative leader on theenvironment.

FINANCIAL OVERVIEW | 67

We received a Regular Budget allotment amounting
to US$42.63 million for the biennium 2016-2017 tocater for a staffing complement of 114 positions
including 21 additional approved positions deployed
to six regional offices. In addition, we received an
allocation of US$2.74 million from UN Development
Account.

On the Environment Fund, the authorized allocatedbudget for 2016-2017 is US$131.2 million. It wasallocated across the seven subprogrammes,
Executive Direction and Management, andProgramme Support. The total expenditure recorded
as at 31 December 2017 was US$128.7 million oncore capacity and general operating expenses insupport of the programme implementation.

Post and non-posts
1,500

US$ million

1,200

900

940.8

600

704.9

300

Post costs
Non-post costs

275.8

149.0
248.8

35.5
122.0

0

Available
Resources

Total
Expenditure

Environment Fund
Budget95.7

Environment Fund
Funds available

26.6
100.3

Environment Fund
Expenditure68 | FINANCIAL OVERVIEWORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS
In looking at how we can improve, we will continue
to concentrate on efficiency and effectiveness.
While the new Enterprise Resource Planning system
known as UMOJA is an important tool to improve
efficiency and accountability, several other initiatives
are underway. They include increasing delegationsof authority while strengthening the organization’s
accountability framework and improving theprocess for allocating unearmarked extra-budgetary
resources.
We have a number of indicators of performancethat review the efficiency and effectiveness of ouroperations in general. The Table highlights our
performance against these indicators. It showsa number of areas where we have shown good
performance.
•

85 per cent of surveyed UN Environment
Programme partners in governments and in the
United Nations system rated the usefulness of
our products and programmes as satisfactory.

•

64 per cent of surveyed members of theCommittee of Permanent Representatives
and relevant partners of UN Environment
Programmme were satisfied with the relevanceof UN Environment Programme’s strategicplanning documents.

•

Out of over 80 evaluations of UN Environment
Programme interventions completed by the
Evaluation Office, more than two thirds (67per cent) of projects had an evaluation ratingof “satisfactory” or better for their overall
performance: a 12 per cent increase on theprevious biennium.

•

We acted upon all accepted audit andinvestigation recommendations on UN
Environment Programme performance,
exceeding our target of 85 per cent.

In addition to the areas above, the Global
Environment Facility recognized that our proposals
are becoming stronger from a results-based
management perspective, and this has enabled us toaccess more Global Environment Facility resources
to support Member States.
We have been implementing the Environmental,
Social and Economic Sustainability Framework
since mid-2016. Projects are reviewed on
potential safeguard risks and their overall risk
categories. Among 65 projects and concepts

reviewed in 2017, about 46 per cent were in themoderate safeguard risk category.
UN Environment Programme has since 2015
set up a robust Gender Marker system to serveas our in-house quality control, project review,accountability and performance recognition tool on
gender. More projects now include dedicated gendercomponents with earmarked budget lines: a good
approach to ensure gender actions are consideredin the implementation of an initiative. Our work on
strengthening data and indicator frameworks formonitoring and reporting on the environmental
dimension of the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable
Development Goals developed gender relevant
indicators for the environment-related Sustainable
Development Goals.
However, there are areas for further improvement.
We found there are a number of other areas
where performance needs to improve in terms oforganizational efficiency and effectiveness. We
learned, for example, that the organization can bestdeliver if we can have the right skills-set in place at
the right time. This means we need to have a quick
recruitment process that can bring in the right people
quickly to deliver efficiently. However, it still takesa large number of days to fill a vacant post: 248
days in practice against a target of 170 days. UN
Environment Programme has flagged this to the UN
Office for Human Resources Management given thatsome critical steps in the recruitment process areoutside its control.
We are also lagging in terms of our target tohave a better gender balance in our senior levelrecruitments. The percentage of women appointed
to senior-level posts in the professional andmanagement categories was 42 per cent, lower than
the 45 per cent target.
In May 2016, the first comprehensive and integrated
global assessment of gender and the environment,
the Global Gender and Environment Outlook, waslaunched on the margins of the Second Session of
the UN Environment Assembly. This publication1
provides an analysis of the social dimensions ofenvironmental issues, an understanding of current
environmental challenges, and describes policy
options and concrete opportunities to contributeto the Future We Want. Over the biennium, wedeveloped increasingly more projects with dedicated1

http://web.unep.org/ggeo

FINANCIAL OVERVIEW | 69

gender components and earmarked budgets.2 The
knowledge base has also been enhanced throughpolicy briefs on Gender and Environment.3
We have been using the Gender Marker systemover the 2016-2017 biennium. In 2017, up to 31 percent of all the projects that had undergone reviewsreceived a Gender Marker code 2a, which is a slight
improvement from the 28 per cent in 2016, andmarked improvement over the 5 per cent recorded in2015.
In 2016-2017, several multi-year gender andenvironment projects were initiated (either on
their own or as part of a wider project), such as in
Myanmar and Lao People’s Democratic Republic
on gender responsive biodiversity planning.4
The UN Environment Programme, UN Womenand UN Development Programme Joint Projecton Gender-Responsive Approaches to Natural
Resource Management for Peace in Sudan5 seeks
to strengthen women’s roles in local peacebuilding
processes over natural resource-based conflictsin Al Rahab, North Kordofan, Sudan. In Peru, thejoint UN Environment Programme-UN Development
Programme Poverty Environment Initiative has, with
the Ministry of Environment, built the capacity of men
and women as waste recyclers resulting in improved
livelihoods.6 We worked with the African Ministerial
Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) which
resulted in “Building capacity of African Women Energy
Entrepreneurs”7 being included in its declaration inJune 2017 in Libreville, Gabon.
Notable progress has been made to incorporate
gender in the design of our initiatives and projects.
However, the extent to which this improvement
in design of our initiatives has influenced theoutcome of those initiatives, in the context of gender
integration, is not yet evident. The integration andmonitoring of implementation of gender elements inprogramme and project implementation requires andwill receive greater attention in 2018-2019.
Some of these “organizational effectiveness” targets(captured in the Table) could well be reviewed on aregular basis with strong monitoring and evaluation.
Our evaluation process continues to evaluate ourwork to give us the feedback on how we are doing
and whether our efforts do actually result in tangible
outcomes and impacts. The proportion of projects
that received a “satisfactory” or better rating for theextent to which project outcomes are sustained or
replicated increased from 34 per cent in 2014-2015
to 39 per cent of projects in 2016-2017, but the
2
3
4
5
6
7

https://www.unenvironment.org/explore-topics/gender
https://environmentlive.unep.org/sdgpolicybrief.
https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/puttingwomen-heart-national-biodiversity-action-plans.
https://www.unenvironment.org/explore-topics/disasters-conflicts/
what-we-do/recovery/women-natural-resources-and-peace
https://pnudperu.exposure.co/women-recycling
https://www.unenvironment.org/regions/africa

likelihood of impact achievement was considered“highly likely” or “likely” in only 41 per cent of the
projects evaluated in 2016-2017. This highlights theneed for the organization to invest more in, shaping
the change processes that lead to higher level
results, moving from establishing awareness andcoalition creation to change on the ground.
If we are to improve our impact, we need to ensurethat we can identify the issues and risks that canaffect the delivery of our work and capture learning.
We still lack the resources to evaluate our workin its entirety. We did not complete some planned
evaluations on subprogrammes or projects over
US$1 million because of insufficient resources(both human and financial). However, the numberof evaluations completed by the Evaluation Officeis higher than that of any other UN Secretariat
evaluation function. (In the OIOS 2017 assessment,8
UN Environment Programme is reported to havecompleted 52 evaluations in the previous biennium
compared to an average of 12 among other agencies
during the same period.)
We have also not yet invested in a corporaterisk system to complement the UN Secretariatwide system to flag risks early enough for us tounderstand where and why we may not achieve themost optimal results. While we have a project at
risk system, there is still a need to have a corporaterisk system, as required by Member States when
they approved the programme of work 2016-2017.
This has also meant that programme performance
information is not used systematically enough in theorganization to adaptively manage and to guide ourallocation of resources (see Table).
Going forward, we will continue to address theseareas. We will seek opportunities to scale up or
promote the replication of successful interventions.
We will step up our efforts to build transformative
partnerships, including with the private sector.
Our work will be closely aligned to the Sustainable
Development Goals, particularly at indicator andtarget level. We will continue to engage Member
States and other partners on widening theresource base and increasing contributions to theEnvironment Fund.
We have been entrusted with the exciting and noble
mandate of leading and encouraging partnerships incaring for our planet and improving our quality of life
without compromising that of future generations. We
will strive to improve our organizational processes
and practices to fulfil this mandate effectively andefficiently.

8

OIOS evaluation dashboard, May 2017, page 10

70 | OVERVIEWPERFORMANCE AGAINST ORGANIZATIONAL TARGETS
Indicator 2016-2017

Baseline(Dec 2015)

Actual(Dec 2017)

Target(Dec 2017)

Rating

68%

85%1

85%

Target achieved

8

14

11

Target achieved

2

9

30

Target notachieved

86%

100%

85%

Target achieved(e) (i) Percentage of women appointed to senior-level posts in theProfessional and management categories

36%

42%

45%

Target partiallyachieved(e) (ii) Percentage of personnel from underrepresented member States inposts in the Professional and management categories

17%

21%

20%

Target achieved(f) (i) Average number of days taken to fill a vacant extrabudgetary post(measured by the time between the announcement and the appointment)

221

248

170

Target notachieved(f) (ii) Percentage increase of staff in posts in the Professional andmanagement categories who have been recruited since January
2013 that achieve a rating of 2 (successfully meets performance
expectations) or 1 (exceeds performance expectations) in theirperformance appraisal

100%

100%

90%

Target achieved

90%

85%

85%

Target achieved(h) (i) Percentage of projects above $1 million completed by the third
quarter of the biennium and ongoing programmes that are independently
evaluated

65%

75%2

100%

Target partiallyachieved(h) (ii) Percentage of programme evaluations completed in accordancewith the approved evaluation plan

100%

50%3

100%

Target notachieved

EA (a) Relevance of UNEP’s work(a) (i) Percentage increase of surveyed UN Environment Programmepartners in Governments and in the United Nations system that rate theusefulness of UN Environment Programme products and programmes
as satisfactory
EA (b) Environmental leadership in UN System(b) (i) Number of subjects of global environmental concern on which
the United Nations system takes joint actions, including systemwide strategies for the environment, as a result of UN Environment
Programme engagement

Executive Direction and Management indicators

EA (c) Use of science(c) (i) Increase in the number of UN Environment Programme initiatives
to strengthen the science-policy interface that have demonstrated
measurable positive outcomes
EA (d) Accountability(d) (i) Percentage of accepted audit and investigation recommendations
on UN Environment Programme performance that are acted uponEA (e) Geographical representativeness and gender balance of staff

EA (f) Efficiency in staff recruitment

EA (g) Efficiency in servicing governing bodies meetings(g) (i) Percentage of UN Environment Programme-organized meetingsof the Committee of Permanent Representatives and the United Nations
Environment Assembly for which member States receive documents
within the established respective deadlines
EA (h) Evaluations in accordance with the Evaluation Policy and PlanOVERVIEW | 71

Indicator 2016-2017

Baseline(Dec 2015)

Actual(Dec 2017)

Target(Dec 2017)

Rating(h) (iii) Percentage of evaluations providing a rating of “Satisfactory” orbetter for project quality

83%

91%

70%

Target achieved(h) (iv) Percentage of accepted evaluation recommendations
implemented within the time frame defined in the implementation plan

94%

76%

70%

Target achieved

53%

64%4

70%

Target partiallyachieved

No dataavailable

No data5available70%

No dataavailable(c) (i) Percentage of accepted programme and budget performanceissues and evaluation recommendations identified in UN Environment
Programme programme performance reports and in evaluations thatreceive management action

66%

No dataavailable680%

No dataavailable(c) (ii) Percentage of UN Environment Programme projects thatcan demonstrate the integration of gender considerations in project
implementation64%

No data7
available60%

No dataavailable(c) (iii) Percentage of non-earmarked extrabudgetary resources allocatedthat are based on the use of performance information

96%

No data8available90%

No dataavailable

Programme Support functions indicators

EA (a) UN Environment Programme’s programme driven by a strong customer-focus(a) (i) Level of satisfaction expressed by surveyed members of theCommittee of Permanent Representatives and relevant partners of
UN Environment Programme on the relevance of UN Environment
programme planning documents
EA (b) Use of risk information in decision-making(b) (i) Percentage of significant risks identified by UN Environment
Programme pertaining to programmatic, financial, human, information
technology and partnership issues, which could affect the delivery of
results, that receive management actions
EA (c) Use of performance information in decision-making

End notes
1.

Based on the survey conducted of member states in the Committee of Permanent Representatives and Partners: 91% (Governments), 78%(Partners)

2.

A total of 79 project evaluation were completed in 2016–2017 biennium

3.

The resource efficiency programme evaluation was delayed to a 2017 start date due to unavailability of funds but is now nearing completion

4.

Based on the survey conducted of member states in the Committee of Permanent Representatives and Partners: 73% (Governments), 54%(Partners)

5.

Corporate risk system not developed for UN Environment Programme as the agency has relied on the UN Secretariat system; also there were noresources available for this task

6.

96% of the evaluation recommendations received management action. The data for programme and budget performance issues is not available
as the extent to which it is used across programmes is different

7.

Gender considerations were well integrated in the project design stage. These projects are still under implementation, hence no results yet on
the extent to which project outcomes show a gender differentiated results

8.

Resource allocation process approved but process not yet using performance information

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