No one can deny the results that the international community has achieved over the past three decades in the environmental area. No one can deny the central role of UNEP in realizing many of those results and the unique contribution it makes by being located here in Nairobi. We are confronted with governance challenges today because of this impressive set of accomplishments and an expanding body of international environmental law. Today, the totality of international environmental agreements and institutions is scattered among autonomous institutions, with sometimes vague or overlapping mandates. Policy and program coherence is rare.
Institutions find themselves competing for political profile and resources.
Their fortunes are subject to the vagaries of politics and international public opinion, not meaningful strategic choices. And yet, we expect this fragmented and under-resourced system to manage an increasingly complex global environmental agenda. In the face of growing environmental challenges and new expectations from the international community, the ability of institutions, like UNEP, to meet expectations and respond effectively is limited. The ability of countries, particularly developing countries, to keep pace and effectively participate, is being stretched beyond capacity. Even developed countries are finding too many of their resources are devoted to process rather than action on the ground.