Problems of the current global environmental governance system 2. The global environmental governance structure is inadequate for the pollution and resource challenges the world faces today. The current regime, centered in UNEP, is weak and performing poorly. Some of these failings can be attributed to management shortcomings and bureaucratic entanglements, but other aspects of the problem are deeper and more structural. The growing recognition that a number of serious pollution control and resource management issues are inherently transboundary in their scope makes the status quo unacceptable and the need for improved global environmental governance urgent.
Fragmentation is a central weakness of the current environmental regime.
This fragmentation of responsibilities, funding, priorities, roles, actors, and geographic locales leads to responses that are less coherent, effective, and systematic than needed. Further hampering efforts is the lack of coordination within governments, especially between environment ministries and other departments. Turf battles and staff inadequacies at the national and intergovernmental levels drain resources. Many reports and proclamations plead for coordination, but the multiplicity of actors makes systematic analysis of risks across problems and regions impossible. Budget priorities, if set at all, are ignored.