Cross Cutting Issues
UNEP and the Polar Regions
The decision on the ‘Sustainable Development of the Arctic’, endorsed at the 22nd meeting of the UNEP Governing Council, identifies the key stakeholders for UNEP in the Arctic, such as the Arctic Council, Arctic Parliamentarians, Indigenous Peoples’ organisations and the Private Sector.
The decision encourages the development and implementation of Global Environment Facility funded projects to address environmental and health issues in the Arctic. Furthermore, the decision requests that assessments be conducted to provide early warning on emerging issues related to the Arctic environment, in particular its impact on the global environment.
UNEP’s key polar centre is GRID-Arendal in Norway, the headquarters for the Polar Programme, team members also work out of Ottawa and Stockholm.
UNEP and Antartica
Human activities in Antarctica are primarily regulated by the complex of multilateral agreements of the Antarctic Treaty System, in particular the Antarctic Treaty itself and its Madrid Protocol on Environmental Protection. Human activities in the Antarctic continent currently focus on scientific research and environmental protection.
UNEP’s involvement in Antarctica presently includes:
1) The production of technical reports, such as:
a) Secretary-General report on ‘Question of Antarctica’
In order to keep the international community informed on the activities of the Antarctic Treaty Parties, the United Nations was requested to serve as a neutral channel to provide information on Antarctic activities. To this end, the UN Secretary-General reports to the UN General Assembly on Antarctica on a periodical basis, usually every three years. These reports are prepared by UNEP.
b) Global assessment reports
As part of its global mandate to keep under review the state of the global environment, UNEP undertakes:
- Assessments of the environmental situation and trends in the polar regions, and
- reviews of policy responses.
c) Ad hoc technical reports
UNEP, in collaboration with key partners, also prepares ad hoc technical reports for submission to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings. These reports focus on current environmental issues in Antarctica.
2) The participation in the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings and the meetings Committee for Environmental Protection that take place annually.
These meetings aim at review and promote further the implementation of the Antarctic Treaty and its Protocol on Environmental Protection.