Over 1,200 Delegates Discuss Environment, Development

The first session of the United Nations Environment Assembly, UNEA, of the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, opened in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, yesterday, June 23, 2014, to discuss the state of the environment and sustainable development.

According to a release by UNEP, over 1,200 participants, including UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, representatives of 193 UN member States and representatives of major groups and stakeholders, will for five days discuss the main theme: "Sustainable Development Goals and the Post-2015 Development Agenda," including sustainable consumption and production.

The first set of side events organised yesterday focused on improving air quality in African cities and transforming consumption and production systems through Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs. The summit is intended to facilitate ongoing discussions on the formulation of a new set of targets and indicators to succeed the Millennium Development Goals. Ministers will also discuss the illegal trade in wildlife, an issue that is generating increasing global attention due to its adverse impact on biodiversity.

UNEA was created after world leaders at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) held in Brazil in June 2012, made the request to strengthen and upgrade UNEP as the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda. As the new governing body of UNEP, UNEA has the mandate to take strategic decisions, provide political guidance in the work of UNEP and promote a strong science policy interface.

According to UNEP, over 70 per cent of the earth's land surface could be affected by the effects of roads, mining, cities and other infrastructure developments in the next 20 years, unless urgent action is taken. Latin America and the Caribbean are likely to be the hardest hit, with more than 80 per cent of the land affected. They are closely followed by Asia and the Pacific region.

Similarly, over 75 per cent of the land may be affected by habitat disturbance and other kinds of environmental damage as a result of rapid and poorly planned infrastructure growth. Meanwhile, more than half the people in the world could be living in severely water-stressed areas by 2032 if market forces drive the globe's political, economic and social agenda.