About us...

The Environment Management Group (EMG) is a grouping of all UN agencies and Secretariats of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) as well as the Bretton Woods Institutions and the World Trade Organization working together to share information about their respective plans and activities in the fields of environment and human settlements; to inform and consult one another about proposed new initiatives; to contribute to a planning framework that permits the plan and activities of each participant to be reviewed within the framework of the whole range of activities being carried out by all participating agencies; and to consult with each other with a view to developing an agreed set of priorities as well as to institute measures through which each participating organization can best contribute towards the implementation of those priorities. Representatives of civil society and international non-governmental organization may participate in the work of the EMG by invitation of the Chair. The Group also seeks the involvement, particularly through its Issue Management Groups, of non?United Nations entities in order to benefit from their views on specific substantive issues. Through the EMG's partnership initiatives, links with other UN interagency frameworks as well as civil society and the private sector are being established.

The EMG was established in 2001 to enhance UN system-wide inter-agency coordination related to specific issues in the field of environment and human settlements through a comprehensive series of measures designed to enhance coherent and coordinated action within the UN system in these areas. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) hosts the EMG Secretariat and the UNEP Executive Director is the Chair of the Group. The Secretariat is located in Geneva Switzerland.

The EMG is designed around an issue management and problem-solving approach, aimed at finding solutions to important and newly emerging issues on the environment and human settlements agenda, and fostering joint action.

The EMG aims to enhance the confidence of its members that it is a useful tool for enhancing the execution of their environment - related activities and, thus, more firmly establish its profile within and outside the United Nations system. To support members in providing a United Nations system-wide response and catalyzing joint action in finding solutions to issues in the fields of environment and human settlements, the EMG seeks to promote interlinkages and information exchange, contribute to synergy and complementarity between the activities of its members and add value to existing inter-agency cooperation.

Further details

Rationale

The assessment of the need for, and complexity involved in, environmental coordination formed the backdrop for the original rationale for establishing the EMG in 1999 by General Assembly resolution 53/242 as recommended by the Secretary-General in his report on Environment and Human Settlements (A/53/463).

The original rationale set out a number of core functions for the Group and it clearly illustrated that it was envisaged as a mechanism that would first and foremost assist its member organizations in achieving a more rational and cost-effective division of labour with respect to growing and often overlapping environmental functions and objectives.

The EMG aims to bring about improved inter-agency policy coherence and collaboration, by adopting a problem‑solving, results‑oriented approach that enables United Nations organizations, secretariats of multilateral environmental agreements, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and partners, including financial institutions, to share information, consult on proposed new initiatives, contribute to a planning framework and develop agreed priorities and agree on their respective roles in the implementation of those priorities in order to achieve a more rational and cost-effective use of their resources.

The period since the establishment of the Environmental Management Group in 2001 has been characterized by a significantly altered international context, generating an increased need for system-wide coordination. This need for coordination in the field of the environment continues to be a theme to which Governments attach considerable importance, but it is one that has evolved and become remarkably more complex. This complexity stems in large part from the reality that environmental issues have become more clearly defined and more important in nearly every major sector, and now permeate the work of practically every United Nations organization. Furthermore, as one of the three pillars (social, economic and environmental) of sustainable development, the environmental dimension has been adopted as part of the overarching framework of the United Nations' activities.

The 2005 World Summit Outcome (A/Res/60/1) specifically accords priority to system-wide coherence and underscores the importance of environmental issues for sustainable development. Significantly, the Outcome specifies the need to ensure “more efficient environmental activities in the United Nations system, with enhanced coordination, improved policy advice and guidance, strengthened scientific knowledge, assessment and cooperation … and better integration of environmental activities in the broader sustainable development framework at the operational level, including through capacity-building …”

What the EMG does

Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC) at its Spring session in 1999, were agreed upon following a process of consultation carried out through the ACC’s Inter-Agency Committee on Sustainable Development (IACSD) and UNEP’s Committee of Permanent Representatives in Nairobi.

The EMG:

• identifies issues on the international environment and human settlements agenda requiring enhanced interagency cooperation;
  

• addresses these issues through time-bound Issue Management Groups (IMGs) that include, as members, the UN entities concerned as well as other stakeholders with a proven expertise in the respective areas;
  
• provides a forum for its members to share their views or concerns on issues of common interest, review progress or identify obstacles, set policy directions to address such issues, convey their views on certain issues to intergovernmental forums and processes (UNEP and UN-HABITAT Governing Councils, Commission on Sustainable Development, Conferences of Parties of MEAs) and to other relevant forums, and set a roadmap for the future; and
  
• contributes to the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in the areas of environment and human settlements.

The EMG Secretariat, in consultation with the EMG members, is currently developing a strategy and information exchange mechanism to communicate the data on the work of the United Nations specifically, the work of EMG member organizations in the area of the environment and human settlements on a country-by-country and region-by-region basis. The EMG information exchange mechanism will allow the EMG’s members to share information about their own activities in the areas of environment and human settlements and to promote collective action by helping ensure that their proposed programmes, projects and activities do not duplicate one another while enabling them to explore the potential for joint action and synergy.

Achievements

In the course of its initial years of operation, the EMG has, with limited resources, made progress in a few specific areas, most notably harmonization of reporting on biodiversity-related issues and capacity-building in the field of chemicals management.

With regard to biodiversity, many forums, including the Commission on Sustainable Development, the Johannesburg Summit and the UNEP Governing Council have recognized that the reporting requirements of the many multilateral environmental agreements are imposing a burden on Governments. An EMG Issue Management Group was established under the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Center (WCMC) to consider the issue. The EMG decided that its own members should implement the recommendations of the report and then report back to the Group in 2005. The report on harmonization of reporting on biodiversity-related issues revealed the difficulties in achieving harmonized reporting and brought clarity in terms of identifying the obstacles.

Another EMG achievement was the work of the Issue Management Group on capacity-building for chemicals management. A situation and needs analysis, prepared for the EMG by UNITAR, in cooperation with the Inter-Organisation Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals, provided an overview of the existing policy framework, activities and coordinating arrangements in the area of chemicals management capacity-building in the United Nations system. The report contributed to international dialogue to explore opportunities to enhance information exchange and coordination in the area of chemicals management capacity-building and to identify possible areas in which the EMG might add value. The report was considered by the EMG members, the High-level Open-Ended Intergovernmental Working Group to Develop an Intergovernmental Strategic Plan for Technology Support and Capacity-building, and by the Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals during discussions on developing a strategy for chemicals management capacity-building. It was also submitted to the second session of the Preparatory Committee for the Development of a Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management, which took place in October 2004.

A new medium and long-term program of work for the EMG is now under preparation.

Challenges

To advance the 2005 World Summit Outcome objectives, the Secretary-General commissioned a panel of eminent and experienced international persons to develop concrete and comprehensive analyses and recommendations on United Nations system-wide coherence in the fields of humanitarian assistance, the environment and development. The Panel is supported by a small secretariat, with additional research and analytical support from within and outside the United Nations system. The Panel’s study will encompass both organizational and funding issues, ranging from the duplication and overlap of work across United Nations agencies and programmes to prospects for joint multi-year funding and programming arrangements.

The Panel will explore ways of making better use of synergies between the normative and analytical institutions of the United Nations and operational agencies. It will also assess how the United Nations system can best exercise its comparative advantages with its international partners, including the Bretton Woods Institutions, the European Commission and other regional actors, donors, civil society and the private sector. The environment component of the Panel’s study will particularly need to address two key issues: how to achieve more comprehensive and coherent implementation, monitoring and management of the growing range of multilateral environmental agreements; and how to achieve better integration of the crucial environmental aspects of sustainable development in United Nations country-level activities, especially on capacity-building and technology support.

The outcome of the Secretary-General's High-level Panel's study will certainly have implications for the role and mandate of the EMG and its links with other United Nations coordinating mechanisms. The task entrusted to the Panel is also an important opportunity for the EMG, presenting the possibility for its members to present the Panel with a set of coordinated observations and recommendations with regard to enhancing system-wide coherence in the field of the environment. Moreover, the EMG is poised to play a leading role in implementing the Panel's forthcoming recommendations.

The United Nations agencies, Governments and the international community at large have at their disposal the necessary means to transform the EMG into an effective, authoritative, service- and results-oriented mechanism in furtherance of United Nations system-wide coherence and coordination in the areas of environment and human settlements. It is essential for the United Nations to have an effective mechanism for entities within the system to discuss and agree on a more coordinated, productive and cost-effective way of tackling the environment and human settlements related challenges confronting humanity. The success of that enterprise depends crucially on the sustained support and commitment of all parties.