Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Director of UNEP

June 22, 1995, Paramount Studios

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was formed in 1972 following the Stockholm Conference on the environment. UNEP is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, the only organization in the UN system with headquarters in the developing world. We also have 6 regional offices, including one in New York to serve the U.S. and Canada.

Over the past 23 years we have done some things remarkably well, including raising the awareness of people around the world on environmental issues, particularly governments. UNEP was formed at the same time as many governmental Environmental Ministries were formed, so we support them.

Up until the 1992 Earth Summit, there were no other UN agencies interested in the environment, but now it seems that everyone is interested in the environment, however, it appears that some may be interested for reasons that have nothing to do with the environment. But it means that we need to work in partnership.

UNEP has three functions:

1. As the world voice on the environment, it has the responsibility to sense what is happening, using networks of scientists around the world, and make that information available to all governments.

2. Bring governments together to find pragmatic solutions to problems that have been identified. We facilitate the negotiation of international environmental agreements, such as the Climate Change Convention, that create common international frameworks for governments to address environmental issues. We also bring together governments on a regional basis, such as the regional seas agreements. We do environmental diplomacy to bring together countries to prevent future problems, such as sharing water from a common watershed. For example, we have a staff person participating in the Middle East peace process.

3. We build capacity in developing countries to handle their own environmental issues, through improved training, education, information networks, institutions, laws, and governing structures to help them deal with environmental problems and follow through on their international environmental commitments. For example the Basel Convention on Hazardous Waste protects developing countries from becoming dumping grounds for hazardous waste.

We are a very small organization that has to work in partnership with other organizations. Much of our work is focused on getting the rest of the UN system to act responsibly relative to the environment, including the World Bank, UNICEF, FAO, UNDP, etc. We are the environmental conscience for the entire UN system.

Our focus is to do three things at once:

1. Ensure that we bring sound science to any environmental problem.

2. Develop a social consensus.

3. Develop effective public policy.

It is important to expand our constituency. The UN system primarily works with governments, but many of us see the need to expand to tap the energy, skills and enthusiasm of the average person to ensure that sustainable development comes to fruition

Since the Earth Summit we have made considerable progress in that:

• Sustainable development has been put on the international agenda.
• Sustainable development has been legitimized by so many heads of state.
• We have new legal instruments, such as the conventions on Climate Change and Biodiversity.
• We have a comprehensive Agenda 21 that lays out the directions for what we need to do.

• Sustainable development: So far sustainable development has brought environmentalists and economists and industrialists together to talk together because everyone can see something in it for themselves. Now it has to be implemented. I am a strong believer in the linkage of the environment and the economy, yet the concept itself is in danger of being misused.
• We need to reclaim the environmental movement, because we have been lulled into a false sense of security because everyone seems to be talking about sustainable development. Yet the environment has not improved in the last three years since the Earth Summit, nor has the livelihood of most people in the world, nor have we maximized the potential of people around the world. So we need to keep challenging the concept against some real indicators in the lives of people.
• UNEP's role is to bring the issue of the environment to every discussion, whether it be on trade, economic structural adjustment, or the management of local affairs.
• Isolationism: The emerging trend toward isolationism by some important governments is a problem. I believe in a multilateral approach, and we must not allow ourselves to move backward to bi-lateral agreements. When you live in Africa, you feel the problems on a daily basis. In Kenya, 70% of the population is under the age of 15. It has the second highest population growth on the continent. It has only a very fledgling democracy. It is the staging ground for a series of civil wars around us, and there are now many more guns. No amount of bi-lateral aid or having important nations such as the U.S. turn inward will ultimately be helpful. Otherwise many of the local problems will become global problems.
• Isolationism is very damaging, beyond the loss of financial contributions. Only 6% of our budget is from assessments, 94% is voluntary contributions from governments around the world. To have the voice of the U.S., one of the key nations in the world, to not be heard in a multilateral sense is serious.
• Ecorealism: This notion has been made prominent by Greg Esterbrook's new book. He has many sound things to say and environmentalists will agree with his reports on successes on how environmental regulations do work. However, this is the story of what has happened in the U.S., it does not apply to the rest of the world, and he would agree that we have not made progress in much of the developing world. It is a sobering thought to recognize that the people in this country are in a minority. Population growth is putting increasing pressure on governments that cannot even deal with their current environmental problems.
• Four areas that UNEP wants to focus on for our 1996-97 programs:
• Management of natural resources, with emphasis on biodiversity, desertification and forests.
• Unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, particularly cleaner production methods and consumption patterns in regard to transportation, energy and consumption by ordinary citizens.
• Environmental health and well-being, since most people are concerned about safe drinking water, clean air and safe shelter.
• Globalization of the economy: Because our work on environmental problems for the past 20 years has been essentially tinkering around the edges, we need to look at trade, aid and debt, structural adjustment, and challenging the prevailing economic underpinnings of the way in which we do our daily business, to change the ways people think and act over the long term.
• We are now expanding our constituencies to include the major actors in society, businesses, NGOs and individuals. For example, we are working with the financial services sector, including banks and insurance companies, to mobilize financial resources as well as to green their own operations.
• On the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the UN, this is a very special time. I am in awe of what people went through in 1945 to create the UN. This institution is dedicated to peace and security, yet peace is more than the absence of war. Peace also means enough food to eat, clean water to drink, adequate employment, and sound systems of governance.
• One of the reasons I am taking time out of my life to work with the UN is that I believe that one person can make a difference. This is an urgent time, not only for the UN, but for all people interested in an interconnected world. I want to encourage you in your environmental work.
• Discussion:
• Q: What is the UN doing about the HIV epidemic, which has now reached 50% infection in some African countries?
• Dowdeswell: HIV is not directly a responsibility of UNEP, but it is very much on our minds. Many in the scientific community around the world are questioning how much a factor is environment in many of the diseases for which we cannot find a solution. We are concerned with the connection between environment and health.
• Q: What about the issue of overpopulation?
• Dowdeswell: The relation between population and the environment is obvious. I am worried that the gains made at the Cairo population conference and the Copenhagen social development conference are in danger of being lost at the Beijing women's conference. I am concerned that the documentation for that conference is still largely unnegotiated. Also there are real difficulties between the Chinese government and NGOs.
• Q: What about the problem of GATT and the roll-back of governmental regulations?
• Dowdeswell: For the last year and a half, we have been working closely with OECD, OPEC, GATT and WTO (World Trade Organization) to ensure that the voice of the environment is heard on these issues. We have brokered many multilateral environmental agreements, all of which have a trade component, and I hope that these will not be reopened up to re-negotiation. Some governments believe that many of the trade disputes are in need of sound objective environmental information to inform the decisions, and we are being asked to be that honest broker around the world. We need a liberalized trade regime that allows the economic development of countries in the developing world in such a way that can reverse the environmental degradation.
• Q: What about the role of NGOs?
• Dowdeswell: Our regional offices work with a full range of NGOs, beyond just traditional environmental organizations, including women, indigenous peoples, private sector, etc. We support Councils on Environment and Development around the world, such as SCCED. We have brought those councils together on a regional basis to nurture them. I also want the NGOs to have a seat at the table in international negotiations. A key to the success of the Montreal Ozone Protocol discussions was the involvement of business and industry from the start, so that we could all look at the scientific imperatives and the technological opportunities at the same time. We also want to see the institutionalization of NGOs as a part of civil society, recognized by their own governments.
• Q: We are concerned that the World Bank recognize the impact of their structural adjustment policies.
• Dowdeswell: We are looking at the environmental impact of World Bank activities, but not in isolation. There is a Vice President for Environment at the World Bank which is helpful.
• Q: Does the rest of the world see the U.S. as an environmental nation or as an unfair consuming nation?
• Dowdeswell: The rest of the world sees the U.S. as a profligate consumer, particularly of energy. The U.S. is also seen as not delivering on its promises at the Rio Earth Summit, especially in regards to technology transfer. But the world still looks to the U.S. for environmental expertise. However, as it moves toward isolationism, it is seen as pulling away. Yet the world needs the human resources of the U.S., and the multinational corporations need good environmental conditions in which to operate around the world.
• Q: What about the involvement of clergy in environmental issues?
• Dowdeswell: There are some clergy and religious organizations that are involved. All of these issues are ethical issues at their heart, but it hasn't been fashionable to talk about the ethical component. The power that religious leaders could bring to bear has not nearly been tapped.
• Q: How can the media reach every citizen of the world to inform them of these issues?
• Dowdeswell: Education through the media is a critical component of changing people's attitudes. We are working with TVE, the Television Trust for the Environment, and WE-TV, but we may need to do more direct advertising, perhaps through our photographic competition. I would like to get involved with advertising agencies to produce some advertising campaigns on sustainable development.
• Q: Please comment on the Berlin meeting on climate change.
• Dowdeswell: The meeting was a guarded success. Three positive outcomes were:
• Everyone agreed on a specific timetable for the next two years.
• We agreed that this is global problem that needs some resources for the greatest impact, especially looking at the development of India and China.
• We were encouraged by the commitments of mayors and the financial services sector.