| |
|
|
UNEP AS A GLOBAL
ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITY: A LOOK AHEAD
By Dr. Bharat H. Desai
The first UN Conference on Human Environment (1972) led to the
establishment of UN Environment Programme (UNEP). It was carved out, as
a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly, to serve as a focal point
for environmental action and co-ordination within the UN system. This UN
entity has made significant contribution as a central institution for
global cooperation in the environmental field. Over a period of years,
however, the environmental agenda has witnessed increasing
fragmentation. Apart from role of many of the 'specialized agencies' of
the UN in the environmental field, several other international
environmental institutions (IEIs) have also come to be established. This
comprises specialized environmental institutions such as CSD and GEF,
regime based institutions (multilateral environmental agreements) and
growing role of multilateral developmental banks.
It appears that unchallenged position of UNEP suffered a severe jolt
around the time the second UN Conference on Environment and Development
was convened in Rio de Janeiro (1992). In the preparatory process to
UNCED, UNEP was sidelined and it did not emerge stronger after the Earth
Summit. The gradual 'clogging' of the environmental field and emergence
of high profile institutions has created an impression of gradual
'dwarfing' of UNEP. As a corollary to this, UNEP's Environment Fund has
suffered steep decline in the post-Rio phase, which has been regarded as
a barometer of political confidence of the states.
Within the UN system, UNEP has been generally referred to as a 'global
environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda'. It
seems that the current organizational ability of UNEP to set the global
environmental agenda is very limited for various reasons. Since 1997
Nairobi Declaration, a serious intergovernmental effort has been
launched to bring UNEP at the center stage of global environmental
action. The annual Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GMEF) launched
in 2000 represents an important step in this direction. For obvious
reasons, there appears to be consensus on the matter of having the focal
point of institutional responses to global environmental challenges
within the UN system. As such the exercise for sculpting of a suitable
global environmental authority which has the organizational ability,
funding reliability, scientific expertise as well as political
confidence of the states is crucial at this juncture, especially in the
climate of increasing institutional fragmentation, overlapping of
jurisdictions as well as amidst charges of inefficiency and wastage.
The crucial question in the debate is to what extent UNEP, in its
present institutional structure can play the role of a global
environmental authority and can also be 'seen' by others as doing so.
What are the options available to the states? Can UNEP's status be
elevated as an environmental organization having relationship agreement
with the UN? Is it desirable to jettison UNEP and go for entirely a new
world environmental organization? These issues have come to the fore in
view of the establishment of the Open-ended Intergovernmental Group of
Ministers on International Environmental Governance [April 2001], as a
preparatory to the World Summit on Sustainable Development
[Johannesburg, 2002]. An effort will be made in the presentation to
examine some of the institutional issues surrounding the debate and also
suggest a possible practical way out.
Dr. Bharat H. Desai
Associate Professor,
International Legal Studies Division,
School of International Studies,
Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi 110 067, INDIA;
Email: desaibh@hotmail.com,
desai@jnuniv.ernet.in
|
|
