United Nations Environment Programme

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by <a href="/facts/Maurice_Strong/bqhAGuqs">Maurice Strong</a>, its first director, after the <a href="/facts/Declaration_of_the_United_Nations_Conference_on_the_Human_Environment/LMtt7fVt">United Nations Conference on the Human Environment</a> in Stockholm in June 1972. Its mandate is to provide leadership, deliver science and develop solutions on a wide range of issues, including climate change, the management of marine and terrestrial <a href="/facts/Ecosystem/kVE8mSmR">ecosystems</a>, and green economic development. The organization also develops <a href="/facts/International_environmental_agreements/z45wVlSu">international environmental agreements</a>; publishes and promotes <a href="/facts/Environmental_science/svr8eCse">environmental science</a> and helps national governments achieve environmental targets.
As a member of the <a href="/facts/United_Nations_Development_Group/qsUW3ET3">United Nations Development Group</a>, UNEP aims to help the world meet the 17 <a href="/facts/Sustainable_Development_Goals/b7lVYvFN">Sustainable Development Goals</a>. UNEP hosts the secretariats of several multilateral environmental agreements and research bodies, including <a href="/facts/Convention_on_Biological_Diversity/lQVGd4Dt">The Convention on Biological Diversity</a> (CBD), The <a href="/facts/Minamata_Convention_on_Mercury/dAJJycTA">Minamata Convention on Mercury</a>, The <a href="/facts/Basel_Convention/rYTxuAll">Basel</a>, <a href="/facts/Rotterdam_Convention/n3e21dxp">Rotterdam</a> and <a href="/facts/Stockholm_Convention_on_Persistent_Organic_Pollutants/HQQU41QJ">Stockholm</a> Conventions, <a href="/facts/Convention_on_the_Conservation_of_Migratory_Species_of_Wild_Animals/TLvaMR0P">The Convention on Migratory Species</a> and The <a href="/facts/Convention_on_International_Trade_in_Endangered_Species/hCahxMSr">Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species</a> of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), among others.
In 1988, the <a href="/facts/World_Meteorological_Organization/NWrDcKbl">World Meteorological Organization</a> and UNEP established the <a href="/facts/Intergovernmental_Panel_on_Climate_Change/sh76du1u">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a> (IPCC). UNEP is also one of several Implementing Agencies for the <a href="/facts/Global_Environment_Facility/Bfu0Ugf8">Global Environment Facility</a> (GEF) and the <a href="/facts/Montreal_Protocol/Hmf70BQK">Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol</a>. UNEP sometimes uses the alternative name UN Environment. The headquarters of the agency is in Nairobi, Kenya.

United Nations Environment Programme open-in-new

United Nations Environment Programme