The UN’s trade and development body has downgraded its global economic growth projection for 2022 to 2.6% from 3.6% due to the Ukraine war and to changes in macroeconomic policies made by countries in recent months. While Russia will experience a deep recession this year, significant slowdowns in growth are …
In a move representing an important step to focus on the need for sustainable use of hilly regions' resources of water, forests, soils, minerals, conservation of biodiversity and ecotourism, the United Nations has declared the year 2002 as the International Year of the Mountains. It is not surprising that the …
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has proposed to set up a US $98 million fund to help the world's least developed countries (LDCs) improve the safety and quality of their food products. The fund would be set up with voluntary contributions from bilateral and multilateral donors, officials of …
A dozen notoriously toxic chemicals have been outlawed, or restricted around the world under a landmark United Nations treaty signed in Stockholm in May. It is a rare piece of good news for the global environment. The accord will ban, phase out or severely cut back a range of industrial …
More than 500,000 tonnes of obsolete pesticides are threatening the environment and the health of millions of people in almost all developing countries, warns the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Asia accounts for 200,000 tonnes of these pesticides, Africa for 100,000 tonnes and eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent …
Everyone has the right to live in a world free from toxic pollution and environmental degradation, declared the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. It is for the first time that any un organisation has recognised the association between environment and human rights. The declaration was made at the conclusion …
the first two weeks of May 2001, served as a reality check for the more idealist un reformists who envision a truly autonomous un body. In a couple of unexpected moves, that some might say were a result of the us' bullying and inconsiderate actions, two un governing bodies voted …
The recent historic declaration by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights at the conclusion of its 57th session in Geneva has addressed the link between environment and human rights. The Commission concluded that everyone has the right to live in a world free from toxic pollution and environmental degradation. …
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has conducted the first-ever analysis of Albania's environment. The analysis shows that five sites in Albania are serious environmental threats. One of the most hazardous sites is in Albania's biggest port, Durres, where a large area is severely contaminated by hazardous chemicals. UNEP says …
The protective ozone layer over the North Pole appears to have stabilised after years of thinning UN weather experts report. But the gain may be temporary. Scientists from the World Meteorological Organization say the recovery may be attributed to a warmer than usual winter and the current peak in the …
Climate change will have a negative impact on food production in tropical developing countries, reports a document of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). It states that the losses of production associated with climate change will be higher than those linked with weather-related disasters like cyclones. The FAO said that …
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) recently launched the first ever online halon trading scheme. Halons are gaseous halogen compounds used to extinguish fires and they are three to 10 times more damaging to the ozone layer than chlorofluorocarbons. The online service seeks to promote responsible management of these chemicals on …
the International Maritime Organisation (imo), a un agency, has recently approved a convention that sets up rules and regulations about liability and compensation in cases of oil spills by ships. Until now imo rules covered spills from tankers carrying oil as cargo. The convention covers pollution damage in the territories, …
Pesticides whose quality is far below internationally accepted standards are posing health hazards, two UN agencies have warned. Around 30 per cent of pesticides sold in developing countries, that have an estimated market value of US $900 million annually, do not meet safety standards, said the UN Food and Agriculture …
The melting of Arctic permafrost could accelerate global warming. Scientists from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) warned that carbon stored in the permafrost of Arctic lands, which accounts for an estimated 14 per cent of the world's total carbon, is getting released as rising temperatures cause the permafrost to …
About 830 million people around the world have not got sufficient food to eat because of natural disasters, armed conflicts and poverty, says the United Nations World Food Programme. "From generation to generation, people do not have enough food to eat,' said Catherine Bertini, the agency's executive director. The worst-hit …
Developing countries now account for half of all anti-dumping actions, states a recent report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Between 1995 and 1999, which were the first five years of operation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), developing nations accounted for 47 per cent of …
A total of 2.4 billion people across the world do not have any access to proper sanitation facilities and at least 1.1 billion people do not have regular water supply. These were the two major findings of the Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment 2000 , a report jointly brought …
in a recent highly publicised event, the un had yet another go at self improvement. Weary eyed observers saw world leaders expound lofty ideas in a series of speeches at a un millennium summit that took place in New York city from September 6-8, 2000. But this time there was …
For many developing countries, the un represents half a chance at fair play in an increasingly globalised world. Many see it as their only chance of countering the World Trade Organisation's obsession with free trade. Many of them prefer to strengthen the un rather than create an altogether new World …
