Appendix III. International Environmental Governance

Abstract

There is general agreement that the current system of international environmental governance (IEG) is fragmented and lacks coherence. Environmental issues have come to influence the work of practically every UN organization. In addition, there are a large number of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), many with their own governing bodies and secretariats, which focus on a specialized issue, such as climate change or trade in endangered species. Following the UN Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm in 1972, the General Assembly established the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) to promote international co-operation in the field of the environment and to provide guidance for the co-ordination of environmental programmes within the UN system. The Inter-Agency Committee on Sustainable Development (IACSD) was entrusted with system-wide co-ordination in the implementation of Agenda 21, which was approved by the 1992 UNCED Conference.Keywords: IACSD; international environmental governance (IEG); multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs); UN Environment Programme (UNEP)