Members of the United Nations Country Team support national capacities to meet obligations under international environmental agreements and ensure environmentally sound development, which lays the groundwork for compliance with more stringent EU environmental directives. They also help to ensure that communities and civil society organizations participate more effectively in environmental protection and disaster risk reduction planning, implementation and monitoring. Overall, they support a range of environmental issues at both policy and implementation levels, encompassing (1) climate change adaptation; (2) ecosystem and biodiversity management, including trans-boundary water management; and (3) natural and manmade disasters, including industrial waste and pollution mitigation and clean-up. 

United Nations Agencies work to ensure that national policies better address climate change adaptation measures and respond to climate change challenges. Piloting of mitigation measures is expected to strengthen implementation of energy-efficient practices in the construction and industrial sectors. A number of Clean Development Mechanism projects contribute not only to greenhouse gas emission reductions but also to broader issues of sustainable development and poverty reduction. In this context, a territorial approach to climate change is being pursued – encompassing vulnerability assessments, impact costing, policy options and integrated territorial plans – to enable the country to enter the “green economy.”

To strengthen national capacities to manage ecosystems and biodiversity conservation, support is offered to planning, financing and management practices in protected areas to meet national and international obligations. Scientific knowledge and good governance approaches are being combined into sound policy guidelines to reduce biodiversity loss, improve livelihoods and enhance social, economic and cultural conditions necessary for environmental sustainability. Special emphasis is given to trans-boundary issues, including the demonstration of good trans-boundary water governance models and facilitation of a co-management scheme for a trans-boundary biosphere reserve.

The United Nations Country Team further supports strengthened capacities of the national disaster risk management system through enhanced risk assessment, preparedness and management, as well as piloting of a local-level risk management system. Risk reduction models to address adverse environmental effects of mining practices have been created through public-private sector interventions for clean-up and rehabilitation of two mining “hot spots.” Regional cooperation likewise is being strengthened to address issues of cross-border contamination by industrial and mining activities.