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788 Economic and social questions
Chapter XVI
Environment
S i g n s o f a g l o b a l e n v i r o n m e n t a l c r i s i s -
desertification, acid rain, depletion of the ozone
layer, destruction of tropical forests-formed the
background to the 1985 work of the United Na-
t ions Environment Programme ( U N E P ) , which
continued to co-ordinate efforts by the United Na-
tions system to protect the Earth’s environment.
The effects of that crisis were apparent in 1985.
D e s e r t i f i c a t i o n a n d d r o u g h t i n t h e S u d a n o -
Sahelian region of Africa created critical food shor-
tages in 21 countries and placed over 30 million
people at risk. Destruction of forests continued
unabated. The buildup of so-called greenhouse
gases in the atmosphere pointed to major climatic
changes. Risks of significant ozone layer depletion
were confirmed and environmental conditions in
many cities became worse.
But the year also brought positive signs. The
Vienna Convent ion for the Protect ion of the
Ozone Layer was adopted in March and a pro-
tocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range
Transboundary Air Pollution to reduce sulphur
emissions by 30 per cent was concluded. The
United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office continued
to combat desertification, and allocated $12 million
for projects in the region. The f irs t African
Minis ter ia l Conference on the Environment
brought together African policy-makers to discuss
common problems and the first Global Meeting
on Environment and Development saw represen-
tatives of 109 non-governmental organizations ex-
amine sustainable development strategies.
The UNEP Governing Council approved further
measures to combat desertification and urged in-
tensified efforts in that regard. By resolution
40/198 A, the General Assembly called for increased
assistance to affected countries in their desertification
control programmes and urged those countries to
accord priority to long-term strategies against the
problem, and, by resolut ion 40/198 B, a lso
underscored the urgency of implementing the Plan
of Action to Combat Desertification in the Sudano-
Sahelian region. By resolution 40/175, the Assembly
recommended that the international community
continue to assist drought-stricken countries and
to provide all forms of support.
UNEP continued its action to protect the marine
environment, to conserve wildlife and protected
areas, to monitor various aspects of the environ-
ment (cl imate, global resources, t ransport of
pollutants), and to promote the development of en-
vironmental law and the establishment of national
conservation strategies. The Global Resource In-
formation Data Base became fully operational and
preparation of an Environmental Perspective to the
Year 2000 and Beyond progressed. Other activities
included management of tropical forests and soil
resources, protection against harmful products and
pollutants, research on genetic resources, and linkages
between environment and development, energy, in-
dustry, human settlements and education.
By resolution 40/200, the Assembly endorsed the
UNEP Council’s 1985 decisions and dealt with
various international environmental co-operation
questions. By resolution 40/197, it requested the
Secretary-General to continue his efforts with the
countries responsible for planting mines and the
affected developing countries to ensure the removal
of material remnants of war.
Sixty-three new projects were approved by the
Environment Fund in 1985; 62 were closed. The
Fund disbursed $23.53 million for programme ac-
tivities; government contributions totalled $28.26
million.
Comprehensive information covering all aspects
of UNEP 1985 activities was given in the UNEP Ex-
ecutive Director’s annual report.(1)
Topics related to this chapter . Africa: co-
operation with the Organization of African Unity.
Asia: Iran-Iraq armed confl ict . Middle East:
Mediterranean-Dead Sea canal project. Economic
assistance, disasters and emergency relief: drought-
stricken areas of Africa. Regional economic and
social activities: environment. Natural resources:
water resources. Energy resources: nuclear energy.
Health and human resources: health. Human set-
t lements . Human r ights : o ther human r ights
questions.
R E F E R E N C E
(1)UNEP/GC.14/2.
Programme and f inances of UNEP
At its thirteenth session, held at: UNEP head-
quarters, Nairobi, Kenya, from 14 to 24 May 1985,
the UNEP Governing Council adopted decisions on
environmental and administrative rnatters which
w e r e c o n t a i n e d i n i t s r e p o r t o n t h e s e s -
Environment 789
sion.( 1 )
That report was taken note of by the
Economic and Social Council on 25 July 1985
when i t adopted dec i s ion 1985 /172 .
P rog ramme po l i cy
On 23 May,(2)
the Council noted the UNEP Ex-
ecutive Director’s reports(3)
on the implementa-
tion of its 1984 policy decisions and noted the 1984
resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and
the Economic and Social Council calling for ac-
tion by UNEP. The Council also addressed itself
to new initiatives: various conferences organized
or supported by UNEP (see p. 796); the initiation
of the UNEP Global Resource Information Data
Base (GRID) (see p. 801); the Executive Director’s
suggestions on UNEP activities for International
Youth Year (1985) (see p. 976); and his proposals
on the UNEP role vis-à-vis the 1985 Conference to
review the achievements of the United Nations
Decade for Women (see p. 937). In addition, the
Council agreed to decide in 1987 on the method
by which to consider the proposed system-wide
medium-term environment programme for 1990-
1995. The Council also took action regarding the
UNEP clearing-house mechanism (see p. 795).
Also on 23 May,(4)
the Council requested the Ex-
ecutive Director, in presenting to the Council in
1987 the UNEP programme budget for 1988-1989,
to provide a statement of the programme strategy
for each area of activity, indicating the main goals
and the rationale for UNEP involvement. The state-
ment was to indicate the relationship of the area
of activity to at least one of the following criteria-
that it addressed an environmental issue: essential
to understand a major environmental problem or
to stimulate action to solve it; global in nature; likely
to cause serious damage to health or environment;
important to the environment of developing coun-
tries; and occurring at the regional or subregional
level or in many locations.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY ACTION
On 17 December, the General Assembly, on the
recommendation of the Second (Economic and
Financial) Committee, adopted resolution 40/200
by recorded vote.
International co-operation in the
field of the environment
The General Assembly,
Recognising the international dimension of en-vironmental problems, the role of environmental fac-tors in the broader economic and social context, andthe importance of taking environmental considerationsfully into account in the implementation of the Inter-national Development Strategy for the Third United Na-tions Development Decade.
Having considered the report of the Governing Councilof the United Nations Environment Programme on thework of its thirteenth session,
Having considered also the report of the Executive Direc-
tor of the United Nations Environment Programme oninternational conventions and protocols in the field ofthe environment,
Noting with deep concern that the harmful consequencesof the drought and desertification seriously affectingmany countries, in particular African countries, are ex-acerbated by the continued erosion of the resource basefor the development of those countries,
Reaffirming the importance of the interrelationships be-tween resources, environment, people and development,and the need to take those interrelationships into ac-count in development policies and strategies,
Stressing the importance of an international exchangeof experience and knowledge concerning the protectionof the environment,
Noting the activity of the United Nations Environment
Programme on the subject “The arms race and the en-
vironment”, in accordance with its programme of work
as adopted by the General Assembly, the Economic and
Social Council and the Governing Council of the United
Nations Environment Programme,
Mindful of the sovereign rights of States over their
natural resources, including their forests,
Noting also the activities of the United Nations and
other international organizations, as well as the inter-
national initiatives being taken that are directed towards
the important objective of rational management, pro-
tection and rehabilitation of the world’s forests,
Recalling its resolution 38/161 of 19 December 1983 on
the process of preparation of the Environmental Perspec-
tive to the Year 2000 and Beyond,
1. Takes note of the report of the Governing Council
of the United Nations Environment Programme on the
work of its thirteenth session and endorses the decisions
contained therein, as adopted;2. Welcomes the decision of the Governing Council
to change to a biennial cycle of sessions on an experimen-
tal basis and in this regard takes note of the establish-
ment of the open-ended Commit tee of Permanent
Representatives to facilitate this process;
3. Invites the Governing Council, when reviewing the
experiment with the organization of a biennial work pro-
gramme, to consider changes that may in consequence
be necessary in the functioning of the Council, including
the term of membership;
4. Welcomes section III of decision 13/1 of 23 May
1985, and decision 13/10 of 24 May 1985 by which the
Governing Council initiated steps towards the prepara-
tion of the system-wide medium-term environment pro-
gramme for the period 1990-1995 and invited the Ad-
ministrative Committee on Co-ordination to review and
further develop the methodology in the light of the ex-
perience gained in the system-wide medium-term en-
vironment programme for the period 1984-1989;
5. Takes note of the work done by the Special Com-
mission on the Environmental Perspective to the Year
2000 and Beyond, which has adopted the name World
Commission on Environment and Development, and by
the Intergovernmental Inter-sessional Preparatory Com-
mittee on the Environmental Perspective to the Year 2000
and Beyond in the preparation of their reports, and recalls
the relationship between the Commission and the Com-
mittee, as set out in General Assembly resolution 38/161:
6. Takes note of the progress on international conven-
tions and protocols in the field of the environment
790 Economic and social questions
during 1985, including the adoption of the Vienna Con-
vention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and of
an international protocol to the 1979 Convention on
Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, on sulphur
emissions and fluxes, and the organization of the first
meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Con-
vention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of
Wild Animals;
7. Considers that measures to deal with the erosion
of the natural resource base in countries affected by
drought and desertification should have as one of their
major aims the sustainable exploitation and increased
productivity of that natural resource base;
8. Welcomes the importance attached by the Gover-
ning Council to regional approaches and programmes
relating to international co-operation in the field of the
environment, and in this context stresses the relevance
of specific regional planning identified by the regions
themselves;
9. Notes with appreciation the convening of the first
African Ministerial Conference on the Environment at
Cairo from 16 to 18 December 1985;
10. Calls upon the Executive Director of the United
Nations Environment Programme to co-ordinate fur-
ther the activities of the Programme with those of other
organizations of the United Nations system, to co-
operate appropriately with the organizers of the inter-
national initiatives on the future of the forests, and to
report thereon to the Governing Council;
11. Reaffirms the need to strengthen the co-ordinating
role of the United Nations Environment Programme
and the need for additional resources to assist develop-
ing countries in dealing with serious environmental
problems, and urges the Executive Director of the Pro-
gramme, in consultation with Governments and the
international organizations concerned, to accelerate and
intensify his efforts in that field;
12. Expresses its appreciation to the Governments that
continue to contribute to the Fund of the United Na-
tions Environment Programme, particularly those that
have increased their contributions, and urges those
Governments that have not yet paid their pledged con-
tributions to the Fund for 1985 or made pledges for 1986
to do so in the near future.
General Assembly resolution 40/200
1 7 D e c e m b e r 1 9 8 5 M e e t i n g 1 1 9 1 4 9 - 0 - 6 ( r e c o r d e d v o t e )
Approved by Second Committee (A/40/989/Add.6) by recorded vote (126-0-7), 11
December (meeting 50): 16-nation draft (A/C.2/40/L.37/Rev.1), orally revised after
informal consultations; agenda item 84 (f).
Sponsors: Argentina, Australia, Canada. Congo. Denmark. Finland. Gambia, Iceland.
India, Indonesia. Kenya, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Senegal, Sweden.
Meeting numbers. GA 40th session: 2nd Committee 34, 36, 43, 47, 50;
planary 119.
Recorded vote in Assembly as follows:
In favour: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina,
Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize,
Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina
Faso, Burma, Burundi, Byelorussian SSR, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Cen-
tral African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa
Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Democratic Kampuchea, Democratic
Yemen, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El
Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, Gabon, Gambia, German
Democratic Republic, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea
Bissau, Guyana;, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq,
Ireland, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People’s
Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Lux-
embourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania,
Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua
New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, Saint
Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and tile Grenadines, Samoa,
Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia,
Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic,
Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukrainian SSR,
USSR, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Vanuatu,
Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Zambia. Zimbabwe.
Against: None.
Abstaining: France, Germany. Federal Republic of, Israel. Portugal, United
Kingdom, United States.
In the Second Committee, the USSR submit-
ted two amendments(5)
to the original draft
resolution; they were later withdrawn in the light
of their incorporation into the approved text.
France, which requested separate recorded votes
on the seventh preambular paragraph-relating
to U N E P a c t i v i t y o n t h e a r m s r a c e a n d t h e
environment—and on the draft as a whole, said
UNEP had no mandate with regard to the arms
race; it was improper, in a text designed to endorse
all UNEP’s activities, to single out one element on
which there had never been consensus.
The Committee approved the paragraph by 102
to 7, with 18 abstentions; the Assembly similarly
adopted it by 123 to 8, with 17 abstentions.
Opposing the paragraph in the Committee, the
United States said that the arms race was not animportant item for UNEP to consider, since it could
not do anything useful about it; inclusion of that
paragraph was an effor t to inject extraneous
political elements into the text-a view shared bythe Federal Republic of Germany, Israel and the
United Kingdom, which believed that disarma-m e n t s h o u l d b e d i s c u s s e d e l s e w h e r e i n t h eAssembly.
China, Japan and Spain, which abstained on
the paragraph, gave similar explanations.
B u l g a r i a , s p e a k i n g a l s o o n b e h a l f o f t h e
Byelorussian SSR, Czechoslovakia, the German
D e m o c r a t i c R e p u b l i c , H u n g a r y , M o n g o l i a ,
Poland, the Ukrainian SSR and the USSR, said
that the threat the arms race posed to nature and
human life was a grim reality, and the work of
U N E P o n t h e s u b j e c t s h o u l d b e i n t e n s i f i e d i n
accordance with its mandate and the Assembly’s
resolutions; it was understood that the Special
Commission on the Environmental Perspective
would follow its mandate as contained in a 1983
Assembly resolution,(6)
and that reports on disar-
mament would be made to the UNEP Council or
the Intergovernmental Inter-sessionad Preparatory
Committee. Peru said that the arms race was a
significant aspect of the historical responsibility of
States for the preservation of the environment, and
a broad approach was needed which embraced the
maintenance of international peace and security,
the establishment of a new international economic
order and détente. Norway, speaking on behalf of
the draft’s sponsors, stressed that it was the first
text on the environment to contain, for the sake
of precision, a blanket endorsement of all UNEP
Governing Council decisions. Canada agreed with
Environment 791
the reasons which had made a consensus impossi-
ble on the seventh preambular paragraph.
State of the environment
Monitoring the state of the environment con-
tinued throughout the year. Reports to the Gover-
ning Council examined emerging environmental
issues (see p. 792), and chemical accidents that oc-
curred in 1984 and early 1985,(7)
including the
serious 1984 accident at Bhopal, India, which
resulted in more than 1,400 deaths from a leakage
of methyl isocyanate from a pest icide plant .
Guidelines for national state-of-the-environment
reports were published and distributed to Govern-
ments (see p. 792). UNEP also began preparing
the first of a series of periodic environmental data
reports, in collaboration with three bodies deal-
ing with the environment-the Monitoring Assess-
ment and Research Centre, University of London;
the World Resources Institute, Washington, D.C.;
and the London-based International Institute for
Environment and Development. Efforts also con-
centrated on support to the initial phase of GRID
(see p. 801); a project on computerization of data
of selected environmental subjects within GRID
was helping to ensure quality control of data
related to the physical environment, pollution and
natural resources. The data were to be used to
prepare environmental assessments by the Global
Environmental Monitoring System (GEMS) (see
p. 800) and for the periodic review of key en-
vironmental indicators.
Population and the environment and the en-
vironmental aspects of emerging agricul tural
technologies were the 1985 themes examined in the
Executive Director’s annual report on the state of
UNEP Council.(9)
The report stated that there was no simple cor-
relation between population and environment.
Some patterns of development had improved en-
vironmental conditions, while others had degraded
them irreversibly. The capacity of a number of
developing countries to manage their environment
was under severe stress because of rapid popula-
tion growth, mass poverty, environmental degrada-
tion and slow development. Population policies
could have only limited success when poverty re-
mained widespread, environmental conditions
deteriorated and natural resource availability was
low; environmental programmes did not have the
intended impact when population continued to
grow rapidly.
The world had the natural resources, technology
and expertise to provide for a decent quality of life
for the projected high levels of global population,
but co-ordinated action on population, resources,
environment and development was urgent ly
needed. Population and environment policies were
coming to respond to the needs of social and
economic development, and their interface had
become clearer. Basic education, improvement in
the status of women, public works to improve in-
frastructure and natural resource availability, land
reform, provision of drinking-water supply and
sanitat ion, and spatial ly balanced industr ial ,
agricultural and settlements development were
areas needing urgent attention. Countries ex-
periencing environmental stress and high popula-
tion densities needed to pursue their population,
environment and development goals. Their efforts
had to be supported by greater internat ional
e c o n o m i c c o - o p e r a t i o n a n d d e v e l o p m e n t
assistance.
On the environmental aspects of emerging
agricultural technologies, the report pointed out
that abundant and cheap sources of fossil-fuel
energy during the previous 30 to 50 years had
enabled farmers to enjoy extraordinary output
growth, mostly in developed countries. But this
technical revolution was not wholly beneficial and,
pushed to the extreme, was detrimental to the en-
vironment. Moreover, it did not suit the needs of
hundreds of millions of poor third-world farmers,
and the wisdom of pursuing this agricultural
technology in the future would be called into ques-
tion in view of the world energy situation.
In many parts of the world the environmental
costs of agricultural technologies were high, but
there was no commonly accepted measure of these
costs, due to the difficulty of identifying and quan-
tifying all the impacts of damage to land, water
and ecosystems.
Long-term solutions leading to environmentally
s o u n d a g r i c u l t u r a l d e v e l o p m e n t i n c l u d e d
technologies generating lower environmental costs
than those currently used. Such technologies had
to suit local conditions and be acceptable to
farmers. They included integrated pest manage-
ment, minimum tillage, and the development of
new types of seeds tolerant of salt or disease, or
capable of enhancing biological nitrogen fixation
or increasing the efficiency of photosynthesis.
On 24 May the Governing Council en-(10)
dorsed the report’s recommendations. The Ex-
ecutive Director was requested to bring them to
the attention of Governments and United Nations
and other organizations. He was also requested to
provide assistance, experimentally, to six countries
(two from Africa, two from Asia and two from
Latin America) in implementing agricul tural
policies selected from among those listed in the
r e p o r t , i n c o - o p e r a t i o n w i t h t h e F o o d a n d
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(FAO) and other United Nations bodies and the
Governments concerned. Various United Nations
the environment,(8) as requested in 1984 by the
1985 report
792 Economic and social questions
bodies were also invited to consider the recommen-
dations and support their implementation.
Follow-up on the 1984 report
Referring to the 1984 state-of-the-environment
report,(11)
whose topic was environment in the
dialogue between and among developed and
developing countries, the Governing Council on
24 May(12)
urged Governments to continue ad-
dressing the major environmental issues to which
they had agreed in the 1984-1989 system-wide
medium-term environment programme.( 1 3 )
The
C o u n c i l e n d o r s e d t h e E x e c u t i v e D i r e c t o r ’ s
r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s - a n n e x e d t o t h e d e c i s i o n -
identifying some prerequisites for the success of
dialogue on such issues. It felt that no new institu-
tional arrangement was required to deal with the
subject of the 1984 report, and that action should
arise within current international or intergovern-
mental treatment of the individual issues. It re-
quested the Executive Director to monitor con-
cerns of Governments on those issues and to report
on the progress made.
Future reports
On 24 May ( 1 4 )
the Governing Council ex-
p r e s s e d t h e h o p e t h a t f u t u r e s t a t e - o f - t h e -
environment reports would increasingly become
basic documents for the Council’s deliberations,
especially when based on GRID statistical data,
and decided that future reports should examine,
in al ternate years , the economic and social
aspects of the environment, and environmental
data and assessment. It also decided that the
topic for the 1986 report would be health and the
environment, and that the 1987 report should
a t t e m p t , a s t h e f i r s t w o r l d s t a t e - o f - t h e -
environment report, to present a comprehensive
su rvey a l so u t i l i z i ng t he da t a and r e su l t s
available through GEMS.
Emerging environmental issues
An updated list of emerging environmental
issues(15)
was submitted to the 1985 Governing
Council session by the Executive Director. The list,
which was to be updated annually in line with the
Council’s 1984 request,(16)
included data on possi-
ble climatic change brought about by the increas-
ing concentration of carbon dioxide and other so-
called greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (see
p. 804); land and soil loss caused by urban and
industr ial development; environmental r isks
resulting from the increasing production and use
of chemicals (see p. 802); municipal solid wastes
in developing countries; aquaculture; and the ef-
fects of military activity (see p. 817).
On 24 May, ( 1 7 )
the Council requested the
report’s wider circulation, and decided that the
1987 state-of-the-environment report should ex-
amine municipal solid waste in developing coun-
tries and aquaculture.
National reports
On 23 May,( 1 8 )
the Governing Counci l re-
quested the Executive Director to assist develop-
ing countries in preparing their national state-of-
the-environment reports, which should include in-
formation on the implementation of previous deci-
sions and the results in terms of environmental im-
p r o v e m e n t . I t a l s o r e q u e s t e d h i m t o a s s i s t
Governments in preparing, by the Council’s 1987
session, examples of those reports for three coun-
tries from Africa, three from Asia and the Pacific
and three from Latin America, each representing
different eco-zones.
Following that decision, guidelines for prepar-
ing the reports were distributed to Governments
in 1985. Their purpose was to avoid existing wide
variations in the presentation of data and trends,
which made comparisons between countries ex-
tremely difficult. To facilitate understanding, the
guidelines suggested that the reports should be
produced regularly, and be organized on a sectoral
rather than on an ecosystem basis. Thirteen forms
were also designed, to collect the basic informa-
tion needed, taking into account the state of en-
vironmental information in developing countries.
Environmental Perspective
The UNEP Council addressed again in 1985 the
preparation of an Environmental Perspective to
the Year 2000 and Beyond, to be submitted to the
General Assembly in 1987. To assist in preparing
the Perspective, the Council had established in
1983(l9)
an open-ended Intergovernmental Inter-
sessional Preparatory Committee and a Special
C o m m i s s i o n , a n a c t i o n e n d o r s e d b y t h e
Assembly.( 6 )
In February 1985, the Executive
Director reported(20)
that the Commission, which
had adopted the name World Commission on En-
v i r o n m e n t a n d D e v e l o p m e n t , h a d s e t u p a
secretariat in Geneva, and a work plan which en-
visaged seven regular meetings between March
1985 and the end of 1986.
The Preparatory Committee had held its first
session in Nairobi in May 1984, and, in confor-
mity with its approved mandate,(6)
had produced
a document, annexed to the Executive Director’s
report,(20)
giving the expectations of the Council
for consideration by the Commission, which was
transmitted to the Commission in October 1984.
Discussions between Committee and Commission
representatives were held in May and November
1984 and March 1985.
At its second(21)
and third sessions (Nairobi, 22
and 23 May, 3 and 3 December 1985), the Com-
mittee examined the Commission’s work and
discussed the Perspective’s preparation.
Environment 793
The Governing Council, on 24 May,(22)
stated
that the Environmental Perspective should pro-
mote international co-operation and national ef-
forts to pursue environmentally sound develop-
ment, and invited Governments to contribute to
that end. The Council invited the Commission to
make known to the Committee its preliminary
conclusions, and hoped that the Commission’s
report would be available to the Committee at an
early stage.
Regional activit ies
Major regional initiatives in 1985 included the
organization of the first African Ministerial Con-
ference on the Environment, the hosting of the
Workshop on Youth for the Environment, and in-
formation activities (see below).
UNEP also continued providing support to staff
of its regional offices, including regional advisers;
individual experts from developing countr ies
wishing to participate in environment-related
meetings, symposia, workshops and seminars; the
Environment Co-ordinating Units in the United
Nations regional commissions, with the exception
of the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE);
and a few small technical co-operation projects.
Africa
Ministerial Conference
Suggested by the Governing Council in
1983, (23)
the first African Ministerial Conference
o n t h e E n v i r o n m e n t ( C a i r o , E g y p t , 1 6 - 1 8
December) , a t tended by 41 delegat ions from
African countries, reviewed national priorities,
identified common problems calling for regional
action, and adopted the Cairo Programme for
African Co-operation. The Programme included
a decision to select 150 villages (three per coun-
try) and 30 semi-arid stock-raising zones (one in
each of 30 countries) to help them to become self-
sufficient in food and energy within live years.
Another action was to institutionalize the Con-
ference, which would meet every two years. To im-
prove technical and scientific co-operation, the
Conference established eight regional networks on
environmental monitoring, climatology, soils and
resources, science and technology, and education
fer t i l izers , water resources, energy, genetic
and training.
On 23 May (24)
the Council had approved theExecutive Diretctor's proposal to convene the Con-
ference.
Workshop on Youth for the Environment
To encourage the interes t of youth in en-
vironmental issues, U N E P hosted an African
Workshop on Youth for the Environment (Nairobi,
25 and 26 November). Attended by youth leaders
from 24 International Youth Year African national
co-ordinating committees and from many non-
governmental organizations, the Workshop drew
up recommendations for youth action on the en-
vironment, and stressed the need to involve young
women and women’s groups in this action.
Latin America and the Caribbean
In spite of the current economic and financial
crisis, Governments of Latin America and the
Caribbean were requested to redouble their efforts
in applying environmental policies. That request
was made by the Fourth Intergovernmental
Regional Meeting on the Environment in Latin
America and the Caribbean (Cancun, Mexico, 18-
20 Apri1),( 2 5 )
attended by 12 countries of the
region and 10 international organizations. The
Meeting also urged Governments to consolidate
national institutional and legal provisions on the
environment, and to use natural resources as a
priority to generate long-term development. It fur-
ther considered environmental trends and pros-
pects for the year 2000, regional seas programmes,
the Environmental Training Network for Latin
America and the Caribbean (see below), other
regional programmes of common interest and in-
novative means of financing.
On 24 May 1985,(26)
the Governing Council
endorsed a number of the Meeting’s calls. The
Council called on Governments of the region and
UNEP to include in future meetings an item aimed
at strengthening dialogue on the relationship be-
tween economic and social issues and the applica-
tion of environmental policies. Those Govern-
ments were invited to conduct quantitative and
social cost-benefit environmental studies as a basis
for guiding national policies, and to prepare state-
of-the-environment reports. The Executive Direc-
tor was requested to support programmes of com-
mon interest and to assess their progress, com-
municating his views to the Governments. He was
also to conduct an inventory of the resources of
regional and internat ional organizat ions and
bilateral sources to support regional environmen-
tal programmes. In addition, he was to draw up
a roster of experts to support regional and
sub reg iona l p ro j ec t s t ha t had a l r eady been
allocated priority.
Considering the Latin American and Caribbean
Environmental Training Network,(27)
the Coun-
cil on 23 May endorsed the Meeting’s decision by
urging the region’s Governments to adopt formally
t h e N e t w o r k ’ s p r o g r a m m e a d o p t e d b y t h e
Meeting,(25)
and requested the Executive Direc-
tor to assist them in preparing proposals for finan-
cing and operating the Network in 1986-1987.
Governments were urged to furnish details of the
contributions they could commit for courses,
794 Economic and social questions
seminars, research and publications within the
framework of the regional strategy adopted for the
Network. The Executive Director was requested
to prepare, based on government contributions,
a regional co-operation project, and to convene at
the end of 1985 a meeting of Network focal points
to approve the regional project and establish
machinery to operate the Network programme.
T h a t m e e t i n g ( C a r a c a s , V e n e z u e l a , 2 - 6
December) identified measures for the Network’s
continued operation, including Governments’ con-
tributions in cash, fellowships and personnel, as
wel l as funding for courses , workshops and
seminars.
Regional information activities
Regional information act ivi t ies highlighted
e n v i r o n m e n t a l i s s u e s . I n t e r P r e s s S e r v i c e
disseminated 100 environmental news features in
Spanish in Latin America and the Caribbean. Co-
operation with the Press Foundation of Asia led
to the placement of many i tems which were
reported to have been well received by the targeted
media. In the Arab region, UNEP and the Egyp-
tian daily Al-Ahram co-operated to produce a
special supplement on the environment for Al-
Ahram’s Youth, Science and Future magazine, which
was distributed to 20,000 subscribers. Throughout
the year, UNEP continued to support the Africa
Press Service, and this led to the production of
three environmental features per month in English
and Kiswahili. With a world-wide distribution net-
work of 400 specialists, Earthscan, the media unit
of the UNEP-supported International Institute for
Environment and Development, continued its
feature service in English, French and Spanish;
press cuttings showed that considerable placement
was achieved.
Co-ordination
United Nations co-ordination
Co-ordination of environmental activities con-
tinued to be monitored by the Administrative
Committee on Co-ordination (ACC). In its report
to the 1985 session of the UNEP Governing Coun-
ci1,(28)
ACC welcomed the start of negotiations by
UNEP and other United Nations bodies on draw-
ing up the second (1986-1987) programme budget
of the system-wide medium-term environment
programme (184-1989), and expressed support to
United Nations organizations in concentrating
their environmental programmes on sustainable
development. ACC also considered that the sub-
j ec t o f i n t e r r e l a t i onsh ips be tween peop le ,
resources, environment and development (see also
p. 430) deserved support from all United Nations
bodies. On the Plan of Action to Combat Deser-
tification (see p. 807), ACC noted the seven
pledges to finance its implementation, and em-
phasized the need for additional contributions.
At its October 1985 session, ACC: approved its
1986 report to the UNEP Council(29)
and decided
to consider co-operation in environnnental matters
at its April 1986 session.(30)
On 24 May,( 3 1 )
the Governing Counci l ex-
pressed appreciation for ACC’s continued co-
operation with UNEP and for the co-operation
shown by the United Nations system in develop-
ing the methodology for preparing the system-wide
medium-term environment programme for 1984-
1989, and invited ACC to develop the methodology
as the first step towards preparing the 1990-1995
programme.
Regarding that programme, the Council on 23
May(2)
noted that in the United Nations system
the medium-term plan cycles had been aligned,
and that consequently the consideration and ap-
proval by the relevant intergovernmental forums
of such plans for 1990-1995, including the United
Nations medium-term plan, would in accordance
with past practice take place in 1988. It agreed to
decide in 1987 on the method by which the pro-
posed system-wide medium-term environment
programme for 1990-1995 would be considered.
In December, in resolution 40/200, the General
Assembly invited ACC to develop the methodology
in the light of the experience gained in the 1984-
1989 programme, and called on the UNEP Ex-
ecutive Director to co-ordinate further UNEP ac-
t i v i t i e s w i t h t h o s e o f o t h e r U n i t e d N a t i o n s
organizations, and to report to the Governing
Council.
During 1985, 90 UNEP Fund projects were
being implemented in co-ordination with other
United Nations organizations, including FAO (19
projects), UNESCO (18), WHO (12), WMO (8), UNSO
(6) and UNCHS (5). Out of a total expenditure of
$23.53 million for Fund programme activities in
1985, $6.6 million (28 per cent) was implemented
by co-operating agencies.
Cross-organizational programme analysis
Cross-organizational programme analyses were
carried out regularly in the United Nations system
to assess current activities of United Nations
organizations in a given sector as a basis for im-
proved co-ordinat ion. In March 1985,( 3 2 )
the
UNEP Executive Director recalled that in 1984 the
ACC Consul ta t ive Commit tee on Substant ive
Questions (Programme Matters) had indicated
that environment would be the most appropriate
subject for the 1987 analysis, as preparations for
the 1990-1995 system-wide medium-term environ-
ment programme would then be well under way,
as would work on the Environmental Perspective
(see p. 792). The Committee for Programme and
795Environment
Co-ordination (CPC) had confirmed in 1984 that
the analysis should be reviewed by the competent
intergovernmental body. There would be no ses-
sion of the Governing Council in 1986, the Ex-
ecutive Director recalled, and its 1987 session
would probably overlap with the CPC session ex-
pected to be considering the subject.
In May 1985, a paper( 3 3 )
prepared by the
United Nations and UNEP secretariats was for-
warded to the UNEP Council. The paper outlined
the background to the analyses, and suggested
some issues relating to the environment analysis
which required resolution.
Meeting in April and May 1985, CPC decided
to consider the cross-organizational programme
analysis on the environment at its 1988 session,(34)
and the President of the Economic and Social
Council was so informed on 16 May.(35)
On 24
May, he received a telegram from the President
of the UNEP Governing Council,(36)
stating that
the UNEP Council considered that in preparing the
1990-1995 system-wide environment programme
during 1987, for adoption by the Governing Coun-
cil in 1988, UNEP and the United Nations system
would benefit from consideration of the analysis.
Accordingly, the Council would appreciate its
preparation for consideration by CPC in 1987.
Meanwhile , the Governing Counci l on 24
May(37)
welcomed CPC's decision to consider the
analysis. Noting the joint paper,(33)
it requested
United Nations bodies to assist the secretariat in
preparing a description of mandates guiding the
United Nations environment-related work; sug-
gested that including activities in the system-wide
m e d i u m - t e r m e n v i r o n m e n t p r o g r a m m e c o n -
stituted a working definition of the scope of en-
vironmental act ivi t ies in the United Nations
system, for the purposes of the analysis; endorsed
the suggestion that that programme should be used
in formulating the structure of the analysis; and
r e q u e s t e d t h e D e s i g n a t e d O f f i c i a l s f o r E n -
v i r o n m e n t a l M a t t e r s t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n i t s
preparation.
Joint meetings with UNCHS
In 1985, the UNEP Council again considered the
subject of meetings between UNEP and the United
Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS).
A report(38)
on the seventh joint meeting, held in
November 1984, was submitted to the Council by
the UNEP Executive Director. On 23 May,( 3 )
noting an 8 May resolution of the Commission on
Human Settlements (see p. 833), the Council con-
curred with that resolution and adopted a text with
identical provisions.
On 17 December, by resolution 40/199, the
General Assembly, acting on a suggestion submit-
ted by the respective Executive Directors, decided
to discontinue those meetings.
Co-ordination with and among Governments
In view of its 1983 decision(40)
not to hold a ses-
sion in 1986, the UNEP Council on’ 23 May(41)
laid
down guidelines for providing information to
Governments between the 1985 and 1987 sessions.
It recommended that three annual reports be con-
tinued: that on the state of the environment, and
those of the Executive Director and ACC. The
Council specified various subjects to be examined
in those documents.
Desiring to institute a more formal and regular
system of consultation among Governments and
between Governments and the Executive Direc-
tor, particularly in view of the fact that there would
be no session in 1986, the Council, also on 23
May,(42)
established an open-ended Committee of
Permanent Representatives and/or Government-
designated officials, which was to meet quarterly
and whenever deemed necessary with the Ex-
ecutive Director to make recommendations to the
Council.
UNEP clearing-house mechanism
Established by the Governing Council in
1982,(43)
the clearing-house was meant to expand
UNEP's ability to assist developing countries in
specific environmental problems, while maintain-
ing its co-ordinating rather than operational role.
UNEP'S role was usually limited to project for-
mulation, monitoring and evaluation; financing
and implementation were negotiated with willing
donors. During 1985, four long-term programmes
designed in 1983-1984 through the clearing-house
mechanism commenced: in Botswana (manage-
ment of soil and water resources), Indonesia (en-
vironmental management of the Jakarta-Puncak
corridor region), Jordan (range rehabilitation
demonstration project in the low rainfall zone) and
Peru (environmental management of the upper
Selva region).
In 1985, the programme received support from
Argentina, the Federal Republic of Germany, the
Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom,
the United States and the European Economic Com-
munity (EEC). Two additional country programmes
were formulated for Papua New Guinea and Tunisia.
In addit ion, three mult i -country programmes
received financing, and short-term advisory ser-
vices were provided to: Bangladesh (designing a pilot
industrial waste-water treatment plant); Burundi
(national parks management and assessing the pollu-
tion of Lake Tanganyika); Rwanda (organizing a
national environment seminar); the Syrian Arab
Republic (air pollution assessment); and Togo
(preparing an environment code). A project for the
management of Andean ecosystems in Peru was also
initiated during the year.
On 23 May,(2)
the Council expressed its apprecia-
tion to Governments and institutions which had
796 Economic and social questions
supported the clearing-house, called on donor
countries and aid institutions to increase their sup-
port for projects presented through it, and called
on developing countries to make wider use of the
clearing-house, part icularly in technical co-
operation among them.
Relations with NGOs
Close co-operation with environmentally con-
cerned non-governmental organizations (NGOS)
was again given high priority in 1985, principally
through the Nairobi-based Environmental Liaison
Centre (ELC), co-ordinator of a network of over
6,000 such NGOs. ELC continued to disseminate
information on UNEP and played a leading role in
promoting NGO activities on World Environment
Day (5 June).
With financial and other assistance from UNEP,
ELC organized a Global Meeting on Environment
and Deve lopmen t f o r NGOs (Na i rob i , 4 - 8
February), the first of its kind in that it brought
together environmental and non-environmental
NGOs. Attended by 140 participants representing
109 NGOS from 48 countries, as well as 83 guests
and observers, the Meeting dealt with rural and
urban economy, northern development and North-
South relations. It adopted 119 action proposals
and recommendations(44)
on sustainable develop-
ment, environment action and NGO co-operation
and effectiveness. The Meeting established a com-
mon strategy among NGOs to work for sustainable
development and called on UNEP to support the
strategy and its extension to other NGOs around
the world.
Activities in Asia and the Pacific included
UNEP’S collaboration with the Asian Mass Com-
munication Research and Information Centre in
a research project on the use of traditional media
for environmental communication. UNEP also co-
operated with Wildlife Fund Thailand on the Bud-
dhist perception of nature. Other initiatives in-
cluded the production of reports on pesticide
poisoning in Asia and the Pacific and on the
lessons of the 1984 Bhopal accident, in collabora-
tion with the International Organization of Con-
sumers Unions; the organizat ion of several
workshops for journalists, in co-operation with the
Press Foundation of Asia and the Sukothai Tham-
mathirat Open University of Thailand; and the
co-ordination of tree-planting projects in India,
New Caledonia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, with
financial support from the National Federation of
UNESCO Associations in Japan.
In Kenya, assistance was provided to promo-
tional activities and seminars of the Greenbelt
Movement, the tree-planting NGO organized by
the National Council of Women.
UNEP continued its close partnership with the
major international environmental NGOS. Thus,
during 1985, the International Union for the Con-
servation of Nature and Natural Resources was
carrying out 15 activities with UNEP support, the
Scientific Committee on Problems on the Environ-
ment had six and the International Institute for
Environment and Development had three.
Underlining the unique role that NGOS could
play at all levels, the Governing Council on 23
May(45)
urged the Executive Director to improve
mechanisms by which UNEP, in consultation with
Governments, utilized the capacities of NGOS. He
was also urged to help develop the ability of NGOS,
especially those in developing countries, to become
more effect ive partners in development with
Governments, international agencies and develop-
ment institutions, and to report on progress in
these matters in 1987.
UNEP Fund
During 1985, expenditures of the UNEP Fund
on programme and programme reserve activities
totalled $23.53 million, broken down as follows:
environmental awareness, $3.94 million; Earth-
watch, $3.5 million; oceans, $3.02 million; ter-
restrial ecosystems, $2.61 million; health and
human settlements, $2.5 million; desertification.
$2.37 million; environment and development.
$2.27 million; water, $1.4 million; regional and
technical co-operation, $1.38 million; Fund pro-
gramme reserve, $0.43 million; arms race and the
environment, $0.11 million.
In 1985, 63 new projects were approved, com-
pared with 48 in 1984; 62 projects were closed. At
the end of the year, 295 projects were still open.
Geographical distribution of Fund expenditures
was as follows: global, $15,179,952; regional,
&6,313,823; and interregional, $2,038,135.
Contributions
On 23 May,( 4 6 )
the Governing Council ex-
pressed appreciation to Governments that had in-
creased their pledges to the Environment Fund,
appealed to those that had not done so to pledge
their 1985 contribution, and urged Governments
to contribute at the beginning of a year and to sup-
port Fund programme activities in which they
were particularly interested by making counter-
part contributions to individual projects. The Ex-
ecutive Director was requested to seek increased
contributions to implement projects at the agreed
expenditure level.
Making similar appeals to Governments, the
General Assembly in reso lu t ion 40/200 reaf -
firmed the need for additional resources to deal
w i t h d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s ’ e n v i r o n m e n t a l
problems.
Country Country(in US dollars)
Amount
Environment
c o u n t r y( in US dol lars)
Amount
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE UNEP FUND, 1985
(as at 31 December 1985/
797
Algeria
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bahamas
Bangladesh
Barbados
Botswana
Sweden
Brazil
Bulgaria
Byelorussian SSR
Cameroon
Canada
Chile
China
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cyprus
Czechoslovakia
Democratic Yemen
Denmark
Egypt
Finland
France
Gabon
German Democratic Republic
Germany. Federal Republic of
Ghana
11,000
70,000
320,310
300,000
500
5,224
1,000
561
20,000
10,152
14,338
11,660
848,900
5,000
64,925
35,243
103
2,000
25.316
2,000
358,887
24.340
600,000
751,222
6,000
118,936
1.418,216
9,570
Greece 10,000
Hungary 21,539
Iceland 4,500
India 104,004
Indonesia 12,000
Ireland 19.622
Italy 279,883
Japan 4.000.000
Jordan 10,000
Kenya 45,000
Kuwait 200,000
Lao People’s Democratic Republic 2,027
Luxembourg 5,200
Malawi 2,857
Malaysia 15,000
Malta 1,361
Mauritius 1,000
Mexico 21,169
Mongolia 791
Morocco 10,277
Nepal 1,000
Netherlands 481,105
New Zealand 55,755
Norway 736,937
Oman 15,000
Pakistan 5,000
Panama 4,000
Papua New Guinea 13,000
Accounts for 1984-1985
As at 31 December 1985, total income of the
Fund for 1984-1985 amounted to $61,448,423 and
the total expenditure to $60,713,714, leaving an
excess of income over expenditure of $734,709.
propriation of $22,811,000 for 1984-1985—a
recommendation shared by the Advisory Commit-
tee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions
(ACABQ).(49)
Comments and recommendations on the ac-
counts of the UNEP Fund were made by the Board
of Auditors.(47)
On 23 May(50)
the Governing Council ap-
proved the revised appropriation and requested
the Executive Director to reduce the proportion
of the costs as soon as possible.
Programme budgets 1986-1987
1984-1985
In February 1985,( 4 8 )
the Executive Director
reported on the implementation of the approved
programme and programme support costs budget
for 1984-1985, and indicated the revisions it re-
quired. He recalled the Governing Council’s re-
quest to keep those costs within 33 per cent of the
estimated contributions for any given year. To do
so in 1985, costs would have to be reduced to $9.9
million, but such a reduction was not possible.
Projected 1985 requirements amounted to $12.3
million, but the Executive Director would try to
limit expenditure to $11.5 million. It was essen-
tial for the Council to accept a situation, deplored
by him, of having the costs in question possibly
consuming 40 per cent of contributions, making
it impossible to have a meaningful programme im-
plementation. Such a situation would occur if most
Governments continued to hold stationary or
reduce their contributions to the Fund. He recom-
mended the approval of a revised, lower ap-
On 23 May,( 5 1 )
the Governing Council ap-
proved the proposed programme budget for 1986-
1987 and the activities contained therein. On the
same day,(46)
it approved an appropriation of $60
million for Fund programme activities and $2
million for Fund programme reserve activities for
1986-1987, and set out the apportionment for
them. The Executive Director was requested to
adjust the financial reserve of the Fund in 1986
to 7.5 per cent of the total programme approved
by the Council for 1986-1987.
Also on the same date,( 5 0 )
the Council ap-
proved the appropriation of $26,207,700 for the
programme and programme support costs budget
for 1986-1987—an amount recommended by
ACABQ.(52)
Resources available to the Fund in 1986 were
estimated at $53.07 million. Based on this, an ex-
penditure of $32.35 million was planned in 1986,
broken down as follows: programme and pro-
gramme support costs, $11 million, plus Fund
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Seychelles
Singapore
Somalia
Spain
Sri Lanka
Swaziland
Amount
(in US dollars)
8,919
20.464
3,000
10,000
500,000
100
1,000
269
269,986
3,000
441
1,824,753
Switzerland 376,045
Thailand 10,000
Trinidad end Tobago 5,000
Tunisia 15,180
Turkey 6,000
Uganda 2,000
Ukrainian SSR 36,995
USSR 33,030,868
United Kingdom 1,063,125
United States 9,865,433
Venezuela 57,333
Yugoslavia 22,414
Zambia 6,522
Zimbabwe 4,017
Total 28,256,314
798 Economic and social questions
programme activities and reserve activities, $28.35
million, less underspending of $7 million. The
balance of $20.72 million was to be carried for-
ward to 1987.
The Executive Director allocated $45.2 million
for Fund programme activities in 1986-1987:
$27.85 million for 1986 and $17.35 million for
1987. He also allocated $1 million for reserve ac-
tivities covering both years.
1988- 1989
O n 2 3 m a y ,( 4 6 )
t h e G o v e r n i n g C o u n c i l
Authorized the Executive Director to enter into for-
ward commitments of up to $16 million for Fund
programme activities in 1988-1989, and requested
him to draw up a programme for Fund activities
and reserve activities in 1988-1989 which would
result in an estimated level of project expenditures
of approximately $50 million.
Also on that day,(50)
the Council requested him
to identify more clearly the real administrative
costs of UNEP and to present them in the 1988-
1989 budget.
The Executive Director stated that he did not
expect to incur a high level of commitments for
1988-1989 activities during 1986-1987, although
some forward commitments would be necessary.
Only $10,000 commitments for those years had
been incurred by 31 March 1986.
Trust funds
Three new technical assistance funds were
established after the 1984 session of the Govern-
ing Council: to provide short-term experts to
developing countries, and for a pilot project on
environmental management and protection of An-
dean ecosystems, both financed by the Federal
Republic of Germany; and to promote technical
co-operation and assistance in industrial, en-
vironmental and raw mater ia l management ,
financed by the Swedish International Develop-
ment Authority.(53)
In the same period, one other
trust fund, the Interim Special Account for the
Establishment of the Special Commission on the
Environmental Perspective to the Year 2000 and
Beyond, was closed. This brought the number of
trust funds administered by UNEP to 15.
On 23 May,( 5 4 )
the Counci l expressed ap-
preciation to Governments that had pledged to in-
crease their contributions to the various funds, and
urged Governments to pay promptly, at the begin-
ning of a calendar year, and to support Fund pro-
gramme activities in which they were particularly
interested by making counterpart contributions to
individual projects. The Council approved the ex-
tension of six trust funds established under the
rules of the Environment Fund and approved, on
a cont ingency basis , the establ ishment of a
Regional Seas Trust Fund for the Eastern African
Region. It also took note of the establishment of
the three technical assistance funds mentioned
above.
(For the Trust Fund for the Convention on the
Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild
Animals, see p. 813.)
Additional sources of funding
In accordance with a 1982 Governing Council
request,(43)
the Executive Director continued to
seek resources additional to those provided by con-
tributions to the Environment Fund. Additional
pledges tota l l ing $956,822 were secured as
counterpart contributions for 12 projects in 1985
and a further $81,932 for three projects in 1986.
Twelve Governments contributed $779,926 for
1985, while the European Atomic Energy Com-
munity, EEC, several industrial corporations and
NGOs contributed a total of $176,896.
Concerned at the decline in the Environment
Fund’s real resources, the Council on 23 May(55)
urged States to contribute or to increase their con-
tributions. The Executive Director was requested
to seek additional funds for specific activities; to
initiate cost-effective mechanisms to utilize na-
tional currencies and contributions. in kind; to in-
t ens i fy co -ope ra t i on be tween U N E P a n d t h e
U n i t e d N a t i o n s D e v e l o p m e n t P r o g r a m m e
( U N D P ) ; t o s e c u r e s u p p o r t t o s u p p l e m e n t
secretar iat s taff by direct recrui tment under
agreements with Governments; to consult with
United Nations Headquarters on the possibility
of issuing conservation stamps 10 finance en-
vironmental activities; to encourage the establish-
ment of national environmental committees; and
to explore other possibilities.
O t h e r a d m i n i s t r a t i v e a n d
o r g a n i z a t i o n a l q u e s t i o n s
UNEP public information
Information activities and special events helped
to increase environmental awareness during 1985.
On the tenth anniversary of GEMS (see p. 800)
and the launching of GRID (see p. 801), a visit to
U N E P b y a s t r o n a u t G e o r g e B . N e l s o n a n d
cosmonaut Anatoly Nicolaevich Berezovoy at-
tracted major media attention. Press coverage of
the visit of Pope John Paul II to the United Na-
t i o n s O f f i c e a t N a i r o b i ( 1 8 A u g u s t ) w a s
augmented by the distribution of speeches for the
occasion to church leaders. World Environment
Day (5 June) was observed in more than 70 coun-
tries and received global media attention.
An Information Advisory Committee of in-
dependent information experts to advise on pro-
moting environmental awareness held its first
meeting at Geneva in November. Under the first
Environment 799
UNEP Journalist Attachment Programme, represen-
tatives of major newspapers were invited for three
weeks in May to observe UNEP’s functioning and
the Governing Council’s session. Liaison with the
Nairobi-based media was reinforced with regular
monthly briefings and some 100 news releases,
features and background papers.
Six issues of UNEP News, in English, French and
Spanish, were produced. A new publications series
aimed at the general public was launched. The initial
titles were: Environment-A Dialogue among Nations,
Environmental Refugees and Radiation, Risks, Doses and
Effects. Other publications included five technical
papers, a series of eight thematic fact sheets (in four
languages) and six associated posters (in three
languages). In Thailand, Dr. Seuss’s children’s book
The Lorax was released in Thai and distributed free
of charge to all school libraries on World Environ-
ment Day.
The non-convertible-currency-funded publications
and information programmes with China and the
U S S R c o n t i n u e d . T h e U N E P / C h i n a p r o j e c t
published four issues of the Chinese-language
quarterly World Environment (circulation 25,000),
provided information support to a UNEP/FAO/China
seminar on pest control, and started preparing the
Chinese version of The Lorax. Various publications
were printed under the UNEP/USSR project. Its
audio-visual component selected Soviet entries for
the global environmental film/video catalogue, and
started work on a biosphere reserve slide show.
The audio-visual services produced three radio
programmes on behalf of all English-language radio
stations in Africa; dubbed into Spanish the film Pills
and Pesticides; translated into Arabic, French and
Spanish the slide show Harvest of Dust; and prepared
a photographic display on women in the en-
vi ronment
The UNEP-sponsored Television Trust for the
Environment (TVE) produced, in co-operation with
Thailand and the United Press International Televi-
sion Network, a five-minute news item and a 25-
minute film feature for World Environment Day.
TVE also produced a film on desertification con-
trol in China.
(For regional information activities, see p. 794.)
Reform of the information service
As part of the ongoing reform of the UNEP in-
formation programme, the Executive Director
reported(32)
that target audiences had been iden-
tified and objectives set. Information needs of
developing countries had been analysed, as had been
the opportunities for use of non-traditional media
in those countries. Staff and financial resources for
the information programme had been reviewed,
and an organizational structure drawn up. A 1985
information programme had been defined and
UNEP News issued every two months.
On 23 May,(56)
the Governing Council urged
the Executive Director to continue streamlining in-
formation activities, and requested him to provide
Governments, through the Committee of Perma-
nent Representatives, with information on the use
of funds for such activities.
Future Council sessions
Biennial cycle of sessions
In 1983, the U N E P Governing Counci l had
decided, experimentally, to hold no session in 1986
and decide in 1987 on the periodicity of its ses-
s i ons .( 4 0 )
I n r e s o l u t i o n 4 0 / 2 0 0 , t h e G e n e r a l
Assembly welcomed that decision and invited the
Council, when reviewing the experiment with the
organization of a biennial work programme, to con-
sider changes that might be necessary in the Coun-
cil’s functioning, including the term of membership.
1987 session
On 24 May,(1)
the Governing Council decided
to hold its 1987 session at Nairobi, in April-June,
at dates to be relayed to Governments after con-
sultations. It also approved a provisional agenda
for the session.
REFERENCES(1)
A/40/25. (2)
Ibid. (dec. 13/l). (3)
UNEP/GC.1312 & Corr.l,2;UNEP/GC.13/3 & Corr.1,2 & Add.l-6 & Add.6/Corr.1 & Add.7.(4)
.4/40/25 (dec. 13/15). (5)
A/C.2/40/L.93 & Corr.1 & L.94.( 6 )
YUN 1983 , p . 771 , GA r e s . 38 /161 , 19 Dec . 1983 .(7)
UNEP/GC.13/4/Add.2. (8)
UNEP/GC. 13/4. (9)
YUN 1984,743
( 1 0 )A/40/25 (dec. 13/9 A).
( 1 1 )YUN 1984. p. 744.
(12)A/40/25 (dec. 13/9C).
(13)YUN 1982. p. 1005.
(14)A/40/25
(dec. 13/9 D). (15)
UNEP/GC. 13/4/Add.l & Add.l/Corr. 1.( 1 6 )
YUN 1984, 743. (17)A/40/25 (dec. B). ( 1 8 )
1bid.13/9
dec 13/23). (19)
YUN 1983, p. 771. (20)
UNEP/GC. 13/3/Add.2.(21)
UNEP/GC/IIPC.2/2. (22)
A/40/25 (dec. 13/4 A & B). (23)
YUN1983, p, 773.
(24)A/40/25 (dec. 13/6).
(25)UNEP/IG.57/8.
( 2 6 )A/40/25 (dec . 13/32) . ( 2 7 )
I b i d . ( d e c . 1 3 / 2 1 ) .(28)
UNEP/GC. 13/5. (29)
ACC/1985/DEC/16-29 (dec. 1985/19).( 3 0 )
I b i d . ( d e c . 1 9 8 5 / 2 0 ) . ( 3 1 )
A / 4 0 / 2 5 ( d e c . 1 3 / 1 0 ) .(32)
UNEP/GC.13/3 & Corr.1.2. (33)
UNEP/GC.13/3/Add.6 &Add.6/Corr. 1.
(34)A/40/38.
(35)E/1985/86.
(36)E/1985/120.
(37)A/40/25 (dec. 13/11).
(38)UNEP/GC. 13/6.
(39)A/40/25
(dec 13/12). (dec. (40)
YUN 1983, p. 769.(41)
A/40/25 (des. 13/3 ).
( 42 ) Ib id . ( dec . 13 /2 ) . ( 43 )YUN 1982 , P . 999 .(44)
UNEP/GC. 13/3/Add.4. (45)
A/40/25 (dec. 13/13).(46)
Ibid.
(dec. 13/36). (47)
A/41/5/Add.6. (48)
UNEP/GC. 13/11.(49)
UNEP/GC.13/L.4. (50)
A/40/25 (dec. 13135). (51)Ibid.
(dec. 13/14). (52)
UNEP/GC.13/L.5. (53)
UNEP/GC.13/14 &Add. 1.
(54)A/40/25 (dec. 13/34).
(55)Ibid. (dec. 13/33).
(56)Ibid,
(Dec. 13/22).
Environmental act ivi t ies
Environmental moni tor ing
Environmental monitoring continued to be one
of UNEP’S main tasks throughout 1985. Its global
environment assessment programme, Earthwatch,
800 Economic and social questions
was conceived as a co-ordinated global system of
national facilities and services to study the interac-
tion between man and the environment and deter-
mine the status of selected natural resources.
Earthwatch had four functions: evaluation and
forecasting, monitoring, research, and informa-
tion exchange.
Since 1974, some 50 projects had been completed
within Earthwatch; 20 were ongoing, for a total
projected cost of $36 million, half provided by UNEP
and half by co-operating agencies. The corner-stone
of the programme was the Global Environmental
Monitoring System (GEMS), with nearly 150 coun-
tries participating in one or more of its six monitoring
networks which dealt with renewable resources;
climate; health; long-range transboundary pollu-
tion; integrated monitoring; and the Global Resource
Information Data Base (GRID).
The Environmental Law and Machinery Unit
continued to promote the development of en-
vironmental law by collating and disseminating
data, supporting the enforcement of international
agreements , promoting new agreements and
assisting States to enforce environmental law. In
1985, three years after the Governing Council had
approved(1)
the 1981 Montevideo (Uruguay) pro-
gramme for the Development and periodic review
of environmental law,(2)
the priority tasks of the
programme had been accomplished, with the
adoption in 1985 of the global Convention on pro-
tecting the ozone layer (see p. 804) and two sets
of international guidelines, prepared by a series
of ad hoc working groups of governmental experts
on the basis of drafts prepared by UNEP.
On 24 May, the Governing Council addressed
various issues concerning environmental law:(3)
pro-
tecting the ozone layer (see p. 804), protecting the
marine environment (see p. 815), management of
hazardous wastes (see p. 803), harmful products
(see p. 801), environmental impact assessment (see
below), offshore mining (see p. 816), international
conventions (see below), and the Convention on
conservation of migratory animals (see p. 813).
Environmental impact assessment
Taking note of progress made in developing
guidelines for environmental impact assessment by
the Working Group of Experts on Environmental
Law (first session, Washington, D. C., 26-29 June
1984),(4)
the Council, on 24 May 1985, requested
the Executive Director to provide for additional ses-
sions to complete the guidelines for submission to
the Council in 1987.
International conventions
The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the
Ozone Layer was adopted in March (see p. 804)
and a protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-
Range Transboundary Air Pollution( 5 )
on the
reduction of sulphur emissions or their transboun-
dary fluxes by at least 30 per cent was concluded
at Helsinki, Finland, on 8 July 1985. As at 31
December 1985, 21 States had signed the protocol,
drawn up within the framework of ECE, while one
(Canada) had ratified it.(6)
In 1985 UNEP continued its work relating to
various aspects of other international conventions
relating to the environment. Revised and updated
versions of the Register of International Treaties and
Other Agreements in the Field of the Environment, the Direc-
tory of Principal Governmental Bodies Dealing with the
Environment and the survey of Environmental Law in
the United Nations Environment Programme were prepared
and distributed for use by Governments. In addi-
tion, all guidelines and principles on environmental
law adopted under UNEP auspices since 1972 were
reissued as a documentation series in all official
languages. A report(7)
on progress with regard to
environment co-operation by States concerning
shared natural resources, prepared on behalf of the
Governing Council for the General Assembly in
response to a 1982 request,(8)
indicated that the
1978 principles relating to such resources(9)
had
found wide international acceptance. The report
summarized the comments of 46 Governments and
11 international organizations on the question.
Information on developments regarding inter-
national conventions and protocols on the environ-
ment was submitted to the Council by the Executive
Director. His report listed new conventions and
gave changes in the status of existing ones.
By decision 40/441 of 17 December, the General
Assembly took note of a Secetariat note drawing
attention to the Executive Director‘s report.
Environment information networks
INFOTERRA
The International Referral System for sources
of environmental information ( I N FOT E R R A),
UNEP'S global information system linking national
and international institutions and experts, ex-
panded its activities in 1985. The number of
Government-designated INFOTERRA national
focal points reached 126, of which 103 were in
developing countries. The number of queries
reached 10,600, an increase over the 9,100 in
1984; over half were from developing countries.
In 1985, over 60 per cent of all queries processed
by I N F O T E R R A national focal points received
direct answers. INFOTERRA also provided infor-
mation and referral services to every user who con-
tacted it. About 70 per cent of all users contacted
were satisfied or very satisfied with the informa-
tion they received.
Work continued to identify leading institutions
in environmental subject areas and to engage them
to act as INFOTERRA special sectoral sources for
Environment 801
the provision of information. Four additional in-
stitutions were contracted to search their data
base s t o p roduce b ib l i og raph ic r e f e r ences ,
abstracts and documentation in answer to queries
from users, bringing the total to nine.
A training course on basic INFOTERRA opera-
tions was held (Nairobi, October) for 20 new na-
tional focal points, and three national seminars were
organized by Bulgaria, China and the Ukrainian
SSR, with UNEP assistance. The INFOTERRA Ad-
visory Committee held its second meeting (Sochi,
USSR, April) and discussed the system’s development.
The seventh edition of the INFOTERRA Interna-
tional Directory of Sources was published in January
in English, French, Russian and Spanish. It listed
5,213 information sources on nearly 1,000 en-
vironmental topics. Promotional material and the
bi-monthly INFOTERRA Bulletin were produced
and distributed to all national focal points.
Global Resource Information Data Base
The Global Resource Information Data Base
(GRID) was established in 1985 within GEMS to
p rov ide an ana ly t i c a l ba s i s f o r con t i nuous
geographically referenced assessment statements
on key global environmental issues. Designed as
a data management service for the United Nations
system, i t enabled environmental data to be
transformed into information useful to decision
make r s . I t i n t eg r a t ed da t a on t he ba s i s o f
geographical locat ion-an effect ive common
denominator in environmental planning and
management-making them available for national
and internat ional users . The G R I D processor
facility in Geneva was opened in September. By
year’s end, the tasks of compiling global resource
data sets and developing demonstration data sets
and models to test the applicability of national
geographic-information-system technology was
well under way.
On 23 May 1985,(11)
the Governing Council
welcomed the establishment of GRID, expressed
appreciation to Governments that had supported
it, invited others to do so, and invited developing
countries to consider how best they could use
GRID for their environmental and developmental
objectives. The Executive Director was requested
to report in 1987 on progress in its development.
Integrated monitoring
During 1985, a methodology for integrated
monitoring, developed by UNEP in conjunction with
WMO and UNESCO, was being tested in a pilot
project in comparable North and South American
temperate forests. Preliminary results, based on
a year’s data collection at each project site (Torres
de1 Paine National Park, Chile, and Olympic Na-
tional Park, Washington, United States), confirmed
that both locations were suitable for baseline data
collection and examination of pollutant fluxes
between and accumulations within environmen-
tal compartments. Consideration was given to how
this study might be linked to similar work carried
out in Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
(CMEA) countries in order to provide the basis for
a new GEMS global network.
National conservation strategies
On 23 May ,( 1 2 )
the Governing Council re-
quested the Execut ive Director to encourage
Governments that had not done so to prepare na-
tional conservation strategies, and to recommend
to the December African environmental con-
ference (see p. 793) that it consider such strategies
with a view to evolving a common approach.
P r o t e c t i o n a g a i n s t h a r m f u l
p r o d u c t s a n d p o l l u t a n t s
Activities regarding pollution assessment con-
tinued throughout 1985. With UNEP/GEMS sup-
port, the Monitoring and Assessment Research
Centre (MARC) of the University of London con-
tinued to assess environmental pollution. It pro-
duced reports on pathways analysis and exposure
c o m m i t m e n t a s s e s s m e n t s o f e n v i r o n m e n t a l
pollutants, in consultation with UNEP’S Interna-
tional Register of Potentially Toxic Chemicals (see
below); a report on polyaromatic hydrocarbons,
a luminium and z inc was publ ished in 1985.
M A R C a l so p repa red r ev iews o f b io log ica l
monitoring techniques, evaluating the usefulness
of the whole spectrum of living organisms as in-
tegrators of exposure and indicators of the effects
of environmental pollutants. In association with
WHO and with UNEP support, MARC produced a
report on historical monitoring which reviewed for
the first time global concentrations of metal,
organic and radioactive pollutants in both living
and non - l i v ing ma te r i a l s , ove r t ime , u s ing
retrospective data.
UNEP and the Scientific Committee on Prob-
lems of the Environment continued to collect and
analyse information on elements cycling in the en-
vironment through their joint Carbon Unit in the
Federal Republic of Germany and the Sulphur
Unit in the USSR. A project on the transport of
carbonaceous compounds from the land to the sea
by the major world rivers was under way, and the
Carbon Unit published the third part of its report
on transport of carbon and minerals in major
world rivers. A workshop (Tianjin, China, 13-17
May) discussed the use of modelling and remote
sensing to improve understanding of the carbon
cycle.
Action to promote environmental health con-
tinued. In 1985 UNEP reviewed eight demonstra-
tion projects in bilharzia control, established in
802 Economic and social questions
collaboration with the Egyptian Academy of Scien-
tific Research and Technology and the Theodor
Bilharz Research Institute in Cairo.
Under the UNEP-supported International Pro-
gramme on Chemical Safety (IPCS), new priority
chemicals were evaluated, on the basis of which
environmental health criteria documents were
published to provide national and international in-
stitutions with information on dangerous chemicals
and with data on their effects on man and the en-
vironment. Two training courses organized under
IPCS involved 39 participants from developing
countries. One on environmental toxicology and
ecotoxicology, held in the United Kingdom, dealt
with safe disposal of chemicals; the other on preven-
t ive toxicology, held in the USSR, upgraded
knowledge of agrochemicals to improve the formula-
tion of national standards and exposure limits and
the development of measures for hazard control.
In co-operation with FAO and the USSR Com-
mission for UNEP (UNEPCOM), a training course
was organized in the USSR on food contamina-
tion control with special reference to mycotoxins,
involving 16 participants from developing countries.
In collaboration with the International Agency
for Research on Cancer, UNEP published a manual
on environmental carcinogens which included
recommended analytical methods. In co-operation
with ECE, UNEP evaluated airborne sulphur pollu-
tion and transboundary air pollution, and published
two reports assessing air pollution effects on the
environment.
In the area of management of agr icul tural
chemicals and residues, the fourth International
Meeting on Perception and Management of Pests
and Pest ic ides (Chiang Mai , Thai land, 5-14
January) reviewed ongoing studies on the perceptions
of pest managers and farmers; updated national
profiles on pesticide production and distribution
and pest management practices in developing coun-
tries;, made recommendations on education and
traning; and reviewed information on the inter-
national flow of pesticides.
A meeting sponsored by UNEP, FAO and China
(Guangzhou, China, 16-22 June), attended by 48
participants, aimed at enhancing developing country
capabilities for biological control of agricultural
pests.
With UNEP support, a training course to create
self-reliance in ecological pest management in the
tropics was held at the Regional Centre for Train-
ing in Plant Protection at Yaoundé, Cameroon
(November/December). Its aim was to enable four
selected African countries to design programmes
for integrated crop pest and l ivestock vector
management, in order to minimize the negative
effects of indiscriminate pesticide use. The course
was attended by 25 participants.
The second session of the Ad Hoc Working
Group of Experts for the Exchange of Informa-
tion on Potentially Harmful Chemicals (in par-
ticular Pesticides) in International Trade was held
at Rome, Italy, in January/February. The Group
reviewed the provisional notification scheme for
banned and severely restricted chemicals;(13)
ap-
proved standard notification forms annexed to the
scheme; and revised the draft guidelines for the
exchange of information on potentially harmful
chemica l s i n i n t e rna t i ona l t r ade . S ix ty -one
Governments were participating in the notifica-
tion scheme.
On 24 May,( 3 )
the Governing Council noted
with appreciation an offer by the United Kingdom
to host the third session of the Ad Hoc Working
Group in early 1987. The Executive Director was
requested to convene the session before that of the
Governing Council in order to complete the draft
guidelines. He was also requested to facilitate,
through IPCS and in co-operat ion with the
organizations concerned, the provision of technical
assistance and training to developing countries to
establish and improve national institutions deal-
ing with the issue.
International Register of
Potentially Toxic Chemicals
The potential threat posed by the increasing
production, trade and use of chemicals became a
major issue in 1985 as a result of chemical-related
accidents such as the ones at Bhopal, India, and
at the Fly River estuary, Papua New Guinea,
where 2,700 sixty-litre barrels of sodium cyanide
spilled in 1984. UNEP’S International Register of
Potential ly Toxic Chemicals ( I R P T C) became
m o r e i n v o l v e d i n p r o v i d i n g i n f o r m a t i o n ,
assistance and advice on chemical safety and
hazard control. IRPTC expanded in 1985 its global
information exchange network involving national
institutions, international organizations, NGOs
and industry. Training in the establishment and
ope ra t i on o f na t i ona l chemica l i n fo rma t ion
systems, in particular in developing countries,
became a regular part of its work. With other
international bodies, IRPTC organized training
courses and seminars on the optimal use of data
for the protection of health and the environment.
In partnership with other parts of the United Na-
tions, IRPTC maintained a global data base on
prohibitions and restrictive regulatory measures
imposed on chemicals by Governments.
The Query-Response Service cont inued to
receive queries on chemicals at an increasing rate.
Over 330 came in during 1985 (43 per cent from
developing countries), most (44 per cent) on
agrochemicals.
The IRPTC Legal Fi le , containing data on
regulatory measures and recommendations for
Environment 803
hazard control on 400 chemicals, covering 12
countries and six international organizations: was
expanded in 1985 to contain occupational ex-
posure limits for 1,258 chemicals from 20 coun-
tries. The File was accessible on-line, world-wide,
from the Environmental Chemicals Data and In-
formation Network of the Commission of the
European Communities as a result of an agree-
ment between UNEP and the Commission.
IRPTC updated its loose-leaf manual on toxic
chemicals and continued to develop its data pro-
files of 500 chemicals of international significance
stored in its data bank.
Two issues of the IRPTC Bulletin were published
in English, French, Russian and Spanish and
distributed to 9,200 recipients. The Bulletin con-
tained information on activities by UNEP and
other organizations on chemicals; the results of
risk assessments of chemicals; and chemicals
which were the subject of controls or restrictive
measures. With USSR co-operation, publication
continued of the series Scientific Reviews of Soviet
Literature on Toxicity and Hazards of Chemicals, which
comprised 94 publications. The English edition of
Principles of Pesticide Toxicology was published.
An international expert consultation on tox-
icometric methodology, held jointly with rpcs
(Moscow, November), reviewed a draft document
on recommendations and methods of toxicometry,
providing basic information on the experiences of
CMEA countries in safety-testing of chemicals, and
made proposals for its finalization and use.
Close working links were maintained with the
new nat ional chemical information systems
established in Colombia, the Gambia, Malaysia,
Sri Lanka and the United Republic of Tanzania
d u r i n g 1 9 8 4 u n d e r U N E P ’ s c l e a r i n g - h o u s e
mechanism (see p. 795). Plans were developed for
a second phase, involving six more developing
countries.
In response to a 1984 Governing Council re-
quest,(14)
IRPTC continued to send to Govern-
ments, international organizations, NGOs and in-
dustry a report on environmentally dangerous
chemical substances and processes of global
significance. A revision of the report based on
government and other comments was begun.
Responding to another Council request,( 1 3 )
IRPTC continued to assist in implementing the
provisional notification scheme for banned and
severely restricted chemicals (see p. 802). By the
end of 1985, Governments had started issuing
notifications of control action for specific chemicals
for dissemination to others through IRPTC.
During 1985, IRPTC continued to collaborate
with IPCS, OECD, CMEA, the Commission of the
European Communities, IL0 and other United
Nations bodies.
On 23 May,(15)
the Governing Council, noting
that IRPTC had achieved specific successes,
recognized that the current international informa-
tion exchange systems on chemicals for the pro-
tection of human health and the environment, in
which IRPTC played an important role, were fail-
ing to keep abreast of the growing requirements
placed on them. The Council felt that it was
urgent to raise the effectiveness of IRPTC by in-
creasing the number of chemicals it covered, in-
tensifying information exchange, providing access
to addit ional organizat ions, inst i tut ions and
bodies, and expanding training programmes. The
C o u n c i l u r g e d G o v e r n m e n t s , i n t e r n a t i o n a l
organizations and industry to provide information
for inclusion in the IRPTC files, and called on the
Executive Director to continue giving high priority
to IRPTC’S work and to increase its financial
resources from non-convertible currency contribu-
tions to the Environment Fund.
Managing hazardous wastes
On 24 May,( 3 )
the Governing Counci l re-
quested the Executive Director to convene a third
session of the Ad Hoc Working Group of Experts
on the Environmentally Sound Management of
Hazardous Wastes, to enable i t to complete
guidelines and principles on that subject for the
Council’s consideration in 1987. The Group had
held its first two sessions in 1984.(19)
T h e W o r k i n g G r o u p m e t a t C a i r o ( 4 - 9
December), and adopted the Cairo Guidelines and
P r i n c i p l e s f o r t h e E n v i r o n m e n t a l l y S o u n d
Management of Hazardous Wastes,( 1 7 )
together
with several recommendations addressed to
Governments and the UNEP Executive Director.
Health-related monitoring
In the area of health-related monitoring, work
cont inued under the U N E P/WHO Human Ex-
p o s u r e A s s e s s m e n t L o c a t i o n s ( H E A L S ) p ro -
gramme, expected to lead to major advances in
assessing pollution-exposure risk to various sec-
tors of the populat ion in industr ial ized and
developing countries. During 1985, final discus-
sions were held with part icipat ing countr ies
(Japan, Sweden, United States and Yugoslavia)
on implementing the first stage of the programme.
In the next two stages, HEALS was to be extended
to advanced developing countries and then to less
developed countries.
At the end of 1985 GEMS had, in co-operation
with WHO, three operational networks monitor-
ing urban air, water and food contamination. On
urban air, 50 countries (27 developing) were par-
ticipating, with some 175 monitoring sites in 75
cities. Regarding water, 250,000 data points had
been returned from 448 stations in 59 countries
or territories. Concerning food contamination, 26
804 Economic and social questions
joint FAO/WHO monitoring centres and institutions
were operational. In addition, the health-related
monitoring programme had resulted in initiating
or s t rengthening nat ional moni tor ing in 25
developing countries.
Monitoring long-range transport of pollutants
The first phase of a project begun in 1984 with
ECE(13)
to assess the effects of acidifying deposition
on forests in ECE countries and to recommend
guidelines for a unified methodology for sampl-
ing, analysis and assessment of damage to forests
from air pollution continued in 1985. A planned
second phase was to monitor damage to forests by
applying methodology developed in the first phase.
E c o s y s t e m s
Atmosphere
Protection of the ozone layer
Seven years of efforts by the international com-
munity culminated in the adoption of the Vienna
Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer
on 22 March by a conference of plenipotentiaries
(Vienna, 18-22 March). Sponsored by UNEP with
the support of the Austrian Government, the con-
ference was attended by 43 States (including 14
developing countries) and seven international
organizations. As at 31 December 1985,( 6 )
the
Convention had been signed by 25 States and
EEC. It was to enter into force after 20 States had
ratified or accepted it.
The conference was preceded by a meeting of
the Ad Hoc Working Group of Legal and Technical
Experts for the Elaboration of a Global Framework
Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer
(Geneva, 21-25 January) and by an informal
negotiation meeting. In view of the urgent need
for a protocol on the control of chlorofluorocar-
bons, UNEP convened two ad hoc steering commit-
tee meetings (London, 17 and 18 September, and
Brussels, 16 December) to arrange for a 1986
workshop as a basis for elaborat ing such a
protocol.
Justification for the Convention was based
largely on the continuing process of assessment of
ozone layer modification and its impact carried out
through the UNEP Co-ordinating Committee on
the Ozone Layer. A December 1985 assessment
report, prepared by the United States National
Aeronautics and Space Administration based on
work by several bodies, including UNEP and WMO,
contained more refined data on the atmosphere
than ever before, and confirmed the risk of signifi-
cant ozone depletion should chlorine-containing
chemicals, particularly chlorofluorocarbons, be
emitted to the atmosphere at a higher rate than
was currently happening. Also stressed was the
possibility of climate change occurring as a result
of increasing levels of tropospheric ozone as well
as of the so-called greenhouse gas properties of
ozone-modifying substances.
To promote awareness of the ozone layer issue
in developing countries, a seminar for developing
country scientists on global environmental prob-
lems was held at UNEP headquarters in November,
with participants from Argentina, Brazil, China,
Egypt, India, Kenya, Malaysia and Nigeria.
On 24 May,( 3 )
the Governing Council urged
States which had not s igned and rat i f ied the
Vienna Convention to do so and requested the Ex-
ecutive Director to convene a working group on
a protocol on chlorofluorocarbons, authorizing
him, pending the Convention’s entry into force,
to convene a diplomatic conference to adopt such
a protocol. The Council urged States and regional
economic integration organizations, pending the
protocol’s entry into force, to control their emis-
sions of chlorofluorocarbons and urged interested
parties to sponsor a workshop on the subject under
UNEP auspices, and to set up a steering commit-
tee to prepare for it. The Council also set out the
committee’s terms of reference.
Climate-related monitoring
At the end of 1985, the WMO/UNEP Background
Air Pollution Monitoring Network involved 95
participating countries, 65 of which had opera-
tional stations and 55 were regularly reporting
data on the state of the atmosphere. During 1985,
five other stations became operational. Emphasis
continued to be on improving the quantity and
density of data, replacing outmoded instruments
by modern ones, and improving quality assurance
procedures.
The World Glacier Inventory was completed in
1985 and responsibility for its continuation passed
to the UNEP-supported World Glacier Monitoring
Service. A selection of key reference glaciers in
various regions was being made by the Service,
which would also provide annual data on the mass
balance changes of the glaciers. These data would
con t r i bu t e t o unde r s t and ing g loba l c l ima t i c
changes and variability, and provide an indication
of water availability from glaciers in areas where
they occurred.
Climate impact studies
In 1985 the World Climate Impact Studies pro-
gramme (WCIP)—the UNEP-led element of the
World Climate Programme (WCP) of WMO, which
had resulted from the 1979 World Climate Con-
ference( 1 8 )
—focused on reducing the r isks of
adverse climatic impact on food systems and
agriculture, developing methodologies for climate
impact assessment, and analysing greenhouse-
Environment 805
gas-induced climate changes. Mounting scientific
evidence indicated that the earth’s atmosphere
was gradually warming, because of excessive amounts
of gases (mainly the by-products of the burning of
fossil fuels) which trapped heat in the atmosphere,
much as glass traps heat in a greenhouse (leading
to the term “greenhouse effect”).
The highlight of WCIP was the second joint
UNEP/WMO/International Council of Scientific
Unions assessment of the role of carbon dioxide
and other greenhouse gases in climate variations
and their associated impacts. The assessment was
carried out at a conference (Villach, Austria, 7-15
October), attended by scientists from 29 countries,
which stated that, in the first half of the next cen-
tury, a rise of global mean temperature could occur
that would be greater than any in history. The in-
c r ea se i n g loba l mean equ i l i b r i um su r f ace
temperature due to increases in carbon dioxide
and other greenhouse gases was likely to be in the
range of 1.5-4.5° C. Further, the expected global
mean temperature due to a doubling of carbon
dioxide was about the same magnitude as the
change of global temperature from the last glacial
period to the current interglacial one. A global
warming of 1 .5 to 4 .5° C would lead to an
estimated sea-level rise of between 20 and 165 cen-
timetres. A future change of climate of such an
order could have profound effects on global
ecosystems. The conference drew attention to the
linkages between climate change and other major
environmental issues such as acidic deposition and
threats to the Earth’s ozone shield, and noted that
actions to limit one environmental threat could
have repercussions on other environmental areas.
The conference called on scientists and policy-
makers to explore jointly alternative policies.
Various WCIP projects were concluded during
1985. Under the project on integrated approaches
to climate impact assessment, a two-volume Assess-
ment of Climate Impacts on Agriculture was finalized
for publication in 1986. Under the project on im-
proving the science of climate impact studies, a
publication, Climate Impact Assessment, was issued
and distr ibuted free to developing countr ies .
Under a joint UNEP/UNRISD/Centre for Regional,
Ecological and Science Studies in Development
Alternatives project, on reducing the vulnerability
of food systems to climate in north-east India, the
Perception Study of Food Vulnerability to Climatic
Variability in the Region was published in October.
WCIP’s Scientific Advisory Committee held its
fourth meeting (Vienna, 4-8 February) to review
implementation of WCIP and recommend future
activities. Among these were: following up on the
Villach conference’s recommendations; encourag-
ing development of national climate programmes,
including impact studies; and urging national par-
ticipation in WCP.
UNEP and the United States National Centre
for Atmospheric Research held a workshop
(Lugano, Switzerland, 11-15 November) on El
Niño and Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events,
thought to be associated with climatic anomalies,
including drought, in many parts of the world. The
workshop considered impacts on socio-economic
systems, agriculture, fisheries and ecology at-
tributed to ENSO in 10 world regions.
During 1985, UNEP-supported experts began in-
vestigating the impact of climatic variations on
agriculture in the humid tropics of South America.
Three countries were involved in the investigation,
ca r r i ed ou t by t he In t e r -Agency Group on
Agricultural Biometeorology. Interim results were
discussed at an expert group meeting (Lima, Peru,
November).
Noting the progress in implementing WCP, par-
ticularly WCIP, the Governing Council on 23
May(l9)
invited the Executive Director, in co-
operation with WMO, to support WCP by en-
couraging the development of national climate
programmes in countries where none existed, and
by facilitating closer co-operation among such pro-
grammes and between them and WCP.
Terrestrial ecosystems
Desertification and drought control
In Africa, famine, malnutrition and deaths aris-
ing from drought and desertification remained for
most of 1985 the most visible sign of a broader
crisis. At its peak, in 1984-1985, chronic malnutri-
tion was affecting 150 million people with over 30
million at risk, of whom about 10 million were
displaced. Towards the end of 1985, in most of the
21 seriously affected countries, the food supply
seemed to move back to normal, after average to
above-average crop harvests. There was also an in-
creased awareness by Governments of the deser-
tification threat and the need for long-term solu-
tions. But poverty and lack of resources remained
acute.
In a June 1985 prel iminary repor t on the
stricken countries,(20)
submitted to the General
Assembly pursuant to its 1984 request,( 2 1 )
the
S e c r e t a r y - G e n e r a l s t a t e d t h a t 7 4 c o u n t r i e s
throughout the world had a substantial portion of
their territories affected. Most of the 37 least
developed countries (see p. 433) were stricken by
drought and desertification, and were in a state
of extreme deprivation. Many other countries were
also affected, including some industrialized ones.
The current African drought had persisted, with
certain variations, for the past 17 years. Despite
its length, there was no evidence of a long-term
change in the African climate. Computer simula-
tions indicated that the current drought, although
806 Economic and social questions
the worst in the century, was within a normal range
of variability. The disturbing conclusion was that
drought was a recurrent phenomenon that the af-
fected countries, especially in Africa, must learn
to live with.
The combination of drought and desertification
had had disastrous consequences, the report said.
In 1983-1984, more than 150 million Africans were
facing extreme hunger, malnutrition and shortages
of po tab le water . The Secre ta ry-Genera l s t ressed
t h a t , i n c o n c e r t w i t h t h e h e a d s o f c o n c e r n e d
Uni ted Nat ions organiza t ions , he was rev iewing
all aspects of the problem, and would present more
s p e c i f i c r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s o n f u t u r e a c t i o n i n
a c c o r d a n c e w i t h a n y f u r t h e r d e c i s i o n o f t h e
Economic and Socia l Counci l and the Assembly .
A f r i c a ’ s P r i o r i t y P r o g r a m m e f o r E c o n o m i c
Recovery 1986-1990, adopted by the Assembly of
Heads of S ta te and Government of the Organiza-
tion of African Unity (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 18-
2 0 J u l y ) , r e c o m m e n d e d n a t i o n a l s t r a t e g i e s ,
such as drought and desertification control plans;
a c t i o n a r e a s , s u c h a s v e g e t a t i o n c o n s e r v a t i o n ,
water resources, firewood substitution and protec-
t ing common ecosys tems; and co-opera t ion a t a l l
levels.
In i t s f ina l reso lu t ion , the second Minis te r ia l
Conference for a joint policy to combat desertifica-
t ion (Dakar , Senega l , 1 -9 November )( 2 3 )
def ined
29 major p ro jec t s fo r f ina l iza t ion and funding ,
listed measures for international co-operation, and
decided to hold such a conference every two years.
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL ACTION
O n 2 5 J u l y 1 9 8 5 , t h e E c o n o m i c a n d S o c i a l
C o u n c i l , b y d e c i s i o n 1 9 8 5 / 1 7 6 , r e q u e s t e d t h e
Secre ta ry-Genera l to submi t the f ina l repor t as
soon as possible to the Assembly, taking into ac-
count v iews expressed by de legat ions dur ing the
Council’s July 1985 session. By decision 1985/102
of 8 February 1985 , the Counc i l had dec ided to
consider countries stricken by desertification and
d r o u g h t a t t h e s a m e t i m e a s i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o -
o p e r a t i o n o n t h e e n v i r o n m e n t .
GENERAL ASSEMBLY ACTION
On 17 December, the General Assembly adopted
t w o r e s o l u t i o n s c o n c e r n i n g d e s e r t i f i c a t i o n a n d
drought , both recommended by the Second Com-
mittee. It adopted resolution 40/175 without vote.
Countries stricken by desertification and drought
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolution 39/208 of 17 December 1984
and Economic and Social Council decision 1985/176 of
25 July 1985, as well as its Declaration on the Critical
Economic Situation in Africa, annexed to its resolution
39/29 of 3 December 1984,
Noting Africa’s Priority Programme for Economic
Recovery 1986-1990, adopted by the Assembly of Heads
of State and Government of the Organization of African
Unity at its twenty-first ordinary session, held at Addis
Ababa from 18 to 20 July 1985,
Congratulating the Government of Senegal for having
taken the initiative of convening the Ministerial Con-
ference for a joint policy to combat desertification in
the countries of the Permanent Inter-State Committee
on Drought Control in the Sahel and the Economic
Community of West African States, in the Maghreb
countries and in Egypt and the Sudan, which met at
Dakar, for the first time from 18 to 27 July 1984,(24)
and
for the second time from 1 to 9 November 1985,
Congratulating the Government of Egypt for having in-
vited the first African Environmental Conference,
organized by the United Nations Environment Pro-
gramme in consultation with the Economic Commis-
sion for Africa and the Organization of African Unity,
to be held at Cairo in December 1985,
Congratulating also the Government of France for hav-
ing taken the initiative of convening an international
conference on tree and forest, to be held in Paris in
February 1986,
Noting the positive action taken by the United Nations
Sudano-Sahelian Office, as part of a joint effort by the
Uni ted Nat ions Development Programme and the
Uni ted Nat ions Envi ronment Programme to he lp
twenty-two African countries, on behalf of the United
Nations Environment Programme, implement the Plan
of Action to Combat Desertification,
Taking note of decision 12/10 of 28 May 1984 on deser-
tification, adopted by the Governing Council of the
United Nations Environment Programme,( 2 5 )
Welcoming the establishment by six east African
countries-Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, the
Sudan and Uganda-of an Intergovernmental Authority
for Drought and Development for the purpose of com-
bating the effects of drought in those countries,
Deeply concerned by the tragic consequences of the ac-
celeration of desertification, combined with persistent
drought-the most serious recorded this century-which
have resulted in a substantial drop in the agricultural
output of many developing countries and have con-
tributed particularly to a worsening of the current
economic crisis in Africa,
Noting with great anxiety that desertification and drought
continue to spread and intensify in developing coun-
tries, particularly in Africa,
Aware that the problems of desertilication and drought
are increasingly assuming a structural and endemic
character and that real and permanent solutions must
be found in increased global efforts based on concerted
action by the stricken countries and the international
community,
Bearing in mind that the majority of the countries af-
fected by desertification and drought are low-income
countries and, for the most part, belong to the group
of the least developed countries, particularly those in
Africa,
Aware that the prime responsibility in the struggle
against desertitication and the effects of drought rests
with the countries concerned and that such action is an
essential component of their development,
Recognizing, however, that given the scope and the in-
tensity of desertification and drought, particularly in the
least developed countries, the attainment of the objec-
tives of programmes to combat these scourges requires
Environment 807
financial and human resources beyond the means of the
affected countries
Considering the Interdependence between developed
countries and those affected by desertification and
drought, and the negative impact of those phenomena
on the economies of the countries concerned,
Emphasising the fundamental importance of all forms
of South-South co-operation in executing programmes
to combat desertification and drought,
Taking note of the preliminary report of the Secretary-
General on the countries stricken by desertification and
drought,
1. Welcomes the results of the Ministerial Conference
for a joint policy to combat desertification in the coun-
t r ies of the Permanent In te r -Sta te Commit tee on
Drought Control in the Sahel and the Economic Com-
munity of West African States, in the Maghreb coun-
tries and in Egypt and the Sudan, and takes note with
satisfaction of the final resolution adopted by the Con-
ference in 1984 and that adopted in 1985;
2. Takes note with satisfaction of the establishment by
the Organiza t ion of Afr ican Uni ty of the Spec ia l
Emergency Assistance Fund for Drought and Famine
in Africa;
3. Recommends that high priority should be given in
the development plans and programmes of the affected
countries themselves to the problem of desertification
and to problems resulting from drought;
4. Recognizes that particular attention should be given
to countries stricken by desertification and drought and
that special efforts should be made by the international
community, particularly the developed countries, in sup-
port of action taken individually or collectively by the
affected countries;
5. Recommends that the international community,
above all the developed countries, should continue to
provide coherent short-term, medium-term and long-
term assistance to those countries in order to support
the rehabilitation process effectively-in particular
through intensive reafforestation-and the renewal of
growth of agricultural production in the countries
stricken by desertification and drought, particularly in
Africa;
6. Recommends that, within the framework of bilateral
and multilateral development aid programmes, the fight
against desertilication and drought should be granted
priority in view of the extent of those problems;
7. Appeals to all members of the international com-
munity, including organs and agencies of the United Na-
tions system, regional and subregional financial institu-
tions, and non-governmental organizations, to continue
to provide full support, in all forms—including finan-
cial, technical or any other form of assistance—to the
development efforts of countries stricken by desertifica-
tion and drought;
8. Takes note with satisfaction of the generosity with
which the international community has responded to
the assistance needs resulting from the emergency in
Africa, particularly as regards food aid, transport and
medical assistance;
9. Requests the appropriate organs and agencies of
the United Nations to provide the Secretary-General,
for transmission to the stricken countries, with all rele-
vant studies carried out in their respective spheres of
competence, in particular with respect to food and
agricultural production, development of water resources,
industrialization and raw materials, including the studies
carried out by the United Nations Conference on Trade
and Development on the impact of desertification and
drought on the foreign trade of the stricken coun-
tries,(26)
including similarly, the studies to determine
the interaction between forest zones and arid regions
and their influence on the acceleration of desertifica-
tion, particularly in Africa;
10 . Reques t s the Secre ta ry-Genera l to t ake a l l
necessary steps to ensure that his final report on the im-
plementation of resolution 39/208, which is to be sub-
mitted to the General Assembly through the Economic
and Social Council at its second regular session of 1986,
contains proposals for specific action to be undertaken,
as indicated in the present resolution.
General Assembly resolution 40/175
1 7 D e c e m b e r 1 9 8 5 M e e t i n g 1 1 9 A d o p t e d w i t h o u t v o t e
Approved by Second Committee (A/40/1009/Add.1) without vote. 3 December
(meeting 46): draft by Vice-Chairman (A/C.2/40/L.76), based on informal con-
sultations on draft by Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Austria, Bangladesh, Benin,
Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile China,
Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Gambia, Germany, Federal
Republic of, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, India, Indonesia, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica,
Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico,
Mozambique, Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal,
Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, United Kingdom, United States, Yugoslavia,
Zaire and Zambia (AIC.2/40/L.33); agenda item 12.
Meeting numbers. GA 40th session: 2nd Committee 22, 23, 29, 30, 34, 36, 39.
42, 43, 46; plenary 119.
T h e G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y a d o p t e d r e s o l u t i o n
40 /209 wi thou t vo te .
Desertification and drought
The General Assembly,
Aware of the importance of problems relating to deser-
tification and drought for a large number of countries,
Bearing in mind that such problems are discussed under
a number of agenda items in the Second Committee,
1. Emphasizes the importance of existing mandates
under its resolutions relating to desertification and
drought;
2. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that all
problems relating to desertification and drought will be
considered in future years under one sub-item, to be
entitled “Desertification and drought”, under the item
entitled “Development and international economic co-
operation” and will be dealt with in odd years, in accord-
ance with the biennial programme of work of the Sec-
ond Committee.
General Assembly resolution 40/209
1 7 D e c e m b e r 1 9 8 5 M e e t i n g 1 1 9 A d o p t e d w i t h o u t v o t e
Approved by Second Committee (A/40/989/Add.14) without vote, 25 November
(meeting 43); draft by Vice-Chairman (AIC.2/40/L.65). based on informal con-
sultations on draft by Finland (A/C.2/40/L.39); agenda item 84.
Meeting numbers. GA 40th session: 2nd Committee 31, 38, 41, 43; plenary 119.
Implementation of the
Plan of Action to Combat Desertification
Throughout 1985 , severa l bod ies took pa r t in
t h e e f f o r t t o c o m b a t d e s e r t i f i c a t i o n . T h e f i r s t
Afr ican Minis te r ia l Conference on the Envi ron-
ment (see p. 793) took action to implement several
p r o g r a m m e s o n d e s e r t i f i c a t i o n , i n c l u d i n g a
r e g i o n a l c o - o p e r a t i o n p r o g r a m m e a m o n g t h e
m o s t - a f f e c t e d c o u n t r i e s , s t r e n g t h e n i n g o f t h e
N o r t h S a h a r a n g r e e n b e l t p r o j e c t , e f f o r t s t o
Economic and social questions
combat desert advance in the South Saharan zone
a n d t h e G u m B e l t ( S u d a n ) a n d g r e a t e r c o -
operation in research.
The fifth session of the Consultative Group for
Desertification Control (Geneva, 18-24 July) was
attended by seven United Nations co-sponsor
agencies, 14 core members, 21 invited countries
a n d o t h e r o r g a n i z a t i o n s . F o u r t e e n a n t i -
desertification project proposals were presented to
the Group, which expressed interest in six of them,
costed at $20.82 million; consultations between
donors and recipients followed. The Group also
made recommendations on resource mobilization
for implementing the 1977 Plan of Action to Com-
bat Desertification.(27)
An expert meeting (Nairobi, 11-14 March)
reviewed progress concerning the Desertification
Assessment and Mapping Methodology and Data
Base being developed by FAO and UNEP. The
meeting discussed methodologies for monitoring
and mapping desertification and the preparation
of a World Atlas of Thematic Maps on Desertifica-
tion called for in the Plan of Action.
UNEP began work on a Desertification Informa-
tion System, to organize and code the thousands
of documents in the library of UNEP’s Desertifica-
t i o n C o n t r o l P r o g r a m m e A c t i v i t y C e n t r e
(DC/PAC), as well as country and project files, for
entry into a microcomputer. The work entailed
creating several data bases to respond to world-
wide requests for information.
In 1985, three television documentaries on
desertification were produced. The Crowded Desert,
on India’s Thar Desert, and a six-part series Seeds
of Hope, on land degradation in Ethiopia, were pro-
duced by UNEP and Central Independent Televi-
sion (United Kingdom). Trees for Tomorrow showed
a DC/PAC tree-planting project in southern India
( s e e b e l o w ) . D C / P A C a l s o p a r t i c i p a t e d i n
Australian and Japanese television documentaries,
and organized trips for journalists to areas in
Kenya undergoing desertification. One issue of the
Desertification Control Bulletin and a report on Research
and Training Desertification Control: the United Na-
tions Effort were published. A directory of world-
wide institutions concerned with desertification,
containing more than 500 entries, was prepared
for publication in 1986. The two-volume Desertifica-
tion Control in Africa: Actions (I) and Directory of In-
stitutions (II) was updated and reprinted.
UNEP assisted the Tunisian Government to for-
mulate a national plan against desertification and
to integrate it in its national development plan.
In Tunisia UNEP also initiated a pilot project to
map desertification, study indigenous plants for
use in sand-dune fixation, and carry out deser-
tification control training courses. A UNEP/UNEF
COM project on integrated agricultural develop-men t a s a means t o comba t de se r t i f i c a t i on
continued in Democratic Yemen. A project involv-
ing tree planting, the training of schoolchildren
and farmers in afforestation and the setting up of
nurseries was launched in southern India, in sup-
port of the NGO Millions of Trees Club. In addi-
tion, UNEP decided to develop an approach for a
project in the Sudano-Sahelian region for ACC
consideration.
In a UNEP-sponsored training course held in the
United Republic of Tanzania, five scientists from
the Institute of Desert Research, China, organized
seminars on desertification control. A UNEP-
sponsored training course on afforestation and
sand-dune f ixat ion in dry zones was held in
Moscow and Ashkabad, USSR, for 20 specialists
from 16 developing countries.
In response to a 1983 General Assembly re-
ques t ,( 2 8 )
the Secretary-General submitted in
September 1985 a report( 2 9 )
summarizing the
substantive views of 46 Member States, some of
which had been received in 1982(30)
and 1983,(31)
on financing the Plan of Action, particularly the
establishment of an international financial cor-
poration to fund non-commercial initiatives. The
majority of countries did not support the proposed
modalities, and while half of them supported the
setting up of the financial corporation, few were
willing to finance it. There seemed to be no general
support for additional financing. The Secretary-
General suggested that the Consultative Group for
Desertification Control be asked to consider in-
novative approaches for the Plan’s financing.
UNEP Counci l ac t ion. On 23 May,( 3 2 )
the
Governing Council urged Governments, United
Nations bodies, research institutions and other
organizations to intensify their efforts to combat
desertification and expressed appreciation for the
emergency assistance offered to countries facing
famine. It called on affected countries to prepare
national plans, and on donor countries to assist
affected countries to curb desertification. Noting
the role played by NGOS in many of the most suc-
cessful anti-desertification efforts, the Council
c a l l e d o n G o v e r n m e n t s a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l
organizations to utilize NGOs to a greater degree.
It invited the Executive Director to consult the
principal internat ional organizat ions funding
desertification control activities to ascertain how
UNEP could best assist them, and to recommend
to the Counci l in 1987 measures that could
enhance co-operation between UNEP and those in-
stitutions. The Council approved measures to
enhance the work of the Inter-Agency Working
Group on Desertification, requested the Executive
Director to consider including the States members
o f t h e S o u t h e r n A f r i c a n D e v e l o p m e n t C o -
ordination Conference (SADCC) in the list of coun-
tries eligible to receive assistance through the
United Nations Sudano-Sahel ian Office (see
808
Environment 809
below), and urged him to seek alternative sources
of funding to assist SADCC countries in particular.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY ACTION
On 17 December, the General Assembly, on the
r e c o m m e n d a t i o n o f t h e S e c o n d C o m m i t t e e ,
adopted reso lu t ion 40 /198 A wi thou t vo te .
Implementation and financing of the Plan of Action
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolution 32/172 of 19 December 1977,
by which it approved the Plan of Action to Combat
Desertification,
Recalling also its resolutions 33/89 of 15 December
1978, 34/184 of 18 December 1979, 36/191 of 17
December 1981, 37/220 of 20 December 1982 and 38/163
of 19 December 1983, dealing with the implementation
and financing of the Plan of Action to Combat Deser-
tification,
Recalling further the Declaration on the Critical
Economic Situation in Africa, adopted by the General
Assembly in its resolution 39/29 of 3 December 1984,
Noting with dismay and grave concern the continuing
spread and intensification of desertification in develop-
ing countries, especially in Africa, and the grave human
suffering, economic losses and social disruption caused
by this phenomenon,
Having considered the report of the Governing Council
of the United Nations Environment Programme on the
work of its thirteenth session and decision 13/30 A of
23 May 1985 of the Governing Council on the im-
plementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Deser-
tification,
Having also considered the report of the Secretary-
General on financing the Plan of Action to Combat
Desertification,
1. Takes note of decision 13/30 A of the Governing
Counci l o f the Uni ted Nat ions Envi ronment Pro-
gramme;
2. Shares the concern of the Governing Council over
the slow implementation of the Plan of Action to Com-
bat Desertification;
3. Urges Governments, organizations of the United
Nations system and other intergovernmental bodies to
intensify their efforts in combating desertification and
to accord the highest priority to actions recommended
in the Plan of Action and decision 13/30 A of the Gover-
ning Council;
4. Notes the significant role that non-governmental
organizations are playing in the anti-desertification ef-
forts, and calls upon Governments and organizations
of the United Nations system and other intergovemmen-
tal bodies to explore all opportunities of involving them
more in this effort;
5. Urges the international community to increase its
assistance to the countries concerned with a view to the
implementation of their national and regional pro-
grammes aimed at desertification control;
6. Endorses the Governing Council’s invitation to the
Executive Director of the United Nations Environment
Programme to consult with the principal international
organizations which are funding desertification control
activities in order to ascertain how the Programme can
facilitate funding activities, and to recommend measures
to enhance co-operation in this field;
7. Urges Governments of countries affected by deser-
tification to accord sustained priority to medium-term
and long-term strategies and programmes for combating
desertification and to ensure that these are smoothly in-
tegrated with their national development plans and
regional co-operative programmes to curb the spread
of environmental degradation;
8. Notes the measures approved by the Governing
Council of the United Nations Environment Programme
in its decision 13/30 A to enhance the work of the Inter-
Agency Working Group on Desertification and calls
upon all members of the Working Group to intensify
their joint efforts for the effective implementation of the
Plan of Action;
9. Requests the Governing Council of the United Na-
tions Environment Programme to report to the General
Assembly at its forty-second session, through the
Economic and Social Council, on the progress made in
the implementation of the Plan of Action;
10. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General
on financing the Plan of Action to Combat Deser-
tification;
11. Notes the dearth of reactions and replies on the
measures for providing additional resources needed for
financing the Plan of Action recommended in the three
reports(33) prepared by high-level financial experts con-
vened by the Executive Director in accordance with
General Assembly resolution 32/172;
12. Considers that the expert studies deserve further
consideration and requests the Executive Director of the
United Nations Environment Programme to take due
account of them under his responsibility with respect
to the implementation of the Plan of Action, as well as
within the framework of the mandate of the Consultative
Group on Desertification Control;
13. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the
General Assembly at its forty-second session, through
the Economic and Social Council, on the implementa-
tion of the present resolution.
General Assembly resolution 40/198 A
1 7 D e c e m b e r 1 9 8 5 M e e t i n g 1 1 9 A d o p t e d w i t h o u t v o t e
Approved by Second Committee (A/40/989Add.6) without vote (parts A & B
together), 25 November (meeting 43): draft by Vice-Chairman (A/C.2/40/L.66).
based on informal consultations on draft by Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Chad,
Comoros Ecuador, France, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Italy, Kenya, Liberia,
Mali, Mauritania, Netherlands, Niger, Panama, Senegal and United Republic of
Tanzania (A/C.2/40/L.35); agenda item 84 (f).
Meeting numbers. GA 40th session: 2nd Committee 22, 30, 34, 36, 43; plenary 119.
Implementation of the Plan ofAction in the Sudano-Sahelian region
In 1985 the drought continued to be particularly
a c u t e i n t h e S u d a n o - S a h e l i a n r e g i o n , a n d m o s t
in te rna t iona l a id was emergency ass i s tance . The
Uni ted Nat ions Sudano-Sahe l ian Off ice (UNSO) ,
a j o i n t U N D P / U N E P v e n t u r e , w o r k i n g o n U N E P ’ S
behal f to implement the Plan of Act ion to Com-
bat Desertification in the Sudano-Sahelian region,
co-opera ted c lose ly in th i s endeavour , espec ia l ly
w i t h t h e O f f i c e o f E m e r g e n c y O p e r a t i o n s f o r
Afr ica ( see Chapter I I I o f th i s sec t ion) .
UNSO raised almost $13 million in new pledges
t o t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s T r u s t F u n d f o r S u d a n o -
Sahe l ian Act iv i t i e s in 1985 (no t inc lud ing U N E P
and UNDP con t r ibu t ions ) . I t a l loca ted over $12
810 Economic and social questions
million for projects against desertification, mainly
for reforestation, energy-related activities, range
and water resources management, soil protection
and sand-dune fixation, planning, research and in-
formation exchange.
Major forestry initiatives were carried out in
Ethiopia. UNSO expanded a reforestation programme
involving 3,000 hectares in the Debre Birhan area,
with a contribution from the Danish International
Development Agency (DANIDA), and undertook a
joint mission with the Finnish International De-
velopment Agency (FINNIDA) for a project in Dese
which would expand the total planted area to 7,500
hectares. UNSO also received a commitment from
FINNIDA for forestry management in Somalia. In
Mauritania, UNSO obtained a contribution from
DANIDA for institutional support to the Department
for the Protection of Nature. In the Niger, Norway
pledged to finance the expansion of green-belt plan-
tations around Niamey. A project for family woodlots
in Burkina Faso continued.
To reduce the demand for fuelwood, UNSO con-
tinued working on alternative energy sources. In
Somalia, a wind energy project s tar ted with
DANIDA financing. In Cape Verde, where wind
turbines had been installed with DANIDA financ-
ing, UNSO investigated a wider use of wind energy.
A project in Senegal to develop the use of peat as
household fuel and a programme in the Gambia
on improved wood-burning stoves were started
with DANIDA contributions.
To combat moving sand dunes, UNSO was car-
rying out dune fixation using vegetation. In 1985,
three projects were under way in Somalia and one
in Senegal. In Cape Verde, soil protection began
with a contribution from the Norwegian Agency
for International Development.
In range management, a project to establish a
centre for the ecological monitoring of pastoral
ecosystems in Senegal started with a DANIDA con-
tribution. In the Gambia, range-land development
and protection began with a contribution from the
Arab Gulf Programme for United Nations Devel-
opment Organizations. In Mali, the integrated de-
velopment of the Niger River flood plains progressed.
With their inclusion in the list of countries eligi-
ble for UNSO assistance, planning missions went
to Ghana and Togo to assist them in initiating
desertification strategies. UNSO also supported
seminars on desertification in Benin, Burkina Faso
and Senegal, assisted the second Ministerial Con-
ference on desertification (see p. 806), and spon-
sored a symposium on drought and desertification
(Washington, DC., October).
Responding to a June 1985 UNDP Governing
Council request,( 3 4 )
the UNDP Administrator ( 3 5 )
described 1985 UNSO activities to implement the
medium- and long-term recovery and rehabilita-
tion programme in the Sudano-Sahelian region (see
p. 537). These activities were aimed at mitigating
the effects of drought, helping countries to become
self-sufficient in food production, enhancing socio-
economic development and arresting desertifica-
tion. Under the road programme, construction was
under way in Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, the Gambia,
the Niger and Senegal. National activities included
reforestation and road construction in Burkina Faso,
airport runways construction in Cape Verde, water
resources management in the Gambia and reforestation
in Niger. Regional and international activities in-
cluded support to the Institut du Sahel and assistance
in establishing (January 1986) the Intergovernmental
Authority for Drought and Development, comprising
Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia., the Sudan and
Uganda. UNSO continued to assist the members
of the Permanent Inter-State Committee on Drought
Control in the Sahel (CILSS) (Burkina Faso, Cape
Verde, Chad, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger,
Senegal). Funds mobilized by UNSO amounted to
$87.8 million at the end of 1985.
Activities carried out in 1984 to implement the
Plan of Action in the Sudano-Sahelian region were
described in a February 1985 report of the UNEP
Executive Director.(36)
By decision 40/441 of 17 December, the General
Assembly took note of a Secretariat note drawing
attention to the Executive Director‘s report.
On 23 May,(37)
the UNEP Governing Council
welcomed UNSO's steps to implement the Plan of
Action in 21 countries of the Sudano-Sahelian and
neighbouring regions. It urged the UNEP and UNDP
e x e c u t i v e h e a d s t o c o n s o l i d a t e t h e U N S O
achievements and to intensify efforts to mobilize
resources for combating desertification. It also in-
cluded the United Republic of Tanzania in the list
of countries authorized to receive assistance through
UNSO (with that inclusion, the list stood at 22).
On 28 June,( 3 8 )
the UNDP Governing Council
urged Governments, United Nations bodies and
other organizations to intensify their assistance to
the countries of the region, and urged Governments
of the affected areas to intensify their co-ordination
efforts in combating desertification. It also endorsed
the UNEP Governing Council’s action regarding the
United Republic of Tanzania. On the same day,(34)
the UNDP Council expressed gratitude to those con-
tributing to the implementation of the Sudano-
Sahelian recovery programme, appealed to donors
to strengthen their support for UNSO, and requested
it to continue co-operating with CILSS and its
members. The UNDP Administrator was requested
to continue reporting annually on the implemen-
tation of the recovery programme.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY ACTION
On 17 December, the General Assembly, on the
recommendation of the Second Committee, adopted
resolution 40/198 B without vote.
Environment 811
Implementation in the Sudano-Sahelian region
of the Plan of Action
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolutions 36/190 of 17 December 1981,
37/216 of 20 December 1982. 38/164 of 19 December
1983, and 39/168 of 17 December 1984,
Noting decision 13/30 B of 23 May 1985 of the Gover-
ning Council of the United Nations Environment Pro-
gramme on the implementation in the Sudano-Sahelian
region of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification,
Noting also Economic and Social Council resolutions
1984/65 of 26 July 1984 on the implementation in the
Sudano-Sahelian region of the Plan of Action to Com-
bat Desertification, and 1984/72 of 27 July 1984 on en-
vironment and development in Africa,
Considering the report of the Executive Director of the
United Nations Environment Programme on the im-
plementation in the Sudano-Sahelian region of the Plan
of Action to Combat Desertification,
Considering also the report of the Secretary-General on
the critical situation of food and agriculture in Africa,
1984-1985,(39)
1. Takes note of the report of the Executive Director
of the United Nations Environment Programme on the
implementation in the Sudano-Sahelian region of the
Plan of Action to Combat Desertification;
2. Notes with concern.
(a) The damage wrought by drought on the coun-
tries of Africa south of the Sahara;
(b) That insufficient financial resources continue to
be a serious constraint in combating desertification;
(c) That the struggle against desertification requires
financial and human resources beyond the means of the
affected countries:
3. Notes with satisfaction the progress that the United
Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office has made in the face
of these obstacles in assisting, on behalf of the United
Nations Environment Programme, the Governments of
the countries of the region in combating desertification,
under a joint venture between the United Nations En-
vironment Programme and the United Nations Devel-
opment Programme;
4. Endorses the decision of the Governing Council
of the United Nations Environment Programme to add
the United Republic of Tanzania to the list of countries
to be assisted by the United Nations Sudano-Sahelian
Office in their efforts to implement the Plan of Action
to Combat Desertification, contained in Council deci-
sion 13/30 B;
5. Commends the Executive Director of the United
N a t i o n s E n v i r o n m e n t P r o g r a m m e a n d t h e A d -
ministrator of the United Nations Development Pro-
gramme for the effective and co-ordinated manner in
which they have continued to develop the joint venture
through the United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office:
6. Recommends the Governing Council of the United
Nations Environment Programme and the Governing
Council of the United Nations Development Programme
to continue and increase their support for the United
Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office in order to enable it
to respond more adequately to the pressing needs of the
countries of the Sudano-Sahelian and adjacent regions:
7 . Expresses i t s g ra t i tude to the Governments ,
specialized agencies, other intergovernmental organiza-
tions and all organizations that have contributed to the
implementation in the Sudano-Sahelian region of the
Plan of Action to Combat Desertification;
8. Draws the attention of the international community
to the need to increase the efforts to implement the Plan
of Action in the Sudano-Sahelian region and urges it
to cont r ibu te to th i s implementa t ion th rough ap-
propriate means. including the United Nations Trust
Fund for Sudano-Sahelian Activities, as well as to res-
pond favourably to requests for assistance from the
Governments of the countries of the region;
9. Recommends the Governing Council of the United
Nations Environment Programme to make the necessary
arrangements, in conformity with General Assembly
resolution 39/217 of 18 December 1984, for submitting
to the Assembly, through the Economic and Social
Council, a report on the implementation in the Sudano-
Sahelian region of the Plan of Action to Combat Deser-
tilication.
General Assembly resolution 40/198 B
1 7 D e c e m b e r 1 9 8 5 M e e t i n g 1 1 9
(For other procedural details, see p. 809).
Adopted without vote
Soil management
In many par t s of the wor ld the so i l was be ing
over-used , and mismanagement was robbing i t o f
its wealth, the UNEP Executive Director stated in
h i s annua l repor t .( 4 0 )
Examples of the resul t s of
t h i s a b u s e w e r e t h e g r o w i n g o f s t e p p e i n t h e
monocul tures of d i f fe ren t reg ions in Canada and
the Uni ted S ta tes , so i l e ros ion in Armenia and
K a s a c h s t a n a n d t h e s a l i n i z a t i o n o f s o i l s o f
Sudanese peanut plantations as a result of irriga-
t ion . S igns of a looming wor ld-wide ecologica l
catastrophe were clearly recognizable. The UNEP
1982 World Soils Policy( 4 1 )
addressed the issue of
sustainable agriculture, and in 1985 UNEP sought
to ob ta in f inanc ia l suppor t fo r the Pol icy’s P lan
of Action.( 4 2 )
But in spite of many positive com-
ments , few Governments were ready to suppor t
P lan- re la ted pro jec t s th rough in -k ind cont r ibu-
t i o n s , a n d t h i s h a d p r e v e n t e d t h e P l a n f r o m
becoming opera t iona l .
Land management techniques were the subjec t
of a training course (Georgia, USSR, September)
f o r 2 2 p a r t i c i p a n t s , m a i n l y f r o m t h e A n d e a n
reg ion , under a jo in t Bu lgar ia /UNEP/UNEPCOM
p r o j e c t o n l a n d / s o i l m a n a g e m e n t i n m o u n t a i n
ecosystems. In October, as part of the UNEP/UNEP
C O M p r o j e c t o n t h e i m p a c t o f a g r i c u l t u r a l
management on the envi ronment , a workshop on
ecological management of irrigated farming in arid
and semi-arid zones was held in the southern prov-
i n c e s o f t h e U S S R f o r 2 0 p a r t i c i p a n t s f r o m
developing count r ies .
O n 2 3 M a y ,( 4 3 )
t h e U N E P G o v e r n i n g C o u n c i l
u r g e d G o v e r n m e n t s t o e s t a b l i s h n a t i o n a l s o i l
policies. Governments and international organiza-
tions were urged to intensify efforts to combat soil
degrada t ion and to co-opera te wi th U N E P in im-
plementing the World Soils Policy Plan of Action.
812 Economic and social questions
The Executive Director was invited to continue his
efforts to secure commitments from Governments
and international bodies to the Plan’s implemen-
tation, and to assist Governments in formulating
national soils policies.
Lithosphere
In May 1985, under the UNEP/UNESCO/USSR
project on geology and the environment, the first
session of the International Scientific Council on
Geology and Environment Problems was held at
Yalta, USSR. It was attended by 29 scientists, who
elaborated draft internat ional guidel ines on
geology and land-use planning, and drew up the
curriculum for a 1986 training course to be held
in the USSR.
Forest ecosystems
Tropical forests
Despite efforts by the international community
to reverse the destruction of tropical forests, no
significant changes in the downward trend were
perceived. But those efforts continued, and dur-
ing 1985 several major events in which UNEP
played a role took place. In April, the International
Tropical Timber Agreement came into force pro-
visionally (see p. 570); it included environmental
considerations for the conservation of the resource
base of the commodity. The ninth World Forestry
Congress was held in Mexico; FAO declared 1985
the International Year of the Forest; the President
of France decided to convene in 1986 a high-level
political conference on the protection of forests in
Europe and the Afr ican region nor th of the
equator; and in November several Governments
a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s m e t a t T h e
Hague, Netherlands, to analyse the financial im-
plications and mechanisms of the Tropical Forests
Action Plan, originally proposed at an expert
m e e t i n g h e l d i n N a i r o b i i n 1 9 8 0 .( 4 4 )
( F o r
reforestation projects in the Sudano-Sahelian
region, see p. 810.)
Addressing the General Assembly’s Second
Commit tee , ( 4 5 )
the U N E P Executive Director
warned that the world had 20 years, or even less,
to turn from a course of irrevocable destruction.
He called for a high-level non-technical conference
on the future of tropical forests. Such a conference
could tackle two difficult international problems:
the reconciliation of the non-contested national
sovereignty on forests with the legitimate concerns
of the world as a whole; and the frank analysis of
why, when the technical means to conserve forests
existed and the need to use them was so widely
acknowledged, nothing much was being done. He
also suggested that the Assembly consider pro-
claiming 1990 as United Nations Year of the
Tropical Forest.
During 1985, under the UNEP/UNESCO pilot
project on research and training in tropical forest
areas, a regional training course on computer-
based quantitative methods for environmental
biologists was held at Singapore; a t raining
workshop on agroforestry in the humid tropical
zones of West and Central Africa was held in
Makokou, Gabon; and a training course on en-
tomological research in tropical forest ecosystems
was he ld i n Ab id j an and Ta i , I vo ry Coas t .
Fellowships were provided to specialists from
India, the Ivory Coast, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and
Viet Nam. With funds from the National Federa-
tion of UNESCO Associations in Japan, reforesta-
tion/afforestation projects started ‘in Sri Lanka,
Thai land and New Caledonia . Under a joint
UNEP/FAO project on appropriate management of
forest genetic resources, case-studies on conserva-
tion of these resources were carried out in Cam-
eroon, Malaysia and Peru.
In resolution 40/200, the Assembly called on
the Executive Director to co-ordinate further
UNEP activities with those of other United Nations
bodies, to co-operate with the organizers of inter-
national initiatives on the future of the forests, and
to report to the Governing Council.
Mountain ecosystems
An integrated pilot project on the environmen-
t a l m a n a g e m e n t a n d p r o t e c t i o n o f A n d e a n
ecosystems started in 1985. Financed by a trust fund
of the Federal Republic of Germany, it aimed at
improving the Andean farmers’ living conditions
in a demonstration area close to the city of Ca-
jamarca, Peru.
Conservation of wildlife and protected areas
Protecting endangered species, managing national
parks and creating national conservation strategies
continued to be major concerns. UNEP continued
to exercise its co-ordinating role in implementing
the 1980 World Conservation Strategy(44)
by pro-
viding secretariat services to the Ecosystem Con-
servation Group (ECG), comprising UNEP, FAO,
UNESCO, the International Union for Conserva-
tion of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and
the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Priority was given
to preparing national conservation strategies and
their integration in national development planning.
One of the countries selected by ECG for assistance
was Uganda, where UNEP, in co-operation with the
Government and IUCN, was supporting the devel-
opment of a national conservation strategy Several
United Nations bodies, donor agencies and NGOs
were participating in that project. In 1985 UNEP
also co-operated with Nepal, IUCN and the United
States Agency for Internat ional Development
(USAID) in formulating a national conservation
strategy for that country.
Environment 813
UNEP continued to assist Governments in im-
proving the management of wildlife and protected
areas by reviewing the existing protected area
coverage of habitats and species and their manage-
ment, to ensure that critical habitats were pro-
tected and other measures taken to maintain the
entire range of biological diversity. Towards this
end, three expert group meetings were held in 1985
under a joint UNEP/IUCN project: in the Indo-
Malayan realm (Corbett National Park, India,
February); the Antarctica realm (Bonn, Federal
Republic of Germany, May); and the Afro-tropical
realm (Kasungu National Park, Malawi, June).
The third South Pacific National Parks and
Reserves Conference (Apia, Samoa, June/July),
convened by the South Pacific Regional Environ-
ment Programme, IUCN, UNEP and WWF, was at-
tended by participants from 15 South Pacific island
nat ions, Austral ia , New Zealand, the United
States and various international organizations.
Conference outputs included an action strategy for
protected areas in the region, technical papers and
a training workshop for field managers from 11
countries.
The conservation of endangered animal species
focused on elephants, rhinoceroses, primates, cats
and polar bears, whose status was reviewed in live
UNEP/IUCN workshops which produced action
plans. The improvement in managing the vicuña,
a South American animal related to the llama, was
examined in a workshop (Arica, Chile, March) at-
tended by over 40 participants from all countries
of South America where vicuña exis ted and
Ecuador, which was planning to reintroduce it.
Plans to reintroduce the Przewalski horse into
its native habitat in Central Asia were further
developed. That horse, the original wild horse
from which domesticated varieties derived, had
ceased to exist in the wild in the late 1960s but
a number of zoological gardens had successfully
bred it. At a UNEP-supported expert consulta-
tion (Moscow, May), the directors of zoological
gardens holding Przewalski horses agreed to pro-
vide animals for reintroduction. The experts’
r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s a n d a n a c t i o n p l a n w e r e
distributed to the Governments concerned.
The proceedings of the first (1983 Interna-
tional Biosphere Reserve Congress,(46)
contain-
ing an overview of the s ta te of the world’s
biosphere reserves and future perspectives, were
published and distributed to Governments and
international organizations. Based on the Con-
gress’s recommendations, an Action Plan was
elaborated. A Biosphere Reserve Scientific Ad-
v i s o r y P a n e l w a s e s t a b l i s h e d a n d m e t i n
September 1985 at Cancún.
O n 2 3 M a y ,( 4 7 )
t h e U N E P C o u n c i l u r g e d
States to set up or improve biosphere reserves
and take part in the development of the world
network of biosphere reserves, and invited the
Executive Director to support and assist the im-
plementation of the 1984 Biosphere Reserves Ac-
tion Plan.(48)
U N E P c o n t i n u e d t o s u p p o r t i n t e r n a t i o n a l
measures to conserve wild animals and plants
and their habitats, such as the 1973 Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wi ld Fauna and F lo ra ( C I T E S ) . T h e C I T E S
secretariat (Lausanne, Switzerland), provided by
UNEP, brought stricter control to international
trade in threatened wildlife and wildlife products
by stipulating that government permits be re-
quired for such trade. At the fifth meeting of the
Conference of the Parties to the CITES Conven-
tion (Buenos Aires, Argentina, April/May), at-
tended by 450 participants, 22 resolutions were
adopted, including some on control of ivory
trade and plant species.
In collaboration with IUCN, UNESCO and the
International Waterfowl Research Bureau, UNEP
continued to support the Convention on Wetlands
of International Importance Especially as Water-
fowl Habitat. The Convention Task Force met at
The Hague in May and adopted conclusions on
the Convention’s implementation, subsequently
conveyed to all contracting parties.
Convention on the
conservation of migratory animals
As requested in 1984 by the Governing Coun-
ci1,(49)
UNEP provided secretariat services for the
Convention on the Conservation of Migratory
Species of Wild Animals, and organized the first
meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the
Convention (Bonn, 21-26 October).
On 24 May,(3)
the Council appealed to Govern-
ments and international organizations concerned
to participate in the meeting and called on States
not parties to the Convention to consider early
adherence to it.
The meeting, attended by scientific experts and
conservation officials from 63 countries and 33
organizations, revised the appendices to the Con-
vention, established a Standing Committee and
Scientific Council to supervise its implementation,
and adopted financial rules and the first triennial
budget of the secretariat. It gave impetus to trans-
frontier co-operat ion in protect ing migratory
species and adopted procedures for regional
agreements under the Convention. It also re-
quested the UNEP Executive Director, with the ap-
proval of the Governing Council, to seek the
Secretary-General’s consent to establish a trust
fund for the Convention, initially for three years.
The Executive Director subsequently reported(40)
that he had secured that consent and, as there was
to be no 1986 Council session, he would establish
the fund on an interim basis.
814 Economic and social questions
Genetic resources
With UNEP and FAO support, the International
Board for Plant Genetic Resources continued to
stimulate activities for the exploration and collec-
tion of crop plant genetic resources. In 1985 it
undertook the collection of crop germplasm in
Madagascar, Sri Lanka and Uganda to comple-
ment earlier collections. The material collected was
deposited in various gene banks, including those
of the global network housing the World Base Col-
lection co-ordinated by the Board.
The FAO International Undertaking on Plant
Genet ic Resources was discussed at the f i rs t
meeting of the FAO Commission on Plant Genetic
Resources (Rome, March) in which UNEP par-
ticipated, with the aim of improving the conser-
vation and management of such resources. Dur-
ing 1985 FAO, with UNEP support, started pilot
projects in Cameroon, Malaysia and Peru, to de-
velop and test methodologies for in situ conserva-
tion of forest genetic resources within existing
nature reserves and protected areas, and to pro-
duce management plans for different categories of
protected areas where aspects of genetic resources
conservation would be incorporated.
Other activities aimed to create data banks and
conservation schemes for animal genetic resources
in developing countries. Under a joint FAO/UNEP
project, field work on conserving the Kenana breed
of cattle in the Sudan started; co-operation with
research centres in Ethiopia, the Gambia and
Kenya on trypanotolerant breeds of cattle con-
tinued; plans for conservation schemes for Sahiwal
breeds in Pakistan were prepared; studies on the
collection and shipment of semen continued; and
activities towards the establishment of regional
data banks in developing regions were discussed
at an expert consultation meeting.
Research activities of the UNEP-supported
regional Microbiological Resources Centres in
Brazil, Egypt, Guatemala, Kenya, Senegal and
Thailand dealt with the environmental application
of microbial resources in increasing legume pro-
tein production, soil fertility through biological
nitrogen fixation, upgrading of coffee processing
by-products, bio-conversion of cassava surplus and
by-products into power alcohol, and the degrada-
tion of persistent, key environmental pollutants.
Each Centre also organized training activities and
provided fellowships for applied research.
UNEP continued to support the World Data
Centre for Micro-organisms (Brisbane, Australia),
established to promote access to information on
culture collections and to produce specialized in-
ventories of microbial genetic resources of en-
vironmental and economic value. It also organized
the third design meeting of the International
Microbial Strain Data Network Working Group
(Helsinki, August), in association with the Seventh
International Conference on Global Impacts of
Applied Microbiology.
Photosynthesis and bioproductivity
I n 1 9 8 5 , w o r k c o n t i n u e d o n t h e U N E P -
supported project on primary productivity and
photosynthesis in natural ecosystems of the tropics
in relation to environmental variables, established
in 1983 in co-operation with the University of Lon-
don. The project secured the support of regional
centres in Brazil, China, Kenya:, Mexico and
Thailand, which appl ied new technologies to
determine the photosynthesis potential of major
ecosystems of the tropics.
The interim results of regional studies under-
taken in India, Kenya, Venezuela and Yugoslavia
were presented to an expert group on photosyn-
thesis in relation to bioproductivity which met in
March at UNEP headquarters. The meeting, at-
tended by scientists from 10 countries, considered
future research priorities, particularly in develop-
ing countries.
In co-operation with Tycooly Publishers, UNEP
issued a comprehensive work on Photosynthesis in
Relation to Plant Production in Terrestrial Environments
and, in co-operation with Pergamon Press, Ox-
ford, published a second, updated edition of Tech-
niques in Photosynthesis and Bioproductivity.
F r e s h w a t e r e c o s y s t e m s
In 1985, UNEP concentrated on the preparation
of a comprehensive water programme, manage-
ment of international water system::, environmen-
tal training on water management and support for
the Internat ional Drinking Water Supply and
Sanitation Decade (1981-1990), proclaimed by the
General Assembly in 1980(50)
(see p. 680).
As part of the programme on the environmen-
tal management of the common river system of
the Zambezi,(51)
the preparation of a plan for the
sound management of that river system by the
countries concerned-the Zambezi Action Plan
(ZACPLAN)- s t a r t ed i n 1985 . I n Feb rua ry ,
representatives of UNEP, FAO, UNESCO, WHO,
WMO and IAEA attended an inter-agency con-
sultative meeting at Geneva to discuss the pro-
gramme’s development. In April, with UNEP sup-
port, the first meeting of a working group of
government experts on the Zambezi river system
was held at Nairobi , a t tended by Botswana,
Malawi, Mozambique, the United Republic of
Tanzania , Zambia and Zimbabwe. Based on
reports from those countries, UNEP prepared
drafts of a diagnostic study on the state of the
ecology and the environmental management of the
river system and of ZACPLAN.
UNEP initiated a project on effluent monitor-
ing and pollution control in the Lake Victoria
basin, aimed at enabling the Lake Basin Develop-
Environment 815
ment Authority to monitor water quality and other
environmental conditions.
As a member of the International Scientific Coun-
cil of the International Training Centre for Water
Resources Management (CEFIGRE), UNEP attended
its eighth session (Sophia Antipolis, France, April),
which stressed the need to integrate environmen-
tal considerations in CEFIGRE training courses.
During 1985, UNEP supported three such courses:
on water pollution control, with 25 participants
mainly from Africa (Sophia Antipolis, June); on
water resources management to assist the basin coun-
tries in the preparation of ZACPLAN, with 15 par-
ticipants from six Zambezi countries (Harare, Zim-
babwe, October); and on rural water supply and
sanitation, with 20 participants mainly from Asia
(Bangkok, Thailand, November/December).
UNEP supported a training workshop on the
chemistry of natural waters, organized by UNEP
COM (Kishinev, USSR, October) and attended by
15 professionals from developing countries. An In-
terregional Seminar on Assessment and Evaluation
of Multiple Objective Water Resources Projects
(Budapest, October), organized by the Secretariat’s
Department of Technical Co-operation for Devel-
opment and supported by UNEP and Hungary, was
attended by 55 professionals from 25 countries and
seven international organizations. The second
meeting of the Working Group on Large-Scale Water
Development Projects (Athens, Greece, December)
provided UNEP with suggestions on how to prepare
guidelines on environmentally sound management
of water resources, to be used for training. A study
on Large-Scale Water Transfers: Emerging Environmen-
tal and Social Experiences, prepared by the Working
Group, was published and distributed to member
States and professionals.
UNEP continued to support the objectives of the
International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation
Decade. Two projects started in 1984 in co-operation
with WHO progressed satisfactorily. Under the first
(on drinking-water quality control), three pilot sites
in Indonesia, Peru and Zambia were selected for
surveillance activities, and programmes for the sites
were developed. Two international workshops on
hygienic criteria of drinking-water quality (Tashkent
and Kiev, May) were attended by 28 professionals
from 22 developing countries. Under the second
project (on health hazards of waste-water use), a
joint UNEP/WHO/UNDP/WORLD Bank review meeting
on evaluating the health hazards of waste-water and
excreta use (Engelberg, Switzerland, July) developed
a model showing health risks associated with re-
use and prepared a statement on health aspects of
such use in agri- and aquaculture.
On 23 May,(52)
the UNEP Governing Council re-
quested the Executive Director to accord high priority
to training in the areas of water, and to support
for studies and action-oriented activities dealing with
domestic waste-water management and environmen-
tal problems related to water supply.
M a r i n e e c o s y s t e m s
Protect ing the marine environment
UNEP continued during 1985 to assess marine
pollution problems. Much of that work was car-
ried out through its regional seas programme (see
below).
The Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific
Aspects of Marine Pollution was the main inter-
agency mechanism to review marine pollution prob-
lems. Through it, work continued on evaluating
the hazards of harmful substances carried by ships.
Reviews were completed on arsenic, selenium and
mercury as marine pollutants, to be published by
WHO. Similar reviews on organosilicons and car-
cinogenic substances were under way.
Methodologies for assessing land-sea boundary
flux of pollutants were formulated by the working
group concerned, and work was in progress on a
report on air-sea interchange of pollutants as
mod i f i ed by a tmosphe r i c con t aminan t s . A
methodology and guidelines for impact assessment
of pollutants from land-based sources on the
marine environment were elaborated. The scien-
tific rationale for an integrated global ocean
m o n i t o r i n g p r o g r a m m e w a s e x a m i n e d , a n d
preparations started on a global assessment of the
state of the marine environment.
Work on developing reference methods for
marine pollution studies continued, with the co-
operation of several agencies, and 16 reference
method documents were issued. To ensure global
comparability of marine pollution data, a number
of standards, certified reference materials and in-
tercomparison samples were prepared. Using these
reference methods, intercalibration exercises on a
regional, interregional and global basis were con-
ducted for three of the major classes of pollutants.
Pub l i ca t i on o f spec i a l i zed d i r ec to r i e s and
bibliographies continued in co-operation with FAO
and other bodies.
In late 1985, UNEP completed the move of its
Oceans and Coastal Areas Programme Activity
Centre from Geneva to Nairobi.
The third meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group
of Experts on the Protection of the Marine En-
vironment against Pollution from Land-based
Sources (Montreal, Canada, 11-19 April), attended
by experts from 32 countries and six international
organizations, finalized the Montreal Guidelines
on that subject.(53)
The Governing Council, on 24
May,( 3 )
encouraged States and internat ional
organizations to take the Guidelines into account
when developing agreements, and requested the
Executive Director to distribute them to those con-
cerned.
816 Economic and social questions
On 23 May,(54)
the Council urged the Executive
Director to continue to contribute to the global debate
on the environmental implications of disposing
radioactive and other hazardous wastes at sea, and
urged him to strengthen interregional exchange of
information and experience and to contribute to
protecting the global marine environment. Noting
progress made in adopting action plans and regional
agreements to protect that environment, the Council
called on him to complete the preparatory phase
leading to the adoption of regional seas action plans
and conventions where they had yet to be adopted,
and to continue to assist States to implement those
already adopted.
Shared natural resources and offshore mining
A December 1984 report of the Executive Direc-
tor,(7)
submitted in response to a 1982 General
Assembly request,(8)
described progress made in
environmental co-operation concerning natural
resources shared by two or more States, and in the
use made of the conclusions of the 1981 study of
the legal aspects concerning the environment
related to offshore mining and drilling within the
limits of national jurisdiction.(55)
On 24 May,(3)
the Governing Council called on
Governments to make use of the 1979 principles
on natural resources shared by two or more
Statese,(56)
and the conclusions of the 1981 study,
as guidelines in formulating conventions.
By decision 40/441 of 17 December, the General
Assembly took note of a Secretariat note drawing
attention to the Executive Director‘s report.
Regional seas programme
Since May 1985 , U N E P ’ S regional seas pro-
gramme had been pursuing activities in 10 regions
involving more than 120 coastal States, more than
30 global and regional organizations, and a net-
work of some 250 national institutions. By year’s
end, action plans had been adopted in nine regions
and regional conventions signed in seven; prepara-
tions for adopting a convention for the South
Pacific region were at an advanced stage. UNEP
continued to provide overall co-ordination for the
programme and to serve as the secretariat for four
action plans and three conventions.
Activities included:
Mediterranean. The Fourth Ordinary Meeting of the
Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention
(Genoa, Italy, September), attended by delegations from
16 Mediterranean States and from EEC, adopted a
Declaration on the Second Mediterranean Decade, by
which the parties reaffirmed their commitment to pro-
tecting the Mediterranean through the Mediterranean
Action Plan. They also agreed on 10 priority targets
to be achieved during the Decade, to adopt measures
to ensure that the quality of bathing waters conformed
with the proposed WHO/UNEP environmental quality
criteria on faecal coliforms, and accepted the FAO/UNEP
recommendations on mercury in seafood.
Kuwait region UNEP co-ordinated the implementation
of IAEA assistance to projects of the Regional Organiza-tion for the Protection of the Marine Environment,
and advised on environmental matters. The organiza-
tion’s Council held its fourth meeting (Kuwait, April)
and approved four new projects,
Caribbean. The fifth ratification of the 1983 Con-
vention for the Protection and Development of the
Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region
and its Protocol concerning Co-operation in Com-
bating Oil Spills(46)
was received in 1985. The Third
Intergovernmental Meeting on the Action Plan for the
Caribbean Environment Programme (Cancún, April)
approved eight projects,
West and Central Africa. The parties to the Conven-
tion for Co-operation in the Protection and Develop-
ment of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the
West and Central African Region had their first
meeting (Abidjan, Ivory Coast, April), in which they
dec ided to es tab l i sh a t Abid jan a reg iona l co-
ordination unit for the Convention and set priorities
for project implementation. Highest priority was given
to ongoing projects on contingency planning for pollu-
tion emergencies and marine pollution research and
monitoring, in co-operation with FAO, IAEA, IMO,
IOC, UNESCO and WHO.
East Africa. A Conference of Plenipotentiaries (Nairobi,
June) adopted a Regional Convention for the Protec-
tion, Management and Development of the Marine
and Coastal Environment, an Action Plan, a Protocol
concerning Protected Areas and Wild Fauna and Flora,
and a Protocol concerning Co-operation in Combating
Marine Pollution in Cases of Emergency. The Protocols
and the Convention were signed by France, Madagascar,
Seychelles and Somalia.
East Asian seas. The fourth meeting of the Co-
ordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (Manila,
Philippines, April) decided to continue all seven ongo-
ing projects, financed by the East Asian Seas Trust
Fund and by UNEP.
Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. In May, Saudi Arabia
became the fourth State to ratify the 1982 Regional
Convention for the Conservation of the Red Sea and
Gulf of Aden Environment and the Protocol concer-
ning Regional Co-operation in Combating Pollution
by Oil and Other Harmful Substances in Cases of
Emergency.( 5 7 )
The Convention and attached Pro-
tocol entered into force in July 1985.
South Pacific. UNEP continued its support to the
South Pacific Regional Environment Programme. An
expert meeting (November) discussed a draft conven-
tion on protecting the region’s natural resources and
environment and two protocols. A seminar (Suva, Fiji,
October) was held to facilitate negotiations on those
instruments.
South-east Pacific. The Second Intergovernmental
Meeting on the Action Plan for the Protection of the
Marine Environment and Coastal Areas of the South-
east Pacific (Galapagos, Ecuador, August) approved
suppor t to the programme for research on and
moni tor ing of mar ine pol lu t ion f rom domest ic ,
agricultural, mining and industrial sources. The pro-
gramme, involving 15 institutions from all live par-
ticipating States, was largely supported by UNEP.
Environment 817
South Asian seas. Work on four of the five nationalreports on environmental problems in the region wascompleted; the reports would be used for drafting aregional action plan. A report on the management andconservation of renewable marine resources in theregion was produced jointly with IUCN.
Environmental aspects of political,
economic and other issues
Arms race and the envi ronment
Alarmed by the possible environmental dangers
stemming from arms research, production and
stockpiling-ranging from risk of accidents to a
post-war nuclear winter-UNEP continued to col-
laborate with the Stockholm International Peace
Research Inst i tute (S IPRI ) in publ ishing and
distributing scientific literature on the subject. A
1985 book, Explosive Remnants of War: Mitigating the
Environmental Effects, examined the problem of
unexploded mines and munitions, especially acute
in developing countries, where most wars had been
fought since 1945.
UNEP and SIPRI jointly organized the second
meeting of the Advisory Group on the Arms Race
and the Environment (Geneva, September 1985),
which examined ongoing projects and made
recommendations for action, and a symposium on
g loba l r e sou rce s and i n t e rna t i ona l con f l i c t
(Stockholm, Sweden, October).
The climatic consequences of a nuclear war-
the so-called nuclear winter-were again consid-
ered by the General Assembly in 1985 (see p. 39).
Mater ia l remnants o f war
In response to a 1984 General Assembly re-
ques t ,( 5 8 )
the Secretary-General submitted in
September 1985 a report on the problem of rem-
nants of war.(59)
He had been asked to collect in-
formation on expertise and available equipment,
so as to evaluate the needs of developing countries
affected and assist them in detecting and clearing
war remnants. Countries responsible for such rem-
nants had been requested to intensify bilateral con-
sultations to solve the problem.
By 13 August 1985, 13 States had replied to his
request for information: Belgium, Burkina Faso,
Burundi, Chile, Finland, Mexico, Netherlands,
Pakistan, Poland, Qatar, Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines, South Africa, Tuvalu.
Of those, one said that the matter was not within
UNEP’s competence; one suggested that bilateral
negotiations between the countries concerned should
be encouraged; another stated that measures should
be taken to alleviate the problem, and responsibility
placed on the countries that had planted the in-
struments of war. One country did not have cur-
rent problems, but was concerned about future dif-
ficulties resulting from the Gulf war and would
appreciate assistance in that regard, one was prepared
to consider providing experts to developing coun-
tries to remove remnants of war. One country had
no remnants as outlined by the Assembly in 1984;
another, never having had any instrument of war
in its territory, was not in a position to provide in-
formation. One did not have equipment or exper-
tise within government agencies. Several countries
had no comments.
The Secretary-General concluded that, since most
Member States had not provided information on
available equipment and expertise, or on bilateral
negotiations undertaken to solve the problem, he
was unable to evaluate the needs of the develop-
ing countries affected so as to assist them in detecting
and clearing war remnants.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY ACTION
On 17 December, on the recommendation of the
Second Committee, the General Assembly adopted
resolution 40/197 by recorded vote.
Remnants of war
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolutions 3435(XXX) of 9 December 1975,35/71 of 5 December 1980, 36/188 of 17 December 1981,37/215 of 20 December 1982,38/162 of 19 December 1983
and 39/167 of 17 December 1984 concerning the prob-lem of remnants of war,
Recalling also decisions 80(IV) of 9 April 1976, 101(V)
of 25 May1977,9/5 of 25 May 1981 and 10/8 of 28 May
1982 of the Governing Council of the United Nations
Environment Programme,
Recalling further resolution 32 adopted by the Fifth Con-
ference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned
Countries. held at Colombo from 16 to 19 August 1976.
and resolution 26/11-P adopted by the Eleventh Islamic
Conference of Foreign Ministers, held at Islamabad from
17 to 22 May 1980,
Convinced that the responsibility for the removal of the
remnants of war should be borne by the countries that
planted them,
Recognizing that the presence of the material remnants
of war, including mines, in the territories of developing
countries seriously impedes their development efforts and
causes loss of life and property,
1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General
on the problem of remnants of war;
2. Requests the Secretary-General, in co-operation with
the Executive Director of the United Nations Environ-
ment Programme, to continue his efforts with the countries
responsible for planting the mines and the affected develop-ing countries in order to ensure the implementation of
the relevant resolutions;
3. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to theGeneral Assembly at its forty-second session a detailed
and comprehensive report on the implementation of the
present resolution.
General Assembly resolution 40/197
1 7 D e c e m b e r 1 9 8 5 M e e t i n g 1 1 9 132-0-23 (recorded vote)
Approved by Second Committee (A/40/989/Add.6) by recorded vote (104-0-22).11
November (meeting 30); 43-nation draft (A/C.2/4O/L16), orally amended by Argentina;
agenda item 84 (f).
818 Economic and social questions
Sponsors: Afghanistan, Angola, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Comoros, Cuba,
Democratic Yemen, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea,
Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libyan
Arab Jamahiriya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mexico,
Morocco, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Somalia,
Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Viet
Nam, Yemen, Zambia.
Meeting numbers. GA 40th session: 2nd Committee 22, 30; plenary 119.
Recorded vote in Assembly as follows:
In favour: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argen-
tina, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia,
Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi,
Byelorussian SSR, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile,
China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia,
Democratic Kampuchea, Democratic Yemen, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon,
Gambia, German Democratic Republic, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea,
Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq,
Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People’s Democratic Republic,
Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Madagascar, Malawi,
Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia,
Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan,
Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania,
Rwanda, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone,
Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand,
Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukrainian SSR, USSR,
United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela,
Via Nam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Against: None.
Abstaining: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany, Federal Republic of, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lux-
embourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United
Kingdom, United States.
In the Second Committee, Italy requested the
recorded vote. In explanation of vote, the United
Kingdom, speaking also on behalf of the Federal
Republic of Germany and Italy, said they had abs-
tained because of reservations also expressed on a
similar draft in 1984,(60)
the problem being a matter
for bilateral negotiations, and the obligations referred
to in the draft had no basis in international law.
The United States, while not unsympathetic to the
problems caused by war remnants, also thought that
their removal could be best dealt with bilaterally.
Sweden reiterated the reasons it gave in 1984, and
stated that practical results could best be achieved
by setting aside the issue of international respon-
sibility and compensation.
The USSR expressed its support for the demands
of developing countries suffering from material rem-
nants of what it said were imperialist and colonialist
wars. India felt that the text applied only to actions
resulting from such wars. Iran said that it understood
that the removal of remnants of war applied only
to those developed countries which had planted them.
Chad said it had supported the text even if skep-
tical about the intentions of its principal sponsor,
the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, which it said was
stockpiling a vast quantity of weapons on Chadian
terr i tory-a charge denied by the Jamahiriya.
Morocco said that the draft sought to promote inter-
national co-operation in solving a problem with com-
plex legal implications.
Envi ronmenta l aspec ts of apar the id
In South Africa black miners faced harsh work-
ing conditions: in some gold mines temperatures
were often 50° C (120° F), working shifts lasted
10 hours and the noise produced by drilling and
blasting operations was intolerably high. Occupa-
tional diseases such as infections of the lung were
widespread. Accident rates were very high. Most
black miners were compelled to live in barrack-
facilities, each holding as many as 8,000. The un- style hostels, overcrowded and with minimal
favourable environmental conditions of workers
h a d s e r i o u s a d v e r s e s o c i a l , m e d i c a l a n d
psychological effects on them and their families.
High incidence of tuberculosis also affected the
black population at large, due to the general
poverty of blacks, the insanitary conditions in
which they were obliged to live, especially in the
black townships, widespread malnutrition and the
inadequacy of the health care available to almost
all of them, especially those living in the so-called
homelands.
This information was contained. in a report of
the Executive Director on the environmental im-
pacts of apartheid.(61)
It concluded that the agenda
for future action in improving the environmental
working conditions for blacks was very long. An
effective trade union for them could have immense
possibilities for bettering the conditions of millions
of black workers and their dependants.
On 23 May,(62)
the UNEP Council reaffirmed its
solidarity with the victims of apartheid and its con-
demnation of that system, and requested the Ex-
ecutive Director to continue monitoring the en-
vironmental impacts of apartheid in South Africa
and to report on the issue in 1987.
Medi te r ranean-Dead Sea cana l p ro jec t
On 23 May,(63)
the Governing Council stated
its position concerning the question of Israel’s deci-
sion to build a canal linking the Mediterranean
Sea to the Dead Sea (see p. 351).
E n v i r o n m e n t a n d d e v e l o p m e n t
Convinced of the close link between develop-
ment and the environment, UNEP continued pro-
viding guidance on including environmental con-
siderations in development decision-making.
A U N E P p r o j e c t c a r r i e d o u t w i t h i n t h e
framework of the ACC Consultative Committee on
Substantive Questions (Programme Matters)( 6 4 )
dealt with the deforestation of the Himalayan
foothills. The project’s ongoing and past work was
assessed at a meeting (New Delhi, 29 April-l May)
convened by UNEP and India, attended by experts
from Bhutan, India and Nepal.
Jointly with Australia, the Commonwealth
Secretariat and the East-West Centre, UNEP laun-
ched a programme to apply economic analysis to
dryland degradation and rehabilitation. Aimed at
preparing technical guidelines, the programme
was based on analyses of case-studies from
Environment 819
Australia and developing countries in Africa, Asia
and Latin America.
IUCN and UNEP continued an experiment to in-
tegrate conservation objectives into four major de-
velopment projects in Costa Rica, Fiji, Pakistan
and Zimbabwe.
UNEP held consultations with the Syrian Arab
Republic’s Planning Office on integrating en-
vironmental considerat ions into development
planning, and began collaboration with Cyprus to
improve its environmental impact assessment.
A report on integrated area development in the
humid tropics, prepared by UNEP, the Organiza-
tion of American States and Peru, contained an
environmental assessment of the Central Selva of
Peru, and recommendations for environmentally
sound development from which a regional en-
vironmental management plan was expected to
evolve.
ECLAC and UNEP prepared reports on the in-
tegration of environmental considerations into
Latin American development planning processes.
They also co-operated with Argentina in conven-
ing a regional seminar on the subject (Buenos
Aires, June).
Under UNEP-World Bank auspices, the third
expert group meeting on environmental accoun-
ting and its use in development policy and plan-
ning (Paris, 29 September-2 October) formulated
guidelines on presenting environmental issues in
national economic analyses. The sixth meeting of
the Committee of International Development In-
stitutions on the Environment (Washington, DC.,
June) reviewed progress made in implementing the
Declaration of Environmental Policies and Pro-
cedures relating to Economic Development.
On 24 May (65)
the Governing Council re-v ,quested the Executive Director to continue review-
ing, in co-operat ion with the Declarat ion’s
signatories, progress achieved in response to the
Declaration, and called on the signatories to ac-
cord special consideration to major environmen-
tal problems within developing countries’ devel-
opment needs.
Among the Executive Director’s recommenda-
tions on the environment in the dialogue between
and among developed and developing countries,
annexed to the Council’s decision on his 1984
state-of-the-environment report (see p. 792), were
a number of environmental issues suggested for
such consultations.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY ACTION
During the mid-term global review of the im-
plementation of the Substantial New Programme
of Action for the 1980s for the Least Developed
Countries (LDCs), several conclusions and recom-
mendations were made by UNCTAD'S Intergovern-
mental Group on LDCs regarding environmental
considerations in those countries (see p. 433).
Those findings were endorsed by the General
Assembly when it adopted resolution 40/205.
Envi ronment and energy
Throughout 1985, UNEP continued to pursue a
number of activities aimed at reducing the impact
on the environment of the production of energy
(see p. 692).
Envi ronment and indus t ry
UNEP'S catalytic action in the crucial area of the
environment and industry included organizing
meetings and disseminating technical information.
The first meeting of the UNEP Environmental
Consultative Committee on the Iron and Steel In-
dustry (Geneva, 28 and 29 March) discussed en-
vironmental control for the industry and the
retrofitting of pollution abatement facilities for
older plants , newly developed environmental
technology, solid waste disposal, and the develop-
ment of legal and regulatory measures. A UNEP-
supported African regional meeting (Abidjan, 23-
26 July) called on industry in the developed coun-
tries to assist African countries to solve their
industry-related environment problems. A con-
ference on industry and the environment (Ankara,
24 and 25 October), organized by UNEP and the
Environmental Problems Foundation of Turkey
and attended by some 180 participants, examined
industrial pollution, the “polluter pays” principle,
foreign investment and the environment, and
Government/industry consultations in choosing
environmental management strategies. An Inter-
nat ional Symposium on Clean Technologies ,
organized by UNEP and the Federal Republic of
Germany (Karlsruhe, 7-18 October), was attended
by some 60 participants (mainly from developing
countries) and included presentations on clean
technologies and field visits to industrial plants.
UNEP continued to disseminate information on
the impact of industry and transportation on the
environment. It published 17 issues in the various
language versions of the quarterly Industry and En-
uironment, each focusing on a specific industrial
topic. Seven other specialized publications were
issued during the year. At UNEP’S request, the
International Petroleum Industry Environmental
Conse rva t i on Assoc i a t i on p r epa red a d r a f t
technical review on environmental management
of petroleum refineries and terminals, which was
widely circulated.
E n v i r o n m e n t a n d h u m a n s e t t l e m e n t s
With environmental conditions in many urban
areas deteriorating, UNEP continued to work to
combat this situation with various United Nations
agencies, especially UNCHS, including support for
820 Economic and social questions
the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless
(1987) (see p. 827).
Having completed environmental guidelines for
human set t lements planning, U N E P and U N C H S
launched a project to apply the guidelines in four
cities in Africa, Asia and Latin America, aimed
at establishing institutional mechanisms by which
environmental considerations would be routinely
included in human set t lements management .
Under a joint UNEP/WHO project on environmen-
tal cr i ter ia for housing and urban planning,
guidelines for improving indoor air quality were
completed, and a kit was produced to guide com-
munit ies in control l ing insects and rodents .
Assistance was provided to the Kenyan Govern-
ment in a project to rehabilitate the Lamu town
sea wall, affected by coastal erosion.
In collaborat ion with UN E P C O M and E S C W A,
UNEP organized a training course (Moscow and
Tbilisi, USSR, November) for 18 technicians from
Arab-speaking countries on environmental aspects
o f h u m a n s e t t l e m e n t s p l a n n i n g a n d w a s t e
management.
Envi ronmenta l educa t ion and t ra in ing
The main activities under the UNEP/UNESCO
Internat ional Environmental Educat ion Pro-
gramme (IEEP) included preparing environmen-
tal education materials, and pilot projects on in-
tegrating environmental education into general
education and into university, technical, vocational
and adult education.
A UNEP-sponsored regional seminar on univer-
sity and the environment in Latin America and
the Caribbean (Bogotá, Colombia, October)
adopted an action plan to incorporate the en-
vironmental dimension into university education
in the region. In December this act ion was
duplicated for the Arab States under an IEEP
project in Qatar. Pursuant to these seminars and
the first African Ministerial Conference on the En-
vironment (see p. 793), regional programmes of
action in environmental education and training,
developed with UNEP assistance, were adopted by
Governments in the African, Asia and the Pacific,
Latin American and Arab regions.
Under UNEP auspices, experts met in Bangkok
in November to develop and adopt an action pro-
g r a m m e f o r e n v i r o n m e n t a l e d u c a t i o n a n d
training.
In the area of training, Strategem-1, a computer-
based resource management game, was designed
by the International Network of Resource Infor-
mation Centres, with UNEP funds. Its purpose was
to help people to understand the concept of sus-
tainable development. The players assumed the
role of ministers in a hypothetical country and had
to manage its resources over 50 years. Success
depended on the players’ ability to balance sec-
tors such as energy, agriculture, industry, en-
vironmental protection and foreign exchange,
while developing human resources and improving
l i v ing s t anda rds . The game was p l ayed a t
workshops in Nairobi and Budapest, used in a
training course for USAID programme managers,
and adopted in some 20 teaching and research cen-
tres around the world.
A UNEP/IUCN International Training Workshop
o n Y o u t h a n d t h e E n v i r o n m e n t ( M o s c o w ,
September), attended by youth leaders from most
African countr ies , developed a conservat ion
agenda for environmental activities in the region
and a draft manual for training youth leaders.
A UNEP/ECA workshop aimed at introducing
environmental components into the training pro-
gramme of 11 ECA-sponsored institutions (Abi-
djan, November) provided training to 20 par-
t ic ipants and produced a core curr iculum in
environmental training for those institutions.
T w e n t y t r a i n e r s r e c e i v e d t r a i n i n g u n d e r a
UNEP/ILO project to incorporate environmental
components in the training activities of ILO-
sponsored institutions; by the end of 1985, 100
management trainers had been trained and train-
i n g m a n u a l s h a d b e e n p r o d u c e d u n d e r a
UNEP/ILO project to introduce environmental
components in ILO management development
programmes. The ninth international graduate
course on resource management and environmen-
tal impact assessment in developing countries
(Dresden, October 1985-July 1986), organized by
UNEP, UNESCO and the German Democrat ic
Republic, had involved 125 participants from 40
developing countries by the end of 1985.
On 23 May, the Governing Council adopted
three decisions on education and training. By the
first(66)
it requested the Executive Director to con-
sider convening in 1987 an international meeting
on environmental education and training, in co-
operation with UNESCO and the USSR, to ap-
praise the achievements in this area in the
preceding decade and to make proposals for the
future.
By the second,(67)
the Council requested the
Executive Director, in co-operation with interna-
tional organizations, to accord priority in 1986-
1987 to training in Africa on: water management,
with particular reference to rural areas; domestic
waste-water management and recycling of waste
water for agriculture; energy management, with
emphasis on efficiency of energy utilization; and
soil conservation. The Executive Director was also
requested to accelerate the establ ishment of
subregional African centres of excellence for en-
vironmental education and training, and to take
into account the recommendations of the African
environmental conference (see p. 793) in for-
mulating other 1986-1987 activities for Africa.
Environment 821
The third decision( 6 8 )
deal t with the Latin
American and Caribbean Environmental Train-
ing Network (see p. 793).
REFERENCES(1)
YUN 1982, p. 1030. (2)
YUN 1981, p. 839. (3)
A/40/25(dec 13/18)
(4)UNEP/WG.107/3.
(5)YUN 1979, p. 710.
(6)Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General; Status as
at 31 December 1985 (ST/LEG/SER.E/4). Sales No. E.86.V.3)( 7 )
UNEP/GC.13/9Àdd.l. ( 8 )
YUN 1982, p. 1003, GÁ
res. 37/217. 20 Dec. 1982. ( 9 )
YUN 1978, p. 537.( 1 0 )
UNEP/GC.13/10. ( 1 1 )
A/40/25 (dec. 13/l) . ( 1 2 )
Ibid.
(dec 13/29). (13)
YUN 1984, p, 750. (14)
Ibid., pp.’ 751 & 754.( 1 5 )
A /40 /25 (dec . 13 /31 ) . ( 1 6 )
Y U N 1 9 8 4 p . 7 5 5 .(17)
UNEP/WG.122/3. (18)
YUN 1979, 1312. (19)
A/40/20(dec. 13/24).
(20)A/40/392-E/1985/117.
(21)YUN 1984, p. 757,
GA res. 39/208, 17 Dec. 1984. (22)
A/40/666. (23)
A/C.2/40/10.(24)
YUN 1984, p. 508. (25)
Ibid., pp. 756 & 759.(26)
TD/B/1082. (27)
YUN 1977, p. 509. (28)
YUN 1983, p. 776,
GA res. 38/163, 19 Dec. 1983. (29)
A/40/644. (30)
YUN 1982,
(33)YUN1978, p.541; YUN 1980, p. 727; YUN 1981,
p. 1017. (3l)YUN 1983, p. 776. (32)A/40/25 727; (dec. 13/30 A).
827. (34)E/1985/32 (dec. 85/30). ( 3 5 )
DP/1986/82.(36)
UNEP/GC.13/7/Add.1, (37)
A/40/25 (dec. 13/30 B).(38)
E/1985/32 (dec. 85/29). (39)
A/40/329-E/1985/80.(40)
UNEP/GC.14/2. (41)
YUN 1982, p. 1021. (42)
YUN 1984,
763. (43)
A/40/25 dec. 13/27). (44)
YUN 1980, p. 717.(45)
A/C.2/40/SR.14. (46)
YUN 1983 p. 784. (47)
A/40/25
(dec. 13/28). (48)
YUN 1984, p. 764. (49)
Ibid., p. 770. (50)
YUN
1980, p. 712, GA res. 35/18, 10 Nov. 1980. (51)
YUN 1984,
649. (52)
A/40/25 (dec. 13/26). (53)
UNEP/GC.13/9/Add.3.(54)
A/40/25 (dec. 13/25). (55)
YUN 1981, p. 832. (56)
YUN 1979,
p. 692. (57)
YUN 1982, p. 1022. (58)
YUN 1984, p. 767, GA
res. 39/167, 17 Dec. 1984. (59)
A/40/650. (60)
YUN 1984,
768 (61)
UNEP/GC.13/3/Add.l. (62)
A/40/25 (dec. 13/7).(63)
Ibid. (dec. 13/8). (64)
E/1985/57. (65)
A/40/25 (dec. 13/16).(66)
Ibid. (dec. 13/19). (67)
Ibid. (dec. 13/20). (68)
Ibid. (dec. 13/21).
OTHER PUBLICATION
Treatment and Disposal Methods for Waste Chemicals (IRPTC No. 5),
Sales No. E.85.III.D.2.