G L O B A L O U T L O O K S
One of the main activities of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) is to report on the global state of the environment. Following on the heels of GEO-1, or the 'Global Environmental Outlook,' UNEP is already well on its way to producing GEO-2, with the help of 22 collaborating centers worldwide, including the REC.
UNEP created the network of collaborating centers in order to produce a study that was 'region-driven,' and one which takes advantage of the experience of regional organizations and the networking potential that exists between them.
Broken down into five chapters, each with a global overview and seven regional sub-sections, GEO aims to be 'policy relevant,' designed to link scientific understanding with environmental policymaking.
The first section, the physical state of the environment, is an analysis of environmental resources, from forests to the atmosphere, taking into account driving forces that impact each resource and their trends. The second, policy responses, includes the status and trends of current policy responses. The third chapter explores the impact of key regional and global environmental conventions, the fourth is an assessment of alternative policy options, and the final chapter looks at emerging issues.
"GEO is trying to be controversial and a bit more provocative with this last chapter," says REC Deputy Director Winston Bowman. "It's trying to identify the most critical environmental problems which need to be addressed by the international community for the next millennium."
Six collaborating centers are cooperating in preparing the European region section, including the REC and the Central European University in CEE, the European Environment Agency based in Denmark, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment based in the Netherlands, the Stockholm Environment Institute based in Sweden, and the Moscow State University. The REC is responsible for assessing current policy responses and the impact of international conventions on CEE countries. In addition, the REC is editing the sections on current policy responses and impacts of environmental conventions for the whole European region, compiling contributions from the other European collaborating centers.
"This is a capacity building process for organizations working with the UN," said Bowman. "The REC seldom works on global scale projects and it's interesting to network with other environmental organizations in other parts of the world. They have similar activities but different strengths so it makes sense for us to share our experiences even beyond the region."