Background
The annex to the present note has been prepared as an input to the work of the Governing
Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum on broader reform of the international environmental
governance system and the preparatory process for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development, to take place in Brazil in 2012.
A broad outline is given of how the various entities in the United Nations system are engaged in
performing the key objectives and functions being considered in the reform process, against the baseline
of the United Nations Environment Programme?s original four-pillar design and mandate, as set out in
General Assembly resolution 2997 (XXVII) of 15 December 1972. The analysis focuses on the role of
intergovernmental bodies, secretariats, funds and coordination mechanisms.
The preparation of the annex involved four rounds of review by the entities of the
United Nations system, coordinated through the Environment Management Group, and the content of
the annex has greatly benefited from the numerous substantive comments and inputs received. The
annex also draws on publicly available information and preliminary findings of a stocktaking exercise
initiated by the Environment Management Group in 2007 and undertaken with the support of the
United Nations Institute for Training and Research.
The annex has been issued without formal editing.