WMO
Integrated approach to addressing air pollution and atmospheric problems
Keith Bull (UNECE) speaking on behalf of WMO
Distinguished delegates I wish to draw your attention to a report prepared under the
umbrella of the Environmental Management Group, an inter-UN agency group chaired by
UNEP. The report was invited by the CSD secretariat in preparation for the current CSD
cycle.
The report is entitled ?Atmosphere/Air Pollution: best practices, lessons learnt and case
studies by the UN Cooperative Programmes and Activities? and was prepared by WMO
in collaboration with more than 10 other UN organizations and agencies. The report is
available as an informal document DESA/DSD/2006/5, so I shall simply highlight some
points from the summary and conclusions.
First, I should like to note that (as has been stressed many times this week) the
geographic scale of air pollution problems can differ greatly ? from indoor and local
problems to those at the regional and global scales. Even so, to arrive at solutions we
need sound science, accurate sustained observations and scientific assessments linked to
policy. Such links are often through some cooperative mechanism such as conventions.
UN agencies play a role in every aspect of such work.
Second, I wish to highlight the excellent examples given in the report of the cooperative
efforts of UN organizations. For example, WMO and UNEP have cooperated with
national experts to develop the Vienna Convention on Protection of the Ozone Layer and
its Montreal Protocol. Also, under the UNECE Convention on Long-range
Transboundary Air Pollution, that has already been cited by several previous speakers,
UNECE, WHO, UNEP and WMO have effectively collaborated for many years.
Finally, despite identifying obvious successes, the report notes there is still room for
improvement in UN agency coordination. Indeed, it identifies what we believe are two
major gaps or obstacles that need to be addressed in the future:
(1) We need better awareness of one another?s work in the UN agencies, especially at the
technical level. For this we suggest that appropriate representatives of UN organizations
and agencies meet together under a ?Forum on UN Air Pollution Activities?. This could
take place, for example, every four years. Such a forum we could promote exchange of
information, consider issues of integration and identify areas for cooperation. It could
also help prevent duplication of effort.
(2) In the urban megacities regions there is a need for UN agencies to encourage and
support their country counterparts in developing air quality management tools and plans.
In addressing these two shortfalls, we must ensure we add support to ongoing activities
and not take scarce resources away from them. However, the Forum on UN Air Pollution
Activities in particular should, we believe, enable us to find more efficient ways of
achieving the goals we are set and add real value to our work.
Keith Bull (UNECE) speaking on behalf of WMO
Distinguished delegates I wish to draw your attention to a report prepared under the
umbrella of the Environmental Management Group, an inter-UN agency group chaired by
UNEP. The report was invited by the CSD secretariat in preparation for the current CSD
cycle.
The report is entitled ?Atmosphere/Air Pollution: best practices, lessons learnt and case
studies by the UN Cooperative Programmes and Activities? and was prepared by WMO
in collaboration with more than 10 other UN organizations and agencies. The report is
available as an informal document DESA/DSD/2006/5, so I shall simply highlight some
points from the summary and conclusions.
First, I should like to note that (as has been stressed many times this week) the
geographic scale of air pollution problems can differ greatly ? from indoor and local
problems to those at the regional and global scales. Even so, to arrive at solutions we
need sound science, accurate sustained observations and scientific assessments linked to
policy. Such links are often through some cooperative mechanism such as conventions.
UN agencies play a role in every aspect of such work.
Second, I wish to highlight the excellent examples given in the report of the cooperative
efforts of UN organizations. For example, WMO and UNEP have cooperated with
national experts to develop the Vienna Convention on Protection of the Ozone Layer and
its Montreal Protocol. Also, under the UNECE Convention on Long-range
Transboundary Air Pollution, that has already been cited by several previous speakers,
UNECE, WHO, UNEP and WMO have effectively collaborated for many years.
Finally, despite identifying obvious successes, the report notes there is still room for
improvement in UN agency coordination. Indeed, it identifies what we believe are two
major gaps or obstacles that need to be addressed in the future:
(1) We need better awareness of one another?s work in the UN agencies, especially at the
technical level. For this we suggest that appropriate representatives of UN organizations
and agencies meet together under a ?Forum on UN Air Pollution Activities?. This could
take place, for example, every four years. Such a forum we could promote exchange of
information, consider issues of integration and identify areas for cooperation. It could
also help prevent duplication of effort.
(2) In the urban megacities regions there is a need for UN agencies to encourage and
support their country counterparts in developing air quality management tools and plans.
In addressing these two shortfalls, we must ensure we add support to ongoing activities
and not take scarce resources away from them. However, the Forum on UN Air Pollution
Activities in particular should, we believe, enable us to find more efficient ways of
achieving the goals we are set and add real value to our work.
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