UNDP | Europe & CIS | Environment and Energy | Integrated Environmental Policies in Europe & CIS

Integrated Environmental Policies

Linking countries’ environmental policies, programmes and action plans to the overall national planning and budgetary frameworks is inevitable for ensuring that long-term development is sustainable and leads to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). To make this linkage happen, countries have to improve overall environmental governance by strengthening environmental planning, environmental management, environmental mainstreaming and environmental and human security

Main Challenges in the Region

Countries of the region are at different stages of political and economic transition. Development of many of them is driven by the objective to achieve fast economic growth. To make sure such development is environmentally sustainable countries have to address the following challenges:

Inadequate institutional capacities to (1) meet commitments under various multilateral environmental agreements and conventions, and (2) translate the convention requirements into the national agenda ;
Low capacity for, and absence of, regulatory infrastructure for meaningful environmental mainstreaming;
Ineffective coordination between environmental and other sectoral ministries and scientific institutions;
Insufficient cooperation on environmental issues across national borders.

UNDP priority areas and activities

The UNDP directly supports the development of needed national and regional capacities for better environmental planning and environmental mainstreaming by focusing on the following priority areas and initiatives:

Environment and Security Initiative— facilitate a framework for cooperation on environmental issues across borders and promote peace and stability through environmental cooperation and sustainable development;
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)—aim to improve the process and level of integrating environment in the development and implementation of the countries’ national development strategies, sectoral and area-based development plans, programmes and policies.
National Capacity Self-Assessment (NCSA)—help strengthen environmental governance and build capacities to effectively implement the Rio Conventions ;
Control of emissions of ozone depleting substances (ODS) and persistent organic pollutants (POPs)—help countries to comply with the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete and Ozone Layer

For more information on the priority areas click on the tabs below: