FROM ESTABLISHING a science policy panel for chemicals and waste management to agreeing to restore ecosystems, the world passed 14 resolutions at the resumed session of the fifth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), held in Nairobi, Kenya, between February 28 and March 2, 2022.
The most crucial of these was the decision to establish an intergovernmental negotiating committee that will forge a legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution. World leaders plan to start negotiations on this resolution in June. If the timeline is kept, this will be the second fastest environmental agreement to move from the adoption stage into negotiations. This highlights the urgency of the problem and the global commitment to address it. The proposed committee has the ambitious task of drafting an agreement on plastics by the end of 2024, when the leaders plan to or meet for the sixth Assembly.
Of the 11 global environmental agreements either in force under discussion, the resolution to set up the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the 1990s was the fastest. World leaders took a little less than two months to move from adopting the resolution to starting negotiations on UNFCCC. In the Paris Agreement under UNFCCC, it took over five months (see 'Swift move').
RESOLUTIONS GALORE
World leaders passed 14 resolutions to save biodiversity at the recently concluded fifth UN Environment Assembly
Resolutions adopted on
Sustainable lake management (for protection, restoration and wise use)
Nature-based solutions for supporting sustainable development (and meeting 2030 SDGs)
Sound management of chemicals and waste (to achieve SDG on health)
Sustainable nitrogen management (to halve nitrogen waste by 2030)
Biodiversity and health (biodiversity loss and zoonotic diseases linkages)
Esta historia es de la edición March 16, 2022 de Down To Earth.
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Esta historia es de la edición March 16, 2022 de Down To Earth.
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A SPRIG TO CARE FOR
Punarnava, a perennial herb, is easy to grow and has huge health benefits
DIGGING A DISASTER
Soapstone mining near Dabti Vijaypur village has caused many residents to migrate.
REVIEW THE TREATMENT
Several faecal sludge treatment plants in Uttar Pradesh suffer from design flaws that make the treatment process both expensive and inefficient
MAKE STEEL SUSTAINABLE
As India works to double its GDP by 2030, its steel industry must balance growth with sustainability. By embracing policies like the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy 2019 and adopting green technologies, India is paving the way for a more sustainable future in steel production
Can ANRF pull off the impossible for India?
Anusandhan National Research Foundation is expected to reorient India's innovation goals but funding issues, old mindsets remain a drag
TROUBLED WOODS
Forests are a great bulwark against climate change. But this is fast changing. AKSHIT SANGOMLA travels through some of the pristine patches of the Western Ghats to explore how natural disturbances triggered by global warming now threaten the forest health
BLINDING GLOW
The science is clear: increased illumination has damaging consequences for the health of humans, animals and plants. It’s time governments introduced policies to protect the natural darkness and improved the quality of outdoor lighting.
GROUND REALITY
What happens when the soil loses the ability to grow healthy, high-yield crops on its own?
GM POLICY MUST BE FARMER CENTRIC
On July 23, the Supreme Court of India directed the Union government to develop a national policy on genetically modified (GM) crops for research, cultivation, trade and commerce through public consultation.
Vinchurni's Gandhi
A 96-year-old farmer transforms barren land into a thriving forest in drought-prone region of Satara