UN needs more muscle in environment fight - study

The UN needs to beef up and better coordinate efforts to help fight threats such as climate change, deforestation or over-fishing, two experts said yesterday.

The world's system of green agencies and treaties is "bewildering" and while the international body's efforts are considerable they are diffused by having many organizations overseeing one aspect or another, the experts said.

"There is an urgent need for an environmental organisation within the UN system with the influence to realize change and to stand side by side with strong organizations such as the World Trade Organisation and World Health Organisation," Italy's Stefania Prestigiacomo and Kenya's John Michuki said.

They are the environment ministers of Italy and Kenya, respectively, and co-chairs of a group considering UN environmental reform.

"Global environmental crises, from vanishing biodiversity and degrading forests to collapsing fish stocks and climate change, will not be solved without some tough thinking about international governance," they wrote in an opinion article.

They did not propose any specific agency for the role, but in the UN system, the Nairobi-based UN Environment Programme is now the main authority, although its budget is low by UN standards at about $200 million a year.

Efforts to combat global warming, meanwhile, are overseen by the UN Climate Change Secretariat in Bonn. Among others, the secretariat for safeguarding biological diversity is based in Montreal and another for wildlife trade is in Geneva.

"A recent independent study has estimated the costs of separate secretariats are four times more compared to organisations that have all their related treaties under one roof," the ministers wrote.

Ms Prestigiacomo and Mr Michuki's group is meeting in Rome to review options. They are due to report back to UNEP in early next year.