Training in Environmental Diplomacy
Small Grant
Keywords
Environmental Diplomacy - Sustainable Development - TrainingSummary
During the last twenty years, the growing environmental awareness worldwide has resulted in the development of a number of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). Today’s MEA’s cover many dimensions of sustainable development, including oceans, endangered species, biodiversity, climate change, ozone layer, chemicals and hazardous wastes.
Even though this impressive “body” of environmental law has been signed and ratified by a large number of countries, it remains far from fully enforced, due to the lack of adequate legislative and operational arrangements at the national level. A major obstacle in this regard is the lack of skills at the negotiation table and decision-making level.
In many instances the failure of governments to agree on and implement common environmental policies is due to a lack of scientific understanding and diplomatic ability to grasp all aspects of environmental imperatives and negotiate them in international forums. Complex and politically sensitive areas of environmental concern, which emerged in the 1990s, such as climate change or biodiversity, have challenged many governments in both the industrialized and developing world to adapt or acquire new negotiating skills.
The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the University of Geneva developed an Environmental Diplomacy Training Program responding to this need, drawing on the unique concentration of environment and sustainable development related institutional resources, scientific expertise and multilateral experience in Geneva. The program is oriented towards teaching the practical skills and techniques necessary to bridge divides, build consensus positions and negotiate agreements on the environment and sustainable development.
A successful pilot training course was held in summer 2006 and thirty (future) diplomats, officials and other potential negotiators were introduced to and trained in environmental diplomacy work, through distance learning and an intensive two...
The grant provided by the GIAN for this project totals SFr 50,000
Project Team
Mr Frits Schlingemann , Coordinator, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) .
Prof. Beat Burgenmeier , Principal Member, University Centre of Human Ecology and Environmental Sciences (CUEH) , University of Geneva (Unige) .
Ms Virginie Combaz , Principal Member, Regional Office for Europe (ROE) , Division of Regional Cooperation (DRC) , United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) .
Mr Arthur Dahl , Principal Member, International Environment Forum (IEF) .
Mr Alain Dubois , Principal Member, University Centre of Human Ecology and Environmental Sciences (CUEH) , University of Geneva (Unige) .
Ms Céline Germond-Duret , Principal Member, University Centre of Human Ecology and Environmental Sciences (CUEH) , University of Geneva (Unige) .
Related Links
> Certificat of Advanced Studies in Environmental Diplomacy
Related News
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New "Small Grant": Certificate of Advanced Studies in Environmental Diplomacy 2007 – 28.02.07
The United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and...
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New "Small Grant": Development of an Environmental Diplomacy Training Programme – 16.11.06
During the last twenty years, growing environmental awareness world-wide has resulted in the development of a number of...
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Research Output
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Certificate of Advanced Studies in Environmental Diplomacy 2007
(available in English only) > more |