Annual Report 1999

Greeting from UN Secretary-General

Robert Maass/UNDP

GRID-Arendal has provided UNEP and the entire UN family with reliable and up-to- date information that has been extremely useful in shaping environmental policy and in raising awareness about environmental challenges. I would like to congratulate all those whose dedication and expertise have played a role in creating and maintaining the Global Resource Information Database. I would also like to thank the Government of Norway for its visionary thinking and sup- port. The foundation shows how a non- profit organization, with strong Government backing, can make an effective contribution to the UN system. Such partnerships will be crucial if we are to ensure the health of our planet into the next millennium.

When the Government of Norway established GRID- Arendal in 1989, it inaugurated a new and innova- tive model for supporting the vital work of the Uni- ted Nations Environment Programme. For the first time, the international community had at its disposal a foundation fully dedicated to strenghtening UNEP and the UN system in the field of environmental in- formation.

U N I T E D N A T I O N S

N A T I O N S U N I E S

Kofi A. Annan Secretary-General UN