Vital GEO Graphics

D ownload G raphic 2

International governance-environment- development-trade interlinkages

UN General Assembly ECOSOC

Commission on Sustainable Development

International Environment Regime

International Development Regime

Norms, procedures, rules, and principles are operating between regimes International Trade Regime

UNEP

MEAs

Bretton Woods (WB, IMF)

WTO

UNDP

FAO, WHO and others

MEA Liaison Groups

Norms, procedures, rules, and principles are operating between regimes

Norms, procedures, rules, and principles are operating between regimes

WIPO

Notes: Norms, procedures, rules, and principles are operating between regimes. Green lines represent stronger and more direct connections. Brown lines represent less direct links.

Environmental Management Group

Chief Executives Board

UN Development Group

Cooperation and Integration Are Essential There are strong synergies between improving human well-being and reducing vulnerability from environment, development and human rights perspectives. In order to achieve sustainable development, governance must be integrated from the local to the global levels, across a range of sectors and over a longer time frame for policy making. Interlinked environment-development challenges require effective and coherent governance and policy responses within the framework of sustain- able development. At the international level, the key governance and management actors relevant to the environment are the United Nations, MEAs and regimes dealing with development, trade, finance and other international related fields. The linkages among these bodies are complex and the systems have been described as fragmented and overlapping. With the growth of the number and diversity of actors and organizations, inter-agency mecha- nisms, such as the Environmental Management

Group, UN Development Group and the liaison groups between MEA secretariats, have been created to bridge independent agencies and promote greater cooperation. The UN Economic and Social Council and the UN General Assem- bly play major roles in coordination, as well as promoting cooperation with other institutions, such as the WTO and Bretton Woods institutions.

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