AIR POLLUTION CUTS HELP FORESTS RECOVER

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 2 September (UNECE) -- The latest report on forest condition in Europe indicates that drastic reductions in sulphur emissions have led to decreasing concentrations of sulphur in the needles of Norway spruce and Scots pine (see graph below).

UNEP SENDS ADVISOR TO PAKISTAN OIL SPILL SITE

(Reissued as received.)

NAIROBI/BANGKOK, 28 August (UNEP) -- The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has dispatched one of its emergency response specialists to Pakistan to assist the authorities to assess the damage caused by oil spilled from the tanker MT Tasman Spirit.

The UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer said this followed a request for assistance from the Pakistan Government.

UNEP BACKS MONGOLIA’S EFFORTS TO SAFEGUARD VAST, UNIQUE ENVIRONMENTS

(Delayed in transmission.)

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia, 22 August (UNEP) -- The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Mongolian Ministry of Nature and Environment today signed a framework agreement to support sustainable development and environmental protection in the fabled North-East Asian country.

YOUNG ENVIRONMENTALISTS WILL GATHER IN DUBNA, RUSSIAN FEDERATION

FOR UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE, 25 - 27 AUGUST

(Reissued as received.)

NAIROBI/DUBNA, 21 August (UNEP) -- Young environmentalists from more than 60 countries are meeting in the Russian Federation to discuss environmental topics vital to sustainable development in the twenty-first century.

URGENT ACTION NEEDED TO MAP, PROTECT WORLD’S WILD FORESTS,

SAYS UN ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMME

CAMBRIDGE/NAIROBI, 4 August (UNEP) -- Forests in Chile, made world famous by the series ‘Walking with Dinosaurs’, have been almost destroyed by fire, killing Monkey Puzzle trees up to 2,000 years old.

CARTAGENA PROTOCOL ON BIOSAFETY ENTERS INTO FORCE IN SEPTEMBER

(Reissued as received.)

NAIROBI, 13 June (United Nations Environment Programme) -- Palau has become the fiftieth country to ratify the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, starting a 90-day countdown to the agreement's entry into force.

EXPERTS MEETING ON 10-YEAR PLAN FOR SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION, PRODUCTION

TO BE HELD IN MARRAKECH, 16 – 19 JUNE

NEW YORK, 12 June -- Over 100 participants from about 70 countries will meet on Monday in Marrakech, Morocco, to take the first steps towards implementing one of the key commitments made by world leaders at the 2002 Johannesburg Summit:  to develop a 10-year framework of programmes for sustainable consumption and production.

YOUNG ENVIRONMENTALISTS FROM ACROSS GLOBE MEET IN RUSSIA

TO AGREE ON ACTIONS FOR BETTER WORLD

(Reissued as received.)

NAIROBI/DUBNA, 11 June (UNEP) -- An elite group of young people will be converging on the Russian town of Dubna to share their passions for a greener, cleaner world and to draw up action plans for realizing an environmentally friendly future.

UNEP URGES ACTION TO BETTER MANAGE GLOBE’S GROUNDWATERS

World Environment Day June 5:  Water -- Two Billion People Are Dying For It!

(Reissued as received.)

BEIRUT/NAIROBI, 5 June (UNEP) -- Many of the world's “natural underground reservoirs”, upon which 2 billion people depend for drinking water and irrigation, are under increasing stress and strain, a new report launched on World Environment Day shows.

NEW INITIATIVE TO COMBAT GROWING GLOBAL MENACE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME

UNEP Launches 'Green Customs' Project to Help Customs Officers

Beat Illegal Trade in Chemicals, Hazardous Wastes, Endangered Species

(Reissued as received.)