Promoting E-Governance Through Capacity Development for the Global Environment

2011 ◽  
pp. 227-257
Author(s):  
Jim Perry ◽  
Leslie Paas ◽  
Maria Eugenia Arreola ◽  
Elena Santer ◽  
Nalini Sharma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Interaction Model ◽  
Capacity Development ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
United Nations Environment Programme ◽  
International Institute ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Integrated Environmental Assessment ◽  
Training Resources

Solving the world’s great crises and taking advantage of the world’s greatest opportunities requires innovation and capacity. E-governance uses Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) to broaden participation and make problem solving more effective. Environmental issues represent some of the world’s greatest crises and most significant opportunities. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is a global leader in tackling such issues. UNEP’s Global Environmental Outlook (GEO) relies on contributions from many experts from all regions of the world. Because capacity development is critical to UNEP’s ability to fulfill its mandate, UNEP collaborated with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) to commission more than 50 experts to develop training resources for integrated environmental assessment and reporting at the sub-global level. These resources were adapted to an eLearning format, significantly broadening their utility and reach. All materials are organized onto the Moodle Learning Management System and use a facilitated interaction model. The eLearning curriculum and approach has been peer reviewed and pilot tested. This research has further developed a blended learning, Train-the-Multipliers program to train facilitators. This eLearning implementation has clearly demonstrated potential and is advancing e-governance at global, regional, national and sub-national levels in the area of environmental assessment and reporting. Although UNEP’s position as a strong proponent of global environmental governance is unique, the detailed approach described for the eLearning programme is generic and therefore, would be a useful model for others who wish to develop eLearning curricula.

Promoting E-Governance Through Capacity Development for the Global Environment

2011 ◽  
pp. 980-1010
Author(s):  
Jim Perry ◽  
Leslie Paas ◽  
Maria Eugenia Arreola ◽  
Elena Santer ◽  
Nalini Sharma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Interaction Model ◽  
Capacity Development ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
United Nations Environment Programme ◽  
International Institute ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Integrated Environmental Assessment ◽  
Training Resources

Solving the world’s great crises and taking advantage of the world’s greatest opportunities requires innovation and capacity. E-governance uses Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) to broaden participation and make problem solving more effective. Environmental issues represent some of the world’s greatest crises and most significant opportunities. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is a global leader in tackling such issues. UNEP’s Global Environmental Outlook (GEO) relies on contributions from many experts from all regions of the world. Because capacity development is critical to UNEP’s ability to fulfill its mandate, UNEP collaborated with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) to commission more than 50 experts to develop training resources for integrated environmental assessment and reporting at the sub-global level. These resources were adapted to an eLearning format, significantly broadening their utility and reach. All materials are organized onto the Moodle Learning Management System and use a facilitated interaction model. The eLearning curriculum and approach has been peer reviewed and pilot tested. This research has further developed a blended learning, Train-the-Multipliers program to train facilitators. This eLearning implementation has clearly demonstrated potential and is advancing e-governance at global, regional, national and sub-national levels in the area of environmental assessment and reporting. Although UNEP’s position as a strong proponent of global environmental governance is unique, the detailed approach described for the eLearning programme is generic and therefore, would be a useful model for others who wish to develop eLearning curricula.

UNEP in Global Environmental Governance: Design, Leadership, Location

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Ivanova
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
United Nations Environment Programme ◽  
Global Environmental Governance ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Subsequent Performance ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Systematic Methodology ◽  
Nations Environment ◽  
Environment Programme

As debates on reform of global environmental governance intensify, the future of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has come into acute political focus. Many argue that the organization has faltered in its role as the UN's leading agency for the environment. In this article, I use historical institutional analysis in combination with current international relations and management theory to explain UNEP's creation and evolution. Having described how the creators of UNEP envisioned the nascent organization, I analyze its subsequent performance, identifying the key factors that have shaped its record. I argue that the original vision for UNEP was ambitious but fundamentally pragmatic, and that the organization's mixed performance over the years can be explained by analysis of three factors: its design, leadership, and location. Thus, this article clarifies the record on UNEP's intended function, and lays the foundation for a systematic methodology for evaluating international organizations.

A UN Specialized Agency for the Environment

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Said Mahmoudi
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Financial Stability ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Institutional Arrangement ◽  
International Organization ◽  
Main Question ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
Institutional Reforms ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Stockholm Conference

The issue, international organization for the protection of the environment perhaps more than those in any other area of international law, is characterized by the contestation of the policies and aspirations of developing and industrialized countries. The discussions which preceded the 1972 Stockholm Conference concerned partly the type of international institutional arrangement required for addressing the environmental problems. As regards the institutional reforms with respect to international environmental governance (IEG), the main question is whether to focus on the existing global institution, i.e. UNEP, or to create a new functional international organization. After almost five decades of existence, turning UNEP into a ‘specialized agency’ within the UN system is a reasonable move. It would meet the long-felt need to elevate its status and equip it with the necessary competence and financial stability for the demanding task it should have as an efficient global environmental organization.

Movements, Networks, Hierarchies: A Gender Perspective on Global Environmental Governance

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Bretherton
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Women's Movements ◽  
Participatory Process ◽  
Global Environmental Governance ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Transnational Mobilization ◽  
Environmentally Sound

Environmental governance may be distinguished from environmental management by the implication that, in the former, some form of participatory process is involved. Here, the focus is upon the potential for women's movements and networks to influence the principles and practices of global environmental governance (GEG). It is contended that, in principle, women are uniquely placed to oppose the dominant norms informing GEG; and that women's participation would, in consequence, be crucial to the achievement of equitable and environmentally sound forms of governance. In practice, however, a number of factors combine to create divisions between women, and hence to impede transnational mobilization by women around environmental issues. This article examines these issues.

scholarly journals The Governance of Transnational Environmental Harm: Addressing New Modes of Accountability/Responsibility

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 8-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Mason
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Degradation ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Environmental Politics ◽  
Environmental Harm ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Global Environmental Politics ◽  
Private Authority ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Introductory Paper

Transboundary and global environmental harm present substantial challenges to state-centered (territorial) modalities of accountability and responsibility. The globalization of environmental degradation has triggered regulatory responses at various jurisdictional scales. These governance efforts, featuring various articulations of state and/or private authority, have struggled to address so-called “accountability deficits” in global environmental politics. Yet, it has also become clear that accountability and responsibility norms forged in domestic regulatory contexts cannot simply be transposed across borders. This special issue explores various conceptual perspectives on accountability and responsibility for transnational harm, and examines their application to different actor groups and environmental governance regimes. This introductory paper provides an overview of the major theoretical positions and examines some of the analytical challenges raised by the transnational (re)scaling of accountability and responsibility norms.

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