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Int Environ Agreements (2007) 7:337361
DOI 10.1007/s10784-007-9052-4
ORIGINAL PAPER
Maria Ivanova
Published online: 6 September 2007 Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2007
Abstract The role of the United Nations in global environmental governance was determined in 1972 when a new international body for the global environment was created as a programme within the United Nations rather than as an autonomous specialized agency. A set of political dynamics between developed and developing countries led to the decisions on the functions, form, nancing, and location of the new intergovernmental organizationthe United Nations Environment Programme. This article traces the historical roots of these choices and exposes the motivations behind them.
Keywords Developing countries Global environmental governance History of environmental governance Institutional design United Nations Environment Programme UNEP United States
Abbreviations
ECOSOC UN Economic and Social Council EPA Environmental Protection Agency FAO Food and Agriculture Organization G-77 Group of 77IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency UNCTAD UN Conference on Trade and Environment UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNEO United Nations Environment Organization UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UNIDO UN Industrial Development Organization WFP World Food Programme
An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2006 Annual Convention of the International Studies Association in San Diego, CA.
M. Ivanova (&)
The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23187, USA e-mail: [email protected]
Designing the United Nations Environment Programme: a story of compromise and confrontation
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338 M. Ivanova
WHO World Health Organization
WMO World Meteorological Organization
1 Introduction
With their rm placement on the international political agenda in the late 1960s, environmental problems put into focus three core concerns: the ecological effects of industrialization, the ecological effects of poverty, and the political tension between developed and developing countries. The effects of industrialization had manifested across the United States and Europe in burning rivers, dead forests, and toxic chemicals causing permanent damage in animals and humans.1 The public in the North responded through a social movement to protect the planet and put pressure on political leaders for domestic and international action. Developing countries, however, were suspicious of such actions. Since many countries had gained political independence only in the 1960s, governments across the developing world were mainly concerned with economic growth as a way of ensuring autonomy and political sovereignty. Their...