UN calls on all countries to strengthen environmental protection

UNEP released the world's first environmental rule of law assessment report Thursday. The report points out that despite the continuous improvement of the rule of law in the field of global environment and the vigorous development of relevant institutions in the past 40 years, the trend of weak law enforcement has intensified the environmental threat.

Since 1972, with the support and assistance of the international community, more than 1100 environmental agreements have been signed and many environmental legal frameworks have been established. However, the failure to fully implement and enforce these laws has become one of the major challenges hindering countries to cope with climate change, reduce pollution and prevent the loss of large-scale species and habitats.

David Boyd, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and environment, said the report explained why the development of environmental law has been booming in recent decades, but the problems of pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change remain a mystery. If the environmental rule of law can not be strengthened, the basic human rights to enjoy a healthy environment will not be realized.

According to the report, factors leading to poor law enforcement include poor coordination among government agencies, weak institutional capacity, lack of access to information, corruption and limited citizen participation.

"We have laws and regulations, organizations and operational mechanisms to manage the environment sustainably," said Joyce msuya, acting executive director of UNEP. Political will is the key to ensuring that relevant laws are implemented accurately. "

The report also points out that since 1972, countries have made gratifying progress in the field of environmental rule of law, including 88 countries that have written the right to a healthy environment into their constitutions, and another 65 countries that have made clear provisions on environmental protection from the constitutional level.