Māris kļaviņŠ, azamat azizov, JĀnis zaļoksnis environment, pollution, development: the case of uzbekistan

 10.3.1.  International environmental organisations
In the majority of cases, international environ mental organi-
sa tions have been set up by mutual agreement of countries for 
prac tical measures to tackle global environ mental issues. Inter-
national environ mental organisations have been extremely good at 
organising broad discussions to prepare projects of environ men tal 
policy planning, funding and implementation. At present there are 
about 250 international environ mental organisations, most of them 
specialising in preparation and implementation of con ven tions on 
both global and local scale. The origins of environ mental orga-
ni sations date back to the time after World War II when the world 
faced the necessity to create a system to prevent wars, to restore 
the demolished economies and prepare solid ground for successful 
develop ment. Thus, the United Nations (UN) was established, as 
well as the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development 
(the World Bank) and the International Monetary Fund. The General 
Agreement  on  Tariffs  and  Trade  (GATT)  later  became  the  World 
Trade Organisation. 
Several massive regional organisations came into being: the 
European  Union,  the  North  American  Free  Trade  Association 
(NAFTA) and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). 
All  these  organisations  play  an  important  role  in  tackling  global 
environ mental issues up to this day.
Figure 10.4. 
Signing of 
the UN Charter (26 June 
1945, San Francisco, USA) 

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ENVIRONMENT, POLLUTION, DEVELOPMENT:  THE CASE OF UZBEKISTAN
However, the leading role belongs to the UN and its environ-
mental organisations. The UN was founded in October 1945, when 
50 countries  signed  the  UN  Charter  in  San  Francisco,  the  USA. 
Today the number of its member states has grown to 192, and the 
UN  is  recognised  as  the  world’s  most  influential  international 
organisation. Its initial task was to promote peace in the world, 
prevent conflicts between states, control armament, protect human 
rights, facilitate economic and social development and preserve the 
global  environ ment.
To accomplish the tasks regarding the environ ment and develop-
ment, the UN has set up the following programmes: the United 
Nations Environ 
ment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations 
Develop ment Programme (UNDP) as well as the Commission on 
Sustain able Development (CSD). These organisations work under the 
auspices of the UN Secretariat, but their budget is endorsed by the 
General Assembly of the UN.
The necessity of the UN Environ ment Programme was confirmed 
during the United Nations Conference on the Human Environ ment 
in Stockholm in 1972 as a response to the signals of the alarming 
deterioration of the quality of the environ ment. The headquarters 
of the UN Environ ment Programme is in Nairobi, Kenya, but there 
are also offices in Switzerland (Geneva) and other countries. Among 
the  tasks  of  the  Programme  are:  the  control  of  the  fulfilment  of 
international agreements and decisions on environ mental issues; 
urging discussions on new initiatives of environ mental protection, 
also by aggregating environ ment-related information from the 
countries of the world and by rendering support for the required 
scientific research.
Together with the UN Development Programme and the World 
Bank, the UN Environ ment Programme maintains the Global 
Environ ment Facility (GEF), which, in turn, funds projects that tack-
le the most topical environ mental issues.