In 1972, the United Nations General Assembly resolution 2997 created and designated the UNEP as the UN authority on environmental issues. It serves as an expert voice by monitoring the global environment and gathering and disseminating environmental information to governments and the international community. With this authority, it promotes international cooperation in the field of the environment and recommends appropriate policies and programmes. The agency also works within the policy and programmatic levels by helping international bodies and national governments develop and implement environmental law and policies.
UNEP recognizes that women are uniquely vulnerable to environmental degradation due to their unequal access to information and resources as well as their roles in some communities as gatherers of water and biofuels. Women "stand in the front line in terms of poverty ...[and] provide invaluable contributions to sustaining communities around the world and managing earth’s biodiversity and natural resources." Although many women share these roles and experiences, their "contribution is regularly undervalued and ignored." UNEP, therefore, works to highlight the important role that women play in sustainable development. The agency focuses on gender primarily by promoting women's participation in all environmental protection and sustainable development activities. These activities encompass the fields of agriculture, climate change, energy, poverty, and water management. In addition to engaging women as participants through the "Network of Ministers of Environment" and the "WAVE Assembly" (Women as the voice for the environment) , UNEP is building its informational resource base on gender and the environment.
In 2006, UNEP developed an agency-wide Gender Action Plan with a survey to investigate the status and methods of gender mainstreaming in governmental environmental policies, programs and institutions. Despite UNEP’s gender mainstreaming successes, it not clear whether the agency bases its gender architecture on Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) and its partner resolutions. Based on our research, there are no action plans/policy/work on implementation of UNSCR 1325 by UNEP.
For more information, please visit the official UNEP website.