The Governing Council,
Recognizing the role of the United Nations Environment Programme in enhancing
coordination and collaboration across the United Nations system to achieve greater coherence in
environmental activities,
Recalling its decision 26/11 of 24 February 2011, on enhanced coordination across the
United Nations system, including the Environment Management Group,
Welcoming the efforts of the Executive Director, including in his capacity as Chair of the
Environment Management Group, and those of the Group’s members, in promoting cooperation across
the United Nation system on environmental activities,
Expressing appreciation for the progress report prepared under the guidance of the senior
officials of the Group at their seventeenth meeting and presented by the Executive Director,2
Commending the Group on its progress in enhancing United Nations system-wide inter-agency
coordination on specific issues in the field of environment and human settlements,
Welcoming in particular the Group’s contribution to the tenth session of the Conference of the
Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing
Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa, and its decision to continue its support
for the drylands agenda across the United Nations system,
Expressing appreciation for the Group’s contribution to the preparatory process for the
United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development through its reports Working Towards a
Balanced and Inclusive Green Economy: A United Nations System-wide Perspective and “Advancing
the environmental and social sustainability in the United Nations system”,
1. Supports the Group’s continued efforts to mainstream environmental considerations
into activities at the programme, management and operational levels in close cooperation with the
United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination and its subsidiary bodies;
2. Encourages the Group to continue to promote coherence in environmental activities
across the United Nations system, including by mainstreaming environmental concerns into sectoral
programmes, through such measures as:
(a) Contributing to the implementation of the international agenda on biodiversity and, in
particular, the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 adopted by the Conference of the Parties to
the Convention on Biological Diversity at its tenth meeting;4
(b) Preparing for consideration by the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations
Convention to Combat Desertification at its eleventh session a United Nations system-wide action plan
for the period 2012–2018 on follow-up to its report on drylands;5
3. Also encourages the Group to continue its consultations on advancing the framework
for environmental and social sustainability in the United Nations system and to move towards
environmental sustainability management systems and climate neutrality in the United Nations;
4. Requests the Executive Director in his capacity as Chair of the Group to provide a
progress report on the Group’s work to the Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum
at its twenty-seventh session;
5. Invites the Executive Director in his capacity as the Chair of the Group to transmit a
progress report on the Group’s work to the governing bodies of the Group’s member organizations,
through the heads of those organizations, for their information;
6. Also invites the Executive Director, in the context of the development of the draft
programme of work for the biennium 2014–2015, to submit, for consideration by the Committee of
Permanent Representatives, proposals relating to the allocation of resources for the Group’s activities
to reflect better the workload of the Group secretariat.