SYLLABUS

GS-2: Important International institutions, agencies and fora - their Structure, Mandate.

GS-3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

Context: Recently, India’s resolution on ‘Strengthening the Global Management of Wildfires’ was adopted at the 7^th Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) in Nairobi, Kenya.

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• The resolution was adopted with wide support from UN Member States, indicating a broad international consensus on the urgency of addressing wildfire risks.
• India highlighted that wildfires have evolved from seasonal events into frequent and prolonged disasters due to climate change, rising temperatures, prolonged droughts and human activities.
• The core objective of the resolution is to strengthen international cooperation, coordinated action and shared responsibility in preventing and managing wildfires globally.
• India drew attention to UNEP’s global report ‘Spreading Like Wildfire’, which warns that wildfires may rise by 14% by 2030, 30% by 2050 and 50% by 2100, if current trends continue.

Key Provisions of India’s Resolution

The resolution aims to reinforce ongoing global activities under the Global Fire Management Hub and calls for:

• Strengthened International Cooperation: Development of early warning systems, risk assessment tools, and satellite- and ground-based ecosystem monitoring, besides promotion of community-based alert mechanisms.
• Enhanced Regional and Global Collaboration: Mechanisms supporting prevention, post-response recovery, and ecosystem restoration.
• Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building: Creation of platforms for best practices, along with training and capacity-building programmes for stakeholders.
• Support for National and Regional Action Plans: Assistance to Member States in developing and implementing integrated fire management and wildfire resilience strategies.
• Facilitating Access to International Finance: Support to Member States in preparation of project proposals to access funding through multilateral mechanisms and results-based schemes.

About the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

• It is the UN’s leading environmental authority, setting the global agenda, promoting sustainable development, and advocating for environmental protection worldwide.
• It was founded in 1972 as an outcome of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm Conference, 1972), the first major global conference on environmental issues.
• It unites 193 Member States to find solutions to climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste, collectively known as the triple planetary crisis.
• UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) is UNEP’s highest decision-making body, and it convenes every two years.
• UNEP releases key assessments such as the Emissions Gap Report, Global Environment Outlook, and Adaptation Gap Report.
• It is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.

About the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) 

• It is the seventh session of the world’s highest-level decision-making body on environmental issues.
  • The first such session was held in 2014 in Nairobi, Kenya.
• The overarching theme for UNEA-7 is "Advancing sustainable solutions for a resilient planet".

Source:
UNEP Org
PIB
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