Director and Regional Representative, Regional Office for Europe, United Nations Environment Programme
Environmental Governance
Disaster and Conflicts
Partnerships for Action
Introduction to UNEP and role in the region
Jan Dusik
Director and Regional Representative, Regional Office for Europe,
Climate Change
Resource efficiency
Chemicals and Waste
Environment Under Review
Environmental Governance
Ecosystems Management
Disasters and Conflicts
Partnerships for Action
Helping countries achieve the SDGs
UNEPinEUROPE
UN Environment for the region
The pan-European region extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific, to the Central Asian plains and the Mediterranean Sea to the Arctic Ocean, and comprises 54 countries. The region is boundlessly diverse culturally and environmentally, rich in natural resources, and highly varied, which presents significant challenges as well as important benefits. While the region is home to some of the wealthiest nations of the world, others continue to experience extreme poverty and environmental degradation. As a result, environmental policies across the region vary greatly.
54 countries in the pan-European region
Western and Central Europe (WCE)
covering EU-27, the European Free Trade Association countries, and other WCE countries (mainly microstates like Andorra or San Marino);
Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA)
South Eastern Europe (SEE)
including Western Balkans, Turkey and Israel.
The region also presents some important priority issues to be addressed. More than 100 million people in the pan-European region still do not have access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation and some 18,000 children die every year of waterborne diseases. The quality of water supply and sanitation services has deteriorated continuously over the past years in South Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia. One-third of the pan-European population lives in countries where water resources are under substantial pressure. The Black Sea has a catchment area covering 2.0 million square km and is inhabited by 160 million people. Seventy percent of Europe’s river basins are transboundary. The Danube river basin, for example, irrigates 18 countries. In such a context, international and regional cooperation for effective ecosystems management is broadly acknowledged as an imperative.
