The UNEP Governing Council adopted the Bali Guidelines in 2010 as a tool to assist countries in filling gaps in national and sub-national legislation in order to facilitate broad access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters. In 2012 UNEP and UNITAR joined hands to promote the Bali Guidelines, including through a project to develop a Guide to the Guidelines implemented by the World Resource Institute (WRI). Drafted with assistance from a global Advisory Group, the Guide is intended to be a practical tool for the use of governments, major groups and

With over 1,200 environmental courts and tribunals now operating worldwide at the national and state/provincial level, this guide shares concise, practical advice and best practices to make them more effective, updating the 2009 “Greening Justice” report by the University of Denver Environmental Courts and Tribunals Study and published by World Resources Institute.

How are these important functions of parliaments being reshaped in the post-2015 era of sustainable development? How can legislators and parliamentarians do their part to ensure that the SDGs and other post-2015 commitments are achieved by 2030 and beyond? The overarching purpose of this Guide is to provide formative answers to these questions that are practically useful in the daily work of legislators and legislative officials around the world.

Enforcement of Chemicals Control Legislation including: How to efficiently enforce legislation; Core concepts of enforcement; Methods for inspections

This guidance document, published in 2015, is known as the LIRA Guidance (Legal and Institutional infrastructures for the sound management of chemicals and measures for Recovering costs of national Administrations). It aims to provide practical support to policy makers for strengthening national legislation and institutional set-ups for achieving sound management of chemicals. It includes proposals for measures for financing necessary administration activities in this regard.

Integrated water resource management (IWRM) incorporating an ecosystem approach is a key building block for achieving the water, sanitation and human settlement targets of the Millennium Development Goals. It is evident that there are inseparable and indisputable links between the protection and sustainable use of the natural environment, especially water resources, and the provision of environmentally sound sanitation services, the improvement of human settlements, public health and poverty reduction. This brings into focus the need for conservation and efficient use of available freshwater

This Guidebook, which is based on the outcome of a UNEP pilot project that was carried out in three South East Asian countries in 2009-2010 - Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam - is intended to serve as a tool to help decision-makers and legal drafters to incorporate measures for adapting to the adverse impacts of climate change into their national sustainable development policies, plans and programmes by creating the necessary legal, regulatory and institutional framework for such action.

In order to catalyze and to accelerate action in terms of implementing Principle 10, governments adopted the Guidelines for the Development of National Legislation on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters at the 11th Special Session of UNEP Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environmental Forum in Bali, Indonesia. These Guidelines though voluntary, demonstrate a willingness by Governments to more thoroughly engage the public at all levels to protect and manage the environment and related resources.

This paper provides an overview of current thinking and the experience of countries in using legal frameworks to implement the Convention on Biological Diversity at the national level through National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans and provides options for enhancing legal preparedness in revising and implementing the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans and the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 and achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

In order to follow and facilitate the HFC phase-down schedules contained in the Kigali Amendment, the Parties, including both developed and developing countries, will have to implement certain measures. This booklet contains a recommended set of legislative and policy options which the developing (Article 5) countries may wish to consider for implementation. It is intended to be a guide/tool for countries

Far too much of the 300 million tonnes of plastic produced every year finds its way into our oceans, food chains and ecosystems, damaging our health in the process. Well-designed laws can help reverse this global trend. This report provides an overview of legislation that countries have implemented to tackle marine litter, focusing in particular on upstream solutions.

UN Environment, in cooperation with World Health Organization, United States Environment Protection Agency and other partners, has developed a model law and guidance in order to assist countries in establishing and implementing regulation on lead paint.