The Governing Council Adopts the following statement: 1. We, the ministers and heads of delegation of the United Nations Environment Programme Global Ministerial Environment Forum, met in Nairobi from 20 to 22 February 2012 for the twelfth special session of the Global Ministerial Environment Forum, celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations Environment Programme in 1972. 2. We congratulate the United Nations Environment Programme on its successes and effective undertakings, in addition to the progress that has been achieved over the past 40 years, including the establishment of important multilateral environmental agreements, the development of environmental laws and policies, the findings of key scientific assessments and the stronger awareness of environmental issues at all levels. 3. We recall our commitment to strengthening the role of the United Nations Environment Programme as the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, that promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimensions of sustainable development within the United Nations system and that serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment, as set out in the 1997 Nairobi Declaration on the Role and Mandate of the United Nations Environment Programme. 4. We recognize that we depend on natural systems and resources for our existence and, the successes of the United Nations Environment Programme notwithstanding, we are deeply concerned about continued environmental degradation, which poses a threat to the natural systems and resources on which we depend. 5. We recognize the summary for policymakers of the fifth Global Environment Outlook assessment report as an important synthesis of scientific information on environment for policymakers and decision-makers about freshwater, biodiversity, climate change, land, chemicals and wastes, energy and oceans and seas. 6. We will therefore continue to strengthen our actions to reverse environmental degradation, to promote a holistic approach to sustainable development and to contribute to the conservation of the essential natural resources and ecosystems on which our economies and societies depend. 7. We welcome the upcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in June 2012 as a unique opportunity to tackle economic, social and environmental challenges in the context of sustainable development and we commit ourselves to making the Conference a success.