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.