15 November 2010: The Committee on Environmental Policy of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) met for its seventeenth session in Geneva, Switzerland, from 2-5 November 2010, to advance the preparations for the seventh “Environment for Europe” Ministerial Conference, scheduled from 21-23 September 2011 in Astana, Kazakhstan, with two themes: “Sustainable management of water and water-related ecosystems” and “Greening the economy: mainstreaming the environment into economic development.”

The Committee agreed that three multi-stakeholder round-table discussions will take place during the Conference, namely on: priorities and challenges in adapting management of water to extreme weather events and climate change; ways to encourage investors to take into account the impacts on water quality and quantity, energy and resource efficiency, and vulnerable populations; and policies for enabling a green, inclusive, and competitive economy through an integrated approach, as well as approaches to resource efficiency, research, innovation and investment to help the transition towards a green economy. The outcomes of the round-table debates will be considered at the end of the Conference and will feed into the chair’s summary of the Conference. The Conference outcomes will include a two-page ministerial declaration focused on follow-up and further actions required for sustainable water management and greening the economy in the region. [UNECE press release] [Documents of the seventeenth session of the Committee on Environmental Policy] [Astana Ministerial Conference website]