July 2009: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is coordinating multiple partners under a four-year multi-million euro capacity enhancement programme for implementation of Multilateral Environment Agreements (MEAs) in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. The European Commission (EC) ACP MEAs Programme is funded by the EU and aims to support and strengthen three existing regional institutions with environmental mandates to assist ACP countries in implementing their obligations under environmental agreements.

The African Union Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, will house the African Hub of the EC ACP MEAs Programme. The Caribbean Hub will be hosted by the Caribbean Community Secretariat, and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme will host the Pacific Hub.
Programme activities will be centered around the three regional hubs, with the aim of increasing national capacity. The Programme will include: training for negotiation and lobbying skills; project design and management; harmonized and streamlined national reporting to MEAs; and improved information management.
The three regional hubs will be supplemented by UN agencies and convention secretariats. UNEP is coordinating and facilitating the work of four partner institutions: the UNEP Risoe Centre on Energy Climate and Sustainable Development; the Global Mechanism of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD); the Secretariat of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM); and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The UNEP Risoe Centre will build capacity of African countries, in particular, to access Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) funds, and will also run climate change activities in the Caribbean and the Pacific. [UNEP EC ACP MEAs newsletter][MEAs in ACP Countries]