Civil Society statement from European Regional Preparatory Meeting for the UNEP 7th Global Civil Society Forum

Introduction. UNEP was among the first entities of the United Nations system to see the potential in cooperating with civil society. As UNEP found its founding platform during the Stockholm Conference in Sweden in 1972, civil society was present and provided the new and emerging UN unit slated to work on the environment with much of its novelty and infused it at the same time with considerable enthusiasm and energy. UNEP at its twenty-second session of the Governing Council/ Global Ministerial Environment Forum, discussing a strategy on how to cooperate with civil society stated that: “The objectives of this strategy can therefore be stated as follows: • For UNEP: To seek greater collaboration with civil society in the fulfilment of its mandate to respond to global environmental concerns. • For civil society: To effectively network with other groups, build internal capacity through raising awareness of UNEP's activities at national, regional and international levels.” The representatives from civil society at this the European Regional Preparatory Meeting for the UNEP 7th Global Civil Society Forum are pleased to respond to this challenge with the following statement outlining their concerns as seen from their regional perspective: