| dc.description | The Stockholm+50 meeting, which is scheduled
to take place from 2-3 June 2022 in Stockholm,
Sweden, will commemorate the 1972 UN
Conference on the Human Environment and
celebrate 50 years of global environmental
action. As part of the preparatory process for
Stockholm+50, a series of five regional multistakeholder
consultations is taking place to
ensure inclusivity and participation of regional
stakeholders. These consultations aim to
provide an opportunity for stakeholders to,
among other things, review and assess how the
global environment can be supported to help
countries and regions attain the 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), focusing on capacity
building and on innovative and enhanced means
of implementation.
The West Asia Regional Multi-stakeholder
Consultation took place from 11-12 May 2022.
Participants highlighted issues of concern to the
region, particularly relating to waste reduction
and management, water resources management,
sustainable agriculture, and poverty eradication.
They also made a variety of proposals on actions
that should be taken to address the region’s
challenges, with many emphasizing the need
to enact and enforce laws relating to waste
management and the protection of rights, and
the need for behavioral change to implement a
circular economy model. They called for engaging
civil society organizations (CSOs), women,
and youth in relevant actions.
The regional consultation was organized by UNEP
and GO4SDGs (Global opportunities for SDGs).
Opening Remarks
Abdul-Majeid Haddad, Deputy Regional Director,
UN Environment Programme (UNEP) RegionalOffice for West Asia, moderated the session.
Åsa Hjelt, Counsellor, Deputy Head of Mission,
Embassy of Sweden in Lebanon and Syria, said
everyone must get involved in environmental
protection if we want to succeed, underlining
that “we don’t have another 50 years to get our
act together.” She noted the global response to
the COVID-19 pandemic has shown what can be
achieved through cooperation, and stressed that
the environmental crisis is “no less severe” than
COVID-19. | en_US |
