Friday, December 16, 2005

Tunisia and the Kyoto protocol.

"The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992, was the largest gathering of world leaders that has ever taken place. More than 178 governments adopted Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and the Statement of Principles for the Sustainable Management of Forests. Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the United Nations system, governments, and major groups in every area in which humans impact on the environment." Tunisia adopted Agenda 21 later on in 1993. This set the basis for actual Tunisian environmental strategies. The national implementation of Agenda 21 policies and recommendations is based on submitting a report on all environmental activities that are taking place in the country. Tunisia joined afterwards the Kyoto protocol in 2002. The main decision was to implement a 10-year strategic plan (2002-2012) in accordance with its national Agenda 21. Different agencies and institutions were and are working together to reach Kyoto’s targets and objectives. One of the main schemes that will be used by Tunisia to partially fulfill its environmental obligations is the CDM mechanism (Clean Development Mechanism).