Minister Šarović at the first universal session of the Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum, held in Nairobi, Kenya

The first universal session of the Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 18-22 February 2013. This event had two plenary sessions – on the first and last day - and round tables, during which different issues were discussed particularly important for functioning of the UNEP, green economy as a tool for sustainable development, the role of ministries in future work of the Steering Committee, as well as other issues in the light of the final document from Rio de Janeiro in June 2012 – “The Future We Want“ (Rio + 20), the Decision of the General Assembly of the UN of December 21st, 2012.

A BiH Delegation led by Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina participated in this event. Mr. Senad Oprašić, Head of MoFTER's Department of Environmental Protection was also part of the BiH delegation, which had several meetings with UNEP representatives as hosts of this global event.




                                                         Ministar Šarović and Mr. Achim Steiner
Before the official start of the Conference, Minister Šarović met with Mr. Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, seated in Nairobi. Minister Šarović expressed his thankfulness to the UNEP for all the activities they implemented globally in the process of sustainable development from the very beginning, the overall support provided by the UNEP to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and he particularly stressed the importance of participation of a large number of delegations that had worked in preparation of documents necessary for the work of the conference.

Minister Šarović wished Mr. Steiner success in achieving the objectives of the conference, and expressed his desire for eradication of poverty through green economy as much as possible. Mr. Steiner thanked for the joint activities of UNEP and the representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and expressed his hope that the cooperation would be as successful and fruitful in the future.




Ministar Šarović with Jan Dušik, UNEP Executive Director for Europe
Ministar Šarović also had a meeting with Mr. Jan Dušik, UNEP Executive Director for Europe, seated in Geneva. They exchanged their views on current programs being implemented in Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose implementation agency is the UNEP. They both expressed satisfaction with the project implementation thus far, with the work of the UNEP Vienna office and project office in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and they expressed support for future activities related to green economy procedures and future joint activities.




Ministar Šarović with Maria Luisa Silva Mejias, UNEP/MAP Executive Secretary and Coordinator 
In addition to these two meetings, Minister met with Maria Luisa Silva Mejias, UNEP/MAP Executive Secretary and Coordinator, based in Athens, at her request. She expressed her satisfaction with the meeting she had had with Minister Šarovic in Sarajevo in October last year and thanked for information she received from Minister Šarović related to the ratification of the remaining protocols of the Barcelona Convention. She also thanked for the support Bosnia and Herzegovina expressed for the project aimed at protection of the Adriatic Sea through an ecosystem approach, soon to be accepted by the GEF Council and its implementation started. She urged the minister to take part in the meeting to be held in late December this year in Izmir, where the implementation status of ratification of the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols would be reviewed.

During his stay, Minister Šarović also met with the Minster of Environment and Nature Protection of the Republic of Croatia, Mr. Mihael Zmajlović, with whom he discussed the regional cooperation and current issues related to the two countries.

The conference was followed by numerous activities and meetings of various non-governmental organizations, who presented their views regarding the future status and role of the UNEP. There were also talks about the name of the future organization that will carry out the objectives of the document "The Future We Want," and the names the "World" or "Global" Assembly prevailed, while the USA suggested the name the UNEP Assembly. Thus, the EU, Norway and Peru urged ministers to play an active role in decision-making in the new reformed GC.

The event was completed by a presentation of the GC Chairman Presidential statement which was adopted by acclamation.