World Environment Day 2014
Jun 5, 2014
As people around the globe today commemorate World Environment Day, which focuses this year on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and their particular vulnerability to the effects of climate change, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is renewing its call for a fresh approach to environmental protection, one which recognizes the intricate and deep connection between protecting the environment and human development.
Against this backdrop, UNDP is working to move away from a climate change discourse focused on trade-offs between economic growth, poverty and environment, to one that looks at how to advance these three strands of sustainable development together. To this end UNDP is working with countries to put in place climate change risk management systems, including adaptation and mitigation measures that contribute to their development agenda.
“Environmental protection is sometimes seen as an obstacle to economic growth,” says Magdy Martínez-Solimán, Deputy Assistant Administrator of UNDP’s Bureau for Development Policy. “But economic growth that strips out the planet’s ecosystems is not sustainable. Advancing human development and protecting the planet’s ecosystems must be approached as two sides of the same coin.”
UNDP is supporting a wide range of projects in these vulnerable nations that seek to achieve the “triple win” of sustainable growth, poverty alleviation and environmental protection.
This page features stories of some of this work in Small Island Developing States as well as other regions and habitats around the world.
Our work

Protecting drinking water from drought and sea level rise
Dwindling water supplies aggravated by climate change led the Marshall Islands to work on increasing the availability and quality of potable water. More

20,000 mangroves strong
Planting roots, securing a more resilient future in Mauritius. See our photo essay.More

Adapting to climate change
Women adapting to climate change - India. See our photo essay.More

Blog: 'Walking the talk’ towards sustainable energy for all
In line with what we preach, our office pursues a clean energy path.More