Resources naturelles, eau et énergie

Ce troisième rapport sur l’application de la Convention sur la protection et l’utilisation des cours d’eau transfrontières et des lacs internationaux (Convention sur l’eau) a été établi par le secrétariat de la Convention conformément à la décision VIII/1 de la Réunion des Parties à la Convention.

Worldwide, 313 river basins that cross international borders have been identified, and 468 transboundary aquifers. The Arab region is home to 27 transboundary river and lake basins and 43 transboundary aquifers.

The adoption of TA and TF globally is rising, but they have diffused most widely among developed countries. Within countries with a tradition of using these tools, their use has been institutionalized, with diverse institutional models in place for using TF and TA.

TA and TF are not cheap or easy tools, but they are nevertheless increasingly critical tools for all countries to harness the benefits of emerging technologies and mitigate the risks they create. These tools should be diffused as widely as possible across the globe.

This report examines the roles of Technology Assessment (TA) and Technology Foresight (TF) in contributing to policymaking for sustainable development. It outlines various ways in which the two approaches contribute to immediate and short-term political decisions (traditionally these were especially the role of TA) and longer-term strategic policies, where TF has typically played a more prominent role.

The United Nations Statistics Division’s (UNSD) mission in the area of energy statistics is to strengthen national statistical systems in order to provide high quality energy statistics and balances. UNSD collects annual and monthly energy statistics and disseminates them on flagships data publications: The Energy Statistical Yearbook, the Energy Balances, the Electricity Profiles, and the Energy Statistics Pocketbook.

Extractive industries have immense potential to drive growth, support sustainable development, and reduce poverty in developing countries. Yet, the actual contribution of extractive industries to sustainable development in countries rich in raw materials has often been mired by financial, economic, governance, social and environmental concerns. The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has caused an extraordinary socioeconomic worldwide crisis, resulting a contraction of world GDP, and the first increase in extreme poverty since 1998. The purpose of this policy brief is to capitalize on the opportunity provided by COVID-19 to build back better by identifying concrete recommendations for transforming the extractives sector into an engine for sustainable development, which can support a just transition to a netzero, circular, and inclusive global economy.

Institutions and regulators could consider investing in requisite resources and building capacities in deploying sandboxes and experiments, with the medium- and long-term aims to advance agile, responsive and resilient approaches in adopting new technologies and in preparing for the future of digital government and sustainable development.

According to UNDP estimates from the early days of the energy crisis in Moldova, 71 percent of households were in the most vulnerable energy category, spending 90 percent or more of their available income—after the minimum expenditure—on energy and heating during the cold period. Highly dependent on energy imports, the country risked tripling its population living in poverty from 11 to 35 percent. In the context of a compounded crisis and the war in Ukraine, the Moldovan Government, in close collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), developed an innovative and targeted on-bill energy compensation mechanism, the first of its kind in Moldova, the Energy Vulnerability Reduction Fund (EVRF). The aim of EVRF is to create an inclusive solution that minimizes the negative impacts of the sharp increase in energy prices on energy-vulnerable and income-poor households, therefore safeguarding social cohesion. At the same time, in the longer term, the EVRF aims to incentivize the transition towards sustainable energy sources and to achieve higher levels of energy efficiency in the residential sector. This paper presents the main outcomes of the UNDP support for the establishment and implementation of a robust EVRF, along with an impact assessment and lessons learned that are applicable to other country contexts.

In recent years, the Government of Costa Rica has recognized the importance of promoting gender equality and women empowerment in the conservation and sustainable use of forests. Costa Rica recognizes that promoting gender equality implies not only mentioning the issue as a priority or as a principle, but also prioritizing the identification of relevant gender inequalities and proposing concrete actions to address them. This brief examines how the Government of Costa Rica, with support from UNDP, is addressing prevalent gender gaps, empowering women in the environmental sector, and comprehensively integrating gender into environmental policies, governance and finance. This, in turn, has resulted in an innovative and gender-responsive offer of environmental incentives in the country that are scaling up results at an influential level, simultaneously increasing women’s economic empowerment, promoting sustainable use of forests and combating climate change.

Building on the second Arab Multidimensional Poverty Report (2023), this policy brief offers a critical update on the state of multidimensional poverty in selected Arab countries. Drawing on recent survey data from three Arab middle-income countries, Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia, and three least developed countries (LDCs), Comoros, Mauritania, and Yemen, the brief highlights nuanced and often persistent challenges. The brief reveals that while some progress has been made in certain areas, multidimensional poverty in several Arab countries, particularly LDCs, has remained alarmingly high or seen only marginal reductions over the past decade. It underscores an urgent need for policymakers to intensify efforts in key areas such as education, essential public services, and basic living conditions. This brief provides critical, data-driven insights for stakeholders to address the complex and varying challenges of multidimensional poverty, advocating for targeted interventions and sustained efforts to foster equitable development across the Arab region.

يتناول موجز السياسات هذا الواقع المتبدّل للوظائف الخضراء في المنطقة العربية، مستنداً إلى بيانات آنية مستخرجة من مرصد مهارات الإسكوا لتحديد الاتجاهات والفجوات والفرص. وعلى الرغم من الزخم العالمي، لا تمثل الوظائف الخضراء سوى 5.06 في المائة من مجموع إعلانات الوظائف على الإنترنت في المنطقة العربية حتى عام 2024، وقد سُجِّلت أعلى نسب منها في اقتصادات كبرى مثل المملكة العربية السعودية وعُمان وقطر. ويتناول هذا الموجز قطاع النفط والغاز بمزيدٍ من التفصيل لتقييم مدى تحوّله نحو الاستدامة. وتُظْهِرُ النتائج أن 23 في المائة من الوظائف ضمن هذا القطاع باتت تُصنَّف على أنها وظائف خضراء، مما يُشير إلى بوادر أولية للتحوّل الأخضر في أحد أكثر القطاعات كثافة في الانبعاثات الكربونية في المنطقة. ومع ذلك، تبقى الفجوة قائمة بين المهن التي تتّسم بمواءمة عالية مع التحوّل الأخضر وتلك التي تسجِّل طلباً مرتفعاً. وثمّة حاجة إلى سياسات تعزِّز الاستثمار الأخضر، وتدمج مبادئ الاستدامة في أنظمة التعليم والقوى العاملة، وتعزِّز أنظمة معلومات سوق العمل، في سبيل توجيه التحوّل الأخضر العادل والشامل.