Environment and Sustainable Development - United Nations ...

ights, international cooperation and development,
leadership, biodiversity, sustainable development,
fisheries, food technology, geothermal energy, remote
sensing and software technology. UNU also helps young
researchers to upgrade their academic qualifications
through Ph.D. internships, particularly at universities in
developing countries; Master’s and Ph.D. programmes;
and postdoctoral fellowships.
Knowledge Networks
The concept of networking is integral to UNU’s research
and capacity-development activities. To complement its
own network of Research and Training Centres and
Programmes, UNU reaches out to partners in international
academia that have similar objectives to UNU – not only
through partnerships with universities around the world,
but also through such networks as the Academic Council
on the United Nations System, International Association of
Universities, International Association of University
Presidents and International Council for Science. UNU
could aptly be described as being a “network of networks.”
The effectiveness of UNU’s networking approaches has
been greatly enhanced by adoption of new information and
communications technologies. Under the leadership of the
Tokyo Campus Computing Centre, IT capabilities and
services are being enhanced within UN House Tokyo and
incrementally expanded throughout the UNU system.
Prominent among UNU networking activities in 2002
were initiatives undertaken by the Food and Nutrition
Programme in partnership with the International Union of
Nutritional Sciences or one of the University’s sister UN
agencies. These were (a) the launch of the Global Capacity
Development Initiative, (b) formation of a technical
advisory group to assess the safety and appropriateness of
foods distributed by the World Food Programme, (c) a
review of harmonized approaches for setting nutrientbased
dietary standards, and (d) assessment of the
feasibility of developing international growth standards for
pre-adolescent school-age children.
Network-oriented projects focusing on integrated land
management in dry areas, sustainable development of
freshwater resources and sustainable mountain
development were active in 2002, as were efforts by
UNU/BIOLAC’s Regional Network on Biosafety. New
networking initiatives during the year included
UNU/CRIS’s leadership in inaugurating a series of
networks focusing on regional integration, and
UNU/INRA’s support for the formation and launch of the
West Africa Network of Natural Products Scientists.
Links with the UN System
To better tap knowledge, analyses and expertise from
around the world, each year UNU and the UN Office in
Geneva jointly organize the Geneva Research and Policy
Dialogue. The Dialogue is meant to provide practical and
pertinent inputs for policy development and
implementation across programmes and departments. This
year, presentations were organized within issue clusters
including globalization, democratization, conflict
prevention, inequality and non-traditional security – all
drawn from the Secretary-General’s recent reform
proposal.
UNU holds a number of policy panels (in New York,
Geneva, Paris and other UN locations) designed to bring
the findings of UNU work directly to policy makers in the
UN system. In 2002, panels were convened on education
and capacity development; environmental governance,
group behavior and development; financial flows and
development in Latin America; and governing
globalization.
In 2002, UNU collaborated with more than 30 UN
system organizations in implementing its activities. Among
new agreements that UNU signed with other UN agencies
were an Agreement with the Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre
for UNESCO on international educational exchange of
teachers and professionals; a Memorandum of
Understanding with UNEP and the Government of Norway
for setup and implementation of the Global Virtual
University; and a Memorandum of Understanding with the
Regional Office for Japan and Republic of Korea of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
regarding hosting and maintenance of a UNHCR Japanese
website.
Dissemination
In all, the work of the University led to the publication of
20 new books in 2002, seven of which were published by
UNU Press. UNU Press actively promoted the work of the
University at panels and book fairs around the world, as
well as at the World Summit for Sustainable Development
in Johannesburg.
A new series of 15-, 30- and 60-second public service
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