Following is the text of the press release:

UNITED NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM

December 10, 2001

UNEP Looks To 2002 With Renewed Vigor And Optimism Following The Successes Of 2001 And The Awarding To The United Nations Of The Nobel Peace Prize

The coming year will be one of great challenges with important events including the International Year of Eco Tourism, the International Year of the Mountains and the crucial World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) among key issues on the United Nations Environment Program's busy agenda.

Nairobi, 10 December 2001 - Klaus Toepfer, speaking at a press conference, said: "We are no strangers to controversy and many environmental issues can be characterized by strongly felt, polarized views. 2002 will be no different. Eco tourism, for example, can rouse strong passions on both sides. Meanwhile there are many differing opinions on how to deliver a successful outcome from the WSSD in Johannesburg. Here countries, non-governmental organizations and industry will come together to chart a new course for the environment, for poverty alleviation and for sustainable development".

"The United Nations, and UNEP as one of its key institutions, has many roles and one of these is consensus building among seemingly opposed groups. We have achieved many successes in 2001 and I am sure we can add to this in the coming year. Indeed the need to build agreements, understanding and solidarity is arguably even more vital in this new millennium as globalization of trade brings huge opportunities but also huge threats to nations, communities and cultures, "said Mr Toepfer.

Looking back over 2001, he highlighted several key events and agreements which have furthered UNEP's goal of securing a cleaner, healthier and less polluted world.

Just last week, UNEP assisted African ministers in drafting a new and visionary declaration on water which will feed into the WSSD. The ministers, attending the International Conference on Freshwater in Bonn, Germany, have put sanitation and reducing deaths from sewage-contaminated water at the center of their strategy.

Around 6,000 people a day, mainly children, die as a result of poor sanitation, this is the equivalent of a quarter of the population of a big city such as London, annually.

The organization was also active in Doha, Qatar, at the World Trade Organization talks in November.

For the first time, trade ministers from over 140 countries have firmly accepted that globalization of trade and the reduction of trade barriers must take into account environmental issues and the development needs of some of the world's poorer countries.

Ministers also took some first, critical steps towards reducing or phasing out so-called "perverse subsidies" in areas such as fisheries. Subsidies mounting to $15 billion a year distort trade, contribute to the decline and in some cases the collapse of fish stocks, and cause broader impacts on the marine environment.

Throughout the second half of the year, UNEP has organized regional preparatory meetings in the run up to the WSSD which will take place ten years after the Rio Earth Summit of 1992. The regional meetings have played a key role in crystallizing the views of governments, civil society, industry and other groups as they prepare for next year's summit, Mr Toepfer said.

Meanwhile in May, nations signed the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. The convention is expected to lead to the phase out of the so-called "Dirty Dozen", chemicals such as Polychlorinated Biphenols (PCBs) which are linked to a range of impacts on humans and wildlife.

"There have been other notable successes in which UNEP has played its part. The successful climate change talks in Bonn, followed up in Marrakech, offer new hope for the planet and for developing countries, on continents like Africa, in particular," said Mr Toepfer.

"Industrialized nations have committed themselves to reduce emissions by 2010 by just over five per cent. A variety of mechanisms and funds were also established which will allow industrialized nations to offset emissions at home by planting trees and developing clean and renewable energy projects in the developing world. It is a new beginning and I call on nations to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, which is at the center of the new agreements, before the WSSD which is scheduled for September, 2002," he said.

Mr Toepfer said that UNEP had also launched a range of new initiatives which it will be taking forward in the coming year. The Great Apes Survival Project or GRASP is aimed at rescuing human kinds closest relatives from the brink of extinction. Almost $1.5 million has been raised by UNEP and its collaborators, which include key ape wildlife charities, such as Conservation International, the Born Free Foundation and the Ape Alliance.

Missions are under way to ape, range states, where experts are evaluating the plight of chimpanzee, bonobo, orangutan and gorilla populations, while working with governments and local communities to devise ape protection and eco tourism projects aimed at saving apes and giving local people livelihoods.

One of UNEP's key roles is early warning and assessment. This year we held the first General Assembly of the Global International Waters Assessment (GIWA) where the plight of the Black Sea was highlighted.

It is just one of 66 oceans, seas and water bodies being assessed so that action plans can be drawn up to address environmental and economic degradation.

UNEP is also part of an unprecedented, scientific, assessment of the world's wildlife habitats under the banner of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment project.

In May 2002, the organization will publish the third of its groundbreaking Global Environment Outlook reports, which will give governments attending the WSSD a clear picture of the state of the world's environment and a range of likely scenarios for the coming decades.

The International Coral Reef Action Network, launched in March and with $10 million from the United Nations Foundation, is developing strategies to conserve and promote sustainable management of reefs around the world.

Mr Toepfer said that today was an historic moment for the United Nations: "Today Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the United Nations, is being presented with the Nobel Peace Prize. We at UNEP are proud to be associated with this as the environment was mentioned as one of the reasons why the UN has been awarded this outstanding prize. It also recognizes that, in this complicated and sometimes difficult world, the UN has never been more relevant and crucial for delivering peace and stability".

For full details of UNEP's activities during 2001 please see the Media Room on its web site, www.unep.org