Asia Environmental Enforcement Award

News: Indian Forest Service(IFS) officer Ramesh Pandey has been selected for the prestigious Asia Environmental Enforcement Award by the United Nations Environment Programme.

Facts:

About Asia Environmental Enforcement Awards:

• The Asia Environment Enforcement Awards publicly recognize and celebrate excellence in enforcement by government officials and institutions combating transboundary environmental crime in Asia.
• The 2019 Awards will be given in five categories which are (a) Collaboration (b) Impact (c) Innovation (d) Integrity and (e) gender leadership. 
• There will also be a separate category for Africa-Asia cooperation in the area of illegal trade in wildlife.
• The Awards will be presented by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in partnership with UNDP, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime(UNODC), INTERPOL, USAID, Freeland Foundation and the Government of Sweden.

Additional information:

About UNEP:

• The United Nations Environment Programme was founded by the UN General Assembly as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm Conference) in June 1972.
• UNEP sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system.

About UNDP:

• The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s global development network.
• UNDP was established in 1965 by the General Assembly of the United Nations.It is headquartered in New York,US.
• It provides expert advice, training and grants support to developing countries, with increasing emphasis on assistance to the least developed countries.

About Interpol:

• Interpol is the shorter and better known name of the International Criminal Police Organization.It is a network comprising 192 member nations including India.
• The agency was established in 1923.It is headquartered at Lyon,France.
• The Interpol basically connects police across the world even if these individual member nations do not have diplomatic relations.
• The Interpol facilitates information exchange, knowledge sharing and research between nations.

About UNODC:

• UNODC was established in 1997 through a merger between the United Nations Drug Control Programme and the Centre for International Crime Prevention.
• UNODC is a global leader in the fight against illicit drugs and international crime.It relies on voluntary contributions, mainly from Governments, for 90% of its budget.
• UNODC is mandated to assist Member States in their struggle against illicit drugs, crime and terrorism.