Marine Pollution Control8631 West Jefferson Avenue
Detroit, MI 48209 USA
313.849.2333 - 24/hour
11320 E Lakewood Blvd., #11
Holland, MI 49424
800-521-8232 – 24/Hour
GSA Contract #: GS-10F-0268R
Need help using GSA? Click here.
U.N. enlists legal help to crack down on environmental crime
June 23, 2014
The United Nations will seek ways to toughen environmental laws this week to crack down on everything from illegal trade in wildlife to mercury poisoning and hazardous waste.
The U.N. Environment Assembly (UNEA), a new forum of all nations including environment ministers, business leaders and civil society, will meet in Nairobi from June 23-27 to work on ways to promote greener economic growth.
That drive includes giving environmental laws more teeth.
"We often have environmental legislation that is well intentioned but is not effective," Achim Steiner, head of the U.N. Environment Programme which will host the talks, told Reuters in a telephone interview.
Many countries sign up for environmental treaties but are often slow to ratify and fail to enforce them in domestic laws, on issues ranging from protecting animals and plants from extinction to outlawing dangerous chemicals or regulating hazardous waste.