United Nations Environment Programme

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Community service - volunteers picking up garbage in a park during a spring cleanup. Environmentalism

A Timeline of Environmental History

Majestic sequoias in Sequoia National Park. (trees; sunlight; forest; conifers; sequoia tree)

Saving the World’s Largest Trees

September 11, 2005, ozone thinning over antarctica reached its maximum extent for the year.

Is the Ozone Layer Finally Healing Itself?

A large school of mano (sharks) called Galapagos sharks at Maro Reef in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. Galapagos shark (Carcharhinus galapagensis)a worldwide species of requiem shark, family Carcharhinidae.

Saving Sharks in the 2020s

Bald eagle in flight.

What Makes a Species Endangered?

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Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. Engraving by Cosomo Colombini (d. 1812) after a Leonardo self portrait. Ca. 1500.

10 Famous Artworks by Leonardo da Vinci

Rainbow flag. Sign of diversity, inclusiveness, hope, yearning. Gay pride flag popularized by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker in 1978. Inspired by Judy Garland singing Over the Rainbow. gay rights, homosexual, gays, LGBT community

13 LGBTQ Writers You Should Read

Lake Mead (the impounded Colorado River) at the Hoover Dam. The light-coloured band of rock above the shoreline shows the decrease in water level in the first few years of the 21st century.

6 Lakes That Are Drying Up

Normandy Invasion: Omaha Beach. World War II. D-Day. Infographic. SPOTLIGHT VERSION

Facts and Figures About the Landings on Omaha Beach During the Normandy Invasion on June 6, 1944

airplane in flight (plane, aircraft, flying)

7 Puzzling Plane Disappearances

Cleopatra hieroglyphic carving the Ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra. Wall of the Temple of Horus at Edfu, Egypt.

What Did Cleopatra Look Like?

Car with a pickle design in the Zagreb Red Bull Soapbox Race, Zagreb, Croatia, September 14, 2019. (games, races, sports)

10 Unusual Sports

United Nations Environment Programme: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: May 23, 2025

News •

UNEP encourages Jamaica to ratify Cartagena Convention SPAW Protocol • May 22, 2025, 12:07 PM ET (Trinidad Guardian)

Facts

Also Known As	UNEP
Date	1972 - present
Areas Of Involvement	conservation

Topics

European Union United Nations North Atlantic Treaty Organization OPEC Commonwealth World Health Organization League of Nations World Trade Organization United Nations Security Council ASEAN