Lake Faguibine ecosystem rehabilitation project (UNEP, Norway, UEMOA), Mali
- 1 million US dollars were budgeted in my name. When it was measured, no benefit to me was found. United Nations Environment Programme
- My flooded surface area fell from about 1 000 km2 in the late 19th century to some 90 km2 in 2010, according to a peer-reviewed study. African Journal of Aquatic Science 41(1): 109-117 (Hamerlynck, Moulaye Zeine, Mutua, Mukhwana, Yéna)
- UN News wrote in 2008 that I had been almost totally dry since the 1970s. UN News
- UNEP wrote in 2017 that after the efforts begun in 2009 there seemed to be no recovery in the 2016 image. UN Environment, Science Division
- Trees planted in a government reforestation programme of the 1980s spread over about 30 per cent of my former area, according to UNEP. UN Environment, Science Division
- International bodies UNEP (2016): Droughts in the 1970s, sand filling the channels, climate change, and upstream large-scale irrigation and hydropower use combined to deprive the lake of water. UNEP - UN Environment Programme
- International bodies UN Environment Foresight Brief (2017): The Sélingué dam has reduced the water flooding the Inner Niger Delta; the Fomi Dam and planned irrigation schemes are expected to reduce it further. UN Environment, Science Division
- Government and regulators Direction Nationale de l'Hydraulique et de l'Energie (Mali), studies of 1987 and 1995, as reported by Groupe URD: Rejected a role for the Sélingué and Markala dams in the fall in Niger flows; a further study was under way at the time of the URD report. Groupe URD for the Agence Française de Développement
- Communities and civil society Populations of the Faguibine, as reported by Groupe URD: The Markala and Sélingué dams are often blamed by residents. Groupe URD for the Agence Française de Développement
- Researchers Hamerlynck et al. (2016): A phase shift around the year 2000 was probably a delayed consequence of the 1970s drought compounded by the collapse of societal controls on water use during civil conflict. African Journal of Aquatic Science 41(1): 109-117 (Hamerlynck, Moulaye Zeine, Mutua, Mukhwana, Yéna)
- Government and regulators Tidiani Ascofare, Government of Mali restoration lead (2009), as quoted by UNEP: Farmed land around the lake would rise from 100 hectares in 2006 to more than 20,000 hectares in 2009. UNEP - UN Environment Programme
- International bodies World Food Programme (14 December 2009): The lake, "which three years ago was dry and surrounded by advancing desert, has again become an area of fertile land around a system of lakes offering water for pastoralists and a plentiful supply of fish". World Food Programme (via ReliefWeb)
- International bodies UN Environment Foresight Brief (August 2017): "there seems to be no recovery as can be seen in the 2016 image". UN Environment, Science Division
- Communities and civil society ICRC (28 September 2021): Describes a cracked lake bed; a farmer says the little water reaching the pond serves only to grow enough to survive. International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC Newsroom)
- International bodies UN News (2008) and UNEP (2016): Almost totally dry since the 1970s; droughts of the 1970s dried the lakes over seven years. UN News
- International bodies NASA Earth Observatory (2008): A drop in precipitation steadily dried the lake from the late 1980s. NASA Earth Observatory
- Researchers Groupe URD (2020): Complete drying of the lake in 1983; dry years of 1910, 1924, 1941, 1974 and since 1983. Groupe URD for the Agence Française de Développement
- International bodies UN Environment Foresight Brief (2017): The lake dried completely in 1914, 1924 and 1944 (citing Pérez, Fernández and Gatti, 2010). UN Environment, Science Division
In 2008 UNEP began a project, at the request of the Government of Mali, to rehabilitate the Lake Faguibine ecosystem near Timbuktu and re-flood about 600 square kilometres. The project's cost is stated as USD 1 million (UNEP fact sheet, Norway as donor), more than USD 12 million (2008), USD 15 million (UNEP, 2017) and about USD 40 million for a reformulated version; activities were halted by insecurity in 2011, and UNEP's 2017 brief reports no recovery of the lake in its 2016 image.
Hamerlynck and colleagues (African Journal of Aquatic Science, 2016) give about 1 000 km2 in the late 19th century and some 90 km2 in 2010; NASA gives roughly 590 km2 for the lake in 1974. No later measured flooded area was found in the sources reviewed.
Status As of the latest source reviewed (UNEP Foresight Brief, August 2017): second-phase activities begun in 2011 were halted by insecurity, a reformulated project was reported in 2016, and the lake showed no recovery in the 2016 image; no later UNEP document was found.
- UNEP and project partners — Implemented the project; a project budget of USD 1 million with Norway as donor is stated in the fact sheet United Nations Environment Programme
- Local beneficiaries of the food-for-work programme — WFP supplied food to people clearing the channels in 2009 World Food Programme (via ReliefWeb)
- Farmers, herders and fishers around the lake — UNEP estimates that the livelihoods of up to 200,000 people were affected by the drying UN Environment, Science Division
- Lake Faguibine system — Flooded area fell from about 1 000 km2 in the late 19th century to some 90 km2 in 2010; no recovery seen in the 2016 image according to UNEP African Journal of Aquatic Science 41(1): 109-117 (Hamerlynck, Moulaye Zeine, Mutua, Mukhwana, Yéna)
What happened
The Faguibine system is a series of five interlinked lakes (Télé, Takara, Gouber, Kamango and Faguibine) in the Tombouctou region of northern Mali, fed by overflows of the Niger. UNEP's 2017 Foresight Brief gave a full-lake area of approximately 590 km2 and a shoreline of 213 kilometres (citing Lakepedia); NASA Earth Observatory wrote in August 2008 that the lake covered roughly 590 square kilometres in 1974 and that "Starting in the late 1980s, a drop in precipitation steadily dried the lake". Hamerlynck and colleagues reported that the flooded surface area fell from about 1 000 km2 in the late 19th century to some 90 km2 in 2010, with flood extent depending on the height of the Niger flood peak at Diré. UN News wrote in October 2008 that the lake "has been almost totally dry since the 1970s". UNEP's brief estimated that the livelihoods of up to 200,000 people were affected, citing a 2010 IUCN publication, and said the annual floods once supported fishing, pasture and over 60,000 ha of agriculture, citing IRIN News (2008). A 2011 economic evaluation, cited by Hamerlynck and colleagues, found net income of US$100 000 per year per flooded km2.
The sources give different causes. UNEP wrote in 2016 that droughts in the 1970s dried the lakes, that sand then filled the channels linking them to the Niger, that climate change had brought erratic rainfall and the southward advance of the Sahara, and that "Upstream, people use the water for large-scale irrigation and to produce hydropower". UNEP's 2017 brief added that the Sélingué dam "has already reduced the amount of water flooding the Inner Niger Delta" and that further declines were expected once the Fomi Dam in Guinea and two planned upstream irrigation schemes were built. A study by Groupe URD for the French Development Agency (AFD) reported that Mali's national hydraulics directorate had rejected, in studies of 1987 and 1995, any role for the Sélingué and Markala dams in the fall in Niger flows, and that no study had evaluated the real impact of upstream pumping. Hamerlynck and colleagues attributed a phase shift around the year 2000 to a delayed consequence of the 1970s drought compounded by a collapse of societal controls on water use during civil conflict.
In June 2008 the Government of Mali asked the United Nations system for support in rehabilitating the system; a UNEP pre-identification mission took place in August 2008 (Groupe URD's account of UNEP's intervention). UN News reported on 6 October 2008 that UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner had spotlighted the lake at the World Conservation Congress in Barcelona, that the rehabilitation was "expected to cost more than $12 million" and that "Several donor countries have signalled interest in taking the work forward in cooperation with Mali, UNEP and other partners". UNEP's project fact sheet, undated and read from a December 2009 archive capture, gave the duration as 2008 to 2015, the donor as the Government of Norway and the budget as USD 1 million. Its stated objectives were to restore the ecosystem functioning of the lake, to raise awareness on preventing conflicts between farmers and livestock keepers and to strengthen Mali's capacity for a national policy dialogue on water; its main activities included quantifying the potential of the lake's ecosystem services and dredging over two million cubic metres of sand blocking the feeder channels. UNEP's 2017 brief described a "US $15 million Lake Faguibine ecosystem restoration project" launched by UN Environment and other development partners in 2009.
UNEP's 2016 story reported that retired Col. Tidiani Ascofare, who led the government's restoration effort, said in a 2009 interview that only 100 hectares around the lake were farmed in 2006 and that the figure would be more than 20,000 hectares in 2009, and that the World Food Programme had reported in December 2009 on a UNEP-supported food-for-work programme which opened the channels "for a while at least". The brief said that in 2011 UN Environment and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) started a second phase but halted activities because of insecurity. UNEP's 2016 story said the project had faced challenges "mainly due to the difficult security situation since 2011" and that, "with additional funding from the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) of $5.23 million", UNEP was reviving it; the reformulated project, "around $40 million when fully funded", was to form part of a broader UN-led programme addressing infrastructure and socio-economic interventions, with UNEP's component on the health and productivity of the lake's ecosystems.
The brief of August 2017 carried four satellite panels labelled 1994-1978, 1987, 2001 and 2016 and the caption "After rehabilitation efforts initiated in 2009, there seems to be no recovery as can be seen in the 2016 image." It also noted that a reforestation programme of the 1980s had left high-density forest covering about 30 per cent of the former lake area, and named restoration of the lake ecosystem as the best option for the communities. Later accounts describe the area as dry or mostly dry: the Groupe URD study (fieldwork November 2019 to February 2020) reported that recent water levels allowed only occasional flooding of the south-east of the lake and that a flood in 2019 reached land long used for grazing, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) described in September 2021 a lake bed of cracked earth, buried houses and a closed school. No UNEP evaluation of the project and no UNEP document after August 2017 were found in the sources reviewed.
- 1974NASA Earth Observatory: the lake covered roughly 590 square kilometres (Landsat images of January 1974 and December 1978)
- 1983Groupe URD: complete drying of the lake; since then Niger inflows have remained too weak to refill it
- 1986Norway-financed programme via the UN Sudano-Sahelian Office begins channel and fixation works (to 1990), as listed by Groupe URD
- 2008June: Government of Mali asks the UN system for support; August: UNEP pre-identification mission; 6 October: UN News reports an expected cost of more than $12 million
- 2009Project launched (UNEP's 2017 brief: a US $15 million project); December: WFP reports on a UNEP-supported food-for-work programme; retired Col. Ascofare says 20,000 hectares will be farmed in 2009 against 100 in 2006
- 2010Flooded surface area of the system about 90 km2 (Hamerlynck et al., 2016)
- 2011UNEP and UEMOA start the second phase; activities halted because of insecurity
- 2016UNEP story (28 June): UEMOA additional funding of $5.23 million and a reformulated project of around $40 million when fully funded; satellite image of 2016 shows no recovery according to UNEP's 2017 brief
- 2017UN Environment Foresight Brief "Saving Lake Faguibine" (August) reports no recovery in the 2016 image
- 2021ICRC (28 September) describes cracked ground where the lake was, buried houses and a closed school at Bintagoungou
What was said
“invest and re-invest in the 'soft' infrastructure too”
“I am an orphan of this dead lake because I lived and flourished by the lake when it was a wonderful place for fishermen and farmers and pastoralists.”
“In 2006, only 100 hectares of land around the lake was farmed. This year [2009] it will be more than 20,000 hectares.”
“Implementation of the project has faced challenges mainly due to the difficult security situation since 2011.”
“After rehabilitation efforts initiated in 2009, there seems to be no recovery as can be seen in the 2016 image.”
“Toute cette zone était remplie d'eau.”
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
Budget USD 1 million; donor Government of Norway.
United Nations Environment ProgrammeThe rehabilitation was "expected to cost more than $12 million"; several donor countries had signalled interest.
UN NewsIn 2009 UN Environment and other development partners launched the "US $15 million Lake Faguibine ecosystem restoration project".
UN Environment, Science DivisionThe reformulated project was "around $40 million when fully funded", with additional UEMOA funding of $5.23 million.
UNEP - UN Environment ProgrammeDroughts in the 1970s, sand filling the channels, climate change, and upstream large-scale irrigation and hydropower use combined to deprive the lake of water.
UNEP - UN Environment ProgrammeThe Sélingué dam has reduced the water flooding the Inner Niger Delta; the Fomi Dam and planned irrigation schemes are expected to reduce it further.
UN Environment, Science DivisionRejected a role for the Sélingué and Markala dams in the fall in Niger flows; a further study was under way at the time of the URD report.
Groupe URD for the Agence Française de DéveloppementThe Markala and Sélingué dams are often blamed by residents.
Groupe URD for the Agence Française de DéveloppementA phase shift around the year 2000 was probably a delayed consequence of the 1970s drought compounded by the collapse of societal controls on water use during civil conflict.
African Journal of Aquatic Science 41(1): 109-117 (Hamerlynck, Moulaye Zeine, Mutua, Mukhwana, Yéna)Farmed land around the lake would rise from 100 hectares in 2006 to more than 20,000 hectares in 2009.
UNEP - UN Environment ProgrammeThe lake, "which three years ago was dry and surrounded by advancing desert, has again become an area of fertile land around a system of lakes offering water for pastoralists and a plentiful supply of fish".
World Food Programme (via ReliefWeb)"there seems to be no recovery as can be seen in the 2016 image".
UN Environment, Science DivisionDescribes a cracked lake bed; a farmer says the little water reaching the pond serves only to grow enough to survive.
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC Newsroom)Almost totally dry since the 1970s; droughts of the 1970s dried the lakes over seven years.
UN NewsA drop in precipitation steadily dried the lake from the late 1980s.
NASA Earth ObservatoryComplete drying of the lake in 1983; dry years of 1910, 1924, 1941, 1974 and since 1983.
Groupe URD for the Agence Française de DéveloppementThe lake dried completely in 1914, 1924 and 1944 (citing Pérez, Fernández and Gatti, 2010).
UN Environment, Science DivisionHow it looked
Shown
- The project presented as able to re-flood the lake's 600 square kilometres and bring "Improved livelihoods of about 200,000 mainly nomadic people living in the area", a lifeline for thousands of migratory water birds, more drinking water and water transport benefits.UNEP, story "Benefits galore if Mali's Lake Faguibine system were revived" · UNEP - UN Environment Programme
- The project presented as one that "puts human well-being at it's pivot" and would restore ecosystem services for fishery, biodiversity, recession agriculture and eco-tourism.UNEP, project fact sheet · United Nations Environment Programme
- The Faguibine rehabilitation presented as a follow-on from UNEP's rehabilitation of the Iraqi Marshlands.UN News and UNEP · UN News
Recorded
- Flooded surface area about 1 000 km2 in the late 19th century and about 90 km2 in 2010; a peer-reviewed satellite analysis indicated a possible phase shift around the year 2000.
- UNEP's 2017 brief states that there "seems to be no recovery" of the lake in the 2016 image after the efforts initiated in 2009.
- Activities of the second phase begun in 2011 with UEMOA were halted because of insecurity; UNEP reported in 2016 a reformulation with additional funding of $5.23 million.
- Four different cost or budget figures appear for the project: USD 1 million (fact sheet), more than $12 million (2008), US $15 million (2017) and around $40 million when fully funded (reformulated).
- No UNEP evaluation of the project and no measurement of flooded area attributable to it appear in the sources reviewed.
In nature's name
Promised
- “It aimed to re-flood the lake's 600 square kilometres in order to restore its vital ecosystems” — UNEP (28 June 2016) UNEP - UN Environment Programme
- “Restore the ecosystems functioning of Lake Faguibine, which was decimated by prolonged drought compounded by poor catchment management” — UNEP, project fact sheet (stated objective) (2009) United Nations Environment Programme
- “Improved livelihoods of about 200,000 mainly nomadic people living in the area” — UNEP (expected output) (28 June 2016) UNEP - UN Environment Programme
Money moved in nature's name
| What | Kind | Amount | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project budget stated in UNEP's project fact sheet (donor: Government of Norway), 2008–2015 (as stated on the fact sheet; other sources state larger project figures) Government of Norway (donor); UNEP United Nations Environment Programme | Budget | $1m | 2008–2015 |
| Expected cost of the Lake Faguibine rehabilitation reported by UN News (expected cost, with donors not named) UNEP (estimate) UN News | Budget | > $12m | 2008 |
| Lake Faguibine ecosystem restoration project launched in 2009 (as stated in UN Environment's 2017 brief; funders not stated) UN Environment and other development partners UN Environment, Science Division | Budget | $15m | 2009 |
| Additional funding from the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) (as reported by UNEP in 2016; amount spent not stated) West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) UNEP - UN Environment Programme | Raised | $5.23m | 2016 |
| Reformulated project integrated into a broader UN-led programme (when fully funded) UNEP and UN partners UNEP - UN Environment Programme | Budget | $40m | 2016 |
Benefit to nature: what was measured
The only look at the lake after the efforts begun in 2009 in the sources reviewed is UNEP's own reading of a 2016 satellite image ("there seems to be no recovery"), which is the operator's observation and not an independent measurement. Independent descriptions from 2019 to 2021 (Groupe URD for AFD; ICRC) report occasional flooding of the south-east of the lake and a cracked, dry lake bed, none of them a measurement of the project's effect. The 2009 statement of 20,000 hectares farmed comes from the government's restoration lead as quoted by UNEP and is not an independent measurement.
Operation Suspended · Second-phase activities begun in 2011 were halted because of insecurity (UNEP, 2017); UNEP said in 2016 it was reviving the project in a reformulated form; no later status was found. UN Environment, Science Division
Findings on record
- Own admission UN Environment, Foresight Brief (2017-08) · Saving Lake Faguibine - Foresight Brief, Figure 1 caption: “After rehabilitation efforts initiated in 2009, there seems to be no recovery as can be seen in the 2016 image.” UN Environment, Science Division
- Own admission UNEP (2016-06-28) · Benefits galore if Mali's Lake Faguibine system were revived: “Implementation of the project has faced challenges mainly due to the difficult security situation since 2011.” UNEP - UN Environment Programme
- Peer-reviewed study Hamerlynck et al., African Journal of Aquatic Science (2016-03-24) · Reflooding the Faguibine floodplain system, northern Mali: potential benefits and challenges: “the flooded surface area declined from about 1 000 km2 in the late 19th century to only some 90 km2 in 2010” African Journal of Aquatic Science 41(1): 109-117 (Hamerlynck, Moulaye Zeine, Mutua, Mukhwana, Yéna)
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- UNEP (28 June 2016; August 2017): Said in 2016 that implementation had faced challenges mainly due to the security situation since 2011, that it was reviving the project with additional UEMOA funding of $5.23 million, and in 2017 that there seemed to be no recovery in the 2016 image. · UNEP - UN Environment Programme
- Government of Mali (2016): According to UNEP, the government said the security situation could be greatly alleviated if the lake's ecosystem were restored and development projects implemented in the region. · UNEP - UN Environment Programme
- Government of Norway: No statement of its own is recorded in the sources reviewed; named as donor in UNEP's fact sheet.
- West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA): No statement of its own is recorded in the sources reviewed; UNEP reports its additional funding of $5.23 million and its role in the 2011 second phase.
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
Accounts
- Disputed Cost and size of the project
Record
- Disputed Disputed: the project's cost. UNEP's fact sheet gives USD 1 million with the Government of Norway as donor; UN News (2008) gave more than $12 million as the expected cost of the rehabilitation; UNEP's 2017 brief gave US $15 million; UNEP's 2016 story gave around $40 million for the reformulated project when fully funded. The sources do not reconcile the figures.
- Disputed Disputed: when the lake dried. UN News and UNEP say almost totally dry since the 1970s; NASA says a decline from the late 1980s; Groupe URD gives complete drying in 1983.
- None on record None on record: an evaluation of the project by UNEP or by an independent body; the sources reviewed contain none.
- None on record None on record: how much of UEMOA's $5.23 million was spent, or the funders of the remaining part of the reformulated project's around $40 million.
- None on record Not stated: whether the project launched in 2009 with US $15 million (UNEP, 2017) is the same operation as the first-phase restoration support project run by Mali's Office pour la Mise en Valeur du Système Faguibine with Norwegian funding from 2011.
- Not measured Not measured: the flooded area of the system after 2010. The only post-2009 look at the lake in the sources reviewed is UNEP's reading of a 2016 image, and UNEP is the project's implementer.
- Insufficient Insufficient: the cause of the drying. No study has evaluated the impact of upstream pumping on Niger flows (Groupe URD), and the national hydraulics directorate's studies of 1987 and 1995 rejected a role for the Sélingué and Markala dams while UNEP's 2017 brief states that the Sélingué dam has reduced flooding of the Inner Niger Delta.
Did the harm stop?
The sources reviewed do not report that the drying has stopped: UNEP's 2017 brief reports no recovery of the lake in its 2016 image, and the ICRC described cracked ground, buried houses and a closed school at the former lake in September 2021.
Who paid?
UNEP's fact sheet names the Government of Norway as donor with a budget of USD 1 million. UEMOA is recorded as providing additional funding of $5.23 million (2016). The other figures (more than $12 million, US $15 million, around $40 million when fully funded) are costs or project sizes stated without a breakdown by funder.
Sources
Government and regulators
- Drying of Lake Faguibine, Mali (Image of the Day)NASA Earth Observatory · 2008-08-10
- Rapport final: Evaluation finale de la 1ère phase du Projet d'Appui à la Restauration du Système Faguibine (PARF) (archived copy of 16 April 2021)Office pour la Mise en Valeur du Système Faguibine (OMVF), Ministère de l'Agriculture, Mali; hosted by the UNDP Evaluation Resource Centre · 2016-07
Communities and civil society
- Lac Faguibine: un territoire au coeur de dynamiques complexes (rapport d'étude, version finale; study period November 2019 to February 2020, publication date not stated)Groupe URD for the Agence Française de Développement · 2020
- Changement climatique au Mali: le désert engloutit le lac Faguibine, la population poussée à l'exodeInternational Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC Newsroom) · 2021-09-28
Researchers
- Reflooding the Faguibine floodplain system, northern Mali: potential benefits and challenges (abstract page)African Journal of Aquatic Science 41(1): 109-117 (Hamerlynck, Moulaye Zeine, Mutua, Mukhwana, Yéna) · 2016-03-24
International bodies
- Benefits galore if Mali's Lake Faguibine system were revivedUNEP - UN Environment Programme · 2016-06-28
- Rehabilitating Lake Faguibine Ecosystem: Project Fact Sheet (undated; archive capture of 22 December 2009)United Nations Environment Programme · 2009-12-22
- Saving Lake Faguibine - Foresight BriefUN Environment, Science Division · 2017-08
- Bringing 'Garden of Eden' to Africa under UN-sponsored nature restorationUN News · 2008-10-06
- Mali: Restoring lake in desert, farmers keep hunger awayWorld Food Programme (via ReliefWeb) · 2009-12-14
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- Office pour la Mise en Valeur du Système Faguibine (OMVF) (Public authority) — here: Malian office created in 2006 to maintain the Faguibine channels; national partner listed in UNEP's fact sheet; there: Created by law in 2006; executing body of the PARF and manager of the OMVF fund
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- UN Development Programme (International organisation) — here: Listed as an external partner in UNEP's fact sheet; there: GEF agency implementing the project
- Great Green Wall: USD 19bn tracked, USD 2.5bn disbursed by March 2023, and a restored area reported at between 1.66 and almost 18 million hectares Sahel (11 countries) · 2007–2026
- World Food Programme (WFP) (International organisation) — here: Supplied food for work to local people clearing the channels; listed as a partner in UNEP's fact sheet; there: Pledged close to USD 300 million; reports 325,350+ ha rehabilitated 2021-2025
- Half-Earth and 30x30 advocacy funding (Wyss Campaign for Nature) Global · 2016–2026
- UN Environment Programme (International organisation) — here: Implementing agency of the Lake Faguibine ecosystem rehabilitation project from 2008; there: Co-author of the Protected Planet Report 2024
- Hamoun wetlands, Helmand water and the EU/UNDP restoration project Iran · 1973–2025
- UN Development Programme (International organisation) — here: Listed as an external partner in UNEP's fact sheet; there: Implementer of the EU-funded project
- Iran's 2026 war-damage estimate of about USD 270bn and its calls for compensation and environmental accountability Iran · 2026
- UN Environment Programme (International organisation) — here: Implementing agency of the Lake Faguibine ecosystem rehabilitation project from 2008; there: Statement of 13 March 2026 on smoke from burning oil
- Kazakhstan's funding for Caspian level research and the Japan-funded UNDP monitoring initiative (2025–2026) Kazakhstan · 2025–2026
- UN Development Programme (International organisation) — here: Listed as an external partner in UNEP's fact sheet; there: Implements the UNDP-Japan initiative
- Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni Nine; Wiwa v Shell Nigeria · 1958–2026
- UN Environment Programme (International organisation) — here: Implementing agency of the Lake Faguibine ecosystem rehabilitation project from 2008; there: Author of the 2011 Ogoniland assessment
- Kerch Strait storm, November 2007: Volgoneft 139 fuel-oil spill and sulphur-ship sinkings Russia · 2007–2018
- UN Environment Programme (International organisation) — here: Implementing agency of the Lake Faguibine ecosystem rehabilitation project from 2008; there: Post-disaster needs assessment with the European Commission
- Lake Urmia decline and the Urmia Lake Restoration Program Iran · 1995–2026
- UN Development Programme (International organisation) — here: Listed as an external partner in UNEP's fact sheet; there: Implemented the Japanese-funded phases
- Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex: Barrick–Mali dispute, provisional administration and settlement Mali · 2023–2026
- Government of Mali (Government) — here: Requested the UN system's support in June 2008; partner in the project through the Office pour la Mise en Valeur du Système Faguibine; there: 20% owner; claimant in tax and mining-code dispute; party to the settlement
- Mali gold mine closures handed to the state: Yatela, Morila and Sadiola closure money Mali · 2019–2025
- Government of Mali (Government) — here: Requested the UN system's support in June 2008; partner in the project through the Office pour la Mise en Valeur du Système Faguibine; there: Buyer of Yatela; created the closure fund; took over Yatela and Morila
- Malibya concession in the Office du Niger and the Inner Niger Delta water balance Mali · 2008–2019
- Government of Mali (Government) — here: Requested the UN system's support in June 2008; partner in the project through the Office pour la Mise en Valeur du Système Faguibine; there: Party to the 2008 convention; granted the land and water rights
- Messok Dja ecoguard abuses (Republic of Congo) Republic of Congo · 2008–2020
- UN Development Programme (International organisation) — here: Listed as an external partner in UNEP's fact sheet; there: Implementing agency of GEF project 9159; investigator (SECU0009)
- Methane super-emitters in Turkmenistan's oil and gas fields Turkmenistan · 2017–2026
- UN Environment Programme (International organisation) — here: Implementing agency of the Lake Faguibine ecosystem rehabilitation project from 2008; there: MARS alerts; confirmed 8 stopped leaks
- Mongolia's 2009 ban on mining at river headwaters and in forests: licence cancellations, compensation duty, 2015 amendment and artisanal gold-mining programmes Mongolia · 2009–2025
- UN Environment Programme (International organisation) — here: Implementing agency of the Lake Faguibine ecosystem rehabilitation project from 2008; there: planetGOLD Mongolia
- Mongolia's dzud winters and degraded pasture: emergency funding for herders Mongolia · 2010–2024
- UN Development Programme (International organisation) — here: Listed as an external partner in UNEP's fact sheet; there: Carcass removal and income generation, 2010
- Namibia landed thousands of tonnes of pilchard as bycatch under moratorium Namibia · 1994–2024
- Government of Norway (Government) — here: Named donor in UNEP's project fact sheet (budget USD 1 million); there: Ran a 2024 independent biomass study
- Net Zero Banking Alliance exits and closure International · 2023–2026
- UN Environment Programme (International organisation) — here: Implementing agency of the Lake Faguibine ecosystem rehabilitation project from 2008; there: UN body whose statement on the 2023 insurer exits was reported
- Net-Zero Insurance Alliance collapse and insurers’ fossil underwriting Global · 2021–2025
- UN Environment Programme (International organisation) — here: Implementing agency of the Lake Faguibine ecosystem rehabilitation project from 2008; there: Convener of NZIA
- Nornickel Sulphur Programme: SO2 targets, spending and measured emissions at Norilsk and Kola Russia · 2015–2026
- Government of Norway (Government) — here: Named donor in UNEP's project fact sheet (budget USD 1 million); there: Reported to have granted NOK 300 million in the early 1990s to reduce Nikel emissions
- Norway postpones deep-sea mining licensing to 2029 in budget deal Norway · 2025–2029
- Government of Norway (Government) — here: Named donor in UNEP's project fact sheet (budget USD 1 million); there: Government that postponed the licensing
- Norway–Indonesia REDD+ partnership: the 2010 Letter of Intent, payments made and Indonesia's 2021 termination Indonesia · 2010–2022
- Government of Norway (Government) — here: Named donor in UNEP's project fact sheet (budget USD 1 million); there: Donor under the 2010 Letter of Intent; agreed the NOK 530 million payment
- Ogoniland and Bodo spills clean-up (SPDC, HYPREP) Nigeria · 1958–2026
- UN Environment Programme (International organisation) — here: Implementing agency of the Lake Faguibine ecosystem rehabilitation project from 2008; there: Author of the 2011 assessment and fund proposal
- Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation conservationists: arrests, a death in custody and prison sentences, 2018–2024 Iran · 2018–2024
- UN Environment Programme (International organisation) — here: Implementing agency of the Lake Faguibine ecosystem rehabilitation project from 2008; there: Employer of Niloufar Bayani as a consultant; called for clemency
- Pillay panel finds no proof WWF directed ranger abuses it supported Democratic Republic of the Congo · 2006–2020
- UN Development Programme (International organisation) — here: Listed as an external partner in UNEP's fact sheet; there: UN agency; draft investigation of Messok Dja
- Plant-for-the-Planet: 13.6 billion trees Germany / Global · 2011–2024
- UN Environment Programme (International organisation) — here: Implementing agency of the Lake Faguibine ecosystem rehabilitation project from 2008; there: Original owner of the tree campaign
- Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics: environmental pledges and the Mzymta valley Russia · 2007–2018
- UN Environment Programme (International organisation) — here: Implementing agency of the Lake Faguibine ecosystem rehabilitation project from 2008; there: Expert missions, declaration of commitments, advisory role
- Socio Bosque programme, Ecuador: payments for forest conservation since 2008 Ecuador · 2008–2026
- UN Development Programme (International organisation) — here: Listed as an external partner in UNEP's fact sheet; there: Prepared the 2018 Environmental and Social Assessment for the Green Climate Fund proposal
- Strikes on Tehran fuel depots, March 2026: smoke, black rain and Iran's "ecocide" claim Iran · 2025–2026
- UN Environment Programme (International organisation) — here: Implementing agency of the Lake Faguibine ecosystem rehabilitation project from 2008; there: Statement of 13 March 2026 on inhaled smoke
- Tehran Convention, its protocols and the Caspian states' declarations on the water level decline (2003–2025) Caspian Sea (Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan) · 2003–2025
- UN Environment Programme (International organisation) — here: Implementing agency of the Lake Faguibine ecosystem rehabilitation project from 2008; there: Administers the Secretariat (UNEP/ROE, Geneva)
- Tropical Forest Forever Facility Brazil · 2025
- Government of Norway (Government) — here: Named donor in UNEP's project fact sheet (budget USD 1 million); there: Pledged about 3 billion dollars (part conditional)
- UN plastics treaty negotiations (INC-5, Geneva, Nairobi, Bangkok) Switzerland · 2024–2026
- UN Environment Programme (International organisation) — here: Implementing agency of the Lake Faguibine ecosystem rehabilitation project from 2008; there: Convenes the negotiations; issued the announcement of the new chair
- UNEP estimate: about 2,000 tons of depleted uranium used in Iraq Iraq · date not stated
- UN Environment Programme (International organisation) — here: Implementing agency of the Lake Faguibine ecosystem rehabilitation project from 2008; there: Estimated the quantity of uranium used (about 2,000 tons)
- Venezuela 2026 twin earthquakes insurance gap Venezuela · 2026
- UN Development Programme (International organisation) — here: Listed as an external partner in UNEP's fact sheet; there: Source of the $6.7 billion damage estimate
- Venezuela tree cover loss, 2001–2024, and international forest finance Venezuela · 2001–2024
- UN Development Programme (International organisation) — here: Listed as an external partner in UNEP's fact sheet; there: Agency for GEF projects 3609 and 3865 and GCF readiness
- Wadi El Ku catchment project, North Darfur Sudan · 2013–2026
- UN Environment Programme (International organisation) — here: Implementing agency of the Lake Faguibine ecosystem rehabilitation project from 2008; there: Implementer
- WWF-funded ranger units accused of torture and killings in Asia and Africa Multiple countries · 2006–2023
- UN Development Programme (International organisation) — here: Listed as an external partner in UNEP's fact sheet; there: Investigation into the Messok Dja park programme (leaked draft)
- Zagros oak forests: the UNDP/GEF Central Zagros project, its evaluation and the fires of 2024–2026 Iran · 2005–2026
- UN Development Programme (International organisation) — here: Listed as an external partner in UNEP's fact sheet; there: Implementing agency of the Central Zagros project