United Nations Organizations
1. INTERGOVERNMENTAL OCEANOGRAPHIC COMMISSION
See the description of the IOC home page (entry number one) provided under the "ICM Web Site Partners" category.
2. FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION (FAO)
The Food and Agriculture Organization was founded in October 1945 with a mandate to raise levels of nutrition and standards of living, to improve agricultural productivity, and to better the condition of rural populations. This site provides background information about the FAO as well as links to the organization's statistical databases. This site contains information about FAO programs and activities in the following areas: agriculture, economics, fisheries, forestry, nutrition, sustainable development, partnership programs, and technical cooperation. Links are provided to the FAO legal office and FAO regional offices. The FAO site also provides information about employment opportunities, publications, and documentation services as well as an events calendar and links to other UN sites.
3. UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME (UNEP)
UNEP's mission is to provide leadership and encourage partnerships in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and people to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. This site provides background about UNEP as well as extensive information about environmental issues and UNEP's products and services. UNEP's site allows visitors to search for information by both region and issue. The site also provides access to information regarding environmental legal instruments, an environmental calendar and events, and environmental links. Links to other UN organizations are also provided.
4. UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (UNDP)
UNDP's mission is to help countries in their efforts to achieve sustainable human development by assisting them to build their capacity to design and carry out development programs in poverty eradication, employment creation and sustainable livelihoods, the empowerment of women and the protection and regeneration of the environment, giving first priority to poverty eradication. This site provides background about UNEP, and focus areas include an informational overview on poverty, environment, gender, and governance. This site provides links to UNEP's country office information, program activities, and sustainable development networking program. UNEP news, publications, statistics, and information about the UN system is also available at this site.
5. SIOCAM - THE STRATEGIC INITIATIVE FOR OCEAN AND COASTAL MANAGEMENT
The United Nations Development Program's Strategic Initiative for Ocean and Coastal Management is aimed at enhancing the capabilities of existing and future ocean and coastal management projects through the systematic identification, documentation, and sharing of best practices and lessons learned. Relevant to those interested in ocean and coastal management projects around the world, this site describes SIOCAM's objectives as well as how each objective will be achieved. Additionally, the site provides a description of and status report for each of SIOCAM's international projects.