Notes:
About UNEP
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the voice for the environment in the UN system. Established in 1972, UNEP’s mission is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. UNEP is an advocate, educator, catalyst and facilitator promoting the wise use of the planet’s natural assets for sustainable development.
It works with many partners, UN entities, international organizations, national governments, non-governmental organizations, business, industry, the media and civil society. UNEP’s work involves providing support for: environmental assessment and reporting; legal and institutional strengthening and environmental policy development; sustainable use and management of natural resources; integration of economic development and environmental protection; and promoting public participation in environmental management.
About EPO
The European Patent Office (EPO) supports innovation for the benefit of Europe’s citizens. The mission of the EPO is to support innovation, competitiveness and economic growth for the benefit of the citizens of Europe. Its task is to grant European patents for inventions on the basis of a centralized procedure for the contracting states to the European Patent Convention (EPC), which was signed in Munich on 5 October 1973 and entered into force on 7 October 1977.
The EPO is the executive arm of the European Patent Organization, an inter-governmental body set up under the EPC, whose members are the EPC contracting states. The activities of the Office are supervised by the Organization’s Administrative Council, which is composed of the delegates from the contracting states. The EPO has its headquarters in Munich, a branch at The Hague and offices in Berlin and Vienna. With its workforce of nearly 7,000 staff, the EPO is one of the largest European institutions.
About ICTSD
Founded in Geneva in September 1996, the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) aims to influence the international trade system such that it advances the goal of sustainable development. As an independent, non-profit, and non-governmental organization, ICTSD engages a broad range of actors in ongoing dialogue on trade and sustainable development policy. In advancing its mission, the Centre has become a leading broker of knowledge and information on trade policy and sustainable development.
With a global network of governmental, non-governmental, and inter-governmental partners, ICTSD plays a unique, systemic role as a provider of original, non-partisan reporting and facilitation services. ICTSD advances trade policy that supports sustainable development by structuring interaction between policy-makers and key influencers who are often excluded from policymaking processes. ICTSD helps parties better understand the technical and political contexts that underlie their interests and the interests of those with whom they interact on policy issues. In this way, ICTSD builds bridges between groups with seemingly disparate agendas, enabling them to identify and progress on issues where their interests and priorities coincide.
Source: UNEP Press Release dated September 30, 2010.
