Dr. Klaus Toepfer to visit Dublin
Senior UN Environment official to sign new Trust Fund Agreement for 1 million with Ireland Aid
Dr. Klaus Toepfer, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), will visit Dublin on 31 January. During his visit, he will sign an agreement with Ireland Aid to set up a dedicated Trust Fund which will be used to support UNEP's important environmental work. The signing ceremony will take place in Ireland Aid's new offices in Bishop's Square at 12.00 on 31 January. The signing ceremony will be attended Minister for the Environment, Mr. Noel Dempsey TD.
Ireland Aid will provide 1 million for the Trust Fund, which will be used to help Ireland Aid's priority countries in Africa. Dr. Toepfer will also meet with the Minister for the Environment, Mr. Noel Dempsey TD, during his visit to Dublin.
Dr. Toepfer, who is a former German Environment Minister, was appointed by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to head UNEP in 1998. Dr Toepfer is a key figure in the preparations for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, which will take place in Johannesburg in September 2002. The Johannesburg Summit will review progress ten years on from the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, and will bring together Heads of State and Government, national delegates and leaders from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), businesses and other major groups. The summit will focus the world's attention and direct action toward meeting urgent environmental challenges, including the conservation of natural resources in a world that is growing in population, with ever-increasing demands for food, water, shelter, sanitation, energy, health services and economic security.
Note to editors
The signing ceremony for the new UNEP Trust Fund, funded by Ireland Aid, will take place in Ireland Aid's new offices in Bishop's Square at 12.00 on 31 January. The agreement will be signed by Dr. Toepfer for UNEP and Assistant Secretary David Donoghue on behalf of Ireland Aid. UNEP key areas of work include environmental monitoring and assessment, early warning of environmental changes, environmental conventions covering such areas as climate change, biodiversity and climate change, as well as environmental support to Africa. UNEP's Headquarters is in Nairobi, Kenya.
