FACTBOX - Steiner Becomes Head of UN Environment Group
Date: 16-Jun-06
Country: UNITED NATIONS
* Founded in 1972, UNEP has about 600 employees. About half of them work at UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.
* UNEP says its 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 monitors global environmental trends and helps work out international agreements.
* It also oversees international treaties, for instance on banning dangerous chemicals, protecting the ozone layer or restricting trade in endangered species.
* Steiner, 45, was head of the World Conservation Union, comprising governments and environmental groups, from 2001.
* He succeeds Germany's Klaus Toepfer, who retired after leading UNEP for more than eight years.