UNITED NATIONS

The Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) held a series of meetings at the UN Environment Programme headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, from March 14-19, 1997. The panel comprising experts from all over the world, reviewed the scientific and technical options for the transport sector with a view to finding a method to curb greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.

The panel also held a meeting of the Lake Victoria Environ-mental Management Programme involving Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The project is aimed at rehabilitation of the ecosystem of Lake Victoria for the benefit of the economies of respective countries and the people who live in the lake's catchment area.

The UN Development Programme has initiated a GEF project in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to assess the feasibility of developing commuter buses powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Hydrogen fuel cells do not emit greenhouse gases, which cause global climate change, or spew pollutants, which affect air quality. Air pollution has been soaring in Sao Paulo largely due to emissions from cars and buses. The project will culminate in the preparation of a GEF proposal for commercialisation of fuel-cell buses in Sao Paulo.