A/HRC/31/53 coherence and cooperation at the national and regional levels. It covers six countries: the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Kenya, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea and Viet Nam. 9 Multilateral environmental agreements 39. A number of participants stressed the importance of mainstreaming a human rights perspective in multilateral environmental agreements. One way to do this is to include, where appropriate, a reference to human rights in the text of an agreement itself. Even without such references, however, the implementation of environmental agreements can do a great deal to protect human rights by improving the environment on which they depend. To that end, a useful step (which could also be taken by Governments and other international bodies) is the collection of disaggregated data on the effects on vulnerable groups of the environmental harm addressed by the agreements. Another proposal refers specifically to the requirements in most multilateral environmental agreements that the parties report on their performance. It was suggested that the secretariats of such agreements could develop a harmonized methodology to assist States in meeting their reporting obligations, which would ensure that the reporting is done in a participatory manner. Cooperation among intergovernmental agencies 40. The Special Rapporteur draws attention to the advantages of strengthening collaboration among the different agencies working in this area. Interagency cooperation has proved to be an effective way to implement human rights obligations related to the environment. 41. For example, over the past decade, the joint Poverty-Environment Initiative of UNDP and UNEP has provided financial and technical support to assist government decision makers and other stakeholders to manage the environment in ways that improve livelihoods and lead to sustainable growth. It has developed a flexible programmatic model for poverty-environment mainstreaming that incorporates gender and a rights-based approach. In the Philippines, the Initiative has provided technical assistance to promote responsible mining practices and to help stop and reverse the destruction of biodiversity and ecosystems. In the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Initiative has worked with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to establish procedures to carry out an environmental and social impact assessment, monitor processes for investment projects and increase community participation in economic development.10 42. Another example of collaboration in this area is the recent initiative of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research to work with UNDP and UNEP, as well as the Special Rapporteur, to develop training materials and programmes on human rights and the environment, to inform a variety of actors, including State agencies, the judiciary and civil society organizations. 43. A number of additional proposals could also be implemented by agencies working together. Many of the suggestions received by the Special Rapporteur concerned cooperation in the provision of technical assistance. For example, it was suggested that UNDP and other agencies, including UNEP, could jointly strengthen the use of United Nations country offices to promote implementation of the rights relating to environment. More generally, methods of implementing human rights relating to the environment that could benefit from agency cooperation include: 9 10 More information is available from www.iom.int/meclep. More information is available from www.unpei.org. 9