Chapter 14 of Agenda 21 (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POIToc.htm) on sustainable agriculture and rural development notes that, by the year 2025, 83 per cent of the expected global population of 8.5 billion will be living in developing countries. Yet the capacity of available resources and technologies to satisfy the demands of this growing population for food and other agricultural commodities remains uncertain. Agriculture has to meet this challenge, mainly by increasing production on land already in use and by avoiding further encroachment on land that is only marginally suitable for cultivation.
CSD and SARD
Major adjustments are needed in agricultural, environmental and macroeconomic policy, at both national and international levels, in developed as well as developing countries, to create the conditions for sustainable agriculture and rural development (SARD). The Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) first reviewed these issues at its third session in 1995, when it noted with concern that, even though some progress had been reported, “disappointment is widely expressed at the slow progress in moving towards sustainable agriculture and rural development in many countries”. Sustainable agriculture was also considered at the five-year review of implementation of Agenda 21 in 1997, at which time Governments were urged to attach high priority to implementing the commitments agreed at the 1996 World Food Summit, especially the call for at least halving the number of undernourished people in the world by the year 2015. This goal was reinforced by the Millennium Declaration adopted by Heads of State and Government in September 2000, which resolved to halve by 2015 the proportion of the world's people who suffer from hunger.
In accordance with its multi-year programme of work, agriculture as an economic sector was a major focus of CSD-8 in 2000, along with integrated planning and management of land resources as the sectoral theme. The supporting documentation and the discussions highlighted the linkages between the economic, social and environmental objectives of sustainable agriculture. The Commission adopted decision 8/4 which identified 12 priorities for action. It reaffirmed that the major objectives of SARD are to increase food production and enhance food security in an environmentally sound way so as to contribute to sustainable natural resource management. It noted that food security-although a policy priority for all countries-remains an unfulfilled goal. It also noted that agriculture has a special and important place in society and helps to sustain rural life and land.
Decisions of the WSSD
The Plan of Implementation ( http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POIToc.htm ) adopted by the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 26 August - 4 September 2002), in paragraph 40(a), urges action at all levels to achieve the Millennium Declaration and World Food Summit targets to halve global hunger by 2015, in combination with measure which address poverty. Specific recommendations support, inter alia ,: integrated land management and water-use plans; the sustainable and efficient use of land and of other natural resources, including through strengthening national research and extension services and farmer organizations; the enhanced participation of women in sustainable agriculture and food security; guaranteeing well-defined and enforceable land and water use rights and promotion of legal security of tenure; increasing public sector finance for sustainable agriculture; enhancing access to existing markets and development of new markets for value-added agricultural products; and support for traditional and indigenous agricultural systems.
Kindly see also website information under "land management" (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/land/land.htm), "Desertification" (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/desertification/desert.htm) and "Freshwater" (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/water/water.htm).
Coordination and Cooperation
Another recommendation of the WSSD is to strengthen and improve coordination of existing initiatives to enhance sustainable agricultural production and food security. Building on CSD-8's ( http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/CSD8.htm ) decision, which had invited the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the CSD secretariat to continue the stakeholder dialogue on SARD in preparation for the 10-year review of Agenda 21 in 2002, in consultation with Governments, UN and other international organizations and major groups, FAO has continued to serve as Task Manager for Chapter 14 of Agenda 21, ( http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter14.htm ) as well as other relevant chapters, in particular, Chapter 10 on land issues (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter10.htm ) . To further international coordination, FAO has initiated and provides the secretariat for the UN System Network on Rural Development and Food Security. In addition, FAO helped launch, at the WSSD, a Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD) initiative with the participation of over 120 Government and civil society representatives. This was a response to the June 2002 call by the FAO's five year review meeting of the World Food Summit for an international alliance to accelerate action to reduce world hunger. A side-event on the SARD Initiative will be held during the 17th session of the FAO Committee on Agriculture (Rome, 31 March - 4 April 2003).
See ( http://www.fao.org/wssd/sard ) .
Protection of the atmosphere is a broad and multidimensional endeavour involving various sectors of economic activity. Many of the issues discussed in Chapter 9 of Agenda 21 (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter9.htm ) on "Protection of the Atmosphere," are also addressed in such international agreements as the 1985 Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer as amended, the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and other international, including regional, instruments.
Agenda 21 notes, however, that activities that may be undertaken in pursuit of the objectives of this chapter should be co-ordinated with social and economic development in an integrated manner with a view to avoiding adverse impacts on the latter, taking into full account the legitimate priority needs of developing countries for the achievement of sustained economic growth and the eradication of poverty.
Particular attention is given to four programme areas. These are (1) improving the scientific basis for addressing uncertainties; (2) preventing stratospheric ozone depletion; (3) mitigating trans-boundary atmospheric pollution; and (4) promoting sustainable development with particular reference to (a) energy development, efficiency and consumption; (b) transportation; (c) industrial development; and (d) terrestrial and marine resource development and land use.
Conservation of biological diversity is the subject of Chapter 15 (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter15.htm ) of Agenda 21, which was adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, in 1992, in Rio de Janeiro. At the same Conference, the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (http://www.biodiv.org/default.shtml), which has subsequently entered into force, was opened for signature.
In 2002, the World Summit on Sustainable Development, in Johannesburg, addressed biological diversity in Chapter IV, paragraph 44 (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POIChapter4.htm#biod) , of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. The Johannesburg Summit also endorsed the target to achieve, by 2010, a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at global, regional and national levels as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on earth, which had some months earlier been adopted by the sixth meeting of the CBD Conference of Parties (COP).
Biodiversity has also been discussed by the Commission on Sustainable Development on several occasions and is one of the themes for discussion in the 2012/2013 two-year cycle.
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment released in March 2005 concludes that there has been a substantial and largely irreversible loss in the diversity of life on Earth due to human action. Among the outstanding problems are the dire state of many of the world's fish stocks, the vulnerability of the 2 billion people living in dry regions to the loss of ecosystem services and the growing threat to ecosystems from climate change and nutrient pollution.
Environmentally-sound management of biotechnology is the subject of Chapter 16 (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter16.htm) of Agenda 21. Biotechnology is not directly addressed in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. Biotechnology is the integration of the new techniques emerging from modern biotechnology with the well-established approaches of traditional biotechnology. It is a set of enabling techniques for bringing about specific human-made changes in DNA, or genetic material, in plants, animals and microbial systems, leading to useful products and technologies. Biotechnology promises to make a significant contribution in enabling the development of, for example, better health care, enhanced food security, improved supplies of potable water, more efficient industrial development processes for transforming raw materials, support for sustainable methods of afforestation and reforestation, and detoxification of hazardous wastes. It offers new opportunities for global partnerships.
The programme areas covered in Chapter 16 seek to foster internationally- agreed-upon principles to be applied to ensure the environmentally-sound management of biotechnology, to engender public trust and confidence, to promote the development of sustainable applications of biotechnology and to establish appropriate enabling mechanisms, especially within developing countries.
Biotechnology was discussed at the third session of the Commission on Sustainable Development and the nineteenth special session of the General Assembly. Within the framework of the Commission's multi-year programme of work, it will again be taken up in the context of "integrated planning and management of land resources" at the Commission's eighth session, in 2000.
The Earth Summit recognized capacity-building as one of the means of implementation for Agenda 21. In that sense, it is relevant to all chapters of Agenda 21. However, Chapter 37 (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter37.htm) of Agenda 21 gives particular focus to national mechanisms and international cooperation for capacity-building in developing countries. Importance is given to defining country needs and priorities in sustainable development through an ongoing participatory process and, in so doing, to strengthening human resource and institutional capabilities.
Capacity-building is also a key means of implementation in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI). The JPOI called for enhancing and accelerating human, institutional and infrastructure capacity building initiatives and to assist developing countries in building capacity to access a larger share of multilateral and global research and development programmes.
The CSD, in adopting its multi-year work programme for the period 2004-2027, decided that “the means of implementation, as identified in Agenda 21 and Chapter X (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POIChapter10.htm) of the JPOI, should be addressed in every cycle and for every relevant issue, action and commitment.”
Earlier decisions relating to capacity-building were taken by the CSD at its fourth (1996) (http://www.un.org/documents/ecosoc/docs/1996/e1996-28.htm ) , fifth (1997) and sixth (1998) sessions, by the United Nations General Assembly at its Special Session to review the implementation of Agenda 21 (1997), as well as at the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
Climate Change
The Earth's climate system has demonstrably changed on both global and regional scales since the pre-industrial era, with some of these changes attributable to human activities. The atmospheric concentrations of key anthropogenic greenhouse gases (i.e. Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide and tropospheric ozone (O3) reached their highest recorded levels in the 1990s, primarily due to the combustion of fossil fuels, agriculture, and land use changes. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes, in its Third Assessment Report, that there is new and strong evidence that most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities.
Agenda 21, which addresses climate change under its Chapter 9 (Protection of the atmosphere) (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter9.htm) , recognizes that activities that may be undertaken in pursuit of the objectives defined therein should be coordinated with social and economic development in an integrated manner with a view to avoiding adverse impacts on the latter, taking into full account the legitimate priority needs of developing countries for the achievement of sustained economic growth and the eradication of poverty. Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPoI) (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POIChapter4.htm#para38) assert that the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (http://unfccc.int/2860.php) is the key instrument for addressing climate change. The entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol provided renewed optimism for the effectiveness of a multilateral approach to tackle climate change.
Climate change impacts can sabotage the efforts to achieve the goals of sustainable development, including in particular by augmenting poverty in developing countries especially the Least Developed Countries and the Small Island Developing States. Furthermore, development paths and production and consumption patterns have various impacts on the climate system. Hence, assuming that climate change should be considered in the broader context of sustainable development and to ensure that climate policies are integrated into national development planning and national sustainable development strategies, the CSD, in its Multi-year Programme of Work (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/csd11/CSD_mulityear_prog_work.htm) , put the theme of climate change along with such issues as energy, atmosphere/air pollution and industrial development on the agenda of CSD-14/15.
All information on national reporting by countries on the measures they have taken to address climate change is available on the website of UNFCCC (http://unfccc.int/national_reports/items/1408.php) .
Changing consumption patterns" is the subject of Chapter 4 of Agenda 21 (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter4.htm) . At its third session, in 1995, the Commission on Sustainable Development adopted an International Work Programme on Changing Consumption and Production Patterns, which includes five elements:
Discussions on chapter 4 have already taken place at the national and international levels. They have covered definitions and concepts (e.g. eco-space, ecological footprints), policy strategies (e.g. eco-efficiency, Factor 4 and 10), and appropriate policy instruments. Participants in the discussions have been from business and industry, governments at all levels, international organisations, the academic community and NGOs.
"Changing consumption and production patterns" (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/consumption/cpp13.htm) has been the subject of discussion by the Commission at its first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh sessions. In the context of the multi-year programme of work adopted by the General Assembly for the Commission on Sustainable Development in 1997, it will continue to appear, as an "overriding issue," on the agenda of the CSD each year.
The Task Manager for this issue is the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), Division for Sustainable Development
Related LinksTechnology page (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/technology/est1.htm)
Industry page (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/industry/industry.htm)
Instruments for Change: Making Production and Consumption More Sustainable (http://www.iisd.org/susprod/)
Demographic dynamics and sustainability is the subject of Chapter 5 (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter5.htm) of Agenda 21. Demographics is not directly addressed in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. The growth of world population and production combined with unsustainable consumption patterns places increasingly severe stress on the life-supporting capacities of the earth. These interactive processes affect the use of land, water, air, energy and other resources. Rapidly growing cities, unless well-managed, face major environmental problems. The increase in both the number and size of cities calls for greater attention to issues of local government and municipal management. The human dimensions are key elements to consider, and they should be adequately taken into consideration in comprehensive policies for sustainable development. Such policies should address the linkages of demographic trends and factors, resource use, appropriate technology dissemination and development.
There is a need to develop strategies to mitigate both the adverse impacts on the environment of human activity and the adverse impact of environmental change on human populations. The world's population passed 6 billion in 2000 and is projected to reach 9 billion by 2050. Sixty percent of the current population already lives in coastal zones, while sixty-five percent of cities with populations above 2.5 million are located along the world's coasts, several of them already at or below the present sea level.
Demographic dynamics and sustainability was discussed at the third and fourth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development and the nineteenth Special Session of the General Assembly. Population projections and studies are done by the UN Population Division.
The year 2006 has been declared by the United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution A/RES/58/211, the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. The General Assembly invites all countries, international and civil society organizations to celebrate the Year 2006 and to support public awareness activities related to desertification and land degradation.
Deserts are among the "fragile ecosystems" addressed by Agenda 21, and "combating desertification and drought" is the subject of Chapter 12 (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter12.htm) . Desertification includes land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry subhumid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities. Desertification affects as much as one-sixth of the world's population, seventy percent of all drylands, and one-quarter of the total land area of the world. It results in widespread poverty as well as in the degradation of billion hectares of rangeland and cropland.
In addition to addressing desertification and drought in Agenda 21, the UN Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit) also called upon the United Nations General Assembly to establish an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INCD) to prepare, by June 1994, a Convention to Combat Desertification (http://www.unccd.int/main.php) , particularly in Africa. In December 1992, the General Assembly agreed (resolution 47/188). The Convention was adopted in Paris on 17 June 1994 and opened for signature there on 14-15 October 1994. It entered into force on 26 December 1996.
Combating desertification and drought has been discussed by the Commission on Sustainable Development in several sessions. In the framework of the Commission's current multi-year work programme, it will again be taken up in the third cycle, in 2008 and 2009.
Disaster Reduction and Management
The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 2002) includes commitments related to disaster and vulnerability reduction under chapter IV: Protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POIChapter4.htm ).
The 11th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/csd11/CSD11.htm) (2003) adopted the themes of disaster management and vulnerability to be reviewed in its fifth cycle (2014-2015) in the CSD's multi-year programme of work (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/csd11/CSD_mulityear_prog_work.htm) . Risk management and vulnerability would also be examined in the context of other thematic clusters of CSD, such as water, sanitation and human settlements (2004-2005) and drought and desertification (2006-2007).
On the occasion of World Water Day 2004, Guidelines for Reducing Flood Losses was launched. This inter-agency publication, led by DESA aims at providing decision-makers with a range of options to consider for reducing losses associated with flooding.
For further information, please visit the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (http://www.unisdr.org/) website.
Section X, (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POIChapter10.htm) of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) adopted by WSSD reaffirmed both the Millennium Declaration goal of achieving universal primary education by 2015 and the goal of the Dakar Framework for Action on Education for All to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005 and at all levels of education by 2015. The JPOI addressed the need to integrate sustainable development into formal education at all levels, as well as through informal and non-formal education opportunities.
Following the WSSD recommendation, the General Assembly, at its 57th Session (2002), proclaimed a Decade of Education for Sustainable Development - DESD (2005-2014) (http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=23279&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.htm) and designated UNESCO as lead agency for its promotion. The Decade was globally launched in New York on 1 March 2005. Prior to the launch, UNESCO developed an international framework for implementing DESD and later drafted an International Implementation Scheme. The General Assembly, at its 59th session (2004), took note of these developments and requested that a mid-term progress report on the implementation of DESD be submitted at its 65th session (2010).
At the regional level, on 18 March 2005, in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, UNECE Ministers of both Environment and Education adopted a UNECE strategy for Education for Sustainable Development and the Vilnius Framework for Implementation (http://www.unece.org/env/esd/welcome.htm) .
Education, Public Awareness and Training is the focus of Chapter 36 (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter36.htm) of Agenda 21. This is a cross-sectoral theme both relevant to the implementation of the whole of Agenda 21 and indispensable for achieving sustainable development.
Following the adoption of Agenda 21 in 1992, the Commission on Sustainable Development, at its fourth session in 1996, adopted an International Work Programme on Education, Public Awareness and Training for Sustainability in order to give added impetus and visibility to this theme. The Work Programme was further elaborated in 1998 at CSD-VI (Decision 6/3) and its implementation was re-emphasized in 1999 at CSD-VII (Decision 7/4).
Energy for Sustainable Development
Energy is central to achieving sustainable development goals. Some two billion people have no access to modern energy services. The challenge lies in finding ways to reconcile this necessity and demand for energy with its impact on the natural resource base in order to ensure that sustainable development goals are realized.
The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSDPOI_PD/English/POIToc.htm) (JPOI), adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002, addresses energy in the context of sustainable development. Among other things, the JPOI calls for action to:
Energy was further one of the major themes of the Ninth Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-9), held in 2001. Countries agreed at CSD-9 that stronger emphasis should be placed on the development, implementation, and transfer of cleaner, more efficient technologies and that urgent action is required to further develop and expand the role of alternative energy sources. For CSD-9 decisions ( http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/ecn172001-19e.htm ) on energy click here.
This complex challenge of energy and sustainable development was highlighted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Energy is discussed throughout Agenda 21 http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/index.htm ) . Agenda 21 highlights the fact that current levels of energy consumption and production are not sustainable, especially if demand continues to increase and stresses the importance of using energy resources in a way that is consistent with the aims of protecting human health, the atmosphere, and the natural environment.
Finance for sustainable development is the subject of Chapter 33 http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter33.htm ) of Agenda 21 and Chapter X of the Plan of Implementation ( http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POIChapter10.htm ).
The Implementation of internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration and Agenda 21, as well as the Plan of Implementation will require significant increase in the flow of financial resources.
The General Assembly decided that the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development should "identify ways and means of providing new and additional financial resources for environmentally sound development programmes and projects in accordance with national development objectives, priorities and plans and to consider ways of effectively monitoring the provision of such new and additional financial resources so as to enable the international community to take further appropriate action on the basis of accurate and reliable data," and
"Consider various funding mechanisms, including voluntary ones, and examine the possibility of a special international fund and other innovative approaches, with a view to ensuring, on a favourable basis, the most effective and expeditious transfer of environmentally sound technologies to developing counties." (Agenda 21).
Decisions on finance for sustainable development were taken by the Commission at its second, third, fourth, sixth and eighth sessions (http://www.un.org/documents/ecosoc/docs/2000/e2000-29.htm#Decision%208/5) and by the General Assembly at its nineteenth Special Session [Earth Summit + 5] in its Resolution S/19-2 on the Programme for the Future Implementation of Agenda 21 .
Forest (http://www.un.org/esa/forests/index.html)
Today it is widely recognized that an integrated approach to freshwater management offers the best means of reconciling competing demands with supply and a framework where effective operational actions can be taken. It is thus valuable for all countries at all stages of development.
This is the focus of chapter 18 of Agenda 21 http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter18.htm) Further recommendations to support implementation of chapter 18 were taken by the Commission on Sustainable Development at its second (1994) (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/water/CSD%20report%20on%20second%20session.pdf) and sixth (1998) sessions; ( http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/water/CSD%20report%20on%20sixth%20session.pdf) by the United Nations General Assembly at its nineteenth Special Session to review the implementation of Agenda 21 (1997) (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/water/CSD%20Special%20session.pdf ) and by the World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002) (http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/index.html) through its Plan of Implementation. (http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/html/documents/summit_docs/131302_wssd_report_reissued.pdf )
The Commission on Sustainable Development, at its twelfth session (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/cycle1.htm) (2004) reviewed and assessed implementation of three thematic issues, including water and sanitation. Most recently, in 2005, at its thirteenth session (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/cycle1.htm), the Commission explored policy options for furthering implementation on the issues of water and sanitation as well as on human settlements as reflected in its decision (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/csd13/csd13_decision_unedited.pdf ).
Water for Life Decade : The “Water for Life” Decade was launched on 22 March 2005, on World Water Day. The Decade aims to promote efforts to fulfill international commitments made on water and water-related issues by 2015, placing special emphasis on the involvement and participation of women in these efforts. The year 2003 was earlier chosen by the General Assembly as the International Year of Freshwater http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/water/Interagency_activities.htm#decade).
Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation: United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan established an Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation ( http://www.unsgab.org/ ) in 2004 to galvanize global action on these issues. Former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto of Japan agreed to serve as Chair of the Board.
Millennium Development Goals: Millennium Development Declaration (2000) http://www.un.org/millennium/declaration/ares552e.pdf ) called for the world to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water as well as the proportion of people who do not have access to basic sanitation. It called upon the international community to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought and floods; to develop integrated water resources management and water efficiency plans by 2005; and to support developing countries and countries with economies in transition in their efforts to monitor and assess the quantity and quality of water resources.
Other Initiatives: The emphasis on action-oriented policies and implementation has led to two further initiatives that complement the WSSD Plan of Implementation: these are Partnership initiatives http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/partnerships/redirect.htm) and the WEHAB Initiative http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/water/wehab_water_sanitation.pdf ).
Protecting and promoting human health is the subject of Chapter 6 of Agenda 21. Health and development are intimately interconnected. Both insufficient development leading to poverty and inappropriate development resulting in over-consumption, coupled with an expanding world population, can result in severe environmental health problems in both developed and developing countries.
The linkage of health, environmental and socio-economic improvements requires intersectoral efforts. Such efforts, involving education, housing, public works and community groups are aimed at enabling people in their communities to ensure sustainable development. Countries should develop plans for priority actions, drawing on the programme areas contained in Chapter 6, as follows: (1) Meeting primary health care needs, particularly in rural areas; (2) Controlling communicable diseases; (3) Protecting vulnerable groups; (4) Meeting the urban health challenge; and (5) Reducing health risks from environmental pollution and hazards.
Human health has been discussed during nearly every CSD session, including the nineteenth Special Session of the General Assembly (Rio +5) and the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development.
Within the framework of the Commission's current multi-year programme of work, health and sustainable development is considered each year as a cross-cutting issue within the context of the main sectoral issues taken up during each two-year cycle.
Promoting sustainable human settlements development” is the subject of Chapter 7 of Agenda 21. Programme areas include: (A) Providing adequate shelter for all; (B) improving human settlements management; (C) promoting sustainable land-use planning and management D) promoting the integrated provision of environmental infrastructure: water, sanitation, drainage and solid waste management; (E) promoting sustainable energy and transport systems in human settlements; (F) promoting human settlements planning and management in disaster-prone areas; (G) promoting sustainable construction industry activities; and (H) promoting human resource development and capacity-building for human settlements development. Sustainable human settlements development was discussed by the Commission on Sustainable Development at its second (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/CSD2.htm) and third (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/CSD3.htm) sessions as well as during the nineteenth Special Session of the General Assembly (http://www.un.org/esa/earthsummit/). It was again considered at the Commission's twelfth (CSD-12) (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/csd12/csd12.htm) and thirteenth (CSD-13) (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/csd13/csd13.htm) sessions in 2004/2005 - the first two-year Implementation cycle following the adoption of the Commission's new approach and Work Programme.
The Secretary-General's reports on sustainable human settlements development facilitated the Commission's review at CSD-12 and decision-making at CSD-13 on progress achieved at all levels in the implementation of the human settlements goals and targets contained in Agenda 21, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.
Indicators of Sustainable DevelopmentChapter 40 of Agenda 21 calls on countries and the international community to develop indicators of sustainable development. Such indicators are needed to increase focus on sustainable development and to assist decision-makers at all levels to adopt sound national sustainable development policies.
Based on voluntary national testing and expert group consultations, a core set of 58 indicators and methodology sheets are available for all countries to use. This core set was derived from a working list of 134 indicators and related methodology sheets that were developed, improved and tested as part of the implementation of the Work Programme on Indicators of Sustainable Development (ISDs) adopted by the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) at its Third Session in April 1995 and presented to the CSD in 2001.
The WSSD JPOI, CSD11 and most recently CSD13 encouraged further work on indicators for sustainable development by countries in line with national conditions and priorities. CSD13 furthermore invited the international community to support efforts of developing countries in this regard .
The CSD indicator set and methodological descriptions are currently undergoing revision. An updated set is expected to be released in 2006.
Industry has a key role to play in achieving the goals of sustainable development as supplier of goods and services required by society, as a source of job creation and as an active participant in community life.
The 1997 Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly asked the Commission on Sustainable Development to focus on one economic sector each year. For 1998, the focus was on Industry in general, with special attention to sectors not covered in subsequent years."
The 2006-2007 sessions of the CSD will in part focus on Industrial Development.
Links to documents and preparations of the CSD on Industrial Development will be provided in this page as soon as they are available.
Information for Decision-making
Information for decision-making is the subject of Chapter 40 of Agenda 21, which emphasizes that, in sustainable development, everyone is a user and provider of information considered in the broad sense. That includes data, information, experience and knowledge. The need for information arises at all levels, from that of senior decision-maker at the national and international levels to the grass-roots and individual levels.
The World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002) and the Commission on Sustainable Development have continued to emphasize the importance of information for sound decision-making.
Chapter 8 (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter8.htm) of Agenda 21 calls on countries to improve or restructure the decision-making process so that consideration of socio-economic and environmental issues is fully integrated and a broader range of public participation assured. It also calls on countries to adopt national strategies for sustainable development (NSDS) that “should build upon and harmonize the various sectoral economic, social and environmental policies and plans that are operating in the country.”
Five years later, the 1997 Special Session of the General Assembly again noted the importance of NSDS and set a target of 2002 for their formulations and elaboration.
In 2002, the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) urged States not only to “take immediate steps to make progress in the formulation and elaboration of national strategies for sustainable development,” but also to “begin their implementation by 2005.”
In addition, integrating the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes is one of the targets contained in the United Nations Millennium Declaration to reach the goal of environmental sustainability.
Governments have continued to reiterate their commitment to develop and implement NSDS at subsequent CSD sessions.
See links below :
• NSDS (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/natlinfo/nsds/nsds.htm)
• Indicators of Sustainable Development (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/natlinfo/indicators/isd.htm)
• Environmental management accounting (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/technology/estema1.htm)
Chapter 39 (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter39.htm) of Agenda 21 deals with International Legal Instruments and Mechanisms and is concerned with assisting States in promoting sustainable development at national and international levels through enhancing the effectiveness of such instruments and mechanisms.
The Commission on Sustainable Development reviewed Chapter 39 at its second and fourth sessions. It was also one of the subjects addressed by the General Assembly in 1997 Earth Summit in its Resolution S/19-2 on the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21. At the World Summit on Sustainable Development, new and emerging issues were addressed in Chapter X (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POIChapter10.htm) of the Plan of Implementation (WSSD, 2002) in respect of legal developments in the area of sustainable development.
Three Conventions are closely associated with the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED, or Earth Summit): the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD). Both the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and the Statement of Forest Principles were also adopted at UNCED.
The Convention on Biological Diversity (http://www.biodiv.org/default.shtml) was opened for signature at UNCED and entered into force on 29 December 1993. On 29 January 2000, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention adopted the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which entered into force 11 September 2003. The secretariat of CBD is located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The Framework Convention on Climate Change (http://unfccc.int/2860.php) was also opened for signature at UNCED and entered into force on 21 March 1994. Its Kyoto Protocol was adopted at the third session of the Conference of the Parties, in Kyoto, Japan on 11 December 1997, and it was opened for signature at UN Headquarters in March 1999. The Secretariat of UNFCCC is located in Bonn, Germany.
The issue of desertification was highlighted at UNCED in Chapter 12 of Agenda 21. The Conference called upon the UN General Assembly to establish an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to prepare, by June 1994, a Convention to Combat Desertification (http://unccd.int/), particularly in Africa. In December 1992, the General Assembly agreed and adopted resolution 47/188. As a result, the Convention was negotiated, adopted in Paris on 17 June 1994 and opened for signature there on 14-15 October 1994. It entered into force on 26 December 1996. the Secretariat of CCD is located in Bonn, Germany.
The Statement of Forest Principles (http://www.un.org/documents/ga/conf151/aconf15126-3annex3.htm) was adopted at UNCED, and, in 1995, both an Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF) and an Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF) were established under the UN Commission on Sustainable Development In 2000, ECOSOC established the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) (http://www.un.org/esa/forests/index.html), to promote “… the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests and to strengthen long-term political commitment to this end…”based on the Rio Declaration, the Forest Principles, Chapter 11 of Agenda 21 and the outcome of the IPF/IFF Processes and other key forest policy milestones.
The Rio Declaration (http://www.un.org/documents/ga/conf151/aconf15126-1annex1.htm) contains 27 principles of sustainable development. Among them are several that have had a strong influence on both international and national law. Examples include intergeneration and intragenerational equity; the precautionary principle; the polluter-pays principle; common but differentiated responsibilities; participation and access to information and judicial and administrative proceedings; environmental impact assessment and prior notification .
Agenda 21 calls on the international community to provide a supportive international climate for achieving environment and development goals. Similarly, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, which was adopted by the General Assembly in 1997, calls for a dynamic and enabling international economic environment supportive of international cooperation, particularly in the fields of finance, technology transfer, debt and trade (see resolution S-19/2, annex, para. 25-26) ( http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/cooperation/#S-19/2,%20annex,%20para.%2025). It also noted that, as a result of globalization, external factors have become critical in determining the success or failure of developing countries in their national sustainable development efforts.
Given such considerations, the General Assembly placed international cooperation for an enabling environment for sustainable development on the agenda of the Commission at its ninth session, in 2001, as a cross-sectoral theme.
The term "enabling environment for sustainable development" is not clearly defined either in Agenda 21 or in the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21. In the context of the CSD, consideration of the enabling environment for sustainable development focuses on the impact on sustainable development of major changes in the world economy due to globalization, as well as on national conditions affecting sustainable development.
Chapter 38 ( http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter38.htm ) of Agenda 21 addresses the international institutional arrangements needed to further integration of environment and development issues at national, subregional, regional and international levels, including in the UN system. It also invites States to consider the preparation of national reports and the establishment of national coordination structures responsible for the follow-up to Agenda 21.
The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI), in Section XI http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POIchapter11.htm ) (paras 137-170) similarly proposes measures “to strengthen institutional arrangements on sustainable development, at all levels, …within the framework of Agenda 21, build[ing] on developments since the United Nations conference on Environment and Development and lead[ing] to the achievement of” a number of objectives. In this regard, the JPOI addresses the role and functions, relating to sustainable development, of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the Commission on Sustainable Development, international institutions, regional institutions and national level institutions, as well as major groups.
At its thirteenth session (2005), the CSD reaffirmed both its mandate and that it should continue to be the high-level commission responsible for sustainable development within the UN system, and it addressed measures for voluntary monitoring, reporting and assessment at national and regional levels.
The CSD at its eleventh session (2003) adopted a new multi-year programme of work http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/csd11/CSD_mulityear_prog_work.htm ) based on a two-year cycle to 2017, alternating between review and policy sessions. The programme of work also incorporates improved methods of work that focus on implementation, including from contributions of partnerships, regional commissions and major groups, the scientific community and educators.
Integrated planning and management of land resources is the subject of chapter 10 http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter10.htm ) of Agenda 21, which deals with the cross-sectoral aspects of decision-making for the sustainable use and development of natural resources, including the soils, minerals, water and biota that land comprises. This broad integrative view of land resources, which are organized in ecosystems which are essential for life-support systems and the productive capacity of the environment, is the basis of Agenda 21's and the Commission on Sustainable Development's consideration of land issues.
Expanding human requirements and economic activities are placing ever increasing pressures on land resources, creating competition and conflicts and resulting in suboptimal use of both land and land resources. By examining all uses of land in an integrated manner, it makes it possible to minimize conflicts, to make the most efficient trade-offs and to link social and economic development with environmental protection and enhancement, thus helping to achieve the objectives of sustainable development. (Agenda 21, para 10.1)
The sectoral cluster of land, desertification, forests and biodiversity, as well as mountains (chapters 10-13 and 15 of Agenda 21) were considered by CSD-3 in 1995 and again at the five-year review in1997. In accordance with its multi-year programme of work, CSD-8 in 2000 reviewed integrated planning and management of land resources as its sectoral theme. Many of the issues addressed are also linked to the focus at CSD-8 on agriculture as an economic sector, and the documentation prepared for the session for agriculture is also relevant to the land item.
In its decision 8/3 on integrated planning and management of land resources, the Commission on Sustainable Development noted the importance of addressing sustainable development through a holistic approach, such as ecosystem management, in order to meet the priority challenges of desertification and drought, sustainable mountain development, prevention and mitigation of land degradation, coastal zones, deforestation, climate change, rural and urban land use, urban growth and conservation of biological diversity. Such an approach should take into consideration the livelihood opportunities of people living in poverty in rural areas.
The Commission identified six priorities for future work, including: prevention and/or mitigation of land degradation; access to land and security of tenure; critical sectors and issues (such as biodiversity, drylands, rehabilitation of mining areas, wetlands and coastal zones, coral reefs, natural disasters, and rural-urban and land management interactions); access to information and stakeholder participation; international cooperation, including that for capacity-building, information-sharing technology transfer; and minerals, metals and rehabilitation of land degraded by mining in the context of sustainable development. Governments were urged to support the implementation of a number of important international agreements, including the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD), the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol, and the Habitat Agenda adopted by the UN Conference on Human Settlements in 1996.
Kindly see also website information under " Agriculture and Rural Development" (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/agriculture/agri.htm ), "Desertification" (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/desertification/desert.htm ) and "Freshwater" (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/water/water.htm ).
Participation in the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD)
Since the creation of the CSD in 1992, major groups have been given important roles to play as partners in sustainable development. The CSD meetings have provided innovative spaces for the participation of non-governmental actors with the overall purpose of informing the Commission's decision-making processes.
Major groups continue to infuse the CSD with new ideas, information and present challenges that enrich the inter-governmental debate. Major groups participate in interactive dialogues, develop coordinated statements through thematic caucus groups, and lobby for particular initiatives that they feel should be supported. They also contribute significantly to partnerships for sustainable development (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/partnerships/partnerships.htm) and related activates.
Participation by non-governmental actors in the CSD is subject to the rules of participation of the UN Economic and Social Council. Click here ( http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/mgroups/registration ) for more details.
Major groups are called upon to contribute to the In the upcoming review of the CSD-14 themes (Energy for Sustainable Development; (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/energy/enr.htm) Industrial Development; (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/industry/industry.htm) Air pollution/Atmosphere; (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/atmosphere/atmo.htm) and Climate Change (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/climate_change/climate_change.htm )
by sharing case studies, best practices, and lessons learned, and identifying obstacles and constraints to implementation of these themes. Major groups participation and contributions to the review session will be reflected in the CSD-14 outcome document.
Sustainable Mountain Development is the subject of Chapter 13 (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter13.htm) of Agenda 21, which notes that mountains are an important source of water, energy, biological diversity, key resources, such as minerals, forest products and agricultural products, and of recreation. Mountain environments represent major ecosystems which are essential to the survival of the global ecosystem, but they are rapidly changing.
Many global mountain areas are experiencing environmental degradation. At the same time, about ten percent of the world's population depends directly on mountain resources, and a much larger percentage draws on mountain resources, including and especially water.
On 10 November 1998, the General Assembly proclaimed the Year 2002 as the International Year of Mountains, by adopting without a vote, a draft resolution recommended by the Economic and Social Council.
Chapter 13 includes two programme areas to further elaborate the problem of fragile mountain ecosystems: these are (1) generating and strengthening knowledge about the ecology and sustainable development of mountain ecosystems; and (2) promoting integrated watershed development and alternative livelihood opportunities.
Sustainable mountain development was discussed at the third session of the Commission on Sustainable Development and the nineteenth Special Session of the General Assembly. Within the framework of the Commission's multi-year programme of work, it will next be taken up at the eighth session, in the year 2000, in the context of the sectoral discussion on "integrated planning and management of land resources."
National Sustainable Development StrategiesChapter 8 (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter8.htm) of Agenda 21 calls on countries to adopt national strategies for sustainable development (NSDS) that “should build upon and harmonize the various sectoral economic, social and environmental policies and plans that are operating in the country.”
Five years later, the 1997 Special Session of the General Assembly again noted the importance of NSDS and set a target of 2002 for their formulation and elaboration.
In 2002, the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) urged States not only to “take immediate steps to make progress in the formulation and elaboration of national strategies for sustainable development” but also to “begin their implementation by 2005.”
In addition, integrating the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes is one of the targets contained in the United Nations Millennium Declaration to reach the goal of environmental sustainability.
Governments have continued to reiterate their commitment to develop and implement NSDS at subsequent CSD sessions.
Oceans, seas, islands and coastal areas form an integrated and essential component of the Earth's ecosystem and are critical for global food security and for sustaining economic prosperity and the well-being of many national economies, particularly in developing countries." (WSSD Plan of Implementation, (http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/html/documents/summit_docs/2309_planfinal.htm) para. 30)
The protection of the oceans, all kinds of seas and coastal areas and the protection, rational use and development of their living resources is the focus of Chapter 17 of Agenda 21. The Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) reviewed implementation of the goals and targets called for in Chapter 17 at its fourth (1996), fifth (1997) and, in particular, seventh (1999) sessions, which resulted in a comprehensive decision, 7/1. The nineteenth Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly to review the implementation of Agenda 21 also considered oceans issues.
The Plan of Implementation adopted by the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 26 August - 4 September 2002), in paragraphs 30-36, addressed issues dealing with oceans and seas, including, inter alia: global and regional coordination and cooperation; sustainable fisheries; marine biodiversity and ecosystems; marine pollution from both land-based and sea-based sources; and marine science and assessments of the marine environment. Important commitments and timetables were agreed to by the WSSD, including actions at all levels to:
- Encourage the application by 2010 of the ecosystem approach (para. 30d);
- Maintain or restore depleted fish stocks to levels that can produce the maximum sustainable yield on an urgent basis and where possible not later than 2015 (para. 31a);
- Urgently develop and implement national and, where appropriate, regional plans of action to put into effect the FAO international plan of action for the management of fishing capacity by 2005 and the FAO international plan of action to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing by 2004 (para. 31d);
- Eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and to over-capacity, while completing the efforts undertaken at WTO to clarify and improve its disciplines on fisheries subsidies (para. 31f);
- Develop national, regional and international programmes for halting the loss of marine biodiversity, including in coral reefs and wetlands (para. 32d);
- Advance implementation of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities and the Montreal Declaration on the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (para. 33);
- Accelerate the development of measure to address invasive alien species in ballast water (para. 34b);
- Establish by 2004 a regular process under the Untied Nations for global reporting and assessment of the state of the marine environment, including socio-economic aspects, both current and foreseeable, building on existing regional assessments, as a means to improve the scientific understanding and assessment of marine and coastal ecosystems as a fundamental basis for sound decision-making (para. 36b).
Coordination and Cooperation
Intergovernmental mechanisms
The UN General Assembly Informal Consultative Process on Oceans
Following an extensive and in-depth discussion on oceans by CSD-7, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 54/33 of 24 November 1999 entitled 'Results of the review by the Commission on Sustainable Development of the sectoral theme of "Oceans and Seas": international coordination ad cooperation'. This resolution, inter alia, endorsed the recommendations made by the CSD regarding, in particular, international coordination and cooperation of the oceans, and, in this regard, decided to establish an open-ended informal consultative process to facilitate the annual review by the General Assembly of developments in ocean affairs. The Consultative Process, which is open to all States Members and accredited observers of the United Nations and intergovernmental organizations and agencies with competence in ocean affairs, was initially given a three-year mandate, which was renewed for a further three years in 2002 (GA resolution 57/141). It has met for one week annually each June in 2000-2005. The reports of its meetings are available on the website of the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs (DOALOS) http://www.un.org/Depts/los/index.htm ), which serves as the secretariat in cooperation with DESA/DSD. The mandate of the Consultative Process will again be reviewed by the 60th session of the General Assembly, in 2005.
In conjunction with the Consultative Process, the General Assembly has also authorized two International Workshops on the establishment of a regular process for global reporting and assessment of the state of the marine environment (called for by the WSSD in JPOI para. 36b) http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POIChapter4.htm#para36), with representatives from States, relevant organizations, agencies and programmes of the UN system and other relevant IGOs and NGOs. The 2nd International Workshop was held in New York from 13-15 June 2005, with secretariat support from UN/DOALOS.
Interagency coordination
Reflecting the broad-based and wide-ranging nature of activities related to the oceans, an inter-agency subcommittee was established by the former IACSD to serve as Task Manager for Chapter 17 of Agenda 21 (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter17.htm). This was the Subcommittee on Oceans and Coastal Areas (SOCA) of the United Nations Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC). Participants in SOCA included representatives of FAO, UNESCO, IAEA, IMO, WMO, UNIDO, World Bank, ILO, UNDP, UNEP, United Nations (DOALOS and DESA), and the CBD. In December 2001, the ACC (renamed the Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB) (http://ceb.unsystem.org/)) decided to abolish all permanent interagency subsidiary bodies, and urged the entities of the UN system to coordinate through ad hoc, issues-oriented and time-bound informal activities.
Following several requests from member States for a more regular and accountable approach to coordination on oceans, including by WSSD (JPOI, para. 30c) http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POIChapter4.htm#para30 ) and the General Assembly (Res. 57/141 and Res. 58/240), as well as from many of the involved organizations, the CEB in 2003 decided to establish UN-Oceans ( http://www.un-oceans.org/) as the UN inter-agency coordinating mechanism on oceans and coastal issues. In addition to continuing the work of SOCA in overseeing the management and development of the UN Atlas of the Oceans, (http://www.oceansatlas.org/) a web-based information system led by FAO which currently covers over 1000 topics and is accessed by about 2000 people daily from all over the world, UN-Oceans has established four time-bound task groups, each coordinated by a lead organization. These focus on: Post-Tsunami Response (led by UNESCO/IOC); Establishing a regular process for global monitoring of the marine environment (led by UN-DOALOS); Marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (led by CBD secretariat); and the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (led by UNEP/GPA). Most of the work of these task forces will be carried out electronically, minimizing the need for actual meetings. Further information on UN-Oceans, including its terms of reference, members, officers, joint activities and programmes, and documents and reports is available on its website ( http://www.un-oceans.org ).
The years following the Rio Conference (1992) have witnessed an increase in the number of people living in absolute poverty, particularly in developing countries. The enormity and complexity of the poverty issue could endanger the social fabric, undermine economic development and the environment, and threaten political stability in many countries.
The General Assembly, in its 1997 Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 (para 27) decided that poverty eradication should be an overriding theme of sustainable development for the coming years. It is one of the fundamental goals of the international community and of the entire United Nations system, as reflected not only in Chapter 3 of Agenda 21, but also in commitment 2 of the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development. Poverty is addressed in Chapter II (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POIChapter2.htm) of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.
Priority actions include: (1) improving access to sustainable livelihoods, entrepreneurial opportunities and productive resources; (2) providing universal access to basic social services; (3) progressively developing social protection systems to support those who cannot support themselves; (4) empowering people living in poverty and their organizations; (5) addressing the disproportionate impact of poverty on women; (6) working with interested donors and recipients to allocate increased shares of ODA to poverty eradication; and (7) intensifying international cooperation for poverty eradication.
In the context of the multi-year programme of work adopted by the General Assembly for the Commission on Sustainable Development, poverty appears as an "overriding issue" on the agenda of the CSD each year.
Sanitation as a theme will be discussed at the twelfth session (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/csd12/csd12.htm) of the Commission on Sustainable Development for the first time. In the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POIToc.htm) (JPOI) adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/) (WSSD) in 2002, sanitation-related goals are addressed under the section on Poverty (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/poverty/poverty.htm) Eradication. The JPOI target to halve the number of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015 is closely related to the Millennium Development Goal of reducing, by 2015, by half the proportion of people who are unable to reach, or to afford, safe drinking water.
The other goals and targets related to sanitation reflected in JPOI include:
In the pre-WSSD work of the Commission for Sustainable Development, sanitation issues were mainly addressed in relation to waste. Sanitation involves the adequate management and disposal of different types of wastes with a view to minimizing harmful effects to human health and the environment.
Science for sustainable development is the focus of Chapter 35 http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter35.htm) of Agenda 21. It calls for: a) strengthening the scientific basis for sustainable management; b) enhancing scientific understanding; c) improving long-term scientific assessment; and d) building up scientific capacity and capability.
Decisions relating to science have subsequently been taken by the Commission on Sustainable Development at its third (1995) (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/CSD3.htm), fifth (1997) (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/CSD5.htm) and sixth (1998) (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/CSD6.htm) sessions, by the United Nations General Assembly at its Special Session to review the implementation of Agenda 21 (1997) (http://www.un.org/esa/earthsummit/), and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002).
The special session of the General Assembly held in June 1997 to review progress five years after UNCED stressed the need for authoritative scientific evidence for assessing environmental conditions and changes, which would facilitate international consensus-building. Scientific cooperation was to be promoted across disciplines for that purpose, and building scientific and technological capacity in developing countries was extremely important in that regard.
The Plan of Implementation adopted by WSSD http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POIToc.htm) underlined the importance of science-based decision-making, inter alia, by: integrating scientists' advice into decision-making bodies; partnerships between scientific, public and private institutions; improved collaboration between natural and social scientists, and establishing regular channels for requesting and receiving advice between scientists and policy makers; making greater use of integrated scientific assessments, risk assessments and interdisciplinary and intersectoral approaches; increasing the beneficial use of local and indigenous knowledge. Strengthening and creating centers for sustainable development in developing countries were encouraged, as well as networking with and between centers of scientific excellence and between science and education for sustainable development. Tools for science-based decision-making and sharing of knowledge and experiences to be promoted include: information and communication technologies, ground-based observations, satellite technologies, national statistical services capable of providing sound data, assessment models, accurate databases and integrated information systems. The Plan also urged support for publicly funded research and development entities to engage in strategic alliances for the purpose of enhancing research and development.
Small Island Developing StatesAs a follow-up on the implementation of the Mauritius Strategy, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs convened regional and inter-regional meetings of the small island developing States in 2005 in partnership with relevant regional organizations and stakeholders.
The main objective of the consultations was to identify specific programmes and projects to give effect to the undertakings set out in the Mauritius Strategy for Implementation (MSI).
The regional meetings were held in St. Kitts & Nevis (5-7 October, 2005), Samoa (17-19 October) and Seychelles (26-28 October). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy hosted the inter-regional meeting which took place in Rome (15-16 November).
Additionally, on 18 and 23 November, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) held special meetings on food security and sustainable development in Small Island Developing States.
The final reports of the meetings are available on SIDSnet website ( http://www.sidsnet.org/ ).
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) also include low-lying coastal countries that share similar sustainable development challenges, including small population, lack of resources, remoteness, susceptibility to natural disasters, excessive dependence on international trade and vulnerability to global developments. In addition, they suffer from lack of economies of scale, high transportation and communication costs, and costly public administration and infrastructure.
In April 1994, the global conference on sustainable development and the implementation of Agenda 21-(http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21toc.htm) the Global Conference on Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States was convened in Barbados. The conference adopted the Barbados Programme of Action (BPoA). This is the first conference that translated Agenda 21 into a programme of action for a group of countries. BPoA sets forth specific actions and measures to be taken at the national, regional and international levels in support of the sustainable development of SIDS.
In September 1999, the 22nd Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly undertook a comprehensive assessment of the implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action and called for concerted efforts to support its implementation.
In September 2002, the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/html/documents/summit_docs/2309_planfinal.htm) reaffirmed the special case of SIDS and highlighted a series of SIDS-specific issues and concerns in the Johannesburg Plan of Action, adopted by the Summit. In a follow-up to WSSD, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution (A/57/262), inter alia, called for a 10-year comprehensive review of the BPoA at a high-level international meeting.
In January 2005, the international community convened in Mauritius to discuss recommendation for further and successful implementation of the BPoA for the sustainable development of the small island developing States (SIDS). The Mauritius meeting unanimously adopted both the Mauritius Strategy to further implement the programme of action, and also a political declaration, the Mauritius Declaration.
The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/review.htm), in the context of its multi-year thematic programme of work, continuously reviews the implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action.
Currently, fifty-one small island developing States and territories (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sids/sidslist_Africa.htm) are included in the list used by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in monitoring the progress in the implementation of BPoA. These States and territories often work together through the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) (http://www.sidsnet.org/aosis/).
Tourism is one of the world's fastest growing industries and an important source of foreign exchange and employment for many developing countries. In reviewing the first five years' implementation of Agenda 21 in 1997 at its nineteenth Special Session, (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/tourism/tourism_decisions.htm) the General Assembly indicated the need to give further consideration to the importance of tourism in the context of Agenda 21. In 2002, the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg addressed sustainable tourism in Chapter IV, paragraph 43 http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POIChapter4.htm#tou) of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.
Tourism that focuses on natural environments is a large and growing part of the tourism industry. While it can contribute in a positive manner to socio-economic development and environmental protection, uncontrolled tourism growth can also cause environmental degradation, destruction of fragile ecosystems, and social and cultural conflict, undermining the basis of tourism.
The General Assembly in 1998 proclaimed 2002 as the International Year of Ecotourism (A/RES/53/200), reaffirming Economic and Social Council resolution 1998/40 ( http://www.un.org/documents/ecosoc/res/1998/eres1998-40.htm), of 30 July 1998. For further information on activities related to Ecotourism, please consult the web-site of the World Tourism Organization (http://www.world-tourism.org/sustainable/IYE-Main-Menu.htm).
As announced at the Johannesburg Summit, the World Tourism Organization, in collaboration with UNCTAD, launched the Sustainable Tourism-Eliminating Poverty (http://www.world-tourism.org/step/menu.html) (ST-EP) initiative to develop sustainable tourism as a force for poverty alleviation.
The UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) last reviewed the issue of sustainable tourism in 2001, when it was acting as the Preparatory Committee for the Johannesburg Summit. In its current work programme, the CSD will next take up the issue of sustainable development in its fifth cycle, in 2012 and 2013.
"Environmentally Sound Technologies (ESTs) are not just individual technologies, but total systems which include know-how, procedures, goods and services, and equipment as well as organizational and managerial procedures.
Technology cooperation involves joint efforts by enterprises and Governments, both suppliers of technologies and its recipients. Therefore, such cooperation entails an iterative process involving government, the private sector, and research and development facilities to ensure the best possible results from the transfer of technology." (Agenda 21) (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21toc.htm )
Environmentally sound management of toxic chemicals is the topic of Chapter 19 http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter19.htm ) of Agenda 21. A substantial use of chemicals is essential to meet the social and economic goals of the world community, and these can be used with a high degree of safety when best practices are followed. However, much remains to be done. Two of the major problems, particularly in developing countries, are (1) lack of sufficient scientific information for the risk assessment, and (2) lack of resources of assessment of chemicals for which data are at hand.
Gross chemical contamination, with grave damage to human health, genetic structures and reproductive outcomes and the environment, has been continuing within some of the world's most important industrial areas, and restoration will require major investment as well as the development of new techniques.
Chapter 19 contains six programme areas, as follows: (1) expanding and accelerating international assessment of chemical risks; (2) harmonization of classification and labelling of chemicals; (3) information exchange on toxic chemicals and chemical risks; (4) establishment of risk reduction programmes; (5) strengthening of national capabilities and capacities for management of chemicals; and (6) prevention of illegal international traffic in toxic and dangerous products.
For the environmentally sound management of toxic chemicals the United Nations, through the Inter-Agency Committee on Sustainable Development established a system of agencies designated as “task managers” for the specific issue areas, in order to develop coordinated policy positions and report to the Commission on Sustainable Development. UNEP (http://www.unep.org/ ) was designated task manager for toxic chemicals.
Trade and Sustainable Development
Trade and Sustainable Development is addressed in Chapter 2 http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter2.htm) of Agenda 21, and in Chapters V (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POIChapter5.htm) and X http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POIChapter10.htm) of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.
Trade liberalisation and globalisation can have both positive and negative effects on sustainable development. There is a continued need to support efforts by developing countries to integrate themselves into and derive benefits from the multilateral trading system. At the same time, attention also must be given to enhancing the contribution of the multilateral trading system to sustainable development.
A supportive international economic environment is crucial. Agenda 21 calls for “a supportive international climate for achieving environment and development goals by: (a) promoting sustainable development through trade liberalisation; (b) making trade and environment mutually supportive; (c) providing adequate financial resources to developing countries dealing with international debt; and (d) encouraging macroeconomic policies conducive to environment and development.”
Trade and and sustainable development were discussed at the first, second, third, fourth and fifth session of the Commission. Within the framework of the Commission's multi-year programme of work, this issue was again discussed at the eighth session, together with economic growth and investment, as one of the major cross-sectoral themes.
Recognizing the major role that trade can play in achieving sustainable development and in poverty eradication, the Plan of Implementation encourages WTO members to pursue the work programme agreed at the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference
Transport is considered in Agenda 21 in the context of several chapters, including, among others, Chapter 9 on Atmosphere (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter9.htm ) and Chapter 7 on Human Settlements (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter7.htm ). In undertaking the five-year review of the implementation of Agenda 21 during its nineteenth Special Session in 1997, the General Assembly noted that, over the next twenty years, transportation is expected to be the major driving force behind a growing world demand for energy. It is the largest end-use of energy in developed countries and the fastest growing one in most developing countries. Furthermore, adequate, efficient, and effective transport systems are important for access to markets, employment, education and basic services critical to poverty alleviation. Current patterns of transportation development are not sustainable and may compound both environmental and health problems.
There is, therefore, a need for urgent action, ranging, inter alia, from the promotion of integrated transport policies and plans, the accelerated phase-out of leaded gasoline, the promotion of voluntary guidelines and the development of partnerships at the national level for strengthening transport infrastructure, promoting and supporting the use of non-motorised transport and developing innovative mass transit schemes.
Within the framework of the Commission's multi-year programme of work, transport was discussed by the Commission at its ninth session in 2001. Countries agreed that international co-operation is required in order to ensure transport systems support sustainable development. Countries stressed the importance of efficient and affordable transport systems for poverty alleviation and the need to mitigate adverse externalities to health and the environment. Support for greater use of public and non-motorized transport was expressed.
Transport was further discussed as part of the Plan of Implementation at the World Summit on Sustainable Development where countries agreed to promote an integrated approach to policy making including policies and planning for land use, infrastructure, public transport systems and goods delivery networks, with a view to providing safe, affordable and efficient transportation, increasing energy efficiency, reducing pollution, reducing congestion, reducing adverse health effects and limiting urban sprawl. In addition, a wide array of partnerships related to the transport sector were launched during the Summit.
"Environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes" is the subject of Chapter 20 http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter20.htm ) of Agenda 21. Effective control of the generation, storage, treatment, recycling and reuse, transport, recovery and disposal of hazardous wastes is, according to Agenda 21, "of paramount importance for proper health, environmental protection and natural resource management, and sustainable development." Prevention of the generation of hazardous wastes and the rehabilitation of contaminated sites are the key elements, and both require knowledge, experienced people, facilities, financial resources and technical and scientific capacities.
Among the overall targets of Chapter 20 are the following: (1) preventing or minimizing the generation of hazardous wastes as part of an overall integrated cleaner production approach; (2) eliminating or reducing to a minimum transboundary movements of hazardous waste; (3) ratifying the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal; (4) ratifying and full implementation of the Bamako Convention on the Ban of the Import into Africa and the Control of Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes within Africa; and (4) eliminating the export of hazardous wastes to countries that prohibit such imports.
Managing hazardous wastes was discussed by the Commission on Sustainable Development at its second and seventh sessions and by the General Assembly at its nineteenth Special Session.
In 2004 the Ministerial Statement on Partnerships for Meeting the Global Waste Challenge was adopted at Conference of the Parties 7 (COP). The Statement recognizes the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes as part of the wider issues of water protection, improved sanitation, solid waste management and economic and social development. It calls for the reduction of the impacts of hazardous wastes on human health and the environment and promotes a fundamental shift in emphasis from remedial measures to preventive measures such as reduction at source, reuse, recycling and recovery. It recognizes the importance of mobilizing new and additional financial resources to build partnerships to meet the global waste challenge worldwide.
For the environmentally sound management of toxic chemicals the United Nations, through the Inter-Agency Committee on Sustainable Development established a system of agencies designated as “task managers” for the specific issue areas, in order to develop coordinated policy positions and report to the Commission on Sustainable Development. UNEP (http://www.unep.org/ ) was designated task manager for hazardous wastes .
The safe and environmentally sound management of radioactive wastes is the subject of Chapter 22 (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter22.htm ) of Agenda 21. The chapter notes that the radiological and safety risk from radioactive waste varies, from very low for short-lived, low-level waste, to very large for high-level waste. Annually, about 200,000 m 3 of low-level and intermediate-level waste and 10,000 m 3 of high-level waste (as well as spent nuclear fuel destined for final disposal) are generated worldwide from nuclear power production, and these volumes are increasing.
The objective of Chapter 22 is to ensure that radioactive waste is safely managed, transported, stored and disposed of, with a view to protecting human health and the environment, within the wider framework of an interactive and integrated approach to radioactive waste management and safety.
The Commission on Sustainable Development considered the safety of radioactive wastes during its seventh session in 1999, in relation to transboundary movement of this waste, and again during its ninth session in 2001, in relation to nuclear energy technologies. As a result of its deliberations on this issue, the World Summit on Sustainable Development stressed the importance of effective liability measures for international maritime transportation and other transboundary movement of radioactive material, radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, and encouraged Governments to examine and improve measures and internationally agreed regulations regarding the safe handling, transport and disposal of this waste.
Management of solid wastes and sewage are the subject of Chapter 21 (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter21.htm ) of Agenda 21, which recognized that "environmentally sound management of wastes was among the environmental issues of major concern in maintaining the quality of the Earth's environment … " (Agenda 21, para 21.1) (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter21.htm ).
As considered in Chapter 21, solid wastes include all domestic refuse and non-hazardous wastes such as commercial and institutional wastes, street sweepings and construction debris and, in some countries, human wastes. Hazardous waste is frequently intermixed with other waste, posing particular management challenges.
Chapter 21 was considered by the Commission on Sustainable Development at its second, sixth, and seventh sessions. Within the framework of the Commission's multi-year programme of work, it was also taken up at the eighth session in the context of "integrated planning and management of land resources."
At the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002, Governments reaffirmed the importance of solid waste management. They called for priority attention to be given to waste prevention and minimization, reuse and recycling. They also called for the development of environmentally sound disposal facilities, including technology to convert waste into energy.
The Commission will next consider "Waste Management" in its fourth cycle, 2010 to 2011.
For additional information, see the UNEP waste management website ( http://www.unep.fr/pc/pc/waste/waste.htm ).
Source: http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/sdissues.htm
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Division For Sustainable Development