COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES TO MEET AT HEADQUARTERS, 6-17 MAY
Press Release
NR/222
COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES TO MEET AT HEADQUARTERS, 6-17 MAY
19960503 Background Release The management of water and mineral resources will be the focus of the Committee on Natural Resources when it holds its third session from 6 to 17 May at United Nations Headquarters.During the two-week session, the 24-member Committee, made up of experts nominated by Member States of the Economic and Social Council, will consider issues involving water resources and minerals. This will include a review of implementation plans for averting a freshwater crisis and the consideration of strategies for responding to future water-resources management issues. It will also include consideration of environmental protection and restoration issues arising from mineral-industry activities, as well as discussion of the challenges of providing an environment conducive to private investment in mineral resources while also promoting social equity and sustainable development.
Activities of United Nations System
In examining activities of the United Nations system, the Committee will have before it separate reports of the Secretary-General on water and mineral resources, as well as a report of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
The report of the Secretary-General on water resources has not yet been issued.
A report of the Secretary-General on technical cooperation activities of the United Nations system in mineral resources (document E/C.7/1996/7) summarizes how in this field the United Nations system has responded to Agenda 21 of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). For example, it has emphasized environmental protection and assisting developing countries and countries with economies in transition in developing their mineral resources in an environmentally sound manner, and it has actively included communities and other stakeholders in mineral resources development. The report also provides information on activities in other areas of mineral-resources development, including privatization, investment promotion, and small-scale and artisanal mining, as well as on how new issues in mineral-resources development are being addressed.
The report states that while the United Nations system continues to provide technical-cooperation assistance and advisory services at the request of Member States, its ability to do so has been severely diminished by budgetary reductions. At the same time, in addition to areas of mineral resources development such as investment promotion and mining legislation, the United Nations system is pursuing new areas and issues in mineral resources development. According to the report, the Organization could refocus on cross-sectoral, multidisciplinary activities and alternative approaches to mineral-resources development, taking up such issues as mining and the community, and mineral resources and social development, as well as small-scale mining and the increased attention being drawn to artisanal mining. The report suggest that the Committee might wish to consider those new approaches and perhaps recommend additional paths to pursue as regards the environmentally sound development of mineral resources.
The report from ESCAP (document E/C.7/1996/12) covers activities of the Commission in the areas of both water and mineral resources. It states that the ESCAP secretariat's work in the field of water resources has been oriented towards assisting the governments of the region in the formulation and implementation of plans and programmes for integrated water-resources development and management for sustainable development. For example, ESCAP is studying existing water pricing policies and structures in the region and will then draft suitable policies and structures. Workshops and training courses on water-resources assessment have been organized to assist countries in this field. Studies have been carried out on an integrated approach to the efficient development, management and use of urban water resources.
In the field of mineral resources, ESCAP has focused on assisting governments of the region in the implementation of plans and programmes for integrated mineral-resources development and management within the context of national economic and social development policies which strive to achieve sustainable development. For example, the ESCAP secretariat has promoted the formulation of appropriate mineral development strategies conducive to foreign investment. Regarding environmental management, two regional studies have been conducted on the exploitation and use of mineral waste and the confinement of waste in underground space. The secretariat has also been actively pursuing training activities related to the removal of obsolete offshore installations and platforms. Training is being provided on the use of space technology for land use planning and ecosystem management.
Water-Related Issues
In its review of progress on water-related issues, the Committee will have before it reports of the Secretary-General on the state of the world's freshwater resources and on institutional and legal issues in water-resources management, along with reports by the regional commissions.
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The report of the Secretary-General on freshwater resources has not yet been issued.
The report of the Secretary-General on institutional and legal issues relevant to the implementation of water markets (document E/C.7/1996/3) reviews the structural and regulatory norms in water legislation, experiences with the marketing of water rights in the United States, and water-marketing programmes more recently begun in Argentina, Chile and Peru. It states that such programmes are most effective in areas which have a strong tradition of and experience in water marketing and which have established ways to prevent water monopolies and protect public and private interest. In areas in which public interest is lacking, requirements of effective and beneficial water use are also lacking, regulations and planning are disregarded and discouraged, and the areas are already experiencing problems due to the monopolization of water rights and related public services.
The report concludes that water markets are a valid means of increasing the efficiency of water use and reallocation and that water legislation should include water-marketing principles, established within a balanced structure in which property protected water rights are accommodated to public interest, including the principle of effective and beneficial use and environmental protection.
Among the reports of the regional commissions, a second ESCAP report (document E/C.7/1996/13) notes that that region has 60 per cent of the world's population and 60 per cent of its irrigated land, but only about 30 per cent of the annual average amount of renewable water resources. Due to rapidly increasing population, by the year 2000, there would be approximately 1.1 million litres of water available per person per year in south Asia, almost one fourth less than there was in 1950. For north China and Mongolia, the estimate is 1.2 million litres, one third less than the 1950 figure. The most critical area is central Asia, which is now experiencing a severe water crisis in the Aral Sea Basin and where by the year 2000 per capita water availability will be 700,000 litres per year, 10 times less than it was in 1950. In addition, heavy pollution caused by disposal of municipal, agricultural and industrial wastes has exceeded the capacity of a large number of water bodies to accommodate such wastes, and subsequently many rivers in the Asia and Pacific region have lost their potential as water supply sources for downstream users.
The report concludes that government officials, the private sector and the general public in the region need to be more aware of the water-related recommendations of Agenda 21. Urgent action should be taken to increase water conservation. Demand management should be used to increase the efficiency of water use, particularly in irrigated agriculture. To reduce demand, technical and regulatory measures -- including reduction of water losses and the promotion of water-saving appliances and water re-use -- could be introduced.
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Economic instruments such as charges, subsidies, taxes, fines and penalties should be applied more widely.
The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) report (document E/C.7/1996/14) reviews the assistance the ECA provided Member States during 1994-95 in formulating their national plans, policies, strategies and capacity-building in the area of water resources. These included the publication of an annual information bulletin on water resources in Africa and of studies on small- scale irrigation systems in selected African countries, marine pollution problems, and problems related to sustainable development and utilization of natural resources. The assistance also included the provision of charts and posters to enhance awareness of the need for water-resources conservation, management and utilization, and advisory services and technical assistance for the development and management of transboundary basins in Africa. At the request of the Inter-Agency Group for Water in Africa, ECA is preparing a project document on integrated management of transboundary freshwater resources in Africa.
The Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) report (document E/C.7/1996/15) states that the pollution of transboundary watercourses and international lakes has become a widespread phenomenon in Europe and a matter of particular concern. More than 50 per cent of the 31 major river basins in Europe have transboundary catchments. European countries' freshwater supply is often dependent upon external sources; in the Netherlands, for example, two thirds of the water supply depends on the Rhine.
To better protect and use water resources, and to respond to the objectives of the ECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, many countries have expressed the need to limit waste-water emissions and to undertake comprehensive water quality measures, the report continues. There is agreement on the precautionary and polluter-pays principle. In most cases, however, national strategies are presented in very general terms and without quantifiable goals and objectives.
The report goes on to review challenges that are being faced and measures being taken in the areas of control of pollution from industrial, agricultural and waste-disposal activities; contingency planning; the use of economic and financial instruments to ensure appropriate pricing of water resources and water-related services; and sustainable water management. It notes, for example, that in central and eastern European countries industrial waste waters are frequently discharged into sewer networks or directly into watersheds without any proper pre-treatment. And treatment plants are often overloaded, improperly operated and use inappropriate treatment technologies. Throughout Europe much work remains to be done on detecting leakages of polluting substances from existing and disused underground storage sites and from abandoned waste-disposal sites. The report recommends that a pilot
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project be undertaken to serve as a guideline to methodology and application of integrated water-resources management.
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) report (document E/C.7/1996/16) states that -- although there are exceptions, particularly among the countries of the Caribbean -- in general, the region, and particularly South America, is water rich. And, "it is possible to be relatively optimistic about the ability of most countries of the region to meet the major goals established under Agenda 21". The emphasis in many countries of the region on privatization and decentralization has led to a reduction of central governments' water-related operational responsibilities and an increase in the roles of local government, autonomous public companies and the private sector. Countries with more effective water management have responded more coherently and rapidly to ongoing management issues and emergencies and have been able to reform their systems more rapidly and effectively.
One of the most important issues for the region is the absence of universal availability of drinking water supply and sanitation, the need for which was underscored by the appearance of cholera in 1991, the report notes. Other issues include the serious deterioration in water quality which will require giving increasing priority to adequate water treatment and elimination of polluting effluents; the need to consider every river basin as a whole system and thus encouraging the development of integrated basin management; and the challenge of constructing a system for evaluating potential environmental impacts and establishing provisions for environmental monitoring of water-related activities.
The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) report (document E/C.7/1996/17) outlines the work of the expert group meeting on the "Implications of Agenda 21 for Integrated Water Management in the ESCWA Region", which was held in Amman, Jordan in October 1995. It notes, among other things, the continued seriousness of the water situation in ESCWA countries, inadequate water legislation and insufficient enforcement of existing rules and regulations, and the inappropriate allocation of water among various sectors in many countries. Some countries also suffer from a fragmented institutional and organizational framework and a shortage of qualified personnel in the water sector.
The report lists recommendations both for the consideration of Member States and to regional and international organizations. The former include seeking all possible approaches to developing shared water resources, making more effective use of modern technology such as telemetry and remote sensing, researching the use of brackish water for agricultural activities, and encouraging research and development to reduce sea and brackish water desalination costs. The recommendations to organizations include organizing and sponsoring ad hoc training courses in line with the main components of the
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relevant programme areas of Agenda 21 as well as requesting donors to provide new and additional funds for water resources development in countries faced with financial constraints.
Plans for Averting Freshwater Crisis
The report of the Secretary-General on the preparation of implementation plans for averting the freshwater crisis (document E/C.7/1996/5) recalls that at its second session, in 1994, the Committee had noted with alarm that some 80 countries, comprising 40 per cent of the world's population, were already suffering from serious water shortages and that, in many cases, scarcity of water resources had become the limiting factor to economic and social development. It had also noted that ever-increasing water pollution had become a major problem throughout the world, including coastal zones. And it had expressed concern at the slow pace of progress with regard to the implementation of the recommendations to deal with such problems.
In view of those considerations, the Committee had recommended that the Commission on Sustainable Development, at its second session, in 1994, support the formulation of an implementation plan to avert the impending water crisis to be reviewed by the Committee on Natural Resources in 1996. The Commission did not act on that recommendation, however. Rather, it urged organizations of the United Nations system as well as non-governmental organizations to strengthen their efforts towards a comprehensive assessment of freshwater resources, with the aim of identifying the availability of such resources, making projections of future needs, and identifying problems to be considered by the General Assembly at its special session in 1997.
The current report describes actions being taken to make such an assessment and the nature of the report that will be submitted. For example, driving forces, such as population dynamics and consumption patterns, would be discussed. There would be an analysis of selected river basins with a view to identifying priority areas for action. Policy options for the long-term sustainable development and utilization of water resources would be proposed. Those options would endeavour to link land and water management issues; water for food security; and safe drinking water supply, sanitation and sewerage and human health in the context of economic and social development.
Future Water Resources Management Issues
The Committee is also expected to have before it an inter-sessional strategy paper on future water-resources management issues and appropriate strategies and policies.
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Mineral Resources
Concerning its agenda item on the inflow of funds and new technologies in the mineral sector, the Committee will have before it a report of the Secretary-General (document E/C.7/1996/8) which states that in the past decade many developing countries and economies in transition have recognized that private sector investment in mineral resources can provide a significant contribution to a country's economic base. With the assistance of the United Nations, the World Bank and other multilateral and bilateral agencies, they have shifted development strategies towards relying on the private sector to lead economic growth. In the countries where the reforms are most advanced, the business environments have improved noticeably and the private sector is responding through increased direct investment in the minerals sector, with a corresponding multiplier effect on the economy in general.
While investment in the mineral resource sector can make a fundamental contribution towards the socio-economic development of a country, however, mineral resources are finite. Therefore, the report states the policies and supportive frameworks being instituted must take into account the overriding long-term country goal of sustained economic growth and sustainable development. As developing countries and economies move towards the next stage of capacity-building, recognition must be given to the dual responsibility of providing an environment conducive to private investment while providing a foundation for achieving social equity.
To that end, the report assesses how developing countries and others undergoing economic transition benefit from the receipt of funds and technology for mineral development. It also reviews the roles and obligations of host governments and investors engaged in that sector, and describes possible mechanisms for helping the two groups work together to achieve their joint and separate goals. It recommends a series of mechanisms to be used to support developing countries and countries in transition in setting up and maintaining the necessary framework to encourage foreign and local investment in their mineral resources in such a manner as to facilitate long-term sustainable development.
On the subject of small-scale mining, the Committee will have before it a report of the Secretary-General (document E/C.7/1996/9), which includes a quantitative evaluation of small-scale mining's importance in the economies of developing countries and economies in transition. It includes an analysis of new approaches and developments undertaken by governments, the private sector and non-governmental organizations and lending institutions, and it looks at the roles of local communities and of women in small-scale mining. The report highlights results recently obtained in the area of safety and health, and it discusses the work of two recent international conferences, including the World Bank's draft comprehensive strategy for artisanal mining.
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The report states that small-scale and, in particular, artisanal mining has seen a worldwide resurgence over the past 25 years. More than 6 million people (20 per cent of the those active in mining as a whole) are now involved in the activity. Many of these workers are women: In Guinea, 75 per cent of artisanal miners are women; in Madagascar, Mali and Zimbabwe, 50 per cent; and in Bolivia, 40 per cent.
Serious efforts are needed to regulate and promote that industry -- first and foremost to mitigate environmental damage, minimize social upheavals and curb smuggling, the report continues. A legal framework that recognizes the existence and characteristics of small-scale and artisanal mining is a prerequisite for limiting its negative impacts. In many cases, alternative employment opportunities need to be created for artisanal miners so as to ease the pressure on the natural resources and the environment.
Governments, local communities, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and the international community all have significant roles to play in improving the lives of artisanal miners and their dependants, the report states. Confronting the mining issues (including environmental pollution and degradation), is necessary but not sufficient for solving the problems inherent in artisanal mining, since one of those problems is that the work may create immediate income but often does not create improved living conditions or social development for the regions in which it occurs.
The report recommends a multi-sectoral approach, focusing on socio-economic development and poverty eradication and including community- development sociologists, economists, legal experts and public health experts so as to generate multi-sectoral development initiatives. Since most of those mining activities occur in rural areas and provide income during difficult economic times, they are an effective weapon against rural poverty and rural- to-urban migration, and should be supported as such.
On the subject of environmental protection and restoration issues arising from mineral industry activities, the Committee will consider a report of the Secretary-General (document E/C.7/1996/10) which describes key advances in the development and application of state-of-the art technology for minimizing the environmental degradation caused by the mining and processing of mineral resources. The report notes that radical changes in the mining industry have come mainly through State intervention. There is also growing recognition that technological innovation can be stimulated by an environmental regulatory framework in which compliance costs are offset by productivity gains. Regulatory pressure has encouraged innovation in the field of clean-up technologies (the effort to rehabilitate lands so that they may be returned to economically productive use).
The report states that a shift of focus from end-of-pipe pollution-abatement technologies to cleaner production processes needs to be
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encouraged everywhere, but especially in countries with developing and transitional economies. United Nations agencies can foster investment in the development and diffusion of state-of-the-art, environmentally sensitive technologies. Those agencies also need to develop mechanisms to enhance North-South and South-South technology cooperation. The United Nations also has an important role to play in the coordination of bilateral and multilateral efforts to support institutional networking at the country level, to ensure the better utilization of expertise available within the country itself. The Organization could also give priority to the training of advisers; demonstration projects that highlight the economic and environmental benefits of the use of state-of-the-art environmentally sensitive technologies; and capacity-building for technology assessment.
Under another agenda item the Committee is to have before it its own inter-sessional strategy paper entitled "Towards the Sustainable Supply of Minerals in the Context of Agenda 21" (document E/C.7/1996/11). The paper notes that there is a continuing divergence of opinion concerning the long- term availability of mineral resources. This is due partly to the time scales being considered, partly to a lack of knowledge of resource and recycling potential, and partly to the difficulty of predicting future demand in the context of technological change and possible future substitution of both materials and energy sources. Accordingly, the current emphasis should be on improving global management strategies for the optimal and most efficient supply and use of available resources with minimum environmental impact. It is especially important, the report continues, that, for minerals and fossil fuels, the rate of depletion and the emphasis on recycling and economy of use be calibrated to ensure that the resource does not run out before acceptable substitutes are available. Sustainable development requires that the rate of depletion of non-renewable resources foreclose as few future options as possible.
The Commission on Sustainable Development, established to promote the implementation of Agenda 21, has called for the creation of indicators of sustainable development to help assess progress, the report continues. Such indicators are still relatively undeveloped compared to traditional economic and social indicators. And Agenda 21 also called for identification of balanced patterns of consumption worldwide that the Earth can support in the long term. The definition of sustainable consumption patterns must take into account key minerals issues -- the capacity of the environment to absorb the effects of resource use, the sustainability of the supply of essentially non-renewable resources, and the possibilities for modifying production and consumption patterns through greater efficiency of use, new technologies, recycling and substitution. However, Agenda 21 does not include a chapter on the minerals sector.
The report is intended to redress that imbalance. It discusses the relationship between population growth, resource use and the environment, and
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then considers factors that moderate demand for minerals from primary sources: increased efficiency of extraction and use, as well as recycling and substitution. The report makes three recommendations. It proposes the establishment of a commission on mining and materials to assess and report on technological progress towards the sustainable use of resources through improved efficiency, new technologies, substitution and recycling.
The report also proposes that there be a programme to produce a global geochemical database to provide an essential contribution to objective and effective environmental and resource management. In accordance with those recommendations, it further recommends that a global knowledge base on mineral resource potential be developed and integrated with other land information, so that the horizon of sustainability can be extended and land-use planning can properly take into account national and global needs for mineral exploration and development.
Work of Committee
The Committee reports to the Economic and Social Council with policy options and recommendations. As decided by the Economic and Social Council in resolution 1992/62, in addition to the election of officers and the adoption of the agenda, issues related to the activities of the United Nations system in the field of water and mineral resources, and inter-agency coordination focusing on progress made towards achieving sustainable development will be dealt with in plenary meetings. Following the discussion of those items, the Committee will break up into two working groups: the Working Group on Water Resources and the Working Group on Mineral Resources. At the end of the session, it will again hold plenary meetings to establish a provisional agenda for its fourth session and to adopt the report of the current session.
Committee Membership
The Committee comprises 24 experts nominated by Member States of the Economic and Social Council, on the basis of their qualifications and professional or scientific knowledge. The experts, who serve in their personal capacities, are elected to four-year terms.
The members of the Committee are: Guillermo Jorge Cano (Argentina); Denis A. Davis (Canada); Vladislav M. Dolgopolov (Russian Federation); Malin Falkenmark (Sweden); Ugo Farinelli (Italy); Marek Hoffman (Poland); Patricio Jerez (Nicaragua); Mohammed Nawaz Khan (Pakistan); Godfrey L. S. Leshange (United Republic of Tanzania); Patrick Maselino (Zambia); José Manuel Mejía Angel (Colombia); Thomas P. Z. Mpofu (Zimbabwe); Joel Muyco (Philippines); Erastus Kabutu Mwongera (Kenya); Lukabu Khabouji N'Zaji (Zaire); Dossou Barthélémy Otchoun (Benin); Hendrick Martinus Oudshoorn (Netherlands); Neculai Pavlovschi (Romania); Karlheinz Rieck (Germany); R. W. Roye Rutland (Australia); Luis Fernando Soares de Assis (Brazil); Sheik Ibrahim bin Sheik Ali (Malaysia) Natarayan Suryanarayanan (India); and Zhang Hai-Lun (China).
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