UNITED NATIONS WORK IN AREA OF NATURAL RESOURCES HAMPERED BY FINANCIAL CRISIS, COMMITTEE IS TOLD
Press Release
NR/223
UNITED NATIONS WORK IN AREA OF NATURAL RESOURCES HAMPERED BY FINANCIAL CRISIS, COMMITTEE IS TOLD
19960506 The Committee on Natural Resources must demonstrate its relevance to the follow-up to the decisions of recent United Nations conferences, the Director of the Division for Environment Management and Social Development Department told that body this morning as it began its third session. She said the financial crisis had affected the functioning of the United Nations Secretariat and would impact the expert committees of the Economic and Social Council.A representative of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) described a new UNCTAD programme on sustainable mineral resource development aimed at encouraging countries to convert mineral resources into capital, but added that given the contraction in budgets, it was unlikely that UNCTAD's work on minerals would continue at the same level as in the past.
The Senior Economic Affairs Officer in the Natural Resources and Environment Planning and Management Branch of the Department for Development Support and Management Services said the mineral resources activities had received lower funding than in the past even as new areas in mineral resource development had opened up.
Addressing the issue of water resources, a representative of the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women said that ever-increasing water scarcity and environmental degradation continued to have a serious impact on the world's primary water carriers, managers, end-users and family health educators: women. Women were still not sufficiently involved in the planning and management of water resources. She urged the Committee to recommend that research and training on women and water resources be strengthened at all levels.
Other statements were made by the Director for the Division for Sustainable Development; the Senior Officer of the Energy and Natural Resources Branch; the Technical Adviser to the Department of Development Support and Management Services; and the Director of the Environment and Natural Resource Management Division of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
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Neculai Pavlovschi, expert from Romania, was elected Chairman of the Committee. R.W. Roye Rutland, expert from Australia, and Hendrick Martinus Oudshoorn, expert from the Netherlands, were elected Vice-Chairman. Mohammad Nawaz Khan, expert from Pakistan was elected Rapporteur.
Also this morning, the Committee adopted its agenda and programme of work. In this context, concern was expressed about the absence of many of the Committee members and about the possibility that discussions on certain subjects might be held before some of the key experts on those subjects arrived in New York. The Committee was informed of the names of several experts who would not be attending and several others who the Secretariat had not heard from. The Chairman said it was his understanding that there would be enough members in attendance for the Committee to conduct its business. The possibility of concluding the Committee's work ahead of schedule was also discussed.
The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 7 May, to continue its consideration of United Nations activities in the field of water and mineral resources.
Committee Work Programme
The Committee on Natural Resources met this morning to begin its third session. It was expected to begin its consideration of United Nations system activities in the field of water and mineral resources and of inter-agency coordination. (For background on reports before the Committee, see Press Release NR/222, issued on 3 May.)
Statements
BEATRICE LABONNE, Director, Division for Environment Management and Social Development, of the Department for Development Support and Management Services, said the financial and budgetary crisis had affected the functioning of the United Nations Secretariat and would impact the expert committees of the Economic and Social Council. Due to the crisis, the Secretariat had fewer resources and had not been able to prepare all papers and reports requested by the Committee in a comprehensive manner.
Some Member States had questioned the cost-effectiveness of the expert committees within the Economic and Social Council, she said. It was important for the Committee to demonstrate its relevance to the debate among Member States as part of the continuum of conferences which had begun with the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, 1992) and would conclude with the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), to be held this June in Istanbul.
She emphasized that in order to harmonize sustained growth with socio- economic development and environmental protection, a people-centred approach had to be pursued. Poverty had been singled out as one of the main focuses of United Nations concern. It had often been linked to environmental degradation and poor management of natural resources. Also, large-scale technological solutions, such as hydroelectric dams and irrigation schemes, had marginalized the poor. Therefore, resource management had to start at community level and had to involve women. Conversely, in industrial societies, environmental degradation was linked to unsustainable production and consumption patterns. A rethinking of policies was required, as was an increased reliance on products which had the least adverse impact on the environment.
United Nations agencies, including the World Bank, were moving forward with activities in such areas as: equitable access and sustainable use of water; improved household water security; expanded freshwater assessments; and water for food production, she continued. Water shortages threatened public health and economic production in 80 countries, and over 40 per cent of the population had no access to reliable clean water. Women, communities and the private sector would play a crucial role in solving the problem.
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JOKE WALLER-HUNTER, Director of the Division for Sustainable Development of the Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development, said that in its recent session the Commission on Sustainable Development had addresses the interrelationship between water, land and oceans. The Commission had emphasized the need for changing consumption and production patterns. It had endorsed the concept of eco-efficiency, which was about producing more with less.
Reports on the state of fresh-water resources had confirmed that many high-income countries faced or would face water scarcity in the future, she said. Many regions of the world could face shortages as a result of high per capita use of water as much as due to its unavailability. She said that, within the Commission, there seemed to be a growing consensus that its work programme after 1997 might shift focus to the economic sector, adding that due to the critical staffing situation in the Department, it had not been possible to present a consultative report to the Committee on Natural resources. However, the various organizations active in the area of water resources would present an update on their activities to the Committee.
ANATOLI BELOV, Senior Economic Affairs Officer in the Technical Cooperation Activities in Mineral Resources, presenting a report on that subject, said policies had been re-oriented with increased emphasis on environmental protection and assistance to developing countries in the development of mineral resources in an environmentally sound manner. The United Nations had adopted a cross-sectoral and multi-disciplinary approach in its activities.
The Organization's ability to provide technical cooperation assistance had been affected by evolutions in the funding of technical cooperation activities, he said. The mineral resources activities had received lower funding than in the past, even as new areas in mineral resource development had opened up.
PIERRE NAJLIS, Senior Officer of the Energy and Natural Resources Branch, speaking on water-related activities, said that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) had been a driving force in developing integrated water resources management, whereas the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) had undertaken the task of preparing guidelines for water-resources management. Among the other organizations, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and UNESCO were concerned with water quality, and the World Bank was concerned with monitoring water and sanitation. The World Health Organization (WHO) Africa 2000 programme was designed to improve the water situation on that continent.
The FAO had been active in stressing the link between land and water resources, he said. It recognized the importance of the interrelationship between water, food supply and rural development, as well as the crucial role
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of women in the efficient use of water resources. In the past, difficulties in organizing data had hindered work. The UNESCO was in the process of organizing a computer database which would make it easier to input and access information. Major efforts had been undertaken to collect reliable data. The FAO, through its "aquastep programme", had provided data on water resources in Africa, and information on rural basins was being collected by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The coordination of activities among various United Nations organizations was important during the present era of dwindling budgets, he said. However, contact among organizations had become increasingly difficult due to restrictions imposed by the cuts.
GUANGCHANG SHI, Director of the Environment and Natural Resource Management Division of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), presented his Commission's report on its activities in the areas of water and mineral resources. He described how ESCAP had restructured its conference structure and its sub-programmes for natural resources, energy and environment. The ESCAP secretariat was focusing on the formulation of implementation plans and programmes for integrated water-resources and mineral-resources development and management within the context of national economic and social-development policies aimed at achieving sustainable development.
BORJANA SCHIEBER, Social Affairs Officer of the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, said that in 1990 28 countries with populations totalling 335 million had experienced water stress or scarcity. By 2025, it was projected that between 46 and 52 countries would experience such problems, and that the number of people affected might approach 3.3 billion. Ever-increasing water scarcity and environmental degradation continued to have a serious impact on the world's primary water carriers, managers, end-users and family health educators: women. Despite the attention Agenda 21 paid to the role of women in environmental issues, women were still not sufficiently involved in the management of water resources.
The Institute was the major advocate for women, water supply and sanitation within the United Nations system, she said. The organization was committed to integrating women into training and research in human resource development. There was a need to help countries incorporate women in research and training concerning water-resource management. The Committee could contribute to strengthening an integrated and multi-disciplinary approach to linking water resources, environment and women. The Committee could do this by supporting the Institute's ongoing research and training efforts and by recommending that research and training on women and water resources be strengthened.
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BRIAN CHAMBERS, of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said the organization had prepared a list of the 40 publications UNCTAD had produced on minerals and metals. He would be happy to make the list available to Committee participants. Regarding the future, the UNCTAD secretariat would be restructured to provide tangible advice and practical support to developing countries with regard to UNCTAD IX. In the minerals sector, there would be a new programme on sustainable resource development which would encourage countries to convert mineral resources into capital that would benefit future generations.
Other UNCTAD activities, including its work on iron ore and minerals statistics, were expected to continue after UNCTAD IX, he said. However, given the contraction in budgets, it was unlikely that UNCTAD's work on minerals would continue at the same level as in the past. Extrabudgetary projects in the works included an Internet-based clearinghouse mechanism for information on mineral-related issues and a fellowship programme to enhance experts' understanding of the public-policy components of resource projects.
JACOB BURKE, Technical Adviser to the Department of Development Support and Management Services, said that the report on water-resources management had been intended to provoke discussion, and he urged Committee members to come back to the Department's technical advisers for clarification or elaboration.
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