COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TO HOLD SIXTH SESSION AT HEADQUARTERS, 20 APRIL - 1 MAY
Press Release
ENV/DEV/464
COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TO HOLD SIXTH SESSION AT HEADQUARTERS, 20 APRIL - 1 MAY
19980417 Background Release Freshwater Management to be Major Focus of Consideration, 'Industry Segment' to Include Business Community, Trade Unions RepresentativesConsideration of strategic approaches for freshwater management will be a major focus of the sixth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development, to be held at Headquarters from 20 April to 1 May. Other topics to be discussed include responsible entrepreneurship, under the "industry segment", which will be held for the first time at the forthcoming session.
The Commission is charged with monitoring the implementation of Agenda 21, the programme of action adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. At its nineteenth special session, held in June 1997, the General Assembly adopted the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, which recommended several measures to improve the implementation of UNCED's programme of action.
According to the outcome of the special session, the Commission will take up the issue of freshwater as its sectoral theme at its sixth session. The Assembly called for the Commission to hold a dialogue on the use of freshwater for social and economic purposes with the aim of initiating a strategic approach for the implementation of all aspects of the sustainable use of freshwater. Those aspects included safe drinking water and sanitation, water for irrigation, recycling and waste-water management, and the important role freshwater plays in natural ecosystems.
The Commission is scheduled to hear presentations on the outcome of the work of its Inter-Sessional Ad Hoc Working Group on Strategic Approaches to Freshwater Management and Inter-Sessional Ad Hoc Working Group on Industry and Sustainable Development. It is also scheduled to hear presentations on national experiences in the area of freshwater from representatives of China, Zimbabwe and Venezuela, among others.
A Secretary-General's report on freshwater management (document E/CN.17/1998/2) states that the overall combination of water shortages and pollution is causing widespread public health problems, threatening global food supplies and leading to economic stagnation. The possible result of those conditions could be a series of local and regional water crises which
would present serious global implications. The Secretary-General recommends action in the areas of: improving access to water supplies and sanitation services; ensuring water for sustainable food production and rural development; and meeting the demand and impact of growing industrial use.
The cross-sectoral theme of the forthcoming session is "transfer of technology, capacity-building, education, science and awareness-raising".
The two-week session will feature for the first time an "industry segment". Scheduled for 21 and 22 April, the segment is intended to provide for an interactive dialogue among representatives of industry (both the business community and trade unions), non-governmental organizations, governments and international organizations.
The inclusion of a new segment stems from the special session's decision that the Commission should strengthen its interaction with representatives of major groups, including through greater and better use of focused dialogue sessions and round tables. That could include inputs from business and industry groups on the elaboration, promotion and sharing of sustainable development practices and the promotion of corporate responsibility and accountability.
The session's high-level meeting, on 29 and 30 April, is expected to include the participation of ministers and policy-makers from a large number of States. The high-level meeting has been envisaged as a way of adding political weight to the Commission's work leading to its next session. Participants should consider the outcome of the discussions on issues before the sixth session and provide policy guidance for the Commission's inter- sessional work and its future deliberations.
A report of the Secretary-General on main and emerging issues for consideration by the high-level meeting (document E/CN.17/1998/10), recommends a number of key policy issues for consideration, including creating a stronger partnership with major groups, which are non-governmental actors considered critical to the effective implementation of Agenda 21. Participants in the segment are also encouraged to announce their intentions regarding possible initiatives and inter-sessional activities they plan to organize to follow up on issues considered by the sixth session, as well as an input to future sessions of the Commission.
The report suggests for consideration the following topics: how to further reform industrial policy in relation to freshwater management; how to devise more appropriate regulatory systems; and how to accelerate the development and dissemination of environmentally sound technologies. Other issues that could be addressed include how to promote the development of
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voluntary industry initiatives, the reporting of quantitative targets set by the enterprises themselves, and self-evaluation with respect to their achievements.
Also at its sixth session, the Commission will discuss progress in the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, including a report of the Secretary-General on the development of a vulnerability index for those States.
The annotated provisional agenda for the Commission's sixth session is contained in document E/CN.17/1998/1.
Inter-Sessional Activities
Increasingly, the work of the Commission in the inter-sessional period has become an indispensable part of the process of implementation of Agenda 21. Apart from meetings of the ad hoc working groups, a number of Member States and United Nations organizations initiated inter-sessional events -- workshops, symposia, and consultations -- involving experts from governmental and non-governmental sectors. A number of major groups met alongside or participated in the ad hoc working groups or organized their own activities.
Among events held since the last session of the Commission were meetings organized by the Governments of Zimbabwe, Republic of Korea, Brazil, Germany and France. Topics discussed during those sessions included freshwater, guidelines for consumer protection, and transfer of technology. The Commission will be informed of the outcome of those events.
Commission Background
The Commission on Sustainable Development was set up in 1993 as a functional commission of the Economic and Social Council to ensure follow-up to UNCED as well as to enhance international cooperation and rationalize the intergovernmental decision-making capacity for the integration of environment and development issues. It was also mandated to examine progress in the implementation of Agenda 21 at the national, regional and international levels, fully guided by the principles of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and with the aim of achieving sustainable development.
The Commission, which has met annually at Headquarters for the past five years, has operated on the basis of a multi-year thematic programme of work based on clusters of chapters of Agenda 21, intended to ensure an integrated approach to all the environmental, social and economic components of Agenda 21 as well as linkages between sectoral and cross-sectoral issues.
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Agenda 21 is a comprehensive programme of action aimed at reshaping human activities in order to minimize environmental damage and ensure sustainability in the development process. Such action is seen as the responsibility of Governments, the United Nations system and, development agencies. Agenda 21 covers matters such as trade and environment, consumption patterns, integrating environment and development in decision-making, land management, combating deforestation, sustainable agriculture, role of major groups, transfer of technology, cooperation and capacity-building, and information for decision-making.
The Assembly's nineteenth special session adopted a number of recommendations aimed at improving the methods of work of the Commission and adopted its new programme of work for 1998-2002. According to that programme, the Commission should continue to provide a central forum for reviewing progress and urging further implementation of Agenda 21.
Membership, Officers
The Commission membership for 1998 is as follows: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Canada, Central African Republic, China, Colombia, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Guyana, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Mozambique, Netherlands, Niger, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovakia, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
The officers of the Commission were elected on 22 December 1997 and are as follows: Chairman, Cielito Habito (Philippines); Vice-Chairmen, Michael Odevall (Sweden), Rogatien Biaou (Benin) and Marta Ines Galindo (Colombia). The election of a fourth Vice-Chairmen was postponed.
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