COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT BEGINS HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT

Press Release
ENV/DEV/474

COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT BEGINS HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT

The State Minister for the Environment of Indonesia this morning expressed concern that a steep decline in official development assistance (ODA) was eroding the only source of development finance, propelling a drift into deeper poverty and marginalization -- the main causes of environmental degradation. He was addressing the Commission on Sustainable Development as it began its two-day, high-level segment for 1998.

Speaking for "Group of 77" developing countries and China, he said that industry should be encouraged to use its managerial, technical and financial resources to meet environmental challenges, by providing favourable access and the transfer of environmentally sound technologies. Such transfers should be based on partnerships between government, business, research and development bodies and international organizations.

The gap between commitments made at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and available resources for ODA raised questions about the credibility of those commitments, the Minister of Development Cooperation of Denmark said. In 1996, ODA worldwide shrank to only .25 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). That was an all time low since 1970, and was a far cry from the goal of .7 per cent suggested at the Conference.

Addressing the same theme, India's Minister for Environment and Forests said that unless the trend of decreasing ODA was reversed, it would fatally undermine confidence in a global partnership based on common but differentiated responsibilities. A programme for the provision of adequate financial resources and technology to the developing world, on concessional and preferential terms, was imperative.

Another issue stressed this morning was the importance of freshwater management. Colombia's Minister for Environment said that mechanisms must be developed to ensure a continued and adequate supply of freshwater and that new sources of freshwater should be explored, including underground extraction. Syria's Minister of Irrigation said that about half of the world's freshwater

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resources coming from shared international watercourses, joint technical groups for common water basins should be formed to determine apportionment in a reasonable and equitable way.

Opening the meeting, Commission Chairman Cielito Habito (Philippines), said industry was the most dominant user of the earth's natural resources, and it could be the main contributor to sustainable development or its chief obstacle. Sustainable development was not something governments did for people; it was something people did for themselves, he said. The Commission should focus on those community efforts in its work.

Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Nitin Desai said discussions on sustainable development should focus on social and economic factors as well as the environment. Particularly in small- and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries, environmental regulations might close businesses and put people out of work. In those cases, other means must be employed, such as provision of credits for making environmental improvements and providing environmentally sound technologies.

Statements were also made by ministers from the United Kingdom (for the European Union and associated States), South Africa, Bolivia, Sweden, Japan, Italy, the Republic of Korea, Canada, Zimbabwe, Spain, and Portugal.

Also addressing the Commission was the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Chairman of the Global Environment Facility, and the President of the International Fertilizer Industry Association.

The Commission will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue its high-level segment.

Commission Work Programme

The Commission on Sustainable Development met this morning to begin its high-level segment. It had before it a report of the Secretary-General on main and emerging issues (document E/CN.17/1998/10), which reviews the main challenges facing the Commission at its current session and issues to be considered in 1999. It also addresses the issues of regional cooperation and information exchange, and the need for stronger partnerships with major groups involved in sustainable development.

The report also highlights specific topics within these areas on which the participants at the two-day high-level meeting are invited to focus their attention.

On the issue of freshwater management, the report states that the river basin and aquifer systems must be recognized as the spatial units of management. Integrated management must be based on the awareness that the conservation of freshwater and related ecosystems is vital to sustainable development and that its effective management, including measures relating to water-related disasters, requires adequate information flows.

Water planning and management needs must be integrated into national economic management, the report states. High priority must be given to strengthening related institutions and improving training and management. Increased financial resources will need to be mobilized for the sustainable development of freshwater resources, and all costs must be recovered if the provision of water is to be viable.

On the role of industry, participants may wish to consider how to further reform industrial policy, devise more appropriate regulatory systems, and create a policy environment conducive to foreign directive investment that is supportive of sustainable development, the report states. They may also wish to consider how to accelerate the development and dissemination of environmentally sound technologies through investment in infrastructure, education and training.

Areas cited by the report for possible consideration by participants at the high-level meeting include how to promote the development of voluntary industry initiatives, and how to improve the monitoring of the environmental performance of industry by government. They might also consider how to foster greater cooperation between government, industry, trade unions and civil society in order to ensure the sustainability of social security arrangements and ensure universal compliance by industry with core labour standards.

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Participants might also wish to consider priority issues for consumer policies to promote sustainable consumption, and how the Commission could best extend its consumer protection guidelines to include issues of sustainable consumption, the report states. They might wish to consider how governments and international organizations can best promote the transfer of environmentally sound technology, as well as ways in which positive developments in national capacity-building could be further promoted.

The report states that participants might also wish to consider ensuring that the Commission work programme on education, training and public awareness be used as a basic framework for action at all levels and for partnership among all actors concerned. They could also consider how the Commission might best contribute to the successful convening of the World Conference on Science and provide political impetus for the more effective mobilization of science of sustainable development.

Issues cited in the report for consideration at the 1999 session of the Commission include the protection of oceans and seas and the sustainable development of small island developing States. Participants in the high-level meetings are invited to consider priorities for national policies and international cooperation relating to tourism, as well as how developed and developing country governments might cooperate with business, consumer organizations and other bodies of civil society in changing consumption patterns.

Participants are invited to voice their expectations for the Commission's deliberations in the year 2001 on energy. They might wish to give further guidance to preparatory work for the five-year review of progress achieved in implementing the Global Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. They are also invited to consider how the role of the Commission as a platform for the exchange of regional and subregional experiences might be realized.

The need to support and enhance the role and contributions of major groups in sustainable development is stressed in the report. Participants are invited to provide guidance on ways of strengthening intersessional mechanisms for the participation of such groups with the Commission, as well as of ensuring the participation of key actors from major groups in the Commission's discussion on the economic sector during the period from 1999 to 2001. Such participation could build on experience gained during the industry segment during the Commission's current session.

Participants in the high-level meeting are also encouraged to announce their intentions regarding any possible initiatives and intersessional activities they plan to organize relating to the work of the Commission, the report concludes.

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Statements

CIELITO HABITO (Philippines), Chairman of the Commission on Sustainable Development, said the worldwide slogan for freshwater management should be "water for all and all for water". All peoples should be assured of fair and equal access to freshwater; that goal was the responsibility of all. Another key issue for the Commission's current session is the role of industry in sustainable development. Industry was the most dominant user of the earth's natural resources, and it could be the main contributor to sustainable development or its chief obstacle.

Sustainable development was not something governments did for people, he said. Rather, it was something that people did for themselves. The work of the Commission should focused chiefly on actions taken by the community of governments; it should focus on the community of people.

NITIN DESAI, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said it was important to recognize that Agenda 21 was not only an environmental action plan; it was also an action plan for sustainable development. That meant discussions should focus on social and economic factors as well as on the environment. Particularly in small- and medium- sized enterprises in developing countries, environmental codes and regulation sometimes made no sense.

Such regulations might close businesses and put people out of work, he went on to say. In such cases, other means must be employed, such as the provision of credits for making environmental improvements and providing environmentally sound technologies. The international community must take actions that went beyond what was usually thought of as environmental policy and pay sufficient attention to developmental concerns.

The Commission had played a special role in shaping a new type of political process, which focused both on relations between countries and on how countries addressed their own domestic issues, he said. It had also attempted to include many sectors in its discussions, including industry and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Many young people were present during the session and they took a very active interest in the processes of sustainable development. Governments should listen to those young people and hear their concerns. Young people could play a key role in sustainable development efforts.

JUWONO SUDARSONO, State Minister for the Environment of Indonesia, speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said that increased interest in sustainable development had caused an increase in the number of international environmental conventions with autonomous governing bodies. However, it had not led to additional financial resources for developing countries. A steep decline in official development assistance (ODA) was eroding the only source of development finance, propelling a drift

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into deeper poverty and marginalization -- the main causes of environmental degradation.

The "free market" approach of reducing State regulations gave free reign to large corporations, he said. Development was not mediated by government but by market forces. That sidelined equity and ignored such negative outcomes as poverty and the inability to fulfil basic needs. The Commission's themes applied differently in the developing countries than in the developed countries. For the Group of 77, freshwater was not an economic good but a basic human need, required for food security needs and the alleviation of poverty. Economic and social development should carry equal weight with environmental protection.

Water policies should be re-regulated, so that private actors and autonomous utilities might act in a transparent commercial environment, he said. A financial mechanism should be created to promote sustainable development in developing countries. Industry in particular should be encouraged to use its managerial, technical and financial resources to meet environmental challenges, by providing favourable access and the transfer of environmentally sound technologies. Such transfers should be based on partnerships between government, business, research and development bodies and international organizations, for capacity-building and education.

MICHAEL MEACHER, Minister for Environment of the United Kingdom, spoke on behalf of the European Union and for Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Cyprus. He said that most of those countries had signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ("the Kyoto agreement") earlier in the day, and the rest would do so by evening. That demonstrated Europe's commitment to combating climate change, the greatest environmental threat

The European Union was dedicated to reducing poverty and promoting sustainable consumption and production, he said. It would also implement the decisions of the United Nations meetings on the environment. European countries would agree on common objectives and on main approaches to be applied. They would develop local and national programmes, mobilize international support, and set up mechanisms to carry out conclusions.

He said the Commission on Sustainable Development had overcome the difficulties in engaging social and economic ministers in its debates, he said. Its new work programme, with its cross-sectoral emphasis and industry involvement, was most effective. All countries had to find the right mix of economic, regulatory and voluntary actions to suit their circumstances. The Commission's round-table approach promoted that integration, and would lend itself well to the next year's themes.

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KADER ASMAL, Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry of South Africa, said the Commonwealth Consultative Group on Environment held its fifth meeting on 28 April in New York. During that meeting, it found that there remained a substantial "unfinished agenda" on the issue of freshwater to be addressed by the intergovernmental process. Effective measures were needed at national and international levels to promote the sustainable use of freshwater.

He went on to propose an agenda for further action, including the adoption of policies for water management based on an integrated, balance approach. That agenda also involved strengthening institutional arrangements and enhancing capacities for managing the demand for water, as well as increasing ODA, concessional lending and technology transfer.

ERICK REYES VILLA, Minister for Sustainable Development and Planning of Bolivia, said his country was among the first to have a ministry of development, which had recently been renamed to include sustainable development and planning. The purpose of sustainable development was to improve life, implying social development with equity for all as well as concern for the environment. A strategic vision, which included planning to eradicate poverty, was needed to ensure sustainable development.

Impoverishment of man and of the environment were interwoven, he said. Both must be overcome through integrated management and policy decisions in various areas, including freshwater management. Principles must be refined. For example, water resources must be considered human property, for the use of all sectors and for the benefit of all. Political elements and civil society must be involved in directing the use of the world's resources.

ANNA LINDH, Minister of the Environment of Sweden, said her seven-year- old son once asked her if the water in their kitchen would some day come to his friend Alexis in Viet Nam, because he had learned in school that everything floating in the river eventually came to the sea and could turn up anywhere. If all generations had gotten the same education, the world would not have suffered from so many years of increasing water pollution and misuse. If people had considered water as a link to a personal friend on the other side of the globe, there would not be so many chemicals in it, endangering the future.

Education was important for children and adults in developing countries, she said. More education always meant more development. Perhaps the best investment in the world today was in the education of girls, but education programmes required money. It was evident that the core of freshwater problems was poverty, yet six years after the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, only four countries had reached the agreed level of commitment to ODA. That was deplorable.

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KOICHI YAMAMOTO, State Secretary for Environment of Japan, said that the legally binding targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, as contained in the Kyoto Protocol, made it an historic text. However, while it was a first big step towards combating global warming in the next century, much remained to be done to achieve the ultimate goals of the Climate Change Convention.

He said the Government of Japan had endeavoured, through financial and technical assistance, to support the efforts of developing countries to make effective and sustainable use of freshwater. Its Initiatives for Sustainable Development towards the Twenty-first Century, launched last year, called for further development of water supply and sewerage systems in developing countries and for efforts to mitigate the impact of water pollution on human health and living environments. They also stressed the importance of efficient and sustainable water resource management.

The transfer to developing countries of environmentally sound technologies, including the wide range of know-how held by both the public and private sectors, was essential, he said. That know-how addressed such issues as the control of environmental pollution, more efficient production, the effective use of water resources, and regional environmental management systems. Of particular importance was the International Environmental Technology Centre of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), established in Japan in 1992. Japan had succeeded in coping with its own severe environmental pollution by strengthening environmental policies.

EDO RONCHI, Minister of the Environment of Italy, said his country had long stressed the vulnerability of small island States to the effects of climate change. Italy had striven to fulfil its responsibility towards those States in their quest for sustainable development. To that end, it had begun a programme to support their access to advanced techniques for climate change simulation, personnel training and capacity-building.

A framework should be created for private investment in environmentally sound technology and public/private partnership, he said. Business should be encouraged to invest in such technology and in the efficient use of energy and non-renewable resources. It should also be encouraged to develop and adapt existing technology to meet the needs of developing countries and economies in transition. Italy called on all concerned international bodies to cooperate with national and local governments, business, trade unions and civil society in that process.

In this International Year of the Oceans, a programmes of action must be undertaken addressing all aspects of human action on the marine environment, he said. Defining strategies for sustainable water management and identifying appropriate means of financing them represented a major challenge for a cooperative global policy in years to come. A delicate balance must be struck between the protection of water resources and economic development.

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CHOI JAI-WOOK, Minister of Environment of the Republic of Korea, said the full cooperation of the private sector was essential for the attainment of sustainable development. Calling technology transfer a cornerstone of sustainable development worldwide, stressed the need to develop publicly owned technologies to which there would be fair access. The Commission should make specific recommendations and encourage follow-up on that issue.

Unsustainable consumption and production patterns needed to be examined and phased out, he went on to say. An important step in that direction was the establishment of core indicators to measure and assess environmental pollution. Also of utmost importance was regional cooperation, which was essential in the implementation of Agenda 21. His country was taking steps to establish better means to facilitate such cooperation.

CHRISTINE STEWART, Minister of the Environment of Canada, said much of her country's water was used by industry. Questions of water and the importance of partnerships in sustaining water resources were especially important. Commitment to partnerships with stakeholders, including industry, ensured water quality. She drew attention to a number of partnerships and programmes, both with industries and the neighbouring United States.

Canada operated on the principle that what was good for the environment could also be good for the economy, she said. Pollution control and sharing best practices with other countries were priorities. Climate change was a global problem that could only be solved if all countries participated. Her country had created a national implementation strategy to focus collective efforts on achieving the Kyoto target on emission reductions by ensuring that no region bore an unreasonable burden.

MOHAMED T. EL-ASHRY, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Global Environment Facility, said the Facility had been dealing increasingly with the subject of shared freshwater resources and international rivers and lakes. Its work on that issue was built on multi-country collaboration to resolve priority transboundary issues. The Facility was supporting such collaborative activities in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, from Lake Victoria to the Danube and from the Bermejo River to the Okavango.

Two recent milestones included the successful completion of its second replenishment of $2.75 billion, and the convening of the first Global Environment Facility Assembly in New Delhi, he said. Towards future priorities, the Facility was committed to strengthening its country-centred system and further streamlining its project cycle, to simplifying project preparation and make it more nationally driven. The Facility must also explore new opportunities for private sector and public/private partnerships.

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SIMON K. MOYO, Minister of Mines, Environment and Tourism of Zimbabwe, speaking on behalf of the High-Level Committee of Ministers and Officials of the UNEP, said various Commission meetings had indicated that UNEP should play a strong role in the management and use of freshwater resources. It was also to take account of economic, social and environmental dimensions in creating those management strategies.

He said the High-Level Committee had decided that UNEP should play a leading role in the integrated management of freshwater. It could focus its efforts on strengthening legal instruments for the use of freshwater resources, developing regional action plans, promoting the application of economic instruments, and developing the global environment monitoring system and early warning systems.

ABDUL RAHMAN MADANI, Minister of Irrigation of Syria, said that about half of the world's freshwater resources came from international watercourses shared by riparian States. Developing such common water resources would serve the people of all those countries. That represented an important step towards sustainable development, because of the close correlation between water and other aspects of development.

Much progress had been made in defining international watercourses, but there was no legal definition of transboundary water, he said. National development efforts making use of such watercourses would not be successful if concerned riparian States did not guarantee water flow and ensure its quality. Joint technical groups for common water basins should be formed to determine apportionment in a reasonable and equitable way.

POUL NIELSON, Minister of Development Cooperation of Denmark, said Agenda 21 was an ambitious work programme for sustainable development. However, it raised the issue of what efforts and financial resources countries were prepared to devote to realize its goals. The gap between commitments and available resources raised questions about the credibility of those commitments. In 1996, ODA worldwide shrank to only .25 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). That was an all time low since 1970, and was a far cry from the goal of .7 per cent suggested at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.

He stressed that, even in an increasingly globalized economy where trade and investment could make important contributions to sustainable development, international aid was essential. While there had been an increase in the flow of private funds to a few countries, such funds performed tasks which were different from those addressed through international assistance. Private funding must not be used as an excuse for reducing aid.

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VERANO DE LA ROSA, Minister for Environment of Colombia, said that mechanisms must be developed to ensure a continued and adequate supply of freshwater. Water was a limited resource and was shared by many countries. An economic value had to be attached to it and associated technology must be developed. New sources of freshwater should be explored, including underground extraction. As a major catalyst for other environmental components, water should be systematically regulated worldwide. In many countries, however, there was no planning. Policies should be developed through dialogue.

Sustainable development depended on national management programmes, he said. Colombia's programme embraced principles for the success of sustainable development plans, which was to make them gradual and consistent. Voluntary initiatives should be encouraged and there should be no commercial pressures. Goals and guidelines should be developed. Small- and medium-sized enterprises should be given economic and financial assistance to meet those goals. The industrial sector's cooperation was vital for training and transfer of technology, which should be based on agreements on behalf of both the public and private sectors.

SURESH PRABHU, Minister for Environment and Forests of India, said that unless the trend of decreasing ODA was reversed, it would fatally undermine confidence in a global partnership based on common but differentiated responsibilities. A clear, time-bound programme for providing adequate and predictable financial resources and technology to the developing world on concessional and preferential terms was imperative. Efforts should be undertaken to ensure that intellectual property rights did not become a barrier to the transfer of technology.

The development of freshwater resources assumed as much importance for developing countries as did their management, he said. Greater sensitivity was needed when dealing with policies for satisfying the basic needs of the vast majority of peoples. There must be a linkage between safe drinking water and the elimination of water borne diseases, from which millions of people suffered worldwide. The Commission's resolve to ensure better health care for all would remain an empty slogan if safe drinking water was only provided to those who could pay for it.

ISABEL TOCINO, Minister of the Environment of Spain, said the time had come for the international community to share common problems and solutions to ensure a better distribution of water for all people. The world was heading to a new culture of water in which demand was unlimited and every nation had an obligation to conserve and protect it. Many countries had difficulties in making appropriate use of their freshwater resources because of a lack of technology. The integrated approach to freshwater management must be intensified.

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He went on to say that the Commission's segment on the role of industry had been positive. The international community could not achieve sustainability without the cooperation and help of the industrial community.

KAUL TOPFER, Executive Director of the UNEP, said there was a need to streamline and make more coherent the integration of environmental and development approaches. Coherent and coordinated environmental policy must stand alongside economic development and social responsibility to meet the challenges of a globalizing world.

The Commission's segment on industry had been positive, he said. The UNEP wanted to become a partner in bridging the gap between the business community and governments. Voluntary agreements and initiatives were important, but there was also a need to monitor such agreements to determine their success. Non-governmental organizations could play a role in monitoring such voluntary agreements.

ELISA G. FERREIRA, Minister for the Environment of Portugal, said that new ideas must centre on how countries could develop without jeopardizing the environment. Regard for the environment must be incorporated in all new development strategies from the outset. She stressed the importance of a model of partnership in which industrialized countries assumed their responsibility and which involved differentiation of responsibilities and compromise.

That notion of partnership was embodied in the Kyoto Protocol which Portugal, as a member of the European Union, had signed today, she said. It was also important that industry share common objectives with all agents of society. Portugal had created a national council for environment and sustainable development and had begun a process of monitoring industry through regulations, enforcement and support for legal and financial instruments.

Portugal was hosting Expo '98 on the International Year of the Ocean, and marine reserves had been created there for the first time, she said. Her Government had made it a priority to supply its citizens with freshwater of good quality and had undertaken studies on all the river basins, aimed at instituting an overall management plan. Despite existing conventions on transboundary waters, shared management policies and practices were urged to prevent rapid fast depletion of the world's life support system. A national policy of sustainable development was a political choice that required the comprehensive education and training of all citizens.

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UDAI AWASTHI, Managing Director of the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative and President of the International Fertilizer Industry Association, said he was speaking on behalf of business and industry in developing countries, who wished to demonstrate their commitment and partnership in the global effort to deliver sustainable development. The debate about the use of fertilizers was not simply a choice between organic and mineral fertilizers, which were complementary in sustainable agriculture. The critical issue was to ensure crops and animals were raised under optimum environmental and agronomic conditions.

Organizations such as his own had a responsibility to ensure continuing progress in the development and transfer of the best technologies and environmental management systems and the most efficient use of resources, he said. They were dramatically reducing energy consumption in factories and controlling emissions of damaging wastes. In addition to environmental responsibilities, however, there were economic and social priorities -- to employees, investors, governments and consumers.

In developing countries, there were growing numbers of sustainable development partnerships, capitalizing on private industry and public cooperation, he said. Small- and medium-sized enterprises, the true engines of growth in so many developing countries, should be brought into the mainstream of environmental management. The private sector had become a part of the solution to sustainable development, not part of the problem. The polarization of stakeholder interests in working towards sustainability was a thing of the past.

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