NGOS PRESS CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Press Briefing

NGOS PRESS CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Biosafety of food, limited fresh water resources, depleting fish stocks, the impact of trade liberalization and respect for diverse food production systems were among some of the priorities suggested this morning by representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for a possible global earth summit in the year 2002.

Attending the Headquarters press conference, which was held in the context of the annual session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), were Felix Dodds of the NGO CSD Steering Committee, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz of the Asian Indigenous Women’s Organization, and Gordon Bisphan of the Barbados NGO Forum.

Concerning the decision by the CSD to recommend to the General Assembly the holding of a review summit of Agenda 21, a “Rio +10” conference, Mr. Dodds said that 66 per cent of the world’s population would live in water-stressed areas within the next 15 years. Between 50 to 60 per cent of fish stocks were already at their sustainable limit. The impact on children of losing up to half of the adult population through AIDDS in some African countries should also be examined in the context of an environment and security agenda.

Ms. Tauli-Corpuz said there should be an honest assessment of how trade liberalization was affecting the environment and the social development of people. She did not agree with the opinion that the new biotechnology would feed the world, and felt that controlling the transfer of genetically modified organisms should be addressed. The review conference should be more than a repeat of the North pushing for new issues while the South pushed for a review of Agenda 21. There should be a review of the commitments of Agenda 21 that were not being met -- such as commitments to aid and compliance with environmental agreements.

Mr. Bisphan stressed that there should be a truly inclusive and democratic process of consultations to determine what the four or five priorities should be for the review summit. NGOs in the South had started processes of consultations at the national level, which he expected to be broadened to the regional level, to clearly identify priorities that were ripe for action. “We are concentrating on being productive ...the priority is to find solutions. We want to create a track record of solving some of the problems in the South and then to move on from there.”

Mr. Dodds said NGOs believed it would be a crucial time to address such important issues as poverty eradication, sustainable consumption and production practices. It would also be a chance to discuss issues of racism and ethnic and gender discrimination, which he blamed for a lack of progress on some issues. There was talk of including time-bound commitments in a review summit document, something which had not been very prominent in Agenda 21. He added that perhaps one target for the review summit should be multi-stakeholder dialogue with Heads of States.

NGO Press Conference - 2 - 5 May 2000

The NGO representatives commended the CSD for the broad and inclusive representation of civil society in the theme discussions on Agriculture: Biotechnology and Rural Development and Food Safety. Mr. Dodds described the CSD practice, referred to as multi-stakeholder dialogues because it included representatives from governments, industry, labour and NGOs, as an important breakthrough that was being used as a model in other forums.

Ms. Tauli-Corpuz expressed disappointment that the text on agriculture being negotiated by the CSD had become “hostage to the developments taking place at the World Trade Organization.” The CSD should be a body that played a role in balancing the conflicts between WTO agreements and the multilateral environment agreements. “We have seen this week that some northern governments are still using the CSD to legitimize and further their agenda in the WTO, such as agricultural liberalization and continuation of subsidies, which result in the dumping of cheap imports to the South.” Furthermore, calls from southern governments for greater market access and more support for small-scale farmers were being undermined.

However, there had been some things agreed to so far that were good for indigenous peoples, she said, citing as examples the urging of governments to sign and ratify the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the call for a review of the social, economic and environmental impact of mineral extractions and metal production, as well as for the rehabilitation of land degraded by mining.

In response to a question as to what were some of the main achievements in the CSD text on agriculture, Ms. Tauli-Corpuz highlighted the recognition that there were risks in transferring genetically modified organisms.

Mr. Bisphan said there was more support in the document for the use of ecological and organic approaches to sustainable agriculture. He added that he believed there was also a recognition of the need to re-examine the “special and differentiated” treatment required by developing countries in agricultural trade.

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