ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL, CONSIDERING ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES, ENVISAGES NEW DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES FOR COMING DECADE

Press Release
ECOSOC/5925

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL, CONSIDERING ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES, ENVISAGES NEW DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES FOR COMING DECADE

For a new international development strategy to mobilize and sustain political support, it must have a clear and convincing thrust, Just Faaland, Chairman, Committee for Development Policy (CDP), told the Economic and Social Council this morning as it considered economic and environmental questions, addressing issues of sustainable development, functioning of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, statistics and cartography.

Introducing a draft text on an international development strategy for the first decade of the new millennium, he stressed that a strategy for development must go far beyond individual sectoral and issue-oriented action plans. A realistic and credible strategy must provide clear indications of priorities in time and in emphasis, and he suggested that developed countries might be requested to prepare comprehensive action programmes for trade accommodation, debt relief, aid allocations, technical cooperation and investment support.

He said the Committee had introduced some methodological and statistical improvements and had constructed and applied an economic vulnerability index (EVI) as one of the criteria for identification of least developed countries (LDCs). The Committee recommended that the Maldives should be deleted from the list of LDCs and that Senegal be added.

The representative of the Maldives said CDP's recommendation that his country be graduated from the list of LDCs should be deferred, until the facts of the case could be reviewed at the next triennial review of the LDC list. The summary profiles needed refinement. While the CDP had noted Maldives’ vulnerable environment, with coral bleaching and beach erosion as major problems, it had failed to recognize the island as a country with a fragile ecology because of conditions less familiar to outside investigators.

Mentioning numerous vulnerabilities and constraints, documented by his country but unnoted in the summary profile, he said the CDP must remain faithful to the original purposes and rationale for identifying a category of least developed states. The CDP was aiming to identify performance in arbitrarily chosen areas, rather than identifying the extent and impact of long-term structural handicaps and problems of sustainability.

The Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Ed Tsui, introducing the report on the El Niño phenomenon, emphasized the extensive and devastating natural events likely to derive from El Niño and related phenomena. However, he added, their

Economic and Social Council - 1a - Press Release ECOSOC/5925 40th Meeting (AM) 26 July 2000

effects did not always need to be negative. Improved understanding and early warning could make it possible to take advantage of benefits to be gained from modifications in normal practices related to agriculture, water resource management and community health. International cooperation was vital for monitoring, analysis and research into El Niño.

The Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Developments; the Director of the Statistics Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA); the Chief, Institutions, National Information and Major Groups Branch, DESA; and the Director of the Development Policy Analysis Division, DESA, made introductory statements.

The representative of Indonesia and France (on behalf of the European Union and associated States) also spoke.

The Council will meet again at 3 p.m. to continue its consideration of economic and environmental questions.

Economic and Social Council - 3 - Press Release ECOSOC/5925 40th Meeting (AM) 26 July 2000

Council Work Programme

The Economic and Social Council met this morning to continue the general segment of its 2000 substantive session by taking up economic and environmental questions. It was expected to consider issues related to sustainable development, the functioning of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, statistics and cartography. The Council has before it a variety of documents related to those questions.

A note by the Secretariat on assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions (document E/2000/45) draws attention to the Secretary- General’s report on that subject (document A/54/383 and Add.1). Particular attention is drawn to sections IV and V, which summarize views concerning the report of the ad hoc expert group on sanctions.

On issues of sustainable development, the Council has before it a report by the Commission on Sustainable Development concerning proceedings of its eighth session (30 April 1999 and 24 April - 5 May)(document E/2000/29,Suppl.9). The report summarizes matters brought to the Council’s attention through decisions on such issues as preparations for the 10-year review of progress in implementing the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. Other decisions concern the report of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests, as well as land resources, agriculture, financial resources and matters related to the Commission’s intersessional work.

The report also contains the Chairman’s summaries of the multi-stakeholder dialogue on agriculture and the Commission’s high-level segment. It summarizes deliberations on the sectoral theme of integrated planning and management of land resources, as well as on the cross-sectoral theme covering financial resources and economic issues. The provisional agenda for the Commission’s ninth session is included. Annexes summarize the attendance, list of documents before the Commission and programme budget implications of the decision on the report of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests.

Also before the Council, a report on the second session of the Committee for Development Policy (3-7 April) (document E/2000/33, Suppl.13) states that the Committee deliberated on the role of information technology in development. It also made suggestions on a draft of a new international development strategy by the Secretary-General and conducted a triennial review of the list of least developed countries.

Also before the Council is a report of the Secretary-General on measures to accelerate progress in implementing Agenda 21 and the programme for its further implementation (document A/55/78-E/2000/56). The report describes the derivation of Agenda 21 from the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janiero, 3-14 June 1992). It outlines the work being carried out by the United Nations system in response to outcomes deriving from sessions of the Commission on Sustainable Development and follow-up to the twenty-second special session of the General Assembly on the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing. The report summarizes constraints faced by the United Nations in the field of sustainable development and recommendations for addressing them.

The draft text of an international development strategy for the first decade of the new millennium is contained in a report by the Secretary-General (document A/55/89-E/2000/80). It sets out the main challenges as being in the areas of peace and development, eradication of poverty and hunger, globalization and technological change, ensuring sustainable development, governance, gender equality, the address of critical situations and policy setting. It covers the goals related to those challenges, including specific ones for economic, social and cultural development. Actions related to countries in special situations are covered for Africa and the least developed countries, small island developing States, landlocked developing countries, post-conflict countries and those with the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS. Recommendations for implementation and follow-up are included.

Also before the Council was a report by the Secretary-General on Proposals for strengthening the coordination of the mechanisms on the Commission on Science and Technology for Development within the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development with the objective of promoting complementarity of activities within the United Nations system (document A/55/96-E/2000/84), which summarizes previous discussions by the Commission on the issue of coordination.

The report also reviews initiatives taken by various bodies in the United Nations system in order to establish electronic networks as a means to achieve coordination in the area of science and technology policy. It concludes with a proposal to set up a “knowledge and technology for development network” and points out the need for adequate resources to make it work effectively.

In a report on international cooperation to reduce the impact of the El Niño phenomenon (document A/55/99-E/2000/86), the Secretary-General describes on-going activities and future arrangements for the Inter-Agency Task Force on El Niño. He also makes recommendations and includes country concerns along with agency reviews in an annex prepared with the support of the World Meteorological Organization.

On issues related to cartography, the Council had before it a report of the Secretary-General on the Fifteenth United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for Asia and the Pacific (Kuala Lumpur, 11-14 April)(document E/2000/48). The report describes the work of the five technical committees dealing with issues pertinent to cartography in support of sustainable development. Those were surveying, mapping, land management, geographic information system technology (GIS) and spatial data infrastructure (SDI). Among other measures, the report recommends the Council endorse the convening of the sixteenth Conference in mid- 2003 with a primary focus on strengthening contributions to implementing Agenda 21 derived from the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janiero, 3-14 June 1992).

The Secretary-General also reports on the twentieth session of the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (New York, 17-28 January)(document E/2000/49). Among other matters, the session considered reports of linguistic/geographical divisions on their regions and on progress made to standardize geographical names. Working groups reported on activities in the fields of toponymy, toponymic data files and gazetteers, toponymic terminology, romanization systems, country names, publicity and funding.

The working group on evaluation was reestablished to make recommendations for optimizing implementation of Conference resolutions. The Secretary-General recommends that the twenty-first session of the Group be convened in Berlin on 26 August and 6 September 2002 in conjunction with the Eighth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names to facilitate the work of the Conference.

Statements

JUST FAALAND, Chairman, Committee for Development Policy (CDP), introducing report E/2000/33 on the Committee’s second session, said the first substantive section of the report dealt with the role of information technology in development. The second substantive section focused on the new international development strategy to be formulated for the first decade of the new millennium. His report contained a draft text of an international development strategy for the first decade of the new millennium.

He stressed that a strategy for development must go way beyond individual sectoral and issue-oriented action plans. A realistic and credible strategy must provide clear indications of priorities in time and emphasis. For a new international development strategy to mobilize and sustain political support, it must have a clear and convincing thrust.

The CDP supported the efforts to develop comprehensive strategies and action plans for individual developing countries, and for the mobilization of financial, material and human support from international and bilateral agencies. He suggested that developed countries be requested to prepare comprehensive action programmes for trade accommodation, debt relief, aid allocations, technical cooperation and investment support.

Much preparatory analytical work still remained to be done to clarify the nature and extent of balances and trade-offs within and between sectors, and to relate resource requirements to availabilities. Along with such analytical work, the political decision making could proceed.

The third substantive section of the report summarized the outcome of the Committee’s triennial review of the list of least developed countries (LDCs). The Committee had introduced some methodological and statistical improvements and had constructed and applied an economic vulnerability index (EVI) as one of the criteria for identification of LDCs. The Committee recommended that the Maldives be deleted from the list and that Senegal be added.

The Committee also proposed that, prior to the next triennial review, consideration be given to the treatment of countries with large populations and countries in transition. It further proposed to revisit the practice by which different rules and thresholds for inclusion in and graduation from the list of LDCs were applied, so as to ensure a measure of stability for the list, while giving equal treatment to countries in similar situations.

CARLOS FORTIN, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), introduced the Secretary-General’s report on strengthening the coordination of mechanisms on the UNCTAD’s Commission on Science and Technology for Development (document E/2000/84). He reviewed the proposals contained in the report for enabling the Commission to play a role as a coordinator in sustainable development. Establishing the knowledge and technology network was one way to be forward-looking, he emphasized, noting that a major emphasis in the report was the need for new and regular budget resources.

HERMANN HABERMANN, Director, Statistics Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), introducing the report on the twentieth session of the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names, document E/2000/49, said the group was a forum to report on the work accomplished on the standardization of geographical and linguistic problems. There were six working groups: training courses in toponymy, toponymic data files and gazetteers, toponymic terminology, romanization systems, country names and publicity and funding.

He also introduced the report contained in document E/2000/48, on the fifteenth United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for Asia and the Pacific, which was not yet available.

LOWELL FLANDERS, Chief of Institutions, National Information and Major Groups Branch, DESA, introduced the report on measures to accelerate progress in implementing Agenda 21, which emanated from the 1992 Rio conference on environment (document E/2000/56). He pointed to three focal areas covered in the report -- the environment-management group, the task manager approach and preparations for the ten-year review of the Rio conference follow-up, to be conducted in 2002. Overall, he said more needed to be done to coordinate work between the United Nations system and those outside it, particularly civil society. The task manager system and the work of the Interagency Committee on Sustainable Development deserved credit for progress.

IAN KINNINBURGH, Director, Development Policy Analysis Division, DESA, introducing document E/2000/80, “Draft test of an international development strategy for the first decade of the new millennium”, said the draft built on the outcomes of the major conferences and summits of the 1990s, the Agenda for Development and other relevant ongoing processes. It also took into account globalization, interdependence and liberalization and the rapid advances in science and technology.

He pointed out that the agreed language used for actions in the global conferences had not always been adhered to. The envelope had been pushed in the hope that the adoption of a new strategy would incorporate more ambitious goals and actions in some areas.

Member States faced the question on how to proceed, both substantively and procedurally, he said. It would be necessary to decide what form any new strategy would take and how it should relate to the outcomes of the global conferences and the plus-five processes.

He indicated three broad possibilities. The first one was to produce a document that consolidated the key outcomes of the conferences and complemented them with additional material to produce a comprehensive strategy. A second possibility would be a short gap-filling document, complementing rather than repeating what had been agreed on in the conferences. A third possibility would be a combination of the first two, focusing on a select number of issues with measurable goals. In all cases, attention needed to be given to the means of implementation. With regard to procedure, the General Assembly would be consulting with Member States on that matter, he said.

ED TSUI, Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, introduced the Secretary- General’s report on the El Niño phenomenon (document A/55/99-E/2000/86). He emphasized the extensive and devastating natural events likely to derive from El Niño and related phenomena. However, their effects did not need to be always negative. Improved understanding and early warning could make it possible to take advantage of benefits to be gained from modifications in normal practices related to agriculture, water resource management and community health.

International cooperation was vital for monitoring, analysis and research into El Niño, he said. The April meeting of the Interagency Task Force for Disaster Reduction had concluded that it would serve as an interdisciplinary forum for advancing disaster reduction and establishing priority areas to address.

MAKARIM WIBISONO (Indonesia), Council President in his national capacity, said the challenge of seeking to reclaim the momentum generated at Rio was formidable and worth fighting for. He encouraged the Council to endorse the recommendations from the Commission on Sustainable Development during its eighth session, which would help to identify further steps to be taken at all levels so as to ensure high quality inputs to the 10-year review process in the year 2002. There was an urgent need for the review conference to focus on areas that required further efforts to implement the outcomes of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.

His Country, having an abundance of biodiversity and also experiencing poverty together with modern industry, was greatly aware of the critical need for balance and sustainability. Indonesia was one of the developing countries that had always supported the international efforts to fully implement Agenda 21. However, full implementation had not materialized, and as a result the global environment continued to deteriorate. It was crucial to consistently support the efforts of the international community to translate all such political commitments into concrete actions. His Government offered to host the ten-year review conference on Environment and Development in 2002.

The recommendations of the eighth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development stressed that the ten-year review summit in 2002 should be held in a developing country, he said. He underlined the importance of the question of ownership of the environment and development programmes and processes by all countries and regions. That was particularly true for the Asia and Pacific Region since it represented more than half the world population. While its biodiversity resources were vast, they were also fragile and vulnerable to the threat posed by unsustainable patterns of development and management.

HUSSAIN SHIHAB (Maldives) said the CDP had recommended that his country be graduated from the list of LDCs. That should be deferred until the facts of the case could be reviewed at the next triennial review of the LDC list. The refining of the criteria for identifying LDC status was commendable, as was the use of country-specific vulnerability profiles for qualitative assessment of development status to compare with quantitative indicators. However, the profiles needed refinement. They should reflect infrastructure construction costs, in-depth analysis of changes and a focus on the most vulnerable and on structural constraints.

He said the CDP had expressed concern about the long-term challenges facing Maldives with regard to the rising sea level. However, immediate challenges, in the form of ecological degradation, had forced the diversion of funds from expenditures on aid and social development. While the CDP had noted Maldives’ vulnerable environment coral bleaching and beach erosion were major problems, it had failed to recognize the island as a country with a fragile ecology because of conditions less familiar to outside investigators than the more familiar ecological disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes.

Mentioning numerous vulnerabilities and constraints, documented by his country but unnoted in the summary profile, he said the CDP must remain faithful to the original purposes and rationale for identifying a category of least developed states. The CDP was aiming to identify performance in arbitrarily chosen areas rather than identifying the extent and impact of long-term structural handicaps and problems of sustainability. The CDP’s credibility was in question if it allowed an independent technical group to deviate arbitrarily from policy guidelines.

YVES DOUTRIAUX (France), speaking on behalf of the European Union and Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, said he had noted with interest the CDP's ideas on the issue of the high-level segment of the substantive session, and the outlines for a future international development strategy for the first decade of the new millennium.

The Committee’s recommendations on criteria for identifying of LDCs had been awaited with particular interest. The replacement of the economic diversification index with the EVI undoubtedly represented progress, as it involved direct consideration of the vulnerability of countries. As for the debate on the inclusion of an explicit reference to environmental vulnerability, he said it seemed that discussions would have to continue before a satisfactory methodology could be developed.

The European Union agreed with the topics for consideration suggested by the Committee for its future sessions: review of the criterion of population size, the possibility of including countries with economies-in-transition and the issue of justification for applying more restrictive criteria for inclusion in the list of LDCs, were all important issues which deserved the attention of the CDP experts. The Union shared the Secretariat’s idea of putting the recommendations of the major United Nations conferences together in a single form. It would provide more coherence for the follow-up of the major conferences. The European Union would have many remarks to make on the outline of the international development strategy for the next decade. It would however stress such subjects as good governance and respect for human rights, subjects that required further development.

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