Commission on Sustainable Development

Eleventh Session

4^th Meeting (AM & PM)

OBSTACLES FACING AFRICA IN REACHING JOHANNESBURG SUMMIT GOALS

FOCUS OF DISCUSSION IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION

Concludes Three-Day Ministerial Segment

Africa was severely hindered in reaching the goals of last year’s Johannesburg World Summit by such obstacles as natural disasters, conflicts and lack of market access, speakers told the Commission on Sustainable Development today, as it concluded its ministerial debate and held its final round table and regional implementation forums.

Recounting the hazards his country was facing, Malawi’s representative said natural resources were being depleted at an alarming rate, and some 3 million people were facing drought-induced famine.  His nation lacked the capacity, skills and natural resources to tackle such problems, and was seeking partnerships for technical assistance and resources.

Similarly, Côte d’Ivoire’s delegate said her country had recently lived through a grave political and military crisis, and the environment was now facing grave degradation.  Stressing that sustainable development was but a vain hope without peace, she said the country would now be assessing the war’s impact on the environment with the help of developmental partners.

Strategies to implement proposals arising from the Johannesburg Summit, she continued, must be globally oriented, sectoral and flexible, underpinned by the principles of solidarity, participation, equity and precaution.  Poverty was a vital concern, she emphasized, and targeted actions were vitally needed in water, energy, biodiversity and agriculture.

Speaking on behalf of the African Group, Mauritania’s representative said the Commission’s current session was vital for Africa, which had made less progress toward the Millennium Development Goals than any region of developing countries.  Future hopes, she noted, had been gravely thwarted by the current world recession and the war with Iraq.  Quoting the Department of Social and Economic Affairs, she said African growth would reach an estimated 4.1 per cent in 2004, far below the 7 per cent needed to halve extreme poverty by 2015.

Any efforts Africa made to reach 7 per cent growth must be matched by the removal of market barriers to African products in developed countries, Egypt’s representative said.  The failure to honour agreed commitments had led to a lag in implementing sustainable development goals.  The Commission should work towards

fulfilling those commitments, which could wait no longer, and consider the needs of developing countries when deciding on sectors to be discussed.

Several speakers noted that Agenda 21, the Action Plan of the Rio de Janeiro “Earth Summit”, had stipulated that an adequate flow of resources to developing countries was needed, but those resources had never arrived, were too little and too late or were highly conditioned.  Applying programmes of sustainable development, they stressed, must be based on an increase in official development assistance, and new instruments of debt-for-development swaps.

Other speakers noted that a lack of investment in Africa’s vital economic sectors, coupled with health and agricultural woes, had thwarted progress towards sustainable development goals.  The Commission’s future debates must focus on achieving the goals of the New Economic Plan for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) on agricultural development, desertification, drought, sanitation and water.

Following the ministerial debate, the Commission held an interactive round table focusing on sustainable development in a globalizing world, and institutional frameworks for sustainable development.  Addressing those issues, Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), stressed that private-sector skepticism must be overcome in forming partnerships, while World Bank Vice-President Ian Johnson emphasized the importance of adjusting trade distortions, increasing official development assistance and private capital flows, and enhancing systems of knowledge.

Other speakers emphasized the urgent need to make the World Solidarity Fund operational, and said the international community should look beyond official development assistance to focus on building frameworks for increased private funding.  For their part, poor countries must focus on good governance and human rights, since those were central to attracting investment.

In the afternoon, the Commission held three regional implementation forums on follow-up to the Johannesburg Summit in the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), and the Economic and Social Commissions for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) regions.

In concluding remarks following the forums, Commission Chairman Valli Moosa (South Africa), said ministers had agreed on a 2015 target for integrated water resource management worldwide, for monitoring and review during each cycle of all Agenda 21 aspects in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, and for flexibility in dealing with important issues as they emerge.

Poverty eradication would be the overriding theme for the Johannesburg decade and should guide all the Commission’s meetings during the period.  Effective management during the first two Commission cycles of the two major sustainable development themes, water and energy, would send a clear message to governments and the world’s poor that the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation was indeed working.

Representatives of Iceland, Iran, Lesotho, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Nepal, Sudan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, South Africa, Kenya, Mozambique, Denmark, Libya, Israel, Malaysia, Tuvalu, Fiji (on behalf of the Pacific Islands Forum), Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Syria, Chile, Panama, Costa Rica, Nigeria and the Holy See spoke during the morning session.

Representatives of France, Germany, Norway, Senegal, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States and Korea made statements during the afternoon round table. 

The Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Vice-President for Sustainable Development of the World Bank, the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Global Environmental Facility, and the Director of the Millennium Project also addressed the round table.

In addition, the Deputy Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean made a statement during the round table.  Representatives of two major groups, non-governmental organizations and local authorities, also spoke.

The Commission will meet again at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, 1 May, in a
multi-stakeholder dialogue, where major groups will present their views on the future programme of work of the Commission, including arrangements for the involvement of major groups and other stakeholders.

Background

The Commission on Sustainable Development met today to conclude its
high-level ministerial segment on its future programme, organization and methods of work.  It was also expected to hold its third and final ministerial round table on priority actions and commitments to implement the outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

In addition, the Commission was expected to hold three regional implementation forums on follow-up to the Johannesburg Summit in the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA); the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA); and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) regions.

(For background information see Press Release ENV/DEV/718, issued 24 April.)

Statements

NEWTON KULUNDU, Minister for Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife of Kenya, said the Commission’s work should be clearly focused and results-oriented.  Social and economic aspects of sustainable development should be integrated in a balanced manner into the work programme, should not duplicate the work of other intergovernmental bodies and should be organized in two-year cycles monitored by performance benchmarks.

Multi-stakeholders’ input in Johannesburg was significant, he said, suggesting that, in the future, their dialogue be spread out during Commission sessions, instead of as stand-alone forums.  He added that the Commission’s work not be limited to negotiated texts, but should also include lessons learned, exchange of best practices and capacity-building, among other activities.  Educators and scientists should also be more involved, participating in Commission panels and interactive discussions.

VLADI MUSSA, Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs of Malawi, said his country supported the proposal regarding the Commission’s future programme of work for a two-year cycle.  Turning to other issues, he recounted environmental hazards his country was facing.  Natural resources were being depleted at an alarming rate and some 3 million people were facing famine as a result of drought.  His nation lacked the capacity, skills and natural resources to deal with such problems, and it would like to forge partnerships for technical assistance and resources.

He supported the decision that the Commission should improve monitoring of sustainable development goals and to improve communication between its members.

LEBOHANG NTS’INYI, Minister of Tourism, Environment and Culture of Lesotho, supported the proposal for a two-year work cycle, and for the first cycle to focus on water, sanitation, energy, agriculture and land degradation.  Such issues were priorities for Lesotho, he said, adding that commitment at the national level could go a long way in ensuring sustainable financing and implementation of
Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.

The Commission should mobilize resources for developing countries and monitor progress through periodic reporting that would detect flaws early on, making it easier to adjust accordingly.  He recommended that further research on sustainable development indicators be disseminated and used worldwide to monitor progress in implementing the Johannesburg Plan.

PHILIP KABUA (Marshall Islands) said the low-lying atolls of his country had become increasing vulnerable to environmental degradation and climate change.  Climate change was a major crosscutting issue that should be given high priority in the Commission’s future work programme.  He appreciated current support for small island developing States, as well as the Barbados Programme of Action.  Another important issue was the need for broader participation in the Commission’s process.  It was vital to provide funding so that representatives from small island developing States and least developed countries could attend future sessions.

The Commission’s future work should more appropriately balance its focus on actions at the international, national and regional levels, he said.  Sustainable development strategies must also be developed at the international and regional levels.  For example, it was necessary to develop more effective management and coordination systems.

MAHFOUDH OULD DEDDACH (Mauritania), speaking on behalf of the African Group, said the current session was vital for Africa, which had made the least progress toward the Millennium Development Goals of any region of developing countries.  Future hopes had been gravely thwarted by the current world recession and the war with Iraq.  Africa’s gross domestic product grew just 3 per cent last year.  According to the Department of Social and Economic Affairs, growth would reach an estimated 4.1 per cent in 2004, way below the 7 per cent rate needed to halve extreme poverty by 2015.

The present session should define practical modalities for the Commission’s future work, he said.  The Secretary-General’s report sums up the need to put more emphasis on the Programme of Implementation of Johannesburg.  He supported that view, adding that the Commission’s future work should focus on concrete results in achieving sustainable development. 

CHOISUREN BAATAR (Mongolia) said achieving the Millennium Development Goals was high on his country’s national agenda.  He also believed that the outcomes of international conferences should be addressed as an integrated manner.  Thus, the Commission’s framework should focus placed on crosscutting issues of poverty eradication, health, education and sustainable management of natural resources and environmental degradation.  He stressed the Commission multi-faceted role and functions, especially its role of identifying the common constraints on implementation and making recommendations to overcome those constraints, while reviewing and monitoring progress.

He was of the view that collection of best practices and progresses, as well as the worst experiences of others, and the dissemination of information and studies in that regard to member States would have practical significance in applying different models for nation-specific conditions.  He added that Mongolia considered good governance an essential element for sustainable development and had in 2000 launched the Good Governance for Human Security Programme.

ANGELE GNONSOA (Côte d’Ivoire) said her country had recently lived through a grave political and military crisis.  The environmental sector, as a result, was facing grave degradation.  Côte d’Ivoire would be assessing the impact of war on the environment in the coming days, with the help of developmental partners.  She stressed that managing sustainable development required peace.  Without that, it was a vain hope.

Strategies to implement proposals arising from the Johannesburg Summit must be globally oriented, sectoral and flexible, she said.  They must be supported by the four principles of solidarity, participation, equity and precaution.  Poverty must also be considered.  Targeted actions were needed in water, energy, biodiversity and agriculture.  Regional implementation must be done within the appropriate frameworks, such as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) initiative.

DAN NIELSEN (Denmark) said poverty eradication, sustainable consumption and production patterns and gender equality should be addressed during the work programmes on water, energy, health and agriculture, among other topics.  He supported the proposal to address water and energy issues early in the future session.  Denmark, he added, would hold a ministerial meeting in early autumn on renewable energy to prepare for the 2004 international conference in Bonn.  He also requested that the 10-year framework for sustainable consumption and production programmes be discussed early in the session, following the Marrakech meeting next month.

During informal discussions, ministers discussed whether to encourage ministers other than environment ministers to attend the Commission.  He thought it would be more important to focus on at which level the mandate for ministerial participation was set.  In the case of the European Union, the mandate was set at the head of State and head of government level.

FRANCISCO MABJAIA (Mozambique) said it was high time to focus on implementation of commitments made at the Johannesburg Summit.  Goals and targets that countries had agreed upon there must be met without further delay.  The Commission should look at new and innovative approaches and bring together a wide range of stakeholders, including civil society and business.  Reforms of the Commission should be carried out pragmatically, to ensure flexibility and predictability.  The Commission should be flexible in identifying new issues facing sustainable development.

Mozambique was reviewing a poverty-reduction strategy that would take an environmental approach, he said.  Implementation of the Johannesburg goals was no longer a matter of choice, he stressed, but a must.  Assistance must be given to developing countries in reaching those goals, since they were often hindered by a lack of political will and resources.

GUNNAR PÁLSSON (Iceland), speaking on behalf of the Arctic Council, said that the Council, which had alerted the world some years ago to the high concentrations of certain organic pollutants in humans and wildlife of the Arctic, had now detected rising trends of mercury contamination in some regions of the area.  That problem called for greater attention, particularly from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

As a forum for sustainable development, consisting of eight States and six indigenous peoples’ organizations in an area that covered one sixth of the earth’s landmass, the Arctic Council was engaged in a number of activities pertinent to the World Summit on Social Development process, he said.  On environmental matters, the Arctic region was increasingly referred to as a global “indicator region” for some of the most pressing concerns, such as climate change and
long-distance accumulation of pollutants.  One such project specifically mentioned in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation was the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment.  Its goal was to provide pertinent information to policy-makers and residents of the Arctic to help them address issues of climate variability, climate change, increased ultraviolet radiation and their consequences across the entire Arctic region.

SHLOMO SHOHAM, head of the Knesset’s Commission for Future Generations, Israel, proposed that the Commission and member States create a commission for future generations in their parliaments, in order to ensure incorporation of sustainable development principles into their legislative work and processes. 

Israel’s Commission for Future Generations was charged with ensuring that the country’s primary and secondary legislation takes the needs and rights of future generations into account.  The Commissioner concentrates on themes of special concern, such as environmental quality, natural resources, science, education, health, economy, demography, planning and building, technology and the law.  Creation of similar bodies in other countries could assure political commitment and political awareness of children’s issues, he said, adding that a network of similar institutions worldwide could coordinate its work with the Commission’s support.

MOOTAZ KHALIL, Director of Environment and Sustainable Development, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, said the lag in implementing sustainable development goals was due to a failure in honouring agreed commitments.  An opportunity should be given to the Commission framework to fulfil those commitments, since they could wait no longer.  The needs of developing countries should be considered when deciding on specific sectors, as well as cross-sectoral issues to be discussed.

For Africa to achieve a halving of poverty by 2015, it must have an economic growth rate of 7 per cent, he said.  That effort must be matched by the removal of market barriers to African products in developed countries.  He proposed that the Secretariat provide a periodic review of progress made in reaching sustainable development goals.  The Commission should remain the intergovernmental forum for follow-up to the Rio and Johannesburg Summits.

ZULKIFLI IDRIS, Director of Conservation and Environmental Management Division of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment of Malaysia, said political will was needed to make the Commission an important forum for sustainable development issues in which targets were effectively coordinated and implemented.  A comprehensive mid-term review in the next decade of the Commission’s work was crucial, he said, emphasizing the need for a stronger reporting system involving regional commissions.

Malaysia was firmly committed to the Commission’s future work in sustainable development, particularly regarding biodiversity issues, he said, adding that it would host the seventh meeting on the parties to the Biodiversity Convention in April 2004.

ENELE S. SOPOAGA (Tuvalu) said that, as the smallest Member State of the United Nations and highly dependent on international goodwill and development assistance, he was gratified that, despite the turmoil in the world today, the international community, through the Commission, remained firm on issues of sustainable development.

For Tuvalu, as for many small island developing States, building local capacity to cope with the problems of the lack of freshwater and natural resources, particularly in the wake of the adverse effects of climate change, variability and sea-level rise was merely one example of the tangible differences that needed to be achieved on the ground.  He welcomed the positive response from donors to the 14 partnership initiatives already developed by the Pacific regional organizations and countries for the Pacific subregion. 

Considering the direct relevance of the initiatives to building national capacity on sustainable development in Pacific small island developing States, efforts towards their full implementation, as well as support for the implementation of national development strategies resulting from them, would be crucial and appreciated, he said.  He believed that the Commission had to play an effective role in linking environmental protection and sustainable development in the future.

YAGOUB ABDALLA MOHAMED, Sustainable Development Coordinator of the Ministry of Environment and Urban Development of Sudan, stressed the importance of
public-private sector partnerships in the sustainable development process, involving governments, civil society and volunteers.  At the national level, the Commission’s agenda should play an essential role in formulating sustainable development policies, programmes and institutions. 

Strengthening national capacity was essential to achieving that end, he said, calling on the Commission to foster technology transfer and information sharing to expand and improve sustainable development capabilities in developing nations, in particular.  The Commission must also link potential with implementation to ensure that poverty eradication and socio-economic development were, in fact, realized.

YOUSOF HOJJAT (Iran) supported the idea that the Commission’s work should be organized in two-year cycles.  The objective of the first year would be to review progress in implementing actions and commitments pertinent to the themes of that cycle.  The result of that review should be to identify constraints and obstacles in implementation.  Solutions to those obstacles should be discussed and decided upon in the second year of that cycle.

During the implementation phase, there was no need to create subcommissions or collaborative groups, he said.  What was needed was to enhance the efficiency of the existing inter-agency coordinating mechanisms.  The new Commission was an excellent opportunity for developed countries to provide their national report on the fulfilment of their technological and financial obligations.

ISIKIA R. SAVUA (Fiji), speaking on behalf of the Pacific islands Forum Group, reiterated the partnership initiatives launched by the group’s leaders in Johannesburg and called on the international donor community to become effective partners to its initiatives.  The initiatives, known as the “14 umbrella Type II Partnership Initiatives”, had been considerably developed since the World Summit, he said, and he expressed appreciation to the European Union and Denmark for support in that regard.

He said, while the process of reforming the Commission was still evolving, the Pacific Islands Forum Group recognized that its future programme of work remained dedicated to the integration of the three pillars of sustainable development, focusing on implementation.  Additionally, its coherence with the ongoing work of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Integrated and Coordinated Follow-up to the Major United Nations Conferences and Summits provided a critical component of the future work of the Commission and its success.  Naturally, the Commission’s work should take into account the special focus accorded small island developing States in Agenda 21, the Barbados Programme of Action and Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.

UMIT PAMIR (Turkey) said it was vital to focus on integrated and
results-oriented actions.  Efforts should revolve around a systematic strategy by which to take up vital development themes in the framework of WEHAB, or water, energy, health, agriculture and biological diversity.  The Johannesburg Implementation Plan had called for a strengthening of institutional arrangements at the international, regional and national levels.  In September, Turkey would hold a workshop on implementing sustainable development in countries in transition.  It would be the first post-Johannesburg implementation-focused event, organized in conjunction with the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and a follow-up to a 2002 workshop in Greece.

MURRARI RAJ SHARMA (Nepal) said the six priority topics of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation -- water and sanitation, energy, health, agriculture and biodiversity -- were of great importance to the Nepal.  The Himalayan nation pledged to vigorously pursue development and socio-economic progress and called for strong regional cooperation via the United Nation’s regional commissions and subregional economic cooperation forums.

Nepal’s National Commission on Sustainable Development, Ministry for Population and Environment, poverty reduction strategy, long-term national water resources strategy, a Capacity 21 Program, and a proposed 15-year sustainable development agenda worked in partnership to achieve the goals set forth in the Johannesburg Plan.  Still, Nepal, like other developing nations, needed financial and technical assistance from development partners to complement their efforts. 

KEOD SMITH (Bahamas) said issues of water, sanitation and energy were critical for small island States, and should be addressed at the fore of all issues before the Commission.  He stressed that governments could not truly realize sustainable development alone.  It was important to strengthen the intergovernmental process, particularly in the Commission’s organization of work and its monitoring of progress in realizing goals set by the Johannesburg Summit.  There was also a need for the increased involvement of major groups in the Commission’s decision-making process.  He supported the Commission’s new work plan and the proposal for a review year for the Johannesburg Plan of Action.

AHMED OWN (Libya) said poverty eradication and protection of major natural resources were the main goals and requirements of sustainable development.  Still, poverty remained widespread, particularly in Africa.  A lack of investment in vital economic sectors and trade barriers, coupled with health and agricultural woes, had thwarted progress.

It was imperative that the Commission’s future debates give priority to achieving the goals of NEPAD regarding agricultural development, desertification, drought, sanitation and water.  He called on the Commission to hold regional meetings involving regional experts to ensure NEPAD’s incorporation and implementation.

MARINO VILLANUEVA CALLOT (Dominican Republic) said the goals of Agenda 21 had required an adequate flow of resources to developing countries.  However, the resources had never arrived, were too little and too late or were highly conditioned.  Applying programmes of sustainable development must be based on an increase in official development assistance, and new instruments of
debt-for-development swaps.

Preserving biodiversity through land use management, support for fisheries, eco-tourism, and improvements to water resources were a few examples of what the Dominican Republic was doing to reduce the impact of environmental degradation, he said.  Within economic constraints, it was also attempting to combat poverty, deal with threats to public health and improve the quality of life for its citizens.

ALAISHER VOHIDOV (Uzbekistan) said environmental problems in the Aral Sea Basin were the most pressing sustainable development concern for the Central Asian region.  Last December, countries in the region adopted a declaration to strengthen regional efforts to clean up the Aral Sea Basin and foster sustainable development in the Central Asian region, in general.  Nations had also set up a foundation for ecological research and environmental improvement programmes.

However, the foundation’s success depended, in part, on financial support from international agencies and donor countries, he said.  He called on the United Nations to play an active role in implementing a long-term strategy to revive the Aral region and for the Commission’s engagement in the foundation’s goals and projects.

CELESTINO MIGLIORE, Observer of the Holy See, said the Commission was intended to serve as a forum for deep consideration of issues related to integrating the three pillars of sustainable development.  It should focus on interrelationships and interlinkages between dimensions of sectoral and crosscutting issues, such as poverty eradication. 

He said the number of partnership agreements made by governments, international organizations and other stakeholders in business and civil society had been one of the principal novelties of the World Summit.  The Commission should clarify those partnership initiatives, which should not be seen as replacing or substituting for intergovernmentally agreed commitments, but rather as supplements to achieving goals and targets.  Transparency and credibility in partnership activities should be ensured through clear guidelines, criteria and monitoring mechanisms.  Finally, global partnerships should be established in a spirit of solidarity and burden sharing.

HUSSEIN SABBAGH (Syria) said it was clear from the Johannesburg review that much still remained to be done in implementing Agenda 21.  Governments must have a clear commitment to achieving the goals of sustainable development.  The international community must provide financial resources, and transfer technology to developing countries.  He stressed that one of the main obstacles to sustainable development was foreign occupation.  The international community must pay attention to that problem, which hindered development, sustainable or not.

He agreed with the proposal to organize the Commission’s work on the
two-year cycle.  Full review of implementation of Johannesburg commitments should be carried out during the first year, while solutions should be found in the second.  Agenda 21, as well as the outcomes of the Johannesburg Summit, were the main elements of the Commission’s work.  The Commission should review all methods of implementation and specify needed resources.

JOSE MANUEL OVALLE, Director of Environment, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile, said the format of the high-level segment should be changed to more actively engage ministers in the Commission’s future negotiations and efforts to implement Agenda 21.  He called for greater flexibility in public-private sector dialogue and partnerships, and for creation of a monitoring mechanism, such as an online clearinghouse to track and evaluate performance.  Such initiatives should be used to clearly differentiate the Commission’s activities from other forms of official development assistance.

The Commission and its resources, he continued, should not be controlled by a small number of countries or interest groups.  It should be a forum to generate and mobilize additional resources for workable programmes in essential areas.  Priority should be given to those that best utilize resources and achieve results.  Criteria to monitor performance should be set up, he added.

Mr. ANGUIZOLA (Panama) said the international community must recognize the Johannesburg Plan of Action as the ultimate basis for promoting sustainable development goals.  Panama and other countries of Latin America and the Caribbean had accorded a particular importance to water and had called for a new international year of fresh water.  It was vital to ensure rational use of that resource, and avoid its exploitation through excessive privatization.  His region felt that the consumption of fresh water should be carefully managed.

RICARDO ULATE, Director of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica, said Costa Rica was firmly committed to the healthy development of its society through sustainable development.  Its executive branch had submitted draft legislation on environment rights aimed at protecting and promoting the nation’s air, water, soil, biodiversity and natural resources for future generations.

The Commission should develop regional focuses to improve sustainable development dialogue, he said.  Costa Rica and seven other Mesoamerican nations had defined working topics of concern to the region.  They advocated regional cooperation, technology transfer, conservation and sustainable development of protected nature areas.  They also gave priority to inter-sectoral perspectives, and called for political guidance from international conventions and forums.

DUBEM ONYIA (Nigeria) said work cycles should be flexible and predictable, without undermining the effectiveness of the Commission’s work.  There was a twin danger in either tying the Commission to a rigid programme of work many years in advance, or adopting a piecemeal, halting approach to its work that would necessitate prolonged negotiations.  His country was flexible in the number of cycles to be adopted, provided that primacy was given to implementation and the review and assessment of progress achieved.

He supported the clustering of limited issues on the agenda of each work cycle to allow for in-depth deliberation.  The selection of issues should be closely linked to the actions, targets and time frames of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and Millennium Goals, while ensuring the availability and adequacy of the means of implementation.  He also believed that regional implementation forums should be organized in each region to review the implementation of the Johannesburg Plan.

Ministerial Round Table

Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), emphasized that country level reporting was vital in scaling up sustainable development projects, as was overcoming private-sector scepticism in forming partnerships.  World Bank Vice-President Ian Johnson stressed the importance of country-level ownership of sustainable development projects, the adjustment of trade distortions, and increased official development assistance, as well as harmonized aid.  In addition, rich countries must set examples on production and consumption patterns, private capital flows must be increased, and knowledge systems must be enhanced.

Other speakers stressed that capacity-building was at the heart of successful implementation, as was increased coordination at the country level.  They also referred to the financing of sustainable development projects, emphasizing that the World Solidarity Fund become operational, and public-private partnerships be strongly encouraged.  The international community should look beyond official development assistance to focus on building frameworks for increased private funding.  For their part, poor countries must focus on good governance and human rights, because they were central to attracting investment.

The Commission must recognize the gridlock in current trade talks, others said, stressing that developing countries would fail to obtain a better deal out of the current development round.  Falling prices for coffee, cotton and sugar could not find a better forum than the Commission, which must address those issues.  It must also accelerate its efforts to improve the provision of better services, such as water, sanitation and health

Regional Implementation Forums

During a regional forum of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA),
WISEMAN NIKHULU, Head of the Secretariat for the New Economic Plan for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) in South Africa, highlighted several NEPAD development programmes in such priority areas as health, agriculture, research and technology development, infrastructure, environment, and peace support operations.  An agricultural programme that had been prepared with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), for example, had begun identifying projects in specific regions.  A programme the World Bank was leading in water and sanitation would soon be presenting individual projects to the private sector and holding discussions with potential investors.

JOSUE DIONE, Director of the ECA, said the Commission planned to channel support to NEPAD in Johannesburg Summit areas that were of concern to Africa.  In consultation with United Nations bodies, it had identified such key areas as peace and security, human resource development, infrastructure, environment, population and urbanization, and agriculture and market access.  At the subregional level, the ECA had begun assisting with 10-year plans that incorporated major concerns arising from the Johannesburg Summit for Africa.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), a representative of that body said, had set up a major policy forum on water, established an African environment information network, sought to revolutionalize African environmental conventions, and was supporting the expansion of African trade.  He noted that African farmers would gain more than current levels of official development assistance, if global markets were opened.

Several speakers agreed that trade and market access were vital for sustainable development, while others highlighted such concerns as soil degradation, wetland management, coastal erosion, health and access to water and sanitation.  Water was a key area of concern, one delegate noted, but stressed that the major problem was a lack of infrastructure, rather than meagre resources.

During a regional forum of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ECSWA), HOSNY KHORDAGUI, Head of ECSWA’s newly-formed Sustainable Development of the Environment Team, said the new division aimed to expand the Commission’s focus from environmental management to sustainable development management, with an emphasis on poverty reduction, integrated water management, technology, transport, agriculture and biodiversity, among other areas.

Separating environmental objectives from socio-economic policies would be ineffectual, he said, adding that the new team was studying ways to develop proper sustainable development infrastructure internationally and nationally.  At present, 90 per cent of countries’ ministers participating in the Commission’s work were environment ministers, he said.  His team aimed to have each country appoint a sustainable development focal point instead.

A UNEP representative said the Arab Initiative on Sustainable Development, a Type “2” initiative among ECSWA, UNEP and the Council of Arab Ministers for the Environment, had been signed by all 22 Arab countries.  The UNEP would lend its expertise to find ways to better manage the ECWSA region’s water resources and biodiversity, as well as improve air quality and foster cleaner and safer production.  The NEPAD would also coordinate its work with the Initiative.  A representative of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said oil reserves in ECSWA accounted for more than half the world’s oil supply.  World energy demand would grow significantly in the next two decades.  The most feasible way to achieve sustainable development was to expand fossil fuel usage and develop cleaner fossil fuel technologies.

During a regional forum of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ECSCAP), RAVI SAWHNEY, Director of the Environment and Sustainable Development Division of ESCAP, said public-private partnerships were perhaps the most effective means of achieving the Johannesburg goals of giving the poor access to water, energy, health and biodiversity conservation.  The ESCAP programmes aimed to identify and test best practice.

The Commission, he continued, had two pilot projects under way in
four countries:  water management in Sri Lanka, renewable energy promotion in Indonesia, health services in India, and poverty eradication and biodiversity conservation in Pakistan.  It has also set guidelines for countries in line with the 2005 target for integrated water resources management.

ANITA NIRODY, regional coordinator for the Asia-Pacific region of the UNDP, Capacity 2015, said the UNDP had created Capacity 2015 partnerships in water,

energy, health, agriculture and biodiversity to help professionals and institutions effectively implement sustainable development strategies at the national and local levels.  Other speakers addressed the special concerns of small island developing States to strengthen human resources, capacity-building at the local level and institutional frameworks.

Chairman’s Summary of Discussions

VALLI MOOSA (South Africa), Chairman of the Commission, wrapped up the session, saying ministers had agreed on a 2015 target for integrated water resource management worldwide, for monitoring and review during each cycle of all Agenda 21 aspects in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, and for flexibility in dealing with important issues as they emerge.

Poverty eradication would be the overriding theme for the Johannesburg decade and should guide all the Commission’s meetings during the period.  Each two-year work cycle should address sustainable production and consumption patterns as crosscutting themes and should emphasize the needs of Africa and least developed countries.  More focus should be on gender issues.  The first cycle, he continued, would emphasize water and sanitation, particularly water and sanitation management, financing, technology transfer and gender perspectives.  The second cycle would relate to energy, particularly energy efficiency, climate change and natural resource management.  Effective management of those themes during the first two cycles would send a clear message to governments and the world’s poor that the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation was working, he said. 

Significant increases in financial resources, including a doubling of official development assistance and public-private partnerships, as well as greater market access and the elimination of agricultural subsidies, were required to meet sustainable development targets.  Ministers agreed on the need for a reporting format to monitor, review and analyse the progress of the Commission’s work.  The Commission should also regularly give recommendations to the Economic and Social Council on sustainable development themes.

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