Commission on Sustainable Development

Eleventh Session

9th Meeting (AM)

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION SETS LONG-TERM

WORK PROGRAMME, AS ELEVENTH SESSION CONCLUDES

Establishes Two-Year Implementation Cycles Aimed at Specific Clusters

of Issues; Also Decides on 2004 Preparatory Meeting for Small Island States Review

The Commission on Sustainable Development today approved its future work programme, aimed at ensuring implementation of sustainable development goals, as it concluded its eleventh session.

By the programme, contained in a draft resolution recommended to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Commission will contribute to implementing goals laid down in Agenda 21 at the 1992 Rio Conference on Environment and Development, the Plan of Implementation of the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development, as well as the internationally agreed development goals, contained in the 2000 Millennium Declaration.

The programme organized the Commission’s work into two-year “implementation cycles”, including review and policy years.  The review year will evaluate progress made in implementing development goals and identify constraints, while the policy year will decide on measures to speed up implementation and mobilize action to overcome obstacles.

The two-year cycles would form part of a larger multi-year programme of work, with different thematic clusters of issues for each cycle.  Beginning with the period 2004 to 2005 and ending with 2014 to 2015, successive two-year cycles will focus on:  water, sanitation and human settlements; energy for sustainable development, industrial development, air pollution/atmosphere, and climate change; agriculture, rural development, land, drought, desertification and Africa; transport, chemicals waster management, mining, and a ten-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production patterns; forests, biodiversity, biotechnology, tourism and mountains; oceans and seas, marine resources, small island developing States, and disaster management and vulnerability.

The years 2016 to 2017 will be devoted to an overall appraisal of implementation of Agenda 21, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.

According to the text, the thematic clusters of issues will take into account economic, social and environmental aspects of sustainable development, with all issues equally dealt with.  Moreover, the means of implementation, as identified in Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan, will be addressed in every

cycle and for every issue, action and commitment, as should Africa and other regional initiatives, small island developing states and least developed countries.

The text also indicates that the Commission’s work should include the sharing of best practices and lessons learned, an exchange of experiences on implementation of sustainable development strategies, and partnerships supporting implementation of sustainable development goals, and that future sessions should include high-level segments involving ministers. 

By further terms, it stressed that effective reporting was vital for reviewing, monitoring and evaluating progress to implement sustainable development goals, and emphasized that it should include inputs from national, subregional, regional and global levels, United Nations bodies, the Global Environment Facility, international financial and trade institutions, and major civil society groups.

In addition, the text calls for further enhancement of the contributions from the major societal groups (farmers, indigenous people, youth, trade unions, women, the scientific and technological community, local authorities, business and industry and non-governmental organizations) through more action and implementation-oriented multi-stakeholder dialogues, and that group participation should be more regionally balanced.

Also today, the Commission adopted an orally revised draft decision on preparations for the international meeting to be held in Mauritius in 2004 to review implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action for Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States.  By the text, the Commission decided to hold a three-day preparatory meeting during its twelfth session in 2004.  The preparatory meeting will consider a synthesis report to be prepared by the Secretary-General, which would include recommendations contained in national assessment reports from small islands developing states, expert thematic workshop reports, regional and inter-regional reports.

Also by the text, the Commission invited international donors to submit progress reports and recommendations on small islands developing States-related activities by 31 January 2004.  It also invited the Secretary-General to make full use of the Small Island Developing States Information Network (SIDSnet) to disseminate reports and encourage governments and high-level participants to address small island developing States themes during the coming session.

In addition, the Commission adopted a draft decision recommending that the Economic and Social Council consider the status of non-governmental organizations and other major groups accredited to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 2002), so that the Commission could benefit from their contribution as much as possible.

During the meeting, the Commission also decided to take note of proposed revisions to subprogramme 4, Sustainable Development, of Programme 7, Economic and Social Affairs, of the medium-term plan for the period 2002-2005 (document E/CN.17/2003/4) and the draft programme of work for the biennium 2004-2005 for the Division on Sustainable Development (document E/CN.17/2003/5). In that regard, it invited the Committee on Programme and Coordination, the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions and the General Assembly’s Fifth Committee to consider decisions on the Commission’s future programme, organization and methods of work during their deliberations on those documents.

In addition, the Commission decided to include summaries of the high-level and multi-stakeholder segments as well as comments on the partnership fair and learning center, which were provided by Commission Chairperson Valli Moosa (South Africa), in its report. It also adopted the provisional agenda for the twelfth session, which will focus on water, sanitation, and human settlements. 

The Commission then adopted its draft report, authorizing the Secretariat to finalize it with a view to submitting it to Economic and Social Council.

In closing remarks, Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said the Commission was a key element in forwarding the goals of sustainable development.  The meeting had been more successful than anticipated, which would lead to strong, constructive results in future Commission work, he said.

In other business, the Commission elected Borge Brende (Norway) as Chairman, and re-elected Bruno Stagno Ugarte (Costa Rica) as Vice-Chairman, for the bureau of its twelfth session.

Highlights of the Session

The session opened with a three-day high-level debate, where environment and sustainable development ministers stressed the importance of implementing commitments made at the Johannesburg Summit, and strongly supported the proposal for two-year implementation cycles.  Many also called for increased attention on regional implementation, and urged the Commission to assist developing countries with such environmental needs as water and energy.

Many ministers drew attention to the obstacles Africa faced in reaching sustainable development goals, such as natural disaster, conflicts and lack of market access, and called for renewed focus on the goals set by the New Economic Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).  Others emphasized the need for nations to become aware of the best practices and success stories of others in implementing sustainable development strategies.

The ministerial segment was complemented by interactive round tables with major stakeholders, where speakers stressed the need for technology transfer, as well as increased donor aid and capital flows, if developing countries were to meet the Johannesburg targets.  Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, noted that serious action was needed to reach the Millennium targets of halving the number of people without access to safe drinking water and sanitation services by 2015, and creating integrated water management programmes in all countries by 2005.

The Commission also held several regional implementation forums, which highlighted activities to implement sustainable development goals at the regional level.  In addition, it conducted a multi-stakeholder dialogue with the nine major civic groups, where participants stressed the importance of public-private sector partnerships, as well as the role of civil society in the Commission’s future decision-making and implementation, particularly at the local level.

A “Partnerships Fair” was held in parallel to the session, highlighting joint efforts among governments, civil society and the private sector to promote sustainable development through safe water systems, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture and rural development, biodiversity conservation, and capacity building, among other methods.  A Learning Centre offering three-hour training sessions on practical ways to meet the Johannesburg targets was held in the Dag Hammarskjold Library.

Commission Membership

The Commission consists of 53 members elected for three-year terms.  In 2003, the membership is as follows:  Antigua and Barbuda; Argentina; Australia; Austria; Azerbaijan; Belarus; Belgium; Bolivia; Brazil; Canada; China; Costa Rica; Croatia; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Ecuador; Egypt; France; Gabon; Germany; Ghana; Greece; Guatemala; Iceland; India; Indonesia; Iran; Japan; Lesotho; Madagascar; Mali; Mexico; Mongolia; Morocco; Nepal; Nigeria; Norway; Pakistan; Peru; Poland; Republic of Moldova; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Slovenia; South Africa; Sudan; Switzerland; Thailand; Turkey; Uganda; United Kingdom; United States; Uzbekistan and Venezuela.

Members of the Commission’s bureau for the session were Chairperson, Valli Mossa (South Africa); and Vice-Chairpersons, Bruno Stagno Ugarte (Costa Rica), Nadine Gouzee (Belgium), Hossein Moeini Meybodi (Iran), and Irena Zubcevic (Croatia).

* *** *