Fifty-Ninth General Assembly

Second Committee

14^th Meeting (AM)

top United Nations officials tell second committee of efforts

to combat disasters, desertification, climate change

 

Toll of Natural Hazards Doubled, Economic Losses

Trebled, Delegates Told During Debate on Sustainable Development

As the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) took up sustainable development this morning, key United Nations officials highlighted efforts to tackle natural disasters, desertification, climate change and other developmental hazards, emphasizing the need to increase public and private support for sustainable development goals.

Jan Egeland, Under-Secretary-General of Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said that the number of people struck by natural disasters had more than doubled over the last decade and economic losses had more than trebled.  In 2003 alone, disasters had affected more than 254 million people, with locusts in Africa as well as tropical cyclones and floods in the Caribbean and Asia having already caused immense losses in 2004.

Introducing a report on natural disasters and the El Niño phenomenon, he urged governments to contribute to a new Early Warning Promotional Platform for natural disasters that had been set up in Bonn, Germany, under the auspices of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.  Regional disaster reduction outreach programmes in the African, Asian and Latin America and Caribbean regions had supported national and regional strategies for disaster reduction as well as partnerships to raise public awareness.

Addressing the same theme, Anwarul Chowdhury, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and SmallIslandDevelopingStates, said the International Strategy was vital for the least developed, landlocked and small island developing countries, which had been ravaged by natural disasters.  The horrendous destruction wrought by cyclones and hurricanes in the Caribbean and Pacific during 2004 in particular had underscored the social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities of small island developing States.

Focusing on the developmental effects of climate change, Joke Waller-Hunter, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, noted the steadily increasing economic costs of dealing with the adverse impact of that phenomenon.  The good news was that the Kyoto Protocol on carbon dioxide emissions would enter into force 90 days after the Russian Federation’s Parliament ratified it, which would launch a new phase of international cooperation to reduce climate change risks.  In addition, 64 parties to the Convention had designated authorities to endorse projects in such areas as landfill gas capture and flaring, incineration of hydrofluorocarbon waste streams, fuel switching and renewable energy.

Regarding sustainable development, José Antonio Ocampo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said that while governments were taking renewed action, overall progress towards that goal remained inadequate.  Introducing reports on Agenda 21, the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the International Year of Freshwater 2003, the Caribbean Sea area, and products harmful to health and the environment, he said that common obstacles to sustainable growth in developing countries included insufficient financial resources, technology transfer, and capacities.  The persistence of poverty, low levels of community participation and inadequate participation by women had continued to hinder efforts to supply basic services.

During a discussion period that followed the presentation of reports, speakers addressed the concerns of delegates over disaster prevention, the effectiveness of early warning assessment programmes and partnership funding.  Mr. Egeland said that the disaster that had recently struck Haiti was a good example of inadequate prevention and how much could have been done to decrease that country’s vulnerability.  Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), underscored the need for a common approach to coordinating improvements to early warning assessment systems and interaction when natural disaster did in fact occur.

Mr. Ocampo, noting that partnership funding was often provided, directly or indirectly, by the public sector, stressed the need for a significant increase in private sector contributions, which could be seen as pre-investments in areas that could have long-term impacts on private businesses.  However, there was a lack of general commitment to sustainable development on the part of the private sector.

Also speaking this morning were Hama Arba Diallo, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification; and Hamdallah Zedan, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

Aicha Bah Diallo, Assistant Secretary-General for Education with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), also made a statement.

The Second Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, Tuesday 19 October, to continue its discussion of sustainable development.

Background

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this morning to begin its consideration of sustainable development.  Before it was a report of the Secretary-General on implementation of Agenda 21, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 and the outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (document A/59/220), which reviews global efforts to implement and follow-up sustainable development goals.

According to the report, the Commission on Sustainable Development has reviewed water, sanitation and human settlements and identified key implementation obstacles.  Governments have shown strong commitment in such areas as water, sanitation and human settlements; partnerships are becoming effective instruments for implementation; and major groups, including business and industry, are increasingly contributing to sustainable development.

The report recommends that the General Assembly should urge governments to continue implementing Agenda 21, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation; call on governments to enhance support for regional initiatives and major group participation in the Commission’s work; and call on donors and international financial institutions to fund developing countries in priority areas identified by the Commission, including integrated water resources management and water efficiency plans, as well as national strategies for sustainable development.

Also before the Committee was a report of the Secretary-General on products harmful to health and the environment (document A/59/81-E/2004/63), which gives an overview of United Nations activities in environmentally sound chemicals management since 2001, including publication of the Consolidated List of Products Whose Consumption and/or Sale Have Been Banned, Withdrawn, Severely Restricted or Not Approved by Governments.  Issued every three years through the Economic and Social Council, the report also highlights major developments in international chemicals management as regards children’s safety, occupational safety and health, hazard data availability, risk management and reduction of acutely toxic pesticides and capacity-building projects.  It discusses progress in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) initiative to create a Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) by 2005 to achieve effective risk management of chemical production, use and disposal by 2020.

The report suggests that the Economic and Social Council use the online version of the Consolidated List as its permanent reference and print report updates in other official United Nations languages every two years.  It suggests that the Council call on multilateral and bilateral agencies to strengthen capacity-building and technical assistance in developing countries and urge donor agencies to increase financial assistance for national efforts toward environmentally sound toxic chemical management.  The report also urges full participation of Member States in SAICM to minimize the adverse effects of chemicals on human health and the environment.

Also before the Committee was a report of the Secretary-General on implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (document A/59/228), which provides an update on preparations for the World Conference on Disaster Reduction from 18-22 January in Kobe, Japan, and the ongoing review of the 1994 Yokohama Strategy for a Safer World:  Guidelines for Natural Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Mitigation and its Plan of Action.  It also summaries activities of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Disaster Reduction, and includes a section on natural disasters and vulnerability.

The report notes that 700 natural disasters occurred in 2003, killing 75,000 people, affecting 250 million people and resulting in $65 billion in economic losses.  Among those catastrophes, the December 2003 earthquake in Bam, Iran, claimed 26,000 lives.  Floods in China this year killed 46 million people, and flash floods in the Dominican Republic and Haiti in May devastated thousands.  Poverty, environmental degradation and lack of preparedness played a major role in turning natural hazards into disasters.  Inexpensive and simple measures are available to address the environmental and societal impact of disasters, while political commitment, appropriate resource allocation and strong institutional structures are necessary to implement such measures.  MembersStates and regional organizations should develop national disaster reduction strategies and programmes, which the African Union and Pacific Forum have already done.

Also before the Committee was a note by the Secretary-General on implementation of United Nations environmental conventions (document A/59/197), which transmits reports of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa, and the Convention on Biological Diversity, as well as a joint submission on cooperative activities of the three secretariats.

The Committee also had before it a report of the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme at its eighth special session (document A/59/25, Supplement No. 25), which contains reports of the work of the Environmental Management Group (29-31 March 2004, Jeju Island, Republic of Korea).  It also had before it a report of the Secretary-General on the universal membership of the Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum of the United Nations Development Programme (document A/59/262), outlining the legal, political, institutional, financial and system-wide implications for establishing such membership.

In addition, the Committee had before it a report of the Secretary-General on activities undertaken during the International Year of Freshwater, 2003, and further efforts to achieve the sustainable development of water resources (document A/59/167); and a report of the Secretary-General on promoting an integrated management approach to the Caribbean Sea area in the context of sustainable development (document A/59/173).

Introduction of Reports

JOSÉ ANTONIO OCAMPO, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, introduced reports on implementation of Agenda 21 and the outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (document A/59/220); the International Year of Freshwater 2003 (document A/59/167); integrated management to the Caribbean Sea area (document A/59/173); and products harmful to health and the environment (document A/59/81-E/2004/63).  He said that two years after the Johannesburg Summit, governments were taking renewed action to pursue sustainable development goals.  In the area of water and sanitation, ongoing efforts across the globe included measures to protect watersheds and construct latrines in elementary schools, which were dramatically improving the quality of life for poor people.  Several non-governmental stakeholders were contributing to those efforts, using pilot approaches for their strategies before implementing them.  Preliminary estimates suggested that about $872 million had been committed through those partnerships, with the total likely to rise.

He observed that the United Nations had formed inter-agency collaborative agreements to tackle water and sanitation issues, including the establishment of United Nations Energy to address energy-related issues, and that the United Nations regional commissions were making unique contributions.  Recently, the High-Level Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation had been set up to galvanize global action by all stakeholders to meet the Millennium Development Goals in that area.

Noting, however, that overall progress to reach sustainable development goals had remained inadequate, he said common obstacles included a lack of financial resources, technology transfer, and capacities in developing countries.  Several countries were not on track either to halve the proportion of people without safe drinking water or to improve the lives of slum-dwellers by 2015.  Also, sanitation issues had received far less attention than water.  The persistence of poverty, low levels of community participation and inadequate participation by women had continued to hinder efforts to supply basic services.

JAN EGELAND, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, introducing the report of the Secretary-General on the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction and on international cooperation to reduce the impact of the El Niño phenomenon (document A/59/228), said that over the last decade the number of people affected by natural hazards had more than doubled and the ensuing economic losses had more than trebled.  In 2003 alone, such hazards affected more than 254 million people.  This year, locust infestation in Africa, tropical cyclones and floods in the Caribbean region and Asia had already caused immense losses.

Under the auspices of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), he said, a new Early Warning Promotional Platform had been set up in Bonn, Germany, intended to sustain dialogue and foster the creation of a more systematic approach to early warning.  Regional ISDR outreach programmes in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean had supported national platforms and regional strategies for disaster reduction as well as partnerships to raise public awareness.  He said the report recommended that governments and other stakeholders create national voluntary targets and incorporate disaster risk reduction programmes into national development schemes; give specific suggestions for addressing vulnerability and risk in small island developing States at the January 2005 World Conference on Disaster Reduction; and further explore ways to ensure adequate long-term financing for natural disaster reduction.

Questions and Answers

Responding to a question about partnerships, Mr. OCAMPO said partnership funding often came from the public sector, either directly or indirectly, including some of the funds available to non-governmental organizations.  There was a need for a significant increase in private sector contributions, which could be seen as pre-investments in areas that could have long-term impacts on private businesses.  Another problem was the lack of general commitment in the private sector to sustainable development.

Mr. EGELAND said, in response to a question about disaster prevention, that Haiti’s recent natural disaster was a good example of inadequate preparation, compared to other States, and how much could have been done to decrease the country’s vulnerability.  The humanitarian sector was working with development partners to reduce vulnerability and had been successful in setting up the Inter-Agency Task Force on Disaster Reduction, which comprised 26 bodies from the United Nations, regional organizations and civil society.  Early warning was fundamental to prevention and the scientific community as well as Member States must work together on disaster prevention.  Some donors were trying to direct 15 per cent of their ODA towards preventative work. 

Introductory Statements

JOKE WALLER-HUNTER, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, said the economic costs of dealing with the adverse impact of climate change were increasing steadily.  Turkey had recently acceded to the Convention, bringing the total number of ratifications to 189.  A total of 126 parties had ratified the Kyoto Protocol, including developing countries accounting for 44.2 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions.  Ninety days after the Russian ratification of the Protocol, as the Russian Duma Parliament was expected to do, it would enter into force.  That would launch a new phase of international cooperation to reduce climate change risks.  The Clean Development Mechanism -- an innovative financial mechanism to channel private-sector investment into emissions reduction projects for developing countries while offering industrialized countries credits against their Kyoto targets -- was up and running.  Sixty-four parties had designated authorities that would endorse projects in such areas as landfill gas capture and flaring, incineration of hydrofluorocarbon waste streams, fuel switching and renewable energy.

She said the Special Climate Change Fund would provide resources for adaptation and technology transfer and relevant capacity-building while the Least Developed Countries Fund would begin financing national adaptation programmes of action in all 48 least developed countries (LDCs).  Emissions trading initiatives were also gaining wide support and the European Union’s regional emissions trading scheme was already operational.  Japan was poised to introduce a pilot programme.  The private sector was also doing its part, with large oil companies such as British Petroleum and Shell setting up internal trading systems.  The Chicago Climate Exchange was operational and had facilitated carbon trading on the Chicago Stock Exchange.

HAMA ARBA DIALLO, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, said the Convention secretariat was primarily concerned with providing assistance to countries afflicted with desertification, and preparing for the third session of the Committee for review implementation of the Convention at the national and regional levels.  The secretariat had also assisted the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), which had identified desertification as a disaster within the African region, in launching actions to prevent it.  Such assistance had included identifying and formulating priority activities in combating desertification.

The Conference of the Parties had invited parties to submit their views on policies, strategies and priorities in combating desertification, he continued, and consultations were currently being held between the Global Environment Facility and the parties.  The Convention secretariat had also improved the coordination of its activities with the conventions on Climate Change and Biodiversity to maximize activities in each case.

HAMDALLAH ZEDAN, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, said Thailand had ratified the Convention this past year, bringing the total number of signatories to 188.  A total of 108 countries as well as the European Union had ratified or acceded to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.  All non-signatory States were encouraged to accede to the Protocol as soon as possible.  The Conference of the Parties to the Convention had made progress towards slowing the rate of biodiversity losses as called for in its strategic plan and it was negotiating an international regime on access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing.  It had adopted a programme of work on protected areas, including hot spots, ecological networks and corridors; programmes on mountain biodiversity and technology transfer; and would develop a programme on island biodiversity.

The first meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol resulted in the successful launch of an operational framework to implement the Protocol, he continued.  The parties had established procedures and mechanisms to facilitate decision-making; an action plan for capacity-building, including indicators to monitor progress; procedures to promote compliance; and a process to develop international rules and procedures on liability and redress for damages due to transboundary movement of living modified organisms.  That process should be completed in four years.

AICHA BAH DIALLO, Assistant Secretary-General for Education, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), speaking about the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, 2005-2014, stressed the importance of identifying links between the Decade and other educational initiatives.  The Decade recognized that sustainable development was not only a complex concept but a complex practice involving society, the environment and the economy.  The challenge was to take that complexity and translate it into useful activities.  Education about sustainable development was about values, respect for human life, biological diversity, the environment and the planet’s resources.  It was also about justice, rights, human dignity and equality.  The Decade was a world where everyone would have an opportunity to benefit from education and sustainable development.

KLAUS TOEPFER, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), said environmental problems were the greatest threat to mankind and stressed that sustainable development was a security imperative.  Environmental degradation, social instability and war were interconnected.  Much had to been done for early warning assessment, and the African Summit on Remote Sensing being held today in Nairobi was important in that regard.  The outcome of the special session of UNEP’s Governing Council had concentrated on the water agenda and the fact that adequate environmental services, notably effective water resource management, were necessary to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.  UNEP had partnered with the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) to implement programmes to achieve water resource management targets.

Effective chemical management was also crucial to achieving the Millennium target of eliminating human health risks caused by chemicals by 2020, he said.  There was a close relationship between the environmental and agricultural agendas in that regard and an agreement on organic pollutants management was necessary.  A first meeting of parties would be held in Uruguay next year to develop a strategic approach to chemical concerns.  In terms of environmental programme financing, more that 100 countries were contributing and others were urged to do the same.

Questions and Answers

Responding to a delegate’s question about the prospects for cooperation among working groups to protect biological diversity in areas outside national jurisdictions, Mr. ZEDAN said the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity had called upon the United Nations General Assembly and international organizations to take measures to eliminate destructive and illegal practices.  The Conference was working with international civil authorities, UNEP, the United Nations Division of Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea on the legal aspects of protecting biodiversity in areas outside national jurisdiction.  The General Assembly was expected to create a working group.

Regarding greater measures needed to address desertification and land degradation, Mr. DIALLO said that was crucial to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.  Seventy-five per cent of the world’s poor lived in rural areas and it was impossible to address rural poverty if the bulk of water resources were being sent elsewhere.  In the Mediterranean, desertification was a threat to peace and security, and in Africa it was the most pressing concern.  Combating it was key to poverty eradication.  Migration from rural areas would not occur if those living in drylands were given the opportunity to improve their productive capacity.  The Monterrey Consensus must be implemented in a timely fashion, using existing tools. 

On funding for environmental protection initiatives, Mr. TOEPFER said that greater funding was indeed required and that UNEP had held intense discussions with donor countries last week in that regard.  As for the need to improve early warning assessment systems and interaction when natural disaster did in fact occur, a common approach was needed to coordinate activities and there was broad capacity-building in that regard.  UNEP and its partners had conducted extensive post-conflict assessment and investigators at UNEP, UNDP and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) had noted that instruments were needed to single out early action.  In the Central Asian republics, investigators had linked environmental burdens and certain migrations.

Statements

ANWARUL CHOWDHURY, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, said the social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities of small island developing States (SIDS) were glaringly demonstrated by the horrendous destruction wrought by cyclones and hurricanes in the Caribbean and Pacific during 2004.  Next January’s international meeting in Mauritius and Kobe world conference must give high priority to helping those countries to build greater resilience and enhanced preparedness in facing the overwhelming frequency of natural disasters.  The Mauritius outcome should not only generate a renewal of global commitments to the development of SIDS, but also bring about positive, tangible and qualitative changes to the lives of their peoples.

He said the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction was particularly relevant for the least developed, landlocked and small island developing countries, which were particularly ravaged by natural disasters, overwhelming their uphill efforts towards sustainable development.  Clearer directions and priorities for action should be issued at the international, regional, national and local levels to ensure implementation of the International Strategy and support the objectives of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, as well as the Millennium Development Goals.

Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, he said, was linked to implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biodiversity in assisting efforts to eradicate poverty and bring about sustainable human development, especially in countries that were vulnerable to desertification, climate change and diminishing biological diversity.  Dwindling land, marine and agricultural resources had exacerbated existing social and economic obstacles to development.

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