Commission on Sustainable Development

Nineteenth Session

7^th & 8^th Meetings (AM & PM)

Commission on Sustainable Development Continues High-Level Segment with Round

Tables on Sustainable Consumption, Transport, Chemical Management, Mining

 

Just one day shy of its anticipated deadline, the Commission on Sustainable Development today heard from experts in four intensive round table meetings, and held subsequent discussions aimed at advancing the adoption tomorrow of a strong outcome document for the Commission’s 2011 policy session.

The round tables — which were part of the Commission’s high-level segment and tackled the issues of transport, chemical management, mining and the development of a 10-year framework document on sustainable consumption and production — came as the Commission’s annual two-week session neared its end.  On 2 May, Commission members held a lively opening session, and then convened working groups, to begin exhaustive negotiations on elements of the outcome document.  The high-level segment started yesterday, 11 May, drawing the participation of Government ministers and prominent officials.

Across the four meetings today, many of those ministers, alongside heads of the governing bodies of the United Nations system, expressed their strong support for the establishment of a 10-Year Framework of Programmes on sustainable consumption and production.  That Framework was one of the session’s five priority themes, as well as the focus of round table I, entitled “Developing programmes and a framework to accelerate the shift toward sustainable consumption and production”.  The round table focused on ways to draft and implement the Framework, which many participants said would serve as a “milestone contribution” to the upcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in 2012.

Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and a panellist at the first round table, said that, by 2050, the planet’s residents would require three times the current resources to sustain their current model of consumption and production.  No one believed that this scenario was viable, he stressed.  For that reason, the sustainable consumption and production agenda would likely emerge as a key driver of the global economy in the future, and policy frameworks on the international level had to be urgently identified.  To that end, he emphasized, the 10-Year Framework of Programmes was a step toward building the trust and cooperation required between nations.

During the ensuing discussion, the majority of speakers conveyed their support for the establishment of the 10-Year Framework, with some urging its quick launch.  The European Commissioner for the Environment, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said that the adoption of such a framework was a “significant response” to the global challenge of establishing sustainable consumption and production patterns.  Representatives of numerous countries also agreed that the framework should include concrete programmes and measures, as well as indicators designed to evaluate those programmes and promote efficiency.

Also speaking as panellists on the first round table were Mohan Munasinghe, Founder of the Munasinghe Institute for Development and Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, and Paul Anastas, Assistant Administrator at the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Today’s three other round tables also featured high-level panellists and dynamic discussions.  Speaking at the second round table, entitled “Enhancing access to sustainable urban and rural transport”, were Joan Clos, Executive Director of United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat), and Allison Davis, certified Senior Transportation Planner at the United States engineering firm ARUP.  Among other aspects of transport, participants at that round table discussed the challenge of mobility in the context of urban planning.  They stressed the need to re-frame traditional markers of wealth, including high levels of consumption and the use of personal automobiles, and to reduce the overall demand for urban transport.  The discussion focused, in particular, on developing world cities, where populations were growing dramatically.

Speaking in the afternoon during the third round table, entitled “Moving towards zero waste and sound management of chemicals”, were three panelists:  Jim Willis, Executive Secretary of the Basel and Stockholm Conventions Secretariats and Joint Executive Secretary, Rotterdam Convention Secretariat; Craig Boljkovac, Manager, Chemicals and Waste Management Programme, United Nations Institute for Training and Research; and Prasad Modak, Executive President of India’s Environmental Management Center, based in Mumbai.  Participants discussed policy measures that could better manage waste streams and streamline sound waste management into development policies, with one panelist calling for the development of a “strategic vision” for how the global community would address toxic chemicals, as well as the provision of coherent technical assistance and financing where appropriate.

The fourth round table on “Creating an enabling environment for sustainable mining”, also held this afternoon, featured as panelists Ann Maest, Managing Scientist at Stratus Consulting in the United States; and Ben Peachy, Communication Director at the United Kingdom-based International Council on Mining and Metals.  Among other key points, the panelists’ statements and the ensuing discussion sought to identify policies for creating linkages between mining and other economic sectors in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.  Speakers also stressed the importance of promoting and improving the participation of all stakeholders in mining, including indigenous communities, which frequently bore the brunt of mining-related environmental impacts.

The Commission on Sustainable Development will hold a ministerial dialogue at 10 a.m., Friday, 13 May, and meet at 3 p.m. to close its 2011 high-level segment.

Background

The Commission on Sustainable Development met today to continue its high-level segment, with two parallel ministerial round tables held in the morning and two additional round tables — also taking place simultaneously — held in the afternoon.

Round Table on “Developing programmes and a framework to accelerate the shift towards sustainable consumption and production”

The round table was co-chaired by Margarita Songco, Deputy Director-General and Coordinator of the National Economic and Development Authority of the Philippines and Paul Magnette, Minister for Climate and Energy of Belgium.  It featured the following panelists:  Mohan Munasinghe, Vice-Chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in Geneva and Chair of the Munasinghe Institute of Development in Colombo, Sri Lanka; Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP; and Paul Anastas, Assistant Administrator for Research and Development at the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Opening the round table, Ms. SONGCO said that, during the past seven days, the delegations had discussed this issue of sustainable consumption and production and that it would be useful for ministers and heads of delegations to attempt to answer the following three questions:  1) What policy actions were needed, both at the supply and demand sides, to accelerate a shift towards sustainable consumption and production patterns?; 2) Why was it of the utmost importance that all countries, whether rich or poor, developed or developing, should embrace the idea of a 10-year framework on sustainable consumption and production patterns?; 3) What commitments were needed from different stakeholders to advance the implementation of a 10-year framework on sustainable consumption and production patterns?  She, then, called on the panelists to provide a backdrop for the interactive discussion.

Mr. MUNASINGHE spoke about the development of Millennium Consumption Goals and new concepts to make the world more sustainable, noting that they all faced the risks of global breakdown because of multiple shocks, like the financial-economic crisis, persistent poverty, resource shortages, environmental harm, and climate change.  Unfortunately, the global response was uncoordinated and political will was weak.  More than $5 trillion had been spent on the financial crisis, $100 billion had been spent on aid concerning poverty, and a few billion dollars had been spent on the issue of climate change.  However, they had lost an opportunity to use the noted $5 trillion for green investments in order to support sustainable livelihoods.  They still had a window for change, though, because people felt uneasy.  The global governance structures needed to be transformed and they needed to move from “business as usual” to looking at the drivers of problems.  They needed to make a transition through policy reform, more proactive interventions by civil society to support the government, and a range of integrated solutions that were not piecemeal in order to move towards a green economy.  Rather than just discussing the problem, people needed to be empowered to take action, he said, using the metaphor of climbing a mountain and not being able to see the peak at first, but knowing that it could be reached by taking the necessary steps.

To achieve sustainable consumption and production, it was also necessary to think across disciplines, he said.  Pointing to a chart showing the relationship of the income of countries to their emissions, he said that they had learned through the climate convention that countries with high incomes and high emissions could bring their emissions down without giving up the good life.  Further, low- and middle-income countries needed to follow a different path, where they could reach a high rate of well-being without producing high emissions as rich economies had in the past.  The Millennium Conservation Goals were building blocks, which would build “a castle of sustainable development, not a castle in the air.”  There was a need to focus on the richest 20 percentile of people who lived throughout the world, not just in the West, because they consumed 60 times more than the poorest and were responsible for 80 per cent of consumption.  The vision was to link sustainable consumers and producers together, and to bring about a cultural change through the Millennium Conservation Goals in order to make sustainable consumption and production the norm.  The Millennium Conservation Goals initiative was being promoted by the United Nations, and the delegates were asked to provide it with a mandate, so that the United Nations agencies could implement it further.

Mr. STEINER said that they had made significant progress towards sustainable consumption and production and had to understand how public policy space could adjust itself to enable that proven concept to be moved much faster into the mainstream of economies.  What began initially as an issue of reducing pollution and greater efficiency of natural resource use was becoming a fundamental issue for the future of the global economy.  In a formal report that had been created concerning decoupling, there was a statistic showing that by 2050, the people on Earth would need three times the current resource envelope to sustain their model of sustainable consumption and production.  Nobody believed that was viable, so the sustainable consumption and production agenda was going to emerge as one of the key drivers as to how the global economy would be sustained. A number of important principles and public policies needed to be moved into the mainstream.

Sustainable consumption and productionbelonged in the United Nations arena because, in a global community of nations that was constantly in a competitive relationship, the ability to define goals could only succeed through a common approach, he said.  Just one part of the world could not be asked to pay a higher price in making the transition.  They were bound together to define the green economy as a project for humanity at this time, and they were not progressing because nations did not have confidence in one another to move forward collectively.  Policy frameworks on the international level had to be found.  The 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption was a step in trying to build trust and policy measures that could be undertaken by a community of nations trading with one another.  That needed to be characterized by a set of criteria for the participating actors to promote efficiency.  They did not want to create another platform for an interagency process that was abstract and just debated what they might want to do.  Expressing hope that the delegates would give the 10-Year Framework governance direction that would allow it to bring together all sectors and countries, he appealed for the need to build confidence.  Twenty years after the Rio conference, the world was not anywhere near translating sustainable consumption and production concepts into implementation, so delegates needed to about the future and imagine needing three times the resource envelope 40 years from now.

Mr. ANASTAS said that, as a scientist and policy-maker, he wanted to speak about the “how” of what was needed to achieve sustainable consumption and production.  When looking at the challenges of sustainability, they recognized that the only things that they had in this world were energy and matter.  The use of energy and matter was on an unsustainable trajectory for the future and they would need, perhaps, as much as three Earth equivalents to supply those resources.  Looking at a future of trying to meet those efficiency goals was a challenge and would require innovation, discovery, and the best of scientific brilliance, to pose different questions about the nature of the process and systems that were the basis of the global economy.  One pillar of a new approach was called “green chemistry’, which looked at fundamental design and across all sectors, ranging from energy to food production to medicine.  For example, excellent science and technology had been exhibited as a conference in Africa involving green chemistry in many nations, showing how indigenous knowledge could be incorporated.  It was as easy to understand as recognizing that the colours in a peacock’s features were not manufactured by dyes, but by the nature of the structure of the feather itself.  Reptiles like geckos did not climb walls using adhesives, but by natural design.  These were lessons learned from nature that were powerful tools.

Some of the greatest investments in green chemistry were being made by India and China, and countries like the United States were interested in partnerships to learn and share that new level of awareness, he said.  Part of how sustainable goals were achieved was to know how to turn brilliance into reality.  That would require all sectors.  Government played an important role, as did industry, academia, non-governmental organization s, and environmental groups.  He believed there was a myth that the great goals of sustainable consumption and production could not be achieved in ways that promoted progress and quality of life around the world, which was shown to be a myth every day by the science and technology being developed on all continents.  However, it was not taking place on necessary scale, or with the urgency commensurate with the challenges at hand.  So, it was necessary to build the capacity, understanding, awareness, and infrastructure in order to move ahead

Ms. Songco, then, turned the meeting over to her co-chair Mr. Magnette to begin the interactive discussion.

During the ensuing discussion, the majority speakers referred to and expressed their support for the establishment of the 10-Year Framework Programme.  The European Commissioner for the Environment, speaking on behalf of the European Union and its member States, saying that the adoption of the 10-Year Framework Programme for the period of 2011-2021 was a significant response to the global challenge of sustainable consumption and production and the way to move quickly towards the identification and implementation of concrete programmes and provide a milestone contribution towards the objectives of Rio+20.  Representatives of numerous countries expressed agreement that the Framework should include concrete programmes and measures.  Various countries also noted that indicators must also be attached to the Framework to promote efficiency and to evaluate the programmes.

References to stakeholders and their engagement should also be included in the Framework, noted a few speakers.  Stakeholders could be involved in policy implementation and decision-making.  Stakeholders were disappointed to see how little attention had been paid to the original mandate about supporting their national and regional initiatives, said the representative of non-governmental organizations.  He emphasized that he would like to see the meeting inspire others, instead of for the United Nations members to just talk among themselves, and that the telling of stakeholder stories, or minimal support for even a thousand stakeholder initiatives, would be progress.

The issue of establishing a proper institutional structure was also discussed.  Numerous speakers noted that UNEP would be best place to coordinate networks and monitor progress.  On the regional level, the representative of Algeria expressed support for the establishment of regional centres to disseminate information, while the representative of Kazakhstandiscussed his delegation’s “green bridge initiative” to work with partners in the regions of Europe and Asia and the Pacific on the effective use of resources, adaptation to climate change, sustainable development of cities, developing the green economy, developing a sustainable lifestyle, and develop mechanisms for financing.

Various speakers noted that national Governments should lead by example and mainstream sustainable consumption and production within national strategies; in this way, sustainable consumption and production projects would not be set aside, but part of government planning.  Numerous countries outlined national initiatives that could be replicated elsewhere.  Nonetheless, public-private cooperation was also necessary, numerous delegates reiterated.  The green-building sector in North American had moved more quickly than any government could accomplish in isolation and without the help of the private sector.  Further, viable financing streams depended on both private and public sector assistance.

Mr. Magnette, then, summarized the main points of the interactive discussion.

Also taking part in the dialogue were the representatives or high-level official speakers of Peru, Indonesia, Ireland, Spain, Japan, Sweden, Portugal, South Africa, Finland, Colombia, Guatemala, Latvia, Barbados, Switzerland, Canada, Morocco, France, Germany, and Turkey.

Representatives of United Nations agencies such as the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), as well as of major groups, such as children and youth.

Round Table on “Enhancing access to sustainable urban and rural transport”

This morning’s second round table, on the issue of sustainable transport, was co-chaired by Blaise Louembe, Minister for Habitat, Urban Ecology and Sustainable Development of Gabon, and Phil Hogan, Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government of Ireland.  It featured two expert panellists, Joan Clos, Executive Director of United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and a former mayor of Barcelona, Spain, and Allison Davis, certified Senior Transportation Planner at the United States engineering firm ARUP.

Launching the discussion, Mr. HOGAN asked his fellow ministers and other heads of delegations to consider three questions.  First, which policy measures could have a greater impact on enhancing accessibility to transport, while avoiding a detrimental effect on the environment?  Second, how could the challenges of urban mobility be addressed within the context of integrated urban planning?  And finally, what new technologies could make transport systems more sustainable, and what would it take to transfer those technologies to developing countries?

On those questions, Mr. CLOS said that the majority of cities in the developing world were in “collapse” due to poor urban planning, the lack of provision of waste and the lack of mass transit systems.  Those cities were characterized by 60-70 per cent of their population living in slums and 50-60 per cent unemployed, he said, adding that the urban population of developing cities was expected to grow enough to double the world’s population in the coming decades.  In that light, he said, “we need to elaborate a totally new strategy” to address the state of developing world cities.  “We need a change of mentality, a change of approach,” he added.  In particular, it was important to address the concept of “mobility” — which implied a larger concept than transport, and included the movement of people and goods in general — and to plan for a reduced demand for mobility.

On the Chair’s other questions, he said, it was clear that there existed a relationship between the quality of a city’s urban planning and the feasibility of its mobility system.  New technology was critical for more sustainable transport, in particular the advent of electric-based systems and the use of highly developed technology to increase the management of city transport systems.  However, in developing world cities, technology was not the primary issue.  It was more urgent to address their “huge” planning challenges, which would help those cities reach the point in which efficient transport systems could be applied.

Ms. DAVIS said that traffic congestion in urban areas had become a critical issue, and with the influx of people into urban areas, the threat of congestion was likely to continue.  Income levels in urban areas were generally increasing and, as a result, people were using those incomes to “climb the transport ladder” from bicycles to motorbikes to cars.  Air quality was, therefore, on the decline and road accident rates were up, leading to a reduced quality of life for city residents.  Most importantly, however, was a resulting decline in the economic competitiveness of a city, which made congestion a “very serious issue”.  The only way forward in creating a truly sustainable city was to reduce congestion by ensuring extensive, high-quality transport focused on the needs of the user, she said, alongside “walkable” city areas and compact development patterns with mixed uses.

“The first conversation we need to have is about public transport itself,” she said.  In light of the rise in the use individual modes of transport, such as cars, public transportation systems needed to focus on getting individual transport users “back on the bus” — or onto public transportation.  She highlighted several examples of such campaigns, including Guangzhou, China, which had rationalized its route network, reallocated street space and successfully shifted many of its residents onto bus rapid transport.  Another example was New York City, which, since 2008, had made strides in “giving streets back” to pedestrians, bicyclists and public transportation.  Those successful cases illustrated the need for city leaders to “think big, have visions, but start small,” she concluded.

In the ensuing discussion, ministers from Governments around the world shared their countries’ experiences in developing and implementing mobility systems, as well as obstacles they had faced.  Enumerating some of the effects of 30 years of conflict on its transportation infrastructure, the Minister of Economy of Afghanistan said that his country faced “steep challenges” in the construction and restoration of the transport sector.  Nonetheless, the Government was working to create an enabling environment for investment in that sector, and was currently making improvements, including completing a network of regional roads connecting to neighbouring countries, the coordination of funding for quality control and road maintenance, among other services, and capacity building for technical staff.

The representative of China stressed that his country attached great importance to realizing sustainable transportation, and had taken several actions in that area.  Among those, it had developed green transport; strengthened research and development, and dissemination of transport technologies that were efficient and “climate friendly”; promoted the development and use of clean energies and vehicles; and others.  Similarly, the representative of the Russian Federation said that his country had recently implemented a car recycling programme, which had replaced some 1.5 million vehicles with newer, greener cars.

Other delegates also focused on the use of cleaner fuels.  Taking the floor, the Secretary of India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests said that India had introduced fuels in line with level-III or level-IV European emission standards in its cities.  Its refineries had invested 350 billion rupees, or over $3 billion, for that roll-over, he said.  Despite those major changes, he stressed that a “massive investment of financial resources” would be needed for the next phase, which was universalizing Euro-IV equivalent fuels across the country.

Addressing the role that the Commission’s current policy session could take in supporting such initiatives, the Secretary of Environment of Hungary, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said that the Commission should take the opportunity to call for meeting the mobility demands of all people in urban areas in a more sustainable, effective and efficient manner.  Increasing urbanization opened up the possibility for public transport and reduced the demand for long-distance travel, he said.  Therefore, support should be sought for sustainable urban transport consumption and production patterns, taking into account their multiple positive effects on both human health and the environment.  In particular, the Commission should support technology cooperation and transfer.

Following the discussion, the panellists offered brief responses to the speakers, as well as closing remarks.

Also speaking during the discussion were representatives or ministers from Iran, Turkey, Serbia, Germany, Gabon, Ghana and Senegal.

Representatives of the Economic Commission for Europe, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and major groups — namely workers and trade unions, farmers, children and youth, women and non-governmental organizations also participated.

Round Table on “Moving towards zero waste and sound management of chemicals”

The round table was co-chaired by Nikola Ružinski, State Secretary for Environment of Croatia and Cherif Rahmani, Minister of Land-Use Planning and Environment of Algeria.  It featured the following panelists:  Jim Willis, Executive Secretary of the Basel and Stockholm Convention secretariats, and Joint Executive Secretary of the Rotterdam Convention secretariat, UNEP; Craig Boljkovac, Manager of the Chemicals and Waste Management Programme at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, and Associate Director of the Environment Unit of United Nations Institute for Training and Research; and Prasad Modak, Executive President of the Environmental Management Center in Mumbai, India.

Opening the round table, Mr. RAHMANI said it would be useful for ministers and heads of delegations to attempt to answer the following three questions:  what policy measures needed to be adopted in order to better manage waste streams, and to streamline sound waste management into development policies at all levels?; what sort of enabling environment was needed to implement policies leading to the production of zero waste?; and what needed to be done to improve assessment and management over the lifecycle of chemical substances?  Mr. Rahmani then called on the panelists, whose presentations would provide a backdrop for the interactive discussion.

Mr. WILLIS said that replacements for about 97 per cent of chemicals were already in existence.  So, instead of looking at a chemical alone, it was important to look at it in its environment, such as what it was replacing, what was its risk throughout the life cycle, and how much waste was generated to produce it.  Chemicals were important to our societies, providing economic growth and promoting areas of considerable innovation, such as nanotechnology.  There were trends in global chemical production, so the good and bad experiences of chemical producing countries were being learned, hopefully with benefit to developing countries.  Most chemicals seemed benign, but a large handful caused considerable problems, such as legacy problems with obsolete pesticide stocks and asbestos, as well as the burden of disease due to uncontrolled exposure to chemicals.

With regard to the management of waste, there were also high costs, he said. There were high material costs when producing items and generating waste; for example, carbon nano-tubes generated as much as 97 per cent waste per unit product.  There was also potential for environmental contamination and costs of clean up, and it was expensive to remediate hazardous waste dumps and landfills.  However, progress had been made over the last decades.  Previously, there were stories of cities covered in black smog, rivers catching on fire because of toxins, and neighbourhoods on top of hazardous waste sites.  Continuous improvement in dealing with the societal cost of waste was needed.  The question was how to reap the benefits of chemicals, while minimizing and eventually eliminating the negative consequences.  The Basel, Stockholm, and Rotterdam Conventions formed the core of a legal regime to protect people from toxic waste.  Other approaches, such as the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management, were also essential.

Mr. Willis went on to outline three key approaches, including:  developing a strategic vision for how the global community would address toxic chemicals; creating synergies; and providing coherent technical assistance and financing, where appropriate.  With regard to financing, he noted that there was an ongoing UNEP consultative process for financing.  Concerning synergies, he said that the three conventions were a good first step.  Yet, they needed to look at synergies between conventions and the roles of various intergovernmental organizations, as well as linkages between treaties, such as the future mercury treaty, and governments and non-governmental organization s at the national level.  The strategic vision of Agenda 21 had been essential in building the chemical safety framework of today, but it was critical to continue developing a vision regarding chemical safety and hazardous waste in the sustainable development agenda.

Mr. BOLJKOVAC said that the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management was an important agreement that brought together stakeholders in a unique manner in the United Nations system to try to develop solutions regarding chemicals management.  A modest fund had been formed through the agreement that had generated 100 projects to assist countries.  However, they still needed a vision for what would happen when the agreement soon lost its trust fund.  Each of the individual bodies of the Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals had endorsed the strategic agreement, allowing them to form partnerships.  He outlined a few of these partnerships to show how work had been conducted together successfully.  UNEP and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) had worked together to make sure that chemicals management issues were mainstreamed into development planning processes.  Countries had been assisted to understand the political process and how chemicals management fit into it, so that Ministers were more aware of the challenges of chemicals management and how to take more effective steps.  Also, there was an initiative between UNEP, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), and the World Bank whereby stockpiles and wastes all over the world were cleaned up.  They had concentrated first on Africa, but were poised to move in other regions, physically removing chemicals to reduce risks.

Another example was in terms of nanotechnology, he continued. At the United Nations level, very little had been done regarding nanotechnology until it was raised as an emerging issue under the strategic agreement.  The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) had pulled together information about what governments were doing in that area, but lacked the ability to reach developing countries.  So, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research stepped up to create awareness around the world on nanotechnology.  The capacity of hundreds of chemical professionals responsible for nanotechnology had been developed.  Nonetheless, there was still a gap between capacities and the ability for the United Nations and OECD to address those demands.  He expressed hope that the modest successes on chemicals management could be furthered through further cooperation.

Mr. MODAK touched upon the risks of products at various stages of their life cycle, including production, packaging and distribution, product use, and final disposal.  The use of hazardous chemicals in products led to barriers for the reuse, recycling, and recovery of waste streams.  The benefits of a proactive and precautionary management of chemicals included the increased potential for conversion of “waste” to valuable “resources”.  With regard to regulations and market instruments, strategies included how to eliminate, reduce, and substitute harmful chemicals and substances.

Elimination had been taking place through programs dealing with persistent organic pollutants, he said.  Thresholds for reduction had been imposed on producers through, for example, the Restriction of Hazardous Substances initiative in various countries.  Substitution was implemented in countries through mandatory policies.  Governments had also awarded eco-labels to deserving products.  More involvement was needed by ministries to mainstream strategies, and standards for recycling products needed to be established.

Mr. Rahmani then turned the meeting over to his co-chair Mr. Ružinski to begin the interactive discussion.

During the ensuing discussion, waste prevention was noted as a priority by many delegations.  Speaking on behalf of the European Union and all its Member States, the European Commissioner for the Environment said that focusing on waste prevention would help address the inefficient use of resources and offer a chance to re-think production and consumption.  Reducing, re-using, and recycling (the 3Rs) waste was also an issue repeatedly discussed.  Zero waste should be the ultimate goal of the 3Rs, noted speakers, such as the Minister for Environment of Indonesia and the representative of the non-governmental organization major group.

Enforcement of waste management was needed at all levels, various delegates noted.  Illegal shipments of waste needed to be combated and transboundary movements of waste needed to take place in accordance with provisions of international conventions.  Numerous countries discussed their national plans for waste management focused on environmentally friendly measures concerning end-of-life products and, particularly, e-waste.

Regarding chemicals, no Government could manage the risk of chemicals on its own, said delegates.  International agreements and global cooperative actions were becoming increasingly important, as were regional and national initiatives.  Support was expressed for agreements, such as the Basel, Stockholm, and Rotterdam Conventions, as well as for the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management.  There was also a call for a binding instrument regulating mercury.  However, the fulfilment of obligations under many of those treaties remained a major challenge for developing countries, so a comprehensive global financing strategy needed to be developed, said the Minister of the Environment of the Barbados, speaking on behalf of Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Innovation and eco-design would lower the impact of chemicals, speakers stated.  However, information sharing, technology transfer, capacity building, and training were also needed, particularly in developing countries said representatives from various countries.  Problems, such as the escape of greenhouse gases, were surmountable technical problems that could be addressed with known technologies, said the representative of the scientific and technology major group.

Mr. RUZINSKIthen summarized the key conclusions and recommendations of the interactive discussion, saying they had heard a wide range of issues.

Also taking part in the dialogue were officials and representatives of Estonia, Ireland, Slovenia, Israel, Republic of Korea, South Africa, Sweden, India, United States, Zimbabwe, Poland, Colombia, Nigeria, Turkey, Cameroon, China, Iran and Costa Rica.  Representatives of the major groups, including farmers, also spoke.

Round table on “Creating an enabling environment on sustainable mining”

Today’s fourth roundtable on creating an enabling environment for sustainable mining was co-chaired by Zoltán Illés, Minister of State for Environmental Affairs, Ministry of Rural Development of Hungary, and Luis Alberto Ferraté Felice, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources of Guatemala.  The panel participants included Ann Maest, Managing Scientist, Stratus Consulting, of Boulder, Colorado, and Ben Peachey, Communications Director, International Council of Mining and Metals (ICMM).

Launching the discussion, Mr. ILLÉS asked participants to consider three questions in their remarks.  First, how could sustainable mining contribute to sustainable development?  Second, given that there was a need to create linkages between mining and other economic sectors in a socially and environmentally responsible manner, what policies could ensure creating such linkages?  And third, because promoting participation of all stakeholders in mining, including women and indigenous peoples, was very important in mining, how could that participation be secured and further improved?

Addressing issue of sustainable development and mining, Ms. MAEST said that decreasing ore grades around the world was leading to an increased amount of mining waste; because more ore needed to be processed, there was a subsequent increase in the use of energy and water in mining.  Meanwhile, the world demand for metals continued to increase.

“We must minimize the environmental footprint of mining,” she said.  It was necessary to encourage a full life-cycle assessment for mining and encourage recycling, which for mining was currently at a low level.  She added that the number one concern for mining was water quality and water quantity, in addition to landscape disturbance and habitat loss, which were also of high concern.

In terms of sustainable social and cultural solutions, she said one positive practice in the United States was the signing of “good neighbour agreements”.  Such agreements worked best when there was a more simplified list of stakeholders, and were more complicated with multiple stakeholders.  Another positive initiative was to keep value in-country, such as a Peruvian measure to train gold artisans, so that there were skills being implemented in the community that would outlast the mine.

She stressed that monitoring practices must have scientific integrity, and the trust of the stakeholders, which was extremely difficult to obtain.  With regard to technical solutions, she said that there was yet no “silver bullet” to make mines behave perfectly in terms of impact on humans and the environment, but there were certainly better decisions to be made in terms of how mining was conducted.  One of toughest sells to communities was open pit mines with acid drainage.  While there were often constraints on how a particular deposit needed to be mined, she had taken part in two projects that had been deemed unacceptable as open pit mines, which were then approved by the communities after proposals switched to underground mines.

Mr. PEACHEY said that all groups in society, including businesses, had a role in contributing to sustainable development, and the members of ICMM were committed to working with others — governments, development agencies, organized labour, civil society, customers, and end users.  He said that transparency and accountability played a key role in promoting responsible business practices.

“Sustainable consumption and production is achievable through attention to good mining practice and stewardship of the mineral products we produce,” he said.  Greater energy and resource efficiency, cleaner production, materials stewardship and life-cycle thinking were important to both the mining sector and its partners in the product-value chain, and he acknowledged the work of the United Nations and OECD in fostering those actions in both the public and private sector.

On the economic benefits of mining, he said that ICMM research showed that many countries benefited from mineral resources, but in some countries that was not the case.  He thus called for better integration of mining into national economies, through the integration of multiple stakeholders.  Biodiviersity was also a key area of ICMM’s work over the years, and members were committed not to mine or explore in world heritage sites.

In the ensuing interactive discussion, ministers from Governments around the world shared their countries’ experiences and views on sustainable mining practices, raised concerns for the ways it affected communities and the environment, and made suggestions for using mining to alleviate poverty.  Speaking on behalf of the European Union, the State Secretary for the Environment of Hungary said the first priority was to progressively develop and implement good governance in the mining sector, which required financial, economic and social benefit maximization for producing countries.  In addition, Governments needed to support Corporate Social Responsibility undertakings.  Equitable revenue distribution among States and assistance to local vulnerable communities was also required, with extra care taken to make sure that a fair share went to those communities close to, and disproportionately affected by, a mining operation.  A post-mine transition period was of the utmost importance, and all stakeholders must be consulted in the development of closure objectives.

Many delegates focused on the potential for mining to reduce poverty and capitalize development, if managed in an inclusive and responsible manner.  Afghanistan’s minister of economy said that although his was one of the world’s poorest countries, it had significant mining production potential.  Afghanistan’s mineral deposits were largely untapped, he said, and were estimated to be worth up to $3 trillion, according to a recent survey by the United States Geological Survey.  While some progress had been achieved, much work needed to be done to ensure that the mining sector delivered on its potential to reduce poverty, foster sustainable economic growth, and improve the quality of life for the majority of Afghans.  In order for Afghanistan to develop an economically vibrant mineral sector which would create jobs, develop infrastructure, generate domestic revenue, and ensure inclusive economic growth, it would be necessary to improve legal frameworks, provide training and capacity building, and improve national security.

Speaking to some of the challenges of creating a socially and environmentally sustainable mining sector, the secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Forests of India said that unless properly regulated, mining could have adverse consequences.  Mining disturbed soil, water and ecological systems, and could lead to alienation of the local population and assume socially unacceptable dimensions.  To implement sustainable mining operations, it was essential to transfer the necessary technology to developing countries for zero-based mining and scientific methodologies, including for mining equipment and mining-related software.

Echoing the sentiments expressed by several groups, the representative for indigenous peoples said that it was necessary to underline that mining was a fundamentally unsustainable industry, and issues of minimization and reduction needed to be on the table, not just acceptance of its continued expansion.  As mineral deposits were exhausted and the industry moved to exploit lower grade deposits, there were ever-increasing impacts to biodiversity, water and food security, and adverse climate impacts.  It was, therefore, urgent that funding mechanisms be created to address the legacy of abandoned mines and the ongoing harm to ecosystems and affected communities.

Following the discussion, the panellists briefly responded to speakers’ comments.

Responding to concerns expressed by speakers on the issue of abandoned mines, Ms. Maest said that the responsibility of dealing with abandoned mines should fall in large part to mining companies, and reiterated the importance of community involvement with mining projects at all points.  Also on that topic, Mr. PEACHY said that the closing of a mine needed to be considered from the time it was opened.

In closing remarks, Mr. FERRATE said that the most valued possession was life, and anything that jeopardized life in the long or short term was harmful and placed many constraints on humanity.  It was the environmental quality of the planet that made economic growth and social progress possible.  Protecting the world allowed for the enjoyment of universal human rights.

He further said that to be sustainable went beyond the concept of “the polluter pays”, but must rather look to the actual cost of destruction.  In order to have sound, safe mining that benefited the people and communities where minerals were extracted, it should be carried out with absolute respect for the worldview of the planet’s indigenous peoples and must further the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Also speaking during the discussion were representatives or ministers from Australia, Canada, China, Estonia, Gabon, Mongolia, Namibia, Senegal, Cambodia and Ghana.

Representatives of UNEP and major groups — namely, workers and trade unions, women, scientific and technical, and children and youth, also participated.

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For information media • not an official record