Issues Consultation

To identify the Implementation Conference issues, Stakeholder Forum conducted a consultation process with its International Advisory Board in June – August 2001.

Several suggestions were generated in a first round and then put out for comments again in a second round.

Criteria used were:

	The issues are likely to allow for concrete, action-oriented strategies to be developed.
	They allow for a multi-stakeholder approach with participation of individual organisations as well as stakeholder associations.
	We can build on dialogues and other processes of stakeholder communication over the last few years.
	There is a broad-based leadership among stakeholders with an active, enthusiastic 'core'.
	At least some of these issues will be among those addressed at Earth Summit 2002 (to be identified in January 2002).

The following issues came out top in the first round of consultations (in order of priority):

Priority 1: Freshwater

Priority 2: Public Health & HIV/AIDS

Priority 3: Food Security

Priority 4: Renewable Energy; Poverty

Priority 5: Production / Consumption / Waste (focus on waste); Tools for Corporate Citizenship

Priority 6: Governance

Priority 7: A Framework for Developing and Using Indicators for Sustainable Development

Priority 8: Environmental Rights

Priority 9: Reforming the Market Framework

IAB members drew on their expertise and consultation processes within their sectors and regions when giving their guidance. Several suggestions were made regarding possible combination of suggested issues.

A majority of IAB members were expressing that mainstreaming the cross-sectoral issues into the sectoral issues would be most effective. These suggestions focused on social inclusion; poverty; governance; finance; globalisation; environmental rights; and gender – to be addressed as integral parts of the work on the sectoral issues.

Specific suggestions have been recorded and will be taken into account when further developing the selected themes.

18 IAB members actively took part in the consultation process - 7 of them from the South, 4 from the North, 5 from international organisations - representing NGOs, the business community, trade unions, women, media and academics.

Stakeholder Forum Homepage