Consumer protection guidelines for sustainable consumption *

(* For the discussion, see chap. IX below.)

The Economic and Social Council, recalling its resolution 1997/53 of 23 July 1997 on consumer protection:

(a) Notes with appreciation the organization of the Interregional Expert Group Meeting on Consumer Protection and Sustainable Consumption, held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1/ and the specific recommendations of that meeting on new guidelines, as requested in resolution 1997/53;

(b) Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General;

(c) Invites Governments to undertake national consultations, with appropriate stakeholder groups, including consumer organizations and representatives of business, trade unions and non-governmental organizations, on guidelines for sustainable consumption, and to submit their views on the proposed new guidelines to the Secretariat so that they can be made available to all Governments;

(d) Invites the Bureau of the Commission on Sustainable Development to organize, within existing resources, open-ended consultations among States and to report thereon to the Inter-sessional Ad Hoc Working Group for its consideration, having regard to the report of the Secretary-General; 2/

(e) Requests the Commission to report to the Council at its substantive session of 1999 on guidelines for sustainable consumption.

DRAFT DECISION II                                                                        [ UP ]

Matters relating to the third session of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests*

(* For the discussion, see chap. IX below.)

The Economic and Social Council approves the request of the Commission on Sustainable Development to hold the third session of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests at Geneva from 3 to 14 May 1999.

DRAFT DECISION III                                                                        [ UP ]

Report of the Commission on Sustainable Development on its sixth session and provisional agenda for the seventh session of the Commission *

(* For the discussion, see chap.X below.)

The Economic and Social Council takes note of the report of the Commission on Sustainable Development on its sixth session and approves the provisional agenda for the seventh session of the Commission set out below.

Provisional agenda for the seventh session of the Commission on Sustainable Development

1. Election of officers.

2. Adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters.

3. Sectoral theme: oceans and seas.

4. Cross-sectoral theme: consumption and production patterns, including recommendations for sustainable consumption for inclusion in the United Nations guidelines for consumer protection as requested by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 1997/53.

5. Economic sector/major group: tourism.

6. Comprehensive review of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States.

7. Initiation of preparations for the ninth session of the Commission on issues related to the sectoral theme: energy.

8. High-level meeting.

9. Other matters.

10. Provisional agenda for the eighth session of the Commission.

11. Adoption of the report of the Commission on its seventh session.

B. Matters brought to the attention of the Council                             [ UP ]

2. The attention of the Council is drawn to the following decisions adopted by the Commission:

Decision 6/1. Strategic approaches to freshwater management **    [ UP ]

(** For the discussion, see chap.IV below.)

1. The Commission on Sustainable Development, having considered the reports of the Secretary-General on strategic approaches to freshwater management 3/ and on the activities of the organizations of the United Nations system in the field of freshwater resources, 4/ welcomes the report of the Inter-sessional Ad Hoc Working Group on Strategic Approaches to Freshwater Management 5/ and the report of the Expert Group Meeting on Strategic Approaches to Freshwater Management, held at Harare from 27 to 30 January 1998, 6/ and takes note of the outcome of the International Dialogue Forum on Global Water Politics, Cooperation for Transboundary Water Management, convened by the Government of Germany at Petersberg, near Bonn, from 3 to 5 March 1998 7/ and of the International Conference on Water and Sustainable Development, convened by the Government of France in Paris from 19 to 21 March 1998. 8/

2. The objectives of sustainable development and the links among its three components -- economic and social development and environmental protection -- were clearly articulated in Agenda 21 9/ and the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. 10/ The specific decisions and policy recommendations concerning the application of integrated approaches to the development, management, use and protection of freshwater resources as elaborated in chapter 18 of Agenda 21 and the seven key areas contained in that chapter continue to be a fundamental basis for action and shall be implemented in accordance with the specific characteristics of each country.

3. In this regard, the Commission reaffirms that water resources are essential for satisfying basic human needs, health and food production, energy, and the restoration and maintenance of ecosystems, and for social and economic development in general. Agriculture accounts for a major part of global freshwater use. It is imperative that freshwater resources development, use, management and protection be planned in an integrated manner, taking into account both short- and long-term needs. Consequently, the priority to be accorded to the social dimension of freshwater management is of fundamental importance. This should be reflected in an integrated approach to freshwater in order to be coherent, aimed at achieving truly people-centred sustainable development in accordance with their local conditions. It is important that consideration of equitable and responsible use of water become an integral part in the formulation of strategic approaches to integrated water management at all levels, in particular in addressing the problems of people living in poverty. The development, management, protection and use of water so as to contribute to the eradication of poverty and the promotion of food security is an exceptionally important goal. The role of groundwater; rivers, lakes, streams and wetlands; estuaries and the sea; and forests, other vegetation and other parts of their ecosystems in the water cycle and their importance to water quality and quantity should be acknowledged and protected. Another set of crucial issues relates to the links between water quality, sanitation and protection of human health.

4. Since 1992, marked improvements in water quality have occurred in a number of river basins and groundwater aquifers where pressures for action have been strong. However, overall progress has been neither sufficient nor comprehensive enough to reduce general trends of increasing water shortages, deteriorating water quality and growing stress on freshwater ecosystems and on the natural hydrological cycle. Water must not become a limiting factor for sustainable development and human welfare. A series of potential water-related problems can be averted if appropriate action is taken now towards an integrated approach to the efficient use, development, management, protection and use of freshwater resources.

5. Competition for limited freshwater increasingly occurs between agricultural, rural, urban, industrial and environmental uses. In adopting the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, 11/ in particular its paragraph 34, the General Assembly recognized the importance of taking into account, while dealing with freshwater development and management, the differing level of socio-economic development prevalent in developing countries. The Assembly recognized, inter alia, the urgent need to formulate and implement national policies of integrated watershed management in a fully participatory manner aimed at achieving and integrating economic, social and environmental objectives of sustainable development. In addition to agreeing to those strategic principles, the Assembly also recognized the urgent need to strengthen international cooperation to support local, national and regional action, in particular in the fields of environment and development, safe water supply and sanitation, food security and agricultural production, energy, flood and drought management, and recycling, through efforts in such areas as information exchange, capacity-building, technology transfer and financing.

6. The process called for in the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 should focus on fostering and supporting national, regional and international action in those areas where goals and objectives have been defined; on the identification of existing gaps and emerging issues; on the development of education and learning systems and also on building global consensus where further understanding is required; and on promoting greater coordination in approaches by the United Nations and relevant international institutions, particularly in support of national implementation policies and development.

7. The implementation of integrated water resources development, management, protection and use requires action at all levels, with the technical and financial support of the international community. Those actions should be closely related to other areas of natural resources management, including biodiversity, the coastal zone, agriculture, land, forestry and mountain development. Effective integrated water resources management should incorporate approaches dealing with river basins, watershed management and ecosystem maintenance, where decision-making needs to be supported by education.                              [ UP ]

8. There is a need to put in place local and national management plans to bring about productive and sustainable interactions between human activities and the ecological functioning of freshwater systems based on the natural hydrological cycle, with the technical and financial support of the international community. Such plans need to minimize the adverse impacts of human activities on wetlands and coastal areas, estuarine and marine environments, and in mountainous areas, and to reduce potential losses from droughts and floods, erosion, desertification and natural disasters. Furthermore, sanitation, pollution prevention, proliferation of aquatic weeds, especially water hyacinth, and the treatment and recycling of waste water need to be addressed.

9. Local integrated water management plans require detailed assessment of water resources requirements, including the exact nature of the demands and an estimate of the catchment yield. In this regard, there is a need to reduce and eliminate unsustainable patterns of production and consumption and to promote appropriate demographic policies.

10. The Commission therefore:

(a) Urges Governments, with the technical and financial support of the international community, where appropriate, to address the numerous gaps identified in the path towards integrated water resources development management, protection and use. Areas that require further attention include (i) meeting basic health education needs and raising awareness of the scope and function of surface and groundwater resources; (ii) the need for human resources development and participatory approaches, notably including women and local communities and integrating freshwater issues into local Agenda 21 processes; (iii) the role of ecosystems in the provision of goods and services; (iv) balancing structural and non-structural approaches; (v) explicit linkages with socio-economic development, for equitable utilization and efficient freshwater allocation and use; (vi) improved sanitation and waste-water treatment and recycling; (vii) conserving the biological diversity of freshwater ecosystems; (viii) conservation and sustainable use of wetlands; (ix) the understanding of hydrology and the capacity to assess the availability and variability of water resources; (x) mobilization of financial resources and mainstreaming of gender issues into all aspects of water resources management; and (xi) wasteful water usage. Strategic and integrated actions are still needed in order to adapt to ever-changing social and environmental circumstances and to address fundamental concerns for combating poverty, ensuring adequate provision of public health, food security and energy, and to protect the environment better. International cooperation and action needs to address effectively the above issues, building on existing consensus for the successful implementation of integrated water resources development, management, protection and use;

(b) Encourages riparian States to cooperate on matters related to international watercourses, whether transboundary or boundary, taking into account appropriate arrangements and/or mechanisms and the interests of all riparian States concerned, relevant to effective development, management, protection and use of water resources;

(c) Encourages riparian States, on the basis of mutual agreement and the common interest of all riparian States concerned, to establish, where appropriate, organizations at the river basin level for the implementation of water management programmes. Within its existing guidelines, the Global Environment Facility is invited to consider supporting such developments as part of its international water portfolio. All these actions should be complemented by activities to support effective national water policies and strategies in the developing countries affected by desertification and drought, particularly those in Africa;

(d) Encourages Governments, at the appropriate level, in accordance with the specific characteristics of each country, to formulate and publish the main goals, long- and short-term objectives and general principles of water policies and implement them by means of comprehensive programmes. The implementation of local or national programmes should form an important part of the local Agenda 21 approach;

(e) Encourages Governments, at the appropriate level, while formulating integrated water resources management policies and programmes to implement relevant conventions in force. In particular, the relevant conventions on biological diversity, desertification, climate change, and wetlands and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora need to be considered. In addition, consideration should be given, as appropriate, to relevant recommendations and/or programmes of action emanating from a number of major international conferences and events. 12/ Furthermore, in formulating such policies, the Commission invites Governments to address the need for achieving universal access to water supply and sanitation, with poverty eradication being one of the objectives, taking into account, in particular, chapter 18 of Agenda 21 and relevant recommendations of conferences and events;

(f) Recognizes that expert meetings as well as international conferences provided useful information and valuable inputs for intergovernmental deliberations and negotiations at the sixth session of the Commission, and the importance of more such meetings being held in developing countries. Invites Governments to consider, as appropriate, the key recommendations stemming from the report of the Expert Group Meeting on Strategic Approaches to Freshwater Management, held at Harare, and the outcome of the International Conference on Water and Sustainable Development, held in Paris.

A. Information and data for decision-making

11. Information and data are key elements for assisting in the management and use of water resources and in the protection of the environment. All States, according to their capacity and available resources, are encouraged to collect, store, process and analyse water-related data in a transparent manner and to make such data and forecasts publicly available in the framework of a participatory approach. Because women have a particular role in utilizing and conserving water resources on a daily basis, their knowledge and experience should be considered as a component of any sustainable water management programme.

12. The Commission therefore:

(a) Encourages Governments to establish and maintain effective information and monitoring networks and further promote the exchange and dissemination of information relevant for policy formulation, planning, investment and operational decisions, including data collected based on gender differences, where appropriate, regarding both surface water and groundwater, and quantity, quality and uses, as well as related ecosystems, and to harmonize data collection at the local catchment and the basin/aquifer levels. Information concerning all relevant factors affecting demand is also essential;

(b) Stresses that effective management of water resources demands that attention be paid to essential activities, all of which require fundamental knowledge about water resources as well as information about water quality, quantity and uses, including (i) water resources planning and watershed management at local and national levels; (ii) regulatory activities; (iii) investments in infrastructure and technologies for remedying and preventing pollution; and (iv) education and training;

(c) Encourages Governments to facilitate the collection and dissemination of water data and documentation that enhances public awareness of important water-related issues, to improve the understanding of meteorology and processes related to water quantity and quality and the functioning of ecosystems, and to strengthen relevant information systems for forecasting and managing uncertainty regarding water resources. Such efforts on the part of developing countries, particularly the least developed countries, require support from the international community;

(d) Encourages Governments to design programmes aimed at increasing public awareness on the need to conserve, protect and use water sustainably and allow local communities to participate in monitoring of water-related indicators. This information should then be made available for community participation in decision-making;

(e) Also encourages Governments, taking into account their financial and human resources, to develop and implement national and local water-related indicators of progress in achieving integrated water resources management, including water quality and quantity objectives, taking into account ongoing work of the Commission on indicators of sustainable development. In addition, in accordance with their policies, priorities and resources, Governments may find it useful to carry out national water quality and quantity inventories for surface water and groundwater, including the identification of gaps in available information;

(f) Invites Governments to establish or strengthen mechanisms for consultations on drought and flood preparedness and early warning systems and mitigation plans at all appropriate levels. Governments are encouraged to consider the establishment of rapid intervention systems to ensure that individuals and communities can be assisted in recovering from damage that they suffer from such extreme events. At the international level, in particular, there is the need to maintain support of these activities at the conclusion of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction;

(g) Calls upon the international community, including the United Nations system, to support national efforts in information and data collection and dissemination through coordinated and differentiated action. In particular in their respective fields, United Nations agencies and programmes and other international bodies should support Governments in the development and coordination of relevant data and information networks at the appropriate level, carry out periodic global assessments and analyses of water resources availability (both quality and quantity) and changes in demand, assist in identifying water-related problems and environmental issues, and promote the broadest exchange and dissemination of relevant information, in particular to developing countries. Encourages access to, and exchange of, information in user-friendly formats based on terminology easily understood.

B. Institutions, capacity-building and participation

13. The Commission on Sustainable Development:

(a) Urges Governments to establish national coordination mechanisms across all sectors, as already envisaged in the Mar del Plata Action Plan, 13/ providing for contributions from government and public authorities and the participation of civil society, including communities affected, in the formulation and implementation of integrated water resources development and management plans and policies. Such mechanisms should also provide for participation by communities and water users. This involves the participation at the appropriate levels, of water users and the public in planning, implementing and evaluating water resources activities. It is particularly important to broaden women's participation and integrate gender analysis in water planning;

(b) Invites Governments to take the necessary steps to establish legislative and regulatory frameworks -- and to improve such frameworks where they exist -- to facilitate integrated water resources management and strategies, including both demand and supply management as well as the links with the management of land use, taking into account the need to build capacity to apply and enforce such frameworks. Each Government needs to define its relevant functions and distinguish between those related to standards, regulation-setting and control, on the one hand, and the direct management and provision of services, on the other;

(c) Encourages Governments to consider how best to devolve responsibilities to the lowest appropriate level for the organization and management of public water supply, sanitation services and irrigation systems, as well as water resources management within the framework of national water policies;                   [ UP ]

(d) Urges Governments to strengthen institutional and human capacities at the national, subnational and local levels, in view of the complexity of implementing integrated water resources development and management strategies, particularly in large urban settlements. This could be done through local Agenda 21 processes, where they exist. Effective water resources development, management and protection requires appropriate tools for educating and training water management staff and water users at all levels and for ensuring that women, youth, indigenous people and local communities have equal access to education and training programmes. Design of these programmes should be done in cooperation with stakeholders;

(e) Encourages Governments to establish an enabling environment to facilitate partnerships between the public and private sectors and non-governmental organizations, aiming towards improved local capacity to protect water resources, through educational programmes and public access to information. At the global level, appropriate existing mechanisms can provide a universal forum for debate and the development of ideas. The pivotal role of women should be reflected in institutional arrangements for the development, management, protection and use of water resources. There is a need to strengthen the role of women, who should have an equal voice with regard to water resources development, management, protection and use and in the sharing of benefits;

(f) Encourages public authorities, public and private companies and non-governmental organizations dealing with the formulation, arrangement and financing of water resources programmes to engage in a dialogue with users. This dialogue requires the sharing of information with interested parties regarding the sustainable use of water and relationships with land use, public access to information and data, and discussions on objectives and implementation modalities, in accordance with the national legislation of each country;

(g) Calls upon the international community, in particular the organizations of the United Nations system, especially the United Nations Development Programme, to strengthen capacity-building programmes, taking into account the special needs of developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, and the specific circumstances of small island developing States, in areas such as training, institutional development and the participation of women, youth, indigenous people and local communities in support of national efforts in this field.

C. Technology transfer and research cooperation

14. The Commission on Sustainable Development:

(a) Encourages Governments to remove impediments to and stimulate research and development cooperation, together with the development of technologies for sustainable water management and use, and to increase efficiency, reduce pollution and proliferation of aquatic weeds, especially water hyacinths, and promote sustainable agriculture and food production systems. This also applies in the areas of desalination, brackish water treatment, waste-water treatment, management of wetlands, drainage water reuse, improving the chemical quality of groundwater, including the treatment of arsenic and other harmful heavy metals, and desert dew catchment, and in the use of remote sensing techniques and other relevant modern technologies in order to help increase the supplies of freshwater. All this involves the adaptation and diffusion of new and innovative techniques and technologies, both private and public, and the transfer of technologies to developing countries. In this context, the Commission urges developed countries to strengthen research cooperation and to promote, facilitate and finance, as appropriate, the access to and transfer of environmentally sound technologies and the corresponding know-how to developing countries on favourable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed, taking into account the need to protect intellectual property rights, as well as the special needs of developing countries for the implementation of Agenda 21;

(b) Urges Governments, industry and international organizations to promote technology transfer and research cooperation to foster sustainable agricultural practices that promote efficient water use and reduce pollution of surface water and groundwater. These technologies should include the improvement of crops grown on marginal sites, erosion control practices and the adaptation of farming systems. They should also improve water use efficiency in irrigated areas and improve the adaptation and productivity of drought-tolerant crop species. Farmer participation in farm research, irrigation projects and watershed management should be encouraged. Research results and technologies should be available to both small and large producers;

(c) Urges Governments to promote innovative approaches to technology cooperation projects involving partnerships between the public and private sectors within an effective framework of regulation and supervision;

(d) Calls upon all relevant parties to develop and implement best practices and appropriate technologies, taking into account the local conditions, in the area of water development, management, protection and use. Codes of conduct, guidelines and other voluntary agreements can enhance the positive role that industry and agriculture can play and should cover the activities of companies operating and investing outside their home countries;

(e) Encourages Governments to make the best use of national, regional and international environmentally appropriate technology centres. The use of local and traditional technology and knowledge should be promoted and South/South cooperation encouraged;

(f) Encourages Governments to develop programmes linked to education, especially those relating to water and land management. Water and land users and managers alike need to become more aware of the need to control wastage and factors affecting demand and supply, to realize the scarcity value of water, water-borne diseases and pollution, soil erosion and deterioration, sedimentation and environmental protection;

(g) Urges donor countries and international organizations to intensify their efforts and to accelerate their technical assistance programmes to developing countries, aimed at facilitating the transfer and diffusion of appropriate technologies. The United Nations system, as well as regional groupings, have an important role to play in facilitating the contact between those in need of assistance and those able to provide it. Less formal arrangements may also have a role to play.               [ UP ]

D. Financial resources and mechanisms

15. The Commission reaffirms that, as stated in the Programme of Action for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, the current intergovernmental process on freshwater resources can only be fully fruitful if there is a proved commitment by the international community for the provision of new and additional financial resources to developing countries, in particular to the least developed countries, for the goals of this initiative. Such financial resources, from all sources, need to be mobilized for the development, management, protection and use of freshwater resources if the broader aims of sustainable development are to be realized, particularly in relation to poverty eradication. The effective and efficient use of resources currently allocated to the freshwater sector is also important and could contribute in helping to increase financial flows from both the public and the private sector.

16. Official development assistance should be provided for and complement, inter alia, programmes and frameworks for promoting integrated water resources development, management, protection and use that (a) meet basic needs; (b) safeguard public health; (c) promote sustainable development and conservation and sustainable use of ecosystems; and (d) build capacity. Donors, including multilateral donor institutions, should be ready to continue, or even reinforce, the support for programmes and projects in the water sector that will contribute to eradicating poverty. In this context, the Commission recalls that all financial commitments of Agenda 21, particularly those contained in chapter 33, and the provisions with regard to new and additional resources that are both adequate and predictable need to be urgently fulfilled. Projects supported by donors should, where appropriate and possible, become financially self-sustaining. Donors should also continue to support the freshwater issues that are related to desertification, loss of biodiversity, loss of wetlands, drought, floods and climate change.

17. The private sector represents one of the growing sources of investment in the water sector. Local and national water management systems should be designed in ways that encourage public and private partnerships. It is important to ensure that water management systems are organized so that they will be sustainable and, once established, can support themselves. It is important to encourage the participation of the private sector within the framework of appropriate national policies. The adoption of enabling financial frameworks contributes to promoting the mobilization of private sector finance. Official development assistance has an important role in assisting developing countries to adopt appropriate policy frameworks for water resources management.

18. For developing countries, the role of government regulation in the allocation of freshwater resources remains important. Resources should be allocated and costs met in an accountable and transparent manner. Costs should be covered either through cost recovery or from public sector budgets. Cost recovery could be gradually phased in by water utilities or the public authorities, taking into account the specific conditions of each country. Transparent subsidies for specific groups, particularly people living in poverty, are required in some countries. Governments could benefit from sharing experience in this regard. Incentives may be necessary to promote land use practices appropriate to local conditions in order to protect or rehabilitate freshwater resources of particularly sensitive areas, such as mountainous regions and other fragile ecosystems.

19. The Commission on Sustainable Development:

(a) Invites Governments to strengthen consultative mechanisms between bilateral and multilateral donors and recipient States aimed at improving or preparing schemes for the mobilization of financial resources in a predictable manner, for meeting the need of priority areas based on local and national programmes of action, with a special focus on integrated water resources development, management, protection and use, while recognizing the needs of vulnerable groups and people living in poverty;

(b) Calls for initiatives to be undertaken to help identify and mobilize more resources -- human, technical (know-how) and financial -- and take into account the 20/20 initiative, especially in the programme of poverty eradication, in accordance with national policies and in the light of specific provisions and commitments on resources related to water issues made at recent United Nations conferences. 14/ A fundamental aim must be to promote the generation of the resources needed for economically and environmentally sound water supply and recycling, irrigation, energy, sanitation and water management systems, including the control of aquatic weeds, especially water hyacinths, and their efficient and effective deployment;

(c) Invites Governments to allocate sufficient public financial resources for the provision of safe and sustainable water supply and sanitation to meet basic human needs and for waste-water treatment. These resources should be complementary to the technical and financial support of the international community;

(d) Urges Governments, when using economic instruments for guiding the allocation of water, to take into particular account the needs of vulnerable groups, children, local communities and people living in poverty, as well as environmental requirements, efficiency, transparency, equity and, in the light of the specific conditions of each country, at the national and local levels, the polluter-pays principle. Such instruments need to recognize the special role of women in relation to water in many societies;

(e) Urges Governments to initiate a review of existing financial support arrangements in order to enhance their efficiency and effectiveness. Such a review should aim at the mobilization of financial resources from all sources, particularly international financial resources, in a predictable manner, based on local and national action plans, with a specific focus on integrated water resources development, management, use and protection programmes and policies. In this context, both formal and informal arrangements could have a role to play. International financial support will continue to be important to the development of local and national water management systems. Governments, with the technical and financial support of the international community, need to promote the economic, social and environmental values provided by ecosystems and examine the short- and long-term cost of their degradation;                                                       [ UP ]

(f) Calls upon the international community to intensify its efforts and to consider new initiatives, within appropriate existing mechanisms, for mobilizing financial resources to promote efforts of developing countries in the integrated management, development, distribution, protection and use of water resources. Particular attention should be given to the following aspects:

(i) Promoting more effective donor coordination and more effective and creative use of existing resources;

(ii) Generation of new and additional financial resources from all sources;

(iii) Identification of appropriate sources of direct grants and loans on concessional terms;

(iv) Quantification of the resources required to meet the needs of developing countries;

(v) Resources contributions by industrialized countries and international financial institutions, including regional institutions;

(vi) Formulation of financial strategies that include possible partnerships with non-governmental organizations and the private sector and the promotion of conditions for increased private financial flows;

(vii) Strengthening of consultative mechanisms, especially at the subregional and regional levels, by Governments and the international community aimed at making freshwater a development priority and at improving dialogue between industrialized and developing countries in a well-targeted and predictable manner, based on national action plans, with a special focus on sustainable and integrated water resources management that recognizes the needs of all stakeholders, especially vulnerable groups and people living in poverty. This could include exploring the potential of new financial arrangements.

Follow-up and assessment

20. The Commission on Sustainable Development:

(a) Invites Governments to continue to provide voluntary national communication or reports on actions they have taken towards the development and implementation of national strategies and programmes in integrated water resources development, management and protection. Requests the Secretariat to continue collecting, analysing and disseminating national information on this implementation and to ensure that data is gender-differentiated whenever possible. Also requests the Secretariat, in reporting to the Commission, to make a more comprehensive use of the information already provided by Governments through their national reports and to promote exchanges of such information and further develop relevant databases;

(b) Encourages Governments to work together at appropriate levels to improve integrated water resources management. The overall aim should be to ensure effective arrangements for cooperation between Governments to promote the implementation of policies and strategies at the local and national levels. Possibilities should also be identified for joint projects and missions;

(c) Recognizes the important tasks for United Nations agencies and programmes and other international bodies in helping developing countries to implement their integrated water resources development, management and protection programmes and policies. It invites the Subcommittee on Water Resources of the Administrative Committee on Coordination, as task manager for chapter 18 of Agenda 21, to make its work more transparent through, inter alia, regular briefings to Governments, to enhance coordination within the United Nations system and to accelerate the implementation of chapter 18 by considering action to, inter alia:

(i) Identify gaps or inconsistencies in the implementation of programmes of its constituent organizations by assessing the main features and effectiveness of the implementation of those activities and ensure that the mainstreaming of gender perspectives is appropriately included;

(ii) Increase efficiency in programme delivery and possibilities for joint programming;

(iii) Explore the potential of cooperation arrangements and, where appropriate, take into account the experience gained in existing programmes in the United Nations system;

(d) Invites the Secretary-General to submit a report to the Commission, prior to its eighth session, on progress of the Subcommittee on Water Resources of the Administrative Committee on Coordination, as task manager of chapter 18 of Agenda 21, on the activities mentioned in the above paragraph;

(e) Stresses the importance of coordination of policies and activities of the specialized agencies and other bodies of the United Nations system related to freshwater, including clean and safe water supply and sanitation, and, given the seriousness of the situation, emphasizes the need to provide close attention to the effects of disposal of toxic substances, including arsenic contamination of drinking water supplies, and persistent organic pollutants upon water resources, as recommended by the Economic and Social Council at its substantive session of 1997;

(f) Invites the United Nations Environment Programme, in collaboration with other relevant United Nations bodies, to play a vital role in providing inputs through the provision of technical and scientific advice on environmental aspects of the sustainable development of freshwater resources. In the field of freshwater, the Programme could focus on assisting countries, especially developing countries, in strengthening their ability in this regard, in technology transfer and environmental institutional strengthening and in responding to requests for assistance in strengthening integrated river basin management. The potential of the Global Environment Monitoring System and other relevant global monitoring networks should be fully utilized. Such activities would provide an effective contribution to the work of the Commission;

(g) Encourages Governments, in cooperation with relevant organizations, to organize meetings aimed at identifying problems to be resolved, articulating priorities for action and exchanging experience and best practices and to facilitate progress in implementing the present decision. Such meetings are invited to inform the Commission of their conclusions in order to contribute to its work;

(h) Recognizes the need for periodic assessments of the success of strategic approaches to the sustainable development, management, protection and use of freshwater resources in achieving the goals described in chapter 18 of Agenda 21 and for a global picture of the state of freshwater resources and potential problems;

(i) Invites the Subcommittee on Water Resources of the Administrative Committee on Coordination, as task manager for chapter 18 of Agenda 21, to arrange the compilation and publication of such assessments.

Decision 6/2. Industry and sustainable development *                        [ UP ]

(* For the discussion, see chap. VI below.)

1. The Commission on Sustainable Development reaffirmed that in order to achieve sustainable development, Governments, in cooperation with non-State actors, need to undertake greater efforts to integrate economic, social and environmental goals into industrial policy and decision-making. Towards this end, Governments need to expand and intensify cooperation with industry, trade unions and other groups of civil society. The Commission took note of the Chairman's summary of the industry segment of its sixth session. The following recommendations of the Commission are based on the report of the Secretary-General on industry and sustainable development 15/ and the report of the Inter-sessional Ad Hoc Working Group on Industry and Sustainable Development (see annex).

A. Industry and economic development

2. The Commission recognized that industrial policy and responsible entrepreneurship are vital to sustainable development strategies and should encompass a variety of interrelated economic, social and environmental objectives, such as the encouragement of an open, competitive economy, the creation of productive employment and the protection of the environment.

3. The Commission emphasized that in order to achieve the objectives of sustainable development, Governments need to integrate economic, social and environmental concerns in their policy-making and to promote economic growth and international competitiveness of industry through macroeconomic policies. The Commission agreed that, in order to stimulate domestic private enterprise, boost economy-wide competitiveness and attract foreign direct investment, policy reforms should aim at creating an enabling policy environment, inter alia, through improvements in infrastructure and education, encouragement of research and development, facilitation of exports and liberalization of domestic markets. In this regard, the development of small and medium-sized enterprises should receive special attention.

4. The Commission stressed that for developing countries and economies in transition, foreign direct investment is often an important source of capital, new technologies, organization and management methods, and access to markets. The Commission also stressed that to promote foreign direct investment flows to developing countries, in particular to the least developed among them, greater emphasis should be placed by the United Nations system on promotional and information-dissemination activities relating to investment opportunities in the developing countries. In this respect, the programme of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization on investment promotion has proved to be an effective instrument for facilitating investment in developing countries and therefore should be strengthened.

5. The Commission emphasized that official development assistance remains a main source of external funding, particularly for countries in Africa and the least developed countries, and plays a significant role, inter alia, in capacity-building, infrastructure, poverty eradication and environmental protection in developing countries, and a crucial role in the least developed countries.

6. The Commission recognized that industry plays a critical role in technological innovations and research and development activities, which are crucial for the economic and social development of any country, as well as in the development, diffusion and transfer of environmentally sound technologies and management techniques, which constitute a key element of sustainable development.

7. The Commission emphasized that it was important for the achievement of sustainable development for Governments to develop and maintain an enabling policy framework based on a sound regulatory foundation complemented with a judicious mix of economic instruments, voluntary initiatives and agreements and public-private partnerships.

B. Industry and social development                                                          [ UP ]

8. The Commission recognized that there is a mutually reinforcing relationship between social and industrial development, and that industrialization has the potential to promote, directly and indirectly, a variety of social objectives such as employment creation, poverty eradication, gender equality, labour standards, and greater access to education and health care. In this regard, the overriding policy challenge is to promote the positive impacts while limiting or eliminating the negative impacts of industrial activities on social development. The Commission noted that improved access to education and health care has, in general, been associated with the pace of industrialization and recommended that Governments continue to give them priority.

9. The Commission recognized that industry contributes to social development objectives through, inter alia, the creation of productive employment, compliance with labour standards, corporate social initiatives and attention to human resources development and worker welfare. Industry continues to face such challenges, which can be addressed through better dialogue with trade unions and Governments.

10. The Commission acknowledged that, in dealing with the problems of industrialization, social policy has not always been gender neutral. In view of persistent gender disparities in areas such as income, employment, education and health, Governments, industry, trade unions, women's organizations and other organizations of civil society should work together towards the elimination of discrimination against women.

11. The Commission emphasized that among the central concerns of the international community should be the growing international income disparities among and within countries and the risk that some countries and groups might fall deeper into poverty and exclusion. The World Summit for Social Development provided a strong basis for international cooperation, including with the business community. In this regard, policies should build on the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development. 16/

C. Industry and environmental protection

12. The Commission noted that, as the world has become more industrialized, there have been increasing environmental pressures such as harmful emissions and waste, which have had global, regional or local impacts. These include, at the local level, urban air pollution, contamination of soils and rivers and land degradation; regionally, acid rain and water and coastal zone contamination; and globally, climate change, ozone layer depletion, loss of biodiversity, increased movement of hazardous waste and increased land-based marine pollution.

13. The Commission acknowledged that environmental sustainability and industrial development are mutually supportive, given appropriate technology, institutions, policies and systems of incentives.

14. The Commission stressed that the overriding task facing Governments is to maximize the positive influence of industrial activities on economic and social development, while minimizing the negative impact of production and consumption on the environment. To this end, Governments should review their regulatory policies and systems of economic incentives and disincentives and undertake other actions such as capacity-building, environmental data collection and enforcement that support the environmental protection efforts of industry and civil society. Governments should encourage the wider dispersion and implementation of industry's voluntary initiatives and agreements and sharing of best practices.

15. The Commission called upon industry to increase its efforts, as appropriate, in the areas of responsible entrepreneurship and employment of various corporate management tools, including environmental management systems and environmental reporting, to improve its environmental performance. Governments and industry must work together to develop policies to ensure that conformance with standards is not too costly or difficult to achieve for companies in developing countries and for small and medium-sized enterprises.

16. The Commission recognized that eco-efficiency, cost internalization and product policies are also important tools for making consumption and production patterns more sustainable. In this regard, attention should be given to studies that propose to improve the efficiency of resource use, including consideration of a tenfold improvement in resource productivity in industrialized countries in the long term and a possible factor of four increase in industrialized countries in the next two or three decades. United Nations Environment Programme/United Nations Industrial Development Organization Cleaner Production Centres have demonstrated the compatibility between environmental protection and increased resource productivity, and the lessons learned in these activities should be implemented as broadly as possible.

D. Future work

17. The Commission recognized the value of the interactive dialogue between representatives of Governments, industry, trade unions, non-governmental organizations and international organizations in the industry segment of its sixth session, which focused on four themes: responsible entrepreneurship, corporate management tools, technology cooperation and assessment, and industry and freshwater. Similar dialogues should be held in the future, taking into account that their preparation must take place in the intergovernmental process and with balanced representation of all major groups from developed and developing countries.

18. The Commission noted the potential value of a review of voluntary initiatives and agreements to give content and direction to the dialogue between Governments and the representatives of industry, trade unions, non-governmental organizations and international organizations. As a first step, representatives of industry, trade unions and non-governmental organizations should examine voluntary initiatives and agreements to identify those elements that can be considered for this review. The Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat could provide assistance in this process. Special attention should be given to the balanced involvement in the process of representatives from all major groups from developed and developing countries. The Secretariat should make the results of this review available to Governments. The Commission invited the Department, in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Agency and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization to examine how voluntary initiatives and agreements could contribute to the future work of the Commission and to report on the result of this work to the Commission at its seventh session.

19. The United Nations Environment Programme is currently undertaking work on the voluntary commitments and initiatives taken by the financial sector that promote sustainable development. The work of the financial sector should be further developed. The Commission underlined the importance of such voluntary commitments and initiatives and invited the United Nations Environment Programme to report on its work in this area.

Annex

Report of the Inter-sessional Ad Hoc Working Group on Industry and Sustainable Development

I. Introduction

1. The Inter-sessional Ad Hoc Working Group on Industry and Sustainable Development met in New York from 2 to 6 March 1998 in preparation for consideration of the issue of industry and sustainable development by the Commission on Sustainable Development at its sixth session (New York, 20 April 1 May 1998). Its discussions were based on the recommendations and proposals for action contained in the relevant reports of the Secretary-General. 15/

2. The outcome of the Working Group meeting is not a negotiated text, although its contents were thoroughly discussed. In accordance with the expert nature of the Working Group and the functions assigned to it, the present report focuses on key issues and conclusions and suggests elements and policy options for further consideration and negotiation during the sixth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development.

II. Industry and sustainable development                                                  [ UP ]

A. Background

3. Agenda 21 17/ and the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development 18/ provide the fundamental framework for further policy discussion and action on matters related to industry and sustainable development. Although the role of business and industry, as a major group, is specifically addressed in chapter 30, issues related to industry and economic development, consumption and production patterns, social development and environmental protection cut across the entirety of Agenda 21, including its section 4, Means of implementation.

4. Poverty eradication is central to sustainable development strategies, and industry has a key role to play in this respect. Sustainable industrial policy encompasses a variety of interrelated economic, social and environmental objectives, including the encouragement of an open, competitive economy, the creation of productive employment in order to provide sustained increases in household income and social development, and the protection of the natural environment through the efficient use of resources. In order to achieve the objectives of sustainable development, Governments need to integrate economic, social and environmental concerns into their policy and regulatory frameworks, and industry needs to promote sustainable development through sustainable consumption and production and responsible entrepreneurship, in accordance with country-specific conditions.

5. Increasing industrialization and per capita levels of production have led to a corresponding increase in the impact of industrial activities on the environment and health. At the local level, industrial emissions contribute to urban air pollution and the contamination of soil and water. At the regional level, the impact of such emissions includes acid rain, water contamination and the contamination of coastal zones. The major impact at the global level includes climate change, depletion of the ozone layer and the loss of biological diversity. These environmental challenges will be more and more shaped by growing resource and energy demands, and the issues (like climate change) cannot be dealt with by end-of-pipe regulation alone. Hence, the promotion of cleaner production and improvements in environmental performance and environmentally sound technologies and products are becoming increasingly important. Some businesses and industries have taken significant first steps to develop, implement and improve their policies and practices to promote sustainable development. The implementation of environmental management systems and practices in industry are, therefore, important. The way in which companies are able to respond efficiently and effectively to these challenges is seen as a cornerstone in the necessary innovation process.

B. General recommendations

6. Further action is needed to adjust policy approaches that have unintended adverse environmental or social effects and to establish a policy framework that fosters sustainability, including encouragement to companies of all sizes and in all sectors to integrate sustainable development into their business strategies, planning and operations. At the macroeconomic level environmental protection and "eco-management" can contribute to the modernization of the economy and to creating and securing jobs in industry.

7. Governments are encouraged to develop enabling policy environments and undertake reforms that provide more consistent economic and other incentives and disincentives to make markets work better and encourage business and industry to move faster towards sustainable development. Some policy instruments used in developed countries might be useful for the more advanced developing countries. For others at the early stages of industrialization, there are opportunities to integrate sustainability from the outset. For developing countries, particularly the least developed countries, further efforts, supported by international cooperation, will need to be made in order to encourage capacity-building and investment in sustainable industrial development.

8. Since the role of the private sector has expanded in most economies, effective sustainable development policies require constructive dialogue and partnerships between Government at all levels, industry, trade unions and civil society, including women's organizations. There is a need to build and extend this dialogue. There are many good examples of the new partnerships that are required. They include partnerships between Government and industry to tackle global challenges like climate change, partnerships between companies in developed and developing countries to create and spread cleaner technologies and improved environmental management, partnerships at national and local levels between companies and all of their stakeholders, and increased dialogue between industry and the United Nations system.

9. Consistent with Agenda 21, the development and further elaboration of national policies and strategies and integrated approaches, particularly in industrialized countries, are needed to encourage changes in unsustainable consumption and production patterns, while strengthening, as appropriate, international approaches and policies that promote sustainable consumption patterns on the basis of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, applying the "polluter pays" principle and encouraging producer responsibility and greater consumer awareness.

10. Governments, industry and organizations of civil society should, as appropriate, use the media, advertising, marketing and other means to promote greater producer and consumer awareness of sustainable development in order to encourage a shift to more sustainable consumption and production patterns. Industrialized countries should take the lead in this process.

11. Sustainable development should be encouraged with continuous innovation and the adoption of environmentally sound technologies to change current production and consumption patterns. The challenge is to implement measures that will have a significant long-term impact on preventing and mitigating pollution and resource consumption alongside continued growth in gross domestic product. Eco-efficiency, cost internalization and policies for products and services are important tools for making consumption and production patterns more sustainable.

12. Foreign investment can play a significant and positive role in achieving sustainable development -- for example, through the diffusion of environmentally sound technologies, including environmental management techniques and tools, and in capacity-building and poverty alleviation through employment generation. It can, however, contribute to environmental problems when undertaken with inadequate regard to environmental, economic and social consequences. Consideration should be given to an assessment of the implications for sustainable development of foreign investment.

13. Business and industry should be encouraged to develop and implement voluntary guidelines and codes of conduct which can help to promote and disseminate best practices in environmentally and socially responsible entrepreneurship, and to develop further those that already exist. To be effective, business and industry need to develop and implement such codes by themselves, for that will ensure their commitment to the process. Equally important, their credibility with stakeholders requires that the codes stimulate positive action that goes well beyond "business as usual". Therefore, an essential element is transparency in monitoring and public reporting of progress.

14. Governments at all levels, industry, trade unions and other organizations of civil society, in particular women's organizations, should work together towards the elimination of discrimination against women in employment, education, property ownership and access to credit and to ensure that women have effective equal access to economic opportunities and social participation. Governments should ensure that their social and industrial policies are gender-sensitive.

15. Particular efforts are needed to promote small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurial potential, in, inter alia, the informal sector in developing countries. Sustainable development requirements need to be translated into concrete action for small and medium-sized enterprises. Governments, with the support of the international community, as appropriate, can develop policy frameworks to support investment, including the provision of micro-credit, and access to technology know-how and training. Large companies and transnational corporations can provide support by working through the supply chain, including local suppliers.

16. Training should be utilized by all sectors and societies to promote cleaner production. The training should stress the integration of economic, social and environmental matters as Government, industry and civil society implement the policies and programmes.

C. Recommendations for Governments                                                       [ UP ]

17. Within a supportive international environment, Governments should create an enabling policy environment in order to encourage domestic private enterprise and economy-wide competitiveness through improvements in infrastructure and educational, financial and legal institutions; encourage research and development; and facilitate exports and the liberalization of domestic markets. These reforms can encourage investment, innovation, diffusion of technology and more efficient use of resources.

18. Governments should continue to promote the integration of environmental and industrial policies, with emphasis on the preventive approach. Governments need to adopt policies and regulations that set clear environmental goals and objectives for industry through strategic environmental policies at the national and subnational levels. They also need to develop and promote appropriate policy frameworks to help mobilize the full range of domestic and foreign resources from all sectors, including industry, in support of sustainable development.

19. Since not all developing countries can attract adequate levels of foreign direct investment for their industrial development, official development assistance remains a main source of external funding for them, particularly in Africa and in the least developed countries. Official development assistance plays a significant role, inter alia, in capacity-building, infrastructure, poverty alleviation and environmental protection in developing countries, and a crucial role in the least developed countries.

20. Development strategies should encompass official development assistance and should include the effective use of all possible means of promoting sustainable development and the facilitation of private investment, trade, technology transfer, and utilization of science and technology, tailored to the specific conditions and needs of each country. It is urgent that measures be taken to foster and improve capacity-building over the long term.

21. While not replacing official development assistance, foreign direct investment offers developing countries and economies in transition access to additional capital, new technologies, organization and management methods, and markets, as well as opportunities to exploit complementarities between domestic and foreign investment. A stable policy environment is necessary to attract foreign direct investment and to ensure confidence among domestic entrepreneurs and foreign investors. Ways and means of encouraging foreign direct investment flows between developing countries should be explored.

22. Governments in developed countries should encourage foreign direct investment to assist developing countries and economies in transition in their development in a way friendly to the environment and supportive of sustainable development. The commitment of foreign investors to sustainable development is required while they pursue their commercial interests.

23. To ensure that such investments are supportive of sustainable development objectives, it is essential that the national Governments of recipient countries provide appropriate regulatory frameworks and incentives for private investment, including those that promote the availability of micro-credit. Therefore, further work should be undertaken on the design of appropriate policies and measures aimed at promoting long-term investment flows to developing countries for activities that increase their productive capability and at reducing the volatility of those flows.

24. When devising and implementing environmental regulatory frameworks, Governments should seek to ensure that such frameworks encourage, as appropriate, private sector activities that promote sustainable development. The traditional method of command and control, based on effluent and emission standards, should be developed or modified, as appropriate, with ample participation of industry and civil society, to become an enabling factor and the basis for a judicious mix of economic instruments, voluntary industry initiatives and public and private partnerships.

25. There is a need for making existing subsidies more transparent in order to increase public awareness of their actual economic, social and environmental impacts, and for reforming or, where appropriate, removing them. Further national and international research in this area should be promoted in order to assist Governments in identifying and considering phasing out subsidies that are market-distorting and have socially and environmentally damaging impacts. Subsidy reductions should take full account of the specific conditions and the different levels of development of individual countries and should consider potentially regressive impacts, particularly on developing countries. In addition, it would be desirable to use international cooperation and coordination to promote the reduction of subsidies where they have important implications for competitiveness.

26. Governments should encourage the implementation of environmental management systems. In order to widely disseminate environmental management concepts in small and medium-sized enterprises, especially in developing countries, the instruments and methods of environmental management have to be adapted to their specific capacities and needs, making them easier to apply and less costly. Networks of intermediaries that can assist small and medium-sized enterprises in improving their environmental performance should be encouraged.

27. Governments, at the national level, are encouraged to address the issue of occupational health and safety standards in small and medium-sized enterprises and in industry.

28. Increased efforts are needed by Governments, in cooperation with industry, trade unions and civil society, to ensure universal compliance by industry, including informal enterprises, of core labour standards as contained in the Conventions of the International Labour Organization. Such standards include freedom of association, the right of collective bargaining, prohibition of forced and child labour, and non-discrimination in employment.

29. Governments can set a good example and create a market for more environmentally friendly products and services by providing, as appropriate, adequate infrastructure, establishing goals on procurement that take account of environmental factors and encouraging all relevant governmental bodies to introduce environmental management systems. Governments can improve the quality of information on the environmental impact of products and services and, to that end, encourage the voluntary and transparent use of eco-labelling.

30. Social objectives should be an integral part of sustainable development, and the overriding social policy challenge for Government and industry is to promote the positive impacts of industrial activities on social development, while limiting or eliminating the negative impacts. This can be achieved by various means, in particular through improved access to education and health care. Governments should give priority to ensuring universal access to basic education and to expanding access to secondary education. Tax incentives, for example, may be useful to encourage companies to invest in training and education for their workers. Governments and civil society should also address the problem of rapidly expanding labour forces, especially youth labour.

31. Since the creation of employment plays a pivotal role in the alleviation of poverty, industrial policies should promote linkages between enterprises in the formal and informal sectors, including transnational corporations.

32. Governments, where appropriate, should cooperate with industry, trade unions and other concerned organizations of civil society in expanding, strengthening and ensuring the sustainability of social security schemes. Governments should also ensure that the benefits of pension systems are secure and transferable between employers. Moreover, Governments, in cooperation with industry, should ensure that such coverage is as broad as possible and, where feasible, based on mandatory worker and employer participation.

33. The fulfilment of greenhouse gas emission reduction targets agreed upon in the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 19/ needs to be achieved within set time-frames in developed countries. The fulfilment of commitments assumed by different countries, in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, is important.

34. Attention should be given to studies that propose to improve the efficiency of resource use, including consideration of a tenfold improvement in resource productivity in industrialized countries in the long term and a possible fourfold increase in resource productivity in industrialized countries in the next two or three decades. Further research is required to study the feasibility of these goals and the practical measures needed for their implementation. Industrialized countries will have a special responsibility and must take the lead.

35. The concept of eco-efficiency should not be a substitute for changes in unsustainable lifestyles of consumers, and the pursuit of eco-efficiency also requires enhanced efforts to assist developing countries in their efforts to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns, by improving access to financial resources and environmentally sound technologies.                                      [ UP ]

36. Voluntary initiatives by all subsectors of industry have been a valuable tool in protecting the environment. Governments should continue to encourage voluntary initiatives by industry, in both the formal and informal sectors, including voluntary and transparent codes of conduct, charters and codes of good practice, and the conclusion of voluntary agreements. Effective monitoring and follow-up programmes with stakeholder participation are needed, and industry should provide better and more complete dissemination of information of their voluntary initiatives. In addition, the assessment of progress made throughout a sector or country needs to be facilitated by developing a set of relevant indicators and metrics.

37. In order to strengthen domestic technological capabilities, it is useful for Governments to develop a national science and technology strategy and to support capacity-building to promote partnerships with industry. Greater cooperation between industry and public research and development bodies is needed to develop the skill and knowledge base necessary for a successful domestic technology strategy and the absorption of imported technologies.

38. Technology transfer and cooperation and the development of the human and institutional capacities to adapt, absorb and disseminate technologies and to generate technical knowledge and innovations are part of the same process and must be given equal importance. Governments have an important role to play in providing, inter alia, research and development institutions with incentives to promote and contribute to the development of institutional and human capacities.

39. Control and influence over the technological knowledge produced in publicly funded research opens up the potential for the generation of publicly owned technologies that could be made accessible to the developing countries and could be an important means for Governments to catalyse private-sector technology transfers. Proposals for the further study of the options with respect to those technologies and publicly funded research and development activities are welcomed.

40. The Governments of developed countries are invited to encourage private-sector companies in their countries to transfer environmentally sound technologies to developing countries. Such transfers should be underpinned by matching technical assistance and the transfer of education and skills, taking into account the unique circumstances and characteristics of small and medium-sized enterprises.

41. The ongoing process of globalization may bring with it a higher rate of technological progress and diffusion. Innovations in industry and their diffusion will no doubt be among the most important mechanisms for progressively delinking economic growth from environmental degradation. The dynamics of innovation in industry thus deserve careful study so as to determine what triggers innovation and how innovations are taken up by society. Studies are also needed on the possible environmental and social effects of innovation. Policies, including incentives, are needed which can steer innovation and investment in directions conducive to sustainable development.

D. Recommendations for industry

42. Companies can enable consumers to make more informed choices by providing reliable and accurate information on the impacts, and where possible, conditions of production and qualities of products and services, through their marketing and advertising activities, environmental reporting and improved stakeholder dialogue.

43. Industry and civil society should work with Governments to strengthen secondary, vocational and advanced education and to ensure that it meets the developmental needs of society and the economy. This includes fair treatment of employees and constructive training programmes.

44. Environmentally oriented management should aim at both preventing environmental damage and encouraging sustainable use of natural resources through, for example, more efficient use of energy, water and raw materials; the reduction of emissions into the air, water and soil; the reduction of noise impacts; the reduction of waste; and the development of environmentally sound products and services. Environmental management systems and practices suitable to particular circumstances can enable business to control its environmental impacts and stimulate awareness of sustainability as a key business issue. To maintain and enhance competitiveness over the longer term, companies need to integrate environmental and social sustainability into their strategic planning. This includes developing cleaner products and processes that use resources more efficiently and minimize environmental impacts.

45. Industry should act to improve its environmental performance through appropriate implementation of environmental management systems. For example, transnational corporations should consider setting a time-frame within which to fully implement such systems. At the same time, Governments and industry must also work together to develop policies to ensure that compliance with standards is not too costly or difficult to achieve for companies in developing countries. National certification schemes should be based upon the principles of transparency and non-discrimination and should not be used as non-tariff trade barriers.

46. Large corporations should apply best practice in their own branches, both domestically and abroad. Companies are encouraged to provide environmentally sound technologies, supported by appropriate management techniques and training, inter alia, so as to help companies in other countries, particularly developing countries, to develop and implement environmentally sound policies. Those companies and corporations should also be proactive in promoting the implementation of core labour standards of the International Labour Organization.

47. Chambers of commerce and business organizations in developed and developing countries should be encouraged to cooperate in the transfer of technology and in the development of management tools and institutional frameworks for sustainable development.

48. There is a growing trend among a variety of stakeholders to hold industry accountable and responsible for the environmental impact of its operations and products throughout their entire life cycle. The industry and business sectors should respond positively to these demands by continuing to develop voluntary codes of conduct, charters and codes of practices. Industry and business should observe these codes when operating in developing countries and in economies in transition, in particular where environmental enforcement is still being developed.

49. The financial sector has an important role to play in promoting sustainable development. Voluntary commitments and initiatives taken by the financial sector (banks, savings and micro-credit institutions, and insurance companies) which promote sustainable development should be further developed and implemented, and strategies for monitoring progress should be developed. Since financial institutions play an important role in sustainable development in developing countries, their policies may include requirements and incentives to stimulate sustainable development and to report on their progress.

E. Recommendations for the international community

50. The principles of transparency, mutual recognition and non-discrimination, which serve as building blocks for the multilateral trading system, should also serve as basic principles in other areas, such as sustainable development. The development of environmental standards, voluntary codes of conduct and eco-labelling should be viewed as facilitating tools to ensure the fulfilment of environmental objectives, rather than as necessary elements to be checked for the achievement and measurement of sustainability.

51. The international community needs to assist developing countries and economies in transition in their efforts to facilitate their adoption of production technologies that reduce environmental pressures while, at the same time, allowing them to be more competitive in international markets. Therefore, there is a real need to disseminate information about environmentally sound technologies to developing countries on a broader scale. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and other relevant bodies should be invited to focus their programmes in order to promote the transfer of environmentally sound technologies, particularly to small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries.

52. The international community, working notably through the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme, other United Nations bodies active in the implementation of chapters 30 and 36 of Agenda 21, and non-governmental organization partners, should strengthen the links between education and industry leading to sustainable development by assisting developing countries in their national efforts to strengthen secondary, vocational and advanced education.                                                        [ UP ]

53. When promoting measures favouring eco-efficiency, developed countries should pay special attention to the needs of developing countries, in particular by encouraging positive impacts, and to the importance of avoiding negative impacts on export opportunities and on market access for developing countries and, as appropriate, for countries with economies in transition. Implementation of environmental measures should not result in disguised barriers to trade.

54. Industrialization is a key element in promoting sustainable development in developing countries, particularly in Africa, and the least developed countries. It plays an important role in the efforts of those countries to eradicate poverty, create productive employment and integrate women into the development process. The business community, especially the small and medium-sized enterprises, have a particularly important role in enhancing industrialization. There is a need for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme and other relevant United Nations bodies to enhance their activities in developing and implementing sustainable industrial development strategies, including taking into account the implementation of the Second Industrial Decade for Africa.

55. The international community, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and other relevant United Nations bodies are encouraged to provide appropriate financial and technical support to enable industries in developing countries to comply with national environmental goals and objectives through strategic environmental policies at the national and subnational levels.

56. Foreign direct investment can contribute to the achievement of sustainable development. To promote foreign direct investment flows to developing countries, in particular to the least developed among them, greater emphasis should be placed by the United Nations system on promotional and information-dissemination activities relating to investment opportunities in the developing countries.

57. There is a need for a further assessment of the implications of foreign investment for sustainable development, building on past work and taking into account relevant current activities. Such an assessment should take into account all existing relevant activities and processes and build on work undertaken in preparation for the fifth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development should be invited to investigate the issue and report the results to the Commission at its seventh session. Furthermore, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Trade Organization should report on their relevant activities.

58. Multilateral financial institutions, through their investment agreements, programmes and projects, should contribute to sustainable development and the use of environmentally sound technologies.

59. Any negotiations on multilateral investment agreements should be participatory, transparent and non-discriminatory. The negotiations of these agreements should include the specific social, economic and environmental needs of developing countries. A multilateral agreement on investments is currently being negotiated in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Without prejudice to the clear understanding in the World Trade Organization that future negotiations, if any, regarding a multilateral agreement on investments will take place only after an explicit consensus decision, future agreements on investments should take into account the objectives of sustainable development, and when developing countries are parties to those agreements, special attention should be given to their needs for investment.

60. Full implementation of the recommendations of the World Summit for Social Development 20/ would effectively address growing international income disparities among and within countries and the risk that some countries and groups might fall deeper into poverty and exclusion. Policies are needed to implement the commitments expressed in the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development 21/ to, inter alia, expand productive employment, reduce unemployment, enhance social protection and reduce the vulnerability of the poorest groups. The International Labour Organization has a central role in monitoring the implementation of relevant labour standards and in stimulating patterns of economic growth that provide job opportunities. Concerted action by interested countries for the implementation of the 20/20 initiative is making a significant contribution to some developing countries, particularly the least developed.

61. Development of policies to implement the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women, which reaffirmed the advances made at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and emphasized the need to mainstream a gender perspective into the development agenda, is of great importance.

62. Further work should be undertaken at the international level to develop criteria to improve corporate environmental reporting. The United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development could take the lead in that respect, in cooperation with other organizations, as appropriate.

63. Reflecting the sectoral focus on freshwater, the United Nations Environment Programme, working jointly with other relevant United Nations bodies, should be invited to cooperate with the relevant industry sectors to develop a voluntary statement of business-led commitment on the protection and sustainable management of water resources.

64. The secretariats of international conventions on the environment should consider the need to include technology and other technical information in a "clearinghouse" to facilitate fulfilling the commitments of the conventions.

65. Concern was expressed regarding the impact of the current intellectual property regime and the need for protection of intellectual property rights in the transfer of environmentally sound technologies. The international community should promote, facilitate and finance, as appropriate, access to and transfer of environmentally sound technologies and the corresponding know-how, in particular to developing countries, on favourable terms, including concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed, taking into account the need to protect intellectual property rights as well as the special needs of developing countries for the implementation of Agenda 21. Current forms of cooperation involving the public and private sectors of developing and developed countries should be built upon and expanded. It is important to identify barriers and restrictions to the transfer of publicly and privately owned environmentally sound technologies with a view to reducing such constraints, while creating specific incentives, fiscal and otherwise, for the transfer of such technologies.

66. South-South cooperation is an important instrument for facilitating the diffusion of technology and industry and as a complement to North-South relations. South-South cooperation could be further strengthened through such innovative mechanisms as trilateral arrangements. Such mechanisms should be supported as an important means of achieving sustainable development and the alleviation of poverty. The United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and other relevant United Nations bodies should be invited to sustain and strengthen their programmes that promote the transfer of environmentally sound technologies, particularly to small and medium-sized industries in developing countries. Regional cooperation should also be encouraged and strengthened.

F. Future work

67. Relevant international organizations should study the different voluntary schemes that have been formulated with regard to industry, the effects of the technologies used to cope with problems and the prospects for introducing them elsewhere. It is important that, where necessary, they should create a framework to support the strengthening of efforts by the industry side.

68. The Commission should consider, with industry, how follow-up to the dialogue established with industry might be maintained and developed to ensure effective and continuing contributions from industry to the Commission's work programme. In so doing, the Commission should also consider how industry, through its international and sectoral organizations, should be consulted and associated with the follow-up to that dialogue. The Commission should, in cooperation with other relevant intergovernmental bodies, industry, trade unions, non-governmental organizations and other major groups, establish a process to review the effectiveness of voluntary initiatives intended to promote sustainable and equitable business practices. It is also important that the Commission continue to address the role of industry in sustainable development in the context of different sectoral and cross-sectoral themes allocated for its future sessions. The result of the work undertaken in the follow-up to the Joint Statement on Common Interests by the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the International Chambers of Commerce could be taken into account in further dialogue with industry in the Commission.

69. Governments and industry should be encouraged to improve, in general, their reporting of progress in voluntary initiatives and environmental protection and, in particular, as a follow-up to the industry segment at the sixth session of the Commission. Such reporting and follow-up activities should have the active involvement of the Commission, the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and others -- for example, the International Chambers of Commerce and the World Business Council on Sustainable Development, at the international level, and trade associations at the subsectoral level. The involvement of trade associations at the subsectoral level may be useful for ensuring better reporting in key subsectors such as energy and transport, mining, cement, paper and pulp, iron and steel, and chemicals. Discussion of changing consumption and production patterns at the seventh session could provide the first opportunity for such enhanced voluntary reporting.

Decision 6/3. Transfer of environmentally sound technology, capacity-building, education and public awareness and science for sustainable development *                                                                   [ UP ]

(* For the discussion, see chap. V below)

1. The Commission on Sustainable Development:

(a) Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General 22/ and related background documents dealing with the transfer of environmentally sound technology, capacity-building, education and public awareness, and science for sustainable development;

(b) Recognizes that the transfer of environmentally sound technology, capacity-building, education and public awareness, and science for sustainable development are critical elements of a national enabling environment necessary to achieve sustainable development, which includes economic and social development and environmental protection;

(c) Reaffirms the importance it attaches to the two overarching themes, eradication of poverty and sustainable consumption and production patterns, for the programme of work of the Commission, adopted at the nineteenth special session of the General Assembly;

(d) Recalls that the Rio Declaration on Environment 23/ and Development and the General Assembly, at its nineteenth special session, recognized that poverty eradication is essential for sustainable development; reaffirms the urgent need for the timely and full implementation of all the relevant commitments, agreements and targets already agreed upon since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development by the international community, including the United Nations system and international financial institutions; and, in this context, notes the efforts to achieve the above targets as well as the target to reduce by one half by 2015 the proportion of people in extreme poverty; 24/

(e) Reaffirms that renewed commitment and political will for mobilizing national and international financial sources of public funds, including official development assistance, and encouraging private investment in all these areas is urgently required, particularly for developing countries, if they are to meet their needs for the transfer of environmentally sound technology, capacity-building, education development and public awareness and scientific capabilities;

(f) Encourages the greater use of public and market-based policy instruments and incentives to promote better management of human and natural resources and the development of national capacities to more effectively develop, adapt, integrate and use new technologies;

(g) Welcomes the trend demonstrated in each of the areas towards greater public participation and decentralization, including broader civil society consultations, citizen empowerment and increasing public/private partnership and networks, resulting in more demand-driven efforts at capacity-building, education and public awareness, science development and transfer of environmentally sound technology;

(h) Recognizes the special needs, skills and experience of girls and women, youth, indigenous people and local communities, as well as vulnerable and marginalized groups, in all areas of capacity-building, education and training, science and the use of environmentally sound technology and stresses the need to ensure their equal access to educational and capacity-building opportunities and greater involvement in decision-making at all levels;

(i) Encourages Governments that have not already done so to elaborate appropriate policies and plans related to the transfer of environmentally sound technology, capacity-building, education and public awareness and science for sustainable development and ensure that they are fully integrated into national sustainable development strategies and programmes of regional and subregional cooperation.

A. Transfer of environmentally sound technology

2. The Commission on Sustainable Development:

(a) Recalls that Agenda 21 25/ and the Rio Declaration 23/ provide a fundamental framework for actions on matters related to the transfer of environmentally sound technologies, cooperation and capacity-building;

(b) Welcomes the initiatives of the Governments of the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to organize inter-sessional meetings on issues relevant to technology transfer, cooperation and capacity-building;

(c) Recognizes that the objectives of sustainable development require continuous technological innovation and the widespread adoption, transfer and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies, including know-how and organizational and managerial procedures, as well as equipment, and that the development of human and institutional capacities to adapt, absorb and upgrade technologies, as well as to generate technological knowledge, is essential for technology transfer, management and diffusion;

(d) Notes that public-private partnerships offer a means of increasing access to, and transfer of, environmentally sound technologies;

(e) Recognizes that the creation of enabling environments at all levels provides a platform to support the development and use of environmentally sound technologies, and in this regard:

(i) The design of legal and policy frameworks that are conducive to long-term sustainable development objectives is a key element of this environment;

(ii) Governments should try to facilitate the transfer of environmentally sound technologies by creating a policy environment that is conducive to technology-related private sector investments and long-term sustainable development objectives;

(f) Encourages Governments and industry to work together to build capacity in the developing countries for using and maintaining environmentally sound technologies, taking into account that:

(i) Financing programmes for small and medium-sized enterprises, including micro-credit initiatives, are very important;

(ii) Education and training must also be key priorities in national efforts to develop operating and maintenance skills in the use of environmentally sound technologies;

(g) Calls for the urgent fulfilment of all the commitments of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development concerning concrete measures for the transfer of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries. The international community should promote, facilitate and finance, as appropriate, access to and transfer of environmentally sound technologies and the corresponding know-how, in particular to developing countries, on favourable terms, including concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed, taking into account the need to protect intellectual property rights as well as the special needs of developing countries for the implementation of Agenda 21;

(h) Emphasizes that technology cooperation between and among economic actors of developed and developing countries and countries with economies in transition remains a key element in achieving sustainable development objectives. Efforts at enhancing technology cooperation should recognize the critical role of business and industry in technology development, transfer and diffusion, while recognizing the responsibility of Governments to develop policy, legal and institutional frameworks, consistent with sustainable development, in order to promote technology development, transfer and cooperation.                                         [ UP ]

3. The Commission, therefore, decides to include in its future work consideration of policies to promote sustainable production patterns, and, in this context, to consider the concept of eco-efficiency and examples of its application in developed and developing countries, and the transfer of environmentally sound technologies for these purposes. Policy measures should, in particular, focus on the following areas:

(a) National technology strategies and international technology cooperation. In defining policy measures in this area, it is important to identify the potential actors, including Governments, business and industry, research and development institutions and technology intermediaries, and to examine their respective roles, specific interests, capacities and priorities. It is also important to identify barriers and restrictions to the transfer of environmentally sound technologies, in particular to developing countries, and to seek to reduce such constraints, while creating incentives for such transfer, taking into consideration the promotion of cleaner production;

(b) Technology integration, economic competitiveness and environmental management at the enterprise level, including international technology cooperation, at the enterprise level. In defining policy measures in this area, a thorough understanding of the factors that influence companies' environmental and economic performance is needed, including their adoption of best practices in environmental management and the use of environmentally sound technologies in production processes;.

(c) In the context of technology transfer and adaptation, it is important that environmentally sound technologies be transferred to developing countries, with support, including, as appropriate, financial support, from developed countries and relevant international institutions, in cooperation with the private sector. In this regard, the experience of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme and other relevant bodies of the United Nations system in establishing cleaner production centres can help facilitate this process.

4. The Commission:

(a) Invites Governments with the assistance of relevant United Nations bodies such as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, and in consultation with development assistance agencies, to undertake work on the development of voluntary guidelines on technology partnerships involving economic actors of developed and developing countries and countries with economies in transition, in the context of creating and maintaining an enabling environment for the purpose of maximizing the complementary roles of the public and private sectors in the transfer of environmentally sound technologies. Based on experience and emerging opportunities, such guidelines could assist Governments:

(i) In developing policy approaches and implementation strategies for technology cooperation and partnership initiatives;

(ii) In adopting incentives and economic instruments to provide a favourable legal and policy environment for private sector companies from developed countries to participate in technology partnership initiatives with developing countries, supported through an enabling international environment that facilitates access to, and transfer of, environmentally sound technologies and corresponding know-how;

(iii) In applying mechanisms and tools for the assessment of the effectiveness of the transfer of environmentally sound technologies and of technology partnership initiatives with regard to their contribution to achieving economic, social and environmental goals and targets;

(b) Urges Governments, the private sector and research and development institutions of developed countries to identify barriers and restrictions to the transfer of environmentally sound technologies and provide opportunities for technology cooperation, including in research and development, and partnership initiatives involving economic actors from developing countries, particularly African countries and the least developed countries, taking into account conditions and needs of these countries for the transfer of environmentally sound technologies and related capacity-building activities aimed at creating an enabling environment; and welcomes studies in this area;

(c) Encourages Governments of developing countries and countries with economies in transition, with the support of the United Nations system, to develop national strategies for technology innovation, commercialization and diffusion, with a focus on economic or industrial sectors that are particularly important with respect to economic growth, natural resources consumption, efficiency in the use of energy and natural resources in consumption and production patterns and pollution control, taking fully into account the need to create an enabling environment for private sector activities. Regional expert group meetings, jointly organized by Governments and United Nations bodies, including the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Development Programme, can be a useful mechanism to develop guidelines or manuals to assist Governments, upon request, in developing national technology strategies and initiating various forms of partnerships for the implementation of these strategies. The guidance document on national needs assessment for the improved utilization of environmentally sound technologies, adopted by the Commission in 1996, may be useful in developing such guidelines or manuals;

(d) Requests the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme, in cooperation with the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, to consider undertaking a study on the effectiveness of incentives to encourage industry to adopt cleaner production technologies. The study should evaluate existing practices and experiences of countries and organizations. The results of the evaluation could be useful to Governments in developing national technology strategies and in ensuring that these strategies are fully integrated into national sustainable development strategies and programmes;

(e) Calls on all Governments, with the support of international organizations and financial institutions, to assist small and medium-sized enterprises, including through funding of feasibility studies on market opportunities and commercial viability of environmentally sound technologies, use of economic instruments, including fiscal incentives, export promotion programmes, trade initiatives, including economically sound technologies-related issues, and assistance in the development of business plans;

(f) Invites interested Governments of developed and developing countries and countries with economies in transition to undertake, in particular in the context of promoting regional cooperation and implementing international environmental conventions and agreements, in cooperation with the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme and other relevant international bodies, a pilot project on opportunities for sector-specific applications of the recommendations on transfer and commercialization of publicly funded environmentally sound technologies made by the International Expert Meeting on the Role of Publicly Funded Research and Publicly Owned Technologies in the Transfer and Diffusion of Environmentally Sound Technologies, hosted by the Government of the Republic of Korea. 26/ The results of this project could be presented to the Commission in 2002. Issues to be considered might include:

(i) Reviewing national legal, institutional, development cooperation and other relevant policies, with a view to removing obstacles to, and providing research and development institutions and the private sector with incentives for, the transfer and commercialization of publicly funded and publicly owned environmentally sound technologies, in particular to developing countries and, as appropriate, countries with economies in transition;

(ii) Assessing existing as well as new technology transfer mechanisms, for example bilateral and multilateral memoranda of understanding and environmentally sound technology pooling or banks, with regard to their potential and use for the transfer and commercialization of publicly funded and publicly owned environmentally sound technologies to developing countries and, as appropriate, countries with economies in transition;

(iii) Considering the creation of additional centres for the transfer of environmentally sound technologies at various levels, including the regional level, which could greatly contribute to achieving the objectives of the transfer of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries;

(iv) Examining various policy approaches to commercialize non-patented or uncommercialized technologies that result from publicly funded research activities, including through the promotion of strategic alliances between research and development institutions, development cooperation agencies, enterprises, technology centres and other intermediaries, and to facilitate access to these technologies by developing countries.

B. Capacity-building

5. The Commission on Sustainable Development:                                         [ UP ]

(a) Encourages Governments to review, where necessary, existing planning processes and policies to assess their capacity-building requirements;

(b) Urges funding agencies to give support to national capacity-building activities, in particular in developing countries, including in the areas of the design of programmes and projects, and their implementation and evaluation, through demand-driven approaches, emphasizing facilitation and stressing a programmatic rather than a project-oriented framework for capacity-building;

(c) Recommends that capacity-building efforts be intensified where necessary, based on participatory approaches, with the aim, as called for by the General Assembly, at its nineteenth special session, of having national sustainable development strategies, or their equivalent, fully in place by 2002 for implementation and taking into account the environmental, social and economic needs of developing countries, and urges financial institutions and operational agencies, particularly through the United Nations Development Programme's Capacity 21 programme, to enhance their assistance in this regard;

(d) Encourages Governments at all levels to share experiences with and support innovative capacity-building programmes that feature greater public access to information, and broad participation, including by the private sector, at national and local levels. Full use should be made of existing information-sharing facilities such as the United Nations Development Programme Subregional Resource Facilities and the World Bank's Knowledge Network System;

(e) Urges that more resources be devoted to training and information-sharing activities such as case studies for practitioners, more action-oriented research and electronic and other networking;

(f) Encourages countries to increase their national capacity through South-South and subregional cooperation focused on common programmatic themes, and self-help efforts and by assessing ways in which capacities can be shared appropriately at the regional and subregional level. South-South cooperation in this regard should be further strengthened and supported through triangular arrangements;

(g) Requests that systematic attention be paid by the corresponding task managers to the capacity-building-related issues of the sectoral themes for future sessions of the Commission;

(h) Invites the United Nations Development Programme, in cooperation with other relevant bodies, to promote the exchange and dissemination of information on successful capacity-building efforts and to make information available, as appropriate, to future sessions of the Commission.

C. Education, public awareness and training

6. The Commission on Sustainable Development:

(a) Recognizes education, public awareness and training as underpinning all the cross-sectoral themes of Agenda 21;

(b) Reiterates that a fundamental prerequisite for sustainable development is an adequately financed and effective educational system, at all levels, that augments human capacity and well-being and is relevant to the implementation of all chapters of Agenda 21. Education is a lifelong process and should be fully accessible to all;

(c) Recalls that education, public awareness and training includes, inter alia, non-formal and informal modes of teaching and learning, for example, within the family and community, and maintains that education for sustainable development should take an interdisciplinary approach incorporating social, economic and environmental issues;

(d) Notes that public awareness is a prerequisite for public participation in decision-making for sustainable development and is closely linked to access to information;

(e) Recognizes that educating women has a crucial impact on sustainable development and on changing the attitudes and behaviour of families, society and nations;

(f) Expresses its appreciation to the Government of Greece and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for organizing an inter-sessional conference on "Environment and Society: Education and Public Awareness for Sustainability", which was held at Thessaloniki from 8 to 12 December 1997;

(g) Welcomes the contributions of major groups in sharing case studies of innovative practices in promoting, in particular, education, public awareness and training within their respective contexts, including youth-sponsored initiatives, encourages their continued action through such activities, and requests that the Commission continue to be informed of such work at future sessions;

(h) Recognizes the important role of schools and universities in the further implementation of Agenda 21, especially at the local level;

(i) Notes that the World Conference on Higher Education, to be held in Paris in October 1998, provides a good opportunity to address the challenge of how to promote and strengthen an interdisciplinary approach in university curricula and research agendas for a sustainable future and to consider the further adaptation of higher education systems, as appropriate, in this regard;

(j) Takes note of the International Registry of Innovative Practices Promoting Education, Public Awareness and Training for Sustainability being developed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and encourages its further development.

7. Taking into account the work programme on education, public awareness and training initiated at its fourth session, the Commission:

(a) With regard to clarifying and communicating the concept and key messages of education for sustainable development:

(i) Urges the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and other United Nations organizations, Governments and major groups to pursue the implementation of chapter 36 of Agenda 21, and the work programme on education approved by the Commission at its fourth session, as part of the integrated follow-up to the major United Nations conferences and conventions related to sustainable development, taking into account the work of the Economic and Social Council in this regard;

(ii) Calls on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to continue its efforts to clarify and communicate the concept and key messages of education for sustainable development, with emphasis on assisting in the interpretation and adaptation of these messages at the regional and national levels;

(b) With regard to reviewing national education policies and formal educational systems:

(i) Calls on Governments at all levels, with the assistance and participation, as appropriate, of international organizations, the educational and scientific communities, non-governmental organizations and local authorities, to develop policies and strategies for reorienting education towards sustainable development, including roles and responsibilities of actors at the local, national and regional levels;

(ii) In this context, Governments may wish to include the establishment of national centres of excellence in such strategies;                                                [ UP ]

(iii) Calls on Governments at all levels to include sustainable development objectives into curricula or equivalent instruments corresponding to the level of education, and encourages them, where appropriate, to consider the effectiveness of education for sustainable development;

(iv) Invites the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, working closely with relevant educational institutions and international organizations, to develop guidelines for the reorientation of teacher training towards sustainable development;

(v) Calls on Governments to take appropriate steps, in consultation with international, national and subnational representatives of teachers, including unions, as well as specialists in higher education and youth, to reorient teacher training in formal education systems towards sustainable development;

(vi) Urges institutions of higher education, with the support of Governments and the academic community, to adapt their teaching and research to introducing an interdisciplinary approach conducive to addressing sustainable development issues;

(vii) Invites the World Conference on Higher Education to give due consideration to ways in which the reform of higher education systems may support sustainable development;

(c) With regard to incorporating education into national strategies and action plans for sustainable development:

(i) Urges Governments to make education and public awareness significant components in regional, national and local strategies and action plans for sustainable development;

(ii) Invites the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, working with the United Nations Development Programme, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and other relevant bodies, to complete the survey of existing regional and national strategies and action plans for sustainable development to determine the extent to which education has been adequately addressed to date to develop recommendations resulting therefrom and to make such information available to the Commission;

(iii) Encourages Governments at all levels to integrate education, as appropriate, into national and local strategies for sustainable development, and calls upon the international community and the United Nations system to assist developing countries, as needed, in this regard;

(iv) Urges Governments to integrate the aspect of gender balance and the empowerment of women into national education strategies;

(d) With regard to educating to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns in all countries:

(i) Requests the task managers for chapters 4 and 36 of Agenda 21 (the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), working together with other relevant bodies, including the United Nations Environment Programme, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and representatives of business and industry, trade unions and non-governmental organizations, to continue their efforts to raise awareness of the implications for sustainability of current patterns of consumption and production, in particular in the developed countries, making better use of educational tools and consumer feedback mechanisms to facilitate policy-making, and developing and promoting social instruments through education and training intended to change consumption and production patterns, with industrialized countries taking the lead, and in this context, to continue the work on indicators for sustainable consumption and production patterns;

(ii) Calls upon the media as well as the business community, including the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the International Chamber of Commerce and other business institutions, trade unions and civil society, to work with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and other key bodies, to collect best practices in media and advertising that address concerns related to promoting sustainable consumption and production patterns, particularly in the developed countries;

(iii) Requests the Secretary-General, in cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to report on progress made and actions taken in this area, including those identified by the General Assembly at its nineteenth special session, to the Commission at its seventh session, when consumption and production patterns will be the cross-sectoral theme;

(e) With regard to promoting investments for education:

Calls upon the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank and other international financing institutions to consider the current levels of financing for education for sustainable development, with a view to developing a strategy or policies for mobilizing new and additional resources from all sources for ensuring greater financial support for education for sustainable development;

(f) With regard to identifying and sharing innovative practices:

(i) Invites the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to continue to work on the international electronic registry and knowledge management system for chapter 36 and requests that this information be made available in both electronic and conventional formats to all countries, in particular the developing countries. Innovative programme and projects from all sources, such as various major groups, including industry, women, youth and non-governmental organizations, should be encouraged and included in this inventory;

(ii) Encourages the development and strengthening of international and regional alliances, associations and networks among universities and other educational and training institutions and professional bodies in all countries, in particular among those in developing and developed countries. These alliances should include distance learning, training for trainers, exchanges and mentoring;

(iii) Calls on Governments to encourage and strengthen networks and partnerships for education for sustainable development, including, inter alia, schools, parents, private and public institutions and organizations, as well as private firms;

(iv) Encourages the recognition and use of traditional knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous people and local communities for the management of natural resources in education for sustainable development;

(g) With regard to raising public awareness:

(i) Calls on Governments to facilitate the development of capacities for raising public awareness and access to information on sustainable development and on social, economic and environmental impacts of unsustainable production and consumption patterns at the global, regional and national levels;

(ii) Calls on Governments at all levels, the media and advertising agencies to undertake information campaigns to communicate to the public the key messages of sustainable development;

(iii) Calls on Governments to take fully into account the provisions of relevant international conventions when providing information in order to raise public awareness.

8. The Commission:

(a) Calls upon the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as task manager, to further strengthen and accelerate the implementation of the work programme on education for sustainable development in cooperation with, inter alia, the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Development Programme and non-governmental organizations;

(b) Requests the Secretary-General to include in his report to the Commission at its seventh session information on progress made in implementing the work programme.

D. Science for sustainable development

9. The Commission on Sustainable Development:

(a) Recognizes the serious gaps in scientific capacities, especially in developing countries, and stresses the need for strong and concerted action at the national and international levels to urgently build up and strengthen the national scientific infrastructure and research management capabilities of these countries, to formulate national strategies, policies and plans for that purpose and to strengthen their science education programmes at all levels;

(b) Stresses the need to improve the processes of generating, sharing and utilizing science for sustainable development and for more action-oriented interdisciplinary research, with greater focus on the prevention and early identification of emerging problems and opportunities;

(c) Notes that the World Science Conference, to be organized jointly by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the International Council of Scientific Unions in Budapest in June 1999, in cooperation with other United Nations agencies and international scientific organizations, provides a good opportunity to address key issues of science for sustainable development;

(d) Urges the scientific community to work with government authorities, the education community, major groups and international organizations to strengthen science education at all levels and to overcome the communication gaps within the scientific community and between scientists, policy makers and the general public;

(e) Invites Governments, the United Nations system and major groups to provide information on best practices and other illustrative examples related to the future sectoral themes of the Commission where science has been effectively employed to support the development and implementation of policies in these sectors;

(f) Invites relevant international scientific advisory bodies and programmes to contribute, as appropriate, to the consideration of the sectoral themes of the Commission sessions in 1999, 2000 and 2001 on issues relevant to their interest;

(g) Calls on multilateral and bilateral donor agencies and Governments, as well as specific funding mechanisms, to continue to enhance their support to strengthen higher education and scientific research capacities related to sustainable development in developing countries, particularly in Africa and the least developed countries. Such efforts should aim at:

(i) Strengthening research and teaching infrastructures in universities and their proper re-equipping as a critical precondition for the development of capacity in science and technology;

(ii) Linking technical assistance programmes to education and research in the broad field of environment and sustainable development;

(iii) Fostering university/business/civil society partnerships within and among countries;

(iv) Promoting regional and subregional cooperative training and research programmes and networks;

(v) Acquiring modern information technologies so as to ensure easy access to information sources around the world, as well as to be part of existing global and regional scientific and technological information networks to address the scientific needs of developing countries;

(h) Encourages Governments of all countries to join forces with international organizations and the scientific community to strengthen the global environmental observing systems;

(i) Invites the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the International Council of Scientific Unions, in planning the World Science Conference in 1999, to take fully into account the interdisciplinary nature of sustainable development issues, with a view to strengthening the role of natural and social science in sustainable development and to mobilizing increased investment in research and development of scientific themes of sustainable development.

Decision 6/4. Review of the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States *    [ UP ]

(* For the discussion, see chap. VII below)

A. Overall considerations

1. The Commission on Sustainable Development takes note of the reports of the Secretary-General on progress in the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States 27/ and on development of a vulnerability index for small island developing States. 28/

2. The Commission recalls the decision of the General Assembly at its nineteenth special session on the modalities for the full and comprehensive review of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. 29/ In particular, the Commission notes the importance of the two-day special session to be convened immediately preceding the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly, in 1999, for an in-depth assessment and appraisal of the implementation of the Programme of Action, as reaffirmed in General Assembly resolution 52/202 of 18 December 1997.                                         [ UP ]

3. The Commission urges small island developing States to continue and enhance their preparations for the seventh session of the Commission and the 1999 special session, and calls upon the international community, United Nations agencies and intergovernmental bodies to provide assistance to small island developing States for practical and concrete actions. Noting the work already begun by the small island developing States and regional organizations and institutions in that regard, the Commission invites the international community, United Nations agencies and intergovernmental bodies to support regional initiatives and to collaborate in partnership with the regional organizations and institutions to speed up preparations for the review.

4. In the light of paragraph 24 of the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, 30/ the Commission encourages all small island developing States to put in place national sustainable development strategies that take into account the links between economic, social and environmental indicators and policies on an ongoing basis, and invites bilateral donors and United Nations agencies and organizations, as well as the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank, to join in the promotion of coordinated capacity-building programmes to support the development and implementation of national, subregional and regional strategies. The implementation of strategies for sustainable development will be primarily the responsibility of small island developing States, with the essential support of the international community. The Commission urges proper consideration of the need for capacity-building to develop and implement strategies for sustainable development at the proposed donors' conference.

5. The Commission reaffirms the important coordinating role played by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat and its efforts to assist small island developing States with the review process, and calls on the Department to remain actively involved in the preparatory process leading up to the special session, including effective coordination with all relevant sectors of the international community in taking any necessary measures to provide support and assistance to small island developing States.

6. The donors' conference on small island developing States to be held in early 1999 is welcomed as a useful forum for assistance in the pursuit of small island States' sustainable development objectives, and the Commission encourages all small island States to fully utilize the donors' conference to that end. The Commission recommends that the envisaged donors' conference consider proposed project portfolios that reflect progress to implement the relevant components of the Programme of Action. The international donor community is urged to engage actively with small island developing States during the conference to achieve realistic and positive outcomes and concrete assistance for all small island developing States, including the sharing of updated information on current donor activities in support of the sustainable development of small island developing States. The Secretary-General's preparations for the donors' conference will also need to take account of and work with ongoing national and regional round-table and consultative groups.

7. The Programme of Action recognizes that small island developing States are a special case for both environment and development because they are ecologically fragile and vulnerable, and because they face particular constraints in their efforts to achieve sustainable development. In that regard, the Commission recalls that the international community reaffirmed its commitment to the implementation of the Programme of Action at the nineteenth special session of the General Assembly. 29/ It was also noted at the special session that the considerable efforts being made at the national and regional levels need to be supplemented by effective financial support from the international community, and by facilitating the transfer of environmentally sound technologies in accordance with paragraph 34.14 (b) of Agenda 21. 31/ The Commission notes that the support of the international community is vital. The 1999 overall review of the implementation of the Programme of Action should include an assessment of changes in the financial resource flows to small island developing States, both overall and by sector, including private as well as public resources. That review will help to determine whether the international community is providing effective means, including adequate, predictable, new and additional resources for the implementation of the Programme of Action in accordance with chapter 33 of Agenda 21. 32/

8. The Commission calls upon national Governments, or regional intergovernmental organizations, as appropriate, to help ensure effective coordination of donor and recipient government efforts, which is a basic prerequisite for successful development assistance.

B. Climate change and sea level rise

9. The Commission recalls the well-recognized vulnerability of small island developing States to global climate change, and the likelihood that accompanying sea level rise will have severe and negative effects on the environment, biological diversity, economy and infrastructures of small island developing States and on the health and welfare of their peoples. It recognizes that the ability of small island developing States to respond to the threat of climate change is hampered by the lack of institutional, scientific and technical capacity, as well as by the lack of financial resources.

10. The Commission recognizes the need to strengthen the response capability of small island developing States by education, training and public awareness-raising, and through regional and international cooperation. The Commission urges the international community to commit adequate financial and technical resources and assistance to help small island developing States in their ongoing efforts at the national and regional levels to build effective response measures, and to strengthen their institutional and human resources capacity to cope with the effects of climate change and sea level rise. The Commission calls on the international community to commit appropriate and additional support for the regional organizations and institutions to strengthen their effectiveness, in particular in support for ongoing regional assessments of probable environmental changes and impacts, mitigation and adaptation strategies; development and dissemination of guidelines for coastal protection and management as well as in other relevant areas; use and substitution of new and renewable sources of energy; and in the capacity-building programmes of the regional organizations and institutions.

11. The Commission notes that climate change will also have socio-economic consequences for small island developing States, and encourages them, in collaboration with regional organizations and institutions, to undertake integrated assessment studies of the effects of global warming and sea level rise on socio-economic issues, including population concentration and location infrastructure, food security, and effects on human health and culture.

12. The Commission notes that there is a critical need to further scientific and technical studies and research on the climate change phenomenon and its impacts in relation to small island developing States, and calls on the international community to continue to undertake and to assist small island developing States in such studies and research.

13. The Commission welcomes the adoption and the opening for signature of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and urges the international community, and in particular Annex 1 Parties to the Convention, to become Parties to the Kyoto Protocol as soon as possible in order to facilitate its early entry into force.

C. Management of wastes

14. The Commission notes the difficulties and constraints confronting small island developing States in the management of wastes and in their efforts to minimize and prevent pollution. The Commission is concerned that significant work is needed at all levels to strengthen the capacities of small island developing States and to implement the actions, policies and measures identified in the Programme of Action. Since current waste disposal problems and issues present immediate challenges to island communities, the Commission calls on the international community to support the efforts of small island developing States in the development of effective institutional capacity to cope with those issues.                                         [ UP ]

15. The Commission takes note that one of the main obstacles for small island developing States is the lack of an integrated or comprehensive approach to waste management strategies, and encourages Governments of small island developing States to focus appropriate priority on building integrated and environmentally sound waste management strategies and policies that involve all sectors and industries.

16. The Commission recognizes the ongoing work that is being undertaken by the United Nations system and by regional organizations and institutions in this process, and supports the continuation of such work in an integrated manner across small island developing States regions. Noting the important role played by the regional bodies in developing and coordinating regional waste management programmes, which often provide the framework for national action, the Commission encourages regional cooperation within respective small island developing States regions for the establishment of regional coordinating mechanisms for waste management in those regions where none currently exist, and calls on the international community and the United Nations system to continue to provide appropriate support for those efforts.

17. Noting that waste and pollution from ships, in particular the potential for major oil spills, represent an important concern for small island developing States in view of their consequences for the marine and coastal environment and biological diversity, the Commission proposes that the international community, in collaboration with regional organizations and institutions, provide effective support for international and regional initiatives to protect small island developing States regions from ship-borne wastes and pollution, including the development of facilities for receiving ship-borne waste in ports. The Commission calls upon all countries to adhere to and enforce existing International Maritime Organization regulations.

18. The Commission urges small island developing States to give early consideration to becoming Parties to important international agreements that cover waste management and disposal, such as the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and Their Disposal, as well as relevant regional agreements, such as the Waigani Convention to Ban the Importation of Hazardous and Radioactive Wastes and to Control the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes in the South Pacific Region.

19. The Commission calls on the international community, in particular the United Nations system and the donor community, to continue to support small island developing States' efforts in this area, in particular in the development of sound waste management infrastructure, including through financial resources and transfer of environmentally sound technologies; building adequate legislative frameworks; and the strengthening of institutional capacity.

D. Freshwater resources

20. The Commission notes that for small island developing States, the conservation and sustainable management of freshwater resources is fundamentally dependent on sound knowledge and understanding of the water resources potential, and that there is a vital link to the management of coastal and marine resources and waste.

21. The lack of an adequate knowledge base and ongoing monitoring programmes, often compounded by the small size, remoteness, physical structure and rapid urbanization of small island developing States, exacerbates difficulties in management and adequate supply of freshwater resources, particularly in the smaller islands and coral atoll communities. The Commission encourages small island developing States, with the vital support of the international community, to establish and strengthen, as appropriate, geographic information system (GIS)-based data collection, storage, analysis and retrieval systems, including monitoring programmes, and appropriate institutional frameworks, including legislation and national coordinating mechanisms for the management of freshwater and groundwater resources, and to give high priority to the immediate development and implementation of appropriate national water action plans. The Commission notes the importance of the World Meteorological Organization's World Hydrological Cycle Observing System, in particular the Caribbean Hydrological Cycle Observing System.

22. The Commission encourages small island developing States to develop an effective integrated approach to freshwater management, involving the full collaboration of all interested stakeholders, in particular women, to ensure the sustainable utilization of water resources, through appropriate demand management policies, including pricing. This should include cross-sectoral planning and cooperation between relevant sectors and industries, such as land and waste management, tourism, and industrial and other sectors, as well as the active participation of the private sector and local communities. The Commission encourages Governments of small island developing States to prioritize public awareness programmes in efforts to promote environmentally sustainable use of freshwater and coastal waters.

23. The Commission notes the importance of regional and interregional cooperation on freshwater issues, and recommends greater cooperation and exchange of technical information, monitoring and modelling methodologies, and expertise within and among small island developing States regions in further efforts to promote sound water management programmes for the benefit of small island developing States. The international community is urged to support the efforts of small island developing States, including the implementation of GIS-based information and data systems and training programmes for key personnel.

24. Noting the ongoing work of United Nations agencies, in particular the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank, in their assistance programmes to small island developing States within the context of implementation of the Programme of Action, the Commission encourages the continuation of those efforts in conjunction with the regional organizations and institutions. The Commission calls on the international community to continue to provide support for regional and national efforts to promote sound water resources assessment and monitoring procedures, demand management and policy frameworks, including the transfer and development of appropriate and cleaner production technologies for small island developing States.

E. Land resources

25. Small island developing States face special constraints in the management of land resources, particularly of agricultural, forestry and mineral resources. The Commission notes the efforts made so far at all levels in addressing the key issues identified in the Programme of Action, and notes in particular the significant gaps that remain in many areas, including in the knowledge base and understanding of the various land-based resources potential. Recognizing the environmental and cost impacts of land use on other sectors, such as water and forest resources, the Commission encourages small island developing States to implement a comprehensive and integrated approach to land-use management, involving all sectors, especially those at the community level and relevant stakeholders, in the process.

26. The Commission encourages small island developing States to prioritize institutional strengthening and capacity-building measures at the national and regional levels, including the development of national and regional legislative frameworks and sustainable long-term land management plans. It is essential that those be developed from the basis of sound knowledge and proper understanding of resources. In that respect, the Commission calls on the international community to continue to support the efforts of small island developing States, including through the provision of technical assistance and transfer of appropriate technologies for sustainable agriculture, forestry and mineral development practices and environmental impact assessments. Small island developing States are encouraged to create appropriate environment and resource databases, including GIS, which would be an invaluable basis for all aspects of land-use planning and management, including soil erosion control, to minimize environmental degradation, and to continue their efforts for public awareness programmes at all levels of society on the benefits of a sustainable approach to land-use practices. The international community is urged to support the efforts of small island developing States, including the implementation of GIS-based information and data systems and training programmes for key personnel.                                         [ UP ]

27. The Commission notes the important role played by United Nations agencies and other intergovernmental organizations in promoting an improved approach to land-use management in small island developing States. The Commission calls on the international community to help to strengthen the ability of existing regional institutions to assist small island developing States in improving their land-use management. Where effective regional institutions do not exist, consideration should be given to establishing such institutions with the assistance of the international community.

F. Biodiversity resources

28. The Commission takes note of the uniqueness and extreme fragility of biological diversity, both terrestrial and marine, in small island developing States, and in the light of their capacity constraints, of the disproportionate responsibility facing small island developing States in the conservation of those biological resources. It acknowledges the necessity for further action at all levels to realize the full implementation of the relevant parts of the Programme of Action and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

29. Noting that a lack of appropriately qualified and trained personnel is a significant obstacle to the vital management of those natural resources, the Commission encourages small island developing States to set a high priority on national technological and human capacity-building within strong institutional frameworks to address that imbalance. Small island developing States are encouraged to put in place effective conservation measures for the protection of biological diversity, with particular emphasis on management and effective monitoring and control of existing activities that may have serious environmental consequences, such as deforestation, unsustainable agricultural practices and overfishing.

30. The Commission notes the importance of regional cooperation in the conservation of biological diversity, and encourages small island developing States to develop strong national, regional and interregional networks for cooperation at all levels of biodiversity conservation, including the exchange of data and expertise. Noting ongoing regional programmes in some small island developing States for the designation of conservation areas, the Commission urges those small island developing States that have not done so to designate and develop terrestrial and marine protected areas at an early stage for the conservation of biological diversity with the goal of long-term ecological sustainability.

31. The Commission notes ongoing work and programmes currently being implemented by small island developing States and by the international and regional organizations, and urges the international community to continue to provide support to small island developing States for national and regional capacity-building in their efforts for the conservation and sustainable use of those important natural resources. In particular, the Commission recommends that international support include technical assistance in the development of legislative and regulatory frameworks, technology transfer and appropriate training programmes. International support should also include technical assistance in the development of measures to establish intellectual property rights within the context of protection of biodiversity resources, and the Commission notes the development of programmes to assist developing countries in this area.

32. Given the important role of small island developing States as custodians of a significant proportion of the world's biological diversity, the Commission stresses the importance of enabling small island developing States to participate in the global negotiation processes on biological diversity. In that regard, the Commission notes the significance of the Trust Fund under the Convention on Biological Diversity in supporting the participation of developing countries, including small island developing States.

G. National institutions and administrative capacity

33. The Commission notes that the process of building institutional and administrative capacity for the effective achievement of sustainable development is a complex process, and that for small island developing States, efforts have been hampered by a severe lack of financial and technical resources and skills. The Commission urges the international community to assist small island developing States in strengthening their national institutional frameworks, including -- where they do not exist -- the establishment, with adequate staff and resources, of national coordinating mechanisms for the coordination of sustainable development policies and action plans.

34. The Commission encourages small island developing States that have not done so to enact the necessary legislative and administrative frameworks that will provide the basis of their national strategies and activities for sustainable development, including enhanced inter-agency cooperation and effective integration of environmental considerations in economic decision-making, and calls on the international community to assist their efforts in building national capacity through effective institutional and administrative reforms.

35. The Commission recognizes that small island developing States suffer from a lack of adequately skilled human resources. It also notes the importance of a highly skilled and effectively trained human resources base in the effective implementation and enforcement of sustainable development policies and measures. The Commission therefore calls on the international community and the United Nations system to continue to provide concrete assistance to small island developing States by providing appropriate training opportunities for both men and women and capacity-building programmes at all levels, such as the United Nations Development Programme Capacity 21 programme, to enable effective national implementation of sustainable development strategies, especially in the context of the Programme of Action.

36. The Commission encourages regional and subregional cooperation in this area, in particular in the sharing of information and expertise on national institutional and administrative capacity-building for the benefit of small island developing States. The Commission calls on the international community to continue their support for the activities of the regional organizations and institutions, including through the provision of adequate financial resources.

37. The Commission expresses concern at current trends in the levels of external assistance for small island developing States in national institutions and administrative capacity, and appeals to the international donor community to provide assistance to small island developing States at levels necessary to support the implementation of the Programme of Action.

H. Regional institutions and technical cooperation

38. The Commission recognizes the necessity for regional organizations and institutions to play a strong and effective role in the implementation of the Programme of Action in small island developing States regions. Small island developing States are encouraged to increase their cooperation and support for regional organizations and institutions. The Commission notes that effective programme delivery will be enhanced through the continued clear identification of national priorities. The Commission notes that the work of existing regional organizations and institutions may need to be strengthened or supplemented where gaps are identified.

39. The Commission encourages existing regional organizations and institutions to continue their efforts to enhance their own effectiveness and delivery of services, including through focused and sustainable outcomes, increased regional and subregional cooperation and joint sharing of activities, and calls on the international community to support those efforts. The Commission calls on the regional organizations and institutions to enact appropriate screening measures before programme delivery to ensure that their work programmes and activities realistically target the needs and priorities of small island developing States. The Commission also invites regional organizations to monitor programme effectiveness.

40. The Commission views with concern the absence of permanent regional coordinating mechanisms in some regions of small island developing States, and invites States concerned to identify the most appropriate and effective means for addressing that situation.

I. Science and technology                                                                         [ UP ]

41. The Commission recognizes the lack of skilled and qualified scientific and technical personnel in small island developing States owing to small populations and lack of adequate educational and training facilities, and encourages small island developing States to accord high priority to science and technical education opportunities and programmes at all levels of development, including the strengthening of support for national and regional educational institutions. It would be desirable for small island developing States to collaborate at the regional and subregional levels to share resources and information, including traditional and indigenous knowledge, in the development of sound networks among scientific personnel. Small island developing States are also encouraged to promote a comprehensive approach and to support the strengthened linkages between educational and research institutions and all other sectors, and to actively engage the private sector in support for science development.

42. The Commission urges the international community to enhance international cooperation in the development and promotion of relevant environmentally sound technologies applicable to small island developing States, and -- where appropriate -- to make that a component of regional and international projects. The international community is encouraged to take necessary steps to facilitate the transfer of appropriate technologies to small island developing States, wherever appropriate, and to actively assist small island developing States in establishing regional centres for capacity-building and training. Noting the measures undertaken by the United Nations agencies in assisting small island developing States with the development of scientific resources, the international community and regional organizations and institutions are urged to take necessary measures for supporting small island developing States to implement active and effective science educational programmes.

43. The regional organizations and institutions are encouraged to better promote appropriate science and technology training programmes at the community level in small island developing States, and to share information, including the establishment and maintenance of information and databases on new and innovative technologies appropriate to small island developing States. Furthermore, regional organizations and institutions are encouraged to develop and deploy information systems using appropriate technologies, such as remotely sensed data, GIS and the Internet/Intranet, as the delivery mechanism.

J. Human resources development

44. The limited human resources and other constraints facing small island developing States and the difficulties that those constraints exert on their sustainable development objectives are recognized. The Commission acknowledges the efforts by small island developing States and the progress made, and encourages them to continue to accord high priority to the comprehensive development of a strong and effective human resources base in all fields and across all sectors, giving particular attention to building health standards and care, development of education with specific environmental components and awareness-raising, the empowerment of women, and the provision of adequate training opportunities for all sectors. The establishment of incentive measures would help to retain key personnel in the public sector. Human resources development is an essential component in building the institutional capacity of small island developing States for delivering sustainable development.

45. The Commission calls on regional organizations and institutions to enhance their support for small island developing States in the area of human resources development by specifically targeting the human resources needs of small island developing States in regional development programmes, including through the provision of practical, effective and specific training opportunities. The regional organizations and institutions are urged to assist small island developing States in systematically identifying their needs and priorities and to give adequate effect to those needs in project planning for development. Greater regional and subregional cooperation is encouraged for the joint sharing of resources, technologies and expertise, as well as at bilateral and multilateral levels.

46. The Commission notes the work undertaken by United Nations agencies, intergovernmental organizations and donors to address human resources needs of small island developing States in their funds and programmes, and invites them to continue to give priority to human resources development.

47. The Commission expresses concern at current trends in the levels of external assistance for small island developing States in human resources development, and appeals to the international donor community to provide assistance to small island developing States at levels necessary to support implementation of the Programme of Action.

48. The Commission recognizes the importance of the Small Island Developing States Technical Assistance Programme and the Small Island Developing States Information Network in the overall implementation of the Programme of Action, and noting the ongoing efforts of the United Nations Development Programme to operationalize the two programmes, encourages the continuation of those efforts, in cooperation with Governments of small island developing States. The Commission further notes that the unavailability or insufficiency of financial resources is a main obstacle to the full and early operationalization of those programmes, especially of the Information Network, and invites the relevant organizations and the international community to provide support for their proper development.

K. Vulnerability index

49. The Commission recalls that a vulnerability index that takes account of the constraints arising from small size and environmental fragility, as well as the incidence of natural disasters on a national scale, and the consequent relationship of those constraints to economic vulnerability, would assist in defining the vulnerability of small island developing States and in identifying the challenges to their sustainable development. The Commission notes the progress made on the index to date.

50. The Commission takes note of the report of the ad hoc expert group meeting on vulnerability indices for small island developing States, 33/ and of its conclusion that as a group, small island developing States are more vulnerable than other groups of developing countries.

51. The Commission recalls General Assembly resolutions 52/202 and 52/210 of 18 December 1997, as well as resolution 51/183 of 16 December 1996, in which the Assembly requested the Committee for Development Planning, 34/ at its thirty-second session, to formulate its views and recommendations on the report to be prepared by the Secretary-General on the vulnerability index for small island developing States, and to submit those views to the General Assembly at its fifty-third session, through the Economic and Social Council, and to make the information available to the Commission. The Commission looks forward to the report of the Committee.

52. The Commission calls on the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Environment Programme, the regional commissions, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and other relevant bodies of the United Nations system, as well as other relevant actors, to accord priority to the continuation of the quantitative and analytical work on the vulnerability of small island developing States, in keeping with the provisions of the Programme of Action and General Assembly resolutions 52/202 and 52/210.

Decision 6/5. Information provided by Governments and exchange of national experiences *                                                                         [ UP ]

(* For the discussion, see chap. IX below.)

1. The Commission on Sustainable Development:

(a) Recognizes the efforts made by all countries that have provided voluntary national communications or reports on the implementation of Agenda 21 at the national level and that have been made available by the Secretariat through the Web site;

(b) Notes that voluntary national reporting has increased and that, to date, 106 countries have provided information to the Commission;

(c) Expresses its appreciation for the efforts made by the Secretariat in compiling and updating the information so provided. In this respect, the Commission emphasizes the importance of processing the contents of the national reports in order to take full advantage of the information therein;

(d) Takes note of the concern expressed in the report of the Secretary-General on national reporting to the Commission 35/ regarding the timeliness with which these reports are requested and submitted;                                                      [ UP ]

(e) Takes note of and welcomes the presentations of national experiences on sustainable water management made during the sixth session of the Commission and its inter-sessional ad hoc working group by the representatives of China, the Netherlands, the Russian Federation, Venezuela and Zimbabwe;

(f) Recalls the recommendation made on the exchange of national experiences at the regional level as contained in paragraphs 133 (b) and (c) of the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, 36/ and expresses its appreciation for the work carried out by the Secretariat in this field.

2. The Commission:

(a) Encourages Governments to continue providing voluntary national communications or reports on the implementation of Agenda 21 at the national level, with the broad involvement of all sectors of society, and invites those Governments that have not yet done so to submit their national reports;

(b) Also encourages Governments to continue making voluntary national presentations within the framework of the sessions of the Commission;

(c) Requests the Secretariat to process and compile, on a sectoral basis, the information provided by Governments and requests the task managers of the sectoral areas to make more comprehensive use of this information in the preparations of the reports to the Commission at its future sessions, in accordance with the issues contained in the multi-year programme of work of the Commission, 1998-2002; 37/

(d) Decides that a similar sectoral review will be made on freshwater for the comprehensive review to be carried out by the General Assembly in the year 2002;

(e) Requests the task managers of the sectoral areas to provide relevant information on the global progress made in the implementation of Agenda 21 as part of the preparations for the comprehensive review to be carried out by the General Assembly in the year 2002;

(f) Takes note of the proposal under consideration within the Economic Commission for Europe to undertake an exchange of national experiences of the countries within the region and invites the Economic Commission for Europe to share the results of any such exercise with the Commission on Sustainable Development;

(g) Takes note of the important ongoing work aimed at streamlining requests for national information and reporting, of the results of the pilot phase relating to indicators of sustainable development, and of the importance of identifying data gaps based on the information already provided by Governments.

Decision 6/6. Matters related to the inter-sessional work of the Commission *                                                                                        [ UP ]

(* For the discussion, see chap. IX below.)

1. The Commission on Sustainable Development decides, pursuant to Economic and Social Council resolution 1997/63 of 25 July 1997 on the programme of work of the Commission for the period 1998 2002 and future methods of work of the Commission, that in order to assist the Commission in its deliberations at its seventh session, the 1999 sessions of its inter-sessional ad hoc working groups will be devoted to the following issues:

(a) Oceans and seas, and comprehensive review of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States; 38/

(b) Consumption and production patterns, including recommendations for sustainable consumption for inclusion in the United Nations guidelines for consumer protection, 39/ as requested by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 1997/53 of 23 July 1997 entitled "Consumer protection", and tourism.

2. The Commission, in accordance with paragraph 133 of the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, 40/ adopted by the General Assembly at its nineteenth special session held from 23 to 28 June 1997, also decides that, at its seventh session, the Bureau shall conduct transparent and open-ended consultations in a timely manner to ensure greater involvement of member States on matters related to preparations for the seventh session of the Commission and the sessions of its inter-sessional ad hoc working groups, including on ways to improve the organization of work during the high-level segment of the Commission.

3. The Commission urges that, in order to enable the Bureau to carry out its functions effectively, consideration should be given to providing appropriate financial support, through extrabudgetary contributions, to members of the Bureau, particularly those from the developing countries, to enable them to participate in the meetings of the Bureau, in the inter-sessional meetings of the Commission and in the sessions of the Commission itself.

Chapter II Chairman's summary of the industry segment of the sixth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development   [ UP ]

1. The new programme of work of the Commission on Sustainable Development for the period 1998 2002, recommended by the General Assembly at its nineteenth special session and approved by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 1997/63, provides for policy discussion, exchanges of experiences and elaboration of common approaches within specific economic sectors having strong linkages to environmental and natural resources issues. The Bureau of the Commission at its fifth session at the meeting held on 2 and 3 October 1997, suggested that the sixth session of the Commission include a separate "industry segment" to provide an interactive dialogue on industry and sustainable development between the representatives of Governments, industry, trade unions, non-governmental organizations, other major groups and international organizations.

2. During the industry segment, held on 21 and 22 April 1998, four themes were identified for discussion: responsible entrepreneurship; corporate management tools; technology cooperation and assessment; and industry and freshwater.

3. Participants agreed that the interactive dialogue was a constructive innovation in the work of the Commission in response to the outcome of the nineteenth special session of the General Assembly and contributed to the Commission's intergovernmental process. It was also a learning experience, the results of which would need to be taken fully into account by the Commission in preparing for similar events during future sessions. At such future events, it would be important to secure a better balance with respect to the participation of representatives from developed and developing countries as well as in the delegations of major groups.

4. The summary set out below was prepared by the Chairman of the Commission. While the format of the summary does not allow all the views expressed to be reflected in detail, an attempt is made to highlight some general conclusions which met with broad agreement among the participants, those which require more dialogue and better understanding, and specific initiatives suggested by participants.

5. It is expected that the dialogue launched during the industry segment will stimulate further action and collaboration, both within and beyond the aegis of the Commission, to foster stronger partnerships among Governments, as well as between Governments and all other partners concerned, aimed at achieving sustainable development worldwide.

A. Responsible entrepreneurship

6. Participants recognized the important role of responsible entrepreneurship and voluntary initiatives in support of sustainable development, but noted that, although much progress had been achieved by industry, more needed to be done to build upon those achievements. In this regard, it was important to promote the practice of responsible entrepreneurship within more sectors, particularly among small and medium-sized enterprises. It was suggested that more work was necessary to clearly define terms and concepts related to voluntary initiatives and to develop appropriate mechanisms for evaluating the effectiveness and successful characteristics of those initiatives.

7. Representatives of trade unions stressed that responsible entrepreneurship should incorporate democratic principles of participation to promote the participation of workers, trade unions and other major groups in decision-making and implementation. Industry was also urged to recognize the need for universal compliance by industry with core labour standards, as contained in International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions, and to expand productive employment, reduce unemployment, enhance social protection and reduce the vulnerability of the poorest groups.

8. Representatives of industry were of the opinion that they demonstrated a strong commitment to improving environmental performance through voluntary initiatives such as the chemical industry's Responsible Care programme in many countries, as well as initiatives built on the concept of continuous improvement. Representatives of industry suggested that voluntary initiatives should be sector, industry and country specific because no "one size fits all".

9. Participants generally agreed that there should be an integrated approach to promoting responsible entrepreneurship and voluntary initiatives and, in addition to the regulatory framework and incentives provided by Governments to encourage voluntary compliance, there should also be active participation by all stakeholders in the process. It was also important to develop new partnerships between industry, government and other stakeholders.

10. Many participants stressed that, with the spreading practice of responsible entrepreneurship and increasing use of voluntary initiatives, it was important to continue to improve the quality of the reporting of such practices. Concerns were expressed that one of the weaknesses of current corporate reporting was the absence of information that would permit an assessment of the contribution of voluntary initiatives towards achieving sustainability.                                     [ UP ]

11. Representatives of trade unions, supported by non-governmental organizations, presented the view that, in general, voluntary initiatives should have the following features: transparency, accountability and workplace mechanisms to ensure the participation of workers and trade unions; allow monitoring and assessment of corporate practice, beginning with the workplace; ensure access to information for workers, community members and Governments to evaluate the effect of corporate decisions and practices; set quantifiable objectives and comply with environmental law; reflect indicators of sustainable development promoted by ILO; and incorporate the principles of the "right to know", "whistle-blower protection" and the "right to refuse" work where workplace activities were shown to be harmful to the environment.

12. With regard to government policies, many participants emphasized that Governments had an important role to play in promoting responsible entrepreneurship because voluntary initiatives by industry complemented rather than replaced government intervention. In order to promote responsible entrepreneurship, Governments should provide the necessary regulatory framework and use appropriate market mechanisms, including incentives, to encourage actions and behaviour on the part of industry that supported the goal of sustainable development. The use of incentives, for example, could encourage industry to achieve improvements beyond minimum standards. As employment was a cornerstone of sustainable development, education and training policies should be designed to incorporate key elements of sustainable development.

13. A number of speakers stressed that Governments had a crucial role to play in promoting the integration of the social and environmental objectives of sustainable development within industry. Particular attention should be given to developing support programmes to promote responsible entrepreneurship among small and medium-sized enterprises. Particular attention should be given to developing appropriate partnerships with non-governmental organizations, trade unions and small and medium-sized enterprises by providing financial support, technical training and other capacity-building resources to foster responsible entrepreneurship.

14. Participants recommended that Governments develop an effective dialogue with industry and stakeholders to promote the development of voluntary initiatives and programmes to reach well-defined and time-bound objectives. In partnership with business and industry and international organizations, Governments should promote the development of performance indicators to facilitate the quantification and comparison of the environmental and social performance of companies.

15. In addressing the role of industry, several speakers noted the progress achieved in promoting responsible entrepreneurship since the Rio summit but stressed that more needed to be done to extend and improve the contribution of industry in that area. They considered it important that industry continue to promote best practices. Representatives of industry noted that it was in their own interests to promote sustainable development for the long-term viability of industry.

16. Participants acknowledged that some progress had been made in the reporting on voluntary initiatives and agreements by industry. However, it was noted that in order to improve the quality and scope of reporting, more work was needed to quantify the environmental and social progress achieved by industry. In particular, reporting on social progress was in its infancy.

17. In particular, representatives of non-governmental organizations urged industry to improve its reporting on voluntary initiatives by addressing adequately the issues of transparency, independent verification, standardization and stakeholder involvement. Representatives of trade unions added that the assessment of progress made in a sector or country needed to be facilitated through the development of a set of relevant indicators and metrics.

18. Turning to the role of the industry associations, participants urged those associations to continue and expand proactive servicing of the sustainable development needs of their members and emphasized that they could play key roles, for example, in developing substantive voluntary codes of conduct and building the commitment of the membership to those codes.

19. In view of the fact that foreign direct investment (FDI) was an important vehicle for promoting responsible entrepreneurship, industry was invited to direct more FDI to the least developed countries. Such FDI could complement official development assistance (ODA) and help to spread better business practices into developing countries. Representatives of industry suggested that donors consider an increased share of ODA for capacity-building aimed at creating conditions favourable to the flow of FDI, particularly in least developed countries.

20. The participants highlighted the role of the international community in promoting responsible entrepreneurship, and representatives of non-governmental organizations and trade unions recommended that the sustainable development dimension should be incorporated into international agreements, including agreements in the World Trade Organization and the Multilateral Agreement on Investment currently being negotiated by countries members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

21. In this context, participants emphasized that a global approach was necessary to ensure that environmental and social goals were clearly identified and pursued. The international community should continue to develop, assess and disseminate best practices.

22. Representatives of non-governmental organizations, with support from trade unions, proposed a review by all major groups of voluntary initiatives undertaken by industry. The major groups planned to meet to consider the elements and goals of such a review. Representatives of industry proposed organizing such a meeting in the third quarter of 1998.

B. Corporate management tools for sustainable development

23. The merits of various corporate management tools for sustainable development were discussed, and it was generally agreed that the use of corporate management tools had benefits for industry and other stakeholders. However, it was stressed that no one tool could solve all problems and that each tool had specific strengths and limitations. What was necessary was "tool boxes", on the understanding that companies would need the flexibility to choose the methods best suited to their particular organizational characteristics.

24. There was a large measure of agreement that education, training, technical assistance and information collection and dissemination were crucial for corporate management tools to be successfully implemented. There was also widespread agreement that the special situation and role of small and medium-sized enterprises, especially in developing countries, warranted particular attention. With regard to the implementation of voluntary environmental management systems, it was noted that the involvement of all stakeholders would ensure the best results. Some participants felt that environmental management systems should incorporate independent third-party verification, monitoring of implementation and public reporting of results. On that issue, representatives of trade unions felt that workplaces should be seen as a major focus of action to implement sustainable development goals, and urged that training be utilized by all sectors to promote the knowledge and attitudinal changes necessary for cleaner production, waste reduction, pollution control and energy conservation.

25. Participants stressed that good environmental management should be seen as a long-term process of continual learning and improvement. It entailed an internal transformation that increased awareness, involved employees and changed organizational behaviour. Environmental protection, health and safety systems were fundamental, providing the structure that supported the integration of sustainable development into the day-to-day operation of business, and should be encouraged in companies of all sizes and sectors. Essential elements of an environmental management system included environmental reporting, auditing, objectives, accounting and indicators. Other tools included the precautionary principle, cleaner production, eco-efficiency, life-cycle assessment, durability and design for the environment.

26. With regard to government policies, participants noted that Governments had an important role to play in promoting the use of corporate management tools that improved the performance of industry in meeting the objectives of sustainable development. To this end, Governments should provide regulatory frameworks and incentives to encourage industry to more widely employ corporate management tools such as environmental management systems in order to improve their environmental performance.                                                                     [ UP ]

27. The view was expressed that Governments should promote fair and rigorous certification and accreditation in order to safeguard the credibility of national, regional and international standards of management systems.

28. Regarding the role of industry in promoting corporate management tools, participants noted that the implementation of tools such as environmental management systems was increasing. Participants urged industry to continue to improve its environmental performance and to increase its collection and dissemination of data in order to demonstrate that progress, and to keep stakeholders informed of its policies and practices. Business and industry should continue to explore possibilities for verifying adherence to voluntary initiatives such as ISO-14001 and the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS).

29. Industry should also develop strategies for bringing small and medium-sized enterprises into the mainstream of good environmental management and for using investment, trade and markets to disseminate good practices, technologies and expertise to developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Multinational companies could play an important role by increasing their cooperation with small and medium-sized enterprises. Partnerships with government and other stakeholders would be crucial to supporting that effort.

30. Furthermore, companies should work with suppliers to spread best practices and support efforts to implement ILO core labour standards and international environmental standards.

31. Representatives of trade unions urged industry to ensure that corporate management tools included the following functions: provide for democratic decision-making in the workplace and participatory mechanisms to involve workers and their trade unions; build on progress made within an industrial relations context which included collective bargaining and other forms of workplace-based agreements between employers and trade unions; promote joint workplace target-setting by employers and trade unions, and encourage joint monitoring programmes, evaluation processes and implementation measures; and promote training and education of workers to enable them to be fully involved in environmental management systems.

C. Technology cooperation and assessment

32. Representatives of industry provided a working definition of technology cooperation and suggested that successful technology cooperation required an efficient market system that provided the financial incentives necessary for technological innovation and investment in modern technology. Technology cooperation and assessment was an important mechanism for progressing towards sustainable development. They suggested that market mechanisms provide the primary vehicle for technology cooperation and assessment. Moreover, exchange of technologies should be a two-way street. Representatives of industry were of the view that technology cooperation and assessment and foreign direct investment, together with increased international trade, had contributed to rapid economic growth and poverty alleviation in several developing countries. They stated that an enabling political and policy framework was required, for example, with regard to political and economic stability, intellectual property rights and an adequate legal framework, and fighting corruption. However, they maintained that it was equally important to ensure that overly restrictive legislation did not encourage the transfer of bad and inappropriate technologies, and to establish joint initiatives to facilitate investment. It was also required that knowledge, skills and equipment be transferred between actors at the local, national and international levels.

33. There appeared to be widespread agreement that technology cooperation should involve the highest degree of safety and environmental protection that was reasonably achievable. Transfer of efficient technologies should be accompanied by high environmental, health and safety standards.

34. Furthermore, some participants emphasized that technologies should be properly assessed, introduced and reviewed in order to avoid causing environmentally and socially adverse impacts in recipient countries. This required advanced education and training. Access to information was crucial and could be supported by a clearing-house mechanism. Representatives of non-governmental organizations called for talent and technology banks to be established at the regional level with the involvement of all stakeholders. As well as acting as clearing houses, such information banks could make available unbiased information on endogenous environmentally sound technologies and the technologies of indigenous people. They could also promote joint venture development and local ownership of technologies, provide opportunities for scientists to work in their own countries and serve as an office to register and protect intellectual property rights.

35. There was widespread agreement on the need to explore the potential of publicly owned and publicly funded environmentally sound technologies since a proportion of those technologies were held or owned by Governments or public institutions, or resulted from publicly funded research activities.

36. With regard to the role of government, there was broad consensus that Governments should develop and implement policies to create a stable macroeconomic environment and an enabling legal and financial framework to facilitate technology cooperation and attract the foreign direct investment needed for the transfer and dissemination of environmentally sound technologies.

37. There was broad consensus that in order to improve the capacity of local industry to absorb and adapt new technologies, Governments should strengthen educational systems and, in cooperation with other major groups, expand opportunities for training in order to promote the integration of imported technology with locally available technology.

38. Many participants were of the opinion that Governments of developing countries could improve their bargaining capabilities in technology transfer agreements through increased technology assessment capacity. Representatives of non-governmental organizations advanced the view that developing countries, in order to maximize social, economic and environmental benefits, should focus their limited scientific and technical resources on improving their capacity to evaluate and bargain for foreign technology and expertise that would serve national priorities.

39. Many participants were of the opinion that Governments, in their efforts to safeguard the rights of indigenous people, should explore ways and means to compensate indigenous communities for knowledge used in patents on genetic resources.

40. They also felt that industry should further develop and strengthen safety guidelines to prevent adverse effects of technology, including health effects and industrial accidents.

41. Many participants considered that official development assistance should provide more resources for capacity-building in order to improve the absorption of imported technologies in developing countries.

42. International programmes to produce independent, credible verification of environmental technologies could assist users and regulators of technology to make informed decisions, and help suppliers of technology to reach global markets more quickly. The public would benefit through improved environmental quality. Many noted that further work was necessary to identify the types of verification programmes that could be effective.

43. Representatives of trade unions emphasized that technology transfer must serve to protect the environment, promote employment as a cornerstone of sustainable development, and be undertaken with the full range of risk assessment and control procedures already developed in the area of occupational health and safety. Transition programmes should be instituted for workers displaced because of technological change, and workers should be provided with training and education, including international worker exchange programmes, organized with the involvement of trade unions as a basis for effective technology transfer. Workers and trade unions should be involved in decisions affecting technology changes at the workplace.

44. Representatives of non-governmental organizations called for banks and international financial institutions to provide access to long-term financing for business development by non-governmental organizations utilizing environmentally sound technologies in independent or joint venture projects.                       [ UP ]

D. Industry and freshwater

45. Several speakers noted that the twenty-first century would witness increasing competition for finite freshwater resources, and that all sectors needed to cooperate if society was to avert or minimize the adverse effects associated with emerging freshwater shortages. Comprehensive freshwater management strategies must involve all suppliers and users. Non-governmental organizations stressed that good water management could not be undertaken by a central Government and had to be designed according to local conditions, with problem-solving based on the involvement of all stakeholders, especially women and indigenous peoples, preferably at a subnational or local level. It was noted that over 1 billion people did not have access to safe drinking water, over 2 billion did not have access to adequate sanitation and 3 to 5 million deaths per year resulted from water-related diseases.

46. Participants emphasized that the integrated watershed management approach had become absolutely necessary in water resources protection. It was imperative to consider the impact of industrial activities on the watershed where a particular industrial site was located, as well as on populations and areas downstream. The impact of the industrial facilities on the ecosystem should be addressed, and the best practices should be implemented in a collaborative approach. In that regard, trade unions felt that the issue of water must be approached in an integrated way, especially with regard to target-setting in the workplace.

47. Participants recognized that education and information were critical for local water resources protection and improving water quality. The involvement of women and indigenous people in improving water quality was especially critical.

48. As to the role of Governments, participants emphasized that special attention needed to be paid to the issue of full pricing of water. Considering that water was an economic, environmental and social good, some participants felt that its pricing should cover costs and risks associated with finding, processing, conserving and delivering water to end-users, as well as meeting the demands of social equity.

49. Participants also noted that agriculture was the largest water consumer and was a crucial sector for the evolution of government water policy, especially in countries experiencing water scarcity.

50. There was broad agreement that Governments should remain ultimately responsible for water protection, supply and delivery. They should play the major role in the treatment and delivery of water, protection of water from abuse, pollution prevention and the promotion of employment through improved management. Governments should establish or maintain standards to ensure the safety of water consumption and prevent health hazards associated with water-related diseases, in close collaboration with industry and other stakeholders.

51. Industry representatives suggested that Governments must accept that there were certain risks which only they could absorb. The private sector did not have the authority or capacity to deal with such problems as acquisition of land and rights of way for the installation of pipelines and plants at an economic cost; efficient performance by government-owned distribution companies with contracts to purchase water from private-sector water companies; and the financial impact of large changes in exchange rates.

52. There was general agreement that a more comprehensive management of water resources, including pollution-control policies, was necessary. Appropriate regulations or economic incentives and institutional structures should be developed for internalizing the externalities that arose when one user affected the quantity and quality of water available to another group. The effects of damage caused by industries through pollution of surface water and groundwater needed to be taken into account in determining their water tariffs.

53. Participants noted that there was a growing consensus for greater private-sector involvement, taking into account the political, legal, cultural, institutional, financial and technical characteristics of water and sewage systems.

54. Many participants noted that industry could play an active role in a number of areas related to the demand for freshwater for human needs, including research and development of efficient new infrastructure for urban water supply and new technology for the reuse of urban wastewater.

55. Non-governmental organizations stressed that guidelines for monitoring biological and chemical toxicity at both water sources and delivery points could be developed by appropriate United Nations bodies.

56. In the area of sustainable provision of water to meet agricultural needs, some participants suggested that industry could help by promoting best practices in environmental management, including fertilizer and pesticide usage. In addition, some suggested that industrial research and development for improving irrigation technology should be strongly supported. In that context, targets for agriculture use of water should be set and met. Non-governmental organization representatives proposed that the Commission initiate an ongoing dialogue of stakeholder groups to develop common criteria for good practices.

57. Many participants stressed that the environment was not just a sectoral user of water but played a fundamental role in maintaining the quality and supply of water resources for use for other purposes. Industry could assist in promoting effective environmental management of water and land resources. The chemical and fertilizer sectors, for example, had an important role to play in protecting water quality and life-supporting ecosystems.

58. Many participants suggested that workers and their trade unions be involved with employers in developing workplace eco-auditing tools to address problems of water management.

59. Some participants felt that industry should also develop standards to protect existing water quality and improve substandard sources. Decisions on siting industrial facilities should take into account the quality of the water resources to be used and the impact of the industrial activity on those resources.

60. Industry representatives suggested further work on defining the nature and pricing of natural resources, such as water, in particular the definition of social goods and how they should be monetarized and integrated in market prices. They suggested that two countries be invited to work together to evaluate how to achieve full cost-pricing and manage water tariffs. Two other countries could study how watershed management could contribute to water protection and enhance carbon sinks for greenhouse gases under the "clean development" mechanism.

61. With respect to actions by the international community, many participants suggested that the United Nations system play an active role in harmonizing, at the international and national levels, the recommendations being made to countries for integrated water resources management strategies. In addition, they suggested that the United Nations system play a central role in the development and coordination of data and information networks, strengthen regional and global monitoring systems, conduct periodic global assessments and analyses, promote the broadest exchange and dissemination of relevant information, in particular to developing countries, and increase its role in education efforts.

62. They also suggested that international organizations promote technology transfer and research cooperation in collaboration with Governments and industry to foster sustainable agriculture practices that integrated efficient water use and prevented the pollution of surface water and groundwater.

Chapter III Chairman's summary of the high-level segment of the sixth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development    [ UP ]

(New York, 1 May 1998)

A. General

1. The Commission on Sustainable Development held its sixth session with the active participation of many ministers and other representatives of national Governments, United Nations organizations, international financial institutions and industry. The energetic involvement of Governments and major groups, including business and industry, trade unions and non-governmental organizations, was noteworthy.

2. The session was enriched by a number of special and side events, initiated by major group representatives, Governments and United Nations organizations. In the two-day industry segment, representatives of business and industry, Governments, trade unions and non-governmental organizations discussed the role of industry in sustainable development. A series of exhibits and presentations relating to the role of industry in the transfer of environmentally sound technologies provided practical examples of the role of industry in international cooperation for sustainable development. Many other events organized by Governments, international organizations and non-governmental organizations provided for an active exchange of views and information on many aspects of sustainable development and indicated the diversity and enthusiasm of many groups and the broad and growing commitment to sustainable development. These activities were seen as an encouraging demonstration of the continuing vitality of the Rio process.

3. Participants in the high-level segment stressed the continuing importance of the inter-sessional process and expressed their gratitude to Governments and organizations that had sponsored inter-sessional initiatives that contributed to the preparations for the sixth session. They welcomed new initiatives from a number of Governments and organizations for future inter-sessional activities that would contribute to the work of the Commission at its forthcoming sessions.

4. Participants in the high-level segment provided information on progress at the national level towards the development of strategies and programmes for sustainable development and took note of the information submitted in national reports to the Commission and in presentations of national experience made by a number of countries. There was a feeling, however, that the interdisciplinary nature of sustainable development would be better reflected if there were more ministers responsible for economic and social issues who could join ministers responsible for the environment.

5. Progress at the international level during the past year was also noted in such areas as climate change, with the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol, chemical safety, with the work on the conventions on prior informed consent (PIC) and persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and the first Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Severe Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa.

6. Participants noted that a number of countries had signed the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change during the Commission's session, adding to those countries that had previously signed it. It was recognized that developed countries should take the lead in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.

B. Issues discussed at the sixth session

7. Participants noted that this was the first session of the Commission following the adoption by the General Assembly at its nineteenth special session of the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21. Participants welcomed the focused approach of the new five-year work programme and emphasized the need to promote economic and social development and environmental protection, and to support the overarching themes of poverty reduction and changing consumption and production patterns in an integrated and balanced manner.

8. Participants stressed the importance for sustainable development of meeting the human development goals and targets agreed upon at major United nations conferences, including reducing infant, child and maternal mortality, universal primary education, and reducing malnutrition and poverty.

9. Participants welcomed efforts to strengthen the role of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in promoting environmental aspects of sustainable development, including its activities in Nairobi, as well as its centres in Paris and Japan. Special mention was made of its work with the financial community and of possible future work on industry and freshwater.

10. The importance of international, regional and subregional sharing of information was noted by many participants. Many countries face similar problems of sustainable development and can benefit from exchanges of experience, particularly concerning problems that are common to the countries of a region or subregion. The Commission could play a stronger role as a forum for the exchange of regional data and experiences.

11. The development and application of indicators for monitoring sustainable development and assessing the effectiveness of policies was also recognized as important. It was noted that work on indicators was being carried out in a variety of national and international organizations and that coordination of such efforts could contribute to the effective use of indicators.

12. Participants recognized that promoting sustainable development required a judicious mix of government, market and voluntary structures and activities, adapted to the specific needs and capacities of each country, so as to harness the innovative skills of entrepreneurs and civil society.

1. Financial resources

13. Participants noted that ODA continued to decline and was far below the accepted United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product (GNP). A few countries, however, continued to meet and surpass the target. Participants called for greater efforts by other countries to reach the target.

14. Participants noted that foreign direct investment, which had increased in recent years, was contributing to sustainable development in recipient countries. Private investment, however, could not generally substitute for ODA, as it was concentrated on a small number of countries and did not always contribute to sustainable development. The decline of ODA had reduced a main source of development finance for many developing countries, aggravating poverty, marginalization and environmental degradation, particularly in areas with fragile ecosystems. Many participants noted the continued importance of ODA for supporting education and the transfer of environmentally sound technology for increasing sustainable production and employment. Proposals were made for new financial mechanisms for supporting sustainable development, including international funds for meeting basic needs for water and for debt-for-nature swaps.

15. Participants noted that foreign direct investment could have negative as well as positive effects. Further work was needed to assess the positive and negative effects of FDI on sustainable development and to take measures to enhance the positive effects and to enable more countries to enjoy those benefits. Participants noted the possibility of using ODA to complement FDI and to attract private-sector investment to sectors and countries that have not yet benefited from such flows. Concern was also expressed, however, over conditionalities on ODA relating to policies for attracting foreign investment. It was felt that special attention should be given to assistance to countries where ecological vulnerability was causing a deterioration in social conditions.

16. Participants welcomed the successful second replenishment of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which should allow an increase in project funding in support of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Vienna Convention on the Protection of the Ozone Layer and its Montreal Protocol, and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. They also welcomed efforts to improve procedures to ensure that projects met country priorities and to clarify the criteria for incremental funding.

2. Strategic approaches to freshwater management                                     [ UP ]

17. Participants noted that water was essential to meet basic social needs, to promote agricultural and industrial production and to support critical natural ecosystems. The demand for water was steadily increasing while supplies were not, resulting in growing water shortages in many countries and projections of future water shortages in others. Water shortages were exacerbated in many areas by increasing water pollution, further limiting the supply of water for human consumption and other uses requiring clean water. In some areas, competition for scarce water could create conditions for potential conflict.

18. There was growing recognition that in many areas water was a scarce resource and that improved water management was necessary to ensure adequate provision for domestic consumption, agriculture, industrial production and critical ecosystems. Participants welcomed the organization of meetings in Harare, Petersberg (Germany) and Paris, focusing on a number of critical issues of freshwater management. They also welcomed the announcements by a number of countries of their plans to organize international conferences on water-related issues as a contribution to the future work of the Commission.

19. Noting that a large number of people in developing countries did not have access to clean water or adequate sanitation facilities, participants stressed that meeting those basic human needs should be an urgent priority for national action and international cooperation.

20. Sustainable management of water resources required an integrated approach to regulation and pricing to ensure that the basic needs of all people were met, while promoting efficient water use for economic production, and ensuring the health of ecosystems. Emphasis was given to the need for integrated watershed management, with multi-stakeholder participation and local planning.

21. Participants noted that water distribution and pricing systems should ensure that clean water was accessible and affordable for everyone. They also noted that many poor people in developing countries without access to public water systems paid high rates for water and that investment was urgently needed to extend public water supplies.

22. There was a spirited exchange of views on the desirability of full-cost pricing of water. Some participants stressed that water was primarily a social good and that full-cost pricing would be socially inequitable, particularly in developing countries. Others emphasized that movement towards full-cost pricing, with provisions for meeting basic needs, was an essential mechanism to promote the efficient use of limited water supplies and to mobilize resources to finance the extension of drinking water and sanitation infrastructure. Some participants described experiences in their countries with partial privatization of water services and the challenges of reconciling equity with efficiency.

23. The social, cultural, economic and ecological importance of water for all members of society require that the development of equitable and efficient water management systems should be a participatory process, involving all users. Particular efforts were required to increase the participation of women in the development of water management policy and systems, as women generally bear most of the burden of lack of clean water and sanitation.

24. Participants recognized the importance of water management on a watershed and groundwater aquifer basis. In the case of international watercourses, this required the cooperation of all riparian States. It was suggested that similar arrangements were needed for managing shared groundwater resources. Participants also suggested that the organization of joint technical groups could be useful for addressing problems relating to shared water resources.

25. Water resources management could be improved through the organization of demonstration projects and the dissemination of information on best practices, perhaps through an international water-information network. Training and technical assistance were also required.

3. Industry and sustainable development

26. Participants expressed appreciation for the industry segment as a dialogue among representatives of industry, Governments, trade unions and non-governmental organizations. That multi-stakeholder exchange represented a valuable innovation in the work of the Commission and made an important contribution to the work of the sixth session. Efforts should be made to continue and enhance such dialogues in the future, with increased participation of major group participants from developing countries. In particular, the participation of representatives of industry in the discussions in the Commission should be continued at future sessions. In this regard, there was a proposal for a voluntary financial mechanism to support the participation of major group representatives from developing countries in the work of the Commission.

27. Participants emphasized that industry had a key role to play in social development and environmental protection, as well as in economic development. Industry should continue to contribute to poverty reduction and employment, to cleaner production, to the diffusion of best practices, and to the more efficient use of natural resources and energy in production processes.

28. Participants noted the difficulties faced by small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly in developing countries, in complying with national and international standards and adopting best practices for cleaner production. They called for greater efforts at the national and international levels by both the public and private sectors to support the adoption of cleaner, more productive and more efficient technologies and improved management by small and medium-sized enterprises. Developed country enterprises could assist developing country small and medium-sized enterprises in adopting best practices through supply chain relationships.

29. Participants noted that industry was increasingly becoming an active partner in sustainable development efforts. Improvements in the energy and resource efficiency of production, conservation of energy and other resources, and protection of air and water quality would benefit both industry and society in general. Sustainable development is therefore increasingly seen as a public-private partnership, involving trade unions, environmental groups and consumer groups, as well as government and industry. Many participants emphasized that voluntary initiatives by industry groups, often in cooperation with government or private groups, could make a valuable contribution to sustainable development. It was suggested that an analysis of the effectiveness of voluntary initiatives in promoting sustainable development should be undertaken by major groups. In their observations on the requirements for the success of such initiatives, participants reinforced the conclusions of the industry segment.

30. Participants called on Governments to work with business to encourage responsible entrepreneurship, through such means as environmental management systems, setting environmental standards and publication of information on the environmental and social impacts of goods and services, taking into account their production, distribution, use and disposal.

4. Transfer of environmentally sound technologies

31. The transfer of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries required partnerships between public and private actors in both developed and developing countries, as well as research and development institutes, educational institutions and international organizations. Business and industry had a vital role to play in providing practical know-how and skills for management and product design, commercialization and marketing, while Governments should provide an enabling environment, including financial incentives, for such transfers.

32. Participants noted that meetings in the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, organized as part of the preparations for the sixth session, focused on important aspects of technology transfer and contributed to the Commission's work.                                   [ UP ]

33. Participants emphasized that ODA was particularly crucial for capacity-building in the least developed countries to enable them to develop, absorb and adapt environmentally sound technologies to meet local economic, social and environmental needs.

5. Education and public awareness

34. Participants noted that children today, unlike their parents, were being introduced to environmental issues, as well as social and economic issues, and their global impacts, in elementary school, a development that should contribute to increasing public awareness in the future. Participants stressed that education for sustainable development, on a lifelong basis, needed to encompass many disciplines at all levels, using a variety of modes of teaching and learning. Sustainable development strategies should include education and public awareness as integral components, and sustainable development issues should be integrated into existing educational curricula. It was noted that the education of girls and the lifelong education of women were particularly important for promoting sustainable development.

35. Participants recognized the need for greater public awareness of issues relating to sustainable development, and there was a suggestion for a task force or other mechanism to find ways and means to improve communication strategies and efforts to that end.

36. Participants noted with appreciation the organization by the Government of Greece and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) of the International Conference on Education and Sustainability in Thessaloniki, Greece. Participants called for increased efforts within the United Nations system to coordinate and consolidate the educational efforts of various agencies and organizations.

6. Science

37. Participants recognized the need to strengthen science education, to build scientific capacity in all countries, and to ensure that scientific research addressed priority issues of sustainable development. They noted that the World Conference on Science, to be organized by UNESCO and the Government of Hungary in 1999, could promote more effective mobilization of science for sustainable development. Participants emphasized that scientific advice should be brought into the Commission's consideration of sectoral themes, such as oceans, at the seventh session.

C. Challenges for the future

1. Oceans

38. Participants emphasized that, in considering the theme of oceans at its seventh session, the Commission should address the problems of the sustainable use of marine and coastal resources for development, coastal pollution and degradation, and marine pollution. They stressed the importance of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Sources of Marine Pollution.

39. Some participants proposed that the preparations for the seventh session include an analysis of existing international agreements dealing with oceans and the degree to which they have been implemented. Participants welcomed the proposal by the United Kingdom to organize a workshop on oceans to contribute to the discussions on the topic at the seventh session.

2. Tourism

40. Participants noted that tourism was a large and growing economic sector, with important economic, social and environmental effects. In some small island developing States, tourism represented over half of GNP. Tourism, when carefully managed, could contribute to sustainable development, but large numbers of tourists could also cause severe environmental stress as a result of water consumption and pollution, waste generation and construction activities, particularly in environmentally fragile areas such as coastal zones and mountains.

41. It was noted that a number of voluntary initiatives for environmental protection had been undertaken in the tourism sector. It was suggested that at the seventh session the Commission consider the effectiveness of those initiatives. It was also suggested that the Commission undertake the development of a strategy for sustainable tourism, taking into account related work under the Convention on Biological Diversity. It was suggested that a multi-stakeholder dialogue on tourism be organized during the seventh session.

3. Changing consumption and production patterns

42. Participants emphasized that developed countries have a lead role to play in addressing the problems of sustainable consumption and production patterns. It was also noted that all countries could benefit from the experience of the developed countries and from the development and transfer of cleaner, more productive and more efficient production processes and more sustainable consumption patterns. Some participants stressed the need to ensure that changes in consumption and production patterns in developed countries did not jeopardize economic growth and sustainable development in developing countries.

43. Participants noted the progress made in the development of indicators for changing consumption and production patterns and invited countries to participate in testing the proposed indicators. Participants welcomed the proposal by the Republic of Korea to host an inter-sessional expert meeting on consumption patterns in newly emerging economies, using the proposed indicators for changing consumption and production patterns.

44. Participants recognized that national consumer protection policies could play an important role in promoting sustainable consumption. The United Nations guidelines for consumer protection, adopted by the General Assembly in 1985, should be examined at the seventh session, with a view to including guidelines for sustainable consumption.

4. Small island developing States

45. Some participants stressed that the future of small island developing States was threatened by climate change and other environmental threats, underlining the need for more rapid development of their human resources and institutional capacities across a wide range of skills and disciplines, undertaken with the full participation of local communities. Participants underscored the importance of the forthcoming five-year review of the Barbados Programme of Action for Small Island Developing States, which would be undertaken by the General Assembly in 1999, with the Commission, at its seventh session, serving as a preparatory body.

5. Energy

46. Participants emphasized that consideration of energy by the Commission at its ninth session, in 2001, required substantial advance preparation. Participants welcomed the announcements by the Government of Austria of a meeting on renewable energy and by the Government of the Czech Republic of a workshop on sustainable energy. The Commission, at its seventh session, should define the mandate for the open-ended intergovernmental group of experts for a worldwide strategy for a sustainable energy future.

* * *

47. Participants called for a dynamic and participatory process in the preparations for and conduct of the seventh session, based on experience gained at the sixth session. They called on Governments and other partners to undertake initiatives in support of the work of the Commission. Some participants suggested that the Commission continue to be innovative in its working methods, further strengthening its participatory character, involving all major groups, including youth, to increase opportunities for frank discussion of conflicting views in order to reach consensus.

Chapter IV Sectoral theme: strategic approaches to freshwater management                                                                                            [ UP ]

1. The Commission considered item 3 of its agenda at its 2nd, 3rd, 9th and 16th meetings, on 20 and 23 April and 1 May 1998. It had before it the following documents:

(a) Report of the High-level Advisory Board on Sustainable Development for the 1997 review of the Rio commitments (E/CN.17/1997/17/Add.1);

(b) Report of the Secretary-General on strategic approaches to freshwater management (E/CN.17/1998/2);

(c) Report of the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the Expert Group Meeting on Strategic Approaches to Freshwater Management, held at Harare from 27 to 30 January 1998 (E/CN.17/1998/2/Add.1);

(d) Report of the Secretary-General on activities of the organizations of the United Nations system in the field of freshwater resources (E/CN.17/1998/3);

(e) Letter dated 11 February 1998 from the Permanent Representative of Zimbabwe to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the Expert Group Meeting on Strategic Approaches to Freshwater Management, held at Harare from 27 to 30 January 1998 (E/CN.17/1998/11);

(f) Report of the Inter-sessional Ad Hoc Working Group on Strategic Approaches to Freshwater Management (E/CN.17/1998/13);

(g) Letter dated 16 April 1998 from the Acting Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General transmitting the Petersberg Declaration issued by the International Dialogue Forum on Global Water Politics, Cooperation for Transboundary Water Management, held at Petersberg near Bonn, Germany from 3 to 5 March 1998 (E/CN.17/1998/17).

2. At the 2nd meeting, on 20 April, the Commission heard a statement on the outcome of the work of the Inter-sessional Ad Hoc Working Group on Strategic Approaches to Freshwater Management.

3. At the same meeting, statements were made by the representatives of Germany and France and the observer for Kenya.

4. At the 3rd meeting, on 20 April, statements were made by the representatives of China, Zimbabwe and Venezuela.

5. At the same meeting, questions were posed by the representatives of the United States of America, Sweden, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Egypt, India and Bangladesh and the observers for Lesotho, Nicaragua, Kenya and Austria.

6. At the 9th meeting, on 23 April, the Commission held a discussion on item 3 and item 5 (Economic sector/major group: industry) concurrently (see chap. VI, para. 4).

7. At the same meeting, statements were made by the representatives of Indonesia (on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Group of 77 and China), Bolivia (on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean States), the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the European Union), China, Egypt, India, Colombia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the United States of America, the Sudan, Canada and Switzerland and the observers for Norway, Kenya, the Syrian Arab Republic, Cuba and Algeria.

8. Also at the same meeting, a statement was made by the observer for the Arab Organization of Agricultural Development.

9. The representative of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization made a statement.

10. The observer for the International Federation of Settlements and Neighbourhood Centres, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, also made a statement.

Action taken by the Commission

Strategic approaches to freshwater management

11. At the 16th meeting, on 1 May, the Commission had before it an informal paper containing the text of a draft decision submitted by the Vice-Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Rogatien Biaou (Benin).

12. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the draft decision (see chap. I, sect. B, Commission decision 6/1).

13. After the adoption of the draft decision, the following statements for the record were made:

India

"India's understanding and interpretation of paragraph 11 of the document that has just been adopted, therefore, is that cooperation on transboundary or international watercourses among the riparian States concerned would be based on bilateral agreements and other arrangements and that `appropriate arrangements and mechanisms' would be mutually agreed upon among the riparian States concerned."

Ethiopia

"The reference to appropriate arrangements and/or mechanisms' in paragraph 11 of the decision on the strategic approaches to freshwater management will not affect the right of Ethiopia to use its transboundary water resources, and should not be construed as recognition or acceptance of the validity of any arrangement or mechanism to which Ethiopia is not a party.

"Ethiopia joined the consensus on the decision in general, and on paragraph 11 in particular, on the above understanding."

Turkey

"Turkey appreciates the Chairman's efforts which guided the commission on Sustainable Development in its deliberations during the sixth session. Turkey would also like to thank the Chairmen of the drafting groups.

"As has been seen during the meetings in the past two weeks, freshwater indeed plays an important role in the development of countries. Turkey gives utmost importance to sustainable development in freshwater management and the effective use of water resources. That is the reason why its delegation participated actively in the deliberations.

"With a spirit of cooperation, the delegation of Turkey approached most of the paragraphs dealing with freshwater in the most flexible and compromising way.

"However, paragraph 11 of the text that was adopted a few minutes ago has the term international watercourses', which the delegation of Turkey has opposed until the last moment. Turkey still believes that it is not an appropriate term to be used in the Commission's work.

"Turkey believes that transboundary watercourses' is the correct term, since it is widely accepted and used in legal instruments.

"Since the term international watercourses' has been used in the document, Turkey is of the opinion that the correct interpretation of that term would be just transboundary and boundary'. Using that term would have no legal consequences whatsoever, and it is important to state that certain international legal instruments that have not entered into force legally and that do not have the support of the international community should not be used as a reference document, especially in the context of the Commission on Sustainable Development."

Uganda

"The issue of freshwater is indeed of paramount importance to the delegation of Uganda. The delegation is pleased that the Commission now has before it a well-negotiated document that reflects the issues and the concern about freshwater in a holistic manner.

"The delegation of Uganda joined the consensus on this document based on its well-known behaviour of not standing in the way of consensus. Although it joined the consensus, its clear understanding of paragraph 11 of the document does not imply reference to bilateral agreements or existing legal instruments. The paragraph will not prevent Uganda's rights to use its freshwater resources as it deems appropriate.

"Lastly, Uganda wants to make it clear that the use of the words appropriate arrangements and/or mechanisms' is not acceptable to its delegation and it hopes that they will not be used in future negotiations as consensus language."

14. Also at the 16th meeting, the observer for Rwanda made a statement.

Chapter V Cross-sectoral theme: transfer of technology, capacity-building, education, science and awareness-raising                                           [ UP ]

1. The Commission considered item 4 of its agenda at its 3rd, 8th, 9th and 16th meetings, on 20 and 23 April and 1 May 1998. It had before it the following documents:

(a) Report of the Secretary-General on capacity-building, education and public awareness, science and transfer of environmentally sound technology (E/CN.17/1998/6);

(b) Report of the Secretary-General on areas for policy action by Governments to accelerate the development, transfer and dissemination of environmentally sound technologies (E/CN.17/1998/6/Add.1);

(c) Report of the Secretary-General on education, public awareness and training (E/CN.17/1998/6/Add.2);

(d) Report of the Secretary-General on science for sustainable development (E/CN.17/1998/6/Add.3);

(e) Letter dated 23 February 1998 from the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the International Expert Meeting on the Role of Publicly Funded Research and Publicly Owned Technologies in the Transfer and Diffusion of Environmentally Sound Technologies, held at Kyongju, Republic of Korea, from 4 to 6 February 1998 (E/CN.17/1998/12);

(f) Letter dated 20 April 1998 from the Deputy Permanent Representative of Greece to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General transmitting the Declaration adopted by the International Conference on Environment and Society: Education and Public Awareness for Sustainability, organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Government of Greece in Thessaloniki, Greece, from 8 to 12 December 1997 (E/CN.17/1998/19).

2. At the 3rd meeting, on 20 April, an introductory statement was made by the Officer-in-Charge of the Division for Sustainable Development of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

3. At the 8th meeting, on 23 April, statements were made by representatives of Indonesia (on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Group of 77 and China), the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the European Union, and also on behalf of Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia), China, the United States of America, Poland, Brazil, Switzerland, Peru, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Australia, France, Japan, Pakistan, Canada and India and the observers for Kazakhstan, Norway and Cuba.

4. At the same meeting, the representative of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization made a statement.

5. Statements were also made by the representatives of the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research.

6. Also at the 8th meeting, statements were made by the observers for the International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations, a non-governmental organization in general consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, and the UNED-UK/United Nations Environment and Development-United Kingdom Committee, a non-governmental organization on the Roster.

7. At the 9th meeting, on 23 April, the representative of Benin made a statement.

8. At the same meeting, the representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization made a statement.

9. Statements were also made by the observers for the International Federation on Ageing, a non-governmental organization in general consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, and the International Ocean Institute, a non-governmental organization on the Roster.

Action taken by the Commission

Transfer of environmentally sound technology, capacity-building, education and public awareness, and science for sustainable development

10. At the 16th meeting, on 1 May, the Commission had before it an informal paper containing the text of a draft decision submitted by the Vice-Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Miloslav Hettes (Slovakia).

11. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the draft decision (see chap. I, sect. B, Commission decision 6/3).

12. After the adoption of the draft decision, the representative of France made a statement.

Chapter VI Economic sector/major group: industry                             [ UP ]

1. The Commission considered item 5 of its agenda at its 2nd, 4th to 7th, 9th and 16th meetings, from 20 to 23 April and on 1 May 1998. It had before it the following reports:

(a) Report of the Secretary-General on industry and sustainable development (E/CN.17/1998/4);

(b) Report of the Secretary-General on industry and economic development (E/CN.17/1998/4/Add.1);

(c) Report of the Secretary-General on industry and social development (E/CN.17/1998/4/Add.2);

(d) Report of the Secretary-General on industry and environmental protection (E/CN.17/1998/4/Add.3);

(e) Report of the Inter-sessional Ad Hoc Working Group on Industry and Sustainable Development (E/CN.17/1998/14).

2. At the 2nd meeting, on 20 April, the Commission heard a statement on the outcome of the work of the Inter-sessional Ad Hoc Working Group on Industry and Sustainable Development.

3. The industry segment of the Commission was held on 21 and 22 April (4th to 7th meetings). The free-flowing dialogue among participants focused on responsible entrepreneurship, corporate management tools, technology cooperation and assessment, and industry and freshwater.

4. At the 9th meeting, on 23 April, the Commission held a general discussion on item 5 and item 3 (Sectoral theme: strategic approaches to freshwater management) concurrently (see chap. IV, paras. 6-10).

Action taken by the Commission

Chairman's summary of the industry segment of the sixth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development

5. At the 16th meeting, on 1 May, the Commission had before it a Chairman's summary of the industry segment of the sixth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (E/CN.17/1998/L.3).

6. At the same meeting, the Commission agreed to include the Chairman's summary in the report of the Commission (see chap. II).

Industry and sustainable development

7. At the 16th meeting, on 1 May, the Commission had before it a draft decision (E/CN.17/1998/L.10) entitled "Industry and sustainable development", which was submitted by the Vice-Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Michael Odevall (Sweden).

8. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the draft decision (see chap. I, sect. B, Commission decision 6/2).

Chapter VII Review of progress in the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States                                                                                                       [ UP ]

1. The Commission considered item 6 of its agenda at its 9th and 16th meetings, on 23 April and 1 May 1998. It had before it the following reports:

(a) Report of the Secretary-General on development of a vulnerability index for small island developing States (A/53/65-E/1998/5);

(b) Report of the Secretary-General on progress in the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (E/CN.17/1998/7);

(c) Report of the Secretary-General on climate change and sea level rise (E/CN.17/1998/7/Add.1);

(d) Report of the Secretary-General on management of wastes in small island developing States (E/CN.17/1998/7/Add.2);

(e) Report of the Secretary-General on freshwater resources in small island developing States (E/CN.17/1998/7/Add.3);

(f) Report of the Secretary-General on land resources in small island developing States (E/CN.17/1998/7/Add.4);

(g) Report of the Secretary-General on biodiversity resources in small island developing States (E/CN.17/1998/7/Add.5);

(h) Report of the Secretary-General on national institutions and administrative capacity in small island developing States (E/CN.17/1998/7/Add.6);

(i) Report of the Secretary-General on regional institutions and technical cooperation for the sustainable development of small island developing States (E/CN.17/1998/7/Add.7);

(j) Report of the Secretary-General on science and technology for small island developing States (E/CN.17/1998/7/Add.8);

(k) Report of the Secretary-General on human resource development in small island developing States (E/CN.17/1998/7/Add.9).

2. At the 9th meeting, on 23 April, the Commission heard an introductory statement by the Officer-in-Charge of the Division for Sustainable Development of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

3. At the same meeting, statements were made by the representatives of Indonesia (on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Group of 77 and China), the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the European Union, and also on behalf of Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia), Papua New Guinea, the United States of America, India, Australia, Japan, the Philippines, Canada, Guyana and China, and the observers for Samoa (on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Alliance of Small Island States), Jamaica, Barbados, New Zealand, Cuba, Fiji, the Marshall Islands, Trinidad and Tobago and Malta.

4. Also at the same meeting, the representative of the United Nations Environment Programme made a statement.

Action taken by the Commission

Review of the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States

5. At the 16th meeting, on 1 May, the Commission had before it a draft decision (E/CN.17/1998/L.5), entitled "Review of the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States", which was submitted by the Vice-Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Rogatien Biaou (Benin).

6. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the draft decision (see chap. I, sect. B, Commission decision 6/4).

Chapter VIII High-level meeting                                                        [ UP ]

1. The Commission considered item 7 of its agenda at its 11th to 16th meetings, on 29 and 30 April and 1 May 1998. It had before it the report of the Secretary-General on main and emerging issues (E/CN.17/1998/10).

2. At the 11th meeting, on 29 April, the Chairman of the Commission and the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs made statements.

3. At the same meeting, statements were made by the State Minister for the Environment of Indonesia (on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Group of 77 and China), the Minister for Environment of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the European Union, and also on behalf of Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia), the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry of South Africa, the Minister for Sustainable Development and Planning of Bolivia, the Minister of the Environment of Sweden, the State Secretary for Environment of Japan, the Minister for Environment of Italy, the Minister of Environment of the Republic of Korea, the Minister for the Environment of Canada, the Minister of Mines, Environment and Tourism of Zimbabwe, the Minister of Irrigation of the Syrian Arab Republic, the Minister for Development Cooperation of Denmark, the Minister for the Environment of Colombia, the Minister of Environment and Forests of India, the Minister of Environment of Spain and the Minister of Environment of Portugal.

4. Also at the 11th meeting, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme made a statement.

5. A statement was also made by the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Global Environment Facility. The Managing Director of the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd. made a statement.

6. At the 12th meeting, on 29 April, statements were made by the Minister of Environment, Science and Technology of Ghana, the Minister of State for Environment, Local Government and Rural Development of Pakistan, the Vice-Minister of Environment of Lithuania, the Secretary of Natural Resources of Argentina, the Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Environment of Thailand, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Interior, Local Communities and Environment of Algeria, the Deputy Minister of Social and Economic Planning of the Philippines, the Senior Adviser on Environment to the Government of Egypt, the Deputy Permanent Representative of China, the representative of France, the Minister for Environmental Affairs of Mozambique, the Minister of Environment and Tourism of South Africa, the Permanent Representative of the Netherlands, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Panama, the President of the Meteorology and Environmental Protection Administration of Saudi Arabia, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Rural Resources and Water Development, of Zimbabwe and the representative of Ethiopia.

7. At the same meeting, statements were made by the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Westvaco Corporation and the President of UNITE and Chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations.

8. Statements were also made by the International Indian Treaty Council, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (on behalf of the Indigenous People's Caucus) and the Women's Environment and Development Organization, a non-governmental organization on the Roster (on behalf of the Women's Caucus).

9. At the 13th meeting, on 30 April, statements were made by the Federal Minister for the Environment, Youth and Family Affairs of Austria, the Minister for the Environment of the Czech Republic, the Minister for the Environment of Ireland, the State Secretary at the Ministry of the Environment and Regional Planning of Slovenia, the Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, Environment and Science of the United States of America, the Vice-Minister, Ministry of Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works, of Greece, the State Secretary for Environment of Morocco, the Minister for Environment of Australia, the Federal Vice-Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of Germany, the High Commissioner, Ministry of Planning, Environment and Tourism, of Gabon, the Minister for the Environment, Habitat and Urbanism of Benin, the State Secretary for Foreign Economic Affairs of Switzerland, the Adviser to the President on Science, Technology and Environment of Guyana, the State Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Regional Planning, of Hungary and the representatives of Iraq, Finland and Kenya. The Director-General of the European Community also made a statement.

10. At the same meeting, a statement was made by the observer for the World Council of Independent Christian Churches, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council.

11. At the 14th meeting, on 30 April, statements were made by the Minister for the Environment of New Zealand, the Minister for the Environment of Monaco, the First Deputy Minister for Environmental Protection and Nuclear Safety of Ukraine, the Permanent Representative of Kyrgyzstan, the Head of Division for International Affairs, Ministry for the Environment, of Iceland, the representative of the Russian Federation, the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Permanent Representative of Belarus, the Senior Adviser on Environment to the Government of Egypt, the Under-Secretary for Environment Programs and Development, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, of the Philippines and the State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, of Norway.

12. At the same meeting, a statement was made by the Special Representative of the Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. The Director of the Environment and Natural Resources Management Division of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific made a statement.

13. Statements were also made by the observers for the International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations, a non-governmental organization in general consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (on behalf of the Youth Caucus), the Women's Environment and Development Organization and Environnement et de'veloppement du tiers-monde (ENDA), non-governmental organizations on the Roster.

14. At the 15th meeting, on 1 May, statements were made by the Charge' d'affaires of Turkey, the Under-Secretary of Planning, Ministry of the Environment, Natural Resources and Fisheries, of Mexico, the Permanent Representative of Samoa (on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Alliance of Small Island States), the Director of Environmental Policy of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment of Cuba, the Permanent Representative of Jamaica, and the Minister of Environment and Tourism of South Africa. The President of the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Natural Resources made a statement.

15. At the same meeting, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development made a statement. A statement was also made by the Acting Vice-President, Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development, of the World Bank.

16. The representative of the United Nations Development Programme made a statement.

Action taken by the Commission

17. At the 16th meeting, on 1 May, the Chairman made a statement summarizing the high-level meeting.

18. At the same meeting, the Commission agreed to include the Chairman's summary in the report of the Commission (see chap. III).

Chapter IX Other matters                                                                    [ UP ]

1. The Commission considered item 8 of its agenda at its 3rd and 16th meetings, on 20 April and 1 May 1998. It had before it the following documents:

(a) Report of the Secretary-General on consumer protection: guidelines for sustainable consumption (E/CN.17/1998/5);

(b) Report of the Secretary-General on national reporting to the Commission on Sustainable Development (E/CN.17/1998/8);

(c) Report of the Secretary-General on modalities for the exchange of national experiences at the regional level (E/CN.17/1998/9);

(d) Note verbale dated 30 March 1998 from the Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the Fourth International Workshop on Indicators of Sustainable Development, held at Prague from 19 to 21 January 1998 (E/CN.17/1998/15);

(e) Letter dated 30 March 1998 from the Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General transmitting the Final Declaration and the Programme for Priority Actions, adopted by the International Conference on Water and Sustainable Development, held in Paris from 19 to 21 March 1998 (E/CN.17/1998/16);

(f) Letter dated 15 April 1998 from the Permanent Representatives of Brazil and the Netherlands to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the Expert Meeting on Environmental Practices in Offshore Oil and Gas Activities, held at Noordwijk, Netherlands (E/CN.17/1998/18).

2. At the 3rd meeting, on 20 April, the Officer-in-Charge, of the Division for Sustainable Development of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs made an introductory statement.

Action taken by the Commission

Matters related to the inter-sessional work of the Commission

3. At the 16th meeting, on 1 May, the Commission had before it a draft decision (E/CN.17/1998/L.6), entitled "Matters related to the inter-sessional work of the Commission", submitted by the Vice-Chairman, Mr. Rogatien Biaou (Benin).

4. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the draft decision (see chap. I, sect. B, Commission decision 6/6).

5. After the adoption of the draft decision, the representative of China made a statement.

Information provided by Governments and exchange of national experiences

6. At the 16th meeting, on 1 May, the Commission had before it a draft decision (E/CN.17/1998/L.8), entitled "Information provided by Governments and exchange of national experiences", submitted by the Vice-Chairman, Mr. Miloslav Hettes (Slovakia).

7. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the draft decision (see chap. I, sect. B, Commission decision 6/5).

Consumer protection guidelines for sustainable consumption

8. At the 16th meeting, on 1 May, the Commission had before it a draft decision (E/CN.17/1998/L.9), entitled "Consumer protection guidelines for sustainable consumption", submitted by the Vice-Chairman, Mr. Michael Odevall (Sweden).

9. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the draft decision (see chap. I, sect. A, draft decision I).

Matters relating to the third session of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests

10. At the 16th meeting, on 1 May, the Commission considered an oral draft decision entitled "Matters relating to the third session of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests", presented by the Chairman.

11. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the draft decision (see chap. I, sect. A, draft decision II).

Chapter X

Provisional agenda for the seventh session of the Commission           [ UP ]

1. The Commission considered item 9 of its agenda at its 16th meeting, on 1 May 1998. It had before it the draft provisional agenda for the seventh session (E/CN.17/1998/L.7).

2. At the same meeting, the Commission approved the provisional agenda for its seventh session (see chap. I, sect. A, draft decision III).

Chapter XI

Adoption of the report of the Commission on its sixth session           [ UP ]

1. At the 16th meeting, on 1 May 1998, the Rapporteur introduced the draft report of the Commission on its sixth session (E/CN.17/1998/L.4).

2. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the draft report and entrusted the Rapporteur with its completion.

(This document has been made available in electronic format by the United Nations. )

[ UP ]