| | CONGO Committee on Sustainable Development (New York)DocumentsReport on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development HIGH TECH vs. LOW TECH FARMING FOR FEEDING THE WORLD (pdf file): NGO /CSO Forum for food sovereignty UN Food and Agriculture Organization website NGO Climate Change Report (pdf document) from the 3 May 2001 meeting "Climate Change: Kyoto Protocol - Next Steps for North-South Cooperation" Briefing on Communicating Sustainable Development, 1 November 2001 NGO COMMITTEE ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT The Committee on Sustainable Development usually meets on the first Tuesday of the month from 1: 15 to 2: 45. The NGO Committee on Sustainable Development held a meeting in October 2002 to elect new officers. The following NGOs were elected. The Chairperson, Mary Theresa Plante, gave an extensive over-view of the Johannesbury Implementation text. The next meeting took place on December 3rd and the topic was "The Year of Freshwater" We had two speakers, one from UNICEF and the other from the UN program dealing with the Year of freshwater, Ms Marcia Brewster. The meeting was well attended. This was part of the follow up for Johannesburg. A meeting was held on January 7th dealing with NEPAD and the Least Developed Countries. We had two speakers Ambassador Chowdhury, the new Under-Secretary General and High Representative for LDC's and Yevette Stevens from the UN office dealing with NEPAD. This meeting was announced in the UN Journal and opened to UN representatives, Governments and other NGOs. We had extremely good attendance by all. NEPAD and LDC's had been extensively mentioned in the Johannesburg In February we had John Langmore from the ILO (NY office) as a speaker. ILO had significant input into the Johannesburg Implementation text. The Rio program of 1992 focused on Environment and Development whereas the Johannesburg report now focuses on the three pillars of Environment, Development and the Social issues. He spoke of the ILO's World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization and other current work of the ILO. The meeting on the 4th of March was held in Conference Room C and the speaker was Ms Jean Halloran of the Consumers Union. The topic was Genetically Modified Foods. FAO was to be a speaker but declined, however they provided materials, which were greatly appreciated. This was part of the implementation text dealing with agriculture etc. Our next meeting will be March 8th when we will have a speaker from the secretariat office of CSD. The Secretary General's report is available and the agenda of CSD 11 will be an organizing meeting for the next 10 years. Mary T Plante NGO COMMITTEE ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Briefing on COMMUNICATING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TOPICS: 1. UN ECE Regional Meeting for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) and the role of US NGOs. 2. Communicating Health within the WSSD process. 3. Multi-Stakeholder Process within the WSSD. Moderator: Dr. Claudia Strauss, World Information Transfer (WIT), Co-Chair, Committee on Sustainable Development Jeffrey Barber explained the difference in the process today and that following the UN Conference on Environment and Development, (Rio, 1992) which produced the Rio Declaration and Agenda 21 and for which there were government commitments, international Conventions (i.e., on climate change and biodiversity) and the formation of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. Now the World Summit for Sustainable Development, WSSD, 2002, Johannesburg, South Africa, has a different preparatory process with global, regional and national commitments. The emphasis now is on regional UN Commissions as a part of the preparatory process that will report to the Summit. The UN Economic Commission of Europe, UNECE, in coordination with the US, Canada and Eastern Europe, is holding a series of ministerial meetings and regional commitments which also partner with NGOs and civil society. The goal of WSSD should be to recommit to sustainable development, recognizing the obstacles and barriers. The governments do not address industrial lobbies, the multi-billion dollar advertising business for unsustainable development, as well as the lack of public awareness and education about the importaance of WSSD. NGOs must assume the responsibility for advocacy for environmental issues, and highlight the importance of partnerships. The US delegation to the UNECE watered down the language on consumption, obstacles, targets and concrete commitments with time frames. The US national strategies are weak with no National Council on Sustainable Development. The US NGOs also have not shown clear goals. There is still time to prepare for the next PrepCom in January 2002. The US NGOs should support more dialogue with new listserves, focus on Summit themes and move the US to a more positive attitude. Jim Sniffen said that Health is important in Agenda 21. "Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature". Health issues are mentioned in many chapters of Agenda 21, as for example population, climate, biological diversity, waste management, freshwater, strengthening the role of major groups and others. The preparatory process for the Summit has a "bottom up approach" from the local, national and regional to global policies. UNEP works with the UN Economic Commissions and the development banks in the Summit process: the Economic Commisson of Europe, ECE, the Economic Commission of Africa, ECA, the Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean, ECLAC, the Economic Commission of Asia and the Pacific, ESCAP and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, ESCWA. In all these regions the economic commissions coordinate health with other issues, such as fresh water quality, migration, chemicals, hazardous wastes, coastal fisheries and international waters, land. forest and climate degradation. UN agencies, such as WHO, UNICEF, UNESCO, FAO, as well as NGOs, and the private sector, accompany this process. Other UNEP activities include the Global Environment Outlook assessments that will report on health and sustainable development issues in one section. The GEO series also focuses on water quality, international waters and freshwater resources. UNEP publishes "Our Planet" that will focus on poverty, health and the environment. Dr. Minu Hemmati reported on the multi-stakeholder process within the WSSD. Agenda 21 includes the roles of nine Major Groups: Global Action for Women; Children and Youth in Sustainable Development; the role of Indigenous Peoples; the role of NGOs; local authorities; workers and trade unions; business and industry; the scientific and technological community and farmers. Policies, definitions, rules, access and participation are the same for all major groups to interact, partner and support sustainable development. There is a need for more media, business and parliamentarian groups that collaborate in a constructive manner. Multi-stakeholder dialogues have been a part of the Commission on Sustainable Development since 1998. These dialogues are beneficial in building trust, communications, alliances and projects. Multi-stakeholder dialogues are planned for the second and fourth WSSD Preparatory Committees. Related pages and documentsPosted: 2005-11-14 |