You are viewing our old site. See the new one here

ENB:05:43 [Next] . [Previous] . [Contents]

INTERSESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

FOURTH MEETING OF THE HIGH-LEVEL ADVISORY BOARD ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: The fourth session of the High-Level Advisory Board was held in New York from 30 May -1 June 1995. The Board examined three topics: mobilizing finance for sustainable development, enhancing cooperation and coordination in the UN system and the building of alliances between the UN and non-governmental partners. The Board expressed deep concern over the decline in bilateral and multilateral ODA. This trend will not be reversed by rhetoric or appeal, but only through enlightened political leadership, supported by public opinion in donor states. The Board agreed that a new strategy for ODA should apply clear, internationally accepted criteria. Debt remission and use of the GEF were found to be important but secondary by comparison. The Board emphasized the need to further strengthen the cooperative relationships among United Nations bodies and between the UN and the non-governmental actors. For more information contact Mr. Kenneth Ruffing, Division for Sustainable Development, tel: +1-212-963-4669, fax: +1-212-963-4260, e-mail: ruffing@un.org.

CHANGING CONSUMPTION PATTERNS

WORKSHOP ON POLICY MEASURES FOR CHANGING CONSUMPTION PATTERNS: The Republic of Korea, in collaboration with Australia, the UN Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development (DPCSD), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) hosted an international workshop on Policy Measures for Changing Consumption Patterns in Seoul, from 30 August to 1 September 1995. Sixty representatives of governments, international organizations and major groups participated in the workshop. The workshop focused on policy options and instruments based on case studies of their application in the following policy sectors: end-use energy consumption; use of water resources; waste management; and urban/land use planning. Among the common themes that emerged are:

  • An appropriate mix of instruments that can include regulatory, social and economic instruments (including subsidy removal and ecological tax reform) are needed in each sector, together with complementary policies;
  • Movement towards proper pricing for the use of natural resources, and removal of subsidies, will assist in the achievement of more sustainable patterns of consumption;
  • Decentralization of responsibilities for sustainable resource management, where appropriate, increases the effectiveness of many policies;
  • Partnerships among government agencies, private sector firms, voluntary organizations and individual communities should be encouraged;
  • The principle of extended producer responsibility, in the light of life-cycle analysis, could usefully underpin specific policy measures in materials extraction, product design, product information, waste management and energy efficiency programmes; and
  • Local, national and global resource distribution patterns must be equitable if they are to be sustainable.
For more information, contact Mr. Kenneth Ruffing, Division for Sustainable Development, tel: +1-232-963-4669; fax: +1-212-963-4260; e-mail: ruffing@un.org.

[Return to start of article]