ENB:05:56
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HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT
CSD Chair Gechev reconvened the High-Level Segment.
SWITZERLAND: Federal Councillor Ruth Dreifuss, Minister of the Interior, said the CSD should give a clear political message to the Ministerial Conference of the WTO in December. A mechanism to prevent potential conflicts over trade and MEAs is needed.
MEXICO: Julia Carabias Lillo, Minister of Environment, Natural Resources and Fisheries, said the CSD must build the level of consensus, and called for management of fishing resources using international cooperative machinery.
UK: John Gummer, Secretary of State for the Environment, noted that too many subjects are not discussed in a spirit of wanting to push the agenda forward, but in fear of going beyond where we have gone elsewhere. The UN should ensure that environmental and sustainable development concerns are taken into account in decisions taken across the UN system, and UNEP should act as a catalyst and concentrate on influencing others.
MALAYSIA: Dato’ Law Hieng Ding, Minister of Science, Technology and Environment, called on the private sector to finance sustainable development and emphasized that ODA still has an important role. He also called for the implementation of oceans agreements, asked what action has been taken regarding Antarctica, and stated that linkages between environment and trade should be discussed openly.
SWEDEN: Anna Lindh, Minister of the Environment, said the Special Session will be decisive on: fresh water; a legally binding POPs agreement; and forests. A new concept of global security is needed.
BARBADOS: Elizabeth Thompson, Minister for Health and Environment, said there is a need for a legal instrument, with timetables, to address climate change.
SLOVAKIA: Jozef Zlocha, Minister of Environment, noted national activities, including a new act on nature and landscape protection, forest-related activities, and production and use of unleaded gasoline. He supported the CSD as a multi-disciplinary representative of development in the framework of the UN.
COSTA RICA: René Castro Salazar, Minister of Environment and Energy, noted activities related to the 25% of his country’s territory dedicated to biodiversity conservation. He supported the proposed International Court of the Environment. For the G-77/CHINA, he noted that “new and additional” financial resources have not been provided to developing countries, and stressed the need for a mobilization of political will on this issue and transfer of ESTs.
BELARUS: Uladzimir Garkun, Vice Prime Minister, said Chernobyl became one of the stimuli which led to UNCED.
ARGENTINA: Maria Julia Alsogaray, Secretary of Natural Resources and Human Environment, observed problems of stagnation and the emergence of “feudal systems” within the UN. In the World Food Summit preparations there is a clear problem of defining responsibility and jurisdiction regarding the Biodiversity Convention.
CUBA: Rosa Elena Simeon Negrin, Minister of Science, Technology and Environment, noted governments’ responsibility to draft and implement policies of an environmental nature, which cannot be guided by the laws of markets or financed solely by private capital. The first environmental achievement in Cuba was to eradicate extreme poverty and illiteracy.
SENEGAL: M. Baye NDoye, Directeur de Cabinet du ministre de l’Environnement et de la Protection de la Nature du Senegal, noted that extreme poverty and natural phenomenon such as drought are obstacles that will impede sustainable development. He called on developed countries to continue to support developing countries.
US: Timothy Wirth, Under-Secretary of State for Global Affairs, highlighted recommendations that the CSD: focus more on cross-cutting issues; address the increased role of international financial institutions; and might be recast as a main committee of ECOSOC.
THAILAND: Kasem Snidvongs, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, said his government is drafting laws on the Biodiversity Convention. Integrated and inter-sectoral approaches can help achieve targets.
WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION: G.O.P. Obasi, Secretary- General, called for improved provision of meteorological, hydrological and agro- meteorological information, the promotion of coordinated regional and sub-regional programmes, and the promotion of a dialogue with private enterprise.
HIGH-LEVEL ADVISORY BOARD ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: Emil Salim, Vice-Chair, stated that the Board concluded that the issue of transportation and energy is not adequately addressed by existing fora in the UN system and that no real progress is being made toward limiting the consumption of natural resources.
NORWAY: Bernt Bull, State Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, highlighted three priorities for the Special Session: sustainable consumption and production patterns; the fight against poverty; and a more equitable distribution of wealth within and between countries and groups. He also expressed concern for the Arctic ecology.
DENMARK: Poul Nielson, Minister for Development Cooperation, noted that a precondition for achieving sustainable development is the eradication of absolute poverty on a global scale, and called for action on debt relief measures.
AUSTRALIA: Ian Campbell, Minister for Environment, stated that the CSD should not renegotiate decisions that have been concluded in the post-UNCED period, especially with respect to fisheries and climate change. He noted the establishment of a Natural Heritage Trust, to be funded through the partial sale of the government owned telecommunications utility.
UKRAINE: Anatoliy Dembitski, Deputy Chief of Division of Environmental Protection, called for the development of sustainable development indicators and noted efforts to address problems related to the Chernobyl accident.
BRAZIL: Aspasia Camargo, Vice-Minister of Environment, Water Resources and the Legal Amazon, suggested that the CSD should be strengthened, stated that little has been achieved in changing life styles and conspicuous consumption, and noted a national mechanism called the “Green Protocol” to provide public credit to environmentally- friendly enterprises.
SOUTH AFRICA: Minister B. Holomisa stated that the CSD should guard against the duplication of effort and use existing institutions more effectively. He called for aid to help communities and countries to develop sustainable use practices.
UNEP: Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Executive Director, outlined UNEP’s four focus areas: wise management of natural resources; sustainable production and consumption; human health and well-being; and globalization. She highlighted the role of education and public awareness in achieving a sustainable future.