EARTH NEGOTIATIONS BULLETIN PUBLISHED BY THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (IISD) WRITTEN AND EDITED BY: Chad Carpenter, LL.M. Peter Doran Daniel Putterman, Ph.D. Lynn Wagner Managing Editor Langston James Goree VI "Kimo" A DAILY REPORT ON THE 1996 SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Vol. 5 No. 56 Friday, 3 May 1996 CSD HIGHLIGHTS THURSDAY, 2 MAY 1996 Delegates to the fourth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-4) completed negotiations on the draft decisions, heard statements from ministers in the High-Level Segment and attended a panel on the 1997 Special Session. 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. PANEL ON THE SPECIAL SESSION Rumen Gechev (Bulgaria) chaired the panel discussion on the 1997 Special Session of the UNGA. Tommy Koh (Chair of UNCED Preparatory Committee) called for: protection of the atmosphere; measures to address urbanization; protection of oceans; clean drinking water; the CSD to work as "a human bridge" between the UN and the real world; and global leadership. Maurice Strong (Chair of UNCED Secretariat) highlighted motivational and practical considerations. Regarding the latter, he called for: remaking industrial civilization through re-examining economic incentives; designing voluntary investment guidelines; and strengthening people’s initiatives. Barbara Bramble (National Wildlife Federation) called for: extending the CSD mandate and developing new priority issues; involving ministries beyond environment; coordinating national positions; reducing poverty; resolving UN financial issues; measures on foreign direct investment and market mechanisms for sustainable development; and sectoral priorities as transportation, energy and tourism. Henrique Cavalcanti (CSD-3 Chair) identified gender and age, food and water security, spatial planning and human settlements, and production and consumption patterns as priorities for the 1997 review. He also addressed conflict prevention, and a coordinated approach to sustainable development in the most populous countries. Klaus Töpfer (CSD-2 Chair) focused on improved coordination, concentration and control within the UN framework. He stated that addressing energy efficiency and urbanization are the peace-keeping and disarmament policies of the future. He also highlighted linkages between globalization, identity, new communications technology and sustainable development. Razali Ismail (CSD-1 Chair) said the UN must demonstrate a capacity to undertake macro-coordination with the Bretton Woods institutions and WTO. The straitjacket of the traditional division of labor must disappear. The management concept discussed at Rio must be revisited. The term sustainable development has been dangerously coopted by agents of free change. DRAFTING GROUP I The second revision to the draft Chair’s text on atmosphere was considered by Drafting Group I. A new paragraph to follow the paragraph urging MFIs to use lending policies to promote ESTs was proposed by BRAZIL and adopted. The paragraph refers to the decision on financial resources and mechanisms regarding international cooperation. The remainder of the revised text was adopted by the Drafting Group. Drafting Group I then resumed consideration of a draft decision on the implementation of international fishery instruments. In the decision, the CSD, inter alia: welcomes the adoption of recent fishery agreements, resolutions and initiatives; notes the concern that significant fish stocks are depleted; and considers that urgent, corrective action is needed. The CSD recommends implementation to: prevent overfishing and excess fishing capacity; apply the precautionary approach; rebuild fish stocks throughout their range; minimize waste and discards; strengthen or create regional and sub-regional fisheries management organizations; and avoid adverse impacts on artisanal fisheries. The CSD recommends that the World Food Summit consider fisheries and recommends that the FAO prepare a progress report on sustainable fisheries. NEW ZEALAND proposed reflecting the legally binding or voluntary nature of the agreements. The US, supported by VENEZUELA and the REPUBLIC OF KOREA, proposed implementation of waste and discard measures in accordance with the Straddling Stocks Agreement and the Code of Conduct. The REPUBLIC OF KOREA said the problem of depleted fish stocks should be included in the first paragraph to denote its importance. The EU proposed ensuring "full," rather than "a high level of," compliance. IN THE CORRIDORS Asked to assess the contribution of the Drafting Groups and the High-Level Segment to CSD-4, delegates and observers gave a divided response. Some stated that the most critical role of the CSD is to bring together high-level government officials to exchange views and to receive guidance for the implementation of national policies. Others felt that the relative prominence of this year’s High-Level Segment overshadowed the issue-based work of the Drafting Groups. These observers were more likely to express disappointment with the work of CSD-4. THINGS TO LOOK FOR TODAY HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT: The High-Level Segment will continue during the morning in the Trusteeship Council Chamber. CLOSING PLENARY: The Plenary will meet from 4:00-6:00 pm in the Trusteeship Council Chamber to hear the Chair’s summary of the High-Level Segment, adopt a number of items and conclude the work of CSD-4. FRANCOPHONE MEETING: The Francophone countries will meet from 3:00-4:00 pm in Room 8. =========================================================== This issue of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (c) is written and edited by Chad Carpenter, LL.M. , Peter Doran , Daniel Putterman, Ph.D. and Lynn Wagner .The Managing Editor is Langston James “Kimo” Goree VI . The sustaining donors of the Bulletin are the International Institute for Sustainable Development , the Dutch Ministry for Development Cooperation and the Pew Charitable Trusts. General support for the Bulletin for 1996 is provided by the Overseas Development Agency (ODA) of the United Kingdom, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, the Swedish Ministry of Environment, the Swiss Federal Office of the Environment, the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Environment of Iceland, the European Commission (DG-XI) and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. French version by Mongi Gadhoum with funding from ACCT. The authors can be contacted at their electronic mail addresses or at tel: +1-212-644-0204; fax: +1-212-644-0206. IISD can be contacted at 161 Portage Avenue East, 6th Floor, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 0Y4, Canada; tel: +1-204-958-7700; fax: +1-204-958-7710. The opinions expressed in Earth Negotiations Bulletin are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of IISD and other funders. 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