1. inside:
The future we do not want
Open, inclusive and accountable
governance: Playing Jekyll & Hyde
with the Zero Draft
a multi-stakeholder
magazine on
climate change
and sustainable
development
outreach. RIO+20
26 March 2012
www.outreachlive.org
2. contents.
1 The future we do not want. The future we do not want.
Excerpts from the summary report of the
2 Major Groups Expert Meeting, Saturday 24th March
Derek Osborn
3 Earth Summit Watch President, Stakeholder Forum
4 Concrete institutional proposals to improve political decision-making 6 The text that has emerged We know that this transformation requires determined
political leadership at local, regional, national and
Committing to the future we want: a High Commissioner for Future from the first week of Rio+20
5 Generations at Rio+20
international level. We know that implementation requires
negotiations has become a strategies, action plans, full use of green economy
What kind of institutional structure might best help advance instruments, redirection of financial and investment flows,
6 monstrosity. The already indicators, targets and milestones to monitor progress.
sustainable development? inadequate Zero Draft has
We know too that the transformation needs the full
7 Reforming UNEP: the need is clear emerged festooned with bracketed engagement, participation and commitment of major
amendments, whose general groups, civil society partners and the public at all levels.
Implementing Sustainable Development in an Integrated Manner:
8 tendency is profoundly negative. We need champions of sustainable development and future
From the Local to Global Level 8 generations, and partnership structures active at all levels.
Public participation in MEAs compliance: A proposal to improve the
10 Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development
Everyone knows what needs to be done. The poorest
families, communities and countries in the world need
We know that we need strong and effective international
institutions that are capable of monitoring overall
help to rise out of their poverty and gain decent lives and progress, marshalling support where it is most needed
11 Interview. José Luis Balmaceda livelihoods. And the whole world needs to transform its to assist the transformation, and chiding and restraining
patterns of production and consumption to stop pressing those countries and other bodies whose unsustainable
Open, inclusive and accountable governance:
12 Playing Jekyll & Hyde with the Zero Draft
so dangerously against the natural planetary limits, activities are most damaging to the planet as a whole, and
overwhelming the carrying capacity of the planet and especially, the most vulnerable.
damaging the environments of the most vulnerable.
13 Rio+20 Side Event Calendar But does this vision and determination emerge from the
14
News from the Negotiations – Synthesis of Plenary Sessions 12 Most can see the value of interpreting this objective into
concrete and specific sustainable development goals for
debates and amended text? It does not. We hear and see
timidity, caution, suspicion, protection of vested interests,
Friday, 23rd March all countries, with timetables that will both specify and and even attempts to undermine and go backward on
operationalise the various constituent elements of the rights, actions and issues already agreed.
improvements needed for the poorest communities, while
pic: Mikey Wally at the same time bearing down on the most damaging During meetings over the weekend, Major Groups have
elements of excessive global consumption and production, been shocked as they have taken stock of the failure of
diverting them to safer alternatives. the negotiations so far to rise to the level of the challenges
which the world faces, or even to the level of ambition
OUTREACH IS PUBLISHED BY: Outreach is a multi-stakeholder publication on OUTREACH EDITORIAL TEAM We know that the full resources of modern science and
climate change and sustainable development. with which the negotiations began. The Major Groups are
Editorial Advisors Felix Dodds Stakeholder Forum technology need to be directed towards helping to bring urgently bracing themselves to restate what should be the
It is the longest continually produced
stakeholder magazine in the sustainable Farooq Ullah Stakeholder Forum about this transformation and that we need to improve true goals of the Rio process and to mark out very clearly
development arena, published at various the way in which they interface with decision-making. We the red lines of lowest denominator, beneath which it
Editor Georgie Macdonald Stakeholder Forum know that the vast energies and capacities of the corporate
international meetings on the environment; would be truly shameful for the negotiations to fall.
including the UNCSD meetings (since 1997), Co-editor Amy Cutter Stakeholder Forum sector need to be redirected towards more sustainable
UNEP Governing Council, UNFCCC Conference
of the Parties (COP) and World Water Week.
Published as a daily edition, in both print
Editorial Assistant
Print Designer
Leonardo Rocha
Jessica Wolf
ANPED
Jessica Wolf Design
production and that consumption patterns need to be
refocused in more sustainable and less wasteful directions. in danger. We must rally to the barricades. .
Citizens, the global Sustainable Development Revolution is
and web form, Outreach provides a vehicle
for critical analysis on key thematic topics in Web Designer Thomas Harrisson Stakeholder Forum
the sustainability arena, as well as a voice Stakeholder Forum
of regional and local governments, women,
Web Designer Matthew Reading-Smith
Launch of the second edition of the Pocket Guide to
About Stakeholder Forum indigenous peoples, trade unions, industry,
youth and NGOs. To fully ensure a multi-
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Rob Wheeler UN Representative Simon Olsen IGES
Sustainable Development Governance
Stakeholder Forum is an international stakeholder perspective, we aim to engage
organisation working to advance sustainable a wide range of stakeholders for article Foundation for Democracy Matthew Reading- The second edition of the Pocket Guide to Sustainable governance, the guide will help stakeholders navigate their
Halina Ward and Sustainable Smith Stakeholder Forum Development Governance has been launched jointly by the way through the proposals contained in the Rio+20 zero
development and promote democracy at a contributions and project funding.
Development Stakeholder Forum and the Commonwealth Secretariat. draft as well as the sustainable development governance
global level. Our work aims to enhance open,
.
If you are interested in contributing Jan-Gustav
accountable and participatory international Strandeneas Stakeholder Forum Including new and updated information on some of the key debate more generally. For more information please contact
Ana Barreira IIDMA
decision-making on sustainable development to Outreach, please contact the team proposals relating to IFSD and sustainable development Kirsty Schneeberger on: kirstys@stakeholderforum.org
(gmacdonald@stakeholderforum.org or Lalanath de Silva The Access Initiative Christine von
through enhancing the involvement Weizsaecker WECF and Ecoropa
of stakeholders in intergovernmental acutter@stakeholderforum.org) Derek Osborn Stakeholder Forum
1
processes. For more information, visit: You can also follow us on Twitter:
RIO+20
Sebastien Duyck and Alice Vincent
www.stakeholderforum.org @OutreachLive
3. Excerpts from the summary report of the Heads of State
Major Groups Expert Meeting, Saturday 24th March are Going to Rio+20.
On Saturday 24th March, all Major Groups met to reflect
on the negotiations and identify shared inter-major group
•
SDGs should: address structure; define targets
and indicators; offer implementation guidance
Who is Going and Why?
themes for advocacy, by civil society as one. and action plans, with monitoring at national
and international levels; as well as define clear
roles for civil society.
This very well attended meeting was made possible New Initiative to Track Rio+20 Preparations Country by Country
with the generous support of the EU Environment DG's Planetary Boundaries and Science-Policy Interface
T
Thematic Programme for the Environment and Sustainable
Management of Natural Resources, including Energy (ENRTP) • A paradigm shift is needed to establish a science- he good news is that the United Nations has just announced that 115 heads of state
grant entitled: "Supporting global civil society preparation and
policy interface that ensures policy-making is Brazil
based on sound science and creates knowledge- have already committed to attend the Rio+20 Earth Summit– roughly the same number
engagement for the UNCSD conference in 2012".
sharing mechanisms. that attended the first Earth Summit twenty years ago. The not-so-good news is that
The six cross-cutting issues the Major Groups agreed • Capacity building is needed to backup the the UN has not revealed any of the specific names, nor is there much information readily
to discuss included: Rights, Principles and Outcomes; application of new technologies, and to make available on what various governments are actually doing to
science accountable for people, with participation
Agriculture and Food; Sustainable Development Goals; Chile prepare for Rio+20.
A sample initiative
and ownership by civil society.
Planetary Boundaries and Science-Policy Interface; Means
of Implementation, Finance and Trade; and Energy. Means of Implementation, Finance and Trade To address this information gap, an evolving civil society
• The latest amendments to the Zero Draft related partnership is launching Earth Summit Watch. This will
Mongolia
Rights, Principles and Outcomes to trade subsidiarity, make means of implementation be a web-based platform to track the status of Rio+20
subject to WTO commitment and obligation. is partnering with +
• There is an overarching need all the Rio China preparations in every country. We have already begun to
Principles, and a rights-based approach, to be This regression and reversion must be avoided. South Korea,
gather information from governments on a handful of key
articulated in the Preamble – in clear language • Implementation language has to include: a Japan, +
questions (“Will your head of state attend?” or “What new
– to ensure the cross-cutting application of demand to reduce harmful subsidies; intellectual and China
human rights and sustainable development. property rights balance with community rights or scaled-up initiatives is your country preparing for the
on a multilateral
• Specific language – on equity, a social and common goods; and definition of clear summit?”). +
parameters for accountability. regional initiative to
protection floor and inclusion of specific Colombia study desertification.
sectors and vulnerable groups such as workers,
Energy If the Summit is truly going to put the world on a path
women, youth, farmers, indigenous peoples,
etc. – is essential. • There was support for the transition from fossil toward a more sustainable future, world leaders are going
fuels to renewable and clean energies. Developed to have to do more than just show up in Rio de Janeiro
Agriculture and Food countries were encouraged to support developing on June 20th. Their governments need to be working with
countries’ transition to renewable energy, while
• Much stronger language on transitioning from
establishing accounting principles to price externalities.
Germany stakeholders and reaching out to the public so that presidents and prime ministers come
unsustainable agriculture, to more sustainable
agriculture and food systems, is needed. • Developing countries were also encouraged to
to Rio+20 willing and able to take action.
• The balance between global, local and domestic actively promote modern and affordable cook-
stoves that would benefit mostly women and girls. It appears that in many countries, governments still need to do much more to get ready
access to food markets needs to be protected, as
well as urban-rural linkages and connecting food • There is a need to evaluate the potential
for Rio+20. The public by and large is not aware or engaged in the process either. We see
and sustainable cities. environmental, health, social and economic India Earth Summit Watch as a vehicle for supporting the efforts of civil society groups in
• References to science, extension and information impacts of existing and new technologies. various countries to engage with their own governments and ensure that their societies
need to be tied to respect for – and inclusion of – are well-represented and ready to make a real contribution in Rio. To encourage
indigenous, local and traditional knowledge.
advocacy from civil society, the website will showcase the preparations and initiatives
• Also recognised was the success of having Conclusion and Next Steps
Major Groups will continue to dialogue with Member
made by exemplary countries and will highlight the shortcomings of those countries that
included livestock into the sustainable Mali
development discourse, and agreed that the States about these priorities. Identifying ‘red lines’ or have not yet begun preparations for the Summit. The Watch also complements a number
many benefits of improved animal husbandry bottom line positions – the ‘floor’ below which positions of existing online petitions to encourage as many top leaders as possible to attend.
need to be better incorporated, in light of the must not fall – for civil society is necessary going forward,
huge impact livestock have economically, socially Please let us know if your civil society group is interested in joining the Stakeholder
and environmentally. Formal and high level engagement in the intergovernmental Forum, Road to Rio+20, and the Natural Resources Defense Council as a partner in
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) process by civil society is core to the coherence of policy Portugal further shaping and undertaking Earth Summit Watch. We are also seeking “Cooperating
and to the implementation of any future UN mechanism
• SDGs should not be the only outcome from for sustainable development following Rio. The Civil
NGOs”, organizations which want to gather and contribute information on what their
Rio+20, but they are important means for Society Mechanism at FAO can serve as a template for own country is doing to prepare for Rio. Please visit our website to obtain a copy of our
implementing sustainable development goals survey, review the information we have already received, and submit updates. There is
enhanced participation.
at national levels. Principles and criteria for
SDGs should include equity, respect for cultural not much time left to generate the political will in nations around the world to ensure
The main common priorities also include the need for a Sao Tome and Principe
diversity, universality, stakeholder participation, that the Rio+20 Earth Summit will be a success. We must ACT NOW to ensure that what
and accountability by and for all. parallel Outcome Document – the ‘future that could be’
or ‘another future is possible’ – which could incorporate
we accomplish at Rio is truly transformative and historic, building a more sustainable
priorities into the People’s Sustainability initiatives with future for generations to come.
.
focus on civil society views. New global initiatives with
3
commitments at all levels are needed.
2
Sierra Leone
RIO+20 nrdc.org.
RIO+20
...and 95 others To learn more, contact mdavidson@
4. Committing to the future we want:
Concrete institutional proposals to improve a High Commissioner for Future Generations
Sebastien Duyck and Alice Vincent political decision-making Halina Ward
Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development
at Rio+20
If there is one thing that we could learn from the recurring Paragraph 57 of the Zero Draft refers to the creation A High Commissioner for Future Generations should be
economic, social and environmental crises, it is that we of an Ombudsperson or High Commissioner for Future enabled, at any time, to receive representations related to
must start reacting to these challenges according to the Generations. But it is too weak. Currently the draft would his or her mission from individuals, states or groups. At
level of impact. We must address root causes, rather than commit States only ‘to further consider’ the establishment the inter-state level, the High Commissioner’s powers and
provide short-term and superficial solutions. Reports that of a High Commissioner for Future Generations ‘to responsibilities should be sufficiently broad from the start to
highlight the impact of environmental crises on vulnerable promote sustainable development’. encompass provision of advice, good offices and mediation,
populations, and the importance of guaranteeing a social in the event that requests for such services are received.
foundation, confirm this urgency. We can no longer justify The Outcome Document should commit UN Member States
the damaging consequences of our decisions on the basis to a clearly timebound process, leading to the creation The work of the High Commissioner for Future
of the unsuitability or outdatedness of our institutions. of a UN High Commissioner for Future Generations by Generations should be linked to the work of any umbrella
Fortunately, Rio+20 offers a timely opportunity to means of a General Assembly Resolution. That General body for sustainable development. But the Office of the
address these challenges and to make governance work Assembly Resolution could incorporate a Statute of the High Commissioner would most appropriately be housed
for the long-term benefit of our planet and populations. Office of the High Commissioner for Future Generations. independently of other institutions or agencies, with day
In the Rio+20 preparatory processes, proposals on the to day operational accountability to the UN Secretary
international framework of sustainable development In 2012 and beyond, it is apparent that multiple pressures General and annual reporting to the General Assembly.
(IFSD) have stimulated debate and shed light on several increase the temptation for ‘short-termism’ at government,
practical institutional solutions that would facilitate more pic: Andy Matthews individual, and organisational levels. The result is a An early priority for the new High Commissioner for
informed decision-making, by considering the interests of systematic failure to respect the needs of future generations. Future Generations should be to lead the development
all those impacted by these choices. To further guide decision-makers, a proposal is now on the of a coordinated UN-wide strategy for protection of the
table to establish a High Commissioner or Ombudsperson The mission of the High Commissioner for Future interests and needs of future generations. Once adopted
The disconnect between political choices and their for Future Generations. This institution would safeguard Generations should be inspired by the original Brundtland following discussion in the General Assembly, the High
environmental consequences, highlights the need for a environmental and social conditions for the benefit of definition of sustainable development: “to promote and Commissioner would become the official charged with
new institutional mechanism, with the objective to promote current and future generations by securing their institutional protect the interests of future generations in the context leading the UN future generations strategy. In practice,
knowledge-based decision making at the international representation in all areas of policy-making. of the imperative to meet the needs of the present the strategy and overall role of the High Commissioner
level. An Intergovernmental Panel on Sustainable without compromising the ability of future generations will need to evolve over time.
Development could function as an umbrella organisation Finally, the realisation of the right of all stakeholders to to meet their own needs”.
with a sustainable development research agenda for the actively take part in decision-making would increase the A High Commissioner for Future Generations would
21st century: reviewing relevant sources and forms of number of perspectives considered, and thus make the The creation of a High Commissioner for Future Generations need a range of powers and responsibilities spanning
knowledge (including not only natural sciences, but also decisions reached more inclusive and representative. The would provide a clear institutional underpinning to the international agenda-setting and leadership (including
social sciences and traditional knowledge). The Panel implementation of Principle 10 of the 1992 Rio Declaration inherent long-termism of sustainable development; one dialogue and advocacy on matters falling within the
should be mandated to provide an assessment of social could be strengthened at Rio by the adoption of two parallel capable of delivering lasting outcomes, not simply political scope of the mission; and offering advice, on request, on
and ecological boundaries, and the scientific evidence and concrete approaches. Firstly, any institution created in rhetoric. It would also build on, and complement, existing implementation of relevant existing intergovernmental
gathered should contribute to knowledge-based policy Rio should function on the basis of best practices in terms references to future generations in a wide range of regional commitments); monitoring, early warning and multi-
making and policy monitoring. of inclusive governance, by including representatives of and global treaties, and other international instruments. stakeholder review; capacity-building for innovation
civil society in their bureau. Secondly, governments could at national and subnational levels; and fostering
Once decision making is grounded in a solid knowledge agree to develop an international agreement to guarantee Across the UN, the Office of the High Commissioner understanding and analysis related to the mission.
base, the time span considered as relevant to weight access to information, effective public participation in for Future Generations would build a body of advice,
costs and benefits of each decisions should be extended. environmental matters, and access to justice; and to set analysis and practice to underpin a systematic approach The creation of a High Commissioner for Future
The 1992 Earth Summit highlighted a useful principle the stage for negotiations towards the adoption of regional to regard for future generations in UN policy-making and Generations would be an act of faith in our collective
in this respect: the precautionary principle. Twenty instruments. The current lack of references to these implementation. ‘Could there be a better way?’ will be a ability as people, and to the collective ability of our
years later, the time has come for the full and effective approaches in the Zero Draft is striking. question heard frequently, and insistently, across the High governments, to overcome one of the most pernicious
implementation of this principle, through the development Commissioner’s programme of work. features of unsustainable development: the short-termism
of a new instrument to hold economic actors accountable
for the risks arising from their activities. Such instrument
could also guarantee that industrial production, and
Some believe that Rio will simply be a talking shop,
which will fail to provide meaningful solutions. Let us
prove those people wrong and work with decision-makers
Multi-stakeholder review across themes, geographies and
generations should be among the High Commissioner’s
unfairness to future generations. .
that undermines equity in the present and guarantees
commercialisation of new substances and technologies, key monitoring and assessment tools. Review at the MORE INFO
to create firm resolutions to put us back on the right
are authorised only when no reasonable doubt exists national level should naturally be grounded in the consent To access the full discussion paper, ‘Committing to
track. Increasing consumption and GDP at the price of
regarding their potential harm to our environment and the of the state(s) concerned. But there should also be a the future we want: a High Commissioner for Future
environmental destruction and social demise is not just
natural capital left to future generations. presumption of public transparency in the implementation Generations at Rio+20’, by Halina Ward visit: www.fdsd.
unsustainable but also an inadequate quick-fix to our
inherently flawed relationship with our planet. We hope of the High Commissioner’s mission. org/2012/03/committing-to-the-future-we-want
that Rio+20 can begin to redefine this relationship, so
that future generations have the opportunity to make a
.
healthy and fulfilling life for themselves, just as present
generations have come to expect.
4 5
RIO+20 RIO+20
5. What kind of institutional structure might best help
Simon Hoiberg Olsen
advance sustainable development? As for the way forward, the Rio+20 Outcome Document In the end, it is too early to decide which is the better
could contain a paragraph requesting a limited and pointed option; a new separate SDC or a reformed ECOSOC. All
Policy Researcher at Governance and Capacity Group Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) mandate change of ECOSOC. The paragraph could specify we can advocate for at this point are the functions and
that the amendment only concerns ECOSOC’s name and tools that are necessary to bring sustainable development
mandate, and could identify the necessary functions and governance to the forefront of the intergovernmental
Sustainable development advocates
tools of a reformed ECOSOC. A mandate change might arena. These tools and functions should be part of the
have long argued that the current
institutional framework for sustainable
be necessary to allocate such tools and functions to the
current ECOSOC, and this could require opening the
UN charter. If a charter amendment is not in the cards,
implementation of sustainable development. .
Outcome Document as necessary elements for better
development (IFSD) needs reform.
pic: MiFleur, waiting for the spring amending ECOSOC’s mandate (and even perhaps its
Neither the Commission for Sustainable name) could be based on a General Assembly resolution
Development, nor the Economic and and be decided by a two-thirds majority.
agreements (MEAs) and lack of coherence between them.
Social Council (ECOSOC), have been able ECOSOC also lacks the appropriate leadership to enhance
the visibility of sustainability concerns. For example,
Reforming UNEP: the need is clear
to successfully integrate sustainable
even though the Annual Ministerial Review and the
development decision making into the Development Cooperation Forum (both of ECOSOC) have
UN system. The Rio+20 Summit is a undertaken reviews of the millennium development goals
(MDGs), they lack tools for integrating all dimensions of Matthew Reading-Smith Jan-Gustav Strandeneas
unique opportunity for governments to sustainable development. Assistant Project Officer, Stakeholder Forum Senior Policy Advisor, Stakeholder Forum
establish an institution equipped with
the mandate, functions, and tools to Some people argue that a reformed IFSD would need at
least four functions to make headway towards sustainable Forty years after its founding date, despite unpredictable The UN Secretary General’s high-level Global Sustainability
bring sustainability concerns to the development: and insufficient funding, UNEP has been able to maintain Panel’s report ‘Resilient People, Resilient Planet: The
forefront of decision making. its function as the watchdog of the global environment. Future We Want’, reiterates the need to upgrade UNEP .
1. Political leadership and agenda setting – to be However, without universal membership or an increase The Panel suggests that the agency act as an umbrella
enabled by establishing a High Level political forum, in budget, its capacity has been spread thin and it still organisation ‘to enhance coherence between multilateral
One option that has been proposed, and which has
or Assembly, to follow and advance the sustainable struggles to be recognised as the paramount organisation environmental agreements and better integrate its work
received significant attention, is the establishment of
development agenda; working for the global environment. with the activities of development institutions, especially
a Sustainable Development Council (SDC), which would
raise the profile of sustainable development, from being the UNDP The panel believes the agency’s collaboration
.’
2. Ensuring implementation – to be bolstered by a periodic
under the mandate of ECOSOC, to reporting directly to As a result, the reformation of UNEP’s structure and with UNDP could be especially important in the future.
review mechanism for increased implementation and
the General Assembly. strengthening of its authority, have become reoccurring
cooperation;
themes throughout the Rio+20 process and it is now However, the process of upgrading UNEP is by no means
Some governments are concerned that creating a 3. Enhancing science-policy interface and progress thought a potential outcome of Rio+20 could be the easy, nor is it unanimous. Most notably, the United States,
separate SDC is suboptimal, as there is little political tracking – to be achieved by institutionalising a upgrading of UNEP to a specialized agency. China, India, and Russia, do not endorse the proposal.
will to create additional new institutions, and doing so sustainable development assessment; and Their positions are:
would require funds that are scarcely available within the It is widely acknowledged that UNEP needs to redefine • United States: willing to strengthen UNEP but
,
intergovernmental arena. Those that hold concern about 4. Strengthening inter-agency coordination – to be its identity and increase its capacity in order to fulfill its thinks that an upgrade to Specialised Agency
the creation of a seventh principal organ of the UN have strengthened by an interface to follow-up and provide mandate. There appears to be general agreement on the will weaken its mandate, and as such a move
instead proposed the reform of ECOSOC, allowing it to advice to the Secretary General on coordination. following challenges regarding the functionality of UNEP: needs ratification process by each country, the US
hold a High Level body on sustainable development. fears that such a ratification process will not make
• Funding; it through Congress. Instead it advocates universal
One could ponder whether a reformed ECOSOC could membership, restructuring UNEP governance and
The argument for elevating the voice of sustainable • Membership;
be renamed an SDC or ESEC (Environmental, Social improved scientific decision making.
development to Council level within ECOSOC is based on
and Economic Council), to give a more balanced • Collaboration between UN agencies and UN programmes;
integration and participation. ECOSOC could become • China: Advocates increased financial and technical
reflection of the three dimensions of sustainability. The • Authority to oversee and implement multilateral
the home of an integrative body, since both economic support, but does not provide suggestions on how
proposed high level Sustainable Development Assembly environmental agreements (MEAs); and this can be achieved.
and social sustainable development dimensions are
should consist of members from economic, social and
already embedded there. A new SDC placed under the • Scientific basis for decision-making; • India: Disagrees with elevating the status of UNEP
environmental ministries from the highest level of national
General Assembly also has the potential to represent all to a WEO or specialised agency. Believes UNEP
administrations; as well as stakeholders from civil society There is a general level of support from the intergovernmental
three dimensions of sustainable development; however can be strengthened through capacity building,
and the private sector. Some elements of ECOSOC, community and civil society to upgrade UNEP At least 110
. better scientific based decision-making and
that would render ECOSOC largely superfluous, without countries endorse such a proposal and a possible name
such as the Commission on Sustainable Development increased regional presence.
actually closing it down. for the specialised agency could be the UN Environment
and the Commission on Social Development, could be
• Russia: Does not advocate a UNEP transformation,
abolished, as these functions would be embedded in Organisation (UNEO). A more radical proposal has been
If ECOSOC were to host a high level sustainable instead it makes a suggestion for the
the proposed functions of a reformed ECOSOC. This to establish a more independent organisation named the
development body, it would require some changes to its intergovernmental community to discuss how to
Sustainable Development Assembly could be the main World Environment Organisation (WEO), but this proposal increase UNEP’s efficiency.
current setup. ECOSOC has never been able to initiate now seems to have been morphed into the UNEO. UNEO as
entity for coordination and policy definition on sustainable
an institutional process for merging the dimensions of a specialised agency would hopefully have a mandate giving The most visible proponents of a UNEO come from the
development. In terms of membership, universality is
sustainable development, despite being first envisioned it functions and authority similar to other international European Union and the African League of Nations. These
important for the legitimacy and representativeness of a
in the Rio Summit 1992. The environmental pillar, for two bodies have long argued that a specialised agency
.
new council or the underpinning ECOSOC. However, then organisations, such as the World Health Organisation and
instance, is heavily fragmented, due the existence of a International Labour Organisation. would accord UNEP with the necessary political authority
it might be necessary to establish be an executive board
wide range of autonomous multilateral environmental to enable it to contribute to The Future We Want.
with a more limited representation to ensure efficient
6 7
RIO+20 decision making.
RIO+20
6. Implementing Sustainable Development in an Integrated Manner:
Rob Wheeler
UN Representative
From the Local to Global Level
It is clear that humanity is inconsistent application. While important institutions Council should be tasked with carrying out a review
have been established to promote or monitor the process to ensure that all countries and communities are
far from living sustainably on integrated pursuit of sustainable development, many have on track, and receive the support they need to carry out
planet earth. We do very few not received adequate support, some have languished, and achieve their sustainability plans.
and most have not been able to synergize well with
things in a fully sustainable complementary processes or institutions. While financial Finally, I want to mention an important part of this local to
manner; and thus need to make and other commitments of international support have global planning process that has been rather neglected –
been made, they have neither achieved greater coherence the development of such efforts in small rural communities
changes across the board. nor always been fully realized in practice. While the and impoverished urban neighborhoods. Perhaps this is
Fortunately there are plenty of participation of Major Groups has become the norm, there not too surprising, given that such communities have far
is limited success in scaling up or replicating promising fewer resources and institutionalised planning processes
examples, best practices and
multistakeholder initiatives.’ than do larger towns and municipalities. However, it is
success stories, in pretty much pic: Cortes de Cima incredibly important that we include a focus on such
all sectors, that demonstrate In order to respond to these findings, a global program or communities in the Rio process and Outcome Document,
partnership is needed to bring together leading organisers, In the 1990s the United States was well ahead of the and in the Local and National Action Plans and 10 Year
how we can adopt more processes, governments, agencies, and stakeholder curve under the Clinton/Gore Administration. With eight Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption
sustainable practices. groups, to determine how to best finance, support, and Sustainability Task Forces drafting recommendations and and Production, given that 70% of those facing extreme
implement these processes in a much more effective, reports; multi-sectoral committees, together with an inter- poverty live in rural areas; and most of the rest in
It has been recognised, by most of those participating in coherent, integrated, inclusive and participatory manner. agency task force, driving collaboration and integration; impoverished urban communities.
the Rio+20 process, that we must proceed in an integrated, and a President's Council on Sustainable Development
coherent and much more effective or ambitious manner. Similarly, the Report found that, ‘As of 2009, 106 that included Cabinet Officials, key business leaders, and Many examples show how such integrated, multi-sectoral
It is thus imperative that we adopt an integrated, multi- countries (out of 192) have reported that they are currently the heads of key civil society organisations, we were well community based planning processes can be successful.
sectoral approach to sustainable development that focuses implementing a national sustainable development on our way to developing and implementing a National The Millennium Villages (www.millenniumvillages.org),
on protecting and restoring the natural environment and strategy (NSDS), but these are rarely viewed as the Strategy for Sustainability. (www. clinton5.nara.gov/PCSD) Green Productivity - Integrated Community Development
providing basic human rights and needs for all. principal vehicles for policy coordination. In practice, a program – implemented in Vietnam through the Asian
number of coordinating and planning mechanisms have Unfortunately, these efforts were dropped before the Productivity Organisation (www.apo-tokyo.org/gp/45icd.
There are three aspects to this that are essential. First, been used in developing countries, often in parallel, and Bush Administration was even elected, and they've never htm), and the Global Ecovillage Network (www.ecovillage.
integration needs to be both vertical and horizontal. The with similar or overlapping tasks, including conventional been picked up since. Fortunately, a number of State org) have worked in thousands of villages and local
development and implementation of local and national development planning, PRSP UNDAF DWCF NCS, NEAP
, , , , and local efforts have continued, but they have not been communities to demonstrate how an integrated, multi-
sustainability strategies, along with the action plans on and others. The resulting proliferation undermines their well-integrated with Obama Administration efforts to sectoral approach, owned and managed by the local
sustainable consumption and production (SCP), still need very purpose by weakening and fragmenting the efforts advance sustainable development. community, can provide dramatic improvements in
to be integrated and supported at all levels of government to introduce coherence.’ sustainability, resilience, and the ability to meet basic
from the local to global. In other words, a global In the US we have thus missed out on a tremendous human needs and live cooperatively with nature.
program is needed to support countries in developing Finally, the SG's Report suggested that, ‘There is a lack of opportunity; but this has been matched by the world
and implementing their national strategies; and global a proper framework for vertical integration between local community as well. Many may remember the UNDP The NGO Cluster on Sustainable Rural Development is
and national processes also need to be developed to and national processes. Even the prominent Local Agenda Capacity 21 program, which led to many of the asking that the following be added after the section on
support sub-national government and local communities 21 processes were hardly reflected in national processes.’ initiatives that resulted in the development of National Cities in Article 102 in the Zero Draft: ‘Support is needed
in developing and implementing their local and regional Sustainability Councils and Strategies in the developing to develop an integrated, multi-sectoral community based
strategies and plans as a part of, and to inform, national Again, only about half of countries have fulfilled the world. But for some reason, still unknown to most, the approach to sustainable rural development. We call on the
processes and implementation efforts. Johannesburg commitment to develop and begin to effort to develop a Capacity 2015 program following the UN to establish a global network of grassroots support
implement a National Sustainability Strategy by 2005; Johannesburg Summit, which was intended to pick up organizations, resource and service centers, and training
and only a very small percentage of the millions of cities, programs to develop local capacity and assist villages
.
We also need to include horizontal integration to link, and where Capacity 21 left off – namely with implementation
bring together, all of the various planning, development, towns and villages around the planet have developed – was unfortunately never instituted. and rural communities in eradicating poverty and meeting
and implementation efforts – across all sectors of local strategies or action plans. basic human needs.’
society – thus increasing the level of coherence and the It is therefore essential that a global program, or at the
rate of progress, as improvements in one area support It is therefore essential that better support is developed very least, a UN Partnership Initiative, is established to MORE INFO
and assist with others. at the international level, to assist with the development support, and assist in, the development of local to national Rob Wheeler is a UN Representative for the Global
and implementation of local to national strategy sustainability planning processes linked with effective, Ecovillage Network, US Citizens Network for Sustainable
The Secretary-General's GAP Report states that, ‘While processes. These Strategies, and also the SCP Action integrated and coherent implementation plans. Local and Development, and Commons Action for the UN
integrated planning or policies and national sustainable Plans, must then be based on the Rio Principles, focus National Councils need to be established in all countries
development strategies have become acceptable, on achieving Agenda 21, JPOI, the MEAs and all other and communities to drive the process and encourage
their impact remains limited because of ad hoc and international sustainability agreements, and strive to responsible action. These Councils and strategies should
support humanity in making a rapid transition to a fully include and be based on achieving the SDGs, Targets,
sustainable economy and world. and Indicators. And the new UN Sustainable Development
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RIO+20 RIO+20