Report on Coordinating Preparatory
Efforts of the Second World Summit on Sustainable Development and the Implementation of Agenda 21

I. Introduction

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly (GA) in its resolution 55/199 decided on the organization of a ten-year review of the progress achieved in the implementation of the outcomes of the United Nations Conference on Environment & Development (UNCED) at a summit meeting called World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). The summit is to be convened in Johannesburg, South Africa from 26 August to 4 September 2002. The main objectives of the WSSD is to reinvigorate, at the highest political level, the global commitment to Sustainable Development (SD) by identifying accomplishments and areas where efforts are needed to implement Agenda 21 and other outcomes of UNCED, addressing new challenges and opportunities. This should result in a renewed political commitment and support for SD, consistent, inter-alia, with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.

The General Assembly called on the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), established in 1993 and charged with monitoring implementation of Agenda 21, to act as the Preparatory Committee and to launch a preparatory process.

The resolution also encourages effective contributions from and the active participation of all major groups, as identified in Agenda 21, at all stages of the preparatory process, in accordance with the rules and procedures of the Commission on Sustainable Development, as well as its established practices for the participation and engagement of major groups.

The GA also decided that the Summit, including its preparatory process, should ensure a balance between economic development, social development and environmental protection, as these are interdependent and mutually reinforcing components of sustainable development.

This will not seek to re-define Agenda 21, but to identify the requirements and mechanisms for its implementation, especially in the face of the continuing environmental degradation being experienced the world over. To prepare for this event, a through review of the status of implementation and the challenges it faces has been carried out, with focus on regional preparations.

II. Preparation for the WSSD

The preparations for the Johannesburg Summit have been well under way for more than a year. Countries agreed that preparations would begin at the national, sub-regional and regional levels, moving towards the global stage. This allows governments and other major players to join forces effectively in Johannesburg with a view of addressing the challenges of sustainable development, in light of such global forces as globalization and international trade liberalization. The issues to be considered in Johannesburg are being identified and agreed at each level through a participatory process involving governments and other stakeholders, who are known as the Major Groups.

II.1. National Preparations

Most countries have convened their own National Preparatory Committees to review the successes and the challenges they are facing to achieving sustainable development, and to contribute their views to the assessment of progress. National Preparatory Committees have normally involved representatives of government, local authorities, professional associations, major groups, media and other partners, including local offices of relevant UN Organizations. These Committees have two primary functions:

(i)   Undertake national reviews/ assessments, and

(ii) Raise awareness and mobilize stakeholders at the national and local levels.

National Councils for Sustainable Development (NCSD), if they exist, are also used as a key preparation mechanism, particularly in terms of conducting broad-based stakeholder consultations. The national preparatory process has included a series of independent stakeholder consultations with a wide spectrum of civil society actors.

II.2. Regional Preparations

Regional preparations have been instrumental of shaping the inputs in preparation for the WSSD. Intergovernmental Sub-regional and Regional Preparatory Committees (known as PrepComs) has been set up since late 2001 to leadd regional preparation in each the world regions: Africa, Asia, Asia and Pacific, Europe and North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, and West Asia. The regional PrepComs have been assessing the key challenges, opportunities and constraints relating to sustainable development that each region has faced over the past ten years, and identifying future priorities, new initiatives and the commitments needed to make progress in the coming years. They have   undertaken the following main tasks:

1. Conduct a regional assessment of progress, taking into account national reports and country profiles. This include:

• Main achievements in the region since UNCED in the implementation of Agenda 21 and other outcomes of UNCED, including major regional, sub-regional and national initiatives towards achieving sustainable development.

• Progressive outlooks and main constraints faced by countries in the region, including:

+ Common constraints faced by countries in the region;

+ Specific constraints faced by the region (or by the sub-regions); and

+ Constraints resulting from global developments and changing conditions (e.g. globololization, trade liberalization and political instability/ military conflicts)

• New initiatives and commitments within the region and its sub-region towards overcoming constraints and fostering further progress

2. Provide an opportunity for interaction and dialogue with major groups and other stakeholders

3. Share experiences and provide an opportunity to better prepare and understand the concerns and positions of the countries involved

The reports of the Regional PrepComs represent an input into the global PrepCom meetings being held during the first half of 2002.

In the Arab region, a joint secretariat, comprising the Council of Arab Ministers Responsible for the Environment (CAMRE), ESCWA and UNEP was formed to coordinate the regional preparatory effort. A series of regional roundtables of eminent /persons experts took place in mid-2001. Major groups also played a key and integral role in the discussions, through a multi-stakeholder dialogue process in which leaders from industry, NGOs, parliamentarians and government officials provided input into the regional evaluations. The regional Prepcom for the Arab region was held in Cairo on 24 October 2001, followed by a meeting of the Bureaus of AMCN (African Council of Environmental Ministers) and the Bureau of CAMRE (Arab Council of the Ministers Responsible for the Environment).

II.3. Global Preparations

The tenth session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (known as CSD10) is acting as the global Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for the Johannesburg Summit. Four inter-governmental PrepCom meetings are being held during 2001-2002 to agree on the agenda for the Summit.

The First Summit Preparatory Committee (PrepCom 1) was held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 31 April to 2 May 2001. The Second Summit Preparatory Committee (PrepCom 2) was held from 28 January to 8 February 2002 in New York, followed by the Third Summit Preparatory Committee (PrepCom 3), also in New York, from 25 March to 5 April 2002 and the final PrepCom (PrepCom 4), at the Ministerial level, in Bali, Indonesia from 27 May to 7 June 2002.

Representatives from each of the major groups, including leaders from NGO and business communities, are also participating in these meetings.

Based on the resolution of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers issued at its 28th Session held in Bamako in June 2001, which adopted the resolution of the Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the resolution of the Coordination Meeting between the United Nations and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (Vienna, June 2000) designating ISESCO as a focal point for coordination meetings of the United Nations and the Organization of the Islamic Conference’s institutions and agencies in the field of developing science and technology, environment, health and population and entrusting ISESCO with the preparation of a working programme representing the Arab Islamic perception of environmental development, to be submitted to the Johannesbourg Summit 2002 and holding the first Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers, and within the framework of preparation for World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesbourg 2002), the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization held jointly with the Organization of the Islamic Conference a number of activities in this regard, namely a conference of governmental experts of the Islamic countries on sustainable development (Tunis, March 2001), a coordination meeting between the United Nations Environment Programme and the Meteorology and Environment Protection Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Rabat, 2000), the First World Environment Forum from an Islamic Perspective (Jeddah, October, 2000), and the First Preparatory Meeting of the Environment Ministers of the Muslim World (Rabat, January, 2002). ISESCO also organized the First Islamic Conference for Ministers of Environment (Jeddah, June 2002), in cooperation with the Meteorology and Environment Protection Authority in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and in coordination with the OIC Secretariat. It also participated in the Fourth Summit Preparatory Committee Meeting for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Indonesia, May/June, 2002).

III. Implementation of Agenda 21

The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) was a landmark event to secure economic, social and environmental well-being for present and future generations. A major outcome of the Conference is that the world leaders defined and adopted a clear agenda for sustainable development “Agenda 21”, “the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development,” “the Non-legally Binding Authoritative Statement of Principles for a Global Consensus on the Management,” “Conservation and Sustainable Development of All Types of Forests (Forest Principles) and the UNCED-related conventions  (UN 1992).

A powerful long-term vision of the outcomes of UNCED is to have development balanced between humanity’s economic and social needs and the capacity of the Earth’s resources and ecosystems to meet current and future needs (UN 2002).

Ten years after the 1992 Earth Summit, an assessment of the state of the world indicates that neither environment nor development has fared well  (World Watch Institute 2002).  Despite initiatives by governments, international organizations, business, civil society groups and individuals to achieve sustainable development, progress towards the goals established at UNCED has been slower than anticipated, and in some respects conditions are actually worse than they were 10 years ago (UN 2002). While awareness of environmental issues has increased and remarkable progress can be cited in niches such as wind power and organic farming, nearly all global environmental indicators continue to be headed in the wrong direction (World Watch Institute 2002). The state of the world’s environment is still fragile and conservation measures are far from satisfactory. In most parts of the developing world, there has been at best limited progress in reducing poverty. Some progress has been made in some areas of health, but other problems have surfaced, such as HIV/AIDS (UN 2002).

III.1. The Gap in Implementing Agenda 21

While Agenda 21 and the UNCED principles remain as valid as they were in 1992, that they are not open for reconsideration in WSSD 2002, they have been suffering from obvious implementation gap.  This is most visible in four major areas. First, the fragmented approach that has been adopted towards sustainable development has been inadequate to integrate between social and economic development and the environment. Policies and programmes, at both national and international levels, have generally fallen far short of that level of integration in decision-making (UN 2002).

Second, there have been no significant changes in the unsustainable patterns of consumption and production since UNCED. To progress towards sustainable development, it is imperative to make a change in such pattern, even with the difficulty of changing the value systems which stand as a major driving forces in the use of the natural resources.

Third, the lack of mutually reinforcing, coherent and integrated policies and approaches in areas such as finance, trade, investment, technology and sustainable development, have greatly hindered the implementation of agenda 21. These policies and approaches have become a prerequisite in a globalize world requiring greater consistency and coherence.

Fourth, financial resources unfortunately have been a bottleneck in implementing Agenda 21. It has not been forthcoming. Since UNCED, official development assistance (ODA) -contrary to expectation- has declined steadily, and the debt burden has constrained poor countries options for sustainable development. The expanding flows of private investment have also been volatile and directed only at a few countries and sectors. On the other hand, mechanisms for the transfer of technology have not improved.

The implementation of Agenda 21 must be considered together with implementation of other outcomes of the major United Nations conferences held since 1992, which have been particularly effective in articulating an agenda for social development and human rights. Those outcomes have come together in the development goals articulated in the United Nations Millennium Declaration (General Assembly resolution 55/2). Since then, the Third United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries (Brussels, 2000) and the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Marrakech, 2001) have marked further important steps in the field of sustainable development.

At the economic front the success of the fourth ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO), held in Doha in November 2001, in putting development at the centre of further trade negotiations, augurs well for the future of the trading system and the potential it offers to developing countries. Also the outcomes of the International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Monterrey, Mexico, in March 2002, is important in discussing ways and means of promoting coherence and consistency in the global financial system. One of the primary objectives is to bring a development orientation to the world of finance. The outcome of the Summit needs to draw on these and other related processes.

In spite there has been some progress on putting the principles of sustainable development into action, there remain many fundamental challenges to be addressed. The impacts of globalization for instance were not addressed at all in Rio. Much more need to be done by both rich and poor countries to place sustainable development as a central policy objective at all levels, and to implement the plans agreed previously. Access to resources, technology, markets to develop and good governance systems are necessities for poor countries to progress toward sustainable development. Rich countries will need to show real commitment to changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and production and moving towards far greater efficiency in resource use. Civil society and private sector action is central to these needs, and means to integrate it, into what was once a government-heavy agenda, are sorely needed. This is a challenge for society as a whole, thus governments needs to show greater commitment and must create or allow the creation to the climate in which real change is possible (IIED 2002).

IV. Governance and the WSSD

"Governance is the framework of social and economic systems and legal and political structures through which humanity manages itself" World Humanity Action Trust (WHAT). Governance and sustainable development are intimately tied together. The future role and architecture of institutions, from local to international levels, will be crucial determinants of whether future policy and programmes for sustainable development will succeed.

Effective sustainable development governance at all levels is key to the realization of the goals of sustainable development. To achieve these goals and to meet the emerging challenges, the sustainable development governance architecture needs to be strengthened at the international, regional and national levels, as these are inextricably linked and mutually interdependent (Anaedu and Engfeldt, 2002)

General Framework

1. To achieve these objectives, actions are required at all levels on the following aspects of sustainable development governance architecture:

a) Promoting effective arrangements and mechanisms that integrate in a balanced manner the three dimensions of sustainable development i.e.: economic, social and environment.

b) Ensuring coherence and consistency in policy formulation and implementation.

c) Promoting transparency and effective involvement of all relevant parts of government and of civil society in decision-making.

d) Strengthening institutional mechanisms dealing with policy formulation, coordination, implementation and review as well as reinforcing inter-linkages among these mechanisms.

V. Priorities for WSSD based on The Regional Preparatory Meetings

There were five regional inter-governmental preparatory meetings, including a number of sub-regional that took place in preparation for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in the period from September-November 2001. The meetings addressed a wide array of issues ranging from region specific to general global actions. From those meetings emerged some areas of common concern or priority issues for the World Summit.

The following is a summary review of the outcomes of the Regional Preparatory Meetings focusing on the areas for future action as summaries by the World Summit Secretariat issued in December 2001 (CSD 2001). Full reports of the meetings can be accessed through the UN official website for WSSD (www.johannesburgsummit.org).

V.1.  Overview

The regional meetings underscored five main points. Firstly, the international community should concentrate on expeditious implementation of Agenda 21. Secondly, the three pillars of sustainable development must be integrated. Thirdly, the emerging trends and new realities, like globalization, should be addressed to promote equity and inclusion. Fourthly, the Summit should focus on certain key areas and on deliverables that can accelerate progress towards the realization of the goals of sustainable development. While doing so, it should build on the goals agreed at various UN Conference/meetings, particularly the Millennium Summit goals. Finally, there is an obvious need to strengthen international institutional arrangements (within the frame of international governance) for sustainable development.

It is noted that each of the region has its own peculiarities and priorities for future actions; nevertheless the following areas seem to be emerging as issues of common concern:

Implementation of the Rio Principles: Reaffirmation of Rio principles, particular emphasis on the implementation of polluter-pays principle and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.

Globalization: There are calls for making globalization equitable, sustainable and inclusive. The Summit should focus on ways and means of making globalization work for sustainable development. Some regions have mentioned specific initiatives in the areas of trade, finance, investment and technology, including information technology.

Poverty eradication: The Summit is expected to contribute towards the realization of the Millennium Declaration goal of halving poverty by 2015. It is also expected to promote better understanding of linkages between environment, poverty, trade and human security.

Sustainable Consumption and Production: Measures to encourage sustainable production and consumption, particularly increasing energy efficiency. Decoupling of economic growth from pressures on the environment or natural resource base.

Management of Natural Resources: The Summit should develop specific initiatives in areas such as fresh water and sanitation, oceans and seas, coastal zones, mountains, land use, forests, biodiversity, desertification, minerals and metals.  Some regions mentioned air quality and climate change with particular emphasis on implementation of international commitments.

Agriculture and Food Security: Doubling agricultural production in Africa within five years. Some regions emphasized the need to promote sustainable agriculture and rural development ( SARD).

Energy: The Summit should deliver a deal that promotes global access to energy. Special initiatives for promoting the share of renewable and affordable energy should also be launched.

Fresh Water and Sanitation: Achievement of the Millennium Declaration target on access to water and sanitation services.  Measures to promote integrated water management.

Sustainable Human Settlements: Initiatives on effective urban planning and management.  Some regions referred to the issues of mega-cities.

Health: Initiatives to strengthen health services should be part of the overall poverty reduction and sustainable development strategies.

Human Development: Education, training, employment, gender mainstreaming and development of youth.

Financing of Sustainable Development: Mobilization of all sources of finance; Developed countries should endeavour to meet the target of 0.7% of GNP as ODA as soon as possible; Cancellation of debt of the poorest countries; innovative sources of financing should be identified by ICFFD.

Trade and Market Access: Greater market access to developing countries’ products, particularly in the areas of agriculture and textiles; elimination of market distorting subsidies and export support measures; reduction of environmentally damaging subsidies.

Transfer of Technology and Capacity Building: The Summit should foster the establishment of effective means of facilitating transfer of technology, and measures to promote capacity building.

Governance/Institutional Structure for Sustainable Development: The Summit should discuss ways of improving institutional framework for sustainable development at the national, regional and international levels. Some regions emphasized the importance of national governance issues, including promotion of effective partnership arrangements. Peace and security were identified as a pre-requisite for sustainable development.

• Decision Making and Information Requirements: Need for further efforts in developing sustainable development strategies and policies, effective participation and development of measures for monitoring progress towards sustainable development.

For the Arab region, security ranked s the first priority for achieving sustainable development. The Prpcom as well as the AMCEN/CAMRE joint Declaration emphasized that peace and security is prerequisite for development in the region. Poverty eradication, water and land degradation also were high among the list of priorities.

The expected contribution of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), through ISESCO is to strongly introduce, the Deceleration of the Environment Ministers of Islamic Countries, the ethical and moral aspect of sustainable development. It would a serious attempt to put a human face to sustainable development. Building on the Jeddah Declaration (2000) and the Tehran Declaration (2001), ISESCO should try to lead the discussion to weave in the principles of Islamic values and teachings into the new the world new governance systems and to seek through the dialogue among cultures a universal code of ethics for guiding development and the relationships among nations of our planet, and between man and the universe.  

VI. Summit Outcome

To structure the outcomes of the of the WSSD, the Summit Secretariat has proposed a framework or 'package' of Summit outcomes, comprising of two types of documents:

Type 1: negotiated outcomes in two documents, for adoption by all Member States at the Summit:

1. Assessment of overall progress achieved since Rio, identifying major constraints and suggesting measures to overcome these constraints; including ways of strengthening the institutional framework for sustainable development

2. Reinvigoration of political commitment, addressing new challenges and opportunities and revising the world governance system, which will effect not only the framework of social and economic systems and the legal and political structures, including the UN system, through which humanity manages itself but also environmental governance. This may also influence the future of UNEP and other institutions addressing the environmental component of sustainable development, including that of the Multi lateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs).

The intergovernmental, negotiated documents will include a focused, detailed Programme of Action that includes

• Introduction to the issue

• Programme areas

• Basis for action

• Objectives

• Activities (at all levels)

• Means of implementation – including capacity building, technology sharing, education and training)

• Roles of stakeholders

• Financial resources (appropriate resource mix, e.g. ODA, FDI, etc)

• Timetable and targets

• Indicators

These documents are to reaffirm governments’ leadership and provide all stakeholders and citizens with clear information on actions to be taken by governments and desired actions by stakeholders, and enhance everybody’s ability to contribute to the Programme of Action (PoA) as well as to monitor implementation.

Type 2: non-negotiated outcomes of two kinds, for announcement at the Summit:

1. Regional, sub-regional and inter-regional initiatives / plans of action / partnerships / commitments; initiated and developed in the lead to the Summit by respective regions and/or interested groups of countries, and should actively involve and solicit support from relevant international organizations, donor community and stakeholders.

2. Commitments, initiatives and partnerships aimed at practical implementation in specific sectors / areas / communities that would be initiated and developed by major groups (private sector, trade unions, local authorities, NGOs, scientific community, etc), including public-private partnerships with interested governments and/or international organizations.

The suggested framework for this type of documents calls for contributions by governments, governments + stakeholders, and stakeholders.

Governments’ contributions

A focused and detailed draft PoA (type 1) would allow for individual governments or groups of governments to develop their commitments and initiatives to be announced at the Summit.

Stakeholders’ contributions

Aiming to include partnership initiatives in the overall Summit outcome challenges governments and all stakeholders to develop concrete implementation initiatives for the future. The concept also provides important opportunities to acknowledge the specific conditions and needs at regional and national which require specific measures, the need for multi-stakeholder partnerships, and stakeholders' roles and responsibilities in sustainable development (Stakeholder Forum 2002).

Partnerships/Initiatives to strengthen the implementation of Agenda 21

Partnerships and initiatives to implement Agenda 21 are expected to become one of the major outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development. These “second type” of outcomes would consist of a series of commitments and action-oriented coalitions focused on deliverables and would contribute in translating political commitments into action. Specific modalities of such partnerships (including targets, timetables, monitoring arrangements, coordination and implementation mechanisms, arrangements for predictable funding and technology transfer, etc.) need to be elaborated in the lead up to the Summit by potential partners from governments, international organizations and major groups (Summit Secretariat 2002)

References

Anaedu, O and Mr Lars-Goran Engfeldt, 2002. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOVERNANCE. Paper prepared for consideration in the Second Week of the Third Session of the Preparatory Committee for WSSD.

- IIED 2002. WSSD and Globalization. http://www.iied.org/wssd/index.html

- Stakeholder Forum is an international multi-stakeholder organization - a network and forum on sustainable development, which has promoted outcomes from the first Earth Summit in 1992 and is now working on preparations for Earth Summit 2002. http://www.earthsummit2002.org/ic/process/summit.htm

- Summit Secretariat 2002. Partnerships/Initiatives to strengthen the implementation of Agenda 21.http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/html/documents/prep2final_papers/wssd_description_of_partnerships2.doc

- UN  1992. Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992, vol. I, Resolutions Adopted by the Conference (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.93.I.8 and Corrigendum), resolution 1, annex II.

- UN 2002. Implementing Agenda 21 Report of the Secretary-General. Commission on Sustainable Development acting as the preparatory committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development Second session 28 January-8 February 2002. E/CN.17/2002/PC.2/7