Network 2015
February 2003

CSD Reform
The Eleventh Commission on Sustainable Development
The countdown begins!
  At a meeting of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) on January 27th the new chair and vice-chairs were elected for the eleventh session of the CSD (to take place 28th April to 9th May). Valli Moosa, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, South Africa takes the helm as chair with four vice chairs supporting him - Hossein Moeini Meybodi (Islamic Republic of Iran) from the Asian States group; Irena Zubcevic (Croatia) from the Eastern European States group; H.E. Bruno Stagno (Costa Rica) from the Latin America and Caribbean States group; and Nadine Gouzee (Belgium) from the Western European and other States group.
  Discussion will abound over the next three months about what the direction the CSD will take towards implementing the commitments from the Johannesburg Summit. It remains unclear whether these discussions will take place within the more formal setting of a CSD intersessional meeting or informally through a series a briefing meetings, similar to what took place in the final stages of the Summit. Nevertheless, during this time governments and the UN will have to begin to pin down what they want the CSD to be mandated to do. 
  At least on one point everyone appears to be in agreement - the CSD will have to undergo fundamental changes if there is to be real progress on implementing sustainable development over the next ten years. Some of the key priorities for change are outlined in the Johannesburg Summit Plan of Implementation (box 1, next page) which, in particular, called for the CSD to take an enhanced role in: 
  “reviewing and monitoring progress in the implementation of Agenda 21 and fostering coherence of implementation, initiatives and partnerships” 
  In addition it said that the CSD should give more emphasis to:  
  “actions that enable implementation at all levels, including promoting and facilitating partnerships involving Governments, international organizations and relevant stakeholders for the implementation of Agenda 21.”
  Exactly how the CSD will become more effective in implementation, monitoring and facilitating partnerships and WSSD commitments is the real issue up for debate. Johannesburg gave the CSD clear intergovernmental endorsement that this is the way it should go – now governments must go that step further and establish the modalities for actually doing it. The CSD has a whole range of options before it which need to be fairly considered if it wants to become a more action-orientated, inter-governmental and multi-stakeholder forum for exchanging ideas and experiences in favour of implementing sustainable development. 
  More fundamentally, the future relevance of the CSD will depend on the commitments of other institutions and groups to follow through on implementation. If it is to become a true facilitator of progress it will need the full support of the UN agencies and bodies, far wider involvement of non-environment but relevant government departments (i.e. trade, finance, industrial development etc), as well as bringing in new stakeholders who are actually involved in the process of implementation. Each has something to contribute to bringing the resources, political authority and practical expertise for ensuring mainstream implementation of sustainable development at a global scale. 
  The debate about interaction between UN bodies will also, in part, be informed by the wider discussion that is also taking place in an ad-hoc working group on “the Integrated and Coordinated Implementation of and Follow-up to the Outcomes of the Major UN Conferences and Summits in the Economic and social Fields” that was established at the 57th UN General Assembly. However, other international and regional bodies must also be far more effectively engaged in this process, including the WTO, regional economic commissions and so forth. 
  No other UN or international institution has as it’s mandate the examination of the interlinkages between environmental, social, economic, and political arenas. If the CSD is to produce some significant results - results that are more substantial than merely interesting debate - a number of things will need to change. The agenda will need to address fewer and critically important matters at greater detail. It will also need to focus much more on supporting the implementers. Governments will need to measure their success based on their ability to improve implementation, through discussions of lessons learned, capacity building, and the fostering of new partnerships that focus on implementation of commitments and goals. They will need to make sure that stakeholder groups, especially those who undertake implementation, are effectively involved in the discussions. This will include the vast majority of society who remains out of the sustainability loop - the general public – far greater work must be done to educate, raise awareness and encourage people’s general understanding and support for sustainable development. A more concerted multi-stakeholder and multi-level format would present a much better chance of fully understanding the problems and priorities, as well as in identifying potential remedies and areas for joint action. If the CSD begins to make such changes, it may actually have a chance of being seen by its future constituency as an institution that really matters. We believe that the CSD must "really matter."
  IUCN and Stakeholder Forum are currently supporting this process by conducting a dialogue in the run up to the CSD to try and tease out some of these ideas – see page 8 for more on this. Stakeholder Forum has also produced a paper on the future of the CSD which is online at: 
www.earthsummit2002.org/es/issues/Governance/governance.htm 
David Hales & Rosalie Gardiner, Stakeholder Forum

Editorial
  Firstly, let me welcome you to Network 2015, the spiritual successor to Network 2002. In its ‘2002’ incarnation, Network focussed on preparations for the Earth Summit of that year. The outcomes of that process strongly emphasised Implementation. Network takes up that challenge, adopting a ‘2015’ horizon  to reflect the over-arching objective of the delivery of the UN Millennium Development Goals. 
  In the slightly more immediate future, this will include reporting on key international meetings, progress in the field of partnerships, all the while keeping a close eye on the Secretary Generals excellent WEHAB cluster of priority issues.
  This issues lead article confronts the ongoing debate about CSD Reform. The agency that was born out of the ‘92 Earth Summit faces a different world today than it did 10 years ago, and with it a new set of priority issues. Much has been learnt over the last decade offering a range of new approaches to international policy formation. Not least of which is the challenge of focussing on implementation rather than negotiation.
  The aforementioned WEHAB issue cluster has started to produce a knock on effect to the global community of expert and specialised agencies. In March Japan will play host to the 3rd World Water Forum, the first international platform since Johannesburg for governments, along with other stakeholders, to meet and set in place the path towards achieving the Goals of halving those without access to drinking water and sanitation services by 2015. Keen to play its part, UNEP’s Global Plan of Action on Land Based Sources of Marine Pollution will be convening a pair of meetings at the Forum to address both these issues. Future issues of Network will be taking a closer look at this Kyoto based water event.
  Later in the year Europe’s prominent Ministerial meeting on Environment will be held in the Ukraine capital of Kiev. As we never tire of saying, the focus for the post Johannesburg Sustainable Development agenda is implementation. A strong case can be made that this happens best when closest to the ground. Action at the regional level will play a vital role in achieving the necessary political consensus to support such efforts. Kiev provides the first staging post for the European Region to look at its own priority issues, to deal with the unique challenges of meeting the needs of economies in transition at the same time as keeping up the pressure on Western European states to implement the highest environmental standards. Find out more about the preparations for this event on page 5.
  Controversial among the Johannesburg negotiations, reproductive health rights divided to the core.  While some saw this a crucially linked to the delivery of many of the Millennium Development Goals, for others the debate sailed to close to their cultural sensitivities. Preparations for the International Population and Development Conference + 10 saw the issues resurface. Outcomes available on page 7.
  As you near the end of this issue, you will find a brief overview of some of the key areas of we, here at Stakeholder Forum, will be delivering during 2003. Building on the outcomes of our Johannesburg Summit activities, these projects will be keenly focussed on providing ever more resources to make Sustainable Development a living breathing reality. 
T. Middleton, Editor

News
UNEP Governing Council
  Nairobi, Kenya will play host to the 22nd Session of UNEP’s Governing Council session (GC), February 3-7. Focussing strongly on WSSD follow up, UNEP will hope that governments provide it with a clear strong mandate linked to the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. The agenda also builds on work instigated by UNEP prior to the Summit process, including International Environmental Governance and the role of Civil Society. 
  Having seen the former somewhat hijacked during the Johannesburg process, UNEP will be keen to reassert itself as the principal authority of the Global Environment. That it was bold enough to table the governance debate itself, UNEP should be embraced as governments seek a clearer picture of the worlds complex and intertwined environmental architecture.
  The Civil Society picture is less than clear. Despite a lengthy process of consultation with mostly NGOs, UNEP’s position remains unclear. Whilst other UN bodies move forward with relatively sophisticated multi-stakeholder policies of engagement, UNEP persists with a blunt 3-pronged approach with Governments and Business on the one hand and everyone else all bundled together 
  Underneath this level of debate, though, will be the seemingly perennial debate about the status of UNEP as a UN body. Whilst on the surface, this discussion focuses on giving UNEP agency status, the real issue on the table concerns securing consistent and reliable funding. Something that has been notable by its absence over recent year, much to the detriment of UNEP’s ability to deliver what it has been tasked to do.
  In fact, the issue got so far as the General Assembly during its consideration of the outcomes of the Summit last December. The conclusion of that session was, however, less than UNEP probably hoped with the issue being referred back to this upcoming session of the Governing Council. If, at this meeting, governments persist in asking UNEP for the earth and paying it peanuts for the pleasure, so will the agency stumble on in shackles.

CSD 11 Dates Set
  Another step towards Johannesburg follow up has been put in place as the dates have been set for the 11th Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD). Convened at UN HQ from April 28th - May 9th, the CSD will continue in its role as the lead agency on Sustainable Development within the UN system. 
  At its 11th session, governments will be tasked with setting a work programme for the Commission to deliver implementation of the Johannesburg Summit agreements. Leading the meetings agenda will be last years General Assembly Resolution, which charges with CSD with incorporating the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation into its future work. The Resolution also calls for the development of Partnerships as a contributory force towards sustainable development. Thereafter the agenda looks at a small cluster of priority issues that dominated the Summit proceedings, including: Freshwater, Education, Fish Stocks and Ocean affairs. 
  Preceding the April session was an organisational session that took place on January 27th. Dealing largely with procedural issues, this one day meeting elected a Chair and a Bureau for the 11th Session. South Africa, who chaired and hosted the Johannesburg Summit, continue as chair and will be joined by Costa Rica, Iran, Croatia and Belgium representing the 5 UN regions respectively. The question that will be played out between now and April is what level of institutional reform has to take place if the CSD is to successfully rise to the implementation challenge.

World Economic Forum
  This years Annual Session of the World Economic Forum (WEF), bringing together business leaders and other prominent international figures, endeavoured to build on the more socially engaging agenda it set itself in 2002. Returning to its traditional setting of Davos in Switzerland, January 23-28,  the Forum supplemented its typical business, the World Economy, with issues reflecting growing public scepticism about corporate behaviour. 
  The multi-themed WEF also broadened its mandate to include Global Governance, recognising that governments alone could not solve many of the international issues facing the global community. A key outcome of this discussion was the launch of a new initiative by the Forum to monitor progress made in achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals. These include reductions in number of people living in poverty, reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS, provision of universal primary education as well as environmental targets including on Climate Change and Bio-Diversity.
  Whilst Cynics may view this as a token effort at appeasement, possible justified by the low numbers of business representatives on the initiatives steering committee, the move nevertheless represents a shirt by the Forum to table and recognise a broader role for the corporate sector  within civil society. 
  Elsewhere much of the discussion at the WEF echoed familiar free market sentiment. Namely calls for globalisation to be a viewed as a force for good, reducing barriers to trade and increasing global markets. Despite the inevitable critics of such views the WEF remains a unique opportunity for business leaders, the media, public and religious figures, academics and NGOs to discuss a portfolio of issues that would have seemed unlikely a decade ago, under an increasing public spotlight.

World Social Forum
  Billed as an ‘open meeting place where groups and movements of civil society opposed to neo-liberalism and a world dominated by capital or by any form of imperialism, but engaged in building a planetary society centred on the human person’, the World Social Forum, Porto Alegre, Brazil, positions itself as a balance to the World Economic Forum. 
  Taking place in parallel to the WEF, the ‘Social Forum presents a diverse range of conferences, dialogues, panels and workshops. Similarly to the WEF, the ‘Social Forum’s agenda reflects many of the issues of the day, focussing on impacts to social justice, human rights and democracy. 
  Geared more towards networking and information exchange, the ‘Social Forum themed its activities around Sustainable Development, Media, Political Power and Democratic World Order. Further information is available on the WSF website, at:
www.forumsocialmundial.org.br/home.asp

Water & Sanitation Revisted
  UNEP GPA to Convene Two Sessions at the 3RD World Water Forum
  The Global Programme of Action  for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA) coordination office will convene two sessions under the themes,  Water Supply, Sanitation, Hygiene and Water Pollution and, Water for Nature and the Environment at the 3rd World Water Forum to be held in March 2003, in Japan.
  Under the theme Water Supply, Sanitation, Hygiene and Water Pollution, UNPEP/GPA and partners, UNEP/IETC, WHO, UN-HABITAT and WSSCC, will convene a session titled: Global Initiatives on Wastewater and Sanitation Revisited, which will assess the effectiveness of global initiatives thus far.
  In recent years there has been a substantial increase in the number of global initiatives taking account of the impacts of the exponential growth of urbanization and the effects of pollution discharged by urban centres and the resulting sanitation implications. The Millennium Development Goal for Water Supply and the Water and Sanitation targets of the World Summit on Sustainable Development has further increased  attention to this issue. 
  Worldwide still one out of 5 people has no access to basic drinking water services, and as many as 2,4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation services. Innovative approaches have to be implemented to reach the WSSD agreed targets to halve, by 2015, the number of people without access to drinking water and basic sanitation. It is, for example, estimated that the present level of investments in the water sector has to triple to make any real progress in the near future.
  A primary by-product of sanitation,  is municipal wastewater. The impact of wastewater discharges occurs at three levels: the direct living environment or neighbourhood where the wastewater is generated; the level of rivers and lakes used for disposal of untreated wastewater and finally, at the level of the marine environment, which is the ultimate recipient of all such waste. The UNEP Regional Seas programme has, in most of the regional seas, identified untreated sewage as the primary cause of pollution impacting the coastal and marine environment and the human populations depending upon it. 
  Efforts to safeguard both human and ecosystem health, and to avoid the degradation of water quality and other coastal and marine resources, range from proposals to establish additional global targets on wastewater emissions, invitations to governments to consider the possible use of time-bound, intermediate targets at all levels, to the political will to assign a high priority to domestic wastewater management among other pressing public investment needs, and the exploration of innovative financing mechanisms to bridge the enormous gap between actual and optimal financial investments.
  This panel will assess whether global initiatives adequately address these issues and where the gaps are in relation to implementation needs. It will also focus on where and how synergy can be enhanced and resource mobilization improved.
   Under the theme Water for Nature and the Environment, the GPA and UNEP Collaborating Centre on Water (UCC- Water) will convene a session on: “Fresh Water and Coast – A Missing Link in Integrated Water Management addressing the important linkages between freshwater management issues in upstream river basins and the water issues in their related coastal zones. 
  Changes in stream flows caused by irrigation, hydropower and water supply have changed salinities in estuaries and lagoons. Land use changes, in particular deforestation and extensive agriculture, have increased sediment loads, nutrients and toxic pesticides. Discharges of untreated domestic wastewater and toxic industrial chemicals have had adverse impacts on coastal ecosystems, and on the living conditions of millions of people who depend upon coastal goods and services.
  The independent nature of the management of fresh and marine water resources in river basins through Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and in the coastal areas through Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) has caused negative consequences for the biodiversity and productivity of riverine and coastal ecosystems. The session will discuss the merits of multi-sectoral and multi-level integration in Integrated Coastal Area and River Basin Management through the presentation of case studies and the results of a virtual discussion forum and a multi-stakeholder meeting.
About the GPA
  The Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA) was adopted by 109 governments and the European Union in Washington, DC in 1995. The GPA is non-binding upon states but it reflects their commitment to addressing the negative effects of land-based activities upon the coastal environment that cause or exacerbate poverty, poor human health, economic losses and food insecurity. GPA implementation is facilitated by UNEP through the GPA Coordination office in The Hague, the Netherlands.
  Through collaborative partnerships, the GPA coordination office is responsible for:
•	Mainstreaming the GPA objectives into national policies
•	Facilitating a measurable reduction in pollutant loads in specific coastal locations
•	Facilitating the protection and restoration of specific habitats
•	Capacity building among local and national authorities to quickly address priority problems 
•	Application of alternative approaches to address specific land based sources of pollution
For Further Information please contact:

Jacquie Chenje
j.chenje@unep.nl

Environment for Europe
Kiev 2003
  From the 21st to the 23rd of May 2003, representatives of the 55 member states of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) will be in Kiev, Ukraine to take part in the Fifth Ministerial Conference “Environment for Europe” (EfE).  The event was originally planned to take place in September 2002, but in view of the preparations for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the conference date was moved.  It is important to recognise the significance in siting the conference in a country of the Former Soviet Union (FSU), as was decided at the Fourth Ministerial conference. The choice of Ukraine as host country is an acknowledgment of the unique and pressing problems of the so-called “Newly Independent States” (NIS).  In some ways the host country is in a key position to ensure success for its “own” conference, but in a sense Kiev represents not only Ukraine but also the other FSU states.
  Stakeholder Forum has been working with Ukrainian NGO MAMA-86 and the Alter Eco Coalition in the delivery of a project that involves communities within Ukraine in the Environment for Europe Process. The project builds on a relationship that dates back to 1994 and was developed as a natural successor to earlier initiatives that concentrated on Women and Sustainable Development, Drinking Water and Public Consultation as part of the National Environment and Health Action Plan (NEHAP) project.  
  The partnership is a successful one because it seeks to draw on the strengths of each organisation.  Stakeholder Forum bring project management and fundraising skills, plus experience of organisational capacity building, delivery of Multi Stakeholder Processes and high level seminars.  MAMA-86 is a pioneering NGO whose mission is to raise public awareness on issues of environment and health, focusing particularly on women, through information gathering and dissemination, education and the promotion of inter-sectoral debates.  MAMA-86 is also an essential part of the network of organisations through which the project is delivered.  "Alter-Eco" is an open and independent coalition of more than Ukrainian environmental non-governmental organisations founded in 1999. Without the local knowledge and existing relationships of the Alter-Eco partners it would have been impossible to effectively target project resources, moreover the goals of the project reflected the stated aims of Alter Eco, namely:
  “To consolidate and co-ordinate the efforts of eco-NGOs in order to activate public participation in the "Environment for Europe" process; to strengthen the role of the general public in development, implementation and monitoring of environmental policies in Ukraine and abroad.”
  A range of measures has been undertaken to strengthen the network and enhance the effectiveness of partner organisations.  A series of regional workshops throughout Ukraine have been held in order to: 
Provide information about the Environment for Europe process and in particular the Kiev Conference.
Assess, through Semi Structured Interviews and Questionnaires, the level of public confidence in the environmental decision making process.
Provide an opportunity for representatives of the local community, in particular the more marginalised members of society, to voice concerns about environmental issues in the region.  
  The project participants from communities across Ukraine are currently developing plans for a major National Seminar to take place just prior to the ministerial conference.  This seminar will summarise the outcomes of the project including contributions to the Carpathian Convention, and statements on other protocols to be signed at the EfE conference (see below), however it also aims to look to the future and invite a wide range of participants to contribute to a debate that asks the question “What should the future of the Environment for Europe Process mean for Ukraine?” 
  As the conference draws closer there is an increasing level of activity across the continent as delegations prepare for what many hope will be a valuable and progressive event that will see the environment of Europe considered in a global context that reflects and acknowledges the outcomes of WSSD.  The environment for Europe process has achieved notable successes, perhaps most significantly the Aarhus convention; as described by Kofi Annan Secretary General of the United Nations:
  “... the significance of the Aarhus Convention is global.  It is by far the most impressive elaboration of principle 10 of the Rio Declaration, which stresses the need for citizen's participation in environmental issues and for access to information on the environment held by public authorities... it is the most ambitious venture in the area of 'environmental democracy' so far undertaken under the auspices of the United Nations."  
  The preparations for the Kiev Conference have also seen increased activity in the drawing up of protocols on strategic environmental assessment, civil liability and pollution release and transfer registers.  This environmental law making is reflected in provisional agenda for the Kiev ministerial conference that has been developed through the discussions of the Working Group of Senior Officials, final approval will take place at the next meeting of the working Group in February.  Currently the draft agenda includes the issues listed below: (The full agenda can be found on the UNECE Website www.unece.org)   
Environmental policy in transition: Lessons learned from ten years of Environmental Performance Reviews
Environmental Monitoring and the Third Pan-European Environmental Assessment Report
Environmental Strategy for Countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA)
Mountain Initiatives: Carpathian Convention and Central Asian Mountain Charter
Environment and Education
Energy and environment
  Three new Protocols to UNECE environment conventions may also be opened for signature at the Kiev Conference. These include:
The Protocol on strategic environment assessment to the Espoo Convention
The Protocol on Pollutant release and transfer registers to the Aarhus Convention
The Protocol on liability and compensation for damage resulting from the transboundary effects of industrial accidents on transboundary waters as a Protocol to two Conventions: The Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes and the Convention on Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents }
  The Conference will also consider the Future of the "Environment for Europe" process, and it will adopt a Ministerial Declaration and it is surely this issue that presents the greatest challenges and opportunities.  As summarised by the Chair of the “Future” group at a meeting held on December 3 2003 in Geneva:
  Members of wider civil society are also making preparations for Kiev.  Many of the NGOs that have participated in the EfE process will be represented through the European Eco Forum, which has responsibility for registration and creation of the international NGO delegation to the conference. (www.eco-forum.org). The Ukrainian NGO Organising Committee will be responsible for the registration of national Ukrainian NGOs (contact conference@rec-kyiv.ua.org).  Representatives of 60 international, European and national environmental organisations (ECOs) from 28 countries met under the auspices of Eco Forum in Bratislava on 7 – 9 December 2002 to discuss demands and proposals for the Kiev conference.  The Bratislava Declaration is therefore an important articulation of the views of the pan European environmental community.
  Registration for official and side events is currently underway with the deadline for the submission of intergovernmental organizations and the NGO delegate lists set as March 1st.  It is proposed that about 200 representatives from NGOs could be invited to attend a joint session with Ministers.  For the remainder of the ministerial conference about 50 persons will be present at all official sessions. 
  The question of the future of the “Environment for Europe” process will play an important part in both the official and the parallel events that will take place in Kiev.  This hugely complex issue will undoubtedly see energetic exchanges in the search for consensus.  From the perspective of Eco Forum the process is viewed as the mechanism to promote environmental policy integration, environmental democracy and sustainable development.  The Bratislava Declaration also makes reference to the implementation of the Johannesburg Agenda achieved in part through the development and implementation of a regional Action Programme for Sustainable Consumption and Production patterns.  
  The enlargement of the European Union presents an additional challenge in considering the future of the EfE process, with some twenty five countries soon attempting to implement the same environmental policies standards and rules.  As the process of accession continues the centre of Europe will migrate eastwards and objectives for the future should “advance and strengthen the interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars of sustainable development.... at local, national regional and global levels”. 
  There is an expectation among the partners of the Kiev 2003 Project and in the wider NGO community in Ukraine that bringing the Environment for Europe Conference to Ukraine should ensure a clearer understanding among delegations of the challenges facing economies in transition.  But this is not all.  The NGOs and other groups here also want to demonstrate to their European neighbours how they are meeting the challenges and creating positive change within communities affected by environmental degradation.  Many of the problems faced by the countries of the Former Soviet Union exist on a scale that is seldom found in Western Europe, and it is essential that the Minsterial Conference addresses this not only through the drafting of legal instruments and protocols but also through the continued engagement and support of civil society and the NGO Community.
Summary
  Ministers in Kiev may wish to discuss the wider question of the future aims and direction of the “Environment for Europe” process.  Such a discussion could reflect on the needs:
•	To strengthen the regional environmental framework including the implementation of regional environmental instruments;
•	To reverse the widening gaps in environmental quality and health between Western Europe, on one hand, and Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA), on the other hand;
•	To follow up on the political commitments and programme of action agreed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg;
•	To adjust the architecture of the EfE process to new challenges  

Contact: Trevor Rees, Stakeholder Forum
trees@earthsummit2002.org

Poverty & Health Rights
  Those of us who were involved in WSSD in Johannesburg will remember the struggles to include references to reproductive health and rights.  WSSD was part of the process towards the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – since the provision of reproductive health services  and the elimination of poverty go hand in hand, all the goals are relevant, but in particular:
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
•	Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015.
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
•	Reduce by two thirds the mortality rate among children under five.
Goal 5: Improve maternal health
•	Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio
  However, the account of the recent ICPD + 10 preparatory conference in Bangkok indicates some of the obstacles to progress towards the MDGs. This meeting was the fifth Asia Pacific Population Conference with representatives from India, Pakistan and China, as well as the main Asian Pacific countries.  NGOs active in the field of reproductive health and rights were also present, and acted very effectively to bring about a successful outcome.
  The United States were present due to their presence in Guam, a tiny island in the Pacific. The discussions were very heated, and unusually for a UN conference, resulted in a vote.  The US had argued that some of the wording “reproductive health services” and “reproductive rights” could be read as advocating abortion and underage sex.  The vote resulting from the deadlock ended in a defeat for the US: the first vote came out at 31-1 with two abstentions, and the second 32-1 with two abstentions.
  The plan that was adopted frustrated the efforts of the US to ‘row back’ from the commitments and language agreed in Cairo in 1994.  This plan includes tactics to fight poverty by concentrating on 12 areas, including family planning, gender equality and combating HIV and AIDS.  
  An extract from an article by Dr. Martha Campbell of the University of California and Trustee of the Margaret Pyke Memorial Trust in London gives a flavour of the Bangkok conference:
  The 30 countries of Asia and the Pacific contain 62% of the world’s population.  Many of these countries have rising rates of HIV/AIDS, and in many the low status of women means that:
1)	“natural family planning”, i.e. the rhythm method of contraception which requires cooperation of the male partner,  does not work; and
2)	young girls, often preyed upon by older males, need to negotiate condom use to protect themselves from AIDS.  Abortion is legal in many of these countries.  In every country where abortion is illegal it is typically safe and available for the rich, and unavailable for the poor, resulting in crowds of women in obstetric wards every day, severely injured in their desperate attempts to interrupt an unwanted pregnancy. I have seen this sad sight in many countries.   
  India has one million more births than deaths every 20.5 days.
   Contrary to wishful thinking, for many of these countries rapid population growth is far from over.  What women need is simply the assurance that they can determine whether and when to have a next child.  With that single, first freedom, development can begin; and without it, development cannot.  Smaller families become educated, better fed, and healthier.
  Eradicating poverty is the single greatest challenge that the world faces.  It cannot be met unless conditions are created in which women and men can make key decisions about their lives – including when and how often to have children: this should be an inalienable human right.
  The argument must be that, if human rights are a key component in sustainable development strategies, and if development concerns are best addressed through improving the status of women, then realisation and implementation of women’s rights, including their sexual and reproductive rights, are essential to poverty eradication.  The realisation of many of the international development goals set over the past decade may then become a reality. The international community has agreed to reduce the alarming current annual maternal mortality (about 600,000 per year, over 99% of which is in the majority world) by three-quarters by 2015, infant and child mortality by two-thirds by 2015, and to ensure that all children have access to and complete a primary education of good quality by 2015. These targets will not be met without provision of comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services.   The crucial importance of education for women in reduction in family size should be realised.
  The UN conference in Cairo in 1994 shifted the emphasis away from population ‘control’ and towards people-centred development, including human and reproductive rights for women.  The Programme of Action required much greater resources for reproductive health, but since then a sense of urgency has been lacking.  Far more resources are needed to attain the annual target of $17 billion proposed at Cairo. 
  As the 2002 UNFPA State of World Population report – People, Poverty and Possibilities concludes:
  In the year 2000, total expenditure [on basic reproductive health and population programmes] was $10.9 billion, $6.1 billion short.  Donor countries contributed $2.6 billion (24% of their total expenditure, and 46% of their commitment).  Developing countries contributed $8.3 billion (76% of the total spent and about 73% of their commitment).
  The international goal for poverty reduction and improvement of life quality offer a noble vision.  Achieving and protecting them will require both a focus on the goals themselves and sensitivity to the context.  Universal access to reproductive health care, universal education and women’s empowerment are goals in their own right, but they are also conditions for ending poverty.
  As we all work towards the ICPD + 10 review, and the target of the Millennium Development Goals, we must not lose sight of what was achieved in Cairo.  
  The Bangkok experience shows that preparation and co-operation makes successful outcomes possible and that civil society is a force with which to be reckoned.  Women all over the world can be relieved that there are organisations from civil society and national delegations who have their interests at heart.
  Catherine Budgett-Meakin, Project Co-ordinator, UNED-UK/Margaret Pyke Memorial Trust, 27 January 2003

Project Updates
Governance
The future of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. At the Johannesburg Summit on (WSSD) in August 2002 governments made a specific commitment to further strengthen the work of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), particularly regarding taking a stronger role in discussing and monitoring implementation, partnerships and initiatives for sustainable development. As a contribution to this process the World Humanity Action Trust (WHAT) Governance Programme at Stakeholder Forum, in partnership with IUCN (The World Conservation Union), is carrying out a multi-stakeholder consultation process about the possible options for enhancing the role of the CSD. Stakeholder Forum and IUCN are currently undertaking the dialogue process to try and clarify some of the options available for effective implementation of sustainable development commitments within the United Nations system. This work is taking place in the run up to discussions that will take place around the eleventh session of the CSD, in New York (April 28th – May 9th 2003). The aims of the dialogue will be to:
Contribute to the development of the CSD future work programme and activities to ensure effective follow-up and implementation of the WSSD commitments 
Contribute to the GA open-ended working group on cross-cutting themes and integrated follow-up of the WSSD, Millennium Summit and Monterrey FfD Conference
Encourage stakeholder involvement in the discussion and follow-up 
  Some of the key questions that will be addressed include: 
How can intergovernmental processes be best used to overcome the barriers to sustainable development?
What is the future of the multi-stakeholder dialogue process?
Are we as effective as we can be at mobilizing additional resources for sustainable development?
What are the most important topics for deliberation at the CSD?  What is the future of the WEHAB agenda (Water, Energy, Health, Agriculture and food, and Biodiversity)?
What is the future of the Type II partnerships?
How will we monitor and evaluate progress towards sustainable development, and especially towards the Millennium Development Goals?
  Part of the dialogue will include a day-long workshop to be convened in New York, in April, followed by a side-event, during the CSD session, to share the outcomes of the consultation and workshop. In addition, a questionnaire has been send out to a wide range of different stakeholders and governments to seek their general views on this topic. Summary reports of the questionnaire, workshop and related events will all be made available online at www.earthsummit2002.org and presented at CSD 11. 
Global Governance Audit – A Book and a Conference.  In addition to the discussion on the CSD, the WHAT Governance Programme is also currently working on a new book entitled “Governance for Sustainable Development: Beyond Johannesburg”. Authors from various UN Agencies, NGOs, international institutes and academic bodies are presenting their broad views of the current architecture surrounding the international environment, economic and development arenas. The book particularly focuses on the institutional frameworks that relate to the WEHAB issues (Water, Energy, Health, Agriculture and food, and Biodiversity) which emerged as key global priorities during the WSSD. 
  The Governance for Sustainable Development book is initiating the second phase of the Governance Programme, which will include a two-year audit of global governance frameworks. The governance audit project will be initiated be an international conference to coincide with the launch of the book in the autumn of 2003. 
  For further information contact: Rosalie Gardiner at Stakeholder Forum, rgardiner@earthsummit2002.org

Monitoring 
Integrated National Reporting Templates. In the run up to the WSSD a small team of staff and interns have been working diligently to produce national reporting questionnaires or "templates" to help the production of national reports on the progress of implementation of commitments that were made in Agenda 21 and during different sessions of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. In the next phase of this project we are planning to revise these templates to become integrated reporting templates bringing in the new commitments from the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the Millennium Summit and Monterrey Conference. We are looking to use a sub-set of integrated reporting templates to be trialled with partners in three to five developed and developing countries. For further information contact: Rosalie Gardiner at Stakeholder Forum, rgardiner@earthsummit2002.org

Network of Regional Government for Sustainable Development. 
Regional Government Conference.  During the Johannesburg Summit in August 2002, representatives of 22 sub-national regional governments and several of their associations launched a global network for sharing information and experience about sustainable development at a regional level and promoting collaboration.  This network is also intended to assist in the development of cooperative projects and programmes between regional governments in different parts of the world to implement Agenda 21, the Johannesburg Plan of Action and the Millennium Development Targets. 
  Following the successful launch in Johannesburg, the Network of Regional Government (NRG) will be hosting its 2nd regional conference in San Sebastian, Spain from 27th – 31st March 2003.
  The primary purpose of this conference will be to constitute the network formally and establish a governing body, to welcome additional members from all parts of the world, and to initiate a work programme and a framework for developing new partnerships and action for sustainable development. 
  We are inviting prominent international figures in the field of sustainable development to address the conference in the opening plenary. There will be presentations from leading speakers in the field and workshops on Regional Sustainable Development Strategies and bi-lateral cooperation.  We have also identified a day for site visits and there will be small open space or “Global Forum” for participants to organise their own meetings, presentations or other side events.
  We believe that the voice of Regional Governments needs to be heard at the international level. We invite you to help us establish this voice. 
  It is important that this second meeting should engage the participation of regional leaders at the highest levels as we move on towards a formal constitution of the network, expanding its membership and shaping its mission. We very much hope therefore that you will be able to attend yourself or to be represented by senior political colleagues.
  At the same time the founder members believe that it is important that the network should reach out beyond ministers and officials of the regional governments, and should also engage the interest and participation of other stakeholders interested in the promotion of sustainable development at regional level, including the academic community, the business community and NGOs. We invite you to consider including some representatives of these communities in your delegations.
  A copy of the draft programme for the conference and further background information on the network can be obtained from www.nrg4sd.net
  If you require more information on the conference or the network please contact: Aretha Moore, Interim Secretariat, c/o Stakeholder Forum, 7 Holyrood Street, London SE1 2EL. Tel: +44 (0) 207 089 4313, Fax: +44 (0) 207 089 431, email: amoore@earthsummit2002.org

Earth Summit 2002 Awards Winners
  The Earth Summit 2002 Awards, run by the Royal Society of Arts, in conjunction with Stakeholder Forum, received 29 nominations from stakeholders worldwide. The Awards aimed at recognising and promoting outstanding organisations and individuals who, since the Rio Summit in 1992, have contributed to sustainable development through environmental protection, economic development or social equity.
  Two prizes were awarded, and here we profile the winners, who were officially announced on the 30th August at a meeting during the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.
Koichi Sueyoshi, Mayor, City of Kitakyushu, Japan 
  Koichi Sueyoshi is nicknamed the “Flying Mayor” as he rushes about in his dedication to the rebirth of the City of Kitakyushu. He won the jury’s vote for the strong international and inclusive approach he has taken to his work in the city of Kitakyushu, Japan's 11th largest city with a population of one million. 
  Since his election in 1987, he has applied his outstanding creativity and political leadership in tackling renovations together with the citizens of Kitakyushu. Before the Rio Summit, the City of Kitakyushu successfully overcame serious pollution in a relatively short time and recovered both environmentally and economically through partnerships among citizens, local government, businesses and universities. 
  Since Rio, Kitakyushu has tackled new issues such as the recycling of solid waste and establishing "Local Agenda 21 Kitakyushu" as practical activities in line with Chapter 28 of Agenda 21.  In addition to local activities, to assist developing countries in achieving sustainable development and environmental improvements, the City of Kitakyushu continues to reach beyond borders by promoting international environmental co-operation.
Dr Edmundo Werna, United Nations Volunteers, Bonn. 
  Dr Edmundo Werna, renowned for his work on sustainable urban development, won the on-line popular vote. He works as an Urban Development Specialist for UNV and has spent over 20 years working in sustainable urban development.  
  Dr Werna started his career in the provision of shelter and services for low-income areas. This resulted in publications contributing to the understanding of builders’ work practices and leading to policy recommendations. These policies have impacted on sustainable development as they relate to social development, economic growth and environmental conservation in the community. 
  Key practical projects include Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh - which won the Healthy Town award for best practice in the Hanover 2000 International Exhibition - and the implementation of UNV projects for the development of several towns and cities such as Tema (Ghana), Port Harcourt (Nigeria), Maseru (Lesotho), Esmeraldas (Ecuador) and Ismailia (Egypt). Dr Werna’s books include Combating Urban Inequalities: challenges for managing cities in the developing world (2000) and Implementing the Habitat Agenda: towards Child-friendly cities (1999).
RSA Sustainability Action Group Exchange: 
www.sage-rsa.org.uk

Conferences, Diary Dates & Events

3 Feb. - 7 Feb.	UNEP Governing Council. Nairobi, Kenya. Contact: www.unep.org	
6 Feb. - 9 Feb.	Delhi Sustainable Development Summit. New Delhi, Iindia. 
Contact: www.teriin.org/dsds	
10 Feb. - 11 Feb.	South Asia Regional Conference on Transitions Towards Sustainable 
Development. New Delhi, Inida. Contact: wwwterrin.org	
16 Mar. - 23 Mar.	Third World Water Forum. Kyoto, Japan. 
Contact: www.worldwaterforum.org	
17 Mar. - 19 Mar.	CBD Inter-Sessional Meeting on the Multi-Year Work Programme. 
Montreal, Canada. Contact: www.biodiv.org	
22 March	World Water Day 2003. Contact: www.waterday2003.org	
27 Mar. - 28 Mar.	UNEP Capacity Building Meeting on Environment, Trade & Sustainable Development. Mexico City, Mexico. Contact: www.cec.org/symposium	
13 Apr. - 16 Apr.	Fourth Annual Asia Pacific Cities Summit. Brisbane, Australia. 
Contact: www.apcsummit.org	
25 Apr. - 26 Apr. 	Sixth Workshop on International Climate Policy. Vienna, Austria. 
Contact: c.ploechl@ic-vienna.at	
28 Apr. - 30 Apr. 	Fourth Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe. 
Vienna, Austria. Contact: www.mcpfe.org	
28 Apr. - 9 May	11th Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. 
New York, USA. Contact: www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd11/csd11_2003.htm	
21 May - 23 May	Environment for Europe Fifth Ministerial Conference. Kiev, Ukraine. 
Contact: www.unece.org/env/wgso/index_kyivconf.htm