Daily report for 23 June 1993

CSD Chair Razali Ismail opened the high-level segment by statingthe need to provide the political impetus to propel Rio forward. Henoted the achievements of the CSD at this session and said that itmust not only monitor but serve as a mechanism for problem solving.He encouraged ministers to establish a dialogue at this meeting andto give the CSD clear guidance for its future work.Under-Secretary-General Nitin Desai said that while the task in Riowas policy development, the CSD's focus is policy implementation.Poverty, population growth and consumption patterns are the coreissues where we must direct our work. Agenda 21 must be implementedat the national level. The Secretariat will support the Bureau inguiding the intersessional process.

INDIA: Minister for Environment and Forests Kamal Nath saidthat Rio was the start of the process, but some vital issues muststill be addressed. UNCED initiated a process of interaction amongstates best characterized by interdependence, but we lack thecourage to act. The role of the Commission should be to integratefinance, trade, technology, environment and development as well toexamine ways UN agencies can get "maximum mileage" out of existingfinancial resources and improved coordination.

DENMARK: Minister for Environment Svend Auken stressed thatthe CSD should be a political forum to give urgency to decisions onthe environment, where progress is depressingly slow. He said thatwe need to tell each other the truth -- things are getting worse.Denmark is expanding ODA to 1.5% of GNP. Social security should bea priority.

AUSTRALIA: Minister for the Environment, Sport andTerritories Ros Kelly said that there is a growing sense ofdisillusionment in the community outside this room that thepolitical imperatives of Rio have been submerged in rhetoric. TheCSD must point out that we are all committed to implementing Agenda21 domestically and regionally. She urged the need to develop trustand an understanding to talk freely about problems. To make this asuccess ministers, NGOs, women and every layer of government mustremain involved.

FRANCE: Ministre de l'Environnement Michel Barnieremphasized that the CSD must let the press and the public know thatthese meetings are doing some good. He called for betterfunctioning of existing institutions and mentioned the negotiationstowards a convention on desertification. In support of India, hesaid that France would host a meeting in 1994 on water quality andpublic health.

GERMANY: Federal Minister for Environment, Nature,Conservation and Nuclear Safety Klaus T”pfer said that for the CSDto be effective and to attract ministers, it must have a politicalprofile and accomplish more than just the redrafting of Agenda 21.He recommended that member states sponsor intersessional meetingsto address the clusters to be discussed by the CSD each year, inconjunction with the relevant cross-sectoral issues. He said thatif environment and development policies are not linked witheconomic policy, nothing will change.

EGYPT: Mostapha Tolba agreed with Germany that the CSD musthave a political profile and with Australia that the meetings musthave concrete actions. He called for more information on naturalresource flows and yardsticks for the meaning of poverty. He saidthat the types of technology needed must be identified and watershould be discussed.

MEXICO: Subsecretario de Relaciones Exteriores Andr‚sRozental suggested that to facilitate dialogue, participants in thenext high-level segment should sit around a table. He said that theCSD needs to examine the clusters from a multi-disciplinaryapproach, such as the relationship between freshwater, finance,technology, trade and potential international conflict. Theproposed thematic conferences should be meetings of experts whowould present their findings to the CSD as a plan of action.

UNITED STATES: Environmental Protection Agency AdministratorCarol Browner said that much has been accomplished since Rio. Shesaid that achieving sustainable development requires changes in theway that governments, NGOs and the private sector relate. Sherecalled Gore's speech and the US commitment to long-term change,particularly in the way we think about economic growth. She ensuredthe developing world that the US was listening, particularly oncapacity building and resource mobilization.

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH: Chee Yoke Ling said one of the mostimportant outcomes of UNCED is the opening up of the UN system toNGOs. She said that finance and economic ministers also need toattend the CSD as sustainable development encompasses these issues.Key issues for the CSD are: biotechnology and intellectual propertyrights; importation of toxic wastes; and integrating social equityand environmental concerns in the Bretton Woods institutions.

NETHERLANDS: Minister of Housing, Physical Planning and theEnvironment Hans Alders stressed the Dutch commitment to nationalAgenda 21 implementation. He said there needs to be a nationaldiscussion on changing production and consumption patterns. Heannounced a conference on drinking water in the Netherlands inearly 1994 and hoped the CSD would use the input.

JAPAN: Parliamentary Vice Minister Kei Ooma said that eachnation needs to follow-up UNCED and report to the CSD Secretariat.The CSD must maintain close contact and coordination with relevantUN organizations to ensure effective UNCED follow-up and to be aforum for collective dialogue on the promotion of sustainabledevelopment.

RUSSIAN FEDERATION: Minister of Environment and NaturalResources Victor I. Danilov-Danilyan confirmed Russian commitmentto Rio and the CSD and acknowledged a great gap between Russiandesires for national sustainable development and the slow progressto date. He noted the transboundary nature of problems and theglobal benefits of assistance for national action.

AUSTRIA: Federal Minister for the Environment, Youth andFamily Maria Rauch-Kallat agreed with Australia on the importantrole of women and NGOs in implementing Agenda 21 and echoedGermany's call for a high political profile for the CSD. She saidthat the CSD must address changing consumption patterns, forestsand nuclear energy.

TUNISIA: Ministre de l'Environnement et de l'Am‚nagement duTerritoire Mohamed Mehdi Mlika called on donor countries to honortheir commitments. He noted two aspects that are vital forsustainable development: the recycling of public debt forenvironmental projects and accessible technology transfer. He notedTunisia's efforts to set up a regional "technology bridge" andcalled for concrete action on national responsibilities.

At the end of the morning session Desai mentioned some of thethemes that emerged: the primary purpose of the CSD is to givepolicy direction; a sense of disquiet that the momentum of Rio hasbeen lost; specific suggestions on preparations for the next CSDsession, including country-hosted intersessional meetings; andtackling the issue of consumption patterns.

ICELAND: Minister for the Environment Ossur Skarphedinssonsaid the work of NGOs and major groups in the CSD's work is veryimportant. He supported Australia and Austria's emphasis on therole of women and Germany's comment on the world-wide recession.Employment and environmental sustainability go hand in hand, andconsumption patterns and sustainable lifestyles must figure highlyin the CSD's work.

ITALY: Minister for the Environment Valdo Spini mentionedthat developing countries must not repeat the industrializedworld's pattern of environmental depletion. The CSD must see arebellion of environmental ministers against political inaction.Cooperation with Eastern Europe is essential, and he agreed withGermany that country- hosted thematic meetings will help facilitatethe CSD's work.

KENYA: Minister for Environment and Natural Resources J.Sambu said that developing countries need new and additionalfinancial resources to implement Agenda 21. Poverty is linked tothe debt problem and is both a cause and effect of environmentaldegradation. Restructuring of GEF must give greater empowerment tothe South.

MALAYSIA: Minister of Science, Technology and EnvironmentHieng Ding Law associated himself with India who spoke on theconcerns of developing countries. He supported the idea ofcountry-hosted meetings on the clusters and said Malaysia wouldsponsor such a meeting. He mentioned the need for countries toemphasize their domestic resources, manage their own forests, andaddress trade and financial issues.

CHINA: Amb. Li Zhaoxing said the CSD should examine bothsectoral and cross-sectoral issues, especially transfer oftechnology and finance. The CSD should be action-oriented andefficient. He mentioned that China has started to draw up its ownAgenda 21.

COLOMBIA: Chairman of the National Institute of NaturalResources Rodriguez agreed with India that there must be a linkbetween global, national, and local environmental issues. Heassociated himself with the G-77 and China regarding the importanceof technology transfer. He lamented the little progress that hadbeen achieved on operationalizing agreements for developingcountries.

BRAZIL: Amb. Ronaldo Mota Sardenberg said the CSD shouldtake up each theme, including forests, in the order agreed upon inthe programme of work. He stressed the importance of dialogue andinteraction with NGOs and other major groups, participation ofexperts nominated by governments to work on finance and technologytransfer, and CSD reliance on the best input and expertisepossible.

NORWAY: Minister of Environment Thorbj"rn Berntsenidentified environment and development as existential survivalissues, stressing the need for global partnership. Industrializedcountries must commit to ODA targets, new resources, debtreduction, fair trade, and predictable and monitored resourceflows. He proposed that the CSD focus on links between productionand consumption patterns and the environment and noted Norway'sfollow-up to UNCED, including a workshop on environmentallyfriendly technology.

BELGIUM: Ministre de la Sant‚ publique, de l'Environnementet de l'Int‚gration sociale Magda De Galan stressed the need forglobal partnerships and coordination of UNCED follow-up at thelocal level. There is a need to address the linkage betweenemployment and the environment, and the ILO is the most appropriateforum in which to do this.

REPUBLIC OF KOREA: Minister of Environment San-Sung Whangsaid sustainable development requires political awareness ofgovernments and people. Clean technology is the key to sustainabledevelopment, and sustainable development is primary to nationalgoals. She said that the CSD has a crucial role to play inmonitoring financial mobilization and welcomed the establishment ofthe intersessional working groups.

FINLAND: Minister of Environment Sirpa Pietikainen saidthere is a need to set concrete policy goals for the work of theCSD and to have an open dialogue among decision-makers. Shewelcomed the establishment of intersessional working groups. Newconcepts of production and consumption patterns should be based innature-oriented economies.

CUBA: Presidenta de la Comisin Nacional de Proteccin delMedio Ambiente y los Recursos Naturales Rosa Elena Simen Negrnsaid the countries of the South have a more uncertain future todaythan in Rio. There is concern over continued exchange of technologyin the North and to the countries with economies in transition.Patterns of production and consumption are causes ofimpoverishment.

SINGAPORE: Minister of the Environment Ahmed Mattar agreedwith Australia and Germany that ministers should attend the CSD.Responsibility for implementation of Agenda 21 begins at thenational level. Governments should work closely with citizens andthe private sector, both North-South and South-South partnershipsare important, and technology transfer is a key component.

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA: Minister of Economic Development,Tourism and Industry Rodney Williams said the special problems ofsmall island states must be discussed in international fora.Measures taken to address global environmental degradation must beon a local and regional basis. He welcomed the role of NGOs, womenand other major groups in the achievement of sustainabledevelopment.

SOUTH-SOUTH CAUCUS: A representative of this NGO caucus saidthat political determination can be expressed by an increase ofNGOs on official delegations. The Southern NGOs insist on the term"technology sharing," because there is an enormous amount oftechnology in the South. Issues of gender, trade, and militarismdraw resources away from sustainable development.

HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT

CSD Chair Razali Ismail opened the high-level segment by statingthe need to provide the political impetus to propel Rio forward. Henoted the achievements of the CSD at this session and said that itmust not only monitor but serve as a mechanism for problem solving.He encouraged ministers to establish a dialogue at this meeting andto give the CSD clear guidance for its future work.Under-Secretary-General Nitin Desai said that while the task in Riowas policy development, the CSD's focus is policy implementation.Poverty, population growth and consumption patterns are the coreissues where we must direct our work. Agenda 21 must be implementedat the national level. The Secretariat will support the Bureau inguiding the intersessional process.

INDIA: Minister for Environment and Forests Kamal Nath saidthat Rio was the start of the process, but some vital issues muststill be addressed. UNCED initiated a process of interaction amongstates best characterized by interdependence, but we lack thecourage to act. The role of the Commission should be to integratefinance, trade, technology, environment and development as well toexamine ways UN agencies can get "maximum mileage" out of existingfinancial resources and improved coordination.

DENMARK: Minister for Environment Svend Auken stressed thatthe CSD should be a political forum to give urgency to decisions onthe environment, where progress is depressingly slow. He said thatwe need to tell each other the truth -- things are getting worse.Denmark is expanding ODA to 1.5% of GNP. Social security should bea priority.

AUSTRALIA: Minister for the Environment, Sport andTerritories Ros Kelly said that there is a growing sense ofdisillusionment in the community outside this room that thepolitical imperatives of Rio have been submerged in rhetoric. TheCSD must point out that we are all committed to implementing Agenda21 domestically and regionally. She urged the need to develop trustand an understanding to talk freely about problems. To make this asuccess ministers, NGOs, women and every layer of government mustremain involved.

FRANCE: Ministre de l'Environnement Michel Barnieremphasized that the CSD must let the press and the public know thatthese meetings are doing some good. He called for betterfunctioning of existing institutions and mentioned the negotiationstowards a convention on desertification. In support of India, hesaid that France would host a meeting in 1994 on water quality andpublic health.

GERMANY: Federal Minister for Environment, Nature,Conservation and Nuclear Safety Klaus T”pfer said that for the CSDto be effective and to attract ministers, it must have a politicalprofile and accomplish more than just the redrafting of Agenda 21.He recommended that member states sponsor intersessional meetingsto address the clusters to be discussed by the CSD each year, inconjunction with the relevant cross-sectoral issues. He said thatif environment and development policies are not linked witheconomic policy, nothing will change.

EGYPT: Mostapha Tolba agreed with Germany that the CSD musthave a political profile and with Australia that the meetings musthave concrete actions. He called for more information on naturalresource flows and yardsticks for the meaning of poverty. He saidthat the types of technology needed must be identified and watershould be discussed.

MEXICO: Subsecretario de Relaciones Exteriores Andr‚sRozental suggested that to facilitate dialogue, participants in thenext high-level segment should sit around a table. He said that theCSD needs to examine the clusters from a multi-disciplinaryapproach, such as the relationship between freshwater, finance,technology, trade and potential international conflict. Theproposed thematic conferences should be meetings of experts whowould present their findings to the CSD as a plan of action.

UNITED STATES: Environmental Protection Agency AdministratorCarol Browner said that much has been accomplished since Rio. Shesaid that achieving sustainable development requires changes in theway that governments, NGOs and the private sector relate. Sherecalled Gore's speech and the US commitment to long-term change,particularly in the way we think about economic growth. She ensuredthe developing world that the US was listening, particularly oncapacity building and resource mobilization.

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH: Chee Yoke Ling said one of the mostimportant outcomes of UNCED is the opening up of the UN system toNGOs. She said that finance and economic ministers also need toattend the CSD as sustainable development encompasses these issues.Key issues for the CSD are: biotechnology and intellectual propertyrights; importation of toxic wastes; and integrating social equityand environmental concerns in the Bretton Woods institutions.

NETHERLANDS: Minister of Housing, Physical Planning and theEnvironment Hans Alders stressed the Dutch commitment to nationalAgenda 21 implementation. He said there needs to be a nationaldiscussion on changing production and consumption patterns. Heannounced a conference on drinking water in the Netherlands inearly 1994 and hoped the CSD would use the input.

JAPAN: Parliamentary Vice Minister Kei Ooma said that eachnation needs to follow-up UNCED and report to the CSD Secretariat.The CSD must maintain close contact and coordination with relevantUN organizations to ensure effective UNCED follow-up and to be aforum for collective dialogue on the promotion of sustainabledevelopment.

RUSSIAN FEDERATION: Minister of Environment and NaturalResources Victor I. Danilov-Danilyan confirmed Russian commitmentto Rio and the CSD and acknowledged a great gap between Russiandesires for national sustainable development and the slow progressto date. He noted the transboundary nature of problems and theglobal benefits of assistance for national action.

AUSTRIA: Federal Minister for the Environment, Youth andFamily Maria Rauch-Kallat agreed with Australia on the importantrole of women and NGOs in implementing Agenda 21 and echoedGermany's call for a high political profile for the CSD. She saidthat the CSD must address changing consumption patterns, forestsand nuclear energy.

TUNISIA: Ministre de l'Environnement et de l'Am‚nagement duTerritoire Mohamed Mehdi Mlika called on donor countries to honortheir commitments. He noted two aspects that are vital forsustainable development: the recycling of public debt forenvironmental projects and accessible technology transfer. He notedTunisia's efforts to set up a regional "technology bridge" andcalled for concrete action on national responsibilities.

At the end of the morning session Desai mentioned some of thethemes that emerged: the primary purpose of the CSD is to givepolicy direction; a sense of disquiet that the momentum of Rio hasbeen lost; specific suggestions on preparations for the next CSDsession, including country-hosted intersessional meetings; andtackling the issue of consumption patterns.

ICELAND: Minister for the Environment Ossur Skarphedinssonsaid the work of NGOs and major groups in the CSD's work is veryimportant. He supported Australia and Austria's emphasis on therole of women and Germany's comment on the world-wide recession.Employment and environmental sustainability go hand in hand, andconsumption patterns and sustainable lifestyles must figure highlyin the CSD's work.

ITALY: Minister for the Environment Valdo Spini mentionedthat developing countries must not repeat the industrializedworld's pattern of environmental depletion. The CSD must see arebellion of environmental ministers against political inaction.Cooperation with Eastern Europe is essential, and he agreed withGermany that country- hosted thematic meetings will help facilitatethe CSD's work.

KENYA: Minister for Environment and Natural Resources J.Sambu said that developing countries need new and additionalfinancial resources to implement Agenda 21. Poverty is linked tothe debt problem and is both a cause and effect of environmentaldegradation. Restructuring of GEF must give greater empowerment tothe South.

MALAYSIA: Minister of Science, Technology and EnvironmentHieng Ding Law associated himself with India who spoke on theconcerns of developing countries. He supported the idea ofcountry-hosted meetings on the clusters and said Malaysia wouldsponsor such a meeting. He mentioned the need for countries toemphasize their domestic resources, manage their own forests, andaddress trade and financial issues.

CHINA: Amb. Li Zhaoxing said the CSD should examine bothsectoral and cross-sectoral issues, especially transfer oftechnology and finance. The CSD should be action-oriented andefficient. He mentioned that China has started to draw up its ownAgenda 21.

COLOMBIA: Chairman of the National Institute of NaturalResources Rodriguez agreed with India that there must be a linkbetween global, national, and local environmental issues. Heassociated himself with the G-77 and China regarding the importanceof technology transfer. He lamented the little progress that hadbeen achieved on operationalizing agreements for developingcountries.

BRAZIL: Amb. Ronaldo Mota Sardenberg said the CSD shouldtake up each theme, including forests, in the order agreed upon inthe programme of work. He stressed the importance of dialogue andinteraction with NGOs and other major groups, participation ofexperts nominated by governments to work on finance and technologytransfer, and CSD reliance on the best input and expertisepossible.

NORWAY: Minister of Environment Thorbj"rn Berntsenidentified environment and development as existential survivalissues, stressing the need for global partnership. Industrializedcountries must commit to ODA targets, new resources, debtreduction, fair trade, and predictable and monitored resourceflows. He proposed that the CSD focus on links between productionand consumption patterns and the environment and noted Norway'sfollow-up to UNCED, including a workshop on environmentallyfriendly technology.

BELGIUM: Ministre de la Sant‚ publique, de l'Environnementet de l'Int‚gration sociale Magda De Galan stressed the need forglobal partnerships and coordination of UNCED follow-up at thelocal level. There is a need to address the linkage betweenemployment and the environment, and the ILO is the most appropriateforum in which to do this.

REPUBLIC OF KOREA: Minister of Environment San-Sung Whangsaid sustainable development requires political awareness ofgovernments and people. Clean technology is the key to sustainabledevelopment, and sustainable development is primary to nationalgoals. She said that the CSD has a crucial role to play inmonitoring financial mobilization and welcomed the establishment ofthe intersessional working groups.

FINLAND: Minister of Environment Sirpa Pietikainen saidthere is a need to set concrete policy goals for the work of theCSD and to have an open dialogue among decision-makers. Shewelcomed the establishment of intersessional working groups. Newconcepts of production and consumption patterns should be based innature-oriented economies.

CUBA: Presidenta de la Comisin Nacional de Proteccin delMedio Ambiente y los Recursos Naturales Rosa Elena Simen Negrnsaid the countries of the South have a more uncertain future todaythan in Rio. There is concern over continued exchange of technologyin the North and to the countries with economies in transition.Patterns of production and consumption are causes ofimpoverishment.

SINGAPORE: Minister of the Environment Ahmed Mattar agreedwith Australia and Germany that ministers should attend the CSD.Responsibility for implementation of Agenda 21 begins at thenational level. Governments should work closely with citizens andthe private sector, both North-South and South-South partnershipsare important, and technology transfer is a key component.

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA: Minister of Economic Development,Tourism and Industry Rodney Williams said the special problems ofsmall island states must be discussed in international fora.Measures taken to address global environmental degradation must beon a local and regional basis. He welcomed the role of NGOs, womenand other major groups in the achievement of sustainabledevelopment.

SOUTH-SOUTH CAUCUS: A representative of this NGO caucus saidthat political determination can be expressed by an increase ofNGOs on official delegations. The Southern NGOs insist on the term"technology sharing," because there is an enormous amount oftechnology in the South. Issues of gender, trade, and militarismdraw resources away from sustainable development.

IN THE CORRIDORS

The Russian Federation and Colombia, on behalf of the G-77,successfully resolved the outstanding issue on the treatment ofcountries with economies in transition in the decisions on financeand technology transfer. Paragraph 2 of L.5 on finance, which dealswith the supportive international economic climate, now concludes,"The Commission highlighted in this context the importance ofmaking further progress in areas such as debt relief, in particularfor developing countries, as well as encouraging free trade andaccess to markets.... particularly for developing countries andcountries undergoing the process of transition to a marketeconomy." The reference to countries with economies in transitionin paragraph 2 of the technology transfer draft decision wasdeleted. Thus, all six draft decisions have been agreed to and willbe finalized in Plenary tomorrow.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR TODAY

HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT: With fourteen speakers remaining on thelist from yesterday, and others who have requested the floor fortoday, look for another day of ministerial statements and,hopefully, some dialogue. It is possible that by day's end theChair will issue a synthesis of the discussion and ask forparticipants' comments. It is yet to be decided if this summarywill take the form of a decision to be adopted by the ministers ora Chair's report.