ROLE OF THE REGIONAL PREPARATORY PROCESS
---  To conduct regional assessment of progress.
---  Provide an opportunity to interact with major groups and stakeholders.
---  Share experiences and provide an opportunity to better prepare and understand the concerns and positions of the countries involved.
---  Prepare regional "platforms" outlining key policy issues, priorities and follow-up actions based on regional assessments.
 

RESOURCES
--- ENB coverage of Regional Preparatory Meetings: Africa, Asia-Pacific, ECE, Latin America and Caribbean, West Asia 

--- Africa's WSSD Preparations: UNEP Regional Office of Africa WSSD site

--- Assessment of Progress in Africa Since Rio 1992: Report prepared by the Expanded Joint Secretariat in cooperation with sub-regional organizations for the preparation of the WSSD
--- Asia Pacific WSSD website: http://www.rrcap.unep.org/wssd/ , Concept paper, Strategy paper

--- ECE WSSD website: http://www.unece.org/env/rio+10/

--- Latin America and Caribbean Preparations: http://www.rolac.unep.mx/ForoAlc/Brasil2001/html/english.htm

--- West Asia website: : http://www.unep.org.bh

--- WSSD Secretariat's Overview of the Regional Prep Meetings
 

Regional Preparatory MEETINGS

Africa

Asia Pacific

Europe and
North America

Latin America
and Caribbean

Western Asia

Nairobi, Kenya
15 - 18 October 2001

Phnom Penh, Cambodia
27 - 29 November 2001

Geneva, Switzerland
24 - 25 September 2001

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
23 - 24 October 2001

Cairo, Egypt
24 October 2001

During the four-day Conference, delegates met in a two-day Technical Segment on Monday and Tuesday, 15-16 October, and a two-day Ministerial Segment held on Wednesday and Thursday, 17-18 October. The Conference, characterized by good humor, aimed to outline key regional policy issues, priorities and follow-up actions for the WSSD, to provide substantial inputs to its preparatory process, and to forward regional views on international cooperation for sustainable development at the regional and global levels.

Delegates negotiated an African Ministerial Statement drawing on an Assessment Report and the outcomes of subregional preparatory meetings. The African Ministerial Statement reviews the last decade, identifying the achievements and constraints faced, and highlights 26 priority areas for action.

Despite flaws both in process and substance, and numerous procedural hitches, delegates were satisfied with the final African Ministerial Statement. Many considered it more balanced, stronger and specific than the initial draft, although in need of additional focus. While there was enthusiasm that holding the WSSD in Johannesburg presents an opportunity for Africa to drive the process, there was acknowledgement that the real test is whether the G-77/China will buy into Africa’s agenda.

-- ENB coverage

-- ENB report & analysis

-- African Ministerial Statement

-- Addendum to statement

-- African NGO statement

The Asia-Pacific Roundtable on Sustainable Development and the High-Level Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting for the WSSD took place in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from 27-29 November 2001. The Roundtable and Regional Meeting were attended by over 190 representatives from 46 Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) States, two associate members of ESCAP, four non-ESCAP UN member States, and over 220 representatives from UN agencies, multilateral financing institutions, NGOs and other stakeholders.

The Regional Meeting produced two outcomes: a Chairman’s Summary of the Roundtable; and the Phnom Penh Regional Platform on Sustainable Development for Asia and the Pacific (Platform), which includes a regional assessment of Agenda 21 implementation, key issues and priorities for sustainable development, follow-up actions, and financing sustainable development.

Delegates to the meeting braved marathon negotiations that stretched early into the morning hours on the last day to produce a Platform that many described as perhaps the best of the products coming out of the five regional preparatory meetings for the WSSD.

-- ENB coverage

-- ENB report

-- Link to Asia-Pacific Regional Platform for WSSD

-- Asia-Pacific NGO statement

The meeting aimed to outline key regional policy issues, priorities and follow-up actions for the WSSD, to provide substantial inputs to its preparatory process, and to forward regional views on international cooperation for sustainable development at the regional and global levels. Participants debated and adopted the Ministerial Statement to the WSSD, and considered follow-up to the UNECE/World Health Organization High-level Meeting on Transport, Environment and Health, held in Geneva on 4 May 2001. Two Ministerial Panels were held, focusing on governance and sustainable development and on poverty and sustainable development.

-- ENB coverage

-- ENB report & analysis

-- ECE Ministerial Statement

-- ECE Regional Assessment Report

-- NGO Statement

Delegates considered progress achieved in implementation of Agenda 21, discussed the document regarding "The sustainability of development in Latin America and the Caribbean: Challenges and opportunities," and heard statements by ministers and representatives of international organizations and civil society.

At the end of the meeting, delegates adopted the "Rio de Janeiro Platform for Action on the Road to Johannesburg 2002," which includes sections on: reaffirmation of principles and commitments; obstacles and lessons learned; present considerations; and future commitments.

-- ENB coverage

-- ENB report & analysis

-- LAC Ministerial Platform

Prior to the Prep meeting, the Joint Committee on Environment and Development in the Arab Region (JCEDAR) met in a two-day special session on Sunday and Monday, 21-22 October, the Bureau of Arab Ministers Responsible for the Environment met on Tuesday, 23 October, and the Council of Arab Ministers Responsible for the Environment (CAMRE) met on Wednesday morning, 24 October.

Following these meetings to develop and discuss the WSSD Progress Assessment Report for the Arab Region (Assessment Report), the Arab Declaration to the WSSD, and the Arab Address (Address), a formal half-day Arab Region PrepCom Plenary was held on Wednesday evening, 24 October, for presentation and adoption of the documents. Discussion was limited, as most issues had been resolved in the three days leading up to the PrepCom. Key regional issues emerging from the Cairo meetings include peace and security, poverty, debt, water management and the need for integration across political levels and sectors.

-- ENB coverage

-- ENB report and analysis

OTHER REGIONAL MEETINGS

Africa

Asia Pacific

Europe and
North America

Latin America
and Caribbean

Western Asia

The Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development in Asia and the Pacific 2000, 
Kitakyushu City, Japan
31 August - 5 Sept 2000
OUTCOME
Conference website, with report

Stakeholders’ Meeting for North-East Asia
Beijing, China
26 July 2001
Outcome of this meeting resulted in a document. Stakeholders identified eight issues of priority: participation by major groups; education and awareness; freshwater; nuclear energy; air pollution and climate change; consumption patterns; poverty eradication; and desertification and land degradation.
OUTCOME
Document

8^th Informal Ministerial Meeting of Environment Ministers
Bergen, Norway
15 - 17 September 2000
OUTCOME
Report


OECD Ministerial Meeting
Paris, France
16 - 17 May 2001
OUTCOME
Synthesis report

EU Summit Meeting
Goteburg, Sweden
15 - 16 June 2001

Regional Consultative Meeting
Geneva, Switzerland
12 - 13 July 2001
Representative of Governments and stakeholder groups considered the regional and sub-regional preparations for the Summit and discussed possible outcome of the Regional Ministerial Meeting and modalities for the further development of a draft ministerial statement.
OUTCOME
-- Possible elements for a ministerial statement
-- Assessment report

2nd Regional Consultative Meeting

Geneva, Switzerland
21 - 22 September 2001
This Meeting completed the negotiations on the draft ministerial statement for submission to the Regional Ministerial Meeting on 25 September, for adoption.
DOCUMENTS

13th meeting of the Forum of Ministers of the Environment
This meeting will precede the Regional PrepCom for Latin America and the Caribbean.
23 - 24 October, 2001

-- Draft Final Report

Special Session of the Joint Committee on Environment and Development in the Arab Region
Cairo, Egypt
21 - 22 October 2001

Council of Arab Ministers Responsible for the Environment (CAMRE) Bureau and Council Meetings
Cairo, Egypt
23 - 25 October 2001

Special Session of CAMRE, Arab Ministers of Planning and Arab Ministers of Economics
Cairo, Egypt
30 October 2001

Subregional PreP MEETINGS

Africa

Asia Pacific

Europe and
North America

Latin America
and Caribbean

Western Asia

North Africa:
Tunis, Tunisia
5 - 7 September 2001
OUTCOME -
Summary report - in French

South Africa:
Port Louis, Mauritius
17 -18 September 2001
This meeting considered and approved the SADC Subregional Assessment Report on the Implementation of Agenda 21, formulated priority issues for the Summit Agenda, and adopted the Mauritius Declaration for the 2002 Summit.
OUTCOME -
Summary Report
SADC Progress Report

Central Africa:
Libreville, Gabon
17 - 19 September 2001

East Africa:
Djibouti, Djibouti
17 - 19 September 2001

West Africa:
Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
1 - 3 October 2001

 

Northeast Asian:
Beijing, China
26 - 28 July 2001
The Meeting considered the draft report, which will be used in preparing the regional synthesis report and serve as a reference document for the Asia-Pacific PrepCom. In formulating the platform of issues and priorities, the Meeting supported using modern technologies for monitoring and assessment purposes and stressed the importance of capacity-building in developing countries through transfer of technology. The issues of sustainable energy and natural resources management were recognized as important aspects of sustainable development that concerned many countries in the subregion and should therefore be included in a regional platform for reporting to the World Summit.
OUTCOME - 
Link to reports, list of participants

South Pacific:
Apia, Samoa
5 - 7 September 2001
A draft Regional Assessment for the Pacific sub-region - "Synopsis of Issues, Activities, Needs, and Constraints: Sustainable Development 1992-2002" - was produced. This living document is expected to evolve through to mid 2002. The document is a vehicle for providing regional-based information on sustainable development progress to the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICs) to assist with National preparations and reporting.
OUTCOME -

Link to outcome documents


Central Asian:
Almaty, Kazakhstan
20 - 21 September 2001
Central Asian countries have launched their own efforts at regional cooperation for the WSSD. The Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia has also conducted a Review of Progress in the Realization of Agenda 21 in the Central Asian countries. 
OUTCOME - 
Ministerial Statement
Link to outcome documents

South Asian:
Colombo, Sri Lanka
27 - 29 September 2001
OUTCOME - 
Link to subregional and synthesis reports

Southeast Asian:
Manila, Philippines
17 - 19 October 2001

OUTCOME - 
Link to subregional and synthesis report

Central & Eastern Europe:
Bucharest, Romania
27 - 28 June 2001
This conference aimed to demonstrate commitment to endorsing sustainable development processes, undertaking national reviews, preparing regional recommendations of progress in implementing Rio Earth Summit commitments, with broad participation from all countries in the region.
OUTCOME -
Conference outcome

Southern Cone:
Santiago, Chile
14 – 15 June
Government representatives made statements indicating that public concern about the need to preserve environmental quality and achieve sustainable development has grown and strengthened since Rio and that the UNCED process has been greatly advanced by the reinforcement of democracy in the Southern Cone. Particular emphasis was placed on the methods, procedures and mechanisms which have been established to promote the participation of civil society in the formulation of public policies.
OUTCOME -
Final Report


Caribbean:
Havana, Cuba
28 - 29 June 2001
Caribbean countries expressed concern for the subregion’s deteriorating marine and coastal ecosystems and loss of biological diversity, and for the increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters, which have been catastrophic to both human lives and the economy. Representatives emphasized the importance of assessing vulnerability, noting the lack of data for defining indicators, such as a vulnerability index, with which to measure the progress towards sustainable development.
OUTCOME -
Final Report


Andean Zone:
Quito, Ecuador
2-3 July 2001
 

Representatives from 5 participating countries presented and discussed the progress and challenges of their respective national strategies for sustainable development. Delegates reflected on the paradox of Andean nations on the one hand having developed institutions for sustainable development, shown progress in environmental management, brought about innovative processes for social participation and complied with the commitments of principal MEAs, and on the other hand not having fully succeeded in halting environmental deterioration and much less reverting it.
OUTCOME -
Final Report


Meso-America:
San Salvador, El Salvador
17 - 18 July 2001
 

The substantive part of this meeting began with an environmental and socio-economic outlook of the Meso-american region. Representatives from the 8 participating countries then presented and discussed the progress and challenges of their respective national strategies for sustainable development. The end of this meeting saw the joint efforts between government representatives and civil society resulting in a document of contributions of this subregion to the regional platform for future action on sustainable development.
OUTCOME -
Final Report
 

Regional and Subregional Roundtables

Participants at these Roundtable meetings will be of an "eminent" nature, experienced in sustainable development, international processes and knowing the role and needs of major groups. Approximately 25-30 eminent persons are expected to be invited to each Roundtable. Reports from these meetings will be made available to all prepcoms, as well as the Summit. 
 

Africa

Asia Pacific

Europe and
North America

Latin America
and Caribbean

Western Asia

Africa:
Cairo, Egypt
25 - 27 June 2001

The Roundtable agreed that Africa's top priority is to consolidate and build on sustainable development achievements since Rio. Experts also laid out constraints, challenges and opportunities for sustainable development and identified other priority issues and action proposals that could help Africa become an active partner in a globalizing world.
OUTCOME -
Final Report
Press Release

Central Asia:
Almaty, Kazakhstan
16 May 2001

This Roundtable discussed problems of development, causes of failures and possible ways to eliminate them, and preparations of National reviews. Some suggestions include holding discussions on RIO+10 issues in the mass media and Internet, and supporting proposals on NGO participation in the preparation of official review for evaluation of progress of Central Asian countries and region.
OUTCOME
Report

E. Asia and the Pacific:
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
9 - 11 July 2001

Participants noted that the region's diversity poses challenges for attaining sustainable development, and that the recent financial crisis has diminished the capacity of many countries in the region to address these challenges. Participants identified priority areas and various proposals for regional cooperation were put forth including establishing a regional council for sustainable development and organizing a regional symposium on science for sustainable development.
OUTCOME -

Final Report
Press Release
 

Central and S. Asia:
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
30 July - 1 August 2001

The political changes that have occurred in the last 10 years, intra-regional conflicts, the fact that the region includes the two most populous countries in the world, and narcotics and human trafficking all pose a challenge of moving towards sustainable development. The roundtable proposed that the Summit include on its agenda the impacts of globalization from sustainable development perspectives and agree on a process that would lead to a global scheme for restructuring foreign debt.
OUTCOME -
Final Report
 

Europe and N. America:
Vail, Colorado, USA
6 - 8 June 2001

Experts from this roundtable called for a new model of development, acknowledging that the region uses an unfair share of the world's resources at a rate beyond the Earth's carrying capacity. They recognized that current  knowledge and technological ability can correct the current course of development, but political will and individual commitment for action are lacking. Participants stressed the need to educate children and deepen their understanding of natural processes, interdependence on the natural world and their capacity for positive action.
OUTCOME -
Final Report
Press Release

LAC:
St. Philip, Barbados
18 - 20 June 2001

Roundtable participants emphasized that quality, and not just quantity, of growth has to improve significantly in order to ensure a sustainable long-term future for the region. Experts stressed respect for and protection of traditional knowledge with respect to the management of biological diversity and its use, including the use of natural medicine and advocated the need for recovering traditional practices and technologies in which this region has great experience.
OUTCOME -
Final Report
Press Release

Western Asia:
Beirut, Lebanon
9 - 11 April 2001

Participants acknowledged the wide gap between the requirements of sustainability and the reality of economic development policies in the Western Asia region. They also noted that since UNCED, there has been rapidly increasing participation by civil society, including NGOs, trade unions, and the private sector, in the environmental decision-making process. The Roundtable identified and summarized four major obstacles to achieving sustainable development in the region, namely: inadequate freshwater supplies and poor land resources; lack of peace and security; inadequate monitoring and access to credible information; inadequate public participation in decision-making, resulting in ineffective governance for sustainable development.
OUTCOME -
Report

Stakeholders Round Table:
Manama, Bahrain
23 - 25 September 2001