Capacity-building: Decisions of the GA and CSD

Johannesburg Plan of Implementation 

Chapter X - Means of Implementation

125. Enhance and accelerate human, institutional and infrastructure capacity-building initiatives and promote partnerships in that regard that respond to the specific needs of developing countries in the context of sustainable development.

126. Support local, national, subregional and regional initiatives with action to develop, use and adapt knowledge and techniques and to enhance local, national, subregional and regional centres of excellence for education, research and training in order to strengthen the knowledge capacity of developing countries and countries with economies in transition through, inter alia, the mobilization from all sources of adequate financial and other resources, including new and additional resources.

127. Provide technical and financial assistance to developing countries, including through the strengthening of capacity-building efforts, such as the United Nations Development Programme Capacity 21 programme, to:

(a) Assess their own capacity development needs and opportunities at the individual, institutional and societal levels;

(b) Design programmes for capacity-building and support for local, national and community-level programmes that focus on meeting the challenges of globalization more effectively and attaining the internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration;

(c) Develop the capacity of civil society, including youth, to participate, as appropriate, in designing, implementing and reviewing sustainable development policies and strategies at all levels;

(d) Build and, where appropriate, strengthen national capacities for carrying out effective implementation of Agenda 21.

United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, 6th Session
New York, 20 April to 1 May 1998

B. Institutions, capacity-building and participation (with respect to the Commission’s review of Freshwater)

13. The Commission on Sustainable Development:

(a) Urges Governments to establish national coordination mechanisms across all sectors, as already envisaged in the Mar del Plata Action Plan, 13/ providing for contributions from government and public authorities and the participation of civil society, including communities affected, in the formulation and implementation of integrated water resources development and management plans and policies. Such mechanisms should also provide for participation by communities and water users. This involves the participation at the appropriate levels, of water users and the public in planning, implementing and evaluating water resources activities. It is particularly important to broaden women's participation and integrate gender analysis in water planning;

(b) Invites Governments to take the necessary steps to establish legislative and regulatory frameworks -- and to improve such frameworks where they exist -- to facilitate integrated water resources management and strategies, including both demand and supply management as well as the links with the management of land use, taking into account the need to build capacity to apply and enforce such frameworks. Each Government needs to define its relevant functions and distinguish between those related to standards, regulation-setting and control, on the one hand, and the direct management and provision of services, on the other;

(c) Encourages Governments to consider how best to devolve responsibilities to the lowest appropriate level for the organization and management of public water supply, sanitation services and irrigation systems, as well as water resources management within the framework of national water policies;

(d) Urges Governments to strengthen institutional and human capacities at the national, subnational and local levels, in view of the complexity of implementing integrated water resources development and management strategies, particularly in large urban settlements. This could be done through local Agenda 21 processes, where they exist. Effective water resources development, management and protection requires appropriate tools for educating and training water management staff and water users at all levels and for ensuring that women, youth, indigenous people and local communities have equal access to education and training programmes. Design of these programmes should be done in cooperation with stakeholders;

(e) Encourages Governments to establish an enabling environment to facilitate partnerships between the public and private sectors and non-governmental organizations, aiming towards improved local capacity to protect water resources, through educational programmes and public access to information. At the global level, appropriate existing mechanisms can provide a universal forum for debate and the development of ideas. The pivotal role of women should be reflected in institutional arrangements for the development, management, protection and use of water resources. There is a need to strengthen the role of women, who should have an equal voice with regard to water resources development, management, protection and use and in the sharing of benefits;

(f) Encourages public authorities, public and private companies and non-governmental organizations dealing with the formulation, arrangement and financing of water resources programmes to engage in a dialogue with users. This dialogue requires the sharing of information with interested parties regarding the sustainable use of water and relationships with land use, public access to information and data, and discussions on objectives and implementation modalities, in accordance with the national legislation of each country;

(g) Calls upon the international community, in particular the organizations of the United Nations system, especially the United Nations Development Programme, to strengthen capacity-building programmes, taking into account the special needs of developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, and the specific circumstances of small island developing States, in areas such as training, institutional development and the participation of women, youth, indigenous people and local communities in support of national efforts in this field.

United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, 6^th Session
(New York, 22 December and 20 April to 1 May 1998)

Report of the Commission on Sustainable Development on the Sixth Session

(22 December 1997 and 20 April 1 May 1998)

B. Capacity-building

5. The Commission on Sustainable Development:

(a) Encourages Governments to review, where necessary, existing planning processes and policies to assess their capacity-building requirements;

(b) Urges funding agencies to give support to national capacity-building activities, in particular in developing countries, including in the areas of the design of programmes and projects, and their implementation and evaluation, through demand-driven approaches, emphasizing facilitation and stressing a programmatic rather than a project-oriented framework for capacity-building;

(c) Recommends that capacity-building efforts be intensified where necessary, based on participatory approaches, with the aim, as called for by the General Assembly, at its nineteenth special session, of having national sustainable development strategies, or their equivalent, fully in place by 2002 for implementation and taking into account the environmental, social and economic needs of developing countries, and urges financial institutions and operational agencies, particularly through the United Nations Development Programme's Capacity 21 programme, to enhance their assistance in this regard;

(d) Encourages Governments at all levels to share experiences with and support innovative capacity-building programmes that feature greater public access to information, and broad participation, including by the private sector, at national and local levels. Full use should be made of existing information-sharing facilities such as the United Nations Development Programme Subregional Resource Facilities and the World Bank's Knowledge Network System;

(e) Urges that more resources be devoted to training and information-sharing activities such as case studies for practitioners, more action-oriented research and electronic and other networking;

(f) Encourages countries to increase their national capacity through South-South and subregional cooperation focused on common programmatic themes, and self-help efforts and by assessing ways in which capacities can be shared appropriately at the regional and subregional level. South-South cooperation in this regard should be further strengthened and supported through triangular arrangements;

(g) Requests that systematic attention be paid by the corresponding task managers to the capacity-building-related issues of the sectoral themes for future sessions of the Commission;

(h) Invites the United Nations Development Programme, in cooperation with other relevant bodies, to promote the exchange and dissemination of information on successful capacity-building efforts and to make information available, as appropriate, to future sessions of the Commission.

Resolution Adopted By The General Assembly for the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21

Capacity-building

98. Renewed commitment and support from the international community is essential to support national efforts for capacity-building in developing countries and countries with economies in transition.

99. The United Nations Development Programme, inter alia, through its Capacity 21 programme, should give priority attention to building capacity for the elaboration of sustainable development strategies based on participatory approaches. In this context, developing countries should be assisted, particularly in the areas of the design, implementation and evaluation of programmes and projects.

100. Capacity-building efforts should pay particular attention to the needs of women in order to ensure that their skills and experience are fully used in decision-making at all levels. The special needs, culture, traditions and expertise of indigenous people must be recognized. International financial institutions should continue to give high priority to funding capacity-building for sustainable development in developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Special attention should also be given to strengthening the ability of developing countries to absorb and generate technologies. International cooperation needs to be strengthened to promote the endogenous capacity of developing countries to utilize scientific and technological developments from abroad and to adapt them to local conditions. The role of the private sector in capacity-building should be further promoted and enhanced. South-South cooperation in capacity-building should be further supported through "triangular" cooperative arrangements. Both developed and developing countries, in cooperation with relevant international institutions, need to strengthen their efforts to develop and implement strategies for more effective sharing of environmental expertise and data.

Decision 4/12. National mechanisms and international cooperation for capacity-building in developing countries

1. The Commission on Sustainable Development:

(a) Having examined the report of the Secretary-General on capacity- building for sustainable development (E/CN.17/1996/15 and Add.1), notes the enhanced understanding and recognition in the international community of capacity-building issues, which has led to a greater focus on strengthening national capacities for designing national plans and strategies for sustainable development;

(b) Welcomes the efforts of those countries that have taken significant steps towards capacity-building by formulating national Agenda 21 strategies, conservation strategies and environmental action plans, expresses its appreciation to those organizations, notably the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which have provided assistance to those efforts and encourages the continuation of such support;

(c) Notes the existence of long-standing institutional and other constraints in many developing countries and countries with economies in transition that need to be overcome when implementing national strategies and affirms, in this connection, that the sharing of experiences and insights from diverse capacity-building situations and measures constitutes the basis for a collaborative learning process, noting, in this context, that the African High-Level Meeting on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme in 1995, led to the adoption of a plan of action on EIA for African countries;

(d) Emphasizes the importance of donor collaboration and coordination, highlights, in this context, the relevant role of capacity-building while promoting a more participatory approach, recognizes that there is a greater role for information technology in capacity-building and notes the planned Workshop on Capacity-Building for the Environment, to be held in November 1996 under the sponsorship of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

2. The Commission therefore:

(a) Stresses the need to keep capacity-building as one of the central objectives in the promotion of development projects and programmes in developing countries in accordance with their national priorities and stresses, in this context, the need for a long-term commitment and systematic focus in pursuing capacity-building efforts;

(b) Urges Governments and international organizations to share experiences in capacity-building and assist the developing countries through strengthened international cooperation programmes for sustainable development;

(c) Calls upon Governments and international organizations to enhance coordinated efforts to assist developing countries in their own capacity- building efforts and to encourage the active involvement of non-state actors, including non-governmental organizations, the private sector and other major groups, in the capacity-building of developing countries;

(d) Encourages United Nations programmes and funds, including UNDP, and other relevant organizations, to continue to assist developing countries in strengthening their capacities in planning and policy-making for sustainable development through consultative processes and requests UNDP to further disseminate the results of programmes and evaluations of Capacity 21 projects undertaken at the country level;

(e) Encourages further work in carrying out action- and problem-oriented research on capacity-building issues in specific priority areas at the national level by concerned international, bilateral and non-governmental organizations.