The
Negotiations of commitment 6 at the third UNLDC-Conference on reducing
vulnerability and protecting the environment are now almost completed. We
would like to take this opportunity to state that the final text is very vague
and does not at all encompass the most vital necessary issues of environmental
concern. This is a cause of serious concern, and The Environment Caucus of the
UNLDCIII NGO-Forum has formulated the following recommendations for immediate
actions. We will continue the effort of including these in the negotiations of
the conferences that follows, e.g. the Financing for Development and The World
Summit for Sustainable Development.
1. All countries, the USA in particular,
are called upon to ratify and implement the Kyoto Protocol.
2. The LDC countries are already
suffering the impacts of climate change now. Without further delay, developed
countries should provide additional financial resources of adaptation measures,
to assist LDC countries in mitigating the impacts of climate change.
3. LDC-countries should be assisted to
develop in a sustainable way; therefore only clean energy technologies are
acceptable within the clean development mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol.
4. LDC's must take action to reduce
environmental degradation. Such actions should include land and credit reforms
to encourage more environmentally sustainable agricultural practices and
promotion of the rights of workers and their organisations to participate in
reducing pollution in the workplace.
5. There should be no patenting of life
forms and associated traditional knowledge.
6. The developing countries and the
LDC-countries should be better represented in the international bodies
concerned with environment, e.g. the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment.
7. PRSPs should take account of the fact
that poverty and environmental degradation are closely interrelated and include
specific policies and measures to address this fact.
8. The promotion of genetic engineering
in agriculture without proper experiment, regulation or provisions for
liability is unethical and should be banned.
9. Donors are called upon to increase
their spending on environmental awareness rising in LDC's.
10. The outcomes of Multilateral
Environmental Agreements should prevail over all new and existing WTO rules and
agreements.
11. All major new and existing WTO rules
and agreements should be subject to an environmental impact assessment.
12. National governments are asked to
take environmental concerns into account when formulating their energy policy
and advocate the use of renewable and nonpolluting energy resources.
13. Clean and safe drinking water and
sanitation is crucial. No multilateral rulings or national policies should
jeopardise the public access to this vital resource. Access to sanitation and
an adequate amount of clean and safe drinking water is a basic human right.
14. The sustainable development of the
water and sanitation sector as well as the global protection of water resources
should be ensured through the provision of international funds for regional and
national sector planning/development.
15. Hazardous waste must be effectively
managed and not dumped in LDC's. Nuclear powers must clean up the damage caused
by the technology to date and compensation should be paid to the peoples
affected by nuclear radiation.
16. LDC's should seek peaceful means to
resolve conflicts in order to reduce environmental degradation caused by
internally displaced persons and refugees.