| United Nations | E/CN.17/1994/20 |
Economic and Social Council
Distr. GENERAL
12 July 1994
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
Substantive session of 1994
REPORT OF THE COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
ON ITS SECOND SESSION*
(New York, 16-27 May 1994)
________________________
* The present document is a mimeographed version of the report of the
Commission on Sustainable Development on its second session. It will be
issued in final form as Official Records of the Economic and Social Council,
1994, Supplement No. 15 (E/1994/33).
CONTENTS
Chapter
I. MATTERS CALLING FOR ACTION BY THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL OR
BROUGHT TO ITS ATTENTION ..........................................
A. General discussion on progress in the implementation of
Agenda 21, focusing on the cross-sectoral components of
Agenda 21 and the critical elements of sustainability .........
B. Financial resources and mechanisms ............................
C. Education, science, transfer of environmentally sound
technologies, cooperation and capacity-building ...............
D. Review of sectoral cluster: health, human settlements and
freshwater ....................................................
E. Review of sectoral cluster: toxic chemicals and hazardous
wastes ........................................................
F. Other matters .................................................
G. Provisional agenda for the third session of the Commission ....
II. CHAIRMAN'S SUMMARY OF THE HIGH-LEVEL MEETING OF THE COMMISSION ....
III. GENERAL DISCUSSION ON PROGRESS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AGENDA 21,
FOCUSING ON THE CROSS-SECTORAL COMPONENTS OF AGENDA 21 AND THE
CRITICAL ELEMENTS OF SUSTAINABILITY ...............................
IV. FINANCIAL RESOURCES AND MECHANISMS ................................
V. EDUCATION, SCIENCE, TRANSFER OF ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND TECHNOLOGIES,
COOPERATION AND CAPACITY-BUILDING .................................
VI. REVIEW OF SECTORAL CLUSTERS, FIRST PHASE ..........................
A. Health, human settlements and freshwater ......................
B. Toxic chemicals and hazardous wastes ..........................
VII. OTHER MATTERS .....................................................
VIII. PROVISIONAL AGENDA FOR THE THIRD SESSION OF THE COMMISSION ........
IX. ORGANIZATION OF THE SESSION .......................................
A. Opening and duration of the session ...........................
B. Attendance ....................................................
C. Election of officers ..........................................
D. Agenda and organization of work ...............................
Annexes
I. ATTENDANCE .......................................................
II. DOCUMENTS BEFORE THE COMMISSION AT ITS SECOND SESSION ............
Chapter I
MATTERS CALLING FOR ACTION BY THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL
COUNCIL OR BROUGHT TO ITS ATTENTION
A. General discussion on progress in the implementation of
Agenda 21, focusing on the cross-sectoral components
of Agenda 21 and the critical elements of sustainability
1. Information provided by Governments and organizations
1. The Commission notes with appreciation the receipt of information
from 50 States and organizations. The information constitutes a
creditable result for the first year. It is the Commission's hope that
future years will bring an even greater exchange of information on
national and other relevant experience in implementing Agenda 21. The
Commission also notes that the work of the Secretariat in processing and
analysing the information received has provided a valuable input to the
Commission.
2. The Commission agrees that the guidelines established by and for the
Secretariat could be simplified, taking into account the discussion during
the second session and within the framework of the decision taken at its
first session, in 1993, in order to facilitate further exchange of
information. Such information could be presented in tabular form,
supplemented by brief descriptive texts.
3. In preparing information for voluntary submission to the Commission,
countries may wish to include relevant national indicators already in use
which could facilitate the exchange of information related to the
implementation of Agenda 21. In this regard, the Commission reaffirms the
decision contained in paragraph 30, chapter I, of the report on its first
session (E/1993/25/Add.1).
4. The Commission requests relevant organizations within and outside
the United Nations system, as well as donors, to provide, upon request,
technical and financial assistance to countries, particularly developing
countries, in the preparation of periodic communications or national
reports and national Agenda 21 action plans, and notes the intention of
several donors and organizations to consider such requests favourably.
2. Decision-making structures
5. The Commission welcomes the entry into force of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological
Diversity, as well as the adoption of the Declaration of Barbados and the
Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island
Developing States, and urges that appropriate follow-up action be taken.
The Commission supports the successful conclusion in June 1994 of the
negotiations for the elaboration of an International Convention to Combat
Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or
Desertification, Particularly in Africa, and calls upon all States to
accelerate progress in the United Nations Conference on Straddling Fish
Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks and to promote the successful
conclusion of the Intergovernmental Conference on the Protection of the
Marine Environment from Land-based Activities, to be held in Washington,
D.C. in November 1995.
6. The Commission expresses its appreciation to the Government of
Austria for organizing the International Symposium on Sustainable
Development and International Law, held at Baden bei Wien from 14 to 16
April 1994. The Commission welcomes the report of that Symposium
(E/CN.17/1994/16), which opens a new and promising avenue in the field of
codification and development of international law in support of the
fulfilment of the goals and objectives of Agenda 21 and the Rio
Declaration on Environment and Development. The Commission recommends
that relevant international treaty regimes contain effective machinery for
consensus-building and dispute settlement. The Commission requests the
United Nations Environment Programme to study further the concept,
requirements and implications of sustainable development and international
law.
7. The Commission, having examined the report of the Secretary-General
containing an overview of cross-sectoral issues (E/CN.17/1994/2), in
particular section IV on decision-making structures, takes note of the
important measures taken by Governments to integrate environment issues
into the development process within their decision-making structures, and
requests all States and relevant intergovernmental organizations to
submit, or continue to submit, information on an annual, voluntary basis
on the implementation of Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration on Environment and
Development and other agreements and conferences related to the United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), as appropriate.
8. The Commission also notes the establishment by the Secretary-General
of the High-level Advisory Board on Sustainable Development, and
emphasizes the desirability of fostering close interaction between the
Board and the Commission, including its Bureau.
9. The Commission takes note of the background paper containing the
report entitled "Decision-making structures: international legal
instruments and mechanisms", prepared by the task manager designated by
the Inter-Agency Committee on Sustainable Development (IACSD). The
Commission urges the Secretary-General to give high priority to
coordination through the work of IACSD. The Commission supports the
designation by IACSD of task managers as an important first step towards
improving coordination. It calls upon the task managers to provide
innovative proposals on ways to achieve more efficient results, including
multi-agency joint programming, within available resources. The
Commission requests the Secretary-General to inform the Commission on
progress made in IACSD towards coordination among United Nations bodies in
implementing Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
and other UNCED-related agreements and conferences, as appropriate.
United Nations organizations, as well as international and regional
financial institutions, intergovernmental organizations and other relevant
institutions are invited to give priority to the implementation of Agenda
21, the Rio Declaration, and UNCED-related agreements and conferences, as
appropriate.
10. The Commission emphasizes the importance of creating appropriate
national frameworks for the implementation of Agenda 21 and other
relevant agreements and conferences, bearing in mind the need for a
progressive provision of financial resources and technology transfer,
where appropriate. In this respect, the Commission requests all States to
establish the necessary coordinating machinery for the promotion of
sustainable development. The Commission also calls upon the United
Nations system, through the IACSD task managers, to coordinate its
capacity-building activities and to develop joint programming for this
purpose, wherever feasible.
11. In accordance with their national sustainable development
priorities, developing countries should, as appropriate, be supported in
strengthening their capacity in the development or streamlining of
sustainable development strategies, the development and maintenance of
environmental law, including the development of environmental impact
assessment procedures, as well as their capacity to participate
effectively in the development of international law related to sustainable
development, and the elaboration of conventions and other international
instruments in this field.
12. The Commission recognizes the importance of full participation of
all interested parties in the negotiation of international agreements
relating to sustainable development, and therefore calls upon the relevant
bodies to promote the provision, through transparent and accountable
mechanisms, of financial support for the participation, in negotiating
forums, of developing countries, in particular the least developed
countries, at their request.
13. The Commission recommends that States and international
organizations consider the use of partnerships with business and non-
governmental communities leading to non-legally binding agreements as a
first step in the preparation of international regulations.
14. The Commission notes the need for coordination and more efficient
structural arrangements among the secretariats of conventions related to
sustainable development.
3. Major groups
15. The Commission recognizes the indispensable role that major groups
and their representatives play in the implementation of Agenda 21, but
acknowledges the need to improve the quality of information about the
problems, needs and contributions of major groups to the implementation of
Agenda 21 and other commitments made at the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development.
16. The Commission stresses the vital role of women, in particular, in
bringing about sustainable development. The Commission is of the view
that the forthcoming United Nations conferences, such as the International
Conference on Population and Development, the World Summit for Social
Development, the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements
(Habitat II) and the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for
Equality, Development and Peace, will be conducive to the empowerment of
women, which is necessary to enable them to play that vital role.
17. The Commission also stresses the central place of future generations
within the concept of sustainable development and encourages the
participation of children and youth, and their organizations, in the
implementation of Agenda 21. It notes the need to increase efforts in
relevant education and training to attain the changes in attitude of
present and future generations necessary for sustainable development.
18. Governments and international organizations, as well as major groups
themselves, particularly those from the developing countries, are
encouraged to take concrete steps to enhance the involvement of major
groups and to provide information on the extent of the involvement of
major group organizations, comprising, inter alia, non-governmental
organizations and the private sector, in efforts and programmes to realize
the goals of Agenda 21. The Commission suggests that such information,
submitted on a voluntary basis, might include:
(a) The extent of major group involvement in sustainable
development activities, including participation in project design and
implementation and evaluation of projects at the local, national,
regional, subregional and international levels;
(b) Innovative methods that have increased the quality and quantity
of consultations with major group representatives and organizations;
(c) Indicators of major group involvement, including financial and
resource allocations made to them, as well as their own involvement in the
provision of technical assistance and other types of support for Agenda 21
activities;
(d) Identification of obstacles and difficulties related to major
group participation and steps taken to overcome them;
(e) Compilation and publication of case-studies, preferably
undertaken in the four regional areas, by major groups and Governments, on
the successful or unsuccessful efforts of major groups, in sustainable
development programmes and activities; these case-studies should also
include a one-page executive summary.
19. Such information should be provided annually, in the context of
reports and periodic communications on the activities relevant to the
Agenda 21 clusters to be discussed at future sessions of the Commission in
accordance with the multi-year programme of work of the Commission.
20. The Secretary-General is requested to continue to include relevant
information received from major groups in the documentation prepared for
future sessions of the Commission.
21. The Commission stresses the need for major groups, their
representatives and organizations to play an active and substantive role
in the implementation of Agenda 21, including the holding of seminars,
round tables and multi-stakeholder meetings on the yearly thematic topics
discussed by the Commission.
22. The Commission calls upon international organizations, particularly
those with field offices, within their respective mandates and in
compliance with the laws, sustainable development strategies and
priorities of the countries concerned, to enhance the contribution of
major group organizations to sustainable development and to encourage more
active involvement of major group representatives in their activities.
23. The Commission encourages all major groups, in particular those in
the private sector, to engage in creating multi-stakeholder partnerships
and to carry out concrete partnership projects.
24. The Commission recommends that the overall access of major groups,
including non-governmental organizations, to the Commission's work
throughout the year be clarified and enhanced, and, without prejudice to
the outcome of the general review of arrangements for consultations with
non-governmental organizations to be carried out by the Economic and
Social Council, recommends that:
(a) The Economic and Social Council at its substantive session of
1994 place non-governmental organizations accredited to the Commission by
Council decision 1993/220 on the Roster, as envisaged in Council decision
1993/215;
(b) The Council continue to grant Roster status to those non-
governmental organizations that were accredited to the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development and that confirm their interest
in being accredited to the Commission.
4. Trade, environment and sustainable development
25. As the organ responsible for monitoring progress in the
implementation of Agenda 21, the Commission sets forth some initial
perspectives for consideration in subsequent work on trade and environment
issues.
26. In the framework of the implementation of chapter 2 of Agenda 21,
the Commission emphasizes the aim of moving towards the overall concept of
sustainable development. In aiming at sustainability, full consideration
should be given to the special conditions and development needs of the
developing countries and the countries with economies in transition. An
open, balanced and integrated approach towards sustainability through an
open, equitable and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system,
improved market access for products from developing countries, effective
environmental protection and mutually supportive trade and environment
policies should ensure close cooperation with all policy makers involved,
as well as with the private sector and non-governmental organizations.
27. The Commission recognizes that relations in the field of trade and
economic endeavour should be conducted with a view to raising standards of
living, ensuring full employment and a large and steadily growing volume
of real income and effective demand, and expanding the production of and
trade in goods and services, while allowing for the optimal use of the
world's resources in accordance with the objective of sustainable
development, seeking both to protect and preserve the environment and to
enhance the means for doing so in a manner consistent with the respective
needs and concerns of countries at different levels of economic
development.
28. The Commission considers that trade liberalization can make a major
contribution to sustainable development and stresses that protectionism
should be resisted. The Commission also regards the achievement of a safe
and healthy environment, through strong and effective international and
domestic environmental protection efforts, as an essential component of
sustainable development. The Commission further stresses that there is a
need to decrease subsidies that have harmful environmental and trade-
distorting effects. In addition, market opportunities and export
prospects could be improved by complementing trade policies through sound
domestic economic and environmental policies. The Commission points out
that an open, equitable and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system
and the adoption of sound environmental policies are important means of
addressing the environmental implications of trade. The Commission urges
national authorities to endeavour to promote the internalization of
environmental costs and the use of economic instruments, taking into
account the approach that the polluter should, in principle, bear the cost
of pollution, with due regard to the public interest and without
distorting international trade and investment.
29. The Commission welcomes the successful conclusion of the Uruguay
Round of multilateral trade negotiations, which is expected to bring about
the further liberalization and expansion of world trade; its full
implementation will enhance the trade and development possibilities of
developing countries and provide greater security and predictability to
the international trading system. It notes that regional and subregional
economic integration processes, including those among developing
countries, have the potential of contributing to an improvement in the
medium-term prospects for world economic growth and for an even more rapid
expansion of world trade.
30. The Commission also notes with concern that the benefits of trade
liberalization will accrue more to those developing countries that have
already been pursuing more export-oriented policies than to certain
developing countries that will continue to face major difficulties,
particularly those highly dependent on trade preferences, those that are
net food-importers and those dependent on primary commodity exports,
particularly in Africa. In this regard, the Commission takes note of the
decision on measures concerning the possible negative effects of the
reform programme on the least developed and net food-importing developing
countries, taken at the Marrakesh Ministerial Meeting in April 1994. The
Commission emphasizes that for all developing countries to benefit more
fully from trade liberalization, the achievement of other objectives
identified in Agenda 21, particularly better functioning of commodity
markets, increasing foreign direct investment in developing countries and
financial assistance, including debt relief, are important. It notes that
mutually supportive trade and environment policies and structural
adjustment policies that would, inter alia, remove biases against exports,
discourage inefficient import substitution, improve infrastructure
important to trade, diversify economies to reduce dependence on primary
commodities, particularly in Africa, and improve domestic market
efficiency would also increase the potential for gains from trade
liberalization. It hopes that the promotion of trade in environmentally
friendly products and technologies would also further improve trading
opportunities for developing countries. Bearing in mind the objective of
making trade and environment mutually supportive, the Commission
underlines the importance of effective multilateral cooperation to protect
the environment and also of preserving and enhancing the ability of
countries to achieve and maintain high levels of environmental protection
while pursuing an open, non-discriminatory, multilateral trade system.
31. The Commission notes that important progress was made in addressing
trade and environment issues in the Uruguay Round but recognizes that
further progress is needed to address unresolved issues and ensure that
the international trading system is responsive to environmental concerns.
In this regard, the Commission supports the decision taken at the
Marrakesh Ministerial Meeting in April 1994 to establish the Committee on
Trade and Environment. The Committee has a broad mandate and will report
to the first Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO),
to be held probably in 1997. Together with the improved framework for
dispute settlement, the Uruguay Round agreements and the decision on trade
and environment advance several of the trade, development and environment
issues of Agenda 21. The Commission recognizes that it needs to interact
with WTO in future work on these matters. It also considers that work
undertaken in the Committee on Trade and Environment would benefit from
cooperation with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
32. The Commission emphasizes the results of UNCED relating to trade,
environment and sustainable development, including Principle 12 of the Rio
Declaration and Agenda 21, paragraph 2.22 of which calls upon Governments
to encourage the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), UNCTAD and
other relevant international and regional economic institutions to
examine, in accordance with their respective mandates and competences, a
number of propositions and principles, such as ensuring that environment-
related regulations or standards, including those related to health and
safety standards, do not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable
discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade and avoiding unilateral
actions to deal with environmental challenges outside the jurisdiction of
the importing country. Environmental measures addressing transborder or
global environmental problems should, as far as possible, be based on an
international consensus. Domestic measures targeted to achieve certain
environmental objectives may need trade measures to render them effective.
Should trade policy measures be found necessary for the enforcement of
environmental policies, certain principles and rules should apply. These
could include, inter alia, the principle of non-discrimination; the
principle that the trade measure chosen should be the least trade-
restrictive necessary to achieve the objectives; an obligation to ensure
transparency in the use of trade measures related to the environment and
to provide adequate notification of national regulations; and the need to
give consideration to the special conditions and developmental
requirements of developing countries as they move towards internationally
agreed environmental objectives.
33. The Commission notes the importance of developing a framework to
facilitate the assessment of the environmental impact of trade policies,
taking into account the special needs and conditions of developing
countries. Any such assessment should be carried out within the overall
perspective of promoting sustainable development. In this context, there
is a need to foster a better understanding of the trade implications of a
number of environmental concepts and principles, such as the polluter pays
principle, the precautionary principle and life-cycle management. In this
context, there is also a need to consider the interactions between trade,
technological cooperation and changes in production and consumption
patterns. Further work in this area by UNEP and UNCTAD, in cooperation
with other relevant organizations, would represent a valuable contribution
to the objective of making trade and environment policies mutually
supportive in promoting sustainable development.
34. In the context of the overall aims of sustainable development, the
Commission welcomes the substantial progress achieved in GATT/WTO, UNCTAD
and UNEP. The Commission further underlines efforts to make trade and
environment mutually supportive through, inter alia, strengthening
technical assistance in the capacity-building undertaken by UNCTAD, UNDP
and UNEP. As GATT/WTO, UNEP and UNCTAD are key actors in the
implementation of chapter 2, sections A and B, of Agenda 21, the
Commission emphasizes the need for close cooperation and complementarity
in their work, as well as the need for appropriate inputs from other
organizations involved, such as UNDP, the World Bank and the Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The Commission
underlines the importance of complementarity in work on the identification
and development of international trade rules and international
environmental law. For the purpose of fostering cooperation, the
Commission, UNCTAD and UNEP should be appropriately represented at the WTO
Committee on Trade and Environment. In addition, there should be close
cooperation between GATT/WTO and UNEP, in particular, when considering the
relationship between the provisions and dispute settlement mechanisms of
the multilateral trading system and those of multilateral environment
agreements, including with respect to the question of compliance with the
trade provisions in multilateral environmental agreements negotiated under
the auspices of the United Nations.
35. Regarding national environmental requirements and international
trade, the Commission notes that further examination and work are needed
to ensure that the trading system is adequately responsive to the needs
and possibilities of Governments in taking action to protect the
environment in accordance with international law, including health and
environmental requirements. Further consideration will have to take into
account that: (a) there are legitimate reasons for diversity in
environmental regulations across countries; (b) differences in the
relative costs of production constitute the very basis for gains from
international trade; (c) the effects of national environmental regulations
should be studied to determine whether they have a greater potential
impact on trade competitiveness than other non-trade policy measures;
(d) disguised protectionism in the name of environmental standards should
be avoided; (e) efforts should be geared to promoting the convergence of
environmental standards and regulations at a high level of environmental
protection, while bearing in mind that regulations and standards that are
valid in the most advanced countries may be inappropriate and have
unwarranted social costs for the developing countries; (f) the
transparency of environmental regulations and standards should be ensured
and adequate information should be provided in particular to developing
countries.
36. Regarding further international cooperation in the field of
environmental requirements, the Commission notes the need for a careful
examination of the issues relating to competitiveness, particularly in the
light of evidence that, in some cases, environmental compliance costs are
a small proportion of total costs. It should, on the other hand, be
clearly seen that investing in environmental activities has many positive
effects, such as the improvement of market opportunities and job creation.
37. The Commission takes note of the ongoing consultative process in
UNCTAD on the establishment of an ad hoc working group on trade,
environment and development as a result of the mid-term review at the
eighth session of UNCTAD and encourages interaction with GATT/WTO and
UNEP. The Commission welcomes the joint UNEP/UNCTAD programme and
welcomes the participation of GATT/WTO as well as other relevant
organizations, including OECD, the private sector and non-governmental
organizations. In this regard the Commission supports the proposal of
UNEP and UNCTAD to hold, in a forum complementary to WTO and other forums
as a follow-up activity of the joint informal ministerial meeting in
February 1994 in Geneva, a working-level session and a high-
level/ministerial meeting on trade, environment and sustainable
development to examine (a) the role of environmental policies as they
relate to trade liberalization policies, (b) the promotion of trade in
environmentally friendly products and technologies and (c) the promotion
of international cooperation in the field of product-related environmental
policy instruments.
38. The Commission also welcomes the relevant provisions of the
Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island
Developing States and calls for adequate support for the
implementation of the provisions of the Programme.
39. The Commission suggests that consideration be given by Governments
and relevant organizations to (a) further development of trade-compatible
environmental instruments, such as non-discriminatory eco-labelling as
well as non-discriminatory certification and verification schemes, taking
into account the financial and institutional capacity of developing
countries to do so; and (b) cooperative work on environmental standards
based, inter alia, on input from the International Standardization
Organization (ISO), with due regard to the differentiated responsibilities
of developed and developing countries.
40. The Commission reaffirms its role, in accordance with General
Assembly resolution 47/191, in monitoring progress in the implementation
of Agenda 21 and activities related to the integration of environmental
and developmental goals throughout the United Nations system. The
Commission agrees to review annually developments in the area of trade,
development and environment, according to its mandate, with a view to
identifying possible gaps, and to promote cooperation and coordination.
The Commission recommends that GATT/WTO, UNCTAD and UNEP continue to
provide annual reports to the Commission on their activities concerning
trade and environment. The Commission recommends that relevant reports
from the international financial institutions should be made available to
facilitate its work. The Commission calls on the Secretary-General to
ensure an appropriate division of labour within the United Nations system
in the area of trade and environment through the IACSD and its task-
manager approach.
41. In order to gain a better understanding of the impact of
internalization of environmental costs on competitiveness and trade
earnings, particularly in developing countries, the Commission recommends
that the Secretary-General, through the Economic and Social Council, seek
the views of Governments, regional economic integration organizations, the
private sector and non-governmental organizations, on an analytical study
to be undertaken on the relationship of environmental protection to
international competitiveness, job creation and development. The
Commission stresses that this work could benefit from the input of various
relevant institutions, such as the World Bank, GATT/WTO, UNCTAD, UNEP,
UNIDO, UNDP, OECD and ILO.
42. Finally, the Commission highlights the importance of achieving
transparency, openness and the active involvement of the public and
experts, in relation to work on trade and environment, including work
within WTO, UNEP and UNCTAD, and to dispute settlement processes. The
Commission recognizes that there is a considerable need for improvement in
these areas, and looks forward to the development of specific
recommendations in this regard by Governments and the appropriate
organizations, in accordance with chapter 38 of Agenda 21.
5. Changing consumption and production patterns
43. With UNCED, the issue of changing consumption patterns was for the
first time formally placed on the agenda for multilateral negotiations.
The Commission reaffirms the need to change those contemporary patterns of
consumption and production which are detrimental to sustainable
development. In the context of differentiated responsibilities in this
field, developed countries bear special responsibility and should take the
lead by taking effective measures for change in their own countries.
44. The Commission recognizes that the main economic agents whose
behaviour as producers or consumers should be the target of policy
measures are individual households, business and industry, and
Governments, especially in developed countries. Policies and measures to
change production and consumption patterns should be predictable for
producers and consumers and should be supportive of sustainable
development. The price of a product should be related to its life-cycle
costs. Prevention of pollution which results in cost reduction should
also be recognized and encouraged with appropriate incentives. The
Commission urges national authorities to endeavour to promote the
internalization of environmental costs and the use of economic
instruments, taking into account the approach that the polluter should, in
principle, bear the cost of pollution, with due regard to the public
interest and without distorting international trade and investment. Where
vulnerable groups may already be affected by measures taken for
environmental purposes, appropriate offsetting measures should be
introduced.
45. Attention should be given to the special situation and needs of
developing countries; for them, eradicating poverty and meeting basic
human needs in the process of pursuing sustainable development are
overriding priorities.
46. The Commission recognizes, at the same time, that all countries
should derive immediate and long-term benefits from establishing and
maintaining more sustainable consumption and production patterns.
47. The Commission recommends that measures and steps to change
consumption and production patterns should be pursued, especially in
developed countries, inter alia, by appropriate instruments, public
awareness campaigns, adequate guidance in the field of advertising,
education, information and advice for the purposes of: (a) conserving
energy and using renewable sources of energy; (b) making greater use of
public transport; (c) minimizing recycling and reusing waste; (d) reducing
the quantity of packaging; (e) encouraging consumption of products
produced by more environmentally sound processes and the development of
environmentally sound products; (f) reducing the amount of water wasted;
and (g) reducing environmentally harmful substances in products.
48. After reviewing which measures could be most cost-effective in
changing behaviour, in particular, economic instruments, the Commission
notes that despite the growing interest in such instruments and their
increasing use, especially in developed countries, there is not as yet
sufficient quantitative evidence to evaluate adequately the effectiveness
of their use in practice. The Commission notes further that experience in
developed countries with such instruments suggests a number of tentative
conclusions, as described in the report of the Secretary-General
(E/CN.17/1994/2), which need to be explored further.
49. The Commission notes ongoing efforts to introduce mechanisms,
particularly in developed countries, to internalize external costs,
especially regarding all greenhouse-gas emissions.
50. In order to facilitate a better understanding of the
interrelationship among consumption patterns, production structures and
techniques, economic growth, employment, population dynamics and
environmental stress, the Commission calls on Government to: (a)
intensify and expand their efforts to collect relevant data at the
national and subnational levels and (b) undertake projections and
prospective studies so as to better appreciate the consequences of present
policy stances and the possible impact of changing those policies.
51. The Commission notes the work undertaken within and outside the
United Nations system that could contribute to developing a solid
conceptual framework in this field. In this context, the Commission
further notes that OECD is working actively on analysing the process of
bringing about changes in consumption and production patterns. This
analysis is intended to contribute to assessing current patterns and
trends and to addressing the likely sectoral, economic and environmental
impacts of significant changes in consumption and production patterns in
OECD countries. The Commission calls on organizations within and outside
the United Nations system, including OECD, to continue their useful work
in this area, taking into account the guidelines in chapter 4 of Agenda
21, as well as in the present decision.
52. The Commission urges Governments and the private sector to consider
measures to achieve the following objectives: (a) encouraging greater
efficiency in the use of energy and resources; (b) minimizing waste;
(c) assisting individuals and households to make environmentally sound
purchasing decisions; (d) exercising leadership through government
purchasing; (e) moving towards environmentally sound pricing, and (f)
reinforcing values that support sustainable consumption and production.
In this connection, exchange of experience should be encouraged.
53. The Commission recommends that Governments and relevant
international organizations undertake national and regional studies of
environmental, social and economic trends and damage from present patterns
of consumption and production to assess their sustainability and their
repercussions on other countries, particularly developing countries, and
on the world economy. The results of these studies should help
Governments set national priorities to address the most damaging effects
of unsustainable consumption patterns and to assist developing countries
to this effect.
54. It urges Governments to consider using pricing policies to
internalize the costs of risk and damage to the environment, to a greater
or lesser extent, depending on the varying circumstances of developed and
developing countries and countries with economies in transition and to
consider reporting on the action taken to the Commission on Sustainable
Development in 1997.
55. It invites the United Nations system, as well as regional and
international organizations, to assess and report on how they may promote
sustainable consumption and production patterns through their own
activities.
56. The Commission calls upon the Secretary-General to request the views
of Governments in order to formulate elements of a possible work programme
for sustainable consumption and production patterns by the third session
of the Commission on Sustainable Development, in 1995. Preparatory work
could include the inter-sessional organization of workshops and other
forms of information-exchange on the relative effectiveness of a spectrum
of instruments for changing unsustainable consumption and production
patterns in all groups of countries. This should be done in continuous
consultation with representatives from non-governmental organizations,
business and industry from all regions.
57. The Commission requests the Secretary-General to prepare an
analytical report on the use of economic instruments and other policy
measures for changing consumption patterns in developed countries, with
special reference to the sectoral issues on the agenda of the Commission
at its third session, as an input to the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group
on Finance.
B. Financial resources and mechanisms
58. The Commission on Sustainable Development appreciates the inter-
sessional work that has been undertaken to prepare its deliberations on
financial resources and mechanisms. It takes note in particular of the
role of the inter-sessional Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Finance and
the report it has submitted.
59. Having reviewed the availability of financial resources necessary
for the implementation of the sustainable development programmes of Agenda
21 and the developments that have taken place in this regard since its
last session, the Commission considers the response to the financial
recommendations and commitments of Agenda 21, including those regarding
official development assistance (ODA), to be short of expectations and
requirements. The Commission is concerned that the current availability
of financial resources for sustainable development and the limited
provision of adequate and predictable, new and additional financial
resources will constrain the effective implementation of Agenda 21 and
could undermine the basis of the global partnership for sustainable
development. This needs to be addressed urgently.
60. The Commission welcomes the restructuring of the Global Environment
Facility (GEF) and takes note of its replenishment by US$ 2 billion. It
considers this replenishment to be a first step at a minimum level. As
the implementation of commitments under the various agreements and
objectives envisaged for the Facility starts, there will be a need for
further replenishment of its funds.
61. The Commission reiterates that increased efforts are needed to bring
ODA levels in line with the 0.7 per cent target, as reaffirmed in Agenda
21, as soon as possible. In this context, the Commission emphasizes that
the other financial instruments and mechanisms for the financing of Agenda
21 complement the funding from ODA and cannot be a substitute for it. The
Commission underscores that there is an urgent need for effective and
early implementation of all commitments contained in chapter 33 of Agenda
21, including through substantial early commitments of concessional
funding to accelerate the initial implementation phase of Agenda 21.
62. The Commission welcomes the increase in private flows to developing
countries. However, it recognizes the need to enhance the contribution of
these flows to sustainable development and to achieve a more even
distribution across countries and sectors through appropriate policies.
63. The Commission takes note of the ongoing preparations for a
convention to combat desertification and calls for suitable and adequate
financing provisions in view of the seriousness of the problem,
particularly in the developing countries affected. It urges the
Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to finalize the convention at the
forthcoming session in Paris and to make arrangements for its early
implementation.
64. The Commission also welcomes the Declaration of Barbados and the
Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island
Developing States. It calls for the implementation of the priority areas
of the Programme of Action through the provision of effective means,
including adequate, predictable, new and additional financial resources,
in accordance with chapter 33 of Agenda 21.
65. The Commission notes that following the conclusion of the Uruguay
Round, efforts need to be undertaken to ensure that all countries,
particularly developing countries, reap the benefits from trade
liberalization, including gains through improved market access and better
terms of trade for developing countries. To this end, it will be
necessary to assist developing countries, particularly in Africa and the
least developed countries, to diversify their economies and to make the
necessary adjustments to take advantage of new market opportunities. It
will also be important to make trade and environment policies mutually
supportive and to further promote an open, equitable and
non-discriminatory multilateral trading system that is consistent with the
goals of sustainable development.
66. The debt burden continues to remain a major constraint to the
sustainable development efforts of countries, particularly developing
ones. Many of the least developed, low- and lower-middle-income countries
continue to experience severe debt-service difficulties, inhibiting their
sustainable development efforts. Additional debt reduction operations,
debt cancellation, more debt relief and other innovative schemes need to
be considered and implemented, as appropriate.
67. The goal of mobilizing financial resources for sustainable
development makes it necessary to act on all possible fronts, seeking
domestic and international sources, developing innovative approaches and
instituting national policy reforms, as appropriate. Policy reforms to
mobilize resources for sustainable development should, in particular in
developed countries, be complemented, as appropriate, by the use of
economic instruments aimed at changing unsustainable production and
consumption patterns. The use and impact of financial resources should be
optimized so as to increase their availability for meeting sustainable
development goals and priorities.
68. The integration of environment and development strategies should be
promoted at the outset of decision-making processes so as to ensure that
macroeconomic policies are supportive of sustainable development goals and
priorities.
69. The Commission notes the value of national sustainable development
strategies and encourages their preparation and use.
70. The Commission recognizes the complexity and the difficult nature of
the task facing developing countries and it notes in this context the
efforts they have undertaken to promote accelerated economic growth and
sustainable development in the face of an unfavourable external
environment.
71. The Commission also recognizes the complex and difficult nature of
the process of transition which the countries with economies in transition
are facing in their integration into the world economy and notes their
efforts in promoting environment policies and economic instruments aimed
at the mobilization of financial resources for sustainable development.
72. The Commission urges the international community, in particular the
donor countries, to undertake efforts to further strengthen the funding
capacity of international financial institutions, regional banks and other
international organizations and emphasizes that greater efforts need to be
undertaken by them to effectively and demonstrably provide resources for
the implementation of Agenda 21. They are also invited to assess, in a
transparent fashion, using inputs from other organizations and major
groups where appropriate, the impact of their activities on sustainable
development, and to report thereon through relevant channels.
73. The Commission notes that some innovative financial mechanisms and
financial policy instruments and reforms have been discussed and included
in the report of the inter-sessional Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on
Finance. These and other evolving innovative mechanisms need to be
further considered in order to determine their feasibility, their socio-
economic consequences, their impact on the environment and their
administrative arrangements, with a view to having the Secretary-General
report to the Commission at its third session on the outcome of this
consideration.
74. The Commission emphasizes the need to increase the availability of
funding for sectors in the framework of global, regional and national
sustainable development strategies on the basis of clearly identified
needs. It notes that it would be useful to develop a matrix of policy
options and financial instruments and mechanisms that would facilitate the
formulation of optimal financing strategies for the sectors under review.
The matrix would also include policies for encouraging stronger
involvement of the private sector in the financing of sustainable
development.
75. The Commission also recommends the following to increase the
effectiveness of its work through the inter-sessional Ad Hoc Open-ended
Working Group on Finance: (a) involvement of experts from the private
sector and non-governmental organizations, as appropriate; (b) greater use
of national experiences (lessons learned) in developing policy options for
the financing of Agenda 21, having due regard to the specific problems of
countries or groups of countries; (c) encouraging the convening of
informal expert group meetings, launching pilot projects, preparing case
studies and inviting experts and engaging consultants to prepare detailed
studies on the feasibility and impact of innovating financial instruments
and mechanisms, as mentioned above; and (d) continuing cooperation with
OECD on the monitoring of financial flows, including ODA, for the
implementation of Agenda 21.
76. The Commission recognizes that the vital goal of bringing about
sustainable development can best be attained through broad public support
for and participation in generating the political momentum that will be
necessary to augment financing for Agenda 21 and to provide developing
countries with the substantial new and additional financial resources
required for the implementation of the huge sustainable development
programmes of Agenda 21. The Commission has an important role to play in
this process. It confirms its full commitment to the task. In the
implementation of the sustainable development programmes of Agenda 21, a
further complementary role could be played by foreign direct investment,
private capital flows and related efforts to diversify production in the
developing countries.
C. Education, science, transfer of environmentally sound
technologies, cooperation and capacity-building
Transfer of environmentally sound technologies,
cooperation and capacity-building
77. The Commission on Sustainable Development has reviewed with
appreciation the report of the Inter-sessional Ad Hoc Open-ended Working
Group on Technology Transfer and Cooperation (E/CN.17/1994/11) and takes
note of the background paper containing the Task Manager's report on the
transfer of environmentally sound technology, cooperation and capacity-
building, as well as section III of the report of the Secretary-General
containing an overview of cross-sectoral issues (E/CN.17/1994/2). The
Commission also notes the part of the report of the High-level Advisory
Board (E/CN.17/1994/13) relating to new approaches to environmentally
sound technology cooperation.
78. The Commission notes with appreciation the valuable initiatives
undertaken by various members of the Commission during the inter-sessional
period as a contribution to the work of the Commission in the area of
transfer of environmentally sound technology, cooperation and capacity-
building, as discussed in chapter 34 and other chapters of Agenda 21.
79. The Commission recognizes that developing countries face severe
constraints in their efforts to promote and engage in technology transfer
and cooperation due to the lack of adequate financial resources and
limited human, managerial and institutional capacities. In this regard,
the Commission welcomes the emphasis given by the Inter-sessional Ad Hoc
Open-ended Working Group on Technology Transfer and Cooperation to three
key areas requiring priority attention, namely: (a) access to and
dissemination of reliable information on environmentally sound
technologies, (b) institutional development and capacity-building and (c)
financial and partnership arrangements.
80. The Commission notes that many of the proposals for action related
to the transfer of environmentally sound technology and cooperation are
based on practical experiences gained in some sectoral areas, and that
many of these experiences can be applied to other sectors as well.
81. The Commission stresses, in the context of chapter 34 of Agenda 21,
the need for Governments of developed and developing countries and
countries with economies in transition to take, with the support of
international organizations and institutions and through long-term
cooperation and partnership arrangements, specific action to (a) promote,
facilitate and finance, as appropriate, access to and the transfer of
environmentally sound technologies and corresponding know-how, in
particular to developing countries, on favourable terms, including
concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed, taking into
account the need to protect intellectual property rights, as well as the
special needs of developing countries, for the implementation of Agenda
21; (b) promote long-term technological cooperation and partnership
between holders of environmentally sound technologies and potential users;
and (c) build the endogenous capacities of those countries required to
develop, assess, encourage and utilize such technologies through, inter
alia, research and development, education and training.
82. The Commission reaffirms the crucial importance of strengthening the
capacities, in particular of developing countries, to assess, develop,
apply and manage environmentally sound technologies tailored to the
countries' own needs and priorities and stresses the need to focus efforts
on capacity-building and institutional development.
83. The Commission recognizes that the expertise required for technology
transfer and cooperation is being developed in many countries. Therefore,
Governments and enterprises are urged to look throughout the world for the
best ideas and creative solutions to meet their needs and solve their
problems. The transfer of unproved or environmentally detrimental
technologies can thereby be avoided.
84. The Commission reiterates the importance of public and private
enterprises in technological innovation and as an important conduit
through which technology is developed, transferred, used and disseminated.
In this regard, the Commission recognizes that technology partnership
arrangements at the enterprise level are a promising mechanism to
facilitate access to information on environmentally sound technologies and
to support the development, transfer, use and dissemination of these
technologies and related know-how. Such partnerships also strengthen the
operational, administrative and maintenance skills of the users, and
stimulate best-practice methods for improving environmental performance at
the enterprise level, inter alia, by promoting the pollution prevention
approach in the production and use of goods and services. Companies must
continue to adapt and develop technology during the period of cooperation.
In this context, the concepts of "build-operate-transfer" (BOT)
arrangements, regional technomarts and technofairs, were considered
promising approaches to technology transfer which need further
examination.
85. The Commission notes the efforts of some industry associations to
organize conferences in selected countries in different regions for
industry and trade associations which would focus on environmental
management, monitoring and reporting, and to undertake research projects
to collect and analyse case- studies of successful and unsuccessful
technology transfer and cooperation programmes.
86. The Commission also stresses the crucial role that Governments of
both developed and developing countries have to play in creating
favourable conditions for the public sector and in encouraging the private
sector to develop and transfer environmentally sound technologies and
build the capacities in developing countries to use and manage those
technologies effectively. In this regard, international cooperation is
highly important. The application of incentives, such as reducing trade
barriers, encouraging competition, opening up markets to foreign
collaboration, reducing corporate taxes and providing fiscal incentives to
enterprises that implement the transfer of environmentally sound
technologies, as well as other market reforms and sector restructuring,
are likely to have a substantial impact on improving access to capital for
new technologies. The further improvement and effective implementation of
an appropriate policy, legal and regulatory framework, on both the supply
and the demand side, can create new possibilities for the development of
environmentally sound technologies and their transfer to developing
countries. This may include a mix of macroeconomic policies, economic
incentives and environmental regulations. Special attention should also
be given, as recommended by the Inter-sessional Ad Hoc Open-ended Working
Group on Technology Transfer and Cooperation, to the involvement of small
and medium-sized industries in the process of technology transfer as they
are the backbone of business and industry in most developing countries.
In this context, the Commission welcomes the offer by the Government of
Norway, in cooperation with the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development, to host a seminar on the role of small and medium-sized
enterprises in technology transfer.
87. The Commission welcomes the recommendations of the Working Group
concerning the need to promote closer interaction among all actors
involved in technology transfer and cooperation and networking of
institutional capacities. In this context, the strengthening of existing
environmental technology centres and the establishment of new ones in
developing countries are of crucial importance in promoting development,
transfer and adaptation of environmentally sound technologies. They are a
promising instrument for initiating research and development on
environmentally sound technologies and facilitating technological
collaboration between different partners at the national and regional
levels. The strengthening or establishment of such centres can also be
considered for countries with economies in transition.
88. The Commission notes that the Working Group has identified key
priority areas for the future work of the Commission and has provided an
important forum for the discussion of issues and the consideration of
options that might have been difficult in other contexts.
89. The Commission takes note of the relevant provisions on the transfer
of technology contained in the Programme of Action for the Sustainable
Development of Small Island Developing States and urges that adequate
support be given to priority areas in technology transfer as identified in
the Programme of Action.
90. The Commission, therefore:
(a) Encourages and requests appropriate organizations of the United
Nations system, such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP),
the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations
Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), to conduct, in collaboration
with other international organizations, such as the Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development, a survey on and assessment of the
available sources of information, as well as supporting systems and
inventories, and their effective use, focusing on selected environmentally
sound technologies. The survey and assessment should cover sources and
systems of information on technologies that are in the public domain as
well as those protected by patents, whether privately or publicly owned.
In this regard, Governments, organizations and programmes of the United
Nations system, other international organizations, private non-profit
organizations, trade associations, industrial and commercial associations
and enterprises, research institutes and other non-governmental
organizations, as well as other relevant entities, are encouraged to
provide all relevant information and any other appropriate assistance,
including case-studies on technology transfer, in particular through the
Internet-based systems and facilities. The objective is to identify gaps
and/or deficiencies in the information sources or systems surveyed, and
indicate feasible approaches to correcting such problems, in order to
improve the access to and efficient use of such systems. An initial
report on the results of this survey and assessment should be submitted to
the Commission at its third session, in 1995;
(b) Invites industry associations to provide to the Commission, and
to disseminate more widely, information on efforts being made and results
achieved in environmentally sound technology transfer, cooperation and
capacity-building, including through foreign direct investment and various
forms of technology partnerships with developing countries and countries
with economies in transition;
(c) Invites Governments of developed and developing countries and
countries with economies in transition and regional and intergovernmental
organizations to conduct collaboratively, with the assistance of
international organizations and institutions, as appropriate, case-studies
on national technology needs for environmentally sound technologies,
capacity-building and institutional development, and welcomes the
initiatives already being undertaken thereon, including those with regard
to further developing methodologies and identifying sources of funding,
and to report to the Commission at its third session;
(d) Requests the Secretary-General to invite appropriate
organizations of the United Nations system to examine the concrete
modalities and the usefulness of innovative technology transfer
mechanisms, such as "one-stop shops", "environmentally sound
technology rights banks" (ESTRBs) or "build-operate-transfer" (BOT)
arrangements, and submit concrete recommendations to the Commission at its
third session. Such an effort should take full advantage of the expertise
of the High-level Advisory Board on Sustainable Development and other
eminent technical experts;
(e) Invites appropriate organizations of the United Nations system
to further examine, in close collaboration with other interested parties,
including private sector associations, the operational modalities and
concrete applications of the concept of "benchmarking";
(f) Calls upon Governments and international organizations to make
available, in close collaboration with relevant financial institutions and
the private sector, information on the conditions and concrete modalities
for setting up and managing venture capital funds for certain types of
environmentally sound technologies, and to share with the Commission the
results achieved and experiences gained in the application of their
conditions and modalities;
(g) Requests the Secretary-General to call upon Governments to
explore, in close collaboration with appropriate organizations of the
United Nations system and other intergovernmental organizations, both
regional and multilateral, including financial institutions, and the
private sector, the potential for joint ventures and the feasibility of
providing adequate financing to pursue such joint ventures, and to report
to the Commission at its third session;
(h) Invites UNCTAD, UNDP, UNIDO, UNEP, other appropriate
organizations of the United Nations system, other intergovernmental
organizations, both regional and multilateral, including financial
institutions, to assist countries, in particular developing countries, in
applying conditions and new modalities for the involvement of small and
medium-sized enterprises in long-term international technology partnership
arrangements, including assistance in the preparation, execution and post-
servicing of sustainable development projects at the local level, and to
report to the Commission at its third session;
(i) Invites the relevant agencies of the United Nations system, in
particular UNIDO, to undertake, within available resources, sectoral and
techno-economic studies and demonstration projects on the transfer of
industrial environmentally sound technologies and techniques in order to
support sustainable development in the area of industry and to report to
the Commission at its third session on initial results achieved by that
time;
(j) Requests the Secretary-General to invite appropriate
organizations of the United Nations system to examine the feasibility of
establishing a consultative group on environmental technology centres,
bearing in mind the experience of the Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research (CGIAR);
(k) Calls upon Governments, particularly those of developed
countries, to promote the contribution of their universities and research
centres in the transfer of available environmentally sound technologies
and expertise, including through such mechanisms as university grants and
workshops, and encourages international organizations to support those
efforts.
91. The Commission makes the following recommendations for effectively
organizing its future work:
(a) As a general rule, issues related to transfer of
environmentally sound technology, cooperation and capacity-building should
be reported through the two Inter-sessional Ad Hoc Open-ended Working
Groups;
(b) Previous experience (lessons learned and results achieved in
the relevant initiatives being undertaken during the inter-sessional
period) should be drawn upon to advance the debate and facilitate
decision-making in the regular sessions of the Commission;
(c) There should be greater involvement of experts, the private
sector and non-governmental organizations;
(d) The results should be presented to the secretariat of the
Commission in time for them to be incorporated into the documentation to
be submitted to the Commission. Those results should be presented to the
secretariat in the form of an extremely short and comprehensive paper,
focusing on two areas: (i) shortcomings and unresolved problems
identified; and (ii) feasible and practical recommendations for further
consideration by the Commission, tailored to different actors, such as
Governments, international organizations and institutions, non-
governmental organizations and the private sector.
D. Review of sectoral cluster: health, human
settlements and freshwater
1. Protecting and promoting human health
92. The Commission on Sustainable Development takes note of the report
of the Secretary-General (E/CN.17/1994/3) as well as a background paper on
health, environment and sustainable development prepared by the World
Health Organization (WHO) as task manager.
93. The Commission takes note, with appreciation, of the outcome of the
Inter-sessional Workshop on Health, the Environment and Sustainable
Development, held in Copenhagen from 23 to 25 February 1994 and organized
by the Government of Denmark. In that context, the Commission
particularly underlines the importance of the recommendations of the
Copenhagen meeting focusing on the need to integrate health, environment
and sustainable development goals and activities through innovative and
holistic approaches.
94. The Commission reaffirms that the promotion and protection of human
health is of central concern in sustainable development, as reflected in
the very first principle of the Rio Declaration on Environment and
Development, which states that human beings are at the centre of
concern for sustainable development and are entitled to a healthy and
productive life in harmony with nature. In that context, the Commission
stresses the fact that the protection and promotion of human health depend
on activities stemming from all sectors.
95. The Commission welcomes the Global Strategy for Health and
Environment developed by WHO and endorsed by the World Health Assembly.
96. The Commission recognizes the critical importance of funding for
health and highlights the need to focus funding on preventive measures.
While emphasizing the importance of adopting a preventive approach to
building health-related services, the Commission also stresses the
necessity of responding to the needs of curative medicine. To meet those
requirements, the Commission calls for the strengthening of the health
infrastructure, particularly in developing countries, with the cooperation
of the international community where necessary.
97. The Commission has identified the rural sector and urban slums as
particular social sectors that would benefit from the strengthening of
health systems because special attention in those areas will strengthen
the implementation of the priorities identified in the Commission
decisions on human settlements.
98. Poverty is an underlying significant element to be addressed in the
integrated implementation of health aspects of Agenda 21. Eradicating
malnutrition and hunger, which affects some one billion people in the
world, is a fundamental prerequisite to providing health for all. The
Commission therefore reaffirms the commitments to poverty eradication in
the context of sustainable development contained in the Rio Declaration,
and the fundamental relationship of the eradication of poverty to the
overall goals of health promotion and protection.
99. While recognizing the impact of population growth on health,
environment and development, and vice versa, and looking forward to the
outcome of the International Conference on Population and Development, the
Commission recognizes that the provision of basic and assured health care,
particularly to women and children, is a vital prerequisite to the
reduction of high rates of population growth.
100. The specific needs of vulnerable groups are recognized as priority
areas. In addition to the three vulnerable groups identified in chapter 6
of Agenda 21 (women, children and indigenous people), the Commission
takes note of the similarly special health needs of the aged, the
disabled, and the displaced. The Commission further notes the
contribution of food aid as an important aspect of efforts directed at the
improvement of the nutritional and overall health of vulnerable groups.
101. The Commission notes that traditional health-related knowledge,
borne especially by women and indigenous people, makes a contribution to
overall health and stresses the need for increased research in that field
with a view to supporting its use where adequately validated.
S\94 The Commission also notes that the work-place is a source of health-
related problems and at the same time provides a useful community basis
for implementing and monitoring preventive health programmes through the
participation of workers.
103. The Commission underlines that it is of crucial importance to change
consumption patterns, in particular in developed countries, as well as
production patterns, in order to ensure that products and production
processes with adverse health and environmental effects gradually
disappear. Detailed and specific product information, such as adequate
labelling, can therefore create changes in the market towards cleaner
products. In that context, the Commission stresses the need for
continually updating the Consolidated List of Products Whose Consumption
and/or Sale Have Been Banned, Withdrawn, Severely Restricted or Not
Approved by Governments", and for undertaking further measures to broadly
disseminate information contained in that list. Furthermore, the
Commission stresses the need for assisting countries to implement the set
of guidelines for consumer protection adopted by the General Assembly in
1985.
104. The Commission expresses deep concern about chemical substances with
potential health hazards that are widely used in industry, consumer
products and food production and processing. The impact on human health,
especially of long-term exposure to low doses of synthetic chemicals with
potential neurotoxic, reproductive or immunotoxic effects, and their
synergistic effects on nature, is not yet sufficiently understood. The
Commission therefore emphasizes the need to control their use and to
minimize the emission of hazardous chemicals to prevent increasing
concentrations in the environment.
105. The Commission recognizes the ongoing health reform efforts and
emphasizes the need for further concrete actions in the follow-up to the
first review of progress in implementing the activities of chapter 6,
particularly for the 1997 review of Agenda 21. In that context, the
Commission recognizes four lines of health reform identified by WHO as
constituting a suitable programme of action for Governments to pursue
within the framework of their national sustainable development programmes:
(a) Community health development: undertaking health promotion and
protection as part of more holistically conceived community-based
development programmes;
(b) Health sector reform: increasing the allocation of resources
to the most cost-effective health protection and promotion programmes as
seen in the longer run and in the interest of attaining sustainable
development;
(c) Environmental health: increasing the understanding of the
impact of policies and programmes of other sectors upon human health and
mobilizing financing and action in those sectors accordingly;
(d) National decision-making and accounting: health impact
assessments, accounting and other means of promoting the integration of
health, the environment and sustainable development into national
decision-making with a view to strengthening health-sector representation
and incorporating health and its financing in development planning.
106. The Commission concludes that the following priorities should
receive particular attention from Governments and the relevant
international organizations:
(a) Strengthening health-sector representation in national
decision-making, including the full participation of major groups;
(b) Establishing a firm partnership between health/health-related
services, on the one hand, and the communities being served, on the other,
that respects their rights and local traditional practices, where
adequately validated;
(c) Including population issues in basic health systems, as
approved in chapter 6, paragraphs 6.25 and 6.26 of Agenda 21 and without
prejudice to the outcome of the International Conference on Population and
Development;
(d) Including food security, the improvement of the population's
nutritional status, food quality and food safety in national development
plans and programmes aimed at improved health in the context of
sustainable development;
(e) Reassessing health expenditures with a view to more cost-
effective health protection and promotion measures, including, where
appropriate, the increasing use of economic instruments, such as user fees
and insurance systems, in order to generate funds for efficient health
systems;
(f) Assuring that health is integrated into environmental impact
assessment procedures;
(g) Enhancing efforts to prevent and eradicate communicable
diseases, including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and malaria;
(h) Establishing adequate structures for environmental health
services at the local and, where appropriate, provincial levels in order
to further encourage decentralization of health-related programmes and
services and to take full advantage of the potentials within the sphere of
the local authorities;
(i) Increasing public awareness for health aspects, especially with
respect to nutrition, communicable diseases, population issues and health
hazards from modern lifestyles through primary, secondary and adult
education. Special effort should be made to incorporate environmental
health issues in the training of all professionals directly or indirectly
faced with environmental and health problems (e.g., medical professionals,
architects and sanitary engineers);
(j) Enhancing multidisciplinary research into the linkages between
health and environment;
(k) Assuring access, exchange and dissemination of information on
health and environment parameters for everyone, with particular attention
to the needs of vulnerable groups and other major groups;
(l) Ensuring that knowledge of clean technology is disseminated in
such a way that it contributes to the prevention of man-made health
problems, especially concerning the use of pesticides and food production
and processing;
(m) Ensuring close collaboration and coordination of concerned
United Nations organizations in the implementation of those priorities;
(n) Building, where possible, on the achievements of existing
programmes developed individually and jointly by United Nations agencies,
Governments and relevant groups in civil society;
(o) Promoting the participation of non-governmental organizations
and other major groups in the health sector as important partners in the
development of innovative action, and strengthening a bottom-up community
involvement;
(p) Encouraging further partnerships between the public and the
private sectors in health promotion and protection;
(q) Building up greater institutional capacity in the tangible
implementation of those priorities from the point of conception and
planning to the management and evaluation of appropriate health and
environmental policies and operational elements at community, local,
national, regional and international levels.
107. The Commission takes note of the relevant provisions of the
Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island
Developing States and urges that adequate support be given to the overall
goals of health promotion and protection identified in the Programme of
Action.
108. The Commission invites the Inter-Agency Committee on Sustainable
Development (IACSD) to consider in its follow-up work on chapter 6 of
Agenda 21 and in the preparation of the 1997 review, the following
priority areas:
(a) Supporting developing countries and economies in transition in
the development of national environmental health plans as part of national
sustainable development programmes; such plans should (i) address the
cross-sectoral aspects of environmental health and identify action by
other sectors for health protection and promotion, and (ii) emphasize the
provision of environmental health services at the local level, along with
the development of primary environmental care;
(b) Extending scientific and public understanding of the cumulative
effects of chemicals in consumer products, plant and animal-based food,
water, soil and air on human health. Those chemicals include agricultural
and non-agricultural pesticides, as well as other chemicals with,
inter alia, neurotoxic, immunotoxic and allergic effects. Special
attention should be given to the impacts on vulnerable groups;
(c) Determining mechanisms that identify and control newly emerging
infectious diseases and their possible environmental linkages;
(d) Providing a status report on the health implications of the
depletion of the ozone layer based on epidemiological studies in the
context of the INTERSUN project, involving, inter alia, WHO, the
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization
(WMO), taking into account ongoing work under the Montreal Protocol;
(e) Developing an effective and efficient environmental health
information system to collect and disseminate national, regional and
international information on newly emerging environmental health problems
by 1997.
109. The Commission requests that information on the status of community
participation in the health sector be included in the report of the
Secretary-General to be submitted for the 1997 review of Agenda 21.
110. The Commission invites WHO, as task manager, to continue to monitor
progress made by the United Nations and other international agencies in
implementing chapter 6 of Agenda 21. The Commission requests WHO to
report periodically to IACSD on that matter and to make such reports
available to the Commission.
111. The Commission requests countries to include in their national
reports for the 1997 review session of the Commission a specific section
on steps taken to promote and protect human health, highlighting the
positive examples and models, indicating progress achieved and experience
gained, particularly experience from which others might benefit, and the
specific problems and constraints encountered.
112. The Commission calls upon Governments to strengthen their
commitments to the health reform process, inter alia, through national,
regional and international inter-sessional meetings that focus on special
linkages between the health sector and other sectors.
113. The Commission stresses the need for full implementation of the
agreements on technology transfer contained in chapter 34 of Agenda 21 and
the relevant decisions of the Commission. In that context, the Commission
urges the international community to find concrete ways and means to
transfer appropriate health-related technologies, including medical and
pharmaceutical technologies, to developing countries and economies in
transition.
114. The Commission urges Governments to mobilize financial resources to
respond to the above priorities, as agreed in chapter 33 of Agenda 21 and
the relevant decisions of the Commission.
115. The Commission invites WHO and other relevant intergovernmental
bodies to take those recommendations into full account in their future
work.
2. Human settlements
116. The Commission takes note, with appreciation, of the Secretary-
General's report (E/CN.17/1994/5) and the background paper prepared by the
United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) on promoting
sustainable human settlements development.
117. The Commission recognizes, in the context of human settlements
development, the importance of achieving sustainability and the goals of
Agenda 21, particularly in view of the high rate of urbanization and the
consequent challenge to the local and global environment, and also in view
of the lack of shelter and sanitation for a large segment of the
population in developing countries. While the urban development patterns
in a number of countries, particularly in the developed countries, provide
for a satisfactory standard of living for sizeable parts of the
population, they also place an extraordinary strain on the world's
ecological resources and systems.
118. The Commission suggests that Governments take a balanced approach to
all programme areas of chapter 7 and chapter 21 of Agenda 21. Land-
resource management, urban transportation, access to adequate shelter, and
the management of solid wastes, especially in developing countries, are
areas requiring greater attention. The Commission notes the close linkage
between human settlements and the issues of water supply, sanitation and
health.
119. The Commission draws special attention to the potential
contributions of the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements
(Habitat II), to be held in Istanbul in June 1996, and to the crucial role
of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements. That would be a key
Conference, which was expected to support and further advance the
objectives of Agenda 21.
120. The Commission draws attention to the linkages between
unsatisfactory shelter and environmental conditions and the lack of access
to land and security of tenure, on the one hand, and social divisions,
violence and the degradation of personal safety, on the other.
Governments at all levels should recognize that insecure and inhuman
conditions for living and working both violate human rights and are a
primary cause of social conflict and violent disruptions of civil society.
121. The Commission recognizes that human settlements development need to
take a comprehensive approach that treats urban and rural problems as
integral parts of the overall human settlements equation, since developing
countries, in particular, face rapid urban population growth due, inter
alia, to increasing migration from rural to urban areas.
122. The Commission recommends that Governments and the international
community give priority attention to human settlements programmes and
policies to reduce urban pollution and to improve and expand urban
services and infrastructure, particularly in low-income communities.
Those efforts are necessary to safeguarding human health, preserving the
integrity of the natural environment and ensuring economic productivity.
The "brown agenda" (a concept that addresses urban pollution resulting
from inadequate water supply, sanitation and drainage, poor industrial and
solid-waste management, and air pollution) is also highlighted as an
umbrella approach to urban pollution issues that can be used to link and
better implement Agenda 21 in the urban context.
123. The Commission welcomes the relevant provisions of the Programme of
Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States.
124. The Commission underscores the crucial importance of action at the
local level and confirms the importance of the local Agenda 21 process, as
specified in chapter 28 of Agenda 21. The participation of people at the
local level, including major group representatives, to facilitate
effective local action and efficient management of human settlements, is
indispensable. Local authorities and their national and international
associations are important partners for the decentralized implementation
of appropriate human settlements programmes.
125. The Commission notes the financial and technical requirements needed
to implement the human settlement activities set out in Agenda 21 and
emphasizes the substantial resource and technology gap faced by developing
countries and economies in transition in addressing human settlements
problems.
126. The Commission also notes the great potential that exists within the
human settlements context for increased economic activity, job creation
and related revenues, inter alia, as a result of building construction
programmes. Such positive potentials can be realized through appropriate
sustainable human settlements policies that emphasize greater use of local
materials and human resources, encouraging and supporting design
efficiency and energy-saving methods, among other initiatives. In that
context, the work-place and the role of workers can be an important focus
for the implementation of policies and programmes.
127. The integral role of the private sector in the development and
dissemination of cost-effective and sustainable building materials,
increased energy and materials efficiency, and sustainable waste
management is underlined. In that context, the Commission particularly
highlights the need to encourage local, small and micro-enterprises.
128. The Commission emphasizes the need to strengthen human settlements
management capacity, where appropriate, as a necessary prerequisite for
the successful implementation of all human settlements-related components
of Agenda 21. Particular emphasis is also placed on building the capacity
of relevant major groups to encourage and enhance their contributions to
local, regional and international human settlements development efforts.
129. The Commission notes, in regard to solid-waste management, that the
promotion of waste recycling and reuse provides a unique opportunity in
waste management; it helps to solve the problem of environmental
degradation and has the potential to alleviate urban poverty and generate
income among the urban poor. However, that requires supply-side policies
aimed at promoting and supporting resource recovery, and demand-side
policies aimed at stimulating markets for recovered materials and
products.
130. The Commission recognizes that many developing countries are
dependent on imported technologies for infrastructure development and
improvements, including for solid-waste management, and notes that the
international community has an important role to play in facilitating the
transfer of environmentally sound technology. At the same time, full use
should be made of locally available technologies that can be adapted to
existing needs.
131. The Commission, therefore:
(a) Calls upon Governments to strengthen the networks of small- and
medium-sized settlements in rural regions in order to provide attractive
settlement opportunities and ease migratory pressure on large
metropolises, and recommends that Governments implement programmes of
rural development by expanding employment opportunities, providing
educational and health facilities, strengthening technical infrastructure,
and encouraging rural enterprises and sustainable agriculture, and further
calls upon the international community to support those rural development
programmes;
(b) Recommends that Governments and the private sector,
particularly in the developed countries, increase their efforts to develop
new and environmentally sound technologies for urban transportation, other
infrastructure and buildings, as well as environmentally sound products,
in order to reduce demands on natural resources. Those technologies and
products, as well as the information related to them should, where
appropriate, be made accessible to urban and environmental authorities in
all countries;
(c) Calls upon Governments to strengthen the economic, political
and social institutions of civil society so as to enhance, especially at
the municipal level, the capacity of local authorities, training
institutions, community groups and non-governmental organizations to act
as effective partners and organizers of sustainable development activities
at the local level. The Commission further invites local authorities and
their associations to exchange know-how on the effective management of
human settlements, including satisfactory coordination and burden-sharing
among central city and suburban local authorities in urban agglomerations,
and, as appropriate, in rural areas.
132. The Commission, further:
(a) Requests Governments, the international community, the United
Nations Centre for Human Settlements, the private sector and
non-governmental organizations to fully support the preparatory process
for the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements
(Habitat II), including at the regional level;
(b) Urges appropriate United Nations agencies, through the Inter-
Agency Committee on Sustainable Development (IACSD), to mobilize legal,
economic and environmental expertise for the development of equitable and
sustainable land use planning and management strategies for human
settlements of all sizes;
(c) Calls upon Governments and international organizations to
emphasize "best practice" in delivery mechanisms, including demand-driven
systems, increased networking, bottom-up capacity-building,
demonstration/replication strategies, regional coordination and
decentralized local management and, in that context, called for a review
of "best practice" applications to provide a basis for the systematic
dissemination of effective models;
(d) Invites the appropriate United Nations agencies and
organizations, through IACSD, to launch a demonstration initiative for
environmentally friendly urban transport. That initiative should draw
together the best available expertise on urban infrastructure management
and should facilitate the exchange of knowledge on "best practices"
between developed and developing countries. The Secretary-General is
invited to report to the Commission on progress in that area by 1997;
(e) Invites appropriate United Nations agencies and international
organizations, through IACSD, to consider the feasibility of preparing and
implementing integrated environment-upgrading demonstration projects for
human settlements in three mega-cities: one each in Africa, Asia and the
Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The Secretary-General is
invited to report to the Commission on progress in that area by 1997;
(f) Calls upon Governments and international agencies, in
particular the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements and UNIDO to
support and encourage local, small and micro-enterprises, which,
particularly in the context of local development, develop and offer
environmentally sustainable building material components and related
products, as well as environmentally sound energy systems;
(g) Urges Governments and international organizations to give more
concerted attention to the management of solid wastes. That should
include promoting greater awareness of the environmental and health risks
from solid waste and the impact of changes in production and consumption
patterns on the volume and type of such waste, as well as utilizing the
resources and potential of the private sector, including the formal and
informal sectors, and using indigenous technologies and techniques;
(h) Calls upon appropriate United Nations agencies and
international organizations, through IACSD, to establish joint programming
mechanisms in the area of human settlements that are specifically focused
on urban services and urban poverty and their linkages with health and the
environment and urges donor organizations to support those joint
programming initiatives;
(i) Urges United Nations agencies and other international bodies to
include in their urban monitoring and reporting activities appropriate
indicators for the environmental performance of cities;
(j) Urges the international community, in carrying out its
assistance activities, to explore, through appropriate authorities, the
full range of joint programming options and new alliances with, inter
alia, local authorities and associations of local authorities, national
and international non-governmental organizations, the private sector and
women's and community groups;
(k) Requests the Secretary-General, in the context of reporting on
section III of Agenda 21, to give special attention to the role of local
authorities and to the progress they are making in the implementation of
the human settlements objectives of Agenda 21;
(l) Invites the task manager to continue to monitor progress made
by the United Nations and other international agencies in implementing
chapter 7 of Agenda 21 and to inform the Commission periodically of such
progress through IACSD;
(m) Calls upon Governments and international organizations to focus
greater attention on meeting the capital investment requirements of human
settlements through enhanced resource-mobilization strategies and policies
that facilitate greater flows of private investment in infrastructure and
services and all forms of public and private sector partnership in human
settlements development;
(n) Urges Governments to mobilize financial and technological
resources, as agreed in chapters 33 and 34 of Agenda 21 and in the
relevant decisions of the Commission, and to respond to the priorities
contained in the present decision.
3. Freshwater
133. The Commission notes with great concern that many countries are
facing a water crisis, with rapid deterioration of water quality, serious
water shortages and reduced availability of freshwater, which severely
affect human health, the ecosystem and economic development, due to:
(a) Increasing water demand, inappropriate water resource
management and a lack of groundwater protection, particularly in
agriculture and in and around areas of urban concentration;
(b) Natural and man-made causes of water shortages, such as
periodic droughts, falling water tables, changing weather patterns, a
reduced capacity of soils in some areas to retain moisture due to land
degradation within catchment areas, and land degradation generally;
(c) A lack of public awareness about the need for conservation of
freshwater supplies, especially safe drinking water, and for proper
sanitation, associated with a lack of recognition of water as a finite
resource, a social and economic good and an essential part of ecosystems.
134. The Commission is concerned that the water crisis infringes the
basic human needs of present and future generations.
135. The Commission realizes that the crisis needs urgent and concrete
action by national Governments as well as international organizations in
order to implement chapter 18 of Agenda 21, particularly by supporting
developing countries.
136. The Commission recommends that countries give priority attention to
the integrated management, mobilization and use of water resources in a
holistic manner, while stressing the importance of the involvement of
local communities, in particular of women.
137. The Commission calls for water to be considered as an integral part
of the ecosystem, a natural resource and a social and economic good, the
quantity and quality of which determines the nature of its utilization for
the benefit of present and future generations.
138. The Commission recommends that the conservation and sustainable use
of water should be given high priority, and invites the Subcommittee on
Water Resources of the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC) to
initiate model projects, to be carried out by relevant agencies, in order
to examine and exemplify the feasibility of water-saving strategies in
water-intensive agricultural, industrial, urban and domestic sectors.
139. The Commission realizes that, in order to create changes through the
new approaches brought about by Agenda 21, special attention should be
given to:
(a) The mobilization and integrated management of water, including
pollution minimization and prevention, taking into account implications
for health, the environment, social and economic policy and spatial
planning;
(b) Investigations into the environmental flow requirements
necessary to maintain healthy aquatic ecosystems and the development of
integrated institutional methodologies for that purpose;
(c) The integrated management and conservation of river and lake
basins, nationally, internationally and at all appropriate levels;
(d) The involvement of those people that were most directly
affected by water management strategies in the planning of water
infrastructure projects;
(e) Efforts to enable the integrated management of water at the
lowest appropriate level and shifting to a system of sustainable demand
management;
(f) The implementation of the polluter pays principle, pricing
water to equal its full costs while taking into account the special
condition of the poor, and the prevention of wasteful consumption;
(g) The encouragement of partnership projects between all parties
concerned;
(h) The promotion of a gender-perspective in water resources
management;
(i) The modification of patterns of behaviour towards clean water
and hygiene, including the promotion of educational programmes in that
sphere;
(j) The promotion of greater efficiency of sustainable water use,
water conservation and protection, particularly in agriculture, and the
increased application of rainwater-harvesting techniques;
(k) The conservation and sustainable management of forests,
including the promotion of afforestation as a significant means of halting
soil degradation and increasing moisture retention;
(l) The bridging of the gap between physical, human and financial
resources and the escalating demand for water and the need for sanitation;
(m) The search for innovations, both technological and
non-technological, to protect our finite and vulnerable water resources,
as well as the sharing of such innovative technologies on a global basis,
in particular with developing countries;
(n) The use of environmental impact assessments with a
multidisciplinary and multisectoral approach as a decision-making tool in
water resources projects.
140. The Commission urges Governments to mobilize, within the framework
established by chapter 33 of Agenda 21, adequate financial resources,
through the use of all available sources and mechanisms, as well as
maximizing the availability and smooth flow of additional resources, to
implement chapter 18 of Agenda 21, and urges United Nations agencies and
programmes to provide the necessary technical assistance, particularly to
developing countries.
141. The Commission stresses the importance of capacity-building and the
strengthening of institutional and human resource development programmes,
in particular in developing countries, as an essential condition for
efficient water management, mobilization and protection; priority should
be given to the participation of women and youth at all levels of
capacity-building. In that respect, the Commission takes note of a
constituent meeting of the International Network of Basin Organizations,
held in Chamb‚ry, France from 4 to 6 May 1994.
142. The Commission encourages the involvement of the private sector, the
utilization of the "build-operate-transfer" approach and public-private
partnerships in water-related projects undertaken through foreign direct
investment, international financial institutions, United Nations agencies,
bilateral assistance and partnership projects between stakeholders.
143. The Commission takes note, with appreciation, of the outcome of the
International Ministerial Conference on Drinking Water and Environmental
Sanitation, hosted by the Government of the Netherlands (Noordwijk, 22 and
23 March 1994) and of the results of the Round Table on Water and Health
in Underprivileged Urban Areas hosted by the Government of France (Sophia
Antipolis, 21-23 February 1994).
144. The Commission endorses the Action Programme presented in the annex
to document E/CN.17/1994/12 as one of the main instruments for
implementing programme area D of chapter 18 of Agenda 21.
145. The Commission requests that countries include in their 1997
national reports a specific section on national goals and strategies in
the field of drinking water and environmental sanitation, including, as
appropriate, target dates, with a view to the implementation of the Action
Programme and with the assistance of international organizations.
146. The Commission invites Governments to assist on a voluntary basis in
the furtherance of chapter 18 of Agenda 21 and to report on those
activities to the Commission in 1997. It welcomes in that respect the
offer already made by France, Morocco, the Netherlands and Tunisia
regarding the implementation of the Action Programme.
147. The Commission welcomes the work carried out by the organizations of
the United Nations system through the ACC Subcommittee on Water Resources
with regard to the systematic collection and analysis of information.
148. In that context, the Commission urges the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization
(UNIDO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Meteorological
Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in collaboration with the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank and other relevant United
Nations bodies, as well as non-governmental organizations, to strengthen
their efforts towards a comprehensive assessment of freshwater resources,
with the aim of identifying the availability of such resources, making
projections of future needs, and identifying problems to be considered by
the special session of the General Assembly in 1997.
149. The Commission recommends to the Economic and Social Council that it
invite the Committee on Natural Resources to address the question of
freshwater as part of the comprehensive assessment at its third session in
1996.
150. The Commission invites Governments to cooperate actively with
technical inputs to the process, taking into account the need for support
for the full participation of developing countries, and welcomes the offer
of the Government of Sweden to contribute by preparing a preliminary
assessment of freshwater.
151. The Commission decides to review, at its 1997 session, the result of
all the work outlined in paragraphs 148-150 above, in preparation for the
1997 special session of the General Assembly.
152. The Commission requests the Secretary-General to strengthen
coordination within the United Nations system with a view to concentrating
and consolidating the great amount of international action in the field of
water, including the implementation of chapter 18 of Agenda 21, and to
report to the Economic and Social Council.
153. The Commission further recommends to the Economic and Social Council
that it consider the issue at its coordination segment in 1995.
154. The Commission welcomes the Programme of Action for the Sustainable
Development of Small Island Developing States and urges that adequate
support be given to various strategies identified in the Programme of
Action to address water resources issues, in particular those related to
water supply and environmental sanitation, as well as the health dimension
of water quality.
155. The Commission recommends that future international conferences,
such as the International Conference on Population and Development, the
World Summit for Social Development, the Fourth World Conference on Women,
the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) and
others, take into account relevant international agreements on water
resources issues, in particular those related to water supply and
environmental sanitation, as well as the health dimension of water
quality.
156. The Commission invites the Secretary-General to transmit the above
recommendations to those conferences.
E. Review of sectoral cluster: toxic chemicals
and hazardous wastes
1. Toxic chemicals
157. The Commission notes that efforts to control chemical risks to
human health and the environment have not kept pace with the widespread
and growing use of chemicals in all sectors worldwide.
158. The Commission recalls that Agenda 21 states that a significant
strengthening of both national and international efforts is needed to
achieve an environmentally sound management of chemicals. In that
context, the Commission urges Governments, international organizations and
relevant non-governmental actors to increase their efforts to ensure that
chemicals are used and managed in a sustainable way.
159. The Commission calls upon United Nations bodies and other
international organizations to improve international coordination to avoid
unnecessary duplication of efforts and to strengthen the International
Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) in order to share the burden of work,
involving the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Labour
Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), as
well as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO),
the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the
Commission of the European Union.
160. The Commission notes that the International Conference on
Chemical Safety was convened by WHO, UNEP and ILO in Stockholm from 25 to
29 April 1994, at the invitation of the Government of Sweden, and was
attended by 114 Governments and relevant international organizations. The
Commission also welcomes the establishment of the Intergovernmental Forum
on Chemical Safety, as well as the Priorities for Action adopted by the
Conference, which are contained in the annex below.
161. The Commission endorses the Priorities for Action and welcomes in
particular the targets and timetables agreed upon, and calls upon
Governments, international organizations and relevant non-governmental
organizations to implement the Priorities.
162. The Commission urges Governments, international organizations and
non-governmental organizations to participate actively in the Forum,
encouraging close links between a strengthened IPCS and the Forum.
163. The Commission welcomes the invitation of Governments to host
inter-sessional meetings of the Forum.
164. The Commission acknowledges the important role of the Forum in
the follow-up and review of chapter 19 of Agenda 21 and invites the Forum
to report to the Commission on its work, when appropriate, before the
special session of the General Assembly in 1997.
165. The Commission welcomes the recent progress by the Ad Hoc Working
Group of Experts on the Implementation of the Amended London Guidelines in
the development of possible elements for a legally binding instrument for
the mandatory application of the prior-informed-consent procedure (PIC) on
a global level. It recommends that UNEP, together with FAO and in close
consultation with other international organizations, continue to evaluate
and address problems with the implementation of the voluntary PIC
procedure and to develop effective legally binding instruments concerning
the PIC procedure.
166. The Commission appreciates the recently agreed Code of Ethics on
the International Trade in Chemicals, stressing that it should be widely
applied by industry in all countries without delay. It emphasizes the
role of industry as a major player in furthering the objectives in chapter
19 of Agenda 21, especially as regards risk assessment, the provision of
data and the adoption and implementation of risk-reduction measures.
167. The Commission welcomes the relevant provisions of the Programme
of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing
States, which, among other things, calls for appropriate assistance to
enable small island developing States to control risks to human health and
the environment of their peoples.
168. The Commission recognizes the need for Governments to develop
appropriate economic instruments to strengthen the sound management of
chemicals throughout their life cycle. It invites Governments to report
to the Commission, at its next session, on their experience in applying
economic instruments in that regard.
169. The Commission recognizes the importance of taking action to
address the health and environmental impacts of chemicals. It notes, for
example, the severe health impacts of human exposure to lead, endorses the
ongoing work on that issue in several international forums and encourages
further efforts to reduce human exposure to lead.
170. The Commission recognizes the need for Governments and
intergovernmental forums to identify persistent and bio-accumulative
chemicals with a view to phasing out or banning such chemicals.
171. The Commission notes the need to assess both the relative cost-
effectiveness of programmes for implementing chapter 19 of Agenda 21 and
whether the commitments undertaken meet the needs of the public, bearing
in mind the risk of frequent contact with chemicals in everyday life.
172. The Commission acknowledges that efficient coordination of the
work on chemical safety on the part of concerned sectors at the national
level, the active participation of industry and employees as part of the
mobilization of the non-governmental sector, and the strengthening of the
community right to knowledge through environmental reports, eco-audits,
emission inventories and similar instruments are important factors for
increased chemical safety.
173. The Commission stresses the need for strengthening national
capabilities and capacities for the management of chemicals, particularly
in developing countries, and encourages the commitment of Governments to
concrete bilateral action in that area.
174. The Commission stresses the need for full implementation of both
the agreements on technology transfer contained in chapter 34 of Agenda 21
and the relevant decisions of the Commission. In that context, the
Commission urges the international community to find concrete ways and
means to transfer to developing countries and economies in transition
appropriate technologies as regards toxic chemicals and chemical safety.
175. The Commission urges Governments to mobilize financial resources
to respond to the above priorities, as agreed in chapter 33 of Agenda 21
and the relevant decisions of the Commission.
176. The Commission invites the task manager to continue to monitor
progress made by the United Nations and other international organizations
in implementing chapter 19 of Agenda 21 and to inform the Commission
periodically of such progress through IACSD.
Annex
PRIORITIES FOR ACTION ADOPTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
ON CHEMICAL SAFETY
Introduction
1. While Agenda 21 gives the overall objectives of the six programme
areas and suggestions for their implementation, the adopted
recommendations indicate priorities for immediate actions and goals to be
achieved in the longer term. Agenda 21 states that its successful
implementation is first and foremost the responsibility of Governments.
Accordingly, the given recommendations are first of all dealing with
priorities for action by Governments, but several of them regard work by
which international bodies may develop effective tools for use by
Governments.
2. Close cooperation between international organizations and
Governments, and the development and strengthening of cooperation at the
regional level are in a great number of cases important means to enhance
significantly the result of recommended actions.
3. National implementation of international agreements on chemical
safety should be encouraged.
4. At the national level, an efficient coordination of the work on
chemical safety by concerned sectors is a prerequisite for successful
results. Active participation of employers and workers, mobilization of
the non-governmental sector, and strengthening of the community right to
know are important factors for increased chemical safety.
5. Much of the work to strengthen chemical safety has been carried out
by several United Nations bodies and programmes, the Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the European Union, a number
of countries, industries, trade unions and other non-governmental
organizations, resulting in many useful tools for improvement of chemical
safety. An expanded knowledge and use of these means should be promoted.
6. Adequate and good quality information on scientific, technical,
economic and legal matters are essential for the sound management of
chemicals. Developing countries and countries with economies in
transition have particular problems in this regard. Bilateral technical
assistance, transfer of technology, and other kinds of support should be
increased in order to accelerate their development.
7. In all programme areas, there is a need for education and training.
Efforts to satisfy this need should be carefully coordinated, and emphasis
should be put on training the trainers.
8. Risk reduction activities should take into account the whole life
cycle of a chemical, and chemical controls and pollution control
initiatives should be closely integrated. Where relevant, the
precautionary approach, as outlined in principle 15 of the Rio Declaration
on Environment and Development, should be applied.
9. Special attention should be paid to occupational safety and health
problems caused by chemicals, primarily in the interest of protecting
workers' health. In addition, epidemiological and other data based on
human experience have always proven to be valuable with respect to other
chemical-related problems.
10. When determining priorities for risk management, the implementation
of these will be dependent upon the chemicals management capabilities of
individual countries. When setting priorities for international
activities, high priority should be given to those where achievement of
goals can occur only when action is carried out at the international
level. Activities leading to greater efficiency and cost savings,
e.g. sharing of risk assessment reports of adequate quality, should be
promoted. Completion of work where significant initiatives are well under
way should have priority before initiating new programme activities.
11. Major actions undertaken should be monitored to assess progress.
12. The order in which the following recommendations are presented does
not indicate various degrees of importance.
Programme area A. Expanding and accelerating international assessment of
chemical risks
1. Needs for different types of health and environmental risk
assessments should be identified and criteria for setting priorities for
the various types of risk assessments should be agreed. Applying these
criteria, an initial list of chemicals (including those of high production
volume) for risk assessment by the year 1997 should be established as soon
as possible.
2. Harmonized approaches for performing and reporting health and
environmental risk assessments should be agreed as soon as possible. Such
protocols should be based on internationally agreed principles to permit
the full use of risk assessments performed by both national authorities
and international bodies.
3. An inventory of risk assessments that are planned, in preparation or
completed should be established before the end of 1994.
4. Industry should be encouraged to generate and supply data required
for risk assessment to the greatest possible extent.
5. Human exposure data, and good quality health effects data from
developing countries, should be generated.
6. Taking into account the results of the activities recommended in
items 1 and 2 and making full use of the evaluations produced by United
Nations bodies, OECD, and others, 200 additional chemicals should be
evaluated by 1997.
7. If the target in item 6 is met, another 300 chemicals should be
evaluated by 2000.
8. The general principles for establishing guidelines for exposure
limits, including the setting of safety factors, need to be harmonized and
described. Countries should establish guidelines for exposure limits for
humans and for particular environmental compartments for as many chemicals
as possible, taking into account the harmonization efforts and the
potential use of such guidelines.
9. Research and development should be promoted for the better
understanding of the mechanisms of adverse effects of chemicals on humans
and the environment.
10. Attempts should be made to further reduce the use of vertebrate
animals in toxicity testing by encouraging the development, validation and
use of alternative methods.
Programme area B. Harmonization of classification and labelling of
chemicals
1. The ongoing technical work on classification criteria should be
strengthened to enable finalization by 1997. Continued work to harmonize
classification systems and to establish compatible hazard communication
systems, including labelling and safety data sheets, should be completed
by 2000.
2. Countries should ensure that there is sufficient consultation to
allow the development of a consistent national position on harmonization
of classification systems.
3. An international framework for translating the result of the
technical work on harmonization into an instrument or recommendations
applicable legally at the national level should be established at an
appropriate time.
Programme area C. Information exchange on toxic chemicals and chemical
risks
1. Networks for information exchange should be strengthened to take full
advantage of the information dissemination capacities of all governmental,
intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations.
2. Both the types of information exchanged and the methods of effecting
the exchange should be tailored to meet the needs of major groups of
users, taking due account of different languages and literacy levels.
3. Relevant data available from international bodies should be
consolidated, if economically feasible, by 1997 on CD/ROM or other
appropriate electronic media, together with suitable searching and
updating facilities.
4. Sources of information useful in responding to chemical emergencies
should be established and access to these sources should be readily and
rapidly available.
5. Regional cooperation and information exchange networks should be
established in all regions as soon as possible.
6. National institutions responsible for information exchange on
chemicals should be created or strengthened, according to needs.
7. All countries should have nominated, by 1997, designated authorities
for participation in the PIC procedure.
8. Work should continue to evaluate and address problems with
implementation of the voluntary PIC procedure and to develop effective
international legally binding instruments concerning the PIC procedure.
9. All countries which export chemicals subject to the PIC procedure
should have the necessary mechanisms in place by 1997, including
implementation and enforcement provisions, to ensure that export does not
take place contrary to importing countries' decisions. Importing
countries should also establish the necessary mechanisms.
10. In all developing countries and countries in economic transition,
training should have been made available by 1997 in the implementation of
the London Guidelines and the PIC procedure.
11. The circulation of safety data sheets for all dangerous chemicals
being traded should be encouraged, as promoted by the recently agreed Code
of Ethics on the International Trade in Chemicals.
Programme area D. Establishment of risk reduction programmes
1. In all countries chemical risks which are both readily identifiable
and readily controllable should be reduced as soon as possible. In
countries with sufficient resources, plans for the possible reduction of
other chemical risks should be elaborated and enacted without delay.
Industry, in accordance with the polluter pays principle, has a particular
responsibility to contribute to the implementation of risk reduction
programmes. Governmental experience and progress in national risk
reduction programmes shall be presented in a report by 1997 to serve as a
basis for setting goals for the year 2000.
2. The feasibility and usefulness of extending pollutant release and
transfer registers to more countries, including newly industrialized
countries, should be evaluated and a report prepared by 1997.
3. As a particular priority, the recently agreed Code of Ethics on the
International Trade in Chemicals should be applied widely by industry in
all countries without delay.
4. Efforts to promote the development and use of clean technology
regarding the production and use of chemicals should be encouraged.
5. Countries should review their pesticides safety strategy in order to
protect human health and the environment, including surface and
groundwater. To reduce pesticide risks, countries should consider
promoting the use of adequate safer pesticides, as well as the decreased
use by better management practices and the introduction of alternative
pest management technologies. A progress report should be prepared by
1997.
6. By 1997 not less than 25 more countries should have implemented
systems for prevention of major industrial accidents in accordance with
international principles such as those contained in the
1993 ILO Convention (No. 174) on the Prevention of Major Industrial
Accidents, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE)
Convention on Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents.
7. By 1997 not less than 50 more countries should have introduced
national systems for emergency preparedness and response, including a
strategy for education and training of personnel, with the aid of,
inter alia, the APELL programme and the ILO Code of Practice on the
Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents (1991).
8. By 1997 not less than 40 more countries should have established
poison control centres with related clinical and analytical facilities,
and good progress should have been made on harmonizing systems for
recording data in different countries.
9. Priority attention should also be given to finding and introducing
safe substitutes for chemicals with which high and unmanageable risks are
associated. Governments, industries and users of chemicals should also
develop, where feasible, new, less hazardous chemicals and new processes
and technologies which effectively prevent pollution.
10. While recognizing that risk reduction activities are primarily
national responsibilities, international risk reduction programmes could
also be warranted for those problems that are international in scope.
11. Attention should also be paid to ensuring that all countries
introduce appropriate legislation to implement the United Nations
Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods and to ensuring that
this legislation is regularly updated whenever the Recommendations are
revised, especially in the context of the global harmonization of
classification and labelling systems.
Programme area E. Strengthening of national capabilities and capacities
for management of chemicals
1. The strengthening of national capabilities and capacities to manage
chemicals in a great number of developing countries requires, in addition
to funding and support from developed countries, innovative thinking as to
how to make best use of existing systems. Bilateral assistance
arrangements between developed and developing countries and countries with
economies in transition should be encouraged. Efficient regional
cooperation is of the utmost importance.
2. National profiles to indicate the current capabilities and capacities
for management of chemicals and the specific needs for improvement should
be elaborated as soon as possible and not later than 1997.
3. Comprehensive guidelines for chemical legislation and enforcement
should be elaborated as soon as possible, taking into account, inter alia,
the principles of the 1990 ILO Chemicals Convention (No. 170).
4. By 1997 mechanisms for ensuring liaison of all parties involved in
chemical safety activities within a country should be established in the
majority of countries.
5. Further education programmes and training courses should be arranged
at the national and regional level to provide a core of trained people,
both technical staff and policy makers, in developing countries and
countries with economies in transition.
6. Efforts should be made to improve the coordination of activities in
the area of education, training and technical assistance.
7. As a longer-term objective, chemical information systems should be
established in all countries, comprehensive legislation should be enacted
and enforcement procedures be in place. Continued campaigns to increase
the public awareness of chemical risks and their prevention should be run.
Programme area F. Prevention of illegal international traffic in toxic
and dangerous products
Until control legislation is in place in a sufficient number of
countries, as a basis for further legal international instruments to halt
illegal traffic in toxic and dangerous products, all efforts should be
made to improve the situation, including strengthening of the PIC
procedure.
2. Hazardous wastes
177. The Commission notes with concern that many countries face severe
and urgent health and environmental problems due to the production and
mismanagement of hazardous wastes by industrial and other economic
activities, as a result of:
(a) The lack of environmentally sound waste treatment facilities and
appropriate technologies;
(b) The lack of information and expertise;
(c) The lack of preventive approaches;
(d) The lack of financial resources to cover the enormous costs of
treatment and remedial action;
(e) The illegal traffic in hazardous wastes both nationally and
across boundaries.
178. The Commission welcomes the progress achieved in the area of
hazardous wastes and in that regard endorses:
(a) The decisions taken by the Parties to the Basel Convention on the
Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal
at their second meeting, which, inter alia, prohibit immediately all
transboundary movement of hazardous wastes destined for final disposal
from States that are members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD) to
non-OECD States, and the phase-out by 31 December 1997 of all
transboundary movement of hazardous wastes that are destined for recycling
and recovery, from OECD to non-OECD States;
(b) The decision to ban ocean dumping of industrial wastes taken at
the International Maritime Organization (IMO) by the Contracting Parties
to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of
Wastes and Other Matters (London Convention, 1972) that will become
effective on 1 January 1996;
(c) Recent actions taken by the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO),
the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Labour Organization
(ILO), IMO and other relevant organizations of the United Nations system
and actions taken at the national level.
179. The Commission stresses, however, that the current situation
requires further concrete action by Governments, international
organizations, non-governmental organizations and the private sector in
order to implement chapter 20 of Agenda 21 and emphasizes, while taking
into account the state of development of each country, that particular
attention should be given to:
(a) The prevention, to the extent possible, of hazardous wastes and a
minimization of their toxicity through the development, dissemination and
application of an integrated cleaner production approach in all planning,
such as the UNIDO/UNEP Cleaner Production Centres, and the use of an
appropriate mix of institutional and regulatory measures as well as
economic instruments;
(b) The environmentally sound management and disposal of waste with a
view to ensuring the principle of proximity and self-sufficiency.
180. The Commission urges Governments to:
(a) Ratify or accede to the Basel Convention and to develop adequate
control regimes, such as customs procedures, as well as methods and tools
of detection;
(b) Support the fund established by the Contracting Parties to the
Basel Convention, which is still very short of resources, to specifically
support developing countries' hazardous waste minimization and management
needs.
181. The Commission urges the Parties to the Basel Convention to ask
its secretariat to develop procedures and guidelines for the
implementation of the recent decisions taken by the Parties at their
second meeting and, in cooperation with relevant units of UNEP, UNIDO and
WHO, to assist specific developing countries on a pilot basis, within the
period 1994-1995, with the development of a legal framework for hazardous
waste management, the preparation and implementation of hazardous waste
management plans in specific geographical areas and capacity-building in
the field.
182. The Commission invites the Conference of the Parties to the Basel
Convention to consider the feasibility of developing non-compliance
procedures for the Convention.
183. The Commission urges the Parties to the Basel Convention to ask
its secretariat to undertake case-studies of the illegal traffic in
hazardous wastes and of wastes whose status is ill-defined and that are
destined for recycling activities.
184. The Commission urges that the illegal disposal of tanker sludge
and ballast water into marine waters be given high priority and recommends
that they be subject to relevant requirements of the appropriate
international conventions.
185. The Commission welcomes the efforts to develop regional
arrangements similar to the Bamako Convention on the Ban of the Import
into Africa and the Control of Transboundary Movement of All forms of
Hazardous Waste within Africa.
186. The Commission recalls and reaffirms UNEP Governing Council
decision 17/5 on the application of environmental norms by the military
establishment and urges Governments to take action to implement the
decision fully.
187. The Commission invites UNEP to consider the feasibility of
arranging regional meetings, in cooperation with the United Nations
regional commissions and regional organizations, on the implementation of
the decision and on how national environmental plans for the military
establishment relating to hazardous waste management can be designed and
implemented.
188. The Commission recommends that the following actions and measures
be taken at the national level:
(a) Governments should establish and/or strengthen national
institutions to manage hazardous wastes;
(b) Governments should develop and reinforce laws and regulations on
hazardous wastes and strengthen their enforcement;
(c) Governments should, on the basis of toxic release inventories
providing information on sources and quantities of hazardous wastes,
develop and enhance integrated national hazardous waste management plans,
taking into account all sources and fates of hazardous waste, e.g.,
industry, military establishments, agriculture, hospitals and households;
(d) Priority should be given to activities designed to promote
cleaner production, prevention and minimization to the extent possible of
hazardous waste through applying the life-cycle approach and the provision
of adequate information, research, development and demonstration
activities as well as training and education;
(e) Case-studies on specific industry sectors should be launched in
different countries, with particular emphasis on small and medium-sized
enterprises;
(f) Effective systems should be developed and maintained for the
segregated collection of wastes, and incentives should be provided to
encourage the segregation, recycling, reuse and reclamation of hazardous
wastes.
189. In order to give support to national activities, the following
regional and international measures should be taken:
(a) Efforts to support the exchange of information among and between
developed and developing countries on the minimization and environmentally
sound management of hazardous wastes in support of the transfer of
environmentally sound technologies should be increased;
(b) Focused training activities adapted to specific local needs
should be conducted.
190. The Commission stresses that production facilities transferred to
developing countries and economies in transition should have
environmentally sound waste management plans, so that the waste generated
by those facilities should not, either by its quantity or quality, be
harmful to the environment of those countries.
191. The Commission urges industry to develop voluntary codes of
conduct for the use of clean technologies and the safe management of
hazardous wastes in all countries where they operate.
192. The Commission welcomes the relevant provisions of the Programme
of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing
States, and urges that adequate support be given to various strategies
identified in the Programme of Action for the management of hazardous
wastes.
193. The Commission also welcomes the proposal of Poland to join with
UNEP in hosting an international symposium on cleaner production to
strengthen the international activities in that field in Poland from 12 to
14 October 1994. Initiatives that minimize the production of hazardous
wastes will contribute to advances in the area and offer economic
advantages.
194. The Commission further welcomes the proposal of Germany to host
an international workshop in 1994 on the minimization and recycling of
waste, including the development of strategies towards life-cycle
management, which could also contribute to hazardous waste reduction.
195. The Commission stresses the need for:
(a) Governments and relevant international organizations to develop
economic instruments and consider mobilizing additional financing
earmarked for hazardous waste management and to take other measures to
facilitate the prevention of hazardous wastes, such as eco-labelling and
mandatory take-back of used products;
(b) International organizations to harmonize testing methodologies
and hazardous waste nomenclature, taking into account the work done by
OECD;
(c) National and international institutions to assess the full
dimensions of soil and groundwater contamination, in particular that due
to improper storage and disposal of hazardous wastes;
(d) Governments to require the necessary prevention and remedial
actions to address the problems of contaminated soil and groundwater.
196. The Commission stresses the need for full implementation of the
agreements on technology transfer contained in chapter 34 of Agenda 21 and
the relevant decisions of the Commission. In that context, the Commission
urges the international community to find concrete ways and means of
transferring to developing countries and economies in transition
appropriate technologies as regards the prevention, minimization,
treatment, disposal techniques and remedial action concerning hazardous
wastes.
197. The Commission urges Governments to mobilize financial resources
to respond to the above priorities, as agreed in chapter 33 of Agenda 21,
and the relevant decisions of the Commission.
198. The Commission invites the task manager, UNEP, to continue to
monitor progress made by the United Nations and other international
agencies in implementing chapter 20 of Agenda 21 and to inform the
Commission periodically of such progress through IACSD.
3. Radioactive wastes
199. The Commission acknowledges the report of the Secretary-General
on progress achieved in the implementation of chapter 22 of Agenda 21
(E/CN.17/1994/15). The Commission requests the Secretary-General to issue
an addendum to the report, including information on radioactive wastes
contained in the national reports received since the date of the report.
200. The Commission notes that the generation of radioactive wastes
continues to increase worldwide from nuclear power generation, the
decommissioning of nuclear facilities, nuclear-arms reduction programmes
and the use of radionuclides in medicine, research and industry, and that
enhanced efforts must be made, at both national and international levels,
to promote the safe and environmentally sound management of radioactive
waste.
201. The Commission also notes that radioactive defence wastes
represent the same risks as other types of radioactive wastes. However,
in a number of countries, the management of radioactive defence waste is
not subject to the same safety rules as the management of other
radioactive wastes. In those countries it is outside the control of
national civilian radiation protection and safety authorities but
generally falls under military rules.
202. The Commission further notes that a number of countries have been
involved in the monitoring and safe management of radioactive wastes, that
legislation has been enacted or amended and safety standards updated, and
that licensing and control procedures have been reviewed.
203. The Commission recognizes that efforts have been geared towards
identifying and establishing permanent disposal sites for radioactive
wastes and that Governments are continuing their efforts to manage interim
storage facilities and to find practical measures for minimizing and
limiting, where appropriate, the generation of those wastes.
204. The Commission welcomes the progress made in technical, legal and
administrative measures at the national, regional and international levels
with the aim of ensuring that radioactive wastes are safely managed,
transported, stored and disposed of, or are treated with a view to
protecting human health and the environment.
205. The Commission supports the effective international cooperation
in research, exchange of information and standard-setting that was carried
out in the field under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA), the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and, concerning research and
the exchange of information, in the European Union. In particular, it
welcomes the progress made in the IAEA Radioactive Waste Safety Standards
(RADWASS) programme.
206. The Commission also welcomes the development by IAEA of the Codes
of Practice on the International Transboundary Movement of Radioactive
Waste and by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) of the Codes of
Practice on the Safe Carriage of Irradiated Nuclear Fuel, Plutonium and
High-level Radioactive Waste in Flasks on Board Ships.
207. The Commission expresses its satisfaction at the November 1993
decision at IMO by the Contracting Parties to the Convention on the
Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter
(London Convention, 1972) to convert the voluntary moratorium on ocean
dumping of all radioactive wastes into a binding prohibition. That global
prohibition will strengthen earlier bans agreed upon in regional contexts.
The Commission urges all Contracting Parties to the Convention to respect
its now binding character.
208. The Commission considers it imperative that the export of
radioactive wastes be inadmissible to countries that do not have the
technical, economic, legal and administrative resources for
environmentally safe and sound management of radioactive wastes.
209. The Commission calls attention to the needs of developing
countries and economies in transition to establish or strengthen their
capacities for the safe management of radioactive wastes, including spent
radiation sources.
210. The Commission:
(a) Urges Governments to apply the precautionary principle
(e.g., preparatory measures for final disposal) in decisions concerning
new or extended activities generating radioactive wastes;
(b) Urges Governments to undertake the further research and
development of such areas as the minimization and reduction of the volume
of radioactive wastes, potential sites for the storage of radioactive
wastes, safety and health standards associated with the handling of
radioactive wastes and remediation procedures and processes;
(c) Calls upon Governments to fully implement the IAEA and other
relevant codes of practice that have been adopted in the area of
transboundary movements and the transport of radioactive wastes;
(d) Recommends that Governments encourage suppliers of sealed
radiation sources to accept the return of such sources and ensure their
safe and environmentally sound management after use;
(e) Calls upon Governments to ensure that radioactive wastes arising
from military activities should be subject to the same types of strict
safety and environmental regulations as those arising from civilian
activities;
(f) Calls upon Governments to internalize, to the maximum extent
possible, all costs of the operations of nuclear facilities and of related
waste management, including the decommissioning of nuclear facilities;
(g) Supports world-wide efforts to demonstrate viable methods for the
safe disposal of long-lived and high-level radioactive wastes and the
reinforcement of international cooperation in the field.
211. The Commission urges Governments to promptly begin, in the
context of IAEA, after the finalization of the Nuclear Safety Convention,
work on the development of an international convention on the safety of
radioactive waste management, including consideration of the total
life-cycle management of nuclear materials. In order to speed up the
process, IAEA should urgently complete preparations related to safety
fundamentals, which is a prerequisite for beginning such work.
212. The Commission invites IAEA, in cooperation with other relevant
organizations, to continue to develop or improve standards for the
management and safe disposal of radioactive wastes, and to report the
results to the Commission at its third session.
213. The Commission calls upon the international community:
(a) To further support the development of international standards for
radioactive waste management;
(b) To take all necessary steps to prohibit the export of radioactive
wastes, except to countries with appropriate waste treatment and storage
facilities;
(c) To strengthen cooperation and provide assistance to economies in
transition in solving their urgent and specific problems due to improper
treatment and disposal with regard to radioactive wastes;
(d) To provide technical assistance to developing countries in order
to enable them to develop or improve procedures for the management and
safe disposal of radioactive wastes deriving from the use of radionuclides
in medicine, research and industry;
(e) To facilitate financial assistance to developing countries in
order for them to address adequately radioactive waste management
problems.
214. The Commission calls upon Governments and relevant multilateral
funding organizations to assist developing countries in national
capacity-building for the safe and sound management of radioactive wastes.
215. The Commission urges Governments, together with IAEA, to promote
policies and practical measures to minimize and limit, where appropriate,
the generation of radioactive wastes and provide for their safe
processing, conditioning, transportation, storage and disposal, taking
into account the provisions of chapter 22 of Agenda 21.
F. Other matters
Matters related to the inter-sessional work of the Commission
216. The Commission, taking into account its mandate to coordinate and
review progress in the implementation of the recommendations of the United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development, bearing in mind the
experience acquired so far in work carried out inter-sessionally and
recognizing the need for further rationalization and integration of future
inter-sessional activities with a view to adequately preparing for its
third session:
(a) Reconfirms the mandate of its Inter-sessional Ad Hoc Open-ended
Working Group on Finance, as contained in paragraph 61 of chapter I of the
report on its first session (E/1993/25/Add.1); requests the Working Group,
in carrying out its mandate to, inter alia, (i) focus more directly on the
financial sources and mechanisms appropriate to sectoral issues under
review by the Commission; (ii) develop a matrix of financial sources and
mechanisms which can be applied to these sectors, and maintain the
integrated approach; and (iii) pursue the study of selected innovative
financing mechanisms, as well as of economic instruments; and also
requests the Working Group to involve more actively international
financial institutions and other multilateral funding organizations and
the private sector in its work, bearing in mind the need to bring together
concrete projects and private actors;
(b) Decides to establish an inter-sessional ad hoc, open-ended
working group composed of Governments, which will nominate experts to
assist the Commission in the preparation, in a coordinated and integrated
way, of the examination of sectoral issues to be reviewed by the
Commission at its third session, in accordance with the multi-year
thematic programme of work of the Commission - namely, the sectoral
cluster entitled "Land, desertification, forests and biodiversity". The
mandate of the working group should be:
(i) To review chapters 10 to 15 of Agenda 21 and the Non-legally
Binding Authoritative Statement of Principles for a Global Consensus on
the Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development of All Types of
Forests, taking account, as appropriate, of inputs from other forums, such
as the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the Elaboration of an
International Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries
Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in
Africa, inasmuch as such inputs have a bearing on the work of the
Commission;
(ii) To take stock of inter-sessional activity organized by
Governments or international organizations on sectoral issues under review
at the Commission's third session;
(iii) To group together initiatives under way on a particular sectoral
issue;
(iv) To convey the results of relevant inter-sessional work to the
Commission;
(v) To make recommendations on the organization of the Commission's
discussions of sectoral issues in the light of inter-sessional activity.
217. The Commission, taking into account the need for effective
implementation of its functions related to the transfer of environmentally
sound technologies, cooperation and capacity-building, decides that the
functions of its Inter-sessional Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on
Technology Transfer and Cooperation, established at its first session for
a trial period of one year, will be carried out by the two ad hoc working
groups referred to above as follows:
(a) The Inter-sessional Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Finance
will consider all issues related to the financial aspects of transfer of
environmentally sound technologies;
(b) The Inter-sessional Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Sectoral
Issues will consider technology transfer issues in relation to the
specific sectoral issues under review in 1995, including the experience of
individual countries.
218. The Commission decides that the Inter-sessional Ad Hoc Open-ended
Working Group on Sectoral Issues will have a one-year mandate so that the
Commission can review its performance at its third session, in 1995.
219. The Inter-sessional Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Groups on Finance
and Sectoral Issues should meet for a period of one week each, at least
six weeks before the third session of the Commission. The meeting on
sectoral issues should take place before that on finance in order to
facilitate the identification of the resource needs and mechanisms
applicable to specific sectors.
220. The Commission requests the Secretariat, in order to ensure
transparency, to disseminate, as appropriate, within existing resources,
information about inter-sessional activities and their results, possibly
on the basis of a common reporting format.
G. Provisional agenda for the third session of the Commission
221. The Commission recommends that the Economic and Social Council
approve the provisional agenda for its third session, set out below:
1. Election of officers.
2. Adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters.
3. General discussion on progress in the implementation of
Agenda 21, focusing on the cross-sectoral components of Agenda 21 and the
critical elements of sustainability.
4. Financial resources and mechanisms.
5. Education, science, transfer of environmentally sound
technologies, cooperation and capacity-building.
6. Review of sectoral cluster: Land, desertification, forests and
biodiversity (Agenda 21, chapter 10, "Integrated approach to the planning
and management of land resources"; Agenda 21, chapter 11, "Combating
deforestation"; Non-legally Binding Authoritative Statement of Principles
for a Global Consensus on the Management, Conservation and Sustainable
Development of All Types of Forests; Agenda 21, chapter 12, "Managing
fragile ecosystems: combating desertification and drought"; Agenda 21,
chapter 13, "Managing fragile ecosystems: sustainable mountain
development; Agenda 21, chapter 14, "Promoting sustainable agriculture and
rural development"; and Agenda 21, chapter 15, "Conservation of biological
diversity").
7. Other matters.
8. High-level meeting.
9. Provisional agenda for the fourth session of the Commission.
10. Adoption of the report of the Commission on its third session.
Chapter II
CHAIRMAN'S SUMMARY OF THE HIGH-LEVEL MEETING OF THE COMMISSION
1. The Ministers and the other participants at the high-level meeting of
the second session of the Commission on Sustainable Development
underscored the importance of the high political profile of the
Commission. Only if it demonstrated political leadership would it be able
to act as an effective catalyst for sustainable development. That would
enable the Commission to maintain and further promote the spirit of global
partnership launched at the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development.
2. In fulfilling its mandate, the Commission would seek to reach out to
all partners involved in sustainable development. It would pursue more
forthright interaction with the governing bodies of international
organizations dealing with various cross-sectoral and sectoral aspects of
sustainable development. It would aim at more fruitful cooperation with
the Bretton Woods institutions and the World Trade Organization to promote
sustainable development through sound macroeconomic policies and a
favourable international economic environment. It would strengthen and
broaden its partnership with major groups as key partners in the
transition towards sustainable development. Further efforts needed to be
taken to ensure that the Commission's message would reach all policy-
making bodies and constituencies and bear an impact on their decisions and
actions.
3. The participants welcomed the initial action taken in many countries
to follow up the recommendations and commitments made during UNCED, in
particular by elaborating national sustainable development strategies and
action plans, setting up national institutional structures to pursue
sustainable development goals and objectives, adopting legislative and
regulatory frameworks to implement Agenda 21, and involving in that
process the academic and business communities, non-governmental
organizations, women, youth and other major groups.
4. At the international level, encouraging progress had been achieved
during the past year. The two Conventions signed at Rio had entered into
force. The International Convention to Combat Desertification in Those
Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification,
Particularly in Africa was expected to be finalized in a few weeks' time
and include suitable and adequate financial provisions. The international
community had moved forward in such areas as trade, environment and
sustainable development; chemical safety; hazardous wastes; and protection
of water resources.
5. The global community had adopted an important Programme of Action for
the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, which had
significance not only for those States but also for general efforts to
develop effective strategies to enable all countries to achieve
sustainable development. The implementation of the Programme of Action
would be a yardstick of how serious we were about the global partnership
established in Rio.
6. The participants stressed, nevertheless, that, despite those
encouraging signs, much more remained to be done both nationally and
internationally to translate the commitments of Rio into reality.
7. In the area of finance, despite some positive developments, such as
the restructuring and replenishment of the Global Environment Facility and
the increase in private financial flows to some, although not all
developing countries, the overall financing of Agenda 21 and sustainable
development fell significantly short of expectations and requirements.
The participants reiterated the need for increased efforts to implement
all the financial commitments made at UNCED, including the need to bring
official development assistance levels in line with the 0.7 per cent
target, as reaffirmed in Agenda 21, as soon as possible. They stressed
the fact that mobilizing funds for sustainable development made it
necessary to act on all fronts, at both the domestic and the international
levels, and to search for innovative approaches and mechanisms, relevant
policy reforms and the use of promising economic instruments. The
participants welcomed the initiatives aimed at fostering in-depth
discussions in those areas so that the Inter-sessional Ad Hoc Open-ended
Working Group on Finance could develop concrete proposals for the
Commission.
8. Additional efforts were also essential in the area of the transfer of
environmentally sound technologies, cooperation and capacity-building.
Within the overall policy framework in that area as determined at UNCED,
there was a need for a more focused approach. Further work would give
priority attention to three areas: access to and dissemination of
reliable information on environmentally sound technologies, institutional
development and capacity-building, and financial and partnership
arrangements between countries and between the private and public sectors.
9. It was recognized that trade liberalization and measures to make
trade and environment mutually supportive were essential to achieving
sustainable development. In that context, the participants welcomed the
successful conclusion of the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade
negotiations and its positive impacts on international trade.
Acknowledging that further liberalization in international trade might
also have some short-term negative impacts on some developing countries,
they stressed that an open, equitable and non-discriminatory multilateral
trading system, improved market access for products from developing
countries, effective environmental protection in close cooperation with
all policy makers involved as well as with the private sector and non-
governmental organizations would be of long-term benefit to all countries.
Attention should be given to the special situation and needs of developing
countries. Market opportunities and export prospects could be stimulated
by a better understanding and assessment of the environmental impacts of
trade policies. There was a need to consider interaction between trade,
technological cooperation and changes in production and consumption
patterns. The Commission would annually review progress and developments
in that area with a view to identifying possible gaps and to promoting
cooperation and coordination among all parties involved.
10. The participants stressed that the Commission provided a unique
international forum for fostering multilateral negotiations and promoting
action in the area of changing consumption and production patterns. They
reconfirmed the need to take additional measures, in particular in
developed countries, to change those contemporary patterns of consumption
and production that were detrimental to sustainable development. National
authorities should endeavour to promote the internalization of
environmental costs and the use of economic instruments, taking into
account that the polluter should, in principle, bear the cost of
pollution. That would also stimulate the development of environmentally
sound technologies, including those that would contribute to a phase out
of lead in gasoline and other pollutants. Attention should be given to
the special situation and needs of developing countries; for them,
eradicating poverty and meeting basic human needs in the process of
pursuing sustainable development was of overriding priority. Although
developed countries bore special responsibility and should take the lead
for change in that area, the participants recognized that all countries
should derive benefits from establishing and maintaining more sustainable
consumption and production patterns.
11. A strong sentiment was expressed by participants to urge the
inter-sessional meeting of the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety
and other relevant bodies to seek legally binding status to the
prior-informed-consent procedure (PIC) with regard to the export of banned
or severely restricted chemicals and subsequently ban the export of
domestically prohibited chemicals from countries that are members of the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development to other countries.
12. Much emphasis was given to the monitoring and reviewing role of the
Commission. The participants stressed the importance of continuous
exchange of information on practical experiences gained in individual
countries, organizations and major groups. Voluntary national reports
submitted by countries presented a valuable source of information on such
experiences, as well as on progress achieved and problems encountered.
The participants recognized the need for a simplification and streamlining
of reporting in the area of sustainable development.
13. In that context, the participants expressed their support for the
ongoing work on the elaboration of realistic and understandable
sustainable development indicators which could supplement national
reporting and provide a useful tool to measure progress towards
sustainable development and global partnership. The need to expedite, in
a coordinated way, such work, including in the areas of economic and
financial issues, environmental trends and social issues, was highlighted.
14. The participants stressed the need to ensure synergy between the work
of the Commission and the preparations for major upcoming international
conferences, such as the International Conference on Population and
Development, the World Summit for Social Development, the Fourth World
Conference on Women and Habitat II, as well as the elaboration of an
Agenda for Development. The participants urged States to participate in
those conferences at a high level. It was emphasized that the
Commission's message should permeate those conferences.
15. The participants expressed their gratitude to those countries and
organizations that initiated and hosted meetings to examine and address
issues that were on the Commission's agenda in 1994. It was recognized
that those meetings significantly enriched the deliberations of the
Commission. The participants welcomed the commitments expressed by those
countries to provide a follow-up to their initiatives in order to
contribute to a comprehensive review of Agenda 21 in 1997.
16. The participants stressed the need for effective inter-sessional work
to prepare for the third session of the Commission. In particular, they
underlined their high expectations from the 1995 meetings of the
Commission's Inter-sessional Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Finance
and the new Inter-sessional Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Sectoral
Issues, given their more focused mandates. Those Groups would also deal
with matters related to the transfer of environmentally sound
technologies, cooperation and capacity-building.
17. Furthermore, the participants encouraged countries, organizations and
other interested parties, individually or in partnership, to undertake, as
a contribution to the third session of the Commission, activities to
examine in depth specific issues on the Commission's agenda. They
welcomed specific initiatives announced during the Commission's session.
Exchange of information was essential to ensure a transparent inter-
sessional process. Regarding inter-sessional work in general, they
stressed the importance of more substantive involvement of experts and
major groups, in particular the private sector and non-governmental
organizations. The need for a more active involvement of ministers in the
inter-sessional process was also underlined. Participants encouraged the
enhanced participation of ministers responsible for development, planning
and finance in the Commission's activities.
18. With regard to the Commission's deliberations on forests, as one of
the sectoral issues on the Commission's agenda, and therefore an
integrated part of the work of the Inter-sessional Ad Hoc Open-ended
Working Group on Sectoral Issues, the Chairman, in consultation with the
Bureau, would initiate effective ways of enhancing coordination and
complementarity in the preparatory work for the meeting of that Group. As
the institutionalized body for sectoral issues of the Commission, the
Group would be the central body for consolidating the work done by that
time. The Chairman would build on various forest-related meetings planned
as part of a number of country initiatives and enhance transparency and
coordination, including with the institutional mechanism within the United
Nations system.
19. All preparations should enable the Commission to concentrate its
deliberations on key issues and concrete options that require focused
policy guidance. The session, and especially its high-level meeting,
benefited from a dialogue-oriented approach. It was felt that this should
be continued and enhanced during future sessions. The panels on economy
and sustainable development and on women and sustainable development were
highly appreciated. The concept of panels as important forums for
generating new ideas was recognized as useful and should be maintained.
20. Possibilities would be explored to elect the Chairman and the Bureau
at an appropriate point in time with a view to allowing the Chairman and
the Bureau to give guidance to the preparatory process of the Commission's
sessions.
Chapter III
GENERAL DISCUSSION ON PROGRESS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AGENDA 21
FOCUSING ON THE CROSS-SECTORAL COMPONENTS OF AGENDA 21 AND THE
CRITICAL ELEMENTS OF SUSTAINABILITY
1. The Commission considered item 3 of its agenda at the 1st to 5th and
10th meetings, on 16, 17, 25 and 27 May 1994. It had before it the
following documents:
(a) Overview of cross-sectoral issues (E/CN.17/1994/2);
(b) Overview of other follow-up processes to the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development relevant to the work of the
Commission (E/CN.17/1994/2/Add.1);
(c) Report of the Secretary-General on national information
(E/CN.17/1994/9);
(d) Note verbale dated 7 April 1994 from the Permanent Representative
of Norway to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General
transmitting a summary report of the Symposium on Sustainable Consumption,
held at Oslo on 19 and 20 January 1994 (E/CN.17/1994/14).
2. At the 1st meeting, on 16 May, the Director of the Division for
Sustainable Development of the Department for Policy Coordination and
Sustainable Development made an introductory statement.
3. During the consideration of the item, statements were made by the
representatives of Algeria (on behalf of the States Members of the United
Nations that are members of the Group of 77 and China), Brazil, China,
Egypt, the Republic of Korea, the United States of America, Colombia,
Hungary, Malaysia, the Czech Republic, India, Turkey, Poland, Norway,
Canada, France, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
the Netherlands, Australia, Austria, Japan, the Philippines, Pakistan,
Uruguay, Sri Lanka, the Russian Federation, Mexico, Indonesia and
Venezuela and the observers for Greece (on behalf of the States Members of
the United Nations that are members of the European Community, Denmark,
Sweden, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Switzerland. Statements were
also made by the representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (also on behalf of the
United Nations Environment Programme), and the Economic Commission for
Latin America and the Caribbean (on behalf of the regional commissions).
4. Statements were also made by the observer for the European Community
and the Chairman of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the
Elaboration of an International Convention to Combat Desertification in
those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification,
Particularly in Africa.
5. The observers for the following non-governmental organizations also
made statements: International Chamber of Commerce, Inter-Parliamentary
Union, International Confederation of Free Trade Unions; International
Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources/World Conservation
Union; Third World Network (on behalf of a group of Southern NGOs);
Alliance of Northern People for Environment and Development; Women's
Environment and Development Organization and Society for International
Development.
Information provided by Governments and organizations
6. At the 5th meeting, on 25 May, the Chairman introduced a draft
decision (E/CN.17/1994/L.7) entitled "Information provided by Governments
and organizations".
7. At the 10th meeting, on 27 May, the Commission adopted the draft
decision (see chap. I, sect. A).
Decision-making structures
8. At the 5th meeting, on 25 May, the Chairman introduced a draft
decision (E/CN.17/1994/L.8) entitled "Decision-making structures".
9. At the 10th meeting, on 27 May, the Commission adopted the draft
decision (see chap. I, sect. A).
Major groups
10. At the 5th meeting, on 25 May, the Chairman introduced a draft
decision (E/CN.17/1994/L.11) entitled "Revised text of Commission
decisions on major groups".
11. At the 10th meeting, on 27 May, the Commission adopted the draft
decision (see chap. I, sect. A).
Trade, environment and sustainable development
12. At the 5th meeting, on 25 May, the Chairman introduced a draft
decision on trade, environment and sustainable development.
13. At the 10th meeting, on 27 May, the Commission adopted the draft
decision (see chap. I, sect. A).
Changing consumption and production patterns
14. At the 10th meeting, on 27 May, the Chairman introduced a draft
decision on changing consumption and production patterns.
15. At the same meeting, after a statement by the representative of
Sweden, the Commission adopted the draft decision (see chap. I, sect. A).
Chapter IV
FINANCIAL RESOURCES AND MECHANISMS
1. At the 1st meeting, on 16 May 1994, the Commission established a
working group (Working Group I) to consider cross-sectoral issues (items 4
and 5 of the agenda).
2. Working Group I considered item 4 at the 1st and 2nd meetings, on
18 May. It had before it the following reports:
(a) Report of the Inter-sessional Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on
Finance (E/CN.17/1994/10);
(b) Report of the Secretary-General entitled "Financial resources
and mechanism for sustainable development: overview of current issues and
developments" (E/CN.17/ISWG.II/1994/2 and Corr.1).
3. Introductory statements were made by the Chief of the Economic and
Finance Branch of the Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable
Development and by the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia.
4. Statements were also made by the representatives of Japan, Algeria
(on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of
the Group of 77 and China), Norway (on behalf of the Nordic countries),
Colombia, Germany, the Republic of Korea, Poland, Brazil, China, Egypt,
the United States of America, India, Canada, Morocco, Mexico, France, Sri
Lanka, Venezuela, Pakistan, Hungary, Australia and the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the observer for Greece (on behalf
of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the
European Community).
5. Statements were also made by the representatives of the World Bank
and the Global Environment Facility.
Financial resources and mechanisms
6. At the 5th meeting, on 25 May, the Chairman introduced a draft
decision on financial resources and mechanisms.
7. At the 10th meeting, on 27 May, the Commission adopted the draft
decision (see chap. I, sect. B).
Chapter V
EDUCATION, SCIENCE, TRANSFER OF ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND
TECHNOLOGIES, COOPERATION AND CAPACITY-BUILDING
1. At the 1st meeting, on 16 May 1994, the Commission established a
working group (Working Group I) to consider cross-sectoral issues (items 4
and 5 of the agenda).
2. Working Group I considered item 5 at the 3rd and 4th meetings on 19
May. It had before it the following reports:
(a) Report of the Inter-sessional Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on
Technology Transfer and Cooperation (E/CN.17/1994/11);
(b) Report of the Secretary-General on the transfer of
environmentally sound technology, cooperation and capacity-building
(E/CN.17/ISWG.I/1994/2).
3. An introductory statement was made by the Chief of the Human
Development Institutions and Technology Branch of the Department for
Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development.
4. Statements were made by the representatives of the Netherlands,
Colombia, Norway, the United States of America, Algeria (on behalf of the
States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Group of 77
and China), Bulgaria, Germany, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Korea,
the Russian Federation, Poland, China, Malaysia, Japan, India, Egypt,
Chile, Australia, Hungary, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland, Morocco, Canada, Austria, Turkey, Pakistan, Mexico and
Sri Lanka, and the observers for Greece (on behalf of the States Members
of the United Nations that are members of the European Community), Denmark
(on behalf of the Nordic countries) and Switzerland.
5. The observer for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development also made a statement. Statements were made by the observers
for several non-governmental organizations, including the International
Chamber of Commerce and the International Council of Scientific Unions.
Transfer of environmentally sound technology, cooperation and capacity-
building
6. At the 5th meeting, on 25 May, the Chairman introduced a draft
decision (E/CN.17/1994/L.10) entitled "Transfer of environmentally sound
technology, cooperation and capacity-building".
7. At the 10th meeting, on 27 May, the Commission adopted the draft
decision (see chap. I, sect. C).
Chapter VI
REVIEW OF SECTORAL CLUSTERS, FIRST PHASE
A. Health, human settlements and freshwater
1. At the 1st meeting, on 16 May 1994, the Commission established a
working group (Working Group II) to consider sectoral issues (agenda item
6).
2. Working Group II considered item 6 (a) at the 1st to 3rd meetings on
18 and 19 May. It had before it the following documents:
(a) Report of the Secretary-General on progress in protecting and
promoting human health (E/CN.17/1994/3);
(b) Report of the Secretary-General on freshwater resources
(E/CN.17/1994/4);
(c) Report of the Secretary-General on the assessment of progress
achieved in promoting sustainable human settlement development
(E/CN.17/1994/5);
(d) Letter dated 30 March 1994 from the Charg‚ d'affaires a.i. of the
Permanent Mission of the Netherlands to the United Nations addressed to
the Secretary-General transmitting the Political Statement and the Action
Programme adopted by the Ministerial Conference on Drinking Water and
Environmental Sanitation (E/CN.17/1994/12).
3. Introductory statements were made by the Chief of the Human
Development Institutions and Technology Branch of the Department for
Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development, the Executive Director
for Environmental Health of the World Health Organization, the Director of
the New York Office of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements
(Habitat) and the representative of the Secretariat.
4. Statements were made by the representatives of the United States of
America, China, Canada, the Republic of Korea, India, Egypt, Hungary,
Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, Germany, Colombia, Japan, Benin, the
Netherlands, Nigeria, Malaysia, Uruguay, Belgium, France and Tunisia and
the observers for Denmark, Greece (on behalf of the States Members of the
United Nations that are members of the European Community), Finland (on
behalf of the Nordic countries), Ecuador, Kenya and Bangladesh.
5. Statements were also made by the representatives of the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Labour
Organization, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the
United Nations Children's Fund and the International Research Institute
for the Advancement of Women.
6. The observers for the following non-governmental organizations made
statements: International Confederation of Free Trade Unions,
International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives and
International Federation of Settlement Houses.
Protecting and promoting human health
7. At the 5th meeting, on 25 May, the Chairman introduced a draft
decision (E/CN.17/1994/L.2) entitled "Protecting and promoting human
health".
8. At the 10th meeting, on 27 May, the Commission adopted the draft
decision (see chap. I, sect. D).
Human settlements
9. At the 5th meeting, on 25 May, the Chairman introduced a draft
decision (E/CN.17/1994/L.3) entitled "Human settlements".
10. At the 10th meeting, on 27 May, after a statement by the
representative of the Philippines, the Commission adopted the draft
decision, as orally amended (see chap. I, sect. D).
Freshwater
11. At the 5th meeting, on 25 May, the Chairman introduced a draft
decision (E/CN.17/1994/L.5) entitled "Freshwater".
12. At the 10th meeting, on 27 May, the Commission adopted the draft
decision (see chap. I, sect. D).
B. Toxic chemicals and hazardous wastes
13. Working Group II considered item 6 (b) at the 3rd and 4th meetings,
on 19 May. It had before it the following reports:
(a) Report of the Secretary-General on toxic chemicals
(E/CN.17/1994/6);
(b) Report of the Secretary-General on hazardous wastes
(E/CN.17/1994/7);
(c) Report of the Secretary-General on radioactive wastes
(E/CN.17/1994/15).
14. Introductory statements were made by the representative of the
Secretariat and the Assistant Executive Director of the United Nations
Environment Programme.
15. Statements were made by the representatives of Sri Lanka, Canada,
Benin, Japan, Belgium, the Republic of Korea, Egypt, the United States of
America, Australia, Germany, Pakistan, Poland, China, Malaysia, Austria,
Brazil, Indonesia, the Philippines, France and Algeria (on behalf of the
States Member of the United Nations that are members of the Group of 77
and China), and the observers for Greece (on behalf of the States Members
of the United Nations that are members of the European Community), Sweden
(on behalf of the Nordic countries), Switzerland and New Zealand.
16. A statement was also made by the observer for the European Community.
The observers for the Natural Resources Defense Council and Greenpeace
International, non-governmental organizations, also made statements.
Toxic chemicals
17. At the 5th meeting, on 25 May, the Chairman introduced a draft
decision (E/CN.17/1994/L.1) entitled "Toxic chemicals".
18. At the 10th meeting, on 27 May, after a statement by the
representative of the United States of America, the Commission adopted the
draft decision (see chap. I, sect. E).
Hazardous wastes
19. At the 5th meeting, on 25 May, the Chairman introduced a draft
decision (E/CN.17/1994/L.4) entitled "Hazardous wastes".
20. At the 10th meeting, on 27 May, statements were made by the
representatives of Egypt, the United States of America and France.
21. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the draft decision (see
chap. I, sect. E).
Radioactive wastes
22. At the 5th meeting, on 25 May, the Chairman introduced a draft
decision (E/CN.17/1994/L.6) entitled "Radioactive wastes".
23. At the 10th meeting, on 27 May, after a statement by the
representative of the United States of America, the Commission adopted the
draft decision (see chap. I, sect. E).
Chapter VII
OTHER MATTERS
1. At the 5th meeting, on 25 May 1994, the Chairman introduced a draft
decision (E/CN.17/1994/L.9) entitled "Matters related to the inter-
sessional work of the Commission".
2. At the 10th meeting, on 27 May, after a statement by the
representative of Morocco, the Commission adopted the draft decision (see
chap. I, sect. F).
Chapter VIII
PROVISIONAL AGENDA FOR THE THIRD SESSION OF THE COMMISSION
1. At the 10th meeting on 27 May 1994, the Commission considered the
provisional agenda for its third session, and recommended that the
Economic and Social Council approve the provisional agenda (see chap. I,
sect. E).
Chapter IX
ORGANIZATION OF THE SESSION
A. Opening and duration of the session
1. The Commission on Sustainable Development held its second session at
United Nations Headquarters from 16 to 27 May 1994. The Commission held
10 meetings (1st to 10th meetings).
2. The session was opened by the temporary Chairman, Mr. Razali Ismail
(Malaysia).
3. The Under-Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Sustainable
Development addressed the Commission.
4. The Minister of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment of the
Netherlands, the Minister of Environment of Norway and the Minister of
Environment of Sweden also addressed the Commission.
5. In accordance with the recommendation contained in paragraph 14 (c)
of General Assembly resolution 47/191 and Economic and Social Council
decision 1994/217, the Commission held, on 25, 26 and 27 May 1994, a high-
level meeting, with ministerial participation, to provide for an
integrated overview of the implementation of Agenda 21 and to consider the
outcome of discussions held in the Commission and of urgent and major
emerging issues brought to its attention (see chap. II).
B. Attendance
6. In accordance with Economic and Social Council decision 1993/207, the
Commission is composed of 53 members elected from among the States Members
of the United Nations and members of the specialized agencies.
7. The session was attended by 52 States members of the Commission.
Observers for other States Members of the United Nations and for two non-
member States, representatives of the Secretariat, United Nations bodies
and specialized agencies, and observers for intergovernmental
organizations and non-governmental organizations also attended. A list of
participants is given in annex I to the present report. The
non-governmental organizations accredited to the Commission on Sustainable
Development are listed in document E/CN.17/1994/INF.1.
C. Election of officers
8. At the 1st and 3rd meetings, on 16 and 17 May 1994, the Commission
elected the following officers by acclamation:
Chairman: Klaus T<"o>pfer (Germany)
Vice-Chairmen: S<'e>rgio Floren<,c>io (Brazil)
Mohammad H. Ansari (India)
Tunguru Huaraka (Namibia)
Maciej Nowicki (Poland)
Mr. S<'e>rgio Floren<,c>io (Brazil) was elected to serve also as
Rapporteur.
9. At the 3rd meeting, on 17 May, the Commission elected Savitri Kunadi
(India) as a replacement for Mohammad H. Ansari (India).
D. Agenda and organization of work
10. At the 1st meeting, on 16 May 1994, the Commission adopted the
provisional agenda contained in document E/CN.17/1994/1, and approved its
organization of work. The agenda was as follows:
1. Election of officers.
2. Adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters.
3. General discussion on progress in the implementation of Agenda 21,
focusing on the cross-sectoral components of Agenda 21 and the critical
elements of sustainability.
4. Financial resources and mechanisms.
5. Education, science, transfer of environmentally sound technologies,
cooperation and capacity-building.
6. Review of sectoral clusters, first phase:
(a) Health, human settlements and freshwater;
(b) Toxic chemicals and hazardous wastes.
7. Other matters.
8. High-level meeting.
9. Provisional agenda for the third session of the Commission.
10. Adoption of the report of the Commission on its second session.
Annex I
ATTENDANCE
Members*
Algeria Ramtane Lamamra, Rabah Hadid, Merzak Belhimeur, Mourad
Ahmia, Kheireddine Ramoul
Antigua and Lionel Hurst, John William Ashe, Dornella Seth
Barbuda
Australia John Faulkner, Stuart Hamilton, Richard Butler,
Penelope Wensley, Joanne Disano
Austria Maria Rauch-Kallat, Harald Kreid, Winfried Lang,
Heinz Schreiber, Thomas Michael Baier, Andreas Molin,
Guenter Siegel, Gerhard Doujak, Rosa Weis, Roland Meier,
Martina Schuster-Meyer
Barbados L. V. H. Lewis, Fozlo Brewster, E. Besley Maycock,
Teresa Marshall, David Blackman
Belarus Alyaksandr Sychou, Alexei A. Mojoukhov, Andrei Dapkyunas
Belgium Henry Dumont, W. Bayens, N. Gouzee, Jean Engelen,
H. Portocarero, Mme Van Damme
Benin Jean Roger Ahoyo, Ren<'e> Val<'e>ry Mongbe, Damien
Houeto, Georges A. Whannou, Jo<"e>l Wassi Adechi,
Rogatien Biaou, Bienvenu Accrombessi, Pascal I. Sossou,
Paul H. Houansou
Bolivia Jos<'e> Guillermo Justiniano, Edgar Camacho-Omiste,
Alejandro Mercado, Marco Antonio Viduarre,
Mari<'a> Alicia Terrazas, Martha Monta<~n>o, Oscar
Serrate-Cu<'e>llar
Brazil Henrique Brandao Cavalcanti, Ronaldo Mota Sardenberg,
Henrique R. Valle, Haroldo de Mattos,
Antonio Augusto Dayrell de Lima,
S<'e>rgio Abreu e Lima Floren<,c>io, Pedro Motta Pinto
Coelho, Regis Percy Arslanian, Antonio Fernando Cruz de
Mello, Maria Feliciana Ortigao, Antonio Carlos Filgueira
Galvao
Bulgaria Jordan Uzunov, Raiko Raichev, Tsvetoljub Basmadjiev
Burkina Faso Anatole Gomtirbou Tiendr<'e>b<'e>ogo, Ga<"e>tan R.
Ouedraogo, Prosper Sawadogo, Mamadou Serm<'e>, Moussa B.
N<'e>bi<'e>, Awa Ou<'e>draogo
________________________
* Uganda was not represented at the session.
Canada Sheila Copps, Clifford Lincoln, George Rideout,
Marcelle Mersereau, John Fraser, Mel Cappe, R. W. Slater,
Brian Emmett, Yvan Hardy, Jag Maini, David Drake,
Shirley Lewchuk, Judy Huska, Ross Noble, Jennifer Irish,
Duncan Dee, Sheldon McLeod
Chile Juan Somavia, Cecilia Mackenna, Juan Eduardo Eguiguren,
Miguel Angel Gonzalez
China Zhang Kunmin, Xia Kunbao, Cui Tiankai, Yang Yanyi
Colombia Noemi Sanin de Rubio, Manuel Rodriguez Becerra,
Alfredo Rey Cordoba, Eduardo Uribe Botero,
Monica Lanzetta Mutis, Juan Andres Lopez Silva,
Alexandra Kling Mazuera, Jairo Montoya Pedroza
Cuba Fernando Remirez de Estenoz, Enrique Moret,
Pedro Luis Pedroso, Jorge Mario Garcia
Czech Republic Frantisek Benda, Vladimir Bizek, Bedrich Moldan,
Marie Adamkova, Jan Kara, Karel Zebrakovsky
Egypt Mostafa Tolba, Salah Hafez, Dawlat Hassan, Soliman Awaad,
Somaya Saad, Tarek Genena, Amr Ramadan, Maha Abdel Rahman
France Michel Barnier, Philippe Duclos, Jean Ripert, Anne de
Lattre, Michel Oblin, B<'e>reng<`e>re Quincy, Didier
Lopinot, Alain Le Seac'h, Christian Dumon, Mauricette
Steinfelder, Fr<'e>d<'e>ric Boyer, Philippe Delacroix,
Michel Faucon, St<'e>phane Doumbe-Bille, Bernard
Esambert, G<'e>rard Metoudi, Joel Mancel
Gabon
Germany Klaus T<"o>pfer, Gerhard Henze, Ansgar Otto Vogel,
Wolfgang Runge, Brend Wulffen, Cornelia Quennet,
Franz-Josef Schafhausen, Hans Peter Schipulle, Wolf
G<"u>nther, Ulrich H<"o>enisch, Dagmara Berbalk, Rainald
H. Roesch
Guinea Balla Moussa Camara
Hungary Andr<'e> Erdos, G<'a>bor L<'a>nyi, P<'e>ter Margittai,
Tibor Farag<'o>, Andr<'a>s Lakatos
Iceland Magn<'u>s J<'o>hannesson, Th<'o>rir Ibsen, Kornel<'i>us
Sigmundsson, Margr<'e>t J<'o>nsd<'o>ttir-Ward
India Kamal Nath, R. Rajamani, Mohammad Hamid Ansari, N. K.
Singh, T. P. Sreenivasan, Savitri Kunadi, Keshav
Desiraju, Arun K. Singh, Anthony de Sa
Indonesia Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, Nugroho Wisnumurti
Italy Francesco Paolo Fulci, Altero Matteoli, Giuseppe
Nicoletti, Massimo Gobbi, Antonio Catalano di Melilli,
Ferruccio Marri Caciotti, Alberto Colella
Japan Ichiroh Kamoshita, Shunji Maruyama, Itaru Umezu,
Matsushiro Horiguchi, Takao Shibata, Kazuyoshi Okazawa,
Takafusa Yamamura, Kazuhiko Takemota, Manabu Miyagawa,
Masahiro Mikami, Kazuaki Mori, Mie Katsuno, Motoharu
Sekizawa, Naoya Tsukamoto, Kensuke Tanigawa, Koji
Hattori, Kinji Shinoda, Masanori Kobayashi
Malawi N. M. Mwaungulu, W. R. J. Mijoso, F. D. J. Matupa
Malaysia Datuk Law Hieng Ding, Lim Keng Yaik, Razali Ismail,
Lin See Yan, Tai Kat Meng, S. Thanarajasingam,
Ahmad Zaini Muhammad, Hussein Haniff, Amha Buang,
Kamaruddin Hassan, Hasmah Harun, Halipah Esa, Gooi Hoe
Hin, Jini Wat, Tunku Osman Ahmad, Wong Kum Choon, Cheah
Kam Huan
Mexico Andr<'e>s Rozental, Julia Carabias Lillo
Morocco Chaouki Serghini, Ahmed Snoussi, Bani Layachi, Ahmed
Amaziane, Redouane Houssaini, Larbi Sbai, Abdelkrim El
Khyiari, Hassan Badraoui, Mustapha Bennouna, Driss
Lasfar, Ahmed El Harmouchi, Abdallah El Ouadghiri, Fouad
Aboutayeb, Mohamed Benyahia, Mohamed Said El-Khiati
Namibia Niko Bessinger, Tunguru Huaraka, George Liswaniso,
Alfred Van Kent
Netherlands J. P. Pronk, N. H. Biegman, J. G. M. Alders,
M. E. E. Enthoven, P. E. de Jongh, S. M. Vereecken
Nigeria Ibrahim A. Gambari, Isaac E. Ayewah, A. D. Ojimba
Norway Thorbjorn Berntsen, Hans Jacob Biorn Lian, Oddmund
Graham, Svein Aass
Pakistan Nusrat Bhutto, Jamsheed K. A. Marker, Tariq Aziz,
Tehmina Janjua, Mansur Raza
Philippines Cielito F. Habito, Angel C. Alcala, Narcisa L. Escaler,
Leticia Ramos-Shahani, Dante B. Liban, Ricardo M. Umali,
Ronald B. Allarey, Sabado T. Batcagan, Jose Lino B.
Guerrero, Jose P. Ampeso
Poland Bernard Blaszczyk, Maciej Nowicki, Tadeusz Strojwas,
Czeslaw Wieckowski, Wojciech Ponikiewski,
Maria Dragusz-Gertner, Roman Sowinski
Republic of Yun-Heun Park, Wonil Cho, Dong Wook Kim, Hong Jae Im,
Korea Ha-Yong Moon
Russian E. V. Kudryavtsev, V. M. Zimianin, Y. N. Isakov,
Federation I. V. Maltsev, A. A. Pankin, A. M. Novikov
Singapore Mah Bow Tan, Viji Menon, Khoo Seow Poh, Eng Wee Hua,
Crispian Tan
Sri Lanka Wimal Wickremasinghe, Stanley Kalpage,
H. M. G. S. Palihakkara, Chandra Amerasekare,
W. S. B. Bulankulame
Tunisia Slaheddine Abdellah, Amor Ardhaoui, Mohamed Ennabli,
Amel Benzarti, Adel Hentati, Ghazi Jomaa
Turkey Riza Akcali, Ozker Akad, Sinan Balkir, Nesrin Algan,
Sedat Yamak, Sema Alpan, Levent Murat Burhan,
H<"u>seyin Avni Karslioglu
Uganda
United Kingdom of John Gummer, Alan Riddell, Derek Osborn, Tom
Burke,
Great Britain Mike Granatt, Bridget Campbell, Peter Unwin,
and Northern Chris Tompkins, A. Simcock, L. Simcock, P. J. Corcoran,
Ireland Tertia Gavin, Chris Austin, Ian Symons, Andrew Bennett,
Chris Yarnell, Mike Dudley, J. de Fonblanque, Paul
Madden, M. Hammond, T. Godson, David Hannay, Ann Grant,
Victoria Harris
United Republic
of Tanzania
United States Timothy E. Wirth, William B. Milam, John W. Blaney,
of America Eileen Claussen
Uruguay Julio C<'e>sar Bali<~n>o, Ramiro Piriz-Ballon, Victor
Canton, Bernardo Greiver, Diego Pelufo
Vanuatu
Venezuela Luis Castro Morales, Carlos Bivero, Beatr<'i>z Pineda
Bravo, Mar<'i>a Antonieta Febres, Carmen Vel<'a>squez de
Visbal, Javier D<'i>az, Mar<'i>a Antonia Silva
States Members of the United Nations represented by observers
Albania, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain,
Bangladesh, Belize, Botswana, Burundi, Cape Verde, C<^o>te d'Ivoire,
Cyprus, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Denmark, Djibouti,
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, Greece, Guinea-Bissau,
Guyana, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica,
Jordan, Kenya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Maldives,
Mali, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Nepal, New Zealand, Niger, Papua New
Guinea, Peru, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spain, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and
Tobago, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Non-member States represented by observers
Holy See, Switzerland
United Nations
United Nations Children's Fund, United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development, United Nations Development Programme, United
Nations Environment Programme, United Nations Centre for Human Settlements
(Habitat), International Research and Training Institute for the
Advancement of Women, Economic Commission for Africa, Economic Commission
for Latin America and the Caribbean, Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific, Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
Specialized agencies and related organizations
International Labour Organization, Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations, United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization, World Health Organization, World Bank,
International Monetary Fund, United Nations Industrial Development
Organization, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
Intergovernmental organizations
Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation, European
Community, Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development,
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
Annex II
LIST OF DOCUMENTS BEFORE THE COMMISSION AT ITS SECOND SESSION
Document symbol Agenda item Title or description
E/CN.17/1994/1 2 Provisional agenda
E/CN.17/1994/2 3 Overview of cross-sectoral issues:
report of the Secretary-General
E/CN.17/1994/2/Add.1 3 Overview of other follow-up processes
to the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development relevant
to the work of the Commission
E/CN.17/1994/3 6 (a) Progress in protecting and promoting
human health: report of the
Secretary-General
E/CN.17/1994/4 6 (a) Freshwater resources: report of the
Secretary-General
E/CN.17/1994/5 6 (a) Assessment of progress achieved in
promoting sustainable human settlement
development: report of the Secretary-
General
E/CN.17/1994/6 6 (b) Toxic chemicals: report of the
Secretary-General
E/CN.17/1994/7 6 (b) Hazardous wastes: report of the
Secretary-General
E/CN.17/1994/8 8 Policy issues that may be addressed at
the high-level meeting of the
Commission on Sustainable Development:
report of the Secretary-General
E/CN.17/1994/9 3 National information: report of the
Secretary-General
E/CN.17/1994/10 4 Report of the Inter-sessional Ad Hoc
Open-ended Working Group on Finance
E/CN.17/1994/11 5 Report of the Inter-sessional Ad Hoc
Open-ended Working Group on Technology
Transfer and Cooperation
E/CN.17/1994/12 6 (a) Letter dated 30 March 1994 from the
Charg‚ d'affaires a.i. of the
Permanent Mission of the Netherlands
to the United Nations addressed to the
Secretary-General transmitting the
Political Statement and the Action
Programme adopted by the International
Ministerial Conference on Drinking
Water and Environmental Sanitation
E/CN.17/1994/13 8 Report of the High-level Advisory
Board on Sustainable Development on
its second session, New York,
17-22 March 1994
E/CN.17/1994/14 3 Note verbale dated 7 April 1994 from
the Permanent Representative of Norway
to the United Nations addressed to the
Secretary-General transmitting a
summary report of the Symposium on
Sustainable Development, held at Oslo
on 19 and 20 January 1994
E/CN.17/1994/15 6 (b) Radioactive wastes: report of the
Secretary-General
E/CN.17/1994/16 3 Letter dated 2 May 1994 from the
Permanent Representative of Austria to
the United Nations addressed to the
Secretary-General transmitting the
report on the International Symposium
on Sustainable Development and
International Law, held in Austria
from 14 to 16 April 1994
E/CN.17/1994/17 3 Letter dated 4 May 1994 from the
Permanent Representative of Thailand
to the United Nations addressed to the
Secretary-General transmitting five
documents that had been adopted by the
Association of South-East Asian
Nations
E/CN.17/1994/18 8 Letter dated 4 May 1994 from the
Permanent Representative of Malaysia
to the United Nations addressed to the
Secretary-General transmitting the
report of the first meeting of the
Intergovernmental Working Group on
Global Forests, held at Kuala Lumpur
from 18 to 21 April 1994
E/CN.17/1994/19 6 (b) Letter dated 6 May 1994 from the
Permanent Representative of Sweden to
the United Nations addressed to the
Secretary-General transmitting
documents regarding the International
Conference on Chemical Safety, held at
Stockholm from 25 to 29 April 1994
E/CN.17/1994/CRP.1 3 Role of regional commissions in
supporting actions and policies of the
Commission on Sustainable Development
and in the global implementation of
Agenda 21
E/CN.17/1994/CRP.2 3 Trade, environment and development:
note jointly prepared by the
secretariats of UNCTAD and UNEP
E/CN.17/1994/CRP.3 3 Outcomes of the Global Conference on
Sustainable Development of Small
Island Developing States which are of
relevance to the programme of work of
the Commission on Sustainable
Development: information note by the
Secretariat
E/CN.17/1994/INF.1 List of non-governmental organizations
accredited to the Commission on
Sustainable Development: note by the
Secretary-General
E/CN.17/1994/L.1 6 (b) Draft decision submitted by the
Chairman entitled "Toxic chemicals"
E/CN.17/1994/L.2 6 (a) Draft decision submitted by the
Chairman entitled "Protecting and
promoting human health"
E/CN.17/1994/L.3 6 (a) Draft decision submitted by the
Chairman entitled "Human settlements"
E/CN.17/1994/L.4 6 (b) Draft decision submitted by the
Chairman entitled "Hazardous wastes"
E/CN.17/1994/L.5 6 (a) Draft decision submitted by the
Chairman entitled "Freshwater"
E/CN.17/1994/L.6 6 (b) Draft decision submitted by the
Chairman entitled "Radioactive wastes"
E/CN.17/1994/L.7 3 Draft decision submitted by the
Chairman entitled "Information
provided by Governments and
organizations"
E/CN.17/1994/L.8 3 Draft decision submitted by the
Chairman entitled "Decision-making
structures"
E/CN.17/1994/L.9 7 Draft decision submitted by the
Chairman entitled "Matters related to
the inter-sessional work of the
Commission"
E/CN.17/1994/L.10 5 Draft decision submitted by the
Chairman entitled "Transfer of
environmentally sound technology,
cooperation and capacity-building"
E/CN.17/1994/L.11 3 Draft decision submitted by the
Chairman entitled "Revised text of
Commission decisions on major groups"
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Date last posted: 1 December 1999 12:18:30
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