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Johannesburg Plan of Implementation
IV.Protecting
and managing the natural resource base
of economic and social development
24. Human
activities are having an increasing impact on the integrity of ecosystems that
provide essential resources and services for human well-being and economic
activities. Managing the natural resources base in a sustainable and integrated
manner is essential for sustainable development. In this regard, to reverse the
current trend in natural resource degradation as soon as possible, it is
necessary to implement strategies which should include targets adopted at the
national and, where appropriate, regional levels to protect ecosystems and to
achieve integrated management of land, water and living resources, while
strengthening regional, national and local capacities. This would include
actions at all levels as set out below.
25. Launch
a programme of actions, with financial and technical assistance, to achieve the
Millennium development goal on safe drinking water. In this respect, we agree to
halve, by the year 2015, the proportion of people who are unable to reach or to
afford safe drinking water, as outlined in the Millennium Declaration, and the
proportion of people without access to basic sanitation, which would include
actions at all levels to:
(a) Mobilize
international and domestic financial resources at all levels, transfer
technology, promote best practice and support capacity-building for water and
sanitation infrastructure and services development, ensuring that such
infrastructure and services meet the needs of the poor and are
gender-sensitive;
(b) Facilitate
access to public information and participation, including by women, at all
levels in support of policy and decision-making related to water resources
management and project implementation;
(c) Promote
priority action by Governments, with the support of all stakeholders, in water
management and capacity-building at the national level and, where appropriate,
at the regional level, and promote and provide new and additional financial
resources and innovative technologies to implement chapter 18 of Agenda 21;
(d) Intensify
water pollution prevention to reduce health hazards and protect ecosystems by
introducing technologies for affordable sanitation and industrial and domestic
wastewater treatment, by mitigating the effects of groundwater contamination
and by establishing, at the national level, monitoring systems and effective
legal frameworks;
(e) Adopt
prevention and protection measures to promote sustainable water use and to
address water shortages.
26. Develop
integrated water resources management and water efficiency plans by 2005, with
support to developing countries, through actions at all levels to:
(a) Develop
and implement national/regional strategies, plans and programmes with regard
to integrated river basin, watershed and groundwater management and introduce
measures to improve the efficiency of water infrastructure to reduce losses
and increase recycling of water;
(b) Employ
the full range of policy instruments, including regulation, monitoring,
voluntary measures, market and information-based tools, land-use management
and cost recovery of water services, without cost recovery objectives becoming
a barrier to access to safe water by poor people, and adopt an integrated
water basin approach;
(c) Improve
the efficient use of water resources and promote their allocation among
competing uses in a way that gives priority to the satisfaction of basic human
needs and balances the requirement of preserving or restoring ecosystems and
their functions, in particular in fragile environments, with human domestic,
industrial and agriculture needs, including safeguarding drinking water
quality;
(d) Develop
programmes for mitigating the effects of extreme water-related events;
(e) Support
the diffusion of technology and capacity-building for non-conventional water
resources and conservation technologies, to developing countries and regions
facing water scarcity conditions or subject to drought and desertification,
through technical and financial support and capacity-building;
(f) Support,
where appropriate, efforts and programmes for energy-efficient, sustainable
and cost-effective desalination of seawater, water recycling and water
harvesting from coastal fogs in developing countries, through such measures as
technological, technical and financial assistance and other modalities;
(g) Facilitate
the establishment of public-private partnerships and other forms of
partnership that give priority to the needs of the poor, within stable and
transparent national regulatory frameworks provided by Governments, while
respecting local conditions, involving all concerned stakeholders, and
monitoring the performance and improving accountability of public institutions
and private companies.
27. Support
developing countries and countries with economies in transition in their efforts
to monitor and assess the quantity and quality of water resources, including
through the establishment and/or further development of national monitoring
networks and water resources databases and the development of relevant national
indicators.
28. Improve
water resource management and scientific understanding of the water cycle
through cooperation in joint observation and research, and for this purpose
encourage and promote knowledge-sharing and provide capacity-building and the
transfer of technology, as mutually agreed, including remote-sensing and
satellite technologies, particularly to developing countries and countries with
economies in transition.
29. Promote
effective coordination among the various international and intergovernmental
bodies and processes working on water-related issues, both within the United
Nations system and between the United Nations and international financial
institutions, drawing on the contributions of other international institutions
and civil society to inform intergovernmental decision-making; closer
coordination should also be promoted to elaborate and support proposals and
undertake activities related to the International Year of Freshwater, 2003 and
beyond.
* *
*
30.
Oceans, seas, islands and coastal areas form an integrated and
essential component of the Earth’s ecosystem and are critical for global food
security and for sustaining economic prosperity and the well-being of many
national economies, particularly in developing countries. Ensuring the
sustainable development of the oceans requires effective coordination and
cooperation, including at the global and regional levels, between relevant
bodies, and actions at all levels to:
(a) Invite
States to ratify or accede to and implement the United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea of 1982,
which provides the overall legal framework for ocean activities;
(b)
Promote the implementation of chapter 17 of Agenda 21, which
provides the programme of action for achieving the sustainable development of
oceans, coastal areas and seas through its programme areas of integrated
management and sustainable development of coastal areas, including exclusive
economic zones;
marine environmental protection;
sustainable use and conservation of marine living resources; addressing
critical uncertainties for the management of the marine environment and
climate change; strengthening international, including regional, cooperation
and coordination; and sustainable development of small islands;
(c)
Establish an effective, transparent and regular inter-agency
coordination mechanism on ocean and coastal issues within the United Nations
system;
(d) Encourage
the application by 2010 of the ecosystem approach, noting the Reykjavik
Declaration on Responsible Fisheries in the Marine Ecosystem
and decision V/6 of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological
Diversity;16
(e)
Promote integrated, multidisciplinary and multisectoral coastal and
ocean management at the national level and encourage and assist coastal States
in developing ocean policies and mechanisms on integrated coastal management;
(f)
Strengthen regional cooperation and coordination between the
relevant regional organizations and programmes, the regional seas programmes
of the United Nations Environment Programme, regional fisheries management
organizations and other regional science, health and development
organizations;
(g)
Assist developing countries in coordinating policies and programmes
at the regional and subregional levels aimed at the conservation and
sustainable management of fishery resources and implement integrated coastal
area management plans, including through the promotion of sustainable coastal
and small-scale fishing activities and, where appropriate, the development of
related infrastructure;
(h)
Take note of the work of the open-ended informal consultative
process established by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution
54/33 in order to facilitate the annual review by the Assembly of developments
in ocean affairs and the upcoming review of its effectiveness and utility to
be held at its fifty-seventh session under the terms of the above-mentioned
resolution.
31.
To achieve sustainable fisheries, the following actions are required
at all levels:
(a)
Maintain or restore stocks to levels that can produce the maximum
sustainable yield with the aim of achieving these goals for depleted stocks on
an urgent basis and where possible not later than 2015;
(b)
Ratify or accede to and effectively implement the relevant United
Nations and, where appropriate, associated regional fisheries agreements or
arrangements, noting in particular the Agreement for the Implementation of the
Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10
December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish
Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks
and the 1993 Agreement to Promote Compliance with International
Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas;
(c)
Implement the 1995 Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries,
taking note of the special requirements of developing countries as noted in
its article 5, and the relevant international plans of action and technical
guidelines of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations;
(d)
Urgently develop and implement national and, where appropriate,
regional plans of action, to put into effect the international plans of action
of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in particular
the International Plan of Action for the Management of Fishing Capacity
by 2005 and the International Plan of
Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated
Fishing
by 2004. Establish effective monitoring, reporting and enforcement, and
control of fishing vessels, including by flag States, to further the
International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal,
Unreported and Unregulated Fishing;
(e)
Encourage relevant regional fisheries management organizations and
arrangements to give due consideration to the rights, duties and interests of
coastal States and the special requirements of developing States when
addressing the issue of the allocation of share of fishery resources for
straddling stocks and highly migratory fish stocks, mindful of the provisions
of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Agreement for
the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the
Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management
of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, on the high seas
and within exclusive economic zones;
(f)
Eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and
unregulated fishing and to over-capacity, while completing the efforts
undertaken at the World Trade Organization to clarify and improve its
disciplines on fisheries subsidies, taking into account the importance of this
sector to developing countries;
(g)
Strengthen donor coordination and partnerships between
international financial institutions, bilateral agencies and other relevant
stakeholders to enable developing countries, in particular the least developed
countries and small island developing States and countries with economies in
transition, to develop their national, regional and subregional capacities for
infrastructure and integrated management and the sustainable use of fisheries;
(h)
Support the sustainable development of aquaculture, including
small-scale aquaculture, given its growing importance for food security and
economic development.
32. In
accordance with chapter 17 of Agenda 21, promote the conservation and management
of the oceans through actions at all levels, giving due regard to the relevant
international instruments to:
(a) Maintain
the productivity and biodiversity of important and vulnerable marine and
coastal areas, including in areas within and beyond national jurisdiction;
(b) Implement
the work programme arising from the Jakarta Mandate on the Conservation and
Sustainable Use of Marine and Coastal Biological Diversity of the Convention
on Biological Diversity,
including through the urgent mobilization of financial resources and
technological assistance and the development of human and institutional
capacity, particularly in developing countries;
(c) Develop
and facilitate the use of diverse approaches and tools, including the
ecosystem approach, the elimination of destructive fishing practices, the
establishment of marine protected areas consistent with international law and
based on scientific information, including representative networks by 2012 and
time/area closures for the protection of nursery grounds and periods, proper
coastal land use and watershed planning and the integration of marine and
coastal areas management into key sectors;
(d) Develop
national, regional and international programmes for halting the loss of marine
biodiversity, including in coral reefs and wetlands;
(e) Implement
the Ramsar Convention,
including its joint work programme with the Convention on Biological
Diversity,
and the programme of action called for by
the International Coral Reef Initiative to strengthen joint management plans
and international networking for wetland ecosystems in coastal zones,
including coral reefs, mangroves, seaweed beds and tidal mud flats.
33. Advance
implementation of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the
Marine Environment from Land-based Activities
and the Montreal Declaration on the Protection of the Marine Environment from
Land-based Activities,
with particular emphasis during the period from 2002 to 2006 on municipal
wastewater, the physical alteration and destruction of habitats, and nutrients,
by actions at all levels to:
(a) Facilitate
partnerships, scientific research and diffusion of technical knowledge;
mobilize domestic, regional and international resources; and promote human and
institutional capacity-building, paying particular attention to the needs of
developing countries;
(b) Strengthen
the capacity of developing countries in the development of their national and
regional programmes and mechanisms to mainstream the objectives of the Global
Programme of Action and to manage the risks and impacts of ocean pollution;
(c) Elaborate
regional programmes of action and improve the links with strategic plans for
the sustainable development of coastal and marine resources, noting in
particular areas that are subject to accelerated environmental changes and
development pressures;
(d) Make
every effort to achieve substantial progress by the next Global Programme of
Action conference in 2006 to protect the marine environment from land-based
activities.
34. Enhance
maritime safety and protection of the marine environment from pollution by
actions at all levels to:
(a) Invite
States to ratify or accede to and implement the conventions and protocols and
other relevant instruments of the International Maritime Organization relating
to the enhancement of maritime safety and protection of the marine environment
from marine pollution and environmental damage caused by ships, including the
use of toxic anti-fouling paints, and urge the International Maritime
Organization (IMO) to consider stronger mechanisms to secure the
implementation of IMO instruments by flag States;
(b) Accelerate
the development of measures to address invasive alien species in ballast
water. Urge the International Maritime Organization to finalize its draft
International Convention on the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast
Water and Sediments.
35.
Governments, taking into account their national circumstances, are
encouraged, recalling paragraph 8 of resolution GC (44)/RES/17 of the General
Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and taking into account
the very serious potential for environment and human health impacts of
radioactive wastes, to make efforts to examine and further improve measures and
internationally agreed regulations regarding safety, while stressing the
importance of having effective liability mechanisms in place, relevant to
international maritime transportation and other transboundary movement of
radioactive material, radioactive waste and spent fuel, including, inter alia,
arrangements for prior notification and consultations done in accordance with
relevant international instruments.
36. Improve
the scientific understanding and assessment of marine and coastal ecosystems as
a fundamental basis for sound decision-making, through actions at all levels to:
(a) Increase
scientific and technical collaboration, including integrated assessment at the
global and regional levels, including the appropriate transfer of marine
science and marine technologies and techniques for the conservation and
management of living and non-living marine resources and expanding
ocean-observing capabilities for the timely prediction and assessment of the
state of marine environment;
(b) Establish
by 2004 a regular process under the United Nations for global reporting and
assessment of the state of the marine environment, including socio-economic
aspects, both current and foreseeable, building on existing regional
assessments;
(c) Build
capacity in marine science, information and management, through, inter alia,
promoting the use of environmental impact assessments and environmental
evaluation and reporting techniques, for projects or activities that are
potentially harmful to the coastal and marine environments and their living
and non-living resources;
(d) Strengthen
the ability of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and other relevant
international and regional and subregional organizations to build national and
local capacity in marine science and the sustainable management of oceans and
their resources.
* *
*
37. An
integrated, multi-hazard, inclusive approach to address vulnerability, risk
assessment and disaster management, including prevention, mitigation,
preparedness, response and recovery, is an essential element of a safer world in
the twenty-first century. Actions are required at all levels to:
(a) Strengthen
the role of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction and encourage
the international community to provide the necessary financial resources to
its Trust Fund;
(b) Support
the establishment of effective regional, subregional and national strategies
and scientific and technical institutional support for disaster management;
(c) Strengthen
the institutional capacities of countries and promote international joint
observation and research, through improved surface-based monitoring and
increased use of satellite data, dissemination of technical and scientific
knowledge, and the provision of assistance to vulnerable countries;
(d) Reduce
the risks of flooding and drought in vulnerable countries by, inter alia,
promoting wetland and watershed protection and restoration, improved land-use
planning, improving and applying more widely techniques and methodologies for
assessing the potential adverse effects of climate change on wetlands and, as
appropriate, assisting countries that are particularly vulnerable to those
effects;
(e) Improve
techniques and methodologies for assessing the effects of climate change, and
encourage the continuing assessment of those adverse effects by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change;
(f) Encourage
the dissemination and use of traditional and indigenous knowledge to mitigate
the impact of disasters and promote community-based disaster management
planning by local authorities, including through training activities and
raising public awareness;
(g) Support
the ongoing voluntary contribution of, as appropriate, non-governmental
organizations, the scientific community and other partners in the management
of natural disasters according to agreed, relevant guidelines;
(h) Develop
and strengthen early warning systems and information networks in disaster
management, consistent with the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction;
(i) Develop
and strengthen capacity at all levels to collect and disseminate scientific
and technical information, including the improvement of early warning systems
for predicting extreme weather events, especially El Niño/La Niña, through
the provision of assistance to institutions devoted to addressing such events,
including the International Centre for the Study of the El Niño phenomenon;
(j) Promote
cooperation for the prevention and mitigation of, preparedness for, response
to and recovery from major technological and other disasters with an adverse
impact on the environment in order to enhance the capabilities of affected
countries to cope with such situations.
*
* *
38. Change
in the Earth’s climate and its adverse effects are a common concern of
humankind. We remain deeply concerned that all countries, particularly
developing countries, including the least developed countries and small island
developing States, face increased risks of negative impacts of climate change
and recognize that, in this context, the problems of poverty, land degradation,
access to water and food and human health remain at the centre of global
attention. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change27
is the key instrument for addressing climate change, a global concern, and we
reaffirm our commitment to achieving its ultimate objective of stabilization of
greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent
dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system, within a time
frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to
ensure that food production is not threatened and to enable economic development
to proceed in a sustainable manner, in accordance with our common but
differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. Recalling the
United Nations Millennium Declaration, in which heads of State and Government
resolved to make every effort to ensure the entry into force of the Kyoto
Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,
preferably by the tenth anniversary of the
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 2002, and to embark
on the required reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases, States that have
ratified the Kyoto Protocol strongly urge States that have not already done so
to ratify it in a timely manner. Actions at all levels are required to:
(a) Meet
all the commitments and obligations under the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change;
(b) Work
cooperatively towards achieving the objectives of the Convention;
(c) Provide
technical and financial assistance and capacity-building to developing
countries and countries with economies in transition in accordance with
commitments under the Convention, including the Marrakesh Accords;
(d) Build
and enhance scientific and technological capabilities, inter alia, through
continuing support to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the
exchange of scientific data and information especially in developing
countries;
(e) Develop
and transfer technological solutions;
(f) Develop
and disseminate innovative technologies in regard to key sectors of
development, particularly energy, and of investment in this regard, including
through private sector involvement, market-oriented approaches, and supportive
public policies and international cooperation;
(g) Promote
the systematic observation of the Earth’s atmosphere, land and oceans by
improving monitoring stations, increasing the use of satellites and
appropriate integration of these observations to produce high-quality data
that could be disseminated for the use of all countries, in particular
developing countries;
(h) Enhance
the implementation of national, regional and international strategies to
monitor the Earth’s atmosphere, land and oceans, including, as appropriate,
strategies for integrated global observations, inter alia, with the
cooperation of relevant international organizations, especially the
specialized agencies, in cooperation with the Convention;
(i) Support
initiatives to assess the consequences of climate change, such as the Arctic
Council initiative, including the environmental, economic and social impacts
on local and indigenous communities.
39. Enhance
cooperation at the international, regional and national levels to reduce air
pollution, including transboundary air pollution, acid deposition and ozone
depletion, bearing in mind the Rio principles, including, inter alia, the
principle that, in view of the different contributions to global environmental
degradation, States have common but differentiated responsibilities, with
actions at all levels to:
(a) Strengthen
capacities of developing countries and countries with economies in transition
to measure, reduce and assess the impacts of air pollution, including health
impacts, and provide financial and technical support for these activities;
(b) Facilitate
implementation of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone
Layer by ensuring adequate replenishment of its fund by 2003/2005;
(c) Further
support the effective regime for the protection of the ozone layer established
in the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the
Montreal Protocol, including its compliance mechanism;
(d) Improve
access by developing countries to affordable, accessible, cost-effective, safe
and environmentally sound alternatives to ozone-depleting substances by 2010,
and assist them in complying with the phase-out schedule under the Montreal
Protocol, bearing in mind that ozone depletion and climate change are
scientifically and technically interrelated;
(e) Take
measures to address illegal traffic in ozone-depleting substances.
* *
*
40. Agriculture
plays a crucial role in addressing the needs of a growing global population and
is inextricably linked to poverty eradication, especially in developing
countries. Enhancing the role of women at all levels and in all aspects of rural
development, agriculture, nutrition and food security is imperative. Sustainable
agriculture and rural development are essential to the implementation of an
integrated approach to increasing food production and enhancing food security
and food safety in an environmentally sustainable way. This would include
actions at all levels to:
(a) Achieve
the Millennium Declaration target to halve by the year 2015 the proportion of
the world’s people who suffer from hunger and realize the right to a
standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of themselves and
their families, including food, including by promoting food security and
fighting hunger in combination with measures which address poverty, consistent
with the outcome of the World Food Summit and, for States Parties, with their
obligations under article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights;
(b) Develop
and implement integrated land management and water-use plans that are based on
sustainable use of renewable resources and on integrated assessments of
socio-economic and environmental potentials and strengthen the capacity of
Governments, local authorities and communities to monitor and manage the
quantity and quality of land and water resources;
(c) Increase
understanding of the sustainable use, protection and management of water
resources to advance long-term sustainability of freshwater, coastal and
marine environments;
(d) Promote
programmes to enhance in a sustainable manner the productivity of land and the
efficient use of water resources in agriculture, forestry, wetlands, artisanal
fisheries and aquaculture, especially through indigenous and local
community-based approaches;
(e) Support
the efforts of developing countries to protect oases from silt, land
degradation and increasing salinity by providing appropriate technical and
financial assistance;
(f) Enhance
the participation of women in all aspects and at all levels relating to
sustainable agriculture and food security;
(g) Integrate
existing information systems on land-use practices by strengthening national
research and extension services and farmer organizations to trigger
farmer-to-farmer exchange on good practices, such as those related to
environmentally sound, low-cost technologies, with the assistance of relevant
international organizations;
(h) Enact,
as appropriate, measures that protect indigenous resource management systems
and support the contribution of all appropriate stakeholders, men and women
alike, in rural planning and development;
(i) Adopt
policies and implement laws that guarantee well defined and enforceable land
and water use rights and promote legal security of tenure, recognizing the
existence of different national laws and/or systems of land access and tenure,
and provide technical and financial assistance to developing countries as well
as countries with economies in transition that are undertaking land tenure
reform in order to enhance sustainable livelihoods;
(j) Reverse
the declining trend in public sector finance for sustainable agriculture,
provide appropriate technical and financial assistance, and promote private
sector investment and support efforts in developing countries and countries
with economies in transition to strengthen agricultural research and natural
resource management capacity and dissemination of research results to the
farming communities;
(k) Employ
market-based incentives for agricultural enterprises and farmers to monitor
and manage water use and quality, inter alia, by applying such methods as
small-scale irrigation and wastewater recycling and reuse;
(l) Enhance
access to existing markets and develop new markets for value-added
agricultural products;
(m) Increase
brown-field redevelopment in developed countries and countries with economies
in transition, with appropriate technical assistance where contamination is a
serious problem;
(n) Enhance
international cooperation to combat the illicit cultivation of narcotic
plants, taking into account their negative social, economic and environmental
impacts;
(o) Promote
programmes for the environmentally sound, effective and efficient use of soil
fertility improvement practices and agricultural pest control;
(p) Strengthen
and improve coordination of existing initiatives to enhance sustainable
agricultural production and food security;
(q) Invite
countries that have not done so to ratify the International Treaty on Plant
Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture;
(r) Promote
the conservation, and sustainable use and management of traditional and
indigenous agricultural systems and strengthen indigenous models of
agricultural production.
*
* *
41. Strengthen
the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in
Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification,
particularly in Africa,7 to address causes of desertification and
land degradation in order to maintain and restore land, and to address poverty
resulting from land degradation. This would include actions at all levels to:
(a) Mobilize
adequate and predictable financial resources, transfer of technologies and
capacity-building at all levels;
(b) Formulate
national action programmes to ensure timely and effective implementation of
the Convention and its related projects, with the support of the international
community, including through decentralized projects at the local level;
(c) Encourage
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on
Biological Diversity and the Convention to Combat Desertification to continue
exploring and enhancing synergies, with due regard to their respective
mandates, in the elaboration and implementation of plans and strategies under
the respective Conventions;
(d) Integrate
measures to prevent and combat desertification as well as to mitigate the
effects of drought through relevant policies and programmes, such as land,
water and forest management, agriculture, rural development, early warning
systems, environment, energy, natural resources, health and education, and
poverty eradication and sustainable development strategies;
(e) Provide
affordable local access to information to improve monitoring and early warning
related to desertification and drought;
(f)
Call on the Second Assembly of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to
take action on the recommendations of the GEF Council concerning the
designation of land degradation (desertification and deforestation) as a focal
area of GEF as a means of GEF support for the successful implementation of the
Convention to Combat Desertification; and consequently, consider making GEF a
financial mechanism of the Convention, taking into account the prerogatives
and decisions of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, while
recognizing the complementary roles of GEF and the Global Mechanism of the
Convention in providing and mobilizing resources for the elaboration and
implementation of action programmes;
(g) Improve
the sustainability of grassland resources through strengthening management and
law enforcement and providing financial and technical support by the
international community to developing countries.
*
* *
42. Mountain
ecosystems support particular livelihoods and include significant watershed
resources, biological diversity and unique flora and fauna. Many are
particularly fragile and vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change and
need specific protection. Actions at all levels are required to:
(a) Develop
and promote programmes, policies and approaches that integrate environmental,
economic and social components of sustainable mountain development and
strengthen international cooperation for its positive impacts on poverty
eradication programmes, especially in developing countries;
(b) Implement
programmes to address, where appropriate, deforestation, erosion, land
degradation, loss of biodiversity, disruption of water flows and retreat of
glaciers;
(c) Develop
and implement, where appropriate, gender-sensitive policies and programmes,
including public and private investments that help eliminate inequities facing
mountain communities;
(d) Implement
programmes to promote diversification and traditional mountain economies,
sustainable livelihoods and small-scale production systems, including specific
training programmes and better access to national and international markets,
communications and transport planning, taking into account the particular
sensitivity of mountains;
(e) Promote
full participation and involvement of mountain communities in decisions that
affect them and integrate indigenous knowledge, heritage and values in all
development initiatives;
(f) Mobilize national and international support for applied research and
capacity-building, provide financial and technical assistance for the
effective implementation of the sustainable development of mountain ecosystems
in developing countries and countries with economies in transition, and
address the poverty among people living in mountains through concrete plans,
projects and programmes, with sufficient support from all stakeholders, taking
into account the spirit of the International Year of Mountains, 2002.
*
* *
43. Promote
sustainable tourism development, including non-consumptive and eco-tourism,
taking into account the spirit of the International Year of Eco-tourism 2002,
the United Nations Year for Cultural Heritage in 2002, the World Eco-tourism
Summit 2002 and its Quebec Declaration, and the Global Code of Ethics for
Tourism as adopted by the World Tourism Organization in order to increase the
benefits from tourism resources for the population in host communities while
maintaining the cultural and environmental integrity of the host communities and
enhancing the protection of ecologically sensitive areas and natural heritages.
Promote sustainable tourism development and capacity-building in order to
contribute to the strengthening of rural and local communities. This would
include actions at all levels to:
(a) Enhance
international cooperation, foreign direct investment and partnerships with
both private and public sectors, at all levels;
(b) Develop
programmes, including education and training programmes, that encourage people
to participate in eco-tourism, enable indigenous and local communities to
develop and benefit from eco-tourism, and enhance stakeholder cooperation in
tourism development and heritage preservation, in order to improve the
protection of the environment, natural resources and cultural heritage;
(c) Provide
technical assistance to developing countries and countries with economies in
transition to support sustainable tourism business development and investment
and tourism awareness programmes, to improve domestic tourism, and to
stimulate entrepreneurial development;
(d) Assist
host communities in managing visits to their tourism attractions for their
maximum benefit, while ensuring the least negative impacts on and risks for
their traditions, culture and environment, with the support of the World
Tourism Organization and other relevant organizations;
(e) Promote
the diversification of economic activities, including through the facilitation
of access to markets and commercial information, and participation of emerging
local enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises.
*
* *
44. Biodiversity,
which plays a critical role in overall sustainable development and poverty
eradication, is essential to our planet, human well-being and to the livelihood
and cultural integrity of people. However, biodiversity is currently being lost
at unprecedented rates due to human activities; this trend can only be reversed
if the local people benefit from the conservation and sustainable use of
biological diversity, in particular in countries of origin of genetic resources,
in accordance with article 15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The
Convention is the key instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of
biological diversity and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from
use of genetic resources. A more efficient and coherent implementation of the
three objectives of the Convention and the achievement by 2010 of a significant
reduction in the current rate of loss of biological diversity will require the
provision of new and additional financial and technical resources to developing
countries, and includes actions at all levels to:
(a) Integrate
the objectives of the Convention into global, regional and national sectoral
and cross-sectoral programmes and policies, in particular in the programmes
and policies of the economic sectors of countries and international financial
institutions;
(b) Promote
the ongoing work under the Convention on the sustainable use on biological
diversity, including on sustainable tourism, as a cross-cutting issue relevant
to different ecosystems, sectors and thematic areas;
(c) Encourage
effective synergies between the Convention and other multilateral
environmental agreements, inter alia, through the development of joint plans
and programmes, with due regard to their respective mandates, regarding common
responsibilities and concerns;
(d) Implement
the Convention and its provisions, including active follow-up of its work
programmes and decisions through national, regional and global action
programmes, in particular the national biodiversity strategies and action
plans, and strengthen their integration into relevant cross-sectoral
strategies, programmes and policies, including those related to sustainable
development and poverty eradication, including initiatives which promote
community-based sustainable use of biological diversity;
(e) Promote
the wide implementation and further development of the ecosystem approach, as
being elaborated in the ongoing work of the Convention;
(f) Promote
concrete international support and partnership for the conservation and
sustainable use of biodiversity, including in ecosystems, at World Heritage
sites and for the protection of endangered species, in particular through the
appropriate channelling of financial resources and technology to developing
countries and countries with economies in transition;
(g) To
effectively conserve and sustainably use biodiversity, promote and support
initiatives for hot spot areas and other areas essential for biodiversity and
promote the development of national and regional ecological networks and
corridors;
(h) Provide
financial and technical support to developing countries, including
capacity-building, in order to enhance indigenous and community-based
biodiversity conservation efforts;
(i) Strengthen
national, regional and international efforts to control invasive alien
species, which are one of the main causes of biodiversity loss, and encourage
the development of effective work programme on invasive alien species at all
levels;
(j) Subject
to national legislation, recognize the rights of local and indigenous
communities who are holders of traditional knowledge, innovations and
practices, and, with the approval and involvement of the holders of such
knowledge, innovations and practices, develop and implement benefit-sharing
mechanisms on mutually agreed terms for the use of such knowledge, innovations
and practices;
(k) Encourage
and enable all stakeholders to contribute to the implementation of the
objectives of the Convention and, in particular, recognize the specific role
of youth, women and indigenous and local communities in conserving and using
biodiversity in a sustainable way;
(l) Promote
the effective participation of indigenous and local communities in decision
and policy-making concerning the use of their traditional knowledge;
(m) Encourage
technical and financial support to developing countries and countries with
economies in transition in their efforts to develop and implement, as
appropriate, inter alia, national sui generis systems and traditional systems
according to national priorities and legislation, with a view to conserving
and the sustainable use of biodiversity;
(n) Promote
the wide implementation of and continued work on the Bonn Guidelines on Access
to Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits arising out of
their Utilization, as an input to assist the Parties when developing and
drafting legislative, administrative or policy measures on access and
benefit-sharing as well as contract and other arrangements under mutually
agreed terms for access and benefit-sharing;
(o) Negotiate
within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity, bearing in
mind the Bonn Guidelines, an international regime to promote and safeguard the
fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of
genetic resources;
(p) Encourage
successful conclusion of existing processes under the auspices of the
Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources,
Traditional Knowledge and Folklore of the World Intellectual Property
Organization, and in the ad hoc open-ended working group on article 8 (j) and
related provisions of the Convention;
(q) Promote
practicable measures for access to the results and benefits arising from
biotechnologies based upon genetic resources, in accordance with articles 15
and 19 of the Convention, including through enhanced scientific and technical
cooperation on biotechnology and biosafety, including the exchange of experts,
training human resources and developing research-oriented institutional
capacities;
(r) With
a view to enhancing synergy and mutual supportiveness, taking into account the
decisions under the relevant agreements, promote the discussions, without
prejudging their outcome, with regard to the relationships between the
Convention and agreements related to international trade and intellectual
property rights, as outlined in the Doha Ministerial Declaration;
(s) Promote
the implementation of the programme of work of the Global Taxonomy Initiative;
(t) Invite
all States that have not already done so to ratify the Convention, the
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention
and other biodiversity-related agreements, and invite those that have done so
to promote their effective implementation at the national, regional and
international levels and to support developing countries and countries with
economies in transition technically and financially in this regard.
*
* *
45. Forests
and trees cover nearly one third of the Earth’s surface. Sustainable forest
management of both natural and planted forests and for timber and non-timber
products is essential to achieving sustainable development as well as a critical
means to eradicate poverty, significantly reduce deforestation, halt the loss of
forest biodiversity and land and resource degradation and improve food security
and access to safe drinking water and affordable energy; in addition, it
highlights the multiple benefits of both natural and planted forests and trees
and contributes to the well-being of the planet and humanity. The achievement of
sustainable forest management, nationally and globally, including through
partnerships among interested Governments and stakeholders, including the
private sector, indigenous and local communities and non-governmental
organizations, is an essential goal of sustainable development. This would
include actions at all levels to:
(a) Enhance
political commitment to achieve sustainable forest management by endorsing it
as a priority on the international political agenda, taking full account of
the linkages between the forest sector and other sectors through integrated
approaches;
(b) Support
the United Nations Forum on Forests, with the assistance of the Collaborative
Partnership on Forests, as key intergovernmental mechanisms to facilitate and
coordinate the implementation of sustainable forest management at the
national, regional and global levels, thus contributing, inter alia, to the
conservation and sustainable use of forest biodiversity;
(c) Take
immediate action on domestic forest law enforcement and illegal international
trade in forest products, including in forest biological resources, with the
support of the international community, and provide human and institutional
capacity-building related to the enforcement of national legislation in those
areas;
(d) Take
immediate action at the national and international levels to promote and
facilitate the means to achieve sustainable timber harvesting and to
facilitate the provision of financial resources and the transfer and
development of environmentally sound technologies, and thereby address
unsustainable timber-harvesting practices;
(e)
Develop and implement initiatives to address the needs of those parts
of the world that currently suffer from poverty and the highest rates of
deforestation and where international cooperation would be welcomed by
affected Governments;
(f)
Create and strengthen partnerships and international cooperation to
facilitate the provision of increased financial resources, the transfer of
environmentally sound technologies, trade, capacity-building, forest law
enforcement and governance at all levels and integrated land and resource
management to implement sustainable forest management, including the proposals
for action of the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests/Intergovernmental Forum
on Forests;
(g) Accelerate
implementation of the proposals for action of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Forests/Intergovernmental Forum on Forests by countries and by the
Collaborative Partnership on Forests and intensify efforts on reporting to the
United Nations Forum on Forests to contribute to an assessment of progress in
2005;
(h) Recognize
and support indigenous and community-based forest management systems to ensure
their full and effective participation in sustainable forest management;
(i) Implement
the expanded action-oriented work programme of the Convention on Biological
Diversity on all types of forest biological diversity, in close cooperation
with the Forum, Partnership members and other forest-related processes and
conventions, with the involvement of all relevant stakeholders.
*
* *
46. Mining,
minerals and metals are important to the economic and social development of many
countries. Minerals are essential for modern living. Enhancing the contribution
of mining, minerals and metals to sustainable development includes actions at
all levels to:
(a) Support
efforts to address the environmental, economic, health and social impacts and
benefits of mining, minerals and metals throughout their life cycle, including
workers’ health and safety, and use a range of partnerships, furthering
existing activities at the national and international levels among interested
Governments, intergovernmental organizations, mining companies and workers and
other stakeholders to promote transparency and accountability for sustainable
mining and minerals development;
(b) Enhance
the participation of stakeholders, including local and indigenous communities
and women, to play an active role in minerals, metals and mining development
throughout the life cycles of mining operations, including after closure for
rehabilitation purposes, in accordance with national regulations and taking
into account significant transboundary impacts;
(c) Foster
sustainable mining practices through the provision of financial, technical and
capacity-building support to developing countries and countries with economies
in transition for the mining and processing of minerals, including small-scale
mining, and, where possible and appropriate, improve value-added processing,
upgrade scientific and technological information and reclaim and rehabilitate
degraded sites.
______________
14
Official Records of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of
the Sea, vol. XVII (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.84.V.3),
document A/CONF.62/122.
See Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations document
C200/INF/25, appendix I.
16
See UNEP/CBD/COP/5/23, annex III.
See International Fisheries Instruments (United Nations publication,
Sales No. E.98.V.11), sect. I; see also A/CONF.164/37.
Ibid.
Ibid., sect. III.
20
Rome, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1999.
Ibid., 2001.
See A/51/312, annex II, decision II/10.
Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as
Waterfowl Habitat (United Nations, Treaty
Series, vol. 996, No. 14583).
See United Nations Environment Programme, Convention on Biological Diversity
(Environmental Law and Institution Programme Activity Centre), June 1992.
A/51/116, annex II
See E/CN.17/2002/PC.2/15.
27
A/AC.237/18 (Part II)/Add.1 and Corr.1, annex I.
FCCC/CP/1997/7/Add.1, decision 1/CP.3, annex.
FCCC/CP/2001/13 and Add.1-4.
See General Assembly resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.
Report of the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations, Thirty-first Session, Rome, 2-13 November 2001 (C2001/REP),
appendix D
See A/C.2/56/7, annex.
Http://www.biodiv.org/biosafety/protocol.asp.
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