United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD)

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Summary Report on ICSU participation in the 12th session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development
New York, 19-30 April 2004

ICSU and the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) co-organized the Scientific and Technological Community delegation at CSD-12. The vital role of S&T for meeting sustainable development goals in the areas of freshwater, sanitation and human settlements was acknowledged by all.

CSD 12 reviews progress in fresh water, sanitation and human settlements

As recommended by the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), held in Johannesburg in 2002, the Commission is a high-level body created within the UN system for the purpose of reviewing and monitoring progress in the implementation of Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. The role of the CSD also includes fostering international coherence of implementation and developing new initiatives and partnerships.

At the 11th session of the CSD in 2003, it was decided that the Commission in future will have a two-year cycle of work. During the first year of each two-year cycle, the CSD session will be focused on the review exercise. During the second year, the focus will be on making policy recommendations. CSD-11 also decided on a thematic cluster for each of the next five two-year cycles.

The thematic cluster for 2004/2005 is water, sanitation and human settlements.
CSD-12 was the review session focused on progress (or lack of it) in sustainable development in these areas.

ICSU and World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) co-organize S&T delegation

As on previous occasions, the UN invited ICSU and the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) to act as co-organizers of the Scientific and Technological Community delegation at CSD-12. The S&T Community is one of nine “Major Groups” representing various sectors of civil society, and business and industry, invited to participate in the work of the CSD, alongside governments and intergovernmental organizations.

Prior to CSD-12, all nine Major Groups had an opportunity to each submit a “Dialogue Paper” summarizing each Group’s priority issues with regard to enhancing implementation of sustainable development in the areas of freshwater, sanitation and human settlements.

• Dialogue Paper by the Scientific and Technological Community to the 12th session : Harnessing Science and Technology for Sustainable Development

Over 100 Ministers, heads of UN system agencies and other organizations attend

CSD-12 was chaired by the Mr. Børge Brende, Minister of Environment, Norway. It was attended by more than one hundred Ministers with environment, water, housing, development, finance, and agriculture portfolios, as well as the heads of a number of UN system agencies and international organizations. More generally, there was broad-based participation by governments and major groups.

Global water crisis feared

The benchmarks used for discussing “progress in implementation” were not only the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPoI) goals and targets on water, sanitation and human settlements but also the relevant Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) as set out in the Millenium Declaration adopted by the UN General Assembly in the year 2000.

There was general consensus among CSD-12 participants that most countries concerned are currently not on track to reach the relevant MDGs such as to halve number of people without access to safe drinking water. There was also general agreement that without a reversal of current trends of rapidly increasing freshwater demands, increased water pollution, and climate change the world will face a global water crisis later during this century.

• Chair’s Summary of both the technical segment (thematic review)
  and the ministerial segment of CSD-12 more...

Active participation of the S&T delegation

The S&T Community delegation included representatives of ICSU, the International Social Science Council (ISSC) and WFEO. During the ministerial segment, ICSU President, Prof. Jane Lubchenco, participated in an interactive session with ministers and heads of organizations representing major groups.

• Lubchenco introductory statement

The two co-leaders of the new Global Water System Project (GWSP), Claudia Pahl-Wostl (University of Osnabrueck, Germany/ ISSC representative) and Charles Vörösmarty (University of New Hampshire, USA) have been particularly active in this regard. GWSP is a project under the Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP) jointly undertaken by IGBP, IHDP, WRCP and Diversitas.

The Government of South Africa (Ministry of Science and Technology), ICSU and UNESCO organised jointly during the first week of CSD-12 a well attended side-event on “Science and Technology for Sustainable Development: Finding simple solutions to complex challenges”.

Commission acknowledges the essential role of science and technology

The efforts of the S&T delegation contributed significantly to CSD-12 acknowledging the essential role of science and technology for meeting sustainable development goals and targets in the areas of freshwater, sanitation and human settlements.

More precisely, the Chair’s Summary (Part II) identifies a need to strengthen national scientific and technical capacities for monitoring and assessment of water resources, water quality, and aspects of water vulnerability. It states that closer and more focused North-South and South-South and regional scientific and technical cooperation would facilitate this.

New efforts required to meet Millenium Development Goals

Moreover, the Chair’s Summary calls for building capacity for water management, sanitation and human settlements planning in developing countries, with financial and technical assistance from developed countries and international organizations. Enhancing the dissemination of knowledge and experience and scaling up successful experiences will be essential in all efforts.

Based on the review undertaken at CSD-12, next year’s CSD-13 will have to agree on policy recommendations on how to do better in the future with regard to implementing chapters in Agenda 21 and in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation dealing with water, sanitation and human settlements. Without a major shift in direction and a major increase in appropriate measures and activities, it will not be possible to meet the relevant Millenium Development Goals.

It will be ICSU’s objective to ensure that the voice of the scientific community will again be heard at CSD-13 and that the policy recommendations include strong support for strengthening science and technology for sustainable development at the national, regional and international levels. CSD-13 will also be another opportunity to specifically address the serious problem of the widening North-South divide in science and technology.