Events
CSD 11: SPAC-related events
CHANGING PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION PATTERNS: NATIONAL STRATEGIES, THE CSD AND THE 10-YEAR FRAMEWORK
Organized by Consumers International and Integrative Strategies Forum for ICSPAC
The JPOI sets 2005 as the target for national governments to develop and implement National Strategies for Sustainable Development. The JPOI also calls for the development of a 10-year framework of programmes on SPAC. The Citizens Network for Sustainable Development organized a panel discussion in order to discuss the proposition that the two commitments should be combined. This assumes topical importance on account of the ongoing expert meeting series organized by the UN Division on Sustainable Development and the UNEP on the 10-year framework of programmes.
Kenya's Minister for Environment, Natural Resources & Wildlife, Hon. Dr. Newton Kulundu, was unable to attend as scheduled, sending Mr. Bernard Komudho, the Director of the National Environment Management Authority of Kenya, to speak on his behalf. Mr. Komudho explained various Kenyan initiatives in the fields of cleaner production and sustainable consumption (see Kenyan Minister's speech [PDF]).
Ralph Chipman of DESA and Pierre Quiblier, Liaison Officer at UNEP explained that SPAC was primarily a CSD issue, and that the expert meetings organized in Morocco and elsewhere would only serve to feed into the CSD process (through the Secretary General's report). They also confirmed that SPAC was not a priority for CSD.
Jeffrey Barber of the Integrative Strategies Forum called for civil society monitoring of the progress of national governments in creating and implementing SPAC related plans and strategies. His SPAC Watch Proposal envisioned a series of national, regional and global reports that would feed into the CSD review and policy cycles.
Bjarne Pedersen of Consumers International explained the importance of the UN Guidelines on Consumer Protection, and the need for national governments to incorporate them into their national plans and strategies.
A 10-YEAR FRAMEWORK OF PROGRAMMES FOR SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION: GLOBAL AND REGIONAL PROCESSES
Organized by UNDSD and UNEP
At the WSSD, the European Union proposed a 10-year programme of work on sustainable production and consumption focusing on the need for concrete government action and commitment in the fields of consumer pricing, science and technology and access to information. A watered down version of this proposal made its way in the JPOI as a "10-year framework of programmes in support of regional and national initiatives to accelerate the shift towards sustainable production and consumption to promote social and economic development".
As a part of such initiatives, the UN Division of Sustainable Development and the UNEP are in the process of organizing global and regional expert meetings in order to "assist in developing such a framework". A regional meeting has been held in Argentina between the 21st and 25th of April 2003, and similar initiatives are being planned in Indonesia, Korea and Nicaragua later in 2003. An International Meeting is being organized in Morocco between June 16th and 19th.
The side event provided a briefing on the results of the Argentina meeting, and preparations for the other meetings.
ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINTING: AN INDICATOR TO MEASURE SPAC PATTERNS
Organized by Association 4D
CSD 11 made clear that the Johannesburg decade would be focused on implementation. Thus, indicators assume importance as tools by which one can assess and measure where we are, where we want to go and how to get there. The Ecological Footprint is an important tool that is used to measure the load imposed by a given population in nature. It represents the land are necessary to sustain current levels of resource consumption and waste discharge. The Footprint is widely used in order to raise public awareness on excessive consumption, and develop government and institutional policy making on SPAC.
The side event explained how the tool of ecological footprinting could be used in order to measure and track the production and consumption patterns of nations. The first presentation, made by Emmanuelle Print of Association 4D explained the concept of ecological footprinting, how the tool could be used and the use being made of the footprint, particularly in the European Union. (The tool and its use have been explained in Emmanuelle's article, reproduced later in this newsletter.)
The second presentation was made by Jeffrey Barber of the Integrative Strategies Forum, who used the Footprint to demonstrate increasing trends in unsustainable consumption - particularly in developed countries. He called attention to the JPOI principle of common and differentiated responsibilities, and the need for developed countries to "take the lead" to change such patterns.
The final presentation by Deling Wang of Metropolitan Solar Energy and co chair of the Energy Caucus, provided striking examples to draw attention to overconsumption, particularly in developed countries. The discussion after the presentation centered around instances where the Footprint had been successfully adopted by the government and schools to raise awareness about consumption, and reasons why the Footprint was not more widely adopted.