校训英文Parliamentary Conference ahead of the World Summit on Sustainable Development Prentation by Derek Osborn, October 23 2001-10-20
两会 英文From Rio to Johannesburg
In 1992 Derek Osborn was Director General of the UK Department of the Environment and co-ordinated UK input into the Rio Earth Summit. In 1997 he acted as the
co-chairman of the negotiations for the Special Session of the UN General Asmbly (sometimes known as Earth Summit II) five years after the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio.
He is currently chair of UNED-UK and co-Chair with Hesphina Rukato of South Africa of UNED Forum (United Nations Environment and Development Forum). He is also chair of the trustees of the International Institute of Environment and Development.
Rio. The Rio Earth Summit in 1992 reached a number of ambitious conclusions related to sustainable development. Two major Conventions on Climate Change and biodiversity were signed there. Agenda 21 established a comprehensive blueprint for the kind of actions needed by governments and others to achieve a sustainable path for development in the future. The Rio Declaration enshrined a t of core v
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alues and principles that all countries subscribed to. And there emed at the time to be the basis of a historic deal by which the richer countries of the North would commit more resources and technology to helping the South build their capacity for managing their own development in a more sustainable and environmentally friendly way.
Rio + 5. By the time of Earth Summit II or Rio + 5 in 1997 the prospects looked less good. Agenda 21 and the idea of sustainable development were as relevant and as important as ever. But progress since 1992 was very patchy, and the commitment to the North South Deal to make sustainable development happen had not been delivered.
Rio + 10. Now 10 years on the story is not much better. One description is that we have achieved Slightly Less Unsustainable Development Gesturing at the Environment, or SLUDGE. Of cour there are some better developments here and there. The vitality of Local Agenda 21 throughout the world and the efforts of local communities to take better
control of their own environments through this means are one obvious and encouraging example. Some business have made significant improvement in their standards of operation throughout the world. NGOs of all kinds have achieved some success on particular issues in particular areas. So
me parliaments have strengthened their capacity for monitoring and challenging progress on environmental and sustainability issues.
But the general trends on many aspects of the environment and development are for the most part not encouraging, and not sustainable. Far too many people and communities are living in poverty. Bad health, lack of education, lack of natural resources are denying many people the chance to live full and satisfying lives.
The world’s environment is still deteriorating. Gr eenhou gas are accumulating in the atmosphere. The air in our cities is more polluted. Noi levels are increasing everywhere. The oceans are polluted and overfished. The world’s forests and biodiversity are shrinking. Soil is being degraded. Derts are spreading. Fresh water is becoming scarcer and more polluted.
At the same time the pressures which humankind is placing on the world’s carrying capacity is increasing. Populations are still increasing in most countries. Consumption per capita also incr eas steadily. Resources are ud ever more intensively. The world’s natural environment and ecosystems and their capacity to absorb the impact of human activity are being eroded.
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Johannesburg. What then are the prospects for the Johannesburg Summit to make a new start and r
estore the momentum to the sustainable development process? And how can we create an agenda and a process that will enable Johannesburg to breed energy and commitment, rather than disillusion and apathy?
The choice of an African venue, and specifically a South African one, is in itlf a very good beginning. Africa is more in need of a transition to sustainable development than any other continent; and in South Africa it has one of the most potent symbols and examples of successful political transformation of the last decade. It also has the
advantage of a very dedicated government and group of host organisations that are committed to the success of the occasion and are pulling out all the stops in the preparatory process. It has also been a key player in forging the new Africa Initiative which eks to create an Africa wide partnership for sustainable development.
A good venue and commitment from the host country are an excellent beginning, but only a beginning. Next come the efforts of the United Nations and its cretariat to provide the structure and support, the asssments and analys on which the debate can take place. It is always amazing to me how much is achieved by so few in that devoted organisation and how much we rely on them to create the framework for positive engagement.
And then come the players themlves - the governments around the world, and all the many stakeholders including not least the parliamentarians of the world who support and scrutiny of what is brought forward is so crucial to shaping as real political determination to make progress. They are gearing up, but it is still early to say yet how much political energy and commitment they will put into making a success of the process. Parliamentarians will no doubt play an important part in galvanising action by governments to act effectively on this.
Stakeholder views. UNED Forum is in touch with many different stakeholders from
all the major groups around the world. They all have their own views and their own voices, and we cannot claim any authority to speak on behalf of them. Nevertheless the points which I am now going to put forward have all come from different stakeholders and attempt to put together a common theme which might unite and energi many different stakeholder groups in many parts of the world.
My remarks come under five heads:
The vision
Implementation
Governance
Development goals
Finance
A new vision. Endor the Earth Charter. If Johannesburg is to take off and capture the imagination of the world and its peoples it needs to embody a vision and a t of values which can inspire people everywhere at the same time as feeding into practical decision taking at all levels. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, created as a positive respon to the great world crisis of the cond world war, has played just such a role over the past 50 years, and has exercid an incalculable but enormously positive influence over many other process. The Rio principles adopted in 1992 have begun to play such a role on a more modest scale in the field of sustainable development. But they now need to be embodied and given greater resonance and outreach in a document written in a more eloquent and universal way. The Earth Charter has been created by a very broad-ranging consultation with interested parties throughout the world, and its endorment would itlf be an extremely significant positive outcome at Johannesburg which would frame and underpin all other actions to be taken there. The tragic events of September 11 and their aftermath underline the import
ance of creating a universally shared vision of the need for a more sustainable world order, which the Earth Charter eloquently embodies.mayo clinic
A new emphasis on implementation. Act on Kyoto and the other Multilateral Environmental Agreements. The Climate Change Convention, the Biodiversity Convention, and the Dertification were the three major pieces of international law-making advanced at Rio. All have already had a significant influence in the world and have subquently been joined by agreements on Straddling Fish Stocks, Persistent Organic Pollutants, Prior Informed Connt and other issues. On all of the there is however further work outstanding to achieve universal commitment to the agreements and protocols under them, and to advance all the machinery needed to bring them fully into force. Johannesburg could be an important milestone to advance each of the to the next step.电算化考试时间
Stakeholder action is an equally important part of implementation. UNED is discussing with stakeholders and with the South African government proposals for a Stakeholder implementation conference just before the main Summit to enable stakeholders to identify and commit to their own programmes of action for sustainability to stand alongside tho to which Governments will commit. I am sure that stakeholders around the world will want to respond vigorously to the plea for a radical and practical Johannesburg Plan of action which Minister Valli Moosa has just laid out so eloquently.
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A new initiative to strengthen international Governance. Reinforce UNEP. There are many ideas for improving international governance for sustainable development. But veral could cancel each other out or take too long to reach connsus. At the level of international institutions it might be best to focus mainly on strengthening UNEP which is a widely supported objective amongst stakeholders. UNEP should be given agency status. Its resource ba should be strengthened. It should be given significant regional capacity to support the emerging Regional Environment groupings. It should be given a specific role and mandate to promote the clustering of convention cretariats. At other levels sustainable development needs to be build into the governance structures and objectives of national and local government and of the corporate ctor and other organisations.
A new emphasis on the development priority. Target Development Goals, poverty eradication and Agenda 21 programmes
coupe是什么意思There is already widespread agreement that the Summit should endor and reinforce commitment to the international development targets and the Millennium Summit targets, and particularly the central goal of the eradication of poverty. There is general agreement that more vigorous action in this area is the largest single challenge within the sustainable development debate, and the key to building a new North-South partnership for sustainable development at the Johannesburg summit. It
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There needs to be agreement on which bodies should take the lead in developing such programmes, and how new and additional resources can be mobilid for them. The Summit ought to be an occasion for showcasing sustainability in big and effective action, and promoting it as a compelling vision for the new century. Agenda 21 and sustainability strategies need to be shown to be reshaping thinking and decisions - making a difference.
The particular value of UN process and of a high level Summit is to build bridges between developed and developing countries. It will be particularly important to demonstrate potent examples of effective North-South partnerships for promoting sustainable solutions in the developing world. Given the African venue this needs to be linked with ideas for African development in particular, and the new Africa Initiative or Partnership.
A new effort to Honour Financial Commitments.Globalisation is already bringing all parts of the world clor together and integrating their economies ever cloly. But so far it is also exacerbating inequa
lities between and within countries. Sustainability requires a determined collective effort to tame the globalisation tiger and establish a fairer basis for trade and other economic relations.
It also requires significant rious financial commitment by the wealthier parts of the world. The creation of the single market within the European Union over the last generation was made possible and politically acceptable by the creation of generous regional and cohesion funds to support adaptation in the poorer parts of the Union. The twin policies have been have been conspicuously successful in integrating the Union and achieving greater equity between its different parts, and helping towards greater prosperity and sustainability for all.
The continual opening of markets at the world level needs a similar complementary effort to assist the development of the South. There should be specific discussions about how the decline in official development assistance can be arrested, and put back on a steady growth path towards the long-standing 0.7% goal, and how the debt relief programme can
