An
NGO Contribution to the Secretary-General's Report on the State
of Implementation:
Overall review of progress in the implementation of Agenda
21, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21
and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation
NGO Caucus on Sustainable Production & Consumption
In preparation for the 12th Session of the UN Commission
on Sustainable Development
October 31, 2003
New Developments and Challenges
1. Acknowledged by the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation
as one of the three "overarching objectives of sustainable development"
and one of the "cross-cutting issues" for each session of the
CSD Work Programme, changing unsustainable patterns of production
and consumption is at the heart of the three themes of CSD12.
Not only is the sustainability of water, sanitation and human
settlements shaped by production and consumption patterns, but
also by the policies governing production and consumption patterns.
The question and challenge is how sustainable production and
consumption will be integrated into the review and policy discussions
at CSD12 and beyond -- by the CSD and by individual governments.
2. In the past two years there have been consultations and
discussions, culminating in the meeting in Marrakech, to develop
a Ten-Year Framework of Programmes to promote
sustainable production and consumption. However, it remains unclear
how this "framework" will contribute to the cycle of review and
policy discussions on the CSD's agenda. One concern is that this
timely question will instead be deferred to 2010. It is a mistake
to treat production and consumption as just another "issue" to
wait its turn. Rather, time at CSD12 should be reserved to
discuss how a country or region's policies and progress on production
and consumption can contribute (or undermine) progress on issues
such as water, sanitation and human settlements -- as well as
the other themes in the future CSD work programme.
Specific Experiences
3. The SPAC Caucus represents a diversity of NGO experience
in advocacy, education, research, and evaluation in different
countries and at different levels of the debate on sustainable
development policy, from the local to the national and international,
with a history of engaging in the debate on production and consumption
at the CSD.
4. In the past, members of the SPAC Caucus advocated for and helped
revise the UN Guidelines on Consumer Protection. Today they continue
to promote the use of these Guidelines by governments in developing
their production and consumption policies. Currently one SPAC
Caucus member, Consumers International is part of a partnership
with UNEP to build awareness and capacity on the Guidelines. NGOs
involved with the Access Initiative and other campaigns promoting
Principle 10 continue to educate and advocate for the public's
right to know and participate in environmental decision-making.
Friends of the Earth and others highlighted the need for international
instruments for corporate accountability. Other members of the
Caucus contributed to the policy discussions at CSD on the production
and consumption patterns involved in achieving food security,
sustainable energy, and other issues, as well as the discussion
of the policies needed to change the overall unsustainable production
and consumption patterns degrading the world's natural resources
and perpetuating poverty. SPAC Caucus members such as Association
4D have worked to promote use of more appropriate measures of
progress and quality of life, such as the ecological footprint,
environmental space, and other indicators -- in contrast to deceptive
indicators such as GNP. Groups like the Global Village of
Beijing and Southern Initiatives in Calcutta work to raise awareness
of sustainable production and consumption among communities, as
Norwegian Forum struggles to get the UN to address the unsustainability
of the world's enormous military production and consumption, and
Third World Network continues to be a major leader in reforming
global trade policy. The experience and commitment of the NGOs
associated with the SPAC Caucus represents a valuable asset of
the CSD.
5. As a contribution to the World Summit on Sustainable Development,
a new coalition of SPAC Caucus members formed to meet the call
in Agenda 21 for NGOs to participate in "the conception, establishment
and evaluation of official mechanisms and formal procedures designed
to review the implementation of Agenda 21 at all levels" (27.8)
Thus, the SPAC Watch project emerged as a collective
civil society effort to help monitor, assess and promote progress
by governments and countries in implementing their commitments
to the objective of achieving sustainable production and consumption
patterns. The project, organized by the International
Coalition for Sustainable Production and Consumption (ICSPAC)
, aims to work with the CSD, governments and civil society
over the coming years in providing an independent NGO perspective
in the review of progress.
6. Lastly, the SPAC Caucus will continue to provide a vehicle
at the CSD for civil society to work together in sharing their
experience, concerns and insights into the upcoming review and
policy discussions. It is our hope that the more interactive approach
to be implemented at CSD 12 to integrate the views and contributions
of Major Groups into inter-governmental discussions will bear
fruit at the CSD and national level.
Lessons, Trends and Obstacles
7. The painful fact that social and environmental trends
have worsened since Rio -- acknowledged at both the UN's 5- and
10-year reviews of progress on sustainable development -- calls
for an understanding of why the commitments and objectives made
at Rio were not implemented. We have been told that part of the
problem has been the increasing production and consumption patterns
and the uneven pressures of globalization. How have these and
other forces blocked progress in the past, and how will we overcome
them in the future?
8. It is important that the CSD's two-year review and policy
cycles be used to deepen and operationalize the evolving understanding
and objectives of sustainable development . How to review
progress towards the objectives of sustainable production and
consumption, poverty eradication and natural resource protection
-- and the overall goal of sustainable development: improving
the quality of life for everyone? These must be the ultimate criteria
for assessing progress on specific themes such as water, food,
energy and others. However, as criteria these objectives must
be operationally defined as practical tools for reviewing progress
and identifying policies. A serious review of "implementation"
requires clearly defined, concrete and measurable targets, timetables
and monitoring. Otherwise the session can turn into little
more than a showcase of talk and isolated activities posing as
meaningful action.
9. The Marrakech meeting acknowledged the importance of tools
for monitoring and assessing sustainable production and consumption.
The review session at CSD 12 offers an opportunity to establish
this process.
10. We also look forward to CSD's review of progress on "enhancing
corporate environmental and social responsibility and accountability,"
key to sustainable production and consumption in general and in
water, sanitation and human settlements. An integrated approach
would require mechanisms to ensure the responsibility of producers
and manufacturers, including regulatory frameworks for transnational
corporations. NGOs will especially watch to see how the review
and policy sessions will examine progress and efforts towards
such mechanisms and responsibility.
Qualitative Data
11. In 1992 countries committed in Agenda 21 to developing
national policies on sustainable production and consumption. This
was followed by an International Programme of Work to clarify
the concepts and evaluate policies and strategies. In 1999, the
UN General Assembly adopted the revised UN Consumer Guidelines
to help develop those policies. Yet over a decade
after Rio many governments still have difficulty developing
those production and consumption policies and applying them in
key issues as fresh water, food, shelter, energy and other
issues on the CSD's programme of work. Despite their public commitments,
many governments have not only not applied the Consumer Guidelines
but remain unfamiliar with them, as Consumers International and
UNEP reported in their global survey. Some countries still find
it difficult to develop their National Sustainable Development
Strategy, which in itself is an indicator of progress and commitment.
12. The reasons for this lack of progress vary, but the consequences
will become increasingly serious if they are not understood and
addressed. The obstacles (financial, economic, technological,
ideological, cultural) must be identified and addressed. The CSD
is one of the best places to do this, as a key part of the review
of progress and in the discussion of policies to ensure progress.
Policy Directions
13. At CSD12, the review will likely acknowledge and
discuss some of the various concerns and aspirations of governments
and Major Groups on how to improve progress and successfully overcome
obstacles to progress toward sustainability. In particular, we
can expect a serious debate addressing major concerns about privatization
in the water sector; also about water as a human right. How best
to implement integrated watershed management in such a way as
to provide both safe drinking water for households as well as
the water needed by farmers engaged in sustainable agriculture,
working to ensure food security without compromising the water
needs of the environment?
14. While some may believe an unfettered global market will automatically
solve most problems and efficiently supply the demand, others
look to governments for responsible leadership in setting and
enforcing the rules and regulations for doing business.
Many NGOs demand such responsible leadership, insisting that such
leadership is a pre-condition for sustainable production and consumption
policies. For example, what has been the progress implementing
Rio Principle 13 concerning national and international law regarding
liability rights? The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation frequently
discussed the concept of corporate accountability, but what progress
has been made in defining and implementing this?
15. A continuing priority for the SPAC Caucus has been that
governments implement their long-standing commitment to prioritize
and integrate sustainable production and consumption policies
into their National Sustainable Development Strategies, that this
policy integration will help to overcome many of the obstacles
impeding overall progress on sustainable development. The CSD12
and other review cycles should focus attention on implementation
of this Agenda 21 commitment and overarching objective of sustainable
development. How this will be done at CSD12, especially with regard
to review of progress and discussion of policy on the thematic
issues will be an important test closely watched by SPAC Caucus
members.
Submitted by:
Jeffrey Barber, Coordinator
NGO Caucus on Sustainable Production and Consumption (SPAC Caucus)
11426 Rockville Pike, Suite 306
Tel: 1-301-770-6375
Fax: 1-301-770-6377
E-mail: jbarber@isforum.org
Website: http://icspac.net/caucus/
Major Group represented: NGOs
Past history of participation: The SPAC Caucus has operated and
actively contributed at the CSD every session since at least CSD
3 in 1995.