Sustainable production and consumption
at CSD-12
Though sustainable production and consumption (SPAC) was not one of the thematic areas under discussion at the 12 session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-12), discussions relating to SPAC were very much in evidence in meetings and events held throughout CSD-12.
Water and Food - Sustainable production and consumption patterns
The Marrakech Process on sustainable consumption and production
Military production and consumption at CSD 12
Water and Food -
Sustainable production and consumption patterns
The world is currently running out of water to increase food production to match population growth. This scarcity is being fueled by demand for water intensive food items and unsustainable production patterns. These are some of the trends noted in " Water: More nutrition per drop ", a report produced by the Stockholm International Water Institute and the International Water Management Institute, and released at a side event at CSD 12. The report focuses on providing practical sustainable "win-win-win" solutions by presuming synergies between production and consumption, between food and environment and between consumer preferences and production potential.
The Marrakech Process on sustainable consumption and production
The government of Sweden organized a side event on sustainable production and consumption in order to highlight the importance of the issue through the thematic cycle, which is currently being pursued by the CSD. Titled "The Marrakech Process: Towards a 10 year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production", the event featured 14 presentations detailing the "Marrakech process".
Marrakech + 2 planned:
The government of Costa Rica announced that the 2 nd International Expert Meeting will be organized in Costa Rica in September 2005.
Regional consultations:
Regional representatives reported on the "expert meetings" conducted on Latin America and the Caribbean and Asia and the Pacific. The Latin America and Caribbean region will be creating a Regional Council focusing on sustainable production and consumption. As the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) had been called upon to create a specific regional strategy on SPAC, the participants expressed the hope that they could act as the regional focal point for the "Marrakech Process" in the region.
It was also announced that regional meetings on SPAC were being organized in Africa and Europe during 2004. The first regional meeting in Africa will be held in Casablanca in May 2004. A follow up meeting will be held in Tanzania in December 2004. It is planned that the meeting reports will be presented during the 2004 session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN ).
The regional European meeting on SPAC will be held in Belgium between November 25 & 26 2004. In preparation for this meeting, the EC has already prepared an inventory of policies and tools on sustainable consumption and production at a regional level, and is conducting stakeholder consultations on the same. This inventory will be a key input into the regional meeting.
UNEP and DESA also mentioned holding talks with the Economic and Social Commission of Western Asia to consider the possibility of holding a regional meeting in the region. However, in the discussion of regional consultation, any mention of North America was conspicuous by its absence.
Not an intergovernmental process:
DESA reiterated that the Marrakech process and would not result in any binding agreements. Implementation of the international and regional strategies would be the responsibility of the national governments involved.
Stakeholders:
The side event also included presentations highlighting the key roles played by the business sector and consumers in achieving sustainable production and consumption patterns.
Website and database:
DESA & UNEP unveiled two internet related tools to facilitate the 10 year framework process. The first tool is a webpage dedicated to the Marrakech process available at http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/consumption/Marrakech/conprod10Y.htm .
The second tool is a database on sustainable consumption and production initiatives available at http://webapps01.un.org/dsd/scp/public/Welcome.do
SPAC Caucus meetings
The sustainable production and consumption caucus met five times during CSD 12. The caucus considered the importance of SPAC as a cross-cutting issue that could be used to consider the interlinkages between various sectors like water, sanitation, human settlements, energy, and agriculture. It was felt that this could be the subject of a useful statement/paper by the Caucus. The caucus also discussed the "Marrakech process" in some detail, especially focusing on the side event on the topic organized by the government of Sweden. The lack of civil society participation and involvement in this process was a common concern that was raised repeatedly. Finally, the Caucus also discussed military production and consumption-an issue that received particular attention this year at CSD.
Military production and consumption at CSD 12
The issue of military production and consumption received renewed emphasis at this year's CSD. The opening statement made by the NGO major group to the CSD stated, "The global political reality of wars, armed conflict, and militarization of the world destroys human settlements and diverts resources and political will from implementing sustainable development." This statement was received favorably by the Costa Rican delegation. Dr. Bernardo Monge of the delegation visited the morning meetings of the Sustainable Development Issues Network and discussed with NGOs present, his country's experiences in not having an army and diverting funds thereof to sustainable development projects.
Worldwatch reception
On April 29th, Worldwatch Institute hosted a reception at the UN to honor UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Børge Brende, Minister of the Environment of Norway and Chairman of the CSD 12. Both Annan and Brende made speeches on consumption, along with the Environment Ministers of Norway, Brazil, and South Korea, and the Director of UNEP.
(Report prepared by Integrative Strategies Forum)