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Update 1
Monday, 26 April 2004
Overall review of the first week of CSD-12 (19-23 April 2004)
The review of progress on the Johannesburg targets reveals the real global challenges
Report on side events – “Finding simples solutions to complex challenges”
Overall review of the first week of CSD-12
The chairman of CSD 12 indicated that this session of CSD would only benefit if the gap between the rich and the poor countries is reduced. The Prince of Orange, Prince Willem of the Netherlands, underscored the need to shape the future today, and that water is a national, regional and global concern.
Discussions indicated that, in Africa, the human capacity of management of resources needs to triple in order to achieve water and sanitation goals as indicated in the Millennium Declaration and targets as indicated in the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). There was also emphasis that improved water use efficiencies in agriculture can release substantial amounts of water for other uses. Subsidies in agriculture do have side effects, particularly regarding trade and markets.
There was clear understanding that financial resources need to be improved in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Women, in particular, need to be empowered. Capacity-building was emphasised, particularly that of the major users of water resources (farmers) who uses between 70% and 90% of the world fresh water supplies.
It is acknowledged that financial resources promised during the WSSD have only just started to flow. Obstacles identified as impacting on the objectives include institutional constraints, financial constraints, poor access to water, sanitation and shelter.
There is a general agreement that focus must be on service delivery as much as on infrastructure, and that monitoring and evaluation during implementation is as important as after implementation. The idea of “learning through doing” is very much endorsed, and so is political will.
There is concern whether partnerships as emphasised during the WSSD have been effective. This is also the case with good governance, which is, for certain countries, a major obstacle. Issues such as who gets the resource, by what means, who has economic power, who has political power, etc., need to be addressed in water services and management.
The availability of data and its impact on decision-making was emphasised. The establishment of innovative financial investment was underscored, particularly where cost-recovery is a problem. This could also be coupled with the development of service-oriented non-governmental organisations.
Ecosystems approach was emphasised by the IUCN-World Conservation Union and many European and North American countries as an approach for water management. Developed countries also emphasised full-cost recovery for water supply and sanitation.
India and China highlighted people’s participation, capacity-building and technology transfer. Australia and South Africa emphasised that it is only after social and environmental requirements are met that water can be treated as an economic good.
The review of progress on the Johannesburg targets reveals the real global challenges
In addition to a substantive review of progress in the implementation of the targets set at the WSSD in the thematic areas of water, sanitation and human settlements, CSD-12 is also the first time that progress on the cross-cutting targets, such as on poverty, health, gender, Africa and means of implementation, as they relate to the thematic areas, are being reviewed.
The WSSD recognised the importance of gender equality in all efforts to achieve sustainable development. Worldwide, women are directly affected by poverty and involved in the day-to day efforts of improving the provision of shelter, water and sanitation. For this reason it is important to ensure that women are at the heart of the decision-making processes that affect their lives.
The world also agreed at WSSD to review the progress that is being made in changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and production, with developed countries taking the lead.
South Africa has drawn attention to the limited progress on the provision of the means of implementation to achieve the WSSD targets that was noted in the Report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and recalled that Johannesburg stressed the importance of trade, finance, technology transfer and capacity-building in the implementation of sustainable development. It further emphasised the need to reform the unfair global economic and trading systems.
Johannesburg also acknowledged that by far the biggest obstacle to poverty eradication and sustainable development is the lack of market access and an inequitable trading system.
South Africa also indicated that this session must also identify ways of strengthening mechanisms for implementation in these areas.
While significant progress has been made in Africa in the thematic areas, the African regional implementation meeting that took place in Addis Ababa in December last year also identified severe constraints in implementation, including:
- inadequate provision of the means of implementation and difficulties in mobilising resources;
- inadequate capacity for implementation particularly at local level;
- low levels of investment in water, sanitation and human settlements;
- rising levels of urbanisation; and
- under-preparedness for disasters and vulnerability to global environmental challenges.
It is clear that without significant international support, Africa’s ability to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and Johannesburg Plan of Implementation targets will be impeded.
South Africa also noted that co-ordination among UN agencies and programmes is critical for the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals and Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. Without this co-ordination, efforts by governments and civil society to meet the targets can be seriously jeopardised.
Report on side events – “Finding simples solutions to complex challenges”
The South African Department of Science and Technology South Africa, together with the ICSU, UNESCO and the IUCN-World Conservation Union, organised a side event on science and technology for sustainable development. The intention was to highlight the important role of science and technology in achieving sustainable development with specific focus on the CSD-12 themes: water, sanitation and human settlements.
The discussion was chaired by Adnan Amin, Director: UNEP Office, New York. The panel and topics discussed were:
- Mike Muller, Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, South Africa: “Science and technology for sustainable development: Meeting the development goals in water and sanitation and human settlements”.
- Gisbert Glaser, senior adviser, Science for Sustainable Development, ICSU: “The role of science and technology in underpinning sustainable development: Perspectives from the International Council for Science (ICSU)”.
- Andras Szollosi-Nagy, Deputy Assistant Director-General, UNESCO and secretary of the International Hydrological Programme: “The role of science in improving the knowledge base needed to fulfil the Millennium Development Goals on water and to promote sustainable development”.
- Kwesi Andam, Vice-Chancellor, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana: “The role of science and capacity-building are indispensable to complement science and technology, especially in Africa”.
- John Waugh, Programme Coordinator, IUCN USA Multilateral Office, Washington, DC: “Making science accessible for decision-makers and managers: Examples from earth observation systems and databases”.
Responses to the issues raised by the panel were led by John Hofseth of the Ministry of Environment, Norway, and by Osita Anaedu from the Nigerian Mission in New York.
In his opening remarks, the chair welcomed the initiative taken by South Africa in organising the side event, and reflected on the fact that it was important to follow up on the discussions made in Johannesburg.
The chair also gave an indication of the process that would follow the side event in terms of getting the science community to contribute to the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). A draft discussion document prepared by South Africa was distributed for comment and would be used as a basis for further discussion and for planning for a meeting to be held in South Africa 1-3 November 2004 during the International Innovation, Science and Technology Fair.
In his comments, the chair highlighted that issues of importance for science and technology, including the need for capacity-building. He indicated that discussions should include identifying gaps that the international community and the multilateral organisations need to fill in order to create synergy, including supporting centres of excellence in order to fill the skills gap in science and technology. He also informed the audience of a UNEP initiative for capacity-building. Some of the progress made since WSSD included the fact that African ministers had committed themselves to increasing the research and development budget allocation to 1% of gross domestic product.
Mr Muller raised the issue of the importance of science and technology for meeting the Millennium Development Goals. He posed questions on why there has been limited use of available technologies in developing countries, giving examples of available technologies that are not optimally utilised in developing countries. Technologies such as ICT, GIS, remote-sensing, biotechnology and others are not adequately utilised to support services that would assist developing countries, for example, to mitigate effects on climate change and drought.
There is a need to integrate science and technology with the social and economic dimension for technologies to be ecologically friendly, acceptable to communities and affordable. How should the international community then organise itself in order to assist developing countries to meet the Millennium Development Goals? In addition to the availability of appropriate instruments to reduce costs for developing counties, there needs to be recognition that knowledge is a great resource, and that communities need to engage with science and technology in a practical way and “learn through doing”.
Dr Glaser welcomed the continuation of discussions initiated at the WSSD’s science forum, where ICSU and UNESCO were part of the co-ordinating organisations.
In his comments Dr Glaser indicated that part of the problem of “unsustainable development” science was the under-utilisation of science and technology and their incorrect application. He said that integration of the natural sciences, social sciences and health sciences was essential for achieving sustainable development. This integration was important for dealing with global issues such as climate change. There also needed to be application of technologies at local level where knowledge generation and actions should be linked. The research agenda therefore needed to be defined following consultation, and needed to focus on “problem-oriented research” or policy-oriented research and move away from traditional approaches. Currently there is a North-South divide in scientific capacity and agencies (present at the side event) such as UNEP, the ICSU, UNESCO, the IUCN and the UNU have a role to play in addressing this issue. Science needed to provide more practical or policy-relevant advice.
Dr Solloszi-Nagy stressed the fact that unless CSD takes science and technology more seriously, we will not meet the Millennium Development Goals. There are global challenges which need to be taken into account when making scientific predictions. He gave an example of a simulation of water balance in South America where various parameters, such as the contribution of population increase, land use and deforestation, as well as other global drivers, such as population migration, should be taken into account. There also needs to be a global effort in the improvement of data-collection services. Data obtained from the North used for calibration makes the extrapolations made for developing countries meaningless. Scientific information should also be used for risk minimisation such as in the improvement of water quality. Science education needs mainstreaming and to increase capacity for data utilisation. This involves increasing the number of scientists and practitioners. In addition to striving for education for all, there needs to be science that is policy relevant, and countries should be able to take action using available data. He also expressed the need for science and technology issues to be taken seriously enough by CSD in order to be incorporated into the main text of proceedings.
Prof. Kwesi Andam indicated that developing countries have a deficit in funding for education in science and technology which contributes to the limited number of professionals. This is made worse by professionals leaving developing countries to work elsewhere after they have been trained. The scarcity of required skills is also reflected by the fact that there are 1 in 20 000 water professionals in Ghana and 1 in 18 000 civil engineers. There is therefore a need to address education and capacity-building in developing countries and to strengthen South-South cooperation as well as to forge partnerships in water, education, research and technology that can contribute towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
Dr John Waugh gave a presentation on the use of satellite information data to make projections for planning for food production, water management, and biodiversity. He showed cases of the use of satellite information for tracking the encroachment of residential areas into protected areas, stressing the point that science and technology can make a contribution to sustainable development.
Dr Waugh further stated that often scientists in the developing world need to go to northern countries (Europe and USA) to get access to certain types of data. Where there is collaboration, research priorities have to be set by developing countries. The focus of the countries of the North is such that it will determine the research priorities for their own interest.
Responses to the panellists were then given by Norway and Nigeria.
Norway: Norway indicated while they do not face the challenges of poverty, water scarcity and limited natural resources, they do have knowledge which could be shared with developing countries to contribute to meeting the Millennium Development Goals. They could share experiences on best practice with developing countries, for example regulating what goes into animal feed, recycling bottles, issues on land ownership and use of computerised GIS systems. They could also share skills which do not require advanced technology, such as building with wood. Transport research, disaster relief and portable hospitals are other possible skills that could be shared. In terms of climate change issues, Norway also has an interest in Arctic and Antarctic research, which would be a possible area of collaboration.
Building competence in terms of global science could be applied to overseas development aid on a bilateral level and could also be adapted at the UN level. In this light, Norway supports the capacity-building initiative of UNEP as the wealth of a country lies in its capacity.
Nigeria: Nigeria indicated that the Millennium Development Goals and the WSSD would remain a dream if developing countries do not have capacity for value addition and therefore do not make money available for new technologies. Science and technology has not been a strong feature of bilateral relations and overseas development assistance. Often countries bring business and trade partners. There is a need for scientific information at a domestic and local level. The focus of developing countries tends to be on buying weapons and not on science and technology, which is important to move developed countries forward.
Discussion
During discussion time the following issues were raised as areas for possible collaboration in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals:
- giving away GIS technology platforms to least-developed countries;
- the importance of working with agricultural schools to improve food production. The benefit of this would be being able to provide food for the most vulnerable (especially orphans in light of the HIV-Aids epidemic);
- ICTs could be used to share information at global level on how to increase yield (“make every drop count”);
- local groups could be encouraged to do monitoring;
- make a link between capacity-building and science and technology;
- research and development should be mission-orientated;
- available technologies should be integrated;
- bridge the North-South divide;
- bring science to the local level;
- establish practical modalities for collaboration, especially in multilateral cooperation;
- not to disregard social sciences as technologies are embedded in social systems;
- not to disregard local knowledge which is often rich and can provide solutions;
- in partnerships, there needs to be early participation by all parties in the development of a proposal or concept; and
- research projects need to be interdisciplinary and involve practitioners.
The importance of science and technology in underpinning sustainable development was echoed throughout the presentations. International collaboration in science and technology is essential for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, especially to address capacity development and to mitigate the effects of “brain drain”. Developing countries need to prioritise science and technology in formulating their international relations. They also need to assess what is needed at the national level in order to enable the adaptation of technology. South Africa is promoting a process to review the contribution of science and technology to the Millennium Development Goals.
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