Parallel and Side Events Contents Page

Voices of reality - communities and sustainable development

Presented by UNDP

This event considered the role of the GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP) in involving communities in sustainable development.

Delfin Ganapin, Foundation for the Philippine Environment, explained that the SGP focuses on community action, as this forms the basis of achieving sustainable development. He underscored that the event aimed to demonstrate practical achievements by local communities in contributing to sustainable development.

Zéphirin Diabré, UNDP, identified communities as the driving force behind sustainable development, noting that change only happens when communities are responsible for the environment in which they live, and when they are empowered to reverse environmental degradation. Diabré explained that the SGP has been empowering local communities to address challenges they face. SGP focuses on GEF priority areas, including biodiversity conservation and sustainable use, climate change mitigation, and desertification. He underscored that the SGP: builds on, and strengthens communities' initiatives; develops their capacities; disseminates experiences; and ensures project quality through monitoring, evaluation and technical assistance. He noted that the SGP operates in 63 developing countries, and that more than 3,200 grants of up to USD 50,000 have been allocated worldwide. He stressed that over 600 partners, including NGOs, international agencies and local governments, have provided co-financing and other support to SGP activities.

Esther Mwangi, UNDP, introduced a SGP project in Uganda under which inmates from a prison collect invasive water hyacinths, and process these into products, including furniture and handbags. She noted that the SGP project complements a larger GEF project addressing the problem of invasive water hyacinths. Mwangi underscored the importance of: good marketing of generated products; involvement of the private sector; replicability of projects; and income generation.

Sebastián Hernádez, Asociación ANAI, and Benson Venegas, Asociación ANAI, introduced a SGP project on solar energy in Costa Rica. The project, which promotes the use of solar cookers, allows women to engage in income-generating activities, improves people's living conditions, and reduces fossil burning. Hernádez and Venegas explained that the women transfer their knowledge to children in order to promote the use of solar cookers in future generations.

Population in sustainable development

Presented by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

Christine McCafferty, UK, highlighted the link between sustainable development and access to health and noted that: 350 million couples receptive to using contraception do not have access to contraceptive methods; 585,000 women die in giving childbirth; and 60 million people have been infected with HIV since the endemic began two decades ago. She stressed that women must be empowered to improve the health of humans and of the environment.

Trevor Manuel, South African Minister of Finance, noted that countries’ population and development levels affect individual's living standards. He observed that income distribution must be addressed and that economic indicators should be adapted to national circumstances. Manuel noted that improving the quality of life is a priority for developing countries and underscored the importance of opening markets and creating sustainable jobs.

Yoshi Yatsu, Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) noted that population growth must be controlled in order to achieve sustainable development, and said that AFPPD has been disseminating information related to population, gender, and reproductive health. He stressed the need for collaboration between governments and parliamentarians to increase resources and to mobilize people, and announced that the Japanese government has established a fund to address HIV. He emphasized the need for governments to recognize the importance of population in achieving sustainable development.

Devaki Jain, India, criticized current economic strategies dealing with poverty eradication, and recommended that they be improved. She stressed that economic solutions should not solely be based on needs indicators, but reflect gender inequalities and opportunities. Jain proposed to address poverty by, inter alia, reconstructing basic economic theory and focusing on world employment; taking into account women's values; and creating a relationship between employment and reproduction. She underscored that a process of poverty eradication is an engine of growth and a generator of demand.

Kunio Waki, UNFPA, noted the importance of maintaining a balance and harmony between humankind and the environment in order to achieve justice in communities. He observed that gender issues must be given more consideration in the Summit.

Timothy Wirth, United Nations Foundation, underscored the failure of political population policies. He observed that the world population is growing fast and regretted that the issue is being neglected by the Summit.

Discussion: Participants agreed on the need to include reference to population growth in the WSSD Political Declaration.

The rural poor – survival or a better life?

Presented by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)

Archbishop Desmond Tutu welcomed the event which considered interlinkages between rural poverty and sustainable development.

Lennart Båge, IFAD, presented the new IFAD publication entitled "The rural poor: Survival or a better life?" and called for the provision of resources to reduce rural poverty.

Rodnee Cooke, IFAD, stated that strategic objectives for poverty reduction include: increased capacity of the rural poor and their organizations; strengthened capacity of financial markets; and improved access to technology and financial assets. He emphasized natural resource management as a key to confronting challenges of poverty and environmental degradation.

M.S. Swaminthan, Centre for Research on Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development, said that rural poverty alleviation requires a shift towards skilled work. He called for: policies that ensure economic viability of micro-enterprises; corporate responsibility, and media support.

Ana Elisa Osorio Granado, Venezuelan Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, highlighted activities of transnational corporations and unsustainable consumption patterns as central causes of environmental degradation and poverty. She called, amongst others, for: recognition of farmers' and indigenous peoples' rights; access to micro-credits; removal of unsustainable agriculture subsidies; and implementation of the Monterrey commitments.

Ian Johnson, the World Bank, called for a new agricultural revolution that increases productivity based on the concept of social and environmental responsibility. He recommended local capacity building, support to farmer organizations, knowledge sharing, and prioritization of agriculture and food security in the WSSD's outcomes.

Victoria Tauli Corpuz, UN Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations, outlined key issues in indigenous peoples' poverty alleviation, including recognition of their rights to land and resources, and preserving traditional livelihoods. She called for WSSD discussions to focus on sustainable agriculture.

Werner Kiene, WFP, identified social risk management and safety nets as crucial components in implementing rural development strategies. He stated that safety nets are a tool for enabling the social inclusion of the very poor.

Hans Herren, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, stressed the need for more specific research to address the root causes of rural poverty and recommended that research be an integrated component of development projects.

Phrang Roy, IFAD, underscored that sustainable agriculture is central to poverty alleviation and sustainable development.

The EU energy initiative for poverty eradication and sustainable development

Presented by the Danish Presidency of the EU

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Danish Prime Minister and President of the EU, advocated combating poverty through promoting sustainable economic growth, furthering free trade and market access, and increasing development assistance to reach the 0.7% GNP target. He explained that the EU energy initiative would engage in partnerships with developing countries that demonstrate good governance and political will to address poverty.

Poul Nielson, EU Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Assistance, suggested raising the profile of energy in development cooperation programmes. He advocated cost-efficient provision of environmentally friendly energy as a key to poverty alleviation, and underscored the role of partnerships in implementing multilateral decisions.

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, South African Minister of Minerals and Energy, noted the lack of energy in rural areas, and stressed that inappropriate energy provision may cause expense to poor people.

Bikenibereu Paeniu, Tuvalu Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Industry, noted the pacific islands' challenging conditions to providing energy access, and advocated the use of renewable energy.

José Goldemberg, Brazil, underscored the need for a mandatory target on renewable energy, and highlighted the potential of modern use of biomass.

Brem Lal Singh, Nepalese Minister of Environment, noted the potential of developing hydropower in Nepal, called for capacity building, and emphasized institutional reform to attract private investment.

Suvi-Anne Siimes, Finnish Minister for International Development, stressed that access to energy is key to developing other sectors, and called for increased private sector investment.

Wilhelm Molterer, Austrian Minister for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management, advocated the WSSD to adopt a strong target on renewable energy, and stated that implementation of political commitments are best achieved through partnerships.

Olivier Deleuze, Belgium, noted the negative effects of climate change, and stressed the need for renewable and affordable energy.

Klaus Töpfer, UNEP Executive Director, noted that promoting renewable energy should be coupled with the promotion of cleaner fossil fuels and reduced energy reduction.

Yaa Ntiamoa-Badu, WWF, highlighted the negative impacts of climate change on developing countries, advocated to focus on renewable energy, and proposed a list of principles for implementing the EU energy initiative.

Rodney Chase, British Petroleum, underscored the industry sector's commitment to provide energy for rural poor people.

Mats Karlsson, the World Bank, stated that energy is a prerequisite for job creation and poverty reduction, and highlighted access to energy as core in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Jørgen Henningsen, European Commission, underscored the need to ensure ownership by partner developing countries in the EU energy initiative, and emphasized long-term cooperation with stakeholders.

Discussion: The Danish EU Presidency clarified that nuclear power is not part of the EU energy initiative.

Linking poverty reduction and environmental management: Toward a shared agenda for action

Presented by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the EC, UNDP, and the World Bank

At this event, participants discussed a DFID/EC/UNDP/World Bank paper entitled "Linking poverty reduction and environmental management: Policy challenges and opportunities."

Kristalina Georgieva, the World Bank, explained that the paper highlights the interlinkages between environmental issues and poverty, particularly the significance of the environment for livelihoods and human health, and the environmental vulnerability of the poor. She stated that the paper identifies priority areas for policy change, including: improving governance; enhancing the assets of the poor; enhancing the quality of growth; and reforming international and industrial-country policies.

Barrie Ireton, DFID, highlighted the main challenges in ensuring more accountable, responsible and transparent governance, including empowering civil society, fighting corruption, and preventing conflicts.

Zéphirin Diabré, UNDP, explained the importance of enhancing the assets of the poor. He stressed the need to: strengthen the poor's resource rights, particularly those of women; improve the poor's capacity to manage natural resources; expand access to environmentally-sound and locally-appropriate technologies; and reduce environmental vulnerability of the poor, including through ensuring the linkages between hazard prevention, disaster relief efforts and long-term recovery strategies.

Koos Richelle, EC, explained that the paper recommends: more coherent international cooperation and development policies; a change in developed countries' unsustainable production and consumption patterns; incorporation of poverty reduction and environmental concerns in multilateral trade agreements; removal of unsustainable subsidies; increased official development assistance and foreign direct investments; expansion of the Global Reporting Initiative; and strengthened negotiation capacities of the poor to ensure that international environmental agreements are beneficial to them. He highlighted the lack of methodology to integrate development strategies, and called for cooperation between agencies to ensure implementation of the WSSD commitments.

Georgieva, stated that environmentally-sound and socially-just growth in developing countries is crucial for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. She recommended a global economic reform to integrate the environment and poverty agendas, and underscored the role of development agencies in providing adequate policy advice. She advocated the use of environmental evaluations to assess the value of natural resources and the cost of environmental damage, and called upon OECD countries to take a leadership role in this regard. Georgieva recommended private sector involvement in environmental service provision, and the implementation of the pro-poor fiscal reforms in developing countries.

Discussion: Participants addressed, inter alia: the paper's lack of attention to population growth; the need to identify priority sectors while accelerating growth; issues related to AIDS; external evaluation of donor agencies' performance; the urgency of environmental protection and biodiversity conservation actions; and the lack of reliable environmental impact assessment methodologies.