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INTERNATIONAL AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS

Eighth Informal Ministerial Meeting of Environment Ministers, held from 15-17 September 2000 in Bergen, Norway

The recent 8th Informal Ministerial Meeting of Environment Ministers, held from 15-17 September 2000 in Bergen, Norway, discussed preparations for the RIO + 10 Summit. Ministers and senior officials from 31 countries attended.

The Informal Ministerial meeting held from 15-17 September 2000 in Bergen, Norway provided an important opportunity to Environmental Ministers to discuss preparations for RIO + 10, and to start to define a strategic agenda for the review process.

The Eighth Informal Meeting of Environment Ministers was convened by the Minister of the Environment in Norway, H.E. Siri Bjerke to discuss key global issues of sustainable development. Ministers of the Environment and senior representatives of 31 countries as well as nine senior officials of the United Nations system and multilateral organisations attended the meeting.

The meeting was preceded by a Ministerial Dialogue Session, chaired by Derek Osborne, with representatives from civil society on 15 September 2000. It was agreed that the host of the next Informal Ministerial meeting would be from Asia and the Pacific Region.

The Informal Ministerial Agenda contained three key issues for discussion:

• Rio + 10.
• Strengthened institutional structure for international environmental governance.
• Sustainable energy.

There is general consensus that the Agenda 21 principles agreed at Rio in 1992 should not be renegotiated. The 2002 conference should review the successes and failures of countries in meeting their commitments made at Rio in a frank manner.

The 2002 conference should deepen the global commitment to sustainable development through a new "global compact", and bring a new spirit into the environmental debate.

There is wide consensus that the primary focus of the conference should be on "poverty, development and the environment". Poverty and underdevelopment are seen as the fundamental threats to environmental security and sustainable development. This theme will put a developing world agenda at the centre of the debate.

The following is a summary of the key issues highlighted by participants:

The 2002 Summit:

• Should be a summit of world leaders.
• Should be held in a developing country.
• Should be named to reflect the future and not the past, and to capture the imagination of the public and, in particular, young people. Suggested titles were:
  • "Poverty, Development and Environment".
  • "Earth and People Summit".
  • "Solidarity for Sustainability".
• Should mobilise public support and media attention.
• Should reverse unsustainable trends and practices and lead to urgent action.
• Should strengthen international cooperation with binding commitments, including targets, deadlines, compliance mechanisms and indicators.
• Should include an honest assessment of what was and was not achieved; an exchange of best practices in sustainable development.
• Rio commitments should be met - in particular, financial resources and new technologies to developing countries.
• National Strategies for Sustainable Development (NSSDs) should be prepared in advance of the Summit.

Priority issues to be addressed at the Summit are:

• Environment should be at the core of economic development.
• Poverty alleviation/equity.
• Impact of globalisation on sustainable development.
• Other key issues: energy, water, forests, desertification / land degradation.
• Shift to sustainable consumption and production patterns.
• Links between environment and human health and security.

Regarding the process of preparation for the summit:

Emphasis should be on early preparations at local, national and regional level. Examples from regional meetings in Asia and Pacific, Africa, America, Europe and Central Asia were given.

Two key approaches were identified:

• Need for transparent multi-stakeholder participation and accountability: civil society - NGOs, private sector, religious organisations, trade unions, women and youth.
• Need for cross-sectoral integration of policies and linkages.

Background information | Current developments | International and political developments | Media releases | Contact information | Related links