*Check the NGO-NGO LINK Upcoming Events for additional meetings.

FULL CALENDAR OF EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

MPAN - Millennium Peoples Assembly Network

MAI Events at CSD6

Health and Environment events at CSD6

PROGRESS REPORT ON CHAPTER 36 OF AGENDA 21 AND EDUCATION THEME TO BE ADDRESSED AT CSD VI
Hiroko Morita-Lou
Division for Sustainable Development (DSD)
Department for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)
United Nations

(This is an informal list prepared by the Division for Sustainable Development. Side events are
in Italics and are not part of the of official program. Their time and venue are subject to change.
Please confirm with the organizers as listed. )

MONDAY 20 APRIL

Morning Agenda Item 1: Election of Officers (Election of the Vice-Chairman Eastern
European States)

Agenda Item 2: Adoption of the Agenda and other organizational matters

Documentation: Annotated Provisional Agenda (E/CN.17/1998/1)

Introductory Statements

Agenda Items 3 and 5: Presentation of the reports of Ad Hoc Inter-sessional Working Groups on Strategic Approaches to Freshwater Management and on Industry and Sustainable Development.

Documentation:
Report of the SG on Strategic Approaches to Freshwater Management (E/CN. 171199819 and
Add. I )
Report of the SG on UN System wide activities in the area of Freshwater (E/CN. 17, 1998: 3)
Report of the Ad Hoc Inter-sessional Working Group on Freshwater (E/CN. 17/1998/13 )
Report of the Expert Group Meeting on Strategic Approaches to Freshwater Management in
Harare (E/CN.17'1998/1 1)
Report of International Dialogue Forum: Cooperation in Trans-boundary Water Issues (3-5
March, Petersburg/Bonn, Germany)
Report of the International Conference on Water and Sustainable Development ( 19-71 March.
Paris, France)
Report of the SG on Consumer Protection Transmitting the Outcome of the Meeting in Sao
Paolo, Brazil 1E/CN. 17/199815)
Report of the SG on Industry and Sustainable Development (E/CN. 17/1998/4 and Add. I.
Add.2 and Add.3)
Report of the Ad Hoc Inter-sessional Working Group on Industry (E/CN. 17/1998/14)

Agenda Item 3: Presentation of National Experiences in the area of Freshwater

Afternoon Agenda Item 3 Presentation of National Experiences in the area of Freshwater
(cont.)

Agenda Item 4: Debate on the cross-sectoral theme of transfer of technology, capacity building, education, science and awareness raising.

Documentation:
Report of the SG on transfer of technology, capacity building, education, science and
awareness raising (E/CN.17/1998/6 and Add.1-3)
Report of the International Expert Meeting on the Role of Publicly Owned Technologies in
Transfer and Diffusion of Environmentally Sound Technologies (4-6 February. Kyongu,
Republic of Korea, (E/CN.17/1998/12)
Background Paper 20: Role of information systems in transfer of environmentally sound
technologies
Background Paper 21: Science and sustainable development
Background Paper 22: Role of publicly funded research and publicly owned technologies in
transfer and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies
Background Paper 27: Contributions of major groups to sustainable development education
Background Paper 28: Evaluation of National Cleaner Production Centre Programs

Side events on Monday: 20 April:

1:15-2:45 p.m.
Inventory of /innovative practices in Sustainable Development Education. UNE.SCO. (Conference Room 8)
Perspectives on Corporate Responsibility. NGO Task Force on Business and Industry (Conference Room B)
Opening of the Transfer of Technology Exhibition, First basement, 'Neck' area

6:15-8 p.m.
Panel on Integrated Water Management and Desertification~ . Secretariat of the Convention on Combating Desertification
(ECOSOC Chamber)

TUESDAY, 21 APRIL

Morning Agenda Item 5: Industry Segment

Dialogue on Responsible Entrepreneurship Documentation: Background Papers 1 through 4

Afternoon Agenda Item 5: Industry Segment (cont.)

Dialogue on Corporate Management Tools Documentation: Background Papers 5 through 8

Side Events on Tuesday 21 April:

1:15- 2:00 p.m.
Industry, Freshwater and Sustainable Development. UNEP and WBCSD (ECOSOC Chamber)

1:15-2:45 p.m.
Eco-system Conservation -Water for People. World Wide Fund for Nature. (Conference Room 1)
Responsible Youth for a .Sustainable Future. AEISEC. (Conference Room 8)
Presentation on Environmental Management .Systems. Exhibitors and DSD/ DE.SA (DH Library Auditorium)

6: 15- 8 p.m.
DA Y OF WOMEN event: Debate on Women and Industry. WEDO and DSD/DESA (ECOSOC Chamber)
Presentation on Sustainable Societies. Friends of the Earth International. (Conference Room 1)
Presentation on the Global Run-off Data Center. Government of Germany and WMO (Conference Room 8)

WEDNESDAY, 22 April

Morning Agenda Item 5: Industry Segment (cont.)
Dialogue on Technology Cooperation and Assessment Documentation: Background papers 9 through 12

Afternoon Agenda Item 5: Industry Segment
Dialogue on Industry and Freshwater
Documentation: Background papers 13 through 16

Side Events on Wednesday 22 April:

1:15-2:45 p.m.
Ceremony to Commenorate Child Workers of the World . ICFTU and Franciscans Int'l. (ECOSOC Chamber)
Freshwater Crisis, NGO Freshwater Caucus and UNED-UK. (Conference Room I)
Impacts of Globalization and Financing for Development. NCLS Conference Room 6)
WWF Worldwide Educational Responses to Agenda 21. WWF International. (Conference Room 8)
Presentation on the Public-Private Partnership Programme. UNDP (Conference Room B)
Cleaner Production,Pollution Prevention. Lessons learned in developing countries. Exhibitors and DSD/DESA (DH Library Auditorium

6:15- 8 p.m.
Impact of the Asian Currency Crisis on Sustainable Development. Earth Council and the Philippines Council for Sustainable Development. (ECOSOC Chamber)
Panel on Water. Government of the United States. (Conference Room 1)
Science and Sustainable Development. Government of the United Kingdom (Conference Room 8)

THURSDAY, 23 APRIL

Morning Agenda Item 4: Debate on the cross-sectoral theme of transfer of technology.
capacity building, education, science and awareness raising. (cont. and concluded)
Documentation: See Monday afternoon above

Afternoon Agenda Item 6: Debate on the Implementation of the Programme for Action for
Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States
Documentation:
Report of the SG on the Implementation of the Programme of Action for Sustainable
Development of Small Island Developing States (E/CN. 17/1998/7 and Add. 1-9)
Report of the SG on the Development of a Vulnerability Index for Small Island
Developim~
States (A/53165-E/199815)

Side Events on Thursday 23 April:

1:15-2.45 p.m.
Presentation (a(ion on Freshwater Management(. Government of Brazil (ECOSOC Chamber)
Panel on Education 2,'. NGO Education Caucus and UNED-UK (Conference Room 1)
Global Partnership or Cyberspace for Sustainability. MIT. (Conference Room B)
Presentation of the IFC/WWP/IPP&A Handbook. Exhibitors and DSD/DESA (DH Library Auditorium).

6: 15- 8pm
Presentation on Expert Group Meeting on Renewable Energy. Government of Austria. (ECOSOC Chamber)
DA Y OF WOMEN event. Workshop on Women and Local Agenda 21. WEDO and DSD/DESA (Conference Room 1
Presentation on Global Vision Web Site. Global Vision. (Conference Room 8)
Presentation on Freshwater and Lead Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning. (Conference Room B)
Integrated Approach to Freshwater Management. Australia's Experience. Government of Australia. (DH Library Auditorium)

FRIDAY, 24 APRIL

Morning: Work of Drafting Groups to Prepare Decisions on all Agenda Items

Three drafting groups will be established as follows: (i) a drafting group dealing with Freshwater and SIDS, (ii) a drafting ,roup dealing with Industry and Consumer Protection. and (iii) a drafting group dealing with the cross-sectoral theme. Not more than two drafting`, ,groups will meet simultaneously. The Bureau will determine the timing of the meetings in the course of the session.

Afternoon Work of Drafting Groups to Prepare Decisions on all Agenda Items (cont.)

Side Events on Friday 24 April:

1:15-2:45 p.m.
A Tribute for Bella Abzug. UNDESA and WEDO. (ECOSOC Chamber)
Making Voluntary Initiatives Work. NGO Task Force on Business and Industry. (ECOSOC Chamber)
Micro/Macro-metrics and Sustainable Development. UNEP, CERES, and DSD. (DH Library Auditorium)
Presentation of the SID1\ ET program. UNDP and A OSIS countries. (Conference Room B)

MONDAY, 27 APRIL

Morning Work of Drafting Groups to Prepare Decisions on all Agenda Items (cont.)

Afternoon Work of Drafting Groups to Prepare Decisions on all Agenda Items (cont.)

Side Events on Monday 27 April:

1:15-2.45
DA Y OF WOMEN event: Workshop on Industrial Hot spots. WEDO and DSD. (Conference Room 1)
Financing and Engineering Through Privati ization: Opportunities, barriers and problems. AAES and WFEO (Conference Room 2)
Government/NGO Dialoge with African countries and African NGOs. (Conference Room 6)
Government/NGO Briefing on preparations for CSD8. Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Caucus (Conference Room D
Public Private Technology Cooperation. Exhibitors and DSD/DESA (DH Library Auditorium)

6:15- 8pm
Environment and Development Aspects of the MAI. Friends of the Earth International. (Conference Room 1)
Mountains of the World: Water Towers of the 21st Century'. Government of Switzerland (Conference Room 2)
Sustainable Development Information Systems. Government of Canada (Conference Room 6)
'Upside Down' Training by Youth on Sustainable Development Education. Rescue Mission. (Conference Rm B)

TUESDAY, 28 APRIL

Morning Work of Drafting Groups to Prepare Decisions on all Agenda Items (cont.)

Afternoon Work of Drafting Groups to Prepare Decisions on all Agenda Items (continued and concluded)

Side Events on Tuesday 28 April:

1:15-2:45 p.m.
National Councils for Sustainable Development: The way forward Earth Council. (Conference Room 1 )
Social Dimensions of the MAI. Friends of the Earth International. (Conference Room 2)
North South Youth Cooperation for Sustainable Development. ANPED (Conference Room 6)
Drinking Water. A case study from Uzbekistan. UNED-UK with Mama-86 (Conference Room D)
Industry Perspective in Transfer of Technology. Exhibitors and DSD/DESA (DH Library Auditorium)

6:15-8 p. m.
Gender Aspects of Sustainable Water Development. Government of the UK and UNICEF. (Conference Room 6
Role of International ('Communication Networks in Creen Access to.Justice. ICEF {Conference Room D)

WEDNESDAY, 29 APRIL

Morning Agenda Item 7: High Level Segment
Documentation: Report of the SG on the Main and Emerging Issues (E/CN.17'1998/10)

Afternoon Agenda Item 7: High Level Segment (cont.)

Side Events on Wednesday 29 April

1: 15-2:45
UNEP, UNDESA and ICC High Level Panel Lunch for Ministers attending the CSD (location tba)
Debate on the MAI. Friends of the Earth International and WWF International. (Conference Room I J
State of the World. Freshwater. Industry' and Private Capital. World Watch Institute ~Conference Room 7
Sustainable European Union Development Aid:' - Gaps between policy and practice. WWF International (Conference Room 6)
Presentation on the St. Francis River Project in Brazil. Franciscans International (Conference Room D)

6:15-8 p.m.
The CAP Project. Innovative Approaches to Sustainable Development. Government of Turkey. (Conf Room l
Briefing by UNESCO on the Intergovernmental Hydrological Program. UNESCO (Conference Room 2)
DA Y OF WOMEN event: Video Presentation on Industrial Hotspots. WEDO and DSD. Followed by reception. (DH Library Auditorium)

1:15-2:45 PM
Briefing on the Inter-governmental Forum on Forests. IFF Secretariat (Conference Room 1)
Briefing by Mr. M Z. Cutajar on the Kyoto Process. Climate Change Secretariat. Conference Room 2
Exploring Sustainable Development: WBCSD Scenarios. WBCSD (Conference Room 6
Discussion on Tourism Preparing for CSD99. UNED-UK (Conference Room D)

6: 1 5-8pm
Industry and Sustainable Agriculture. (Government of the US and Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Caucus. (Conference Room I)

FRIDAY 1 MAY

Morning Agenda Item 7: High Level Segment (cont.)

Afternoon Agenda Item 7: Conclusion of the High Level Segment.

Documentation: Chairman's Summary.

Agenda Item 8: Other Matters

Documentation: (the documents listed below were prepared mainly for information purposes and
may not require specific discussion by the CSD):

Report of the SG on an Assessment of Information Contained in the National Reports to the CSD
(E/CN. 17/1 998/8)
Report of the SG on Modalities for Regional Exchanges of Information (E/CN.17'1998,9)
Background paper 17: Financial Flow Statistics
Background Paper 18: Indicators of Sustainable Development
Background Paper 19: Report of a consultative meeting among regional institutions
Background Paper 23: Assessment of Progress in the Implementation of Agenda 21 at the
National Level- Summary Tables and Graphs
Background paper 24: Assessment of Progress in the Implementation of Agenda 21- Table of key coordination mechanisms and actions
Background paper 25: List of official sustainable development contacts
Background paper 26: List of official sustainable development Web sites
Background Paper 29: Outcome of the 1998 Inter-parliamentary Union Council meeting in Namibia on the role of Parliaments in the implementation of Agenda 21 and Official
Development Assistance.
Background Paper 30: Case studies on role of women in sustainable development
Background Paper 31: Study on national obstacles to Local Agenda 21

Agenda Item 9: Adoption of the Provisional Agenda for the seventh session of the Commission

The draft agenda will be presented by the Chairman on the basis of the multi-year programme of work of the CSD 1998-2002

Agenda Item 10: Adoption of the Report of the Sixth Session

Followed by the First meeting of the Seventh Session of the CSD to elect the new Chair and the other members of the Bureau

Side Events on Friday 1 May:

1:15-2:45
Discussion on Earth Summit+ 10-- Preparing for 2002. CSD NGO Steering Committee. (Conference Room B)

Other Activities organized by the Division for Sustainable Development:

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT LEARNING CENTER
Conference Room E

This learning center will make Web sites, computer software and printed materials available to CSD participants throughout the two weeks of the sixth session. Computers, loaned by HP, will be available for visits to sustainable development Web sites, play educational games, or review other software prepared to promote education for sustainability. The room will also have publications and education kits for visitors to take with them. There will be a series of short presentations to demonstrate particular web sites or software by their developers in the Center. Please check the C ~SD Today leaflet for these presentations. A list of Web site bookmarks and other materials that will be available in the Learning Center can be obtained by contacting piettraci@un.org.

TRANSFER OF ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND TECHNOLOGY EXHIBITION First Basement, Neck Area (near the Vienna Cafe)

A series of exhibits by industry on the transfer of environmentally sound technologies along with presentations and discussions will be available to CSD participants. The exhibits will focus on case studies of technology transfer to development countries, including both internal transfers within multinational corporations and transfers from industry in developed countries to SMEs in developing countries. The exhibits will examine the process of such private transfers~ including both the motivations and the obstacles with presentations and discussions by representatives of the enterprises involved. Further information can be obtained by contacting alvarez-rivero@un.org

All CSD participants are welcome and encouraged to visit the Learning Center and the exhibition.

Introduction

In June 1997, five years after UNCED, the General Assembly held a special session to review the implementation of Agenda 21 (UNGASS). Among the decisions adopted there was the CSD work programme for the subsequent five years, identifying sectoral, cross-sectoral and economic sector/major group themes for each of the four sessions of the Commission up to the year 2002. This year's sectoral theme is "strategic approaches to freshwater management"; the economic sector/major group is industry and cross-sectoral themes are the following four: transfer of technology, capacity building, science, and then the topic of this seminar, education & public awareness.

The Commission will devote only two half-day sessions for general debate on all four cross-sectoral themes (the afternoon of the 20th and the morning of the 23rd). It is useful also to know that this year is the only time Education theme will be before the Commission until the comprehensive ten-year review of the entire Agenda 21-related issues in the year 2002. This is why an event like this focused on Education is helpful in itself and the in-depth analysis of contributions each Major Group has an added-value that should be taken into account in the CSD consideration of Education.

Chapter 36 on Promoting Education, Public Awareness and Training, is one of the cross- sectoral chapters of Agenda 21. Education and training, presented as Human Resource Development, also appears in most other chapters of Agenda 21 as means of implementation.

The Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) reviewed Chapter 36 for the first time at its fourth session in 1996 and adopted one of four work programmes of the Commission to date. The adoption of a work programme signifies a particular importance attached by the Commission where some concrete action required are specified.

The Work Programme on Education contains ten areas for priority action:

1. Develop a broad international alliance;

2. Integrate implementation of recommendations concerning education, public awareness and training in the action plans of the major UN conferences and conventions;

3. Advise on how education and training can be integrated into national educational policies;

4. Refine the concept and key messages of education for sustainable development;

5. Advance education and training at national and local levels, involving education community and highlighting best practices;

6. Provide financial and technical support;

7. Develop new partnerships among different sectors of society;

8. Work in partnership with youth, preparing them for decision-making and sustainable livelihoods;

9. Analyze current investments in education;

10. Establish relevant linkages with the CSD programme of work on changing production and consumption patterns.

In the five year review of the progress in the area of education, it was reported that the adoption of the Work Programme has: I) raised visibility on the subject; ii) demonstrated the priority attached by Governments to education; and iii) identified specific actions needed to make progress in education and their suggested actors. At the national and regional levels, some progress was reported in the inclusion of education in national sustainable development strategies (although a survey is required to understand the extent and nature of the coverage) and in the reorientation of education towards sustainable development as part of the overall reform of formal educational system.

On the other hand, difficulties were also reported including the challenge to attain the understanding of policy makers and to change the mind-set of educators from traditional disciplinary approach to the interdisciplinary one required for education for sustainable development which addresses a whole range of disciplines while broadening the scope inclusive of but not replacing the conventional environmental education.

The Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 adopted at the 19th session of the Special Session of the General Assembly in June 1997, emphasized the core themes of lifelong learning, interdisciplinary education, partnerships, multicultural education and empowerment. Priority is to be given to ensuring equal access to all, to the training of teachers, youth leaders and other educators. A new vision of education for a sustainable future requires reorientation of traditional approaches so as to promote widespread public understanding, critical analysis and support for sustainable development through engagement of a wide spectrum of institutions and sectors.

The Special Session carried the Work Programme on Education forward by calling for the preparation of sustainable development education plans and programmes and for further development of the concept of education for a sustainable future itself.

Developing broad international alliance

Since the termination of the twenty year UNESCO/UNEP International Environmental Education Programme few years back, there has been no equivalent joint programmes between the two agencies. Alliances and collaborative frameworks have rather been loosely existed or formulated on an ad hoc basis between these or with other agencies such as IUCN, WWF and others, in such forms as exchange of invitation to each other's events, informal exchange of information and contacts, etc. These experiences have shown that alliances and partnerships "in the abstract" are not very meaningful. What works best is partnerships around specific initiatives. Another trend and emphasis within the UN system has been to focus action at national and regional levels where international collaboration are concentrated in concrete situations.

Networking at the regional level has improved through summit and ministerial meetings that address education among others and through regional expert meetings. A good example is the Summit meeting of the Americas organized by the Organization of American States which will take place in Chile in June. Education will be a main theme there and OAS is cooperating with UNESCO in its preparation. In the ASEAN region, there is an alliance on education for sustainable development led by UNESCO but comprising the private sector, UNEP Regional Off~ice and several universities and national governments. Africa, in particular, could learn from these experiences and should receive a special attention in the future for strengthening education in all forms at all levels and for encouraging networking among practitioners at local and grass-roots levels.

Integrated follow-up to major UN conferences

Education, training and awareness raising have been identified as important prerequisites and agents for advancing the overall goals and objectives of sustainable development in the contexts of the action plans of all the major United Nations conferences from UNCED to date. UNESCO is analyzing the action plans of all UN conferences and conventions, as well as regional action plans for sustainable development. At the same time, ECOSOC has been reviewing the broader question of integrated follow-up to UN conferences and is expected to adopt some decisions on this issue and submit them to the General Assembly this year.

The action plans and Rio conventions contain general recommendations on education and awareness raising. The implementation of these recommendations in an integrated manner requires certain guidelines. Such guidelines would also be a tool to translate the concept of education for sustainable development into practice.

Integration of education and training for sustainable development into national educational policies and strategies

A survey was initiated by UNESCO on national sustainable development strategies, based on country reports submitted to the CSD. The next step required is a through study of the original national education policies and strategies to assess the extent to which the sustainable development concept has been integrated, identify essential elements that are covered or missing. The study could lead to drafting a manual or recommendations for national and regional workshops on the subject.

Refining the concept and key messages

The background document available for this year's CSD entitled "Educating for a Sustainable Future: A Transdisciplinary Vision for Concerted Action" is a UNESCO's contribution to clarifying the concept and key messages of education for sustainable development. There seems to be a misunderstanding among some educators that this broader concept is a replacement for environmental education. Those who have been involved in traditional environmental education and who have such a misunderstanding feel somewhat threatened by the emergence of, in their view, a rival discipline. But this is not the case. The proven difficulty to clarify the concept of education for sustainable development being inclusive of environmental education but addressing the entire range of disciplines, sometimes stems from language or cultural differences. Or it could also relate to the way the educational system is set up in a particular country, which might be compartmentalized by sectoral disciplines. It is thus important to disseminate the key messages of interdisciplinarity and multi-channel, multi-stakeholder approach of education for sustainable development. Means for such dissemination should include teacher training as well as raising awareness and working as partners with the media and policy makers, among other actors.

Highlighting best practices

This workshop is indeed a forum to examine selective best practices by Major Groups in promoting sustainable development education. The collection of a whole range of case studies by Major Groups prepared for CSD VI will be available as an official background paper. In addition, WWF is expected to present some case studies of programmes it promoted. Also as a side event to CSD VI will be a demonstration by UNESCO of an international registry of innovative practices in sustainable development education, which will be continuously updated. Sharing of the actual experiences is a best form of collective learning process that should be continued and encouraged.

Partnerships for implementation

The CSD urged the development of new partnerships involving such major groups as youth, NGOs, business and industry and others. Women and local authorities are also important partners in getting sustainable development messages across through education and public awareness. The level of interest of these groups in the work of the CSD has been quite high: for example, there were close to 1500 individual participants representing various major groups registered at the GA Special Session of June 1997. They organized themselves into 100 caucuses of different themes and held a large number of side events. The education caucus has been one active, bringing together a wide range of interested participants from governments, international and non-governmental organizations, youth and others.

Youth involvement

UNCED has been a turning point for the participation of youth in United Nations processes. Youth have taken an active part in the CSD process. They have created a CSD Youth Working Group, and a joint project called "Youth Intersessional" was carried out by youth organizations together with UN agencies concerned and the CSD Secretariat during 1995-1996. This project led to the largest number of young participants in the CSD particularly at its fourth session in 1996. During the high-level segment of that session attended by more than 40 ministers from different countries, a Youth Panel was held where youth representatives presented their challenges and commitments and engaged in dialogue with the ministers. It was significant that the partnership with youth was particularly highlighted in the context of the CSD work programme on education by encouraging governments and other relevant stakeholders to "strengthen tools for youth empowerment and to provide skills and training to prepare youth for decision-making roles and sustainable livelihoods".
During CSD VI, there will be a side event coordinated by the Rescue Mission of so called "Up-side down training session" where sixteen youths coming from different parts of the world will tell the CSD delegates how they would like to be educated and have interactive dialogue.

Specific ways to promote the participation of youth in Agenda 21 implementation have been suggested by the youth who have taken part in the CSD process, as well as by some delegates. These include: keeping youth informed of the national and international developments in sustainable development; inviting their representative as an equal partner in the National Sustainable Development Council of each country; having a youth member among official delegation to the CSD; and allowing them to give feedback to the government and education authorities regarding curricula for sustainable development.

NGOs as agents for change

Through the dynamic processes of preparing for, participating in and following up the results of UNCED, NGO involvement has increased both quantitatively and in substance. After attempting several ways to coordinate various positions during these processes, NGOs decided to set up a NGO steering committee for the CSD inclusive of representatives from Major Groups, regions, and Agenda 21 themes. The steering committee was to serve as a pipeline between the CSD and NGOs facilitating information and communication flow. Common positions, however, were to emerge out of issue-based caucuses open to all eligible organizations.

NGOs have many examples of innovative practices in education, training and awareness raising, some of which will be shared today. They have a lot to offer from their actual experiences and must therefore be made full partners in the implementation of the CSD work programme on education. A task at hand may be to define the nature and modality of such partnership for maximum impact at the field level.

Local authorities

Local Agenda 21s have become a global movement since UNCED. The preliminary results of the first worldwide local Agenda 21 survey, carried out jointly by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) and the secretariat of the CSD, confirmed nearly 1,500 local Agenda 21s, with hundreds more in the making. The survey also showed that Agenda 21 follow-up by local authorities is most successful when a national association of local authorities exists, when it has launched a national awareness-raising campaign supporting local Agenda 21 efforts and when those actions are supported by the existence of a national Agenda 21 campaign launched by the national Government. These local initiatives which contribute to community-based education and awareness raising, should be further encouraged and their progress monitored.

Linking Education to Changing Consumption and Production Patterns

When the CSD adopted the Work Programme on Education, it referred to the need to establish relevant linkages with the Work Programme on Changing Production and Consumption Patterns. Changing consumption patterns is about changing attitudes and lifestyles of citizens towards sustainability within the wider context of ethical values and social equity. UNCED accentuated the need to enhance public awareness regarding the environmental impact of consumption habits and lifestyles as well as the life-cycle effects of different product choices consumers could make. The CSD subsequently recognized public awareness campaigns, education and community-based voluntary action as essential policy instruments to foster changes in consumer behaviors, attitudes and lifestyles. Active players for this challenge have included local authorities, international, national and local consumer organizations and other community- based organizations.

The CSD Work Programme on Changing Production and Consumption Patterns is in its third year of implementation with many partners contributing to it and has the following five elements:

CSD Work Programme on Changing production and consumption patterns
(adopted in 1995)

a) Identifying the policy implications of projected trends in consumption and production patterns;

b) Assessing the impact on developing countries, especially the least developed countries and small island developing States, of changes in consumption and production in developed countries;

c) Evaluating the effectiveness of policy measures intended to change consumption and production patterns, such as command-and-control, economic and social instruments, governmental procurement policies and guidelines;

d) Eliciting time-bound voluntary commitments from countries to make measurable progress on those sustainable development goals that have an especially high priority at the national level; e) Revising the guidelines for consumer protection adopted by the General Assembly in 1985.

The Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 of the Earth Summit+ 5 recognized Changing Production and Consumption Patterns as an over-riding issue in the second five-year work programme of the CSD that all other sectoral and cross-sectoral themes to be reviewed each year should relate to. In addition, upon reviewing the progress made so far, the Programme identified specific areas for further action in advancing the Work Programme on Changing Production and Consumption patterns. Those related directly to education and public awareness are:

- Encouraging the development and strengthening of educational programmes to promote sustainable consumption and, production patterns;

- Encouraging the media, advertising and marketing sectors to help shape sustainable consumption patterns;

- Giving balanced consideration to both the demand side and the supply side of the economy in matching environmental concerns and economic factors, which could encourage changes in the behavior of consumers and producers.

The role of advertising and the media, in particular, is a common issue for both education/public awareness and for changing consumption patterns. The Brasilia Workshop on Sustainable Production and Consumption Patterns and Policies held in 1996 recommended that the international community apply the resources of the media to induce behavior changes to avoid waste, inefficient resource use and conspicuous consumption. It stated further that positive messages of how individuals can live in a sustainable manner, are required instead of promoting unsustainable products. Further work is needed to study existing practices in advertisement, including voluntary code of ethics of industries, in terms of its effects on changing consumer behavior. This is where a linkage could be found between education and public awareness on one side and changing consumption patterns on the other.

Analyzing investments in education

So far, no study has been carried out to analyze the current investments made by the Bretton Woods institutions on education, as recommended in the work programme. Such analysis would not only be helpful to see the magnitude of investment but also the nature and areas of support given that would reflect the approaches these institutions are taking in the area of education. The results of such a study would determine whether or not any redirecting of investments would be necessary.

What to expect from the CSD 6

It is still too premature to judge the performance of the actors or to evaluate actions taken in less than two years since the adoption of the Work Programme with the major five year review in between those years. Instead, what is expected this year is that the Commission

will review and adopt additional elements for specific actions to be undertaken in the context of the Work Programme. Given that the theme will not be examined in the generic way again until four years later, the CSD will expect to be reported on some concrete progress made in the context of the ten-year review in 2002.

It is important to remember that it is not be up to UNESCO or any other actor alone to achieve significant results. The role of a Task Manager is more of a catalyst for actions. In that sense, each actor -- whether it is a government agency, educational institution, a Major Group, community-based organization or any other group involved in the issue -- has a certain responsibility to make things happen and not just react to actions that are taken or are lacking at a higher level. The case studies of Major Groups we are about to hear will provide us with a good starting point to ponder on contributions that could be made by different interest groups and their varying approaches.

MAI EVENTS AT CSD-6:

Friends of the Earth International (FoEI), Third World Network (TWN) and World Wide Fund for Nature International (WWF-I) will be co-sponsoring the following MAI-related events during CSD-6.

(These events coincide with the OECD Ministerial Meeting in Paris which will determine the fate of the MAI):

1. WORKSHOP

Title: Environment, Development and Social Aspects of the MAI

Date/ Time: 27 April 1998, 6:15 - 8.00 p.m.

Place: Conference Room 1

2. DEBATE

Title: Whither the MAI?... An Open Debate*

Date/ Time: 28 April 1998, 1:15 - 2:45 p.m.

Place: Conference Room 1

* Followed by a press conference (tentative)

3. WORKSHOP

Title: Alternatives to the MAI - An Exploration

Date/ Time: 29 April 1998, 1:15 - 2:45 p.m.

Place: Conference Room 1

Further details will be posted at the CSD and be available through

"Outreach."

We look forward to your participation.

Malini Mehra
International Campaigns Officer

Friends of the Earth International
PO Box 19199, 1000 GD Amsterdam, Netherlands
tel. +31 20 6221369 fax +31 20 6392181
e-mail: sustsoc@foeint.antenna.nl

CSD6 Health & Environment Caucus

The Health & Environment Caucus continues to raise awareness of the primacy of health issues within the context of sustainable development.

The Caucus, convened by World Information Transfer, Inc.(WIT), is based on the notion that sustaining and improving human health is the ultimate goal of sustainable development. Healthy people become productive citizens determining the course for future generations.

The H&E Caucus will meet four times during the CSD:

Monday 20 April 12-1PM, Conference Room 1. The topic will be the Health, Development Environment CD ROM library project: Transferring information to developing communities.

Friday, 24 April, 12-1PM, Conference Rm B, Health in CSD 7, 1999.

Tuesday, 28 April, 3-4 PM Conference Rm B specal program, tba

Thursday 30 April, 3-4PM Conference Rm B, Health in CSD 7, 1999

For further information, contact WIT, tel: 212-686-1996, ext. 303, or
Send email to wit@igc.apc.org or clstrauss@aol.com

*Check the NGO Upcoming Events for additional meetings.

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