The Commission's 2003 annual session had agreed on the way forward in that regard.
Mr. HAYES (Ireland), speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, said the focus should be on, among other things, promoting slum upgrading - including sanitation and roads infrastructure - capacity-building, "people-focused" policies aimed at employment creation for the urban poor, and improved access to low-income housing finance. Developing countries must make further efforts to ensure the empowerment of women to participate in decision-making regarding housing and urban development.
PRODIPTO GHOSH, Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests of India, said that sanitation and housing initiatives should focus on capacity-building. He went on to say that taking a rights-based approach to those issues could often slow progress in providing recourses, technological assistance and capacity-building. It was also not feasible to use a one-size-fits-all approach when addressing water management issues, particularly transboundary water sources.
Mr. LEPELTIER, Minister for Ecology and Sustainable Development for France, said that the role of local communities should be enhanced so that efforts to achieve goals in human settlements and sanitation could be driven at the local level.
KISIM KASANGA, Minister of Environment and Science of Ghana,said his country had had some success in updating slum communities and creating an enabling environment for housing development. A village infrastructure project had sought to improve the lives of the rural poor, and a national shelter strategy had been implemented.
ERNA SOLBERG, Minister of Local Authorities and Regional Development of Norway, said urban poverty was the most significant barrier to sustainable development. In fighting poverty, she stressed the need for local empowerment, adequate funding, stronger governance, the involvement of the local business community, and to recognize women as key agents of change in cities. In addition, secure property rights would stimulate entrepreneurs and open new routes for financing.
SHANNON SORZANO, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Affairs, Department of Housing and Urban Development of the United States, said the international community must find ways of translating multilateral discussion into action at the regional, national and local levels. It must focus on working country-by-country to build capacities and strengthen institutions, so that they could create enabling environments to stimulate investment. It should also seek ways to further deploy innovative financing mechanisms to improve the lives of all people in human settlements.
MOHAMED ELYAZGHI, Minister of Environment, Water and Territory Management of Morocco, said his country was going through rapid urbanization, and that city population had risen to 54.5 per cent of the total by 2003. Housing had always been a concern, because it fostered family stability and sustainable development. Significant initiatives had been undertaken to improve housing, and new operations were improving living conditions for low-income people.
TAHIR IQBAL, Minister of State for the Environment of Pakistan, said that urban people living in informal squatter settlement in his country was estimated at 35 to 40 per cent.
Pakistan had adopted various long-term and short-term measures to address the problem, with a key focus on policy upgrading and ownership rights. Water was precious, sanitation was health, and human settlement was an obligation for all.
RAILA ODINGA, Minister for Roads, Public Works and Housing of Kenya, said countries could only achieve international targets for slum dwellers through enhanced financing. The international community must honour its commitments and support human settlement programmes. Water, sanitation and human settlement projects should be mainstreamed into national Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers.
Ms. OSOMO of Nigeria said her country had learned, after several decades of public sector development strategies, that the private sector had an important role to play in filling the financial and technical gaps in the country's effort to achieve the Millennium Goals. The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) provided the framework much of the action under way in her country.
Mr. VAN GEEL, of the Netherlands stressed the need to take an integrated approach when addressing water and sanitation issues. He added that an integrated approach would also be key as the Commission moved on to address other clusters of development issues.
Mr. SALL of Senegal said much had been done to restructure slums and poor rural areas. A foundation had been set up to bring together States and local collectives working to allow the poorest people to have access to land and infrastructure.
BRIGITTE SYLVIA MABANDLA, Minister, Department of Housing of South Africa, said reaching international targets was only the beginning. In her country, informal settlements continued to grow and freshwater sources continued to be pressured. South Africa believed in taking an integrated approach to address those issues and had focused its efforts on empowering vulnerable groups. She urged the Commission and the wider international community to continue to heed the voices of African nations, who were facing the greatest development challenges. She announced that South Africa was set to co-host, with UN-Habitat, a regional meeting on human settlements later this year.
SYLVIA T. MASEBO, Minister for Local Government and Housing of Zambia, said that water and human settlement issues had not been integrated in many African countries. While the role of local authorities and community actors could not be ignored, international support for capacity-building programmes was, nevertheless, important.
Summing up the debate, Ms. TIBAIJUKA said she was delighted to hear that the United Nations was finally addressing the environmental challenges of rapid urbanization. Urbanization was irreversible. So, improving the livelihoods of slum dwellers and addressing the environmental aspects of poor urban communities was necessary in order to avert crises in "mega-cities" of 10 million people or more.
Mr. DE SOTO said that it was necessary to learn from western countries, which had all once been poor, but had risen to that challenge and reversed their conditions. Indeed, some European countries had been considered poor right up until the end of the nineteenth century, he said. So "property revolutions" had taken place and lessons needed to be learned from the ways in which countries had overcome the challenges.
Meeting on SmallIsland Developing States
JAYA CUTTAREE, Foreign Minister of Mauritius, said the strategy document currently being negotiated followed the structure of the Brussels Programme of Action for Least Developed Countries. He identified four main areas of concern for small island developing States - lack of resources, capacity, technology and poor trading ability. In their negotiations with developing partners there were several issues of convergence, where others needed work on both sides and others required a political decision. Given the understanding of developing partners, consultations should be able to make good progress in mid-May.
Continuing, he said small island developing States suffered from their remoteness - from the industrialized world and within their own countries - and consequent communication, transportation, governance and infrastructure problems. Due to their colonial histories, most island States were single commodity producers and exporters who were highly dependent on tourism. They suffered from high production, transport and communication costs, had limited internal markets, and were dependent on imports, which affected their ability to compete.
The current environment called for greater understanding and assistance from the international community in honouring the commitments they made in Rio and Barbados, he said. Existing funding mechanisms failed to consider the special situation of small island developing States, not to mention the threat of climate change and rising sea level, which must be comprehensively addressed. He stressed that small island developing States were committed to good governance and would take all necessary steps to implement sustainable development strategies.
Statements
NASSIR BIN ABDULAZIZ AL-NASSER, (Qatar), speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 developing countries and China, said that small island developing States were a very special component of the Group's membership. The Group, therefore, considered the Mauritius international meeting an event of critical importance and was confident that it would result in renewed commitment to further implementation of the Barbados Action Plan.
He said that in the 10 years since that Plan's adoption, the situation of small islands had worsened. Their fragile environments had deteriorated, their economic prospects had weakened and, among other things, their social cohesion had been severely compromised by increased crime, drug trafficking and the spread of HIV/AIDS. He said that the Group had no intention of renegotiating the Barbados Plan, which remained faithful to the core sustainable development aspirations of small island developing States. Nevertheless, the upcoming review must embrace new and emerging socio-economic issues that were now recognized as critical obstacles to the development of those States.
Mr. HAYES, (Ireland) speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, said the Union considered that the Mauritius meeting would help inform the proposed major mid-term review of implementation on the Millennium Goals, set for 2005, and ensure that the valuable voice of small islands was heard. The outcome of the Mauritius meeting should be implementation-oriented, with a focus on helping small islands put in place nationally owned plans for sustainable development and poverty eradication.
The Union would also stress addressing the importance of renewable energy resources. The meeting should also examine the work being done on vulnerability indices, so that small islands could establish plans that would help them adapt to economic, environmental and social shocks that were beyond their control.
MARIAN HOBBS, Minister for Environment and Associate Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade for New Zealand, said the sustainable development of small island States was of great concern for her country and its PacificIsland partners. She said that the negotiations that had taken place two weeks ago still had some way to go and she hoped that the momentum could be maintained.
SICHAN SIV (United States), said participants should focus on the adoption of a short, balanced and practicable document, such as the framework document his country's delegation had presented just prior to negotiations two weeks ago. The focus should not be on renegotiating the commitments made at Barbados. The Mauritius meeting would be far more productive if the focus was on good governance and partnership. Through partnership, he said, people's lives could be improved and a better world could be created for all.
MARCUS BETHEL, Minister for Health of the Bahamas, speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said it was clear that the biggest challenge was to convince the international community of the high and rising vulnerability of small islands. Small island concerns were often overridden by problems in larger developing countries. Small island single commodity economies were vulnerable to the global market, and needed preferential market access. It was vital to increase the capacity and enhance the resilience of small islands, so that they could benefit from globalization.
ELIZABETH THOMPSON, Minister of Housing, Lands and the Environment of Barbados, said small islands had undertaken to implement 70 per cent of the Barbados Programme on their own.
The current economic situation posed significant challenges to small islands, and they should be granted special treatment, which included greater transparency in the international financial system. The current focus on the military aspect of security had burdened small islands with limited financial resources. The transboundary movement of hazardous material was an additional problem, which should be stopped. She recommended that a coordinated regional mechanism be considered for sustainable development in the Caribbean region.
Mr. CHANDARPAL (Guyana) said the vulnerability of small island developing States had increased on physical and economic fronts, calling for an increase in resources, rather than a reduction. Small islands had done much since Barbados, but had increasingly smaller resources, due to globalization and other difficulties. Their survival was not a business deal, but a mission for humanity. Genuine commitments and genuine partnerships were needed to move small island States forward.
Mr. GEORGE (Dominica) said small islands had made admirable progress towards implementing the Barbados Programme, considering their limited resources. However, World Trade Organization (WTO) rules had led to rapidly declining foreign exchange earnings, growing unemployment, and declining market access for small islands. Such nations had always accepted primary responsibility for sustainable development and regretted that the international community had not upheld the Barbados Programme. He underscored the vital importance of preferential trade, as well as financing and debt mechanisms for small islands.
Mr. SOPOAGA (Tuvalu) said the review of the Barbados Programme of Action should focus on actions that could make a difference to failed attempts in ensuring sustainable development. His country would welcome any support from development partners and the international community. He looked forward to success for small islands in their development efforts at the Mauritius meeting.
WITTEN T. PHILLIPO, Minister in Assistance to the President of Marshall Islands, speaking on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), said his Government supported the upcoming review in Mauritius and hoped that the meeting would achieve the necessary impetus to achieve the sustainable development of small island States. Full implementation of the Barbados Plan required the strengthening of partnerships between small islands and the wider international community and the fulfilment of commitments made by the international community. The draft AOSIS negotiating document presented at the opening of the session by the Group of 77 emphasized those and other cross-cutting issues, and he hoped that paper would be given prominence during further discussions on the Mauritius documents.
Mr. BECK (Palau) said although his was one of the smallest and most remote islands in the world, it was, nevertheless, one of the last thriving centres of biodiversity. Its indigenous species of flora and fauna, like those that existed in and around many small islands, was unmatched. But, when those species were gone, they would not return. For that reason, Palau supported all international agreements on environmental protection and hoped that the upcoming Mauritius review would place a particular focus on that issue.
LUIS DE MATOS MONTEIRO DA FONSECA (Cape Verde) said that it was clear that small island developing States needed assistance to build resilience to counter their uniquevulnerabilities. But, raising awareness was not enough and, sadly, island-specific special treatment was almost non-existent. There were many areas of international cooperation in which the absence of "islandness" was hard to understand. That was particularly true for market access and trade development, and should be a main focus at Mauritius.
ISIKIA RABICI SAVUA (Fiji) said his country had been working towards strengthening its integrated water resources management plans in hopes of realizing the goals of Agenda 21 and other international development targets. He said that deepening market access would be one way to ensure that development occurred. Fiji was looking forward to active and cooperative participation by all States at Mauritius.
ROBERT GUBA (Papua New Guinea) said the issues his nation considered important might sound far fetched to some. But, they not only underpinned the sustainable livelihoods of small island developing States, in some cases, they threatened the very existence of the small islands, particularly climate change and such emergency issues as the spread of HIV/AIDS.
ANWARUL K. CHOWDHURY, Secretary-General of the Mauritius Meeting and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, said that the outcome documents of the meetings should focus on partnership, prioritized focus on issues, appropriate mechanisms for monitoring and follow-up - preferably on an annual basis by a single body.
They should also place more emphasis on the inputs from regional intergovernmental organizations. He also stressed the need for fresh contributions to the trust fund that had been set up to ensure the participation of the poorest small island States delegations to the Mauritius meeting. He said that negotiations on the outcome documents were ongoing and he hoped that Member States would continue to support the process.
Statements on Water
FABIAN VALDIVIESO, Minister for the Environment of Ecuador, said the dwindling water supply required a consensus-based solution, and an integrated way of attaining that goal. There was a need to expand international machinery for financing water systems and supply, such as debt-swapping to support sustainable development. There was also a need to strengthen international cooperation, and for international organization to provide resources to those in need.
VARDAN AYVAZIAN, Minister of Nature Protection of Armenia, said his country was suffering some serious water problems, including water quality. Much of the water came from underground, and was fresh, but it then went through obsolete water supply systems. In 2002, the country had adopted a water code, with a focus on basin management, which had helped to introduce integrated water resources management.
FERNANDO TUDELA ABAD, Vice-Minister of Mexico, stressed the need to protect ecosystems, on which water supply depended.
For integrated water resource management, water indicators must be coupled with other analyses involving quality.
Regulations and norms were often difficult to enforce, and may only meet some of the parameters. But, it was necessary to use water indicators to ensure that any progress made towards development goals was actually sustainable.
DEAN PEART, Minister of Land and Environment of Jamaica, said his country's approach towards water management included working with communities and non-governmental organizations, providing designs and guidance during construction of facilities. He noted that increasing awareness of water supply had led up to 17 per cent in savings, and stressed that up-to-date technologies must be used for desalination and recycling. Water management included conservation and was everyone's responsibility.
Mr. LEPELTIER, Minister for Ecology and Sustainable Development of France, described a recent meeting in Paris concerning the NigerRiver basin, and the establishment of the Niger Basin Authority. He noted that development partners were to undertake nothing in the NigerBasin without consulting other countries involved, so that all could be conserved in the interest of all. Africa had taken responsibility for the Basin in context of NEPAD.
ANGELE GNONSOA, Minister for the Environment of C'te d'Ivoire, said her country had suffered from shared water courses, as well as conflict and its serious consequences on the environment, in general. A study would make it possible to assess the damage and what must be done to improve the situation.
ANAELISA OSORIO, Minister for Environment and Natural Resources of Venezuela, said her country was actively rehabilitating its water infrastructure and promoting full and active participation of all communities in planning and managing sanitation services. The Government was also providing technological expertise to all communities, including rural indigenous populations. She said that sustainable development for all could not be achieved unless unsustainable consumption and production patterns were reversed.
FRANCISCO MABJAIA, Deputy-Minister for Environmental Affairs of Mozambique, said in his country many people still had to walk more than 10 kilometres for water. The country had one of the lowest water coverage rates in the world. He appealed to Mozambique's development partners to continue to support the Government's efforts to implement its poverty reduction strategy, particularly in water and sanitation. Those included promoting low-cost housing and local-level capacity-building. He also called for support to help strengthen the creation of a strong private sector in Mozambique.
Ms. MUCK of Croatia described the country's efforts to provide water coverage and adequate sanitation in line with the
Millennium Goals. Efforts were being made in the areas of capacity-building and integrated water resources management, but it continued to need assistance to enhance community-level action in those sectors.
ADMANTIOS TH. VASSILAKIS (Greece) said her nation's initiatives were focused on, among other things: water supply and sanitation for the poorest sectors of society; water; food; environment; capacity-building and training; and management of transboundary water sources. She added that an increased focus on integrated water management strategies would be essential to meeting agreed international development goals and targets.
YASHAR ALIYEV (Azerbaijan) said management of water supplies and sanitation systems should go hand in hand. Weak infrastructure remained a critical challenge, particularly for those living in rural areas. He added that post-conflict countries and countries with economies in transition also faced unique challenges, particularly in providing essential public services for displaced or refugee populations.
NIRA LAMAY, speaking on behalf of the Deputy Commissioner for Future Generations, Parliament of Israel, said that in her country sustainable management of water resources and countering contamination of groundwater sources were most important. She suggested the engagement of parliaments to drive action at local and national levels by focusing on the transparency and accountability of governments.
KLARA NOVOTNA (Slovakia) said the Commission played a special role in facilitation and reviewing implementation of the major international development goals. Better urban land management plans should be integrated into water, sanitation and housing initiatives to ensure that those goals were achieved. The Commission also played an important role in highlighting the benefits of integrated water resources management strategies.
Mr. BEKNIYAZOV (Kazakhstan) said it was tragic that the shrinking of the Aral Sea was a global environmental disaster that was being ignored by the international community. It was time to introduce a resolution to the General Assembly specifically on that issue. He called on all interested countries to cooperate with the Council on Sustainable Development, which had been recently set up in his country.
Mr. JARRAR, Observer for Palestine, said that the pressure on Palestinian water sources had been further pressured by Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian Arab lands and the illegal and oppressive actions of the Israeli Defence Forces since 2000. He reaffirmed the right of all Palestinians and Arabs to the full use and enjoyment of their natural resources.
Right of Reply
Exercising the right of reply, the representative of Israel said that he regretted having to take the floor, but the Palestinian observer had abused the present forum by introducing issues of a bilateral political nature, which in fact had been based on inaccurate information and added nothing to the Commission's work.
Exercising the right of reply, the representative of Syria said that there was no doubt or disagreement that Israel was occupying Palestinian territories, as well as part of his county and south Lebanon. Despite the fact that the United Nations had reaffirmed the right of all Arab people to their natural resources, Israel continued to abuse and exploit those resources. The international community must put an end to the illegal occupation in line with Security Council resolutions.
Chairman's Summary
B*RGE BRENDE, Commission Chairman, introducing Part II of his summary, said the Commission had had an extremely productive high-level segment with more than 100 ministers. In addition to the ministers, substantive contributions had been made by several United Nations agencies and major groups. He had tried to provide a balanced reflection of what he had heard on progress towards sustainable development goals, and hoped the summary would help facilitate an effective policy discussion on water, sanitation and human settlements during the following year.
Statement by Major Groups
Major groups stressed the vital role of all actors in sustainable development, and the importance of their increased participation. They also underscored the need to develop disaggregated indicators for use by those who were to implement work towards development goals. In addition, all players needed to step up their efforts to raise awareness of the importance of meeting the Johannesburg and Millennium goals, and place them high on the political agenda, and to transfer knowledge and technology to those communities that needed them most.
The Commission should aim to treat all issues equally and in an integrated manner, they said, with more emphasis on cross-cutting issues. Discussions on the Commission's themes must not stop at the end of the session, since much new information would appear during the intersessional period.
Such tools as working groups and regional meetings should be considered as means for continued dialogue. Major groups should continue to offer expertise, to enhance partnerships in civil society and beyond, build their own capacities through education and awareness raising, monitor progress and recommend changes, and network more effectively. They would engage at all levels to implement the Commission agenda, and complement efforts of States to involve major groups as active participants in planning and implementing effective programmes. The proposed special session in February should be devoted to improving the role of major groups in implementing the Johannesburg goals, and include major groups seated on a panel as experts.UN Sustainable Development Commission:
