A/47/PV.54 General Assembly

79.  REPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT (a) REPORT OF THE CONFERENCE (A/CONF.151/26, vols. I-IV and vol.II/Corr.l) (b) REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL (A/47/598 and Add.l) Mr. BRAHIMI (Algeria) (interpretation from Arabic): It is my pleasure to speak before the Assembly on behalf of of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, the Kingdom of Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, and Algeria. The fact that the member States of the Arab Maghreb Union have decided to speak with one voice on the item relating to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development attests to the very particular importance they attach to the question of the environment and its organic relationship with the process of development. Desertification and drought, marine and fresh water industrial pollution, the scarcity of water resources, particularly of drinking water, in addition to soil erosion and rapidly increasing demographic pressures, are the principal environmental problems facing the countries of the, Maghreb. While desertification affects one quarter of the world's land surface, it engulfs more than 90 per cent of the land surface of the Arab Maghreb countries. In addition to the phenomenon of spreading desertification from the south, most of the Maghreb countries are equally threatened in the north, by the negative effects of Mediterranean pollution. Petroleum products are by far the largest source of that pollution, as 50 per cent of the world's fuels are transported across the Mediterranean, where there are usually no less than 2,000 tankers at any one time. Consequently, more than 17 accidents on the scale of the Exxon Valdez incident take place, on average, unheralded, every year, in the Mediterranean. More than 650,000 tons of petroleiam are spilled annually into that partially enclosed sea. Recently, the Atlantic coasts of Morocco came very near to suffering the devastating effects of an oil spill that could have produced a veritable black tide. Furthermore, the northern part of the Mediterranean also receives various other forms of the effluent of industrial pollutants. Proceeding from their awareness of the need for concerted efforts in facing up to such challenges, the countries of the united Arab Maghreb have decided to include environmental protection on the list of their common priorities. Hith that aim in view, a working group on the environment and water was established. As a result of the deliberations of the working group, the following cooperative projects have been adopted, to this date; First, a Maghreb strategy to fight desertification has been agreed; Secondly, the results of the Maghreb "Green Dam" project have been assessed and certain aspects of the project have been reconsidered; Thirdly, the establishment of an African network for monitoring and data exchange on desertification and soil erosion is under way; and Fourthly, an overall study of the state of the environment in the Maghreb countries has been undertaken. The working group has been instrumental in the adoption of the Maghreb Charter for the Environment and the formulation of a plan to supply drinking water to the countries of the region. This plan constitutes an important part of the Maghreb development strategy included in the project of establishing an Arab Maghreb economic union. It has been decided to proclaim 17 June of each year as Maghreb Environment Day and 21 February as Maghreb Tree Day. In the context of discharging their environmental protection responsibilities, the Arab Maghreb countries have adopted the following basic principles: First, deterioration of the environment and underdevelopment cannot be viewed as an inescapable destiny; development is not necessarily inimical to the environment, just as the environment is not antithetical to the requirements of economic growth. Secondly, excessive unchecked industrialization and the persistence of underdevelopment are at the very root of the destruction of the environment. This is further aggravated by unsustainable modes of production, consumption and transportation. (Mr. Brahimi. Algeria) Thirdly, the damage caused by environmental pollution and the negative consequences of underdevelopment do not stop at State borders and do not recognize the North-South divide. Fourthly, no country, regardless of the level of its development, its size or its economic muscle, can face up on its own, to the ecological challenge. Fifthly, if the restoration of world ecological balance requires, in the case of some, the integration of environmental concerns into the development process, it reguires, in the case of the overwhelming majority of mankind, a durable resurgence of economic growth through a new North-South partnership. These basic principles have shaped and guided the positions of the Member States of the Arab Maghreb Union both during the Rio de Janeiro conference itself and throughout its preparatory phase. The Rio de Janeiro conference, without a doubt, will continue to be a fundamental frame of reference in understanding and addressing the question of the environment, especially with regard to its organic relationship with the requirements of development. Thanks to the remarkable conceptual contribution made by the Earth Summit, it is now difficult, if not impossible, to address the question of the environment without linking it to the requirements of development. The Conference gave rise to a genuine process of diagnosis. Clear-cut undertakings were made, ambitious programmes of action were adopted, lofty principles were established and important conventions were signed. A new process was initiated and an important stage was reached and left behind. However, there now remains another stage, which can be deemed decisive for more than one reason, namely that of implementing the resolutions which were adopted. It is inciunbent now upon this session of the General Assembly to complete the work that was begun, by responding to the resolutions that were agreed. In this respect, the establishment of the high-level Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) acquires special importance. In its conception, its nature and its functioning, this Commission could be an appropriate framework for national and harmonious management of development and the environment in a manner that could lead to sustainable development that is equitably shared by all. However, this new institutional framework within of the United Hations system must avoid the pitfalls of deviation from the goals for which it has been set up. Such deviation may be caused by a possible schism between the functions of policy formulation and the coordination of policies on the one hand, and the process of financing the programme activities, on the other. The same pitfalls should be avoided in the operation of the implementation mechanisms which will be established in conformity with the international conventions concluded at the Earth Summit. The achievement of the objectives assigned to those institutions necessarily involves strict respect for the commitments undertaken by the industrialized countries in terms of substantial, new and additional financial resources, as well as the transfer of ecologically sound technology on preferential and concessional terms, to the developing countries. The achievement of such objectives also reguires an improved international economic environment through correcting the terms of trade, access to the markets of the industrialized countries and the settlement of the external debt crisis which overburdens the developing countries. (Mr. Brahimi. Algeria) This session of the General Assembly is called upon to respond to the Rio Conference's recommendation regarding the establishment of an intergovernmental negotiating committee to draw up by June 1994, an international convention on combating desertification, especially in Africa. The Arab Maghreb, which participated effectively in the formulation of that initiative, will continue to participate in and contribute to its implementation. In that context, my country, Algeria, will be happy to host, in the heart of the Sahara, the world's largest desert at Tamanraset, Djanet, Timimoun or anywhere else a meeting of the bureau of the intergovernmental negotiating committee whenever it becomes operational. The Member States of the Arab Maghreb Union express the hope that the process of drawing up this convention will elicit, on the part of the developed countries, the same interest and care shown towards the United Hations Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biodiversity. The results of the Earth Summit, including the adoption of binding legal instruments, were made possible by the spirit of compromise and the concessions agreed to by the developing countries. For this reason, reservations were expressed at the closure of the summit by certain of the developing countries. Those reservations, in effect, stem from reflect legitimate interests and reflect widely shared concerns and, therefore, cannot be ignored. They should be taken into account when it comes to any future in-depth work being done to follow up and develop further the results of the Rio de Janeiro conference. Consideration of the results of the Rio de Janeiro conference comes at a time when the United Nations finds itself engaged in renewal and revitalization of its intergovernmental machinery and administrative support structures. An opportunity is therefore afforded to match the political interest shown by the United Nations since the ending of the cold war with similar achievements in the field of sustainable economic development. Such an opportunity must be seized in full measure if the Organization is to be able to achieve the noble objectives of universal peace, prosperity and security it was created to achieve. Mr. ALDERS (Hetherlands); Minister MacLean spoke yesterday on behalf of the European Community and its member States, but I am pleased now to address this plenary meeting on a number of specific topics of the United Hations Conference on Environment and Development (UHCED). UHCED has been praised by many people as a major step forward on the road towards integrating environment and development. My Government agrees with that view. Others have proclaimed UNCED to be a costly failure, pointing to the lack of concrete results and to the many unresolved problems. My Government understands their position, even if we do not agree with it. When highlighting these drawbacks, they are right, up to a point. UHCED has not yet produced global, concerted action to abolish poverty and to safeguard our planet. UHCED yielded few concrete financial commitments. But UHCED has put the problems in the right context. It has connected the protection of our global environment with the right to development for all nations. It has put sustainable development firmly on the political agenda. Therefore, UHCED was a success. But we did not finish our task in Rio. We agreed there to fulfil the Rio agreements at the forty-seventh session of the General Assembly - to elaborate further on intergovernmental follow-up and on financial commitments. At UNCED, many countries said that it was too early to make firm commitments. So we are here today to discuss ways and means of consolidating and working out the results we brought with us from Rio de Janeiro. To a great extent, tlHCED still has to be put into practice, and we are running out of time. Of course, there are many difficulties to overcome. Changes have taken place in Central and Eastern Europe and throughout the world. We are now living in a different world. The political and military tensions that paralysed the international community for decades have relaxed. But economic and political liberalization do not always go hand in hand. This new situation requires a new approach to development and to the environment. UNCED gave us a clear signal. Let us recognize it; it was a warning sign. We have always thought that the possibilities on Earth were never-ending. How grave an error that was! Our planet is not as secure a spot in the universe as we thought it was. The threats to it are manifold: the climate may be changing; desertification and erosion are the rule rather than the exception in many countries; poverty and hunger keep millions of people in misery; and the untold riches of our complex ecosystems are diminishing every day. A famous Dutch economist, Jan Tinbergen, has said: "We always thought that our possibilities were endless. Now we know that there is a limit to everything, even to our own wishes". And he is right. Our common future is at stake, and therefore UNCED was a necessity. It has taught us to think seriously about our future as human beings on this fragile planet. Maybe the most important outcome of UNCED was our realization that, in order to make the world a safe place to live for our children and their children, we have to combat poverty. In a world where people's first concern remains their food for tomorrow or even for today sustainability is impossible in the long run. Sustainable development also means the fair allocation of development.* (Mr. Alders, Hetherlands) We did not come to New York only to look back at Rio and to assess the value of UHCED. Enough fine words have been said. Today we are here to look ahead. A major challenge would be to define the so-called environmental space, the carrying capacity of the world's ecosystems, and to develop criteria for its allocation and distribution. We must realize that the environment cannot be used for free. We must internalize environmental externalities; only then can we determine whether the market works. Scarcity has to dictate price. Instruments such as tradeable emission rights could be applied. If the total emission load imposed on ecosystems were limited, financial resources would become available that could enable developing countries to prevent the use of resource-intensive and polluting technologies. I highly recommend this topic for intensified international action. The same goes for other economic instruments, such as levies or taxes applied to the input side of the economic system. So far, we have focused on the output side, charging for emissions and waste streams. In our quest for integrated life-cycle management, a levy or tax on input that would finally be reflected in the prices of products will most probably prove to be more effective. An internationally applied tax on energy could be the first step towards an international eco-tax. The overall fear that ecological measures will be taken at the expense of the economy is in our view not justified. Many studies done in Europe have proved that in certain fie'ds, especially energy conservation, financial instruments are sometimes the only way to realize environmental improvement. A higher tax on fuel does not have to result in the loss of jobs, as has often been said. In our opinion, it will even stimulate employment, but it will be a different kind of employment. And even more important; it will stimulate development sustainable development. We acknowledge the need expressed in Agenda 21 for sustainable-development plans. In our country, we have devised a form of "green" planning called a national environmental policy plan. This is a process of developing and implementing a long-term policy that will lead to significant environmental improvement on a sustainable basis, and it is accompanied by a package of measures for the next four to eight years. We have set targets for the year 2000 and 2010, and we will revise the plan every four years to verify that vith our present policy we can reach these targets. The plan is based on cooperation between the Government and the relevant social sectors, such as industry, consumers and agriculture. He would be happy to share our experiences with other countries. It is interesting to see how the debate on changing consumption and production patterns gained momentum in the Netherlands after UNCED. The clear UNCED message that Western consumer lifestyles are not compatible with long-term sustainability has been well understood. Within our administration, we have eiribarked on a detailed comparison of Agenda 21 and our own domestic policies, in order to identify what we are already doing and where we need to do more. It is at that point that it becomes clear how comprehensive a document Agenda 21 really is. We have prepared agreements on sustainable development with Benin, Bhutan and Costa Rica, based on mutual commitments. In these bilateral agreements, the Netherlands commits ituelf to restrict its demand on the environment. Ihe other countries promise to prevent the use of resource-intensive production processes and to divide the profits fairly. He had already started the implementation of the Climate Convention even before we signed it. The Hetherlands target for carbon dioxide is a 3 to 5 per cent reduction in the year 2000. We have to reach stabilization at the 1990 level between 1994 and 1995. This fits within the European Community (EC) target of stabilization, as a first step for the year 2000. Maybe this EC concept of burden-sharing, which means that the overall target will be reached, but with some countries reaching the target earlier than others, could be followed. We ratified and are implementing the biodiversity Convention. And, of course, we are also stimulating discussion in the EC to speed up the post-UNCED process. And last but not least, together with my British colleague, I still attach great importance to the issue of desertification and forestry. Indeed, we think more binding agreements in the field of sustainable forest management are needed, preferably in the form of a forestry convention. Therefore, we need to have a strong body within this family of United Hations to monitor and steer all these efforts, a body that is in broad terms responsible for the implementation of the UNCED agreements. We welcome the establishment of a high-level Commission on Sustainable Development. With regard to the composition of the Commission, it is clear that we have to strike a careful balance between efficiency and involvement. It is essential that the Commission actually be capable of handling the many difficult jobs that will come its way. Therefore, it should be a high-level body of a workable size and should meet at a political level, with ministers as members. On the other hand, we should like to see maximum involvement, in order not to lose the momeiturn of the UNCED process. My colleague Mr. Pronk, (Mr. Alders. Netherlands) Minister of the Development Cooperation, indicated earlier that the work of the Commission could be facilitated by having some advisory bodies do a substantial amount of preparatory work on, for instance, reports. These bodies could ensure more involvement by Member States by having a membership based on rotation. Of course, the Commission has to be authoritative; therefore, we are convinced of the necessity of holding meetings of the Commission at the ministerial level at least once a year, for part of the time the Commission is in session. Only then wii: the results of the work of the Commission get immediate attention, even if its recommendations have to go through the Economic and Social Council before reaching the General Assembly. We have to take decisions, to reach agreement on the establishment of a Commission that will be well-equipped for its task, not only to reflect, but also to guide further work, and agreement on the position and form of the secretariat and maybe of some subsidiary bodies. The secretariat should be clearly identifiable and positioned close to the Secretary-General. It is important that such a secretariat be seen as working full-time for sustainable development, not only within the Commission on Sustainable Development, but also in relation to other United Nations bodies dealing with economic and social issues. It is of the utmost importance that sustainable development be more closely integrated into the work of bodies like the Economic and Social Council, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Hations Conference on Trade and Development (UHCTAD) and the regional economic commissions. It is important that the secretariat be located in a city where all countries are permanently represented, including the least developed countries and the small island States. An important function of the Commission on Sustainable Development, besides the monitoring of the implementation of Agenda 21, is the guidance of the implementation of the commitments made. That includes the implementation of the commitments made in the field of financial resources and transfer of technology. Sustainable technologies are available, but the transfer to developing countries still has to be pushed. It is one of the tasks of the Commission to get it off the ground. We need environmentally sound technologies world-wide, and we need them badly. I was happy to see last week in Paris, at the United Hations Environment Programme (UHEP) meeting on clean technology, that there are some interesting technology projects sponsored by the international business council. The Hetherlands is willing to participate financially in this kind of concrete technology project in Egypt, Senegal and Zimbabwe. To get these technologies incorporated into our socio-economic structures, we have to pay more attention to capacity-building. This strengthening of institutional capabilities and arrangements will be one of the functions of the Commission. Capacity-building has to support the integration of environment and development at regional sx:\ national levels, and UHDP and UHEP should play an important role in it. Of course, I do not have to underline again the crucial role of UNEP in the implementation of Agenda 21. The Commission also has to keep under review the national programmes that will be submitted to it. To keep the discussion going, it is important that the national reports made for UNCED be updated regularly. Another important aspuct of the work of the Commission is the role of the non-governmental-organization community. As we have all seen, non-governmental organizations have made a substantive contribution to the UHCED process. They helped to focus our discussions on the issues that need further consideration and decisions. They can give voice to the interests of environment and development and to the needs of people who otherwise would not be heard. Sustainable development is an unattainable goal if it is not supported by the people affected by it. The non-governmental organizations have a very important intermediate function in generating and sustaining that support. We therefore want to continue the meaningful participation of the non-governmental-organization community, particularly in the work of the Commission. We believe that the accreditation procedures developed during the UNCED process should be the basis for the participation of non-governmental organizations in the work of the Commission. One of the most important issues monitored by the Commmission is that of financial commitments. We all know that for sustainable development major changes are needed, and major changes require major resources. My Government firmly holds the opinion that, in view of the different contributions to global environmental degradation. States have common but differentiated responsibilities. The industrialized countries therefore bear a special responsibility in the international approach to sustainable development, not only because of the pressures their societies place on the global environment, but also because of the technologies and financial resources they command. My colleague Mr. Pronk has spoken in detail on the financial follow-up to Rio. In Rio we agreed that substantial new and additional funding for sustainable development is reguired. We promised to augment these resources and to ensure prompt and effective implementatior of Agenda 21. I wish it were no longer necessary to highlight this need. I said it in Rio, and I say it again today; The Netherlands is prepared to live up to this responsibility. The concept of new and additional (Mr. Alders. Hetherlani^ls) real financial commitments. Otherwise, we shall -.ake the very heart out of UHCED. But the negotiations within the World Bank for the tenth replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA) showed us that the spirit of Rio may already be fading away. He should not allow this to happen, either within the World Bank or within the European Community. As my British colleague said yesterday, we are working hard within the EC to implement as soon as possible the offer made in Rio of an initial contribution of 3 billion European Currency Units. In our view we still need a substantial replenishment of IDA. On top of that, we should add a substantial Earth increment to show that we an willing to put into practice what we agreed to in Rio. Furthermore, we should aim at increasing the resources of the Global Environment Facility to a -evel of about the same size as the tenth replenishment of IDA, apart from the necessity for restructuring the Facility. We need new resources, but they also have to be additional ones. In our opinion, at least 50 per cent of the pledges made in the framework of UHCED should be really new and additional. My Government is already spending more than 0.7 per cent of its gross national product on official development assistance. We have decided to add another 0.1 per cent, specifically designated for the abatement of global environmental problems in the developing world, provided that other industrialized Governments take similar steps. Countries that have not yet achieved the 0.7 per cent target promised in Rio to do so as soon as possible. Real implementation of UHCED is not possible as long as we do not make real progress on this issue. The time has come to face the future together. No longer can the short-term objectives of single States determine the course of global history. The basis of our existence as human beings is threatened, and we have to work together to put things right again. In Rio some 180 countries made agreements. Today they are gathered here in Hew York. It is the right time and the right place. So let us stop talking. We have been talking for year after year, we have been travelling from conference to conference. Now the only thing we have to do is to put the Rio agreements into practice. Let us do just that. The world and its people, our people, need it, and they need it badly. Mr. MERIMEE (France)(interpretation from French): The French delegation is in full agreement with the statement made by Mr. David MacLean, the United Kingdom Minister of State for the Environment and Countryside, on behalf of the European Community and its member States. I shall therefore mention only a few aspects of the subject before us, the follow-up of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), held in RiO' The Commission on Sustainable Development should be the principal forum for the follow-up of the Rio Conference. We believe it should enjoy the support of the work of a high-level advisory board, consisting of eminent persons knowledgeable about environment and development, which should independently formulate views and proposals on questions relating to the follow-up of UNCED and the implementation of Agenda 21. Its members will be appointed by the Secretary-General. We must see to it that its work receives suitable publicity. The Committee for Development Planning provides a foundation on which the advisory board can be established. We must also institute the negotiating process designed to lead to the adoption of a convention to combat desertification. France has supported that proposal from the beginning. Indeed, we consider it a question of survival for many developing countries, particularly in Africa. The international community, which mobilized on the guestions of climatic change and the conservation of biological diversity, must not stand idly by. France will contribute to the work of the negotiating committee, support it and make available to it all the expertise it has acquired in this area. I now turn to the question of financial resources. On this point, as on others, we must be wary of trying to repeat the Conference. The agreement reached in Rio was the result of lengthy negotiations. The texts adopted, with the agreement of all, cover nearly all existing financial instruments. We must avoid reopening them. However, the adoption of texts is not enough; it must be followed by action - if possible without delay. In Rio we undertook to report on the implementation of the measures announced at UNCED, and to do so at this session of the General Assembly. France, which will naturally play its part in the actions of the European Community, has committed itself to achieve by the year 2000 the goal of devoting 0.7 per cent of its gross national product to official development assistance. That solemn commitment was made in Rio by the President of the Republic. In 1992 our official development assistance should therefore amount to F40 billion, or approximately $8 billion. In 1993, subject to approval by the French Parliament, it will rise to F43.3 billion. The share of finances devoted to sectors given priority status in Agenda 21 urban environment, water, energy, land resources, forests will be increased to F4 billion over three years, including a significant amount of additional resources. That programme, centred on actions relating to the transfer of technologies, institutional support and the fight against poverty, will total F1.2 billion by 1993. This effort will be continued, and we urge other wealthy countries, not only developed countries, to do likewise. The Rio Conference profoundly altered our approach to the problems of development and the environment. The United Nations must take this into account in restructuring its activities in the economic sphere. We support the efforts of the Secretary-General in this regard, and we believe that the follow-up of UNCED must hei.ceforth have a central place in activities of the United Nations.