October 2008: At the European Regional Meeting on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) under the Marrakech Process, held in Prague, the Northern Alliance for Sustainability (ANPED) delivered a
statement addressing the recently adopted EU Action Plan on SCP.
ANPED commends the EU for moving forward in some respects. However, it states that "changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and production requires a comprehensive, coherent and consistent approach". In this regard, ANPED refers to a set of key elements of a broad-based approach to SCP defined by NGO representatives at the 2004 Ostend EU Stakeholder meeting on SCP, which include: ecological fiscal reform; clean and eco-effective production; education for SCP; corporate responsibility and accountability; and information and public participation for SCP.
According to ANPED, the EU focus on energy is far too narrow a scope. Instead, the EU should developed a vision that also takes into account the social dimensions and a wider range of products and services in terms of use of natural resources and waste production. Referring to the 2007 SCP conference in Ljubljana, ANPED stresses the specific attention that should be given to those areas with the highest environmental relevance, which are housing, food and mobility. Furthermore, ANPED states, EU policy on SCP should be as concrete as possible, and the EU should move from a "quantitative towards a qualitative economic model whereby sustainability in terms of production as well as consumption is the key".
Finally, ANPED calls on the EU to promote, facilitate and support SCP policy development and implementation in all European countries, including those outside of the EU in order to avoid any double standards throughout the European region. Here, ANPED calls for Member States and other European countries to develop national action plans on SCP or incorporate SCP action in their national strategies on sustainable development.
United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) 17
CSD 17 Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting (IPM):
NGO Statement on Chair's Negotiating Text, 27 February 2009
CSD 17 Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting (IPM):
NGO Intervention, 27 February 2009
CSD 17 Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting (IPM):
NGO Statement on Africa, 27 February 2009
CSD 17 Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting (IPM):
Desertification: NGO Intervention, 26 February 2009
CSD 17 Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting (IPM):
Land: NGO Intervention, 25 February 2009
CSD 17 Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting (IPM):
Rural Development: NGO Intervention, 24 February 2009
CSD 17 Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting (IPM):
Agriculture: NGO Intervention, 24 February 2009
CSD 17 Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting (IPM):
NGO Opening Statement, 23 February 2009
United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) 16
Final Statement and Poem, 16 May 2008
NGO Inputs at the Ministerial Dialogue with Representatives of the Major Groups, 15 May 2008
NGO Statement on Water and Sanitation, 13 May 2008
Dialogue with Major Groups and Representatives of Partnerships Initiatives - NGO Statement, 9 May 2008
NGO Statement on Interlinkages, 9 May 2008
NGO Statement on Africa, 9 May 2008
NGO Statement on Africa, 8 May 2008
NGO Statement on Drought and Desertification, 8 May 2008
NGO Statement at the Thematic Discussion on Land, 7 May 2008
NGO Statement on Agriculture and Rural Development, 7 May 2008
NGO Statement on Drought and Desertification, 7 May 2008
NGO Statement on Agriculture and Rural Development, 6 May 2008
Dialogue with Major Groups - NGO Statement, 6 May 2008
Presentation of the outcome of the Asia and the Pacific Regional Implementation Meeting - NGO Statement, 6 May 2008
NGO Statement on Africa, 5 May 2008
NGO Statement at the Opening of CSD 16, 5 May 2008
Contribution by Non-Governmental Organizations
At the Europe and North America Regional Implementation Meeting in preparation of the 16th Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (UN CSD 16), ANPED Board Members Andrey Ozharovskiy and Janis Brizga delivered the statements on behalf of NGOs.
Andrey Ozharovskiy presented the findings on the issue of land degradation and pollution, which include contamination from obsolete pesticides storages, military and space activities, and nuclear contamination. He recommended the establishment of an international policy on contaminated land management; the mapping and marking on site of all the dangerous areas, and the restriction of any agricultural and other activity in those areas.
In his intervention, Janis Brizga stressed there needs to be focus on the underlying causes of the problems we face; that we need to move beyond gross domestic product (GDP) as an indicator of wellbeing; and that we need to use the instrument of National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) in a participatory manner.
UN CSD 16 will focus on agriculture, rural development, land, drought, desertification and Africa.
United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) 15
