General Assembly
Official Records
Fifty-fourth Session
Supplement No. 1 (A/54/1)
Chapter II
Sustainable development
167. The seventh session of the Commission on Sustainable Development in 1999 attracted a record number of ministerial participants, confirming the role of the Commission as the main high-level intergovernmental forum on sustainable development. Participants agreed to address the most pressing problems of sustainable development and management of the world's oceans and seas; to promote sustainable development in tourism; and to encourage further action to achieve more sustainable production and consumption. In addition, the five-year review of progress on the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, which represent more than one fifth of the membership of the United Nations, will be held in September 1999.
168. The United Nations Development Group and other bodies in the United Nations system have continued to work together on sustainable development and environmental issues. In January 1999, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Habitat, in collaboration with UNDP and the World Bank, launched a joint regional initiative to improve water management in African cities. The Office to Combat Desertification and Drought continues to provide assistance to a number of countries. To date, 49 countries have benefited.
169. The United Nations Revolving Fund for Natural Resources Exploration promoted environment-friendly mining activities in Mozambique and Suriname and distributed guidebooks on CD-ROM to over 50 countries. In 1998, UNDP completed 75 conversion projects in 19 countries under the Montreal Protocol, which supports the conversion of contaminated industrial sites into usable, safe land. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and WFP together identified sustainable environmental management practices in areas hosting large numbers of refugees. ESCWA continued to work towards developing environmental indicators for the Arab region.
170. In 1998, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the World Energy Council and UNDP jointly launched the world energy assessment to provide background scientific and technical data for bodies involved in furthering the work of Agenda 21. Through their partnership in the Global Environment Facility (GEF), UNDP, UNEP and the World Bank have helped 138 countries to prepare national strategies to implement their commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
171. Reform of the United Nations Secretariat has improved user access to the analytical and technical work of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. This in turn will help ensure that the results of policy deliberations in intergovernmental forums, particularly the Commission on Sustainable Development, contribute more effectively to United Nations support for national sustainable development policies.