The United Nations University (UNU) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) have launched an annual series of seminars and workshops to provide delegates in New York with skills and understanding of issues related to sustainable development, in particular the linkages between policy and practice.

OBJECTIVES OF SESSION I

To organize a seminar for delegates to the United Nations, focusing on recent developments in the area of sustainable development and related national planning processes. The presentation on targets and processes is planned from both a conceptual and an applied perspective.

ORGANIZATION

The resource persons will make presentations on the evolving nature of sustainable development planning, and use achievements at a national level in the Netherlands, as a concrete example. They will analyze approaches to establishing sustainability targets as the basis for plan formulation and review the impact of recent developments in the understanding and mitigation of global climate change and ozone depletion. They will thus review how the sustainable planning process might successfully proceed in developed and developing nations, using some recent examples as case studies.

PARTICIPANTS

This seminar is designed mainly for those members of permanent missions in New York dealing with sustainable development issues, and in particular those having to follow the work of the Commission for Sustainable Development. For practical reasons the number of participants will be limited. UNU and UNITAR thus reserve the right to make a selection among the candidates, if necessary. The selected candidates are requested to regard their participation as a firm commitment.

RESOURCE PERSONS

The seminar will be conducted by Mr. Hal Levin, Environmental Researcher and Lecturer from Santa Cruz, California (formerly of the University of California, Berkeley and University of California, Santa Cruz). In the afternoon segment the perspective and experience of policy makers will be presented by a national representative, which will be followed by discussions and conclusions.

WORKING LANGUAGES

The seminar will be conducted in English.

DATE AND VENUE

The seminar will be held at United Nations Headquarters in New York on 6 March 1998, from 10 a.m. to

1 p.m. and from 3 to 6 p.m. The exact venue will be communicated to the participants in due course.

REGISTRATION

Members of the permanent missions accredited to the United Nations in New York who wish to participate in this seminar are requested to complete the attached registration form and return it to the following address:

UNITAR (Attn.: Ms. Humaira Kamal)

1 United Nations Plaza, Suite DC1-603

New York, NY 10017