network of research and training centres and programmes
Issue 19: September 2002
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UNU Update | |
| The newsletter of United Nations
University and its network of research and training centres and programmes |
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Issue 19: September 2002 |
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to Johannesburg Summit UN University has presented its final report to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) being held in Johannesburg August 26-September 4. Entitled Making Integrated Solutions Work for Sustainable Development, it is the fifth UNU contribution to the WSSD process.
"The Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development has the potential to serve as a turning point in the way that the international community pursues the goal of sustainable human development," UNU Rector Hans van Ginkel writes in his introduction. "The obvious decline in the condition of the natural environment combined with extreme poverty still prevailing in many parts of the world and access to clean drinking water, basic health services or education still illusory for many, have generated a worldwide appreciation of the urgency with which we prepare for the WSSD. "This reality points to the core consideration that the goals of sustainable development must be more effectively mainstreamed within the broader global political agenda. This is why the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development is so crucial.
"The Johannesburg Summit MUST signal a new, global level, appreciation of the need to approach sustainable development in a more comprehensive, strategic and integrated manner. Attention must also be directed at both human and environmental resources. Our work, which we proudly present here, tries to contribute to these common goals." The first section of the report is devoted to an examination of the close relationship between poverty and environmental degradation and names poverty eradication as the first step toward sustainable development. The report also discusses the relationship between poverty and other issues such as conflict, gender inequality, access to clean water and urbanisation. The report also examines issues related to the protection and management of the natural resource base necessary for economic and social development and makes recommendations about combating desertification, preserving biodiversity and the environmental integrity of mountains, forests and oceans and coastal communities and their ecosystems are found within this section. Other issues covered include:
More WSSD coverage:
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