Press release

Date: 11.05.03

Minister Brende, new Chairman of the Commission for Sustainable Development

The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) today elected Mr. Børge Brende, Minister of the Environment of Norway, as Chairman for the Commission. The CSD has a leading role within the United Nations in monitoring and ensuring the implementation of the targets from last years World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.

- Our challenge now is to translate words into action, and to take concrete initiatives in order to deliver on our commitments from Johannesburg, Mr. Brende says.

- The international community must show tangible results in areas that are crucial in the fight against poverty and environmental degradation. Only through concrete action, can the United Nations gain a renewed and strengthened trust. I will do my utmost to contribute in this matter, Mr. Brende says.

The Commission on Sustainable Development was created by the United Nations' 47th General Assembly in 1992, to monitor and report on implementation of Agenda 21, adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Commission has put a number of environmental issues high on the international agenda – i.e. patterns of sustainable production and consumption, transboundary pollution of the marine environment, and forest-related issues.

Freshwater and sanitation services

One of the main topics for the Commission's work in the next two years will be water and sanitation. The United Nations has estimated that approximately two million people die every year due to water-related illnesses. The UN has also indicated that two billion people will be affected by water scarcity before the midst of this millennium, unless substantive efforts are initiated.

- Increasing the access to freshwater and sanitation services, as well as developing environmentally sound systems of water resources management may be the two most important initiatives in order to improve living conditions for the poor, and to achieve sustainable development, Mr. Brende says.

"UN must take a leading role"

- These are also areas where we can achieve substantional results in the short term, provided that we make the necessary resources available, and are able to lay the ground for sustainable development through systems of good governance. The United Nations must take a leading role at international level, and must coordinate efforts in an efficient manner if we are to succeed, according to the Norwegian Minister for Environment, Mr. Børge Brende.

Contact

Director General Hæge Andenæs, mobile phone 97 11 41 48

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