Minister of Environment Siri Bjerke, Commission on Sustainable Development 8th Session

New York, 24 April - 5 May 2000

Speech at the Commission on Sustainable Development 8th Session

Mr. Chairman,

Norway is pleased to hold its national statement under this highly topical and important segment of the meeting. The issue of trade and investments is of a cross-sectoral nature. It is complex and challenging, and it inter-relates with the sustainable development agenda in many different ways. The CSD is in a unique position to offer some overall policy views on both the economic, social and environmental aspects of trade.

Trade and investment flows have brought increased welfare to many, yet the problems of marginalisation of others persist. We must ensure that trade and investment be strengthened as vehicles for poverty eradication, social equity and sound environmental management. International rules and regulations, codes of conduct as well as technology- transfer and capacity-building between countries and regions are important to this end. Norway has supported programmes for sustainable development as an important part of our development cooperation policy. As you may know, Norway currently grants 0,9% of GDP as ODA. My Government’s aim is to increase this ratio to one full percent.

As Governments, we must seek out new partnerships and alliances. Civil

society and NGOs are important partners in the efforts for sustainable

development. Today, I had the pleasure of hosting with UNEP a side-event

that focused on the role that private capital markets can play in

sustainable development. One of the signals this CSD should give is that the private sector should be both inspired and stimulated to develop green criteria for capital markets.

Mr. Chairman,

Regrettably, environmental stewardship is lagging behind economic

development. Environmental gains from new technology and environmental

policies are being overtaken by the negative scale effects stemming from

economic growth. Norway would like to underline the need for decoupling

economic growth and environmental degradation. The follow-up of initiatives for sustainable production and consumption is essential in this regard, as well as the role of the multilateral trading system.

Developing countries must be better integrated into the multilateral trading system. Improved market access, special and differential treatment, technical and financial assistance as well as their increased participation in the WTO work and negotiations is essential in this regard. Special attention should be paid to the needs of the LDC’s. Furthermore, Norway attaches great importance to the establishment of an independent legal advisory centre on WTO law, which would enable LDC’s and others to better safeguard their trading rights.

It is our view that sustainable development and environmental protection

should be one of the overall principles in the upcoming trade negotiations under the WTO. We believe that the use of sustainability reviews can help achieve the objective of integrating environment and development concerns in trade policies. We are grateful to the WWF and the Government of Ecuador for arranging a workshop on methodologies for sustainability assessments this March. The workshop was very useful in that it helped us move towards a common understanding of relevant concepts.

Norway is in the process of conducting national environmental reviews in

relation to the upcoming WTO negotiations. We are pleased to note that other countries are doing the same, and hope that even more countries will follow. We recognise that national authorities are responsible for carrying out such reviews or sustainability assessments. We also recognise that developing countries may need technical support to carry out sustainability assessments of trade policies. We therefore welcome and support the joint UNEP -UNCTAD Task Force on Environment, Trade and Development that seeks to play an active role in this field.

In our view UNCTAD must be part of the process of shaping a better and more coherent understanding of how to reconcile the globalisation process with the aspirations of the developing world, and the organisation must also be involved in framing an appropriate response. UNCTAD is well positioned to do this, and has therefore an important complementary role in relation to other multilateral bodies.

We wish to see the CSD give a clear signal that relevant multilateral

agreements in the areas of trade and environment must contribute to

sustainable development. Our concern is illustrated by the debate on the

relationship between the Convention on Biological Diversity and the TRIPS Agreement on the issue of fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. This debate has been initiated by developing countries, many of which feel that the TRIPs agreement in its present form is an obstacle to effective CBD implementation. This may be a legitimate concern, and should be seen in light of the general need to ensure mutual supportiveness between agreements on trade and environment.

Norway feels that if environmental reviews had been undertaken in parallel with the TRIPs negotiations, the potential for conflicts between different types of agreements, including the CBD, would have been reduced. This underlines the importance of environmental reviews when conducting trade negotiations.

Mr. Chairman,

We also welcome this opportunity to discuss agricultural issues in a broad manner. We think it is also important to highlight positive aspects of agriculture. Agriculture is associated with active local communities. It promotes and maintains biological diversity, cultural heritage and landscapes, esthetical values and recreational possibilities.

Under the FAO the re-negotiation of the International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture is reaching its final stage. These are the genetic resources that agriculture depends on. The regions of the world are highly interdependent with regard to these resources, and it is essential for long term food security that an open exchange of such genetic material continues, while the benefits of such an exchange is equitably shared. We see it as a matter of urgency that these negotiations are concluded in a successful way.

Let me also take this occasion to welcome the recent finalisation of the

Biosafety protocol under the CBD. I believe this protocol will be an

important contribution to the environmentally sustainable use of genetic

resources. We also commend the initiative under the CBD to look into the role of indigenous peoples.

Norway also welcomes the report of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forest. Norway will contribute further to promote management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests through the proposed United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF). This intergovernmental body should be established as a functional commission of ECOSOC. Our main focus will be to secure implementation of the proposals for action from the IPF/IFF-process. We will also continue our support to forest-related processes within the FAO, CBD, FCCC and ITTO. I am pleased to announce that Norway will host and co-sponsor a workshop this autumn on the financing of sustainable forest management.

Mr. Chairman,

Land use planning and management has a fundamental bearing on both

ecosystems and social systems. Large-scale landscape changes can constitute elements of global environmental change. At the regional and local levels, land use affects the quality of natural habitats and watersheds. The social aspects of land use relate to the distribution of (scarse) land resources between sectors and stakeholder groups.

To ensure sustainable land use, planning and management must involve

affected parties and take place at the local level within the framework of national plans. The CSD is in a good position to highlight the importance of integrated decision-making. Through Agenda 21, and more recently through the Aarhus Convention on access to information and participation in decision-making processes, we have developed a set of tools and principles for multi-stakeholder cooperation.

Finally, Mr. Chairman,

Norway would like to state its commitment to the 10-year review of Agenda 21 in 2002, including plans for a forward-looking, cross-sectoral summit to highlight future challenges after 2002. To mobilise interest and action for sustainable development at the global and local levels, we should include civil society and NGO’s in all stages of the process, as well as prepare regional review processes. The World Summit for Sustainable Development should take place in a developing country, like South Africa. We believe that the mutual dependence between poverty reduction and sustainable development should be addressed. It is also important that the World Summit reflects the results from the ongoing processes within the UN system. 2002 gives us a unique opportunity to renew the political will for action.

Thank you