Backgrounder To The Trade Union Assembly On Labour and The Environment (Sustainlabour, 2006)

Backgrounder to the Assembly on Labour and the Environment
Dear Delegate,
The aim of this backgrounder is to give you reference documents on the many issues that will be
discussed at the Assembly. The selection is not exhaustive and some references maybe dated. However,
we have selected documents that are available in the Assembly languages. The Backgrounder is divided in
two sections. The first provides information from a United Nations/International Labour Organization
perspective. The other, introduces resources from international trade union bodies. At the end of each
section you will find documents that are only available in English and that are considered important
enough for you to know about. The entire has not been reproduced; only the relevant chapters and
sections. To have access to the full document, the internet source is included in the header.
I trust you will find these useful,

The Organizing Committee of the Assembly.
INDEX:
PART I: INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS
Agenda 21 (Working groups: Occupational, Environmental and Public Health 2

Climate Change and Energy, Public access to Resources & Services, Chemical risks and hazardous
Substances, Enterprise Social Responsibility and Accountability)
Chapter 29: All Delegates
Johannesburg Plan of Implementation – Chapter 4 (Working groups: Public access to Resources & 14
Services, Climate Change and Energy, Occupational, Environmental and Public Health)
Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) 18
(Working group: Chemical risks and hazardous Substances)
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (Working group: Chemical risks and hazardous 20
Substances)
UNFCCC Climate Change Information Kit (Working Group: Climate Change and Energy) 31
ILO Overview concerning codes of conduct, social labelling and other private sector initiatives 34
addressing labour issues (Working Group: Enterprise Social Responsibility and Accountability)
ILO Occupational Safety and Health Convention (Working group: Occupational, Environmental and 36
Public Health)
UN CSD SG Report on Freshwater management for CSD-12 (Working group: 40
Public access to Resources & Services)
UN Beijing Declaration on Renewable Energy for Sustainable Development (Working group: Climate 47
Change and Energy) (only in English)
UN Backgrounder on Privatisation: Supplying Water — For a Price (Working Group: Public access to 49
Resources & Services) (only in English)
UNEP-DTIE Responsible entrepreneurship for sustainable development (Working groups: Enterprise 51
Social Responsibility and Accountability) (Only in English)
PART II: INTERNATIONAL TRADE UNION ORGANIZATIONS BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS
ICFTU Resolution: Globalisation, Decent Work and Sustainable Development 55
All Delegates
ETUC Climate Change: Avenues for Trade Union Action (Working group: Climate Change and Energy) 58
ICEM Background Document to the World Conference on the Chemical Industries (Working groups: 62
Chemical risks and hazardous Substances)
PSI Water in Public Hands (Working group: Public access to Resources & Services) 64
ICFTU Trade Union Guide to Globalization – Chapter 6, the social responsibility of business. 68
(Working group: Enterprise Social Responsibility and Accountability)
ICFTU Resolution: A 21st Century Approach to Occupational Health and Safety for Trade Unions 73
(Working group: Occupational, Environmental and Public Health)
ICFTU comments to the PrepCom SAICM 2005 (Working group: Chemical risks and hazardous 75
Substances) Only in English
UNI Responsible Business – a UNI guide to International Codes of Practice (Working groups: 76
Enterprise Social Responsibility and Accountability) Only in English
PSIRU Electricity liberalisation: The beginning of the end (Working groups: 77
Public access to Resources & Services, Climate Change and Energy) Only in English
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PART I: INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS BACKGROUND
DOCUMENTS
TITLE: AGENDA 21 - SELECTED CHAPTERS

SOURCE: UNITED NATIONS
This document is a backgrounder for the following working groups:
Chapter 6 – Protecting and promoting Human Health – Working group: Occupational, Environmental
and Public Health
Chapter 9 – Protection of the Atmosphere – Working Group: Climate Change and Energy
Chapter 18 – Protection of the Quality and Supply of freshwater resources - Working Group: Public
access to Resources & Services
Chapter 19 – Environmentally Sound Management of Toxic Chemicals – Working Group: Chemical risks
and hazardous Substances
Chapter 29 – Strengthening the role of workers and their Trade Unions – Working Group: All Delegates
Chapter 30 - Strengthening the role of Business and Industry – Working Group: Enterprise Social
Responsibility and Accountability
Is available also in: http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/index.htm in Russian, Arabic

and Chinese
Agenda 21: Chapter 6
PROTECTING AND PROMOTING HUMAN HEALTH
6.1. Health and development are intimately interconnected. Both insufficient development leading to poverty and inappropriate development resulting
in overconsumption, coupled with an expanding world population, can result in severe environmental health problems in both developing and
developed nations. Action items under Agenda 21 must address the primary health needs of the world's population, since they are integral to the
achievement of the goals of sustainable development and primary environmental care. The linkage of health, environmental and socio-economic
improvements requires intersectoral efforts. Such efforts, involving education, housing, public works and community groups, including businesses,
schools and universities and religious, civic and cultural organizations, are aimed at enabling people in their communities to ensure sustainable
development. Particularly relevant is the inclusion of prevention programmes rather than relying solely on remediation and treatment. Countries
ought to develop plans for priority actions, drawing on the programme areas in this chapter, which are based on cooperative planning by the various
levels of government, non-governmental organizations and local communities. An appropriate international organization, such as WHO, should
coordinate these activities.
6.2. The following programme areas are contained in this chapter:

(a) Meeting primary health care needs, particularly in rural areas;
(b) Control of communicable diseases;
(c) Protecting vulnerable groups;
(d) Meeting the urban health challenge;
(e) Reducing health risks from environmental pollution and hazards.
E. Reducing health risks from environmental pollution and hazards

Basis for action
6.39. In many locations around the world the general environment (air, water and land), workplaces and even individual dwellings are so badly
polluted that the health of hundreds of millions of people is adversely affected. This is, inter alia, due to past and present developments in
consumption and production patterns and lifestyles, in energy production and use, in industry, in transportation etc., with little or no regard for
environmental protection. There have been notable improvements in some countries, but deterioration of the environment continues. The ability of
countries to tackle pollution and health problems is greatly restrained because of lack of resources. Pollution control and health protection measures
have often not kept pace with economic development. Considerable development-related environmental health hazards exist in the newly
industrializing countries. Furthermore, the recent analysis of WHO has clearly established the interdependence among the factors of health,
environment and development and has revealed that most countries are lacking such integration as would lead to an effective pollution control
mechanism. 2/ Without prejudice to such criteria as may be agreed upon by the international community, or to standards which will have to be
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determined nationally, it will be essential in all cases to consider the systems of values prevailing in each country and the extent of the applicability of
standards that are valid for the most advanced countries but may be inappropriate and of unwarranted social cost for the developing countries.
Objectives
6.40. The overall objective is to minimize hazards and maintain the environment to a degree that human health and safety is not impaired or
endangered and yet encourage development to proceed. Specific programme objectives are:
(a) By the year 2000, to incorporate appropriate environmental and health safeguards as part of national development programmes in all countries;
(b) By the year 2000, to establish, as appropriate, adequate national infrastructure and programmes for providing environmental injury, hazard
surveillance and the basis for abatement in all countries;
(c) By the year 2000, to establish, as appropriate, integrated programmes for tackling pollution at the source and at the disposal site, with a focus on
abatement actions in all countries;
(d) To identify and compile, as appropriate, the necessary statistical information on health effects to support cost/benefit analysis, including
environmental health impact assessment for pollution control, prevention and abatement measures.
Activities
6.41. Nationally determined action programmes, with international assistance, support and coordination, where necessary, in this area should
include:
(a) Urban air pollution:
i. Develop appropriate pollution control technology on the basis of risk assessment and epidemiological research for the
introduction of environmentally sound production processes and suitable safe mass transport;
ii. Develop air pollution control capacities in large cities, emphasizing enforcement programmes and using monitoring networks, as
appropriate;
(b) Indoor air pollution:
i. Support research and develop programmes for applying prevention and control methods to reducing indoor air pollution,
including the provision of economic incentives for the installation of appropriate technology;
ii. Develop and implement health education campaigns, particularly in developing countries, to reduce the health impact of
domestic use of biomass and coal;
(c) Water pollution:
i. Develop appropriate water pollution control technologies on the basis of health risk assessment;
ii. Develop water pollution control capacities in large cities;
(d) Pesticides:
Develop mechanisms to control the distribution and use of pesticides in order to minimize the risks to human health by transportation, storage,
application and residual effects of pesticides used in agriculture and preservation of wood;
(e) Solid waste:
i. Develop appropriate solid waste disposal technologies on the basis of health risk assessment;
ii. Develop appropriate solid waste disposal capacities in large cities;
(f) Human settlements:
Develop programmes for improving health conditions in human settlements, in particular within slums and non-tenured settlements, on the basis of
health risk assessment;
(g) Noise:
Develop criteria for maximum permitted safe noise exposure levels and promote noise assessment and control as part of environmental health
programmes;
(h) Ionizing and non-ionizing radiation:
Develop and implement appropriate national legislation, standards and enforcement procedures on the basis of existing international guidelines;
(i) Effects of ultraviolet radiation:
i. Effects of ultraviolet radiation: Undertake, as a matter of urgency, research on the effects on human health of the increasing
ultraviolet radiation reaching the earth's surface as a consequence of depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer;
ii. On the basis of the outcome of this research, consider taking appropriate remedial measures to mitigate the above-mentioned
effects on human beings;
(j) Industry and energy production:
i. Establish environmental health impact assessment procedures for the planning and development of new industries and energy
facilities;
ii. Incorporate appropriate health risk analysis in all national programmes for pollution control and management, with particular
emphasis on toxic compounds such as lead;
iii. Establish industrial hygiene programmes in all major industries for the surveillance of workers' exposure to health hazards;
iv. Promote the introduction of environmentally sound technologies within the industry and energy sectors;
(k) Monitoring and assessment:
Establish, as appropriate, adequate environmental monitoring capacities for the surveillance of environmental quality and the health status of
populations;
(l) Injury monitoring and reduction:
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i. Support, as appropriate, the development of systems to monitor the incidence and cause of injury to allow well-targeted
intervention/prevention strategies;
ii. Develop, in accordance with national plans, strategies in all sectors (industry, traffic and others) consistent with the WHO safe
cities and safe communities programmes, to reduce the frequency and severity of injury;
iii. Emphasize preventive strategies to reduce occupationally derived diseases and diseases caused by environmental and
occupational toxins to enhance worker safety;
(m) Research promotion and methodology development:
i. Support the development of new methods for the quantitative assessment of health benefits and cost associated with different
pollution control strategies;
ii. Develop and carry out interdisciplinary research on the combined health effects of exposure to multiple environmental hazards,
including epidemiological investigations of long-term exposures to low levels of pollutants and the use of biological markers
capable of estimating human exposures, adverse effects and susceptibility to environmental agents.
Means of implementation
A) Financing and cost evaluation
6.42. The Conference secretariat has estimated the average total annual cost (1993-2000) of implementing the activities of this programme to be
about $3 billion, including about $115 million from the international community on grant or concessional terms. These are indicative and order-of-
magnitude estimates only and have not been reviewed by Governments. Actual costs and financial terms, including any that are non-concessional,
will depend upon, inter alia, the specific strategies and programmes Governments decide upon for implementation.
B) Scientific and technological means

6.43. Although technology to prevent or abate pollution is readily available for a large number of problems, for programme and policy development
countries should undertake research within an intersectoral framework. Such efforts should include collaboration with the business sector.
Cost/effect analysis and environmental impact assessment methods should be developed through cooperative international programmes and applied
to the setting of priorities and strategies in relation to health and development.
6.44. In the activities listed in paragraph 6.41 (a) to (m) above, developing country efforts should be facilitated by access to and transfer of
technology, know-how and information, from the repositories of such knowledge and technologies, in conformity with chapter 34.
C) Human resource development

6.45. Comprehensive national strategies should be designed to overcome the lack of qualified human resources, which is a major impediment to
progress in dealing with environmental health hazards. Training should include environmental and health officials at all levels from managers to
inspectors. More emphasis needs to be placed on including the subject of environmental health in the curricula of secondary schools and universities
and on educating the public.
D) Capacity-building
6.46. Each country should develop the knowledge and practical skills to foresee and identify environmental health hazards, and the capacity to
reduce the risks. Basic capacity requirements must include knowledge about environmental health problems and awareness on the part of leaders,
citizens and specialists; operational mechanisms for intersectoral and intergovernmental cooperation in development planning and management and
in combating pollution; arrangements for involving private and community interests in dealing with social issues; delegation of authority and
distribution of resources to intermediate and local levels of government to provide front-line capabilities to meet environmental health needs.

PROTECTION OF THE ATMOSPHERE
INTRODUCTION
9.1. Protection of the atmosphere is a broad and multidimensional endeavour involving various sectors of economic activity. The options and
measures described in the present chapter are recommended for consideration and, as appropriate, implementation by Governments and other
bodies in their efforts to protect the atmosphere.
9.2. It is recognized that many of the issues discussed in this chapter are also addressed in such international agreements as the 1985 Vienna
Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer as amended, the 1992
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and other international, including regional, instruments. In the case of activities covered
by such agreements, it is understood that the recommendations contained in this chapter do not oblige any Government to take measures which
exceed the provisions of these legal instruments. However, within the framework of this chapter, Governments are free to carry out additional
measures which are consistent with those legal instruments.
9.3. It is also recognized that activities that may be undertaken in pursuit of the objectives of this chapter should be coordinated with social and
economic development in an integrated manner with a view to avoiding adverse impacts on the latter, taking into full account the legitimate priority
needs of developing countries for the achievement of sustained economic growth and the eradication of poverty.
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9.4. In this context particular reference is also made to programme area A of chapter 2 of Agenda 21 (Promoting sustainable development through
trade).
9.5. The present chapter includes the following four programme areas:
(a) Addressing the uncertainties: improving the scientific basis for decision-making;
(b) Promoting sustainable development:
i. Energy development, efficiency and consumption;
ii. Transportation;
iii. Industrial development;
iv. Terrestrial and marine resource development and land use;
C) Preventing stratospheric ozone depletion;
D) Transboundary atmospheric pollution.
B. Promoting sustainable development
1. Energy development, efficiency and consumption
Basis for action

9.9. Energy is essential to economic and social development and improved quality of life. Much of the world's energy, however, is currently produced
and consumed in ways that could not be sustained if technology were to remain constant and if overall quantities were to increase substantially. The
need to control atmospheric emissions of greenhouse and other gases and substances will increasingly need to be based on efficiency in energy
production, transmission, distribution and consumption, and on growing reliance on environmentally sound energy systems, particularly new and
renewable sources of energy. 1/ All energy sources will need to be used in ways that respect the atmosphere, human health and the environment as
a whole.
9.10. The existing constraints to increasing the environmentally sound energy supplies required for pursuing the path towards sustainable
development, particularly in developing countries, need to be removed.
Objectives
9.11. The basic and ultimate objective of this programme area is to reduce adverse effects on the atmosphere from the energy sector by promoting
policies or programmes, as appropriate, to increase the contribution of environmentally sound and cost-effective energy systems, particularly new
and renewable ones, through less polluting and more efficient energy production, transmission, distribution and use. This objective should reflect the
need for equity, adequate energy supplies and increasing energy consumption in developing countries, and should take into consideration the
situations of countries that are highly dependent on income generated from the production, processing and export, and/or consumption of fossil fuels
and associated energy-intensive products and/or the use of fossil fuels for which countries have serious difficulties in switching to alternatives, and
the situations of countries highly vulnerable to adverse effects of climate change.
Activities
9.12. Governments at the appropriate level, with the cooperation of the relevant United Nations bodies and, as appropriate, intergovernmental and
non-governmental organizations, and the private sector, should:
(a) Cooperate in identifying and developing economically viable, environmentally sound energy sources to promote the availability of increased
energy supplies to support sustainable development efforts, in particular in developing countries;
(b) Promote the development at the national level of appropriate methodologies for making integrated energy, environment and economic policy
decisions for sustainable development, inter alia, through environmental impact assessments;
(c) Promote the research, development, transfer and use of improved energy-efficient technologies and practices, including endogenous
technologies in all relevant sectors, giving special attention to the rehabilitation and modernization of power systems, with particular attention to
developing countries;
(d) Promote the research, development, transfer and use of technologies and practices for environmentally sound energy systems, including new
and renewable energy systems, with particular attention to developing countries;
(e) Promote the development of institutional, scientific, planning and management capacities, particularly in developing countries, to develop,
produce and use increasingly efficient and less polluting forms of energy;
(f) Review current energy supply mixes to determine how the contribution of environmentally sound energy systems as a whole, particularly new and
renewable energy systems, could be increased in an economically efficient manner, taking into account respective countries' unique social, physical,
economic and political characteristics, and examining and implementing, where appropriate, measures to overcome any barriers to their
development and use;
(g) Coordinate energy plans regionally and subregionally, where applicable, and study the feasibility of efficient distribution of environmentally sound
energy from new and renewable energy sources;
(h) In accordance with national socio-economic development and environment priorities, evaluate and, as appropriate, promote cost-effective
policies or programmes, including administrative, social and economic measures, in order to improve energy efficiency;
(i) Build capacity for energy planning and programme management in energy efficiency, as well as for the development, introduction, and promotion
of new and renewable sources of energy;
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(j) Promote appropriate energy efficiency and emission standards or recommendations at the national level, 2/ aimed at the development and use of
technologies that minimize adverse impacts on the environment;
(k) Encourage education and awareness-raising programmes at the local, national, subregional and regional levels concerning energy efficiency and
environmentally sound energy systems;
(l) Establish or enhance, as appropriate, in cooperation with the private sector, labelling programmes for products to provide decision makers and
consumers with information on opportunities for energy efficiency.

PROTECTION OF THE QUALITY AND SUPPLY OF FRESHWATER RESOURCES: APPLICATION OF INTEGRATED APPROACHES TO THE
DEVELOPMENT, MANAGEMENT AND USE OF WATER RESOURCES
18.1. Freshwater resources are an essential component of the Earth's hydrosphere and an indispensable part of all terrestrial ecosystems. The
freshwater environment is characterized by the hydrological cycle, including floods and droughts, which in some regions have become more extreme
and dramatic in their consequences. Global climate change and atmospheric pollution could also have an impact on freshwater resources and their
availability and, through sea-level rise, threaten low-lying coastal areas and small island ecosystems.
18.2. Water is needed in all aspects of life. The general objective is to make certain that adequate supplies of water of good quality are maintained
for the entire population of this planet, while preserving the hydrological, biological and chemical functions of ecosystems, adapting human activities
within the capacity limits of nature and combating vectors of water-related diseases. Innovative technologies, including the improvement of
indigenous technologies, are needed to fully utilize limited water resources and to safeguard those resources against pollution.
18.3. The widespread scarcity, gradual destruction and aggravated pollution of freshwater resources in many world regions, along with the
progressive encroachment of incompatible activities, demand integrated water resources planning and management. Such integration must cover all
types of interrelated freshwater bodies, including both surface water and groundwater, and duly consider water quantity and quality aspects. The
multisectoral nature of water resources development in the context of socio-economic development must be recognized, as well as the multi-interest
utilization of water resources for water supply and sanitation, agriculture, industry, urban development, hydropower generation, inland fisheries,
transportation, recreation, low and flat lands management and other activities. Rational water utilization schemes for the development of surface and
underground water-supply sources and other potential sources have to be supported by concurrent water conservation and wastage minimization
measures. Priority, however, must be accorded to flood prevention and control measures, as well as sedimentation control, where required.
18.4. Transboundary water resources and their use are of great importance to riparian States. In this connection, cooperation among those States
may be desirable in conformity with existing agreements and/or other relevant arrangements, taking into account the interests of all riparian States
concerned.
18.5. The following programme areas are proposed for the freshwater sector:
(a) Integrated water resources development and management;
(b) Water resources assessment;
(c) Protection of water resources, water quality and aquatic ecosystems;
(d) Drinking-water supply and sanitation;
(e) Water and sustainable urban development;
(f) Water for sustainable food production and rural development;
(g) Impacts of climate change on water resources.
A. Integrated water resources development and management
Basis for action
18.6. The extent to which water resources development contributes to economic productivity and social well-being is not usually appreciated,
although all social and economic activities rely heavily on the supply and quality of freshwater. As populations and economic activities grow, many
countries are rapidly reaching conditions of water scarcity or facing limits to economic development. Water demands are increasing rapidly, with 70-
80 per cent required for irrigation, less than 20 per cent for industry and a mere 6 per cent for domestic consumption. The holistic management of
freshwater as a finite and vulnerable resource, and the integration of sectoral water plans and programmes within the framework of national
economic and social policy, are of paramount importance for action in the 1990s and beyond. The fragmentation of responsibilities for water
resources development among sectoral agencies is proving, however, to be an even greater impediment to promoting integrated water management
than had been anticipated. Effective implementation and coordination mechanisms are required.
Objectives
18.7. The overall objective is to satisfy the freshwater needs of all countries for their sustainable development.
18.8. Integrated water resources management is based on the perception of water as an integral part of the ecosystem, a natural resource and a
social and economic good, whose quantity and quality determine the nature of its utilization. To this end, water resources have to be protected,
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taking into account the functioning of aquatic ecosystems and the perenniality of the resource, in order to satisfy and reconcile needs for water in
human activities. In developing and using water resources, priority has to be given to the satisfaction of basic needs and the safeguarding of
ecosystems. Beyond these requirements, however, water users should be charged appropriately.
18.9. Integrated water resources management, including the integration of land- and water-related aspects, should be carried out at the level of the
catchment basin or sub-basin. Four principal objectives should be pursued, as follows:
(a) To promote a dynamic, interactive, iterative and multisectoral approach to water resources management, including the identification and
protection of potential sources of freshwater supply, that integrates technological, socio-economic, environmental and human health considerations;
(b) To plan for the sustainable and rational utilization, protection, conservation and management of water resources based on community needs and
priorities within the framework of national economic development policy;
(c) To design, implement and evaluate projects and programmes that are both economically efficient and socially appropriate within clearly defined
strategies, based on an approach of full public participation, including that of women, youth, indigenous people and local communities in water
management policy-making and decision-making;
(d) To identify and strengthen or develop, as required, in particular in developing countries, the appropriate institutional, legal and financial
mechanisms to ensure that water policy and its implementation are a catalyst for sustainable social progress and economic growth.
18.10. In the case of transboundary water resources, there is a need for riparian States to formulate water resources strategies, prepare water
resources action programmes and consider, where appropriate, the harmonization of those strategies and action programmes.
18.11. All States, according to their capacity and available resources, and through bilateral or multilateral cooperation, including the United Nations
and other relevant organizations as appropriate, could set the following targets:
A) By the year 2000:
i. To have designed and initiated costed and targeted national action programmes, and to have put in place appropriate
institutional structures and legal instruments;
ii. To have established efficient water-use programmes to attain sustainable resource utilization patterns;
B) By the year 2025:
i. To have achieved subsectoral targets of all freshwater programme areas.
It is understood that the fulfilment of the targets quantified in (i) and (ii) above will depend upon new and additional financial resources that will be
made available to developing countries in accordance with the relevant provisions of General Assembly resolution 44/228.
Activities
18.12. All States, according to their capacity and available resources, and through bilateral or multilateral cooperation, including the United Nations
and other relevant organizations as appropriate, could implement the following activities to improve integrated water resources management:
(a) Formulation of costed and targeted national action plans and investment programmes;
(b) Integration of measures for the protection and conservation of potential sources of freshwater supply, including the inventorying of water
resources, with land-use planning, forest resource utilization, protection of mountain slopes and riverbanks and other relevant development and
conservation activities;
(c) Development of interactive databases, forecasting models, economic planning models and methods for water management and planning,
including environmental impact assessment methods;
(d) Optimization of water resources allocation under physical and socio-economic constraints;
(e) Implementation of allocation decisions through demand management, pricing mechanisms and regulatory measures;
(f) Flood and drought management, including risk analysis and environmental and social impact assessment;
(g) Promotion of schemes for rational water use through public awareness-raising, educational programmes and levying of water tariffs and other
economic instruments;
(h) Mobilization of water resources, particularly in arid and semi-arid areas;
(i) Promotion of international scientific research cooperation on freshwater resources;
(j) Development of new and alternative sources of water-supply such as sea-water desalination, artificial groundwater recharge, use of marginal-
quality water, waste-water reuse and water recycling;
(k) Integration of water (including surface and underground water resources) quantity and quality management;
(l) Promotion of water conservation through improved water-use efficiency and wastage minimization schemes for all users, including the
development of water-saving devices;
(m) Support to water-users groups to optimize local water resources management;
(n) Development of public participatory techniques and their implementation in decision-making, particularly the enhancement of the role of women
in water resources planning and management;
(o) Development and strengthening, as appropriate, of cooperation, including mechanisms where appropriate, at all levels concerned, namely:
i) At the lowest appropriate level, delegation of water resources management, generally, to such a level, in accordance with national legislation,
including decentralization of government services to local authorities, private enterprises and communities;
ii) At the national level, integrated water resources planning and management in the framework of the national planning process and, where
appropriate, establishment of independent regulation and monitoring of freshwater, based on national legislation and economic measures;
iii) At the regional level, consideration, where appropriate, of the harmonization of national strategies and action programmes;
iv) At the global level, improved delineation of responsibilities, division of labour and coordination of international organizations and programmes,
including facilitating discussions and sharing of experiences in areas related to water resources management;
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p) Dissemination of information, including operational guidelines, and promotion of education for water users, including the consideration by the
United Nations of a World Water Day.

about $115 million from the international community on grant or concessional terms. These are indicative and order-of-magnitude estimates only and
have not been reviewed by Governments. Actual costs and financial terms, including any that are non-concessional, will depend upon, inter alia, the
specific strategies and programmes Governments decide upon for implementation.
B) Scientific and technological means

18.14. The development of interactive databases, forecasting methods and economic planning models appropriate to the task of managing water
resources in an efficient and sustainable manner will require the application of new techniques such as geographical information systems and expert
systems to gather, assimilate, analyse and display multisectoral information and to optimize decision-making. In addition, the development of new
and alternative sources of water-supply and low-cost water technologies will require innovative applied research. This will involve the transfer,
adaptation and diffusion of new techniques and technology among developing countries, as well as the development of endogenous capacity, for the
purpose of being able to deal with the added dimension of integrating engineering, economic, environmental and social aspects of water resources
management and predicting the effects in terms of human impact.
18.15. Pursuant to the recognition of water as a social and economic good, the various available options for charging water users (including
domestic, urban, industrial and agricultural water-user groups) have to be further evaluated and field-tested. Further development is required for
economic instruments that take into account opportunity costs and environmental externalities. Field studies on the willingness to pay should be
conducted in rural and urban situations.
18.16. Water resources development and management should be planned in an integrated manner, taking into account long-term planning needs as
well as those with narrower horizons, that is to say, they should incorporate environmental, economic and social considerations based on the
principle of sustainability; include the requirements of all users as well as those relating to the prevention and mitigation of water-related hazards;
and constitute an integral part of the socio-economic development planning process. A prerequisite for the sustainable management of water as a
scarce vulnerable resource is the obligation to acknowledge in all planning and development its full costs. Planning considerations should reflect
benefits investment, environmental protection and operation costs, as well as the opportunity costs reflecting the most valuable alternative use of
water. Actual charging need not necessarily burden all beneficiaries with the consequences of those considerations. Charging mechanisms should,
however, reflect as far as possible both the true cost of water when used as an economic good and the ability of the communities to pay.
18.17. The role of water as a social, economic and life-sustaining good should be reflected in demand management mechanisms and implemented
through water conservation and reuse, resource assessment and financial instruments.
18.18. The setting afresh of priorities for private and public investment strategies should take into account a) maximum utilization of existing projects,
through maintenance, rehabilitation and optimal operation; (b) new or alternative clean technologies; and (c) environmentally and socially benign
hydropower.
C) Human resources development

18.19. The delegation of water resources management to the lowest appropriate level necessitates educating and training water management staff
at all levels and ensuring that women participate equally in the education and training programmes. Particular emphasis has to be placed on the
introduction of public participatory techniques, including enhancement of the role of women, youth, indigenous people and local communities. Skills
related to various water management functions have to be developed by municipal government and water authorities, as well as in the private sector,
local/national non-governmental organizations, cooperatives, corporations and other water-user groups. Education of the public regarding the
importance of water and its proper management is also needed.
18.20. To implement these principles, communities need to have adequate capacities. Those who establish the framework for water development
and management at any level, whether international, national or local, need to ensure that the means exist to build those capacities. The means will
vary from case to case. They usually include:
(a) Awareness-creation programmes, including mobilizing commitment and support at all levels and initiating global and local action to promote such
programmes;
(b) Training of water managers at all levels so that they have an appropriate understanding of all the elements necessary for their decision-making;
(c) Strengthening of training capacities in developing countries;
(d) Appropriate training of the necessary professionals, including extension workers;
(e) mprovement of career structures;
Sharing of appropriate knowledge and technology, both for the collection of data and for the implementation of planned development including non-
polluting technologies and the knowledge needed to extract the best performance from the existing investment system.
D) Capacity-building
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18.21. Institutional capacity for implementing integrated water management should be reviewed and developed when there is a clear demand.
Existing administrative structures will often be quite capable of achieving local water resources management, but the need may arise for new
institutions based upon the perspective, for example, of river catchment areas, district development councils and local community committees.
Although water is managed at various levels in the socio-political system, demand-driven management requires the development of water-related
institutions at appropriate levels, taking into account the need for integration with land-use management.
18.22. In creating the enabling environment for lowest-appropriate-level management, the role of Government includes mobilization of financial and
human resources, legislation, standard-setting and other regulatory functions, monitoring and assessment of the use of water and land resources,
and creating of opportunities for public participation. International agencies and donors have an important role to play in providing support to
developing countries in creating the required enabling environment for integrated water resources management. This should include, as appropriate,
donor support to local levels in developing countries, including community-based institutions, non-governmental organizations and women's groups.

ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND MANAGEMENT OF TOXIC CHEMICALS, INCLUDING PREVENTION OF ILLEGAL INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC
IN TOXIC AND DANGEROUS PRODUCTS
19.1. A substantial use of chemicals is essential to meet the social and economic goals of the world community and today's best practice
demonstrates that they can be used widely in a cost-effective manner and with a high degree of safety. However, a great deal remains to be done to
ensure the environmentally sound management of toxic chemicals, within the principles of sustainable development and improved quality of life for
humankind. Two of the major problems, particularly in developing countries, are (a) lack of sufficient scientific information for the assessment of risks
entailed by the use of a great number of chemicals, and (b) lack of resources for assessment of chemicals for which data are at hand.
19.2. Gross chemical contamination, with grave damage to human health, genetic structures and reproductive outcomes, and the environment, has
in recent times been continuing within some of the world's most important industrial areas. Restoration will require major investment and
development of new techniques. The long-range effects of pollution, extending even to the fundamental chemical and physical processes of the
Earth's atmosphere and climate, are becoming understood only recently and the importance of those effects is becoming recognized only recently as
well.
19.3. A considerable number of international bodies are involved in work on chemical safety. In many countries work programmes for the promotion
of chemical safety are in place. Such work has international implications, as chemical risks do not respect national boundaries. However, a
significant strengthening of both national and international efforts is needed to achieve an environmentally sound management of chemicals.
19.4. Six programme areas are proposed:

(a) Expanding and accelerating international assessment of chemical risks;
(b) Harmonization of classification and labelling of chemicals;
(c) Information exchange on toxic chemicals and chemical risks;
(d) Establishment of risk reduction programmes;
(e) Strengthening of national capabilities and capacities for management of chemicals;
(f) Prevention of illegal international traffic in toxic and dangerous products.
In addition, the short final subsection G deals with the enhancement of cooperation related to several programme areas.
19.5. The six programme areas are together dependent for their successful implementation on intensive international work and improved
coordination of current international activities, as well as on the identification and application of technical, scientific, educational and financial means,
in particular for developing countries. To varying degrees, the programme areas involve hazard assessment (based on the intrinsic properties of
chemicals), risk assessment (including assessment of exposure), risk acceptability and risk management.
19.6. Collaboration on chemical safety between the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Labour Organisation (ILO)
and the World Health Organization (WHO) in the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) should be the nucleus for international
cooperation on environmentally sound management of toxic chemicals. All efforts should be made to strengthen this programme. Cooperation with
other programmes, such as those of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the European Communities (EC)
and other regional and governmental chemical programmes, should be promoted.
19.7. Increased coordination of United Nations bodies and other international organizations involved in chemicals assessment and management
should be further promoted. Within the framework of IPCS, an intergovernmental meeting, convened by the Executive Director of UNEP, was held in
London in December 1991 to further explore this matter (see paras. 19.75 and 19.76).
19.8. The broadest possible awareness of chemical risks is a prerequisite for achieving chemical safety. The principle of the right of the community
and of workers to know those risks should be recognized. However, the right to know the identity of hazardous ingredients should be balanced with
industry's right to protect confidential business information. (Industry, as referred to in this chapter, shall be taken to include large industrial
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enterprises and transnational corporations as well as domestic industries.) The industry initiative on responsible care and product stewardship
should be developed and promoted. Industry should apply adequate standards of operation in all countries in order not to damage human health and
the environment.
19.9. There is international concern that part of the international movement of toxic and dangerous products is being carried out in contravention of
existing national legislation and international instruments, to the detriment of the environment and public health of all countries, particularly
developing countries.
19.10. In resolution 44/226 of 22 December 1989, the General Assembly requested each regional commission, within existing resources, to
contribute to the prevention of the illegal traffic in toxic and dangerous products and wastes by monitoring and making regional assessments of that
illegal traffic and its environmental and health implications. The Assembly also requested the regional commissions to interact among themselves
and to cooperate with the United Nations Environment Programme, with a view to maintaining efficient and coordinated monitoring and assessment
of the illegal traffic in toxic and dangerous products and wastes.

STRENGTHENING THE ROLE OF WORKERS AND THEIR TRADE UNIONS
PROGRAMME AREA
Basis for action
29.1. Efforts to implement sustainable development will involve adjustments and opportunities at the national and enterprise levels, with workers
foremost among those concerned. As their representatives, trade unions are vital actors in facilitating the achievement of sustainable development in
view of their experience in addressing industrial change, the extremely high priority they give to protection of the working environment and the
related natural environment, and their promotion of socially responsible and economic development. The existing network of collaboration among
trade unions and their extensive membership provide important channels through which the concepts and practices of sustainable development can
be supported. The established principles of tripartism provide a basis for strengthened collaboration between workers and their representatives,
Governments and employers in the implementation of sustainable development.
Objectives
29.2. The overall objective is poverty alleviation and full and sustainable employment, which contribute to safe, clean and healthy environments - the
working environment, the community and the physical environment. Workers should be full participants in the implementation and evaluation of
activities related to Agenda 21.
29.3. To that end the following objectives are proposed for accomplishment by the year 2000:
(a) To promote ratification of relevant conventions of ILO and the enactment of legislation in support of those conventions;
(b) To establish bipartite and tripartite mechanisms on safety, health and sustainable development;
(c) To increase the number of environmental collective agreements aimed at achieving sustainable development;
(d) To reduce occupational accidents, injuries and diseases according to recognized statistical reporting procedures;
(e) To increase the provision of workers' education, training and retraining, particularly in the area of occupational health and safety and
environment.
Activities
A) Promoting freedom of association
29.4. For workers and their trade unions to play a full and informed role in support of sustainable development, Governments and employers should
promote the rights of individual workers to freedom of association and the protection of the right to organize as laid down in ILO conventions.
Governments should consider ratifying and implementing those conventions, if they have not already done so.
B) Strengthening participation and consultation

29.5. Governments, business and industry should promote the active participation of workers and their trade unions in decisions on the design,
implementation and evaluation of national and international policies and programmes on environment and development, including employment
policies, industrial strategies, labour adjustment programmes and technology transfers.
29.6. Trade unions, employers and Governments should cooperate to ensure that the concept of sustainable development is equitably implemented.
29.7. Joint (employer/worker) or tripartite (employer/worker/Government) collaborative mechanisms at the workplace, community and national levels
should be established to deal with safety, health and environment, including special reference to the rights and status of women in the workplace.
29.8. Governments and employers should ensure that workers and their representatives are provided with all relevant information to enable effective
participation in these decision-making processes.
29.9. Trade unions should continue to define, develop and promote policies on all aspects of sustainable development.
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29.10. Trade unions and employers should establish the framework for a joint environmental policy, and set priorities to improve the working
environment and the overall environmental performance of enterprise.
29.11. Trade unions should:

(a) Seek to ensure that workers are able to participate in environmental audits at the workplace and in environmental impact assessments;
(b) Participate in environment and development activities within the local community and promote joint action on potential problems of common
concern;
(c) Play an active role in the sustainable development activities of international and regional organizations, particularly within the United Nations
system.
C) Provide adequate training
29.12. Workers and their representatives should have access to adequate training to augment environmental awareness, ensure their safety and
health, and improve their economic and social welfare. Such training should ensure that the necessary skills are available to promote sustainable
livelihoods and improve the working environment. Trade unions, employers, Governments and international agencies should cooperate in assessing
training needs within their respective spheres of activity. Workers and their representatives should be involved in the design and implementation of
worker training programmes conducted by employers and Governments.

about $300 million from the international community on grant or concessional terms. These are indicative and order-of-magnitude estimates only and
have not been reviewed by Governments. Actual costs and financial terms, including any that are non-concessional, will depend upon, inter alia, the
specific strategies and programmes Governments decide upon for implementation.
B) Capacity-building
29.14. Particular attention should be given to strengthening the capacity of each of the tripartite social partners (Governments and employers' and
workers' organizations) to facilitate greater collaboration towards sustainable development.

STRENGTHENING THE ROLE OF BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY
INTRODUCTION
30.1. Business and industry, including transnational corporations, play a crucial role in the social and economic development of a country. A stable
policy regime enables and encourages business and industry to operate responsibly and efficiently and to implement longer-term policies. Increasing
prosperity, a major goal of the development process, is contributed primarily by the activities of business and industry. Business enterprises, large
and small, formal and informal, provide major trading, employment and livelihood opportunities. Business opportunities available to women are
contributing towards their professional development, strengthening their economic role and transforming social systems. Business and industry,
including transnational corporations, and their representative organizations should be full participants in the implementation and evaluation of
activities related to Agenda 21.
30.2. Through more efficient production processes, preventive strategies, cleaner production technologies and procedures throughout the product
life cycle, hence minimizing or avoiding wastes, the policies and operations of business and industry, including transnational corporations, can play a
major role in reducing impacts on resource use and the environment. Technological innovations, development, applications, transfer and the more
comprehensive aspects of partnership and cooperation are to a very large extent within the province of business and industry.
30.3. Business and industry, including transnational corporations, should recognize environmental management as among the highest corporate
priorities and as a key determinant to sustainable development. Some enlightened leaders of enterprises are already implementing "responsible
care" and product stewardship policies and programmes, fostering openness and dialogue with employees and the public and carrying out
environmental audits and assessments of compliance. These leaders in business and industry, including transnational corporations, are increasingly
taking voluntary initiatives, promoting and implementing self-regulations and greater responsibilities in ensuring their activities have minimal impacts
on human health and the environment. The regulatory regimes introduced in many countries and the growing consciousness of consumers and the
general public and enlightened leaders of business and industry, including transnational corporations, have all contributed to this. A positive
contribution of business and industry, including transnational corporations, to sustainable development can increasingly be achieved by using
economic instruments such as free market mechanisms in which the prices of goods and services should increasingly reflect the environmental costs
of their input, production, use, recycling and disposal subject to country-specific conditions.
30.4. The improvement of production systems through technologies and processes that utilize resources more efficiently and at the same time
produce less wastes - achieving more with less - is an important pathway towards sustainability for business and industry. Similarly, facilitating and
11
encouraging inventiveness, competitiveness and voluntary initiatives are necessary for stimulating more varied, efficient and effective options. To
address these major requirements and strengthen further the role of business and industry, including transnational corporations, the following two
programmes are proposed.
PROGRAMME AREAS
A. Promoting cleaner production
Basis for action

30.5. There is increasing recognition that production, technology and management that use resources inefficiently form residues that are not reused,
discharge wastes that have adverse impacts on human health and the environment and manufacture products that when used have further impacts
and are difficult to recycle, need to be replaced with technologies, good engineering and management practices and know-how that would minimize
waste throughout the product life cycle. The concept of cleaner production implies striving for optimal efficiencies at every stage of the product life
cycle. A result would be the improvement of the overall competitiveness of the enterprise. The need for a transition towards cleaner production
policies was recognized at the UNIDO-organized ministerial-level Conference on Ecologically Sustainable Industrial Development, held at
Copenhagen in October 1991. 1/
Objectives
30.6. Governments, business and industry, including transnational corporations, should aim to increase the efficiency of resource utilization,
including increasing the reuse and recycling of residues, and to reduce the quantity of waste discharge per unit of economic output.
Activities
30.7. Governments, business and industry, including transnational corporations, should strengthen partnerships to implement the principles and
criteria for sustainable development.
30.8. Governments should identify and implement an appropriate mix of economic instruments and normative measures such as laws, legislations
and standards, in consultation with business and industry, including transnational corporations, that will promote the use of cleaner production, with
special consideration for small and medium-sized enterprises. Voluntary private initiatives should also be encouraged.
30.9. Governments, business and industry, including transnational corporations, academia and international organizations, should work towards the
development and implementation of concepts and methodologies for the internalization of environmental costs into accounting and pricing
mechanisms.
30.10. Business and industry, including transnational corporations, should be encouraged:

(a) To report annually on their environmental records, as well as on their use of energy and natural resources;
(b) To adopt and report on the implementation of codes of conduct promoting the best environmental practice, such as the Business Charter on
Sustainable Development of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the chemical industry's responsible care initiative.
30.11. Governments should promote technological and know-how cooperation between enterprises, encompassing identification, assessment,
research and development, management marketing and application of cleaner production.
30.12. Industry should incorporate cleaner production policies in its operations and investments, taking also into account its influence on suppliers
and consumers.
30.13. Industry and business associations should cooperate with workers and trade unions to continuously improve the knowledge and skills for
implementing sustainable development operations.
30.14. Industry and business associations should encourage individual companies to undertake programmes for improved environmental awareness
and responsibility at all levels to make these enterprises dedicated to the task of improving environmental performance based on internationally
accepted management practices.
30.15. International organizations should increase education, training and awareness activities relating to cleaner production, in collaboration with
industry, academia and relevant national and local authorities.
30.16. International and non-governmental organizations, including trade and scientific associations, should strengthen cleaner production
information dissemination by expanding existing databases, such as the UNEP International Cleaner Production Clearing House (ICPIC), the UNIDO
Industrial and Technological Information Bank (INTIB) and the ICC International Environment Bureau (IEB), and should forge networking of national
and international information systems.
B. Promoting responsible entrepreneurship
Basis for action
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30.17. Entrepreneurship is one of the most important driving forces for innovations, increasing market efficiencies and responding to challenges and
opportunities. Small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, in particular, play a very important role in the social and economic development of a country.
Often, they are the major means for rural development, increasing off-farm employment and providing the transitional means for improving the
livelihoods of women. Responsible entrepreneurship can play a major role in improving the efficiency of resource use, reducing risks and hazards,
minimizing wastes and safeguarding environmental qualities.
Objectives
30.18. The following objectives are proposed:
(a) To encourage the concept of stewardship in the management and utilization of natural resources by entrepreneurs;
(b) To increase the number of entrepreneurs engaged in enterprises that subscribe to and implement sustainable development policies.
Activities
30.19. Governments should encourage the establishment and operations of sustainably managed enterprises. The mix would include regulatory
measures, economic incentives and streamlining of administrative procedures to assure maximum efficiency in dealing with applications for approval
in order to facilitate investment decisions, advice and assistance with information, infrastructural support and stewardship responsibilities.
30.20. Governments should encourage, in cooperation with the private sector, the establishment of venture capital funds for sustainable
development projects and programmes.
30.21. In collaboration with business, industry, academia and international organizations, Governments should support training in the environmental
aspects of enterprise management. Attention should also be directed towards apprenticeship schemes for youth.
30.22. Business and industry, including transnational corporations, should be encouraged to establish world-wide corporate policies on sustainable
development, arrange for environmentally sound technologies to be available to affiliates owned substantially by their parent company in developing
countries without extra external charges, encourage overseas affiliates to modify procedures in order to reflect local ecological conditions and share
experiences with local authorities, national Governments and international organizations.
30.23. Large business and industry, including transnational corporations, should consider establishing partnership schemes with small and medium-
sized enterprises to help facilitate the exchange of experience in managerial skills, market development and technological know-how, where
appropriate, with the assistance of international organizations.
30.24. Business and industry should establish national councils for sustainable development and help promote entrepreneurship in the formal and
informal sectors. The inclusion of women entrepreneurs should be facilitated.
30.25. Business and industry, including transnational corporations, should increase research and development of environmentally sound
technologies and environmental management systems, in collaboration with academia and the scientific/engineering establishments, drawing upon
indigenous knowledge, where appropriate.
30.26. Business and industry, including transnational corporations, should ensure responsible and ethical management of products and processes
from the point of view of health, safety and environmental aspects. Towards this end, business and industry should increase self-regulation, guided
by appropriate codes, charters and initiatives integrated into all elements of business planning and decision-making, and fostering openness and
dialogue with employees and the public.
30.27. Multilateral and bilateral financial aid institutions should continue to encourage and support small- and medium-scale entrepreneurs engaged
in sustainable development activities.
30.28. United Nations organizations and agencies should improve mechanisms for business and industry inputs, policy and strategy formulation
processes, to ensure that environmental aspects are strengthened in foreign investment.
30.29. International organizations should increase support for research and development on improving the technological and managerial
requirements for sustainable development, in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries.
Financing and cost evaluation

30.30. The activities included under this programme area are mostly changes in the orientation of existing activities and additional costs are not
expected to be significant. The cost of activities by Governments and international organizations are already included in other programme areas.
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TITLE: Johannesburg Plan of Implementation – Chapter 4
Public access to Resources & Services
Climate Change and Energy
Occupational, Environmental and Public Health
Is available also in: http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POIToc.htm
IV. Protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development
24. Human activities are having an increasing impact on the integrity of ecosystems that provide essential resources and services for human
well-being and economic activities. Managing the natural resources base in a sustainable and integrated manner is essential for sustainable
development. In this regard, to reverse the current trend in natural resource degradation as soon as possible, it is necessary to implement strategies
which should include targets adopted at the national and, where appropriate, regional levels to protect ecosystems and to achieve integrated
management of land, water and living resources, while strengthening regional, national and local capacities. This would include actions at all levels
as set out below.
25. Launch a programme of actions, with financial and technical assistance, to achieve the Millennium development goal on safe drinking
water. In this respect, we agree to halve, by the year 2015, the proportion of people who are unable to reach or to afford safe drinking water, as
outlined in the Millennium Declaration, and the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation, which would include actions at all levels to:
(a) Mobilize international and domestic financial resources at all levels, transfer technology, promote best practice and support capacity-
building for water and sanitation infrastructure and services development, ensuring that such infrastructure and services meet the needs of the poor
and are gender-sensitive;
(b) Facilitate access to public information and participation, including by women, at all levels in support of policy and decision-making related
to water resources management and project implementation;
(c) Promote priority action by Governments, with the support of all stakeholders, in water management and capacity-building at the national
level and, where appropriate, at the regional level, and promote and provide new and additional financial resources and innovative technologies to
implement chapter 18 of Agenda 21;
(d) Intensify water pollution prevention to reduce health hazards and protect ecosystems by introducing technologies for affordable sanitation
and industrial and domestic wastewater treatment, by mitigating the effects of groundwater contamination and by establishing, at the national level,
monitoring systems and effective legal frameworks;
(e) Adopt prevention and protection measures to promote sustainable water use and to address water shortages.
26. Develop integrated water resources management and water efficiency plans by 2005, with support to developing countries, through actions
at all levels to:
(a) Develop and implement national/regional strategies, plans and programmes with regard to integrated river basin, watershed and
groundwater management and introduce measures to improve the efficiency of water infrastructure to reduce losses and increase recycling of water;
(b) Employ the full range of policy instruments, including regulation, monitoring, voluntary measures, market and information-based tools,
land-use management and cost recovery of water services, without cost recovery objectives becoming a barrier to access to safe water by poor
people, and adopt an integrated water basin approach;
(c) Improve the efficient use of water resources and promote their allocation among competing uses in a way that gives priority to the
satisfaction of basic human needs and balances the requirement of preserving or restoring ecosystems and their functions, in particular in fragile
environments, with human domestic, industrial and agriculture needs, including safeguarding drinking water quality;
(d) Develop programmes for mitigating the effects of extreme water-related events;
(e) Support the diffusion of technology and capacity-building for non-conventional water resources and conservation technologies, to
developing countries and regions facing water scarcity conditions or subject to drought and desertification, through technical and financial support
and capacity-building;
(f) Support, where appropriate, efforts and programmes for energy-efficient, sustainable and cost-effective desalination of seawater, water
recycling and water harvesting from coastal fogs in developing countries, through such measures as technological, technical and financial assistance
and other modalities;
(g) Facilitate the establishment of public-private partnerships and other forms of partnership that give priority to the needs of the poor, within
stable and transparent national regulatory frameworks provided by Governments, while respecting local conditions, involving all concerned
stakeholders, and monitoring the performance and improving accountability of public institutions and private companies.
27. Support developing countries and countries with economies in transition in their efforts to monitor and assess the quantity and quality of
water resources, including through the establishment and/or further development of national monitoring networks and water resources databases
and the development of relevant national indicators.
14
28. Improve water resource management and scientific understanding of the water cycle through cooperation in joint observation and
research, and for this purpose encourage and promote knowledge-sharing and provide capacity-building and the transfer of technology, as mutually
agreed, including remote-sensing and satellite technologies, particularly to developing countries and countries with economies in transition.
29. Promote effective coordination among the various international and intergovernmental bodies and processes working on water-related
issues, both within the United Nations system and between the United Nations and international financial institutions, drawing on the contributions of
other international institutions and civil society to inform intergovernmental decision-making; closer coordination should also be promoted to
elaborate and support proposals and undertake activities related to the International Year of Freshwater, 2003 and beyond.
* * *
30. Oceans, seas, islands and coastal areas form an integrated and essential component of the Earth’s ecosystem and are critical for global
food security and for sustaining economic prosperity and the well-being of many national economies, particularly in developing countries. Ensuring
the sustainable development of the oceans requires effective coordination and cooperation, including at the global and regional levels, between
relevant bodies, and actions at all levels to:
(a) Invite States to ratify or accede to and implement the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982,114 which provides the
overall legal framework for ocean activities;
(b) Promote the implementation of chapter 17 of Agenda 21, which provides the programme of action for achieving the sustainable
development of oceans, coastal areas and seas through its programme areas of integrated management and sustainable development of coastal
areas, including exclusive economic zones;
marine environmental protection; sustainable use and conservation of marine living resources; addressing critical uncertainties for the management
of the marine environment and climate change; strengthening international, including regional, cooperation and coordination; and sustainable
development of small islands;
(c) Establish an effective, transparent and regular inter-agency coordination mechanism on ocean and coastal issues within the United
Nations system;
(d) Encourage the application by 2010 of the ecosystem approach, noting the Reykjavik Declaration on Responsible Fisheries in the Marine
Ecosystem215 and decision V/6 of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity; 16
(e) Promote integrated, multidisciplinary and multisectoral coastal and ocean management at the national level and encourage and assist
coastal States in developing ocean policies and mechanisms on integrated coastal management;
(f) Strengthen regional cooperation and coordination between the relevant regional organizations and programmes, the regional seas
programmes of the United Nations Environment Programme, regional fisheries management organizations and other regional science, health and
development organizations;
(g) Assist developing countries in coordinating policies and programmes at the regional and subregional levels aimed at the conservation and
sustainable management of fishery resources and implement integrated coastal area management plans, including through the promotion of
sustainable coastal and small-scale fishing activities and, where appropriate, the development of related infrastructure;
(h) Take note of the work of the open-ended informal consultative process established by the United Nations General Assembly in its
resolution 54/33 in order to facilitate the annual review by the Assembly of developments in ocean affairs and the upcoming review of its
effectiveness and utility to be held at its fifty-seventh session under the terms of the above-mentioned resolution.
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38. Change in the Earth’s climate and its adverse effects are a common concern of humankind. We remain deeply concerned that all
countries, particularly developing countries, including the least developed countries and small island developing States, face increased risks of
negative impacts of climate change and recognize that, in this context, the problems of poverty, land degradation, access to water and food and
human health remain at the centre of global attention. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change27 is the key instrument for
addressing climate change, a global concern, and we reaffirm our commitment to achieving its ultimate objective of stabilization of greenhouse gas
concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system, within a time frame
sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened and to enable economic
development to proceed in a sustainable manner, in accordance with our common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.
Recalling the United Nations Millennium Declaration, in which heads of State and Government resolved to make every effort to ensure the entry into
force of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,328 preferably by the tenth anniversary of the United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 2002, and to embark on the required reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases, States
that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol strongly urge States that have not already done so to ratify it in a timely manner. Actions at all levels are
required to:
(a) Meet all the commitments and obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change;
(b) Work cooperatively towards achieving the objectives of the Convention;
15
(c) Provide technical and financial assistance and capacity-building to developing countries and countries with economies in transition in
accordance with commitments under the Convention, including the Marrakesh Accords;429
(d) Build and enhance scientific and technological capabilities, inter alia, through continuing support to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change for the exchange of scientific data and information especially in developing countries;
(e) Develop and transfer technological solutions;
(f) Develop and disseminate innovative technologies in regard to key sectors of development, particularly energy, and of investment in this
regard, including through private sector involvement, market-oriented approaches, and supportive public policies and international cooperation;
(g) Promote the systematic observation of the Earth’s atmosphere, land and oceans by improving monitoring stations, increasing the use of
satellites and appropriate integration of these observations to produce high-quality data that could be disseminated for the use of all countries, in
particular developing countries;
(h) Enhance the implementation of national, regional and international strategies to monitor the Earth’s atmosphere, land and oceans,
including, as appropriate, strategies for integrated global observations, inter alia, with the cooperation of relevant international organizations,
especially the specialized agencies, in cooperation with the Convention;
(i) Support initiatives to assess the consequences of climate change, such as the Arctic Council initiative, including the environmental,
economic and social impacts on local and indigenous communities.
39. Enhance cooperation at the international, regional and national levels to reduce air pollution, including transboundary air pollution, acid
deposition and ozone depletion, bearing in mind the Rio principles, including, inter alia, the principle that, in view of the different contributions to
global environmental degradation, States have common but differentiated responsibilities, with actions at all levels to:
(a) Strengthen capacities of developing countries and countries with economies in transition to measure, reduce and assess the impacts of air
pollution, including health impacts, and provide financial and technical support for these activities;
(b) Facilitate implementation of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer by ensuring adequate replenishment of its
fund by 2003/2005;
(c) Further support the effective regime for the protection of the ozone layer established in the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the
Ozone Layer and the Montreal Protocol, including its compliance mechanism;
(d) Improve access by developing countries to affordable, accessible, cost-effective, safe and environmentally sound alternatives to ozone-
depleting substances by 2010, and assist them in complying with the phase-out schedule under the Montreal Protocol, bearing in mind that ozone
depletion and climate change are scientifically and technically interrelated;
(e) Take measures to address illegal traffic in ozone-depleting substances.
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41. Strengthen the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious
Drought and/or Desertification, particularly in Africa,7 to address causes of desertification and land degradation in order to maintain and restore land,
and to address poverty resulting from land degradation. This would include actions at all levels to:
(a) Mobilize adequate and predictable financial resources, transfer of technologies and capacity-building at all levels;
(b) Formulate national action programmes to ensure timely and effective implementation of the Convention and its related projects, with the
support of the international community, including through decentralized projects at the local level;
(c) Encourage the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention to
Combat Desertification to continue exploring and enhancing synergies, with due regard to their respective mandates, in the elaboration and
implementation of plans and strategies under the respective Conventions;
(d) Integrate measures to prevent and combat desertification as well as to mitigate the effects of drought through relevant policies and
programmes, such as land, water and forest management, agriculture, rural development, early warning systems, environment, energy, natural
resources, health and education, and poverty eradication and sustainable development strategies;
(e) Provide affordable local access to information to improve monitoring and early warning related to desertification and drought;
(f) Call on the Second Assembly of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to take action on the recommendations of the GEF Council
concerning the designation of land degradation (desertification and deforestation) as a focal area of GEF as a means of GEF support for the
successful implementation of the Convention to Combat Desertification; and consequently, consider making GEF a financial mechanism of the
Convention, taking into account the prerogatives and decisions of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, while recognizing the
complementary roles of GEF and the Global Mechanism of the Convention in providing and mobilizing resources for the elaboration and
implementation of action programmes;
(g) Improve the sustainability of grassland resources through strengthening management and law enforcement and providing financial and
technical support by the international community to developing countries.
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46. Mining, minerals and metals are important to the economic and social development of many countries. Minerals are essential for modern
living. Enhancing the contribution of mining, minerals and metals to sustainable development includes actions at all levels to:
(a) Support efforts to address the environmental, economic, health and social impacts and benefits of mining, minerals and metals throughout
their life cycle, including workers’ health and safety, and use a range of partnerships, furthering existing activities at the national and international
16
levels among interested Governments, intergovernmental organizations, mining companies and workers and other stakeholders to promote
transparency and accountability for sustainable mining and minerals development;
(b) Enhance the participation of stakeholders, including local and indigenous communities and women, to play an active role in minerals,
metals and mining development throughout the life cycles of mining operations, including after closure for rehabilitation purposes, in accordance with
national regulations and taking into account significant transboundary impacts;
(c) Foster sustainable mining practices through the provision of financial, technical and capacity-building support to developing countries and
countries with economies in transition for the mining and processing of minerals, including small-scale mining, and, where possible and appropriate,
improve value-added processing, upgrade scientific and technological information and reclaim and rehabilitate degraded sites.
______________
14 Official Records of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, vol. XVII (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.84.V.3),
document A/CONF.62/122.
115 See Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations document C200/INF/25, appendix I.
16 See UNEP/CBD/COP/5/23, annex III.
117 See International Fisheries Instruments (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.98.V.11), sect. I; see also A/CONF.164/37.
118 Ibid.
119 Ibid., sect. III.
20 Rome, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1999.
1 Ibid., 2001.
21
122 See A/51/312, annex II, decision II/10.

123 Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat (United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 996, No.
14583).
1 24 See United Nations Environment Programme, Convention on Biological Diversity (Environmental Law and Institution Programme Activity
Centre), June 1992.
125 A/51/116, annex II
126 See E/CN.17/2002/PC.2/15.

27 A/AC.237/18 (Part II)/Add.1 and Corr.1, annex I.
128 FCCC/CP/1997/7/Add.1, decision 1/CP.3, annex.

129 FCCC/CP/2001/13 and Add.1-4.
130 See General Assembly resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.
131 Report of the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Thirty-first Session, Rome, 2-13 November 2001
(C2001/REP), appendix D
132 See A/C.2/56/7, annex.
133 Http://www.biodiv.org/biosafety/protocol.asp.
17
TITLE: Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM)
SOURCE: UNEP
Chemical risks and hazardous Substances
Is available also in: http://www.chem.unep.ch/saicm/repdocs.htm
DECISION ADOPTED BY THE GOVERNING COUNCIL AT ITS SEVENTH SPECIAL

SESSION/GLOBAL MINISTERIAL ENVIRONMENT FORUM, 15 FEBRUARY 2002
SS.VII/3. Strategic approach to international chemicals management
The Governing Council,
Recalling its decisions 18/12 of 26 May 1995, 19/13 of 7 February 1997 and 20/23 of 4 February 1999, as well as its decision 21/7 of 9 February
2001 concerning global policies related to chemicals management,
Conscious of the essential role of the sound management of chemicals throughout their life cycle, including the management of hazardous wastes, in
achieving sustainable development,
Welcoming the important ongoing work of the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS) and the identification of priorities for action in its
October 2000 Bahia Declaration and Priorities for Action beyond 2000,
Taking note of the progress made by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee in preparing for the entry into force of the Rotterdam Convention
on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade,
Taking note of the activities being undertaken by the United Nations Environment Programme in collaboration with the Global Environment Facility
and other partners in preparing for the entry into force and implementation of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants,
Taking note of the activities carried out under the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their
Disposal to strengthen international cooperation in environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes and its contribution to the effective
implementation of chapters 19 and 20 of Agenda 21,
Acknowledging the increasing need for effective capacity-building and technical assistance to assist developing countries and countries with
economies in transition in implementing existing international legal instruments for management of chemicals and hazardous wastes and to meet
future challenges in chemical safety, including the protection of human health and the environment,
Reaffirming the commitment to decision 21/5 concerning the global assessment of mercury and decision 21/6 concerning lead in gasoline, of 9
February 2001,
Reaffirming its commitment to decisions 21/3 and 21/4 of 9 February 2001 calling for the ratification, acceptance, approval or accession to the
Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions with a view to their entry into force as soon as possible,
Recognizing the need to promote the expeditious implementation of existing international, including regional, treaties and agreements concerning
chemicals management by the Parties thereto,
Recognizing the need for all countries to have access to alternatives to hazardous chemicals that are safer, efficient and cost-effective as well as to
related technology and to easy access to the latest developments and knowledge regarding hazardous substances and their alternatives,
Having reviewed the report of the Executive Director on a strategic approach to international chemicals management,
Noting the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg from August 26 to September 4, 2002, and the opportunity that it
presents for further progress in implementing chapters 19 and 20 of Agenda 21,
1. Decides that there is a need to further develop a strategic approach to international chemicals management and endorses the Intergovernmental
Forum on Chemical Safety Bahia Declaration and Priorities for Action Beyond 2000 as the foundation of this approach;
2. Requests the Executive Director in pursuing this decision to take fully into account the special circumstances of developing countries and
countries with economies in transition;
18
3. Requests the Executive Director, together with the Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals, in consultation with
Governments, the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety, the Global Environment Facility and other major agencies responsible for the
funding and delivery of international development cooperation, other relevant organizations and stakeholders, to identify actions currently underway
or planned at the international, regional or national levels to advance the sound management of chemicals, with particular reference to the
Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety Bahia Declaration and Priorities for Action Beyond 2000;
4. Requests th$e Executive Director to work within the Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals, with the
Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety, Governments and other relevant organizations and stakeholders, to identify any gaps in the
Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety Bahia Declaration and Priorities for Action Beyond 2000 or in the implementation of these priorities
and suggest remedies for any identified gaps;
5. Requests the Executive Director to identify concrete projects and priorities in the context of a strategic approach to international chemicals
management, working with key partners such as the secretariats of the Rotterdam Convention, the Stockholm Convention and the Basel Convention,
and the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety;
6. Requests the Executive Director, together with the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety and with the Inter-Organization Programme for
the Sound Management of Chemicals, to convene an open-ended consultative meeting involving representatives of all stakeholder groups, subject
to the availability of extrabudgetary resources, to contribute to the further development, based on these analyses, of a strategic approach to
international chemicals management;
7. Underlines that the strategic approach to international chemicals management should promote the incorporation of chemical safety issues into the
development agenda and identify concrete proposals for strengthening capacity for the sound management of chemicals and the related
technologies in all countries, taking into account the vast difference in capabilities between developed and developing countries in this field;
8. Calls upon Governments and other actors to make available information, especially on alternatives to hazardous chemicals, technical assistance,
information on arrangements for promoting access to and the transfer of environmentally sound technology, capacity-building, and funding
necessary to assist developing countries, especially least developed countries, and countries with economies in transition to take active part in this
endeavour;
9. Urges Governments, the Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals, the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical
Safety and other relevant organizations and stakeholders to participate actively in this process;
10. Invites the World Summit for Sustainable Development3 to:

(a) Endorse the further development of a strategic approach to international chemicals management and the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical
Safety Bahia Declaration and Priorities for Action Beyond 2000 as the foundation of this approach;
(b) Urge the active engagement of the major agencies responsible for the funding and delivery of international development cooperation and other
relevant actors;
(c) Call upon all Governments and other relevant actors to take immediate action to implement the identified priority activities;
11. Requests the Executive Director to report to it at its twenty-second session on progress made in implementing this decision, including options for
taking the process forward, and on the contribution of the United Nations Environment Programme towards the implementation of the
Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety Bahia Declaration and Priorities for Action Beyond 2000.
6th meeting - 15 February 2002
19
TITLE: STOCKHOLM CONVENTION ON PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS
Is available also in: http://www.pops.int/
STOCKHOLM CONVENTION ON PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS
The Parties to this Convention,
Recognizing that persistent organic pollutants possess toxic properties, resist degradation, bioaccumulate and are transported, through air, water
and migratory species, across international boundaries and deposited far from their place of release, where they accumulate in terrestrial and
aquatic ecosystems,
Aware of the health concerns, especially in developing countries, resulting from local exposure to persistent organic pollutants, in particular impacts
upon women and, through them, upon future generations,
Acknowledging that the Arctic ecosystems and indigenous communities are particularly at risk because of the biomagnification of persistent organic
pollutants and that contamination of their traditional foods is a public health issue,
Conscious of the need for global action on persistent organic pollutants,
Mindful of decision 19/13 C of 7 February 1997 of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme to initiate international
action to protect human health and the environment through measures which will reduce and/or eliminate emissions and discharges of persistent
organic pollutants,
Recalling the pertinent provisions of the relevant international environmental conventions, especially the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed
Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, and the Basel Convention on the Control of
Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal including the regional agreements developed within the framework of its Article
11,
Recalling also the pertinent provisions of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and Agenda 21,
Acknowledging that precaution underlies the concerns of all the Parties and is embedded within this Convention,
Recognizing that this Convention and other international agreements in the field of trade and the environment are mutually supportive,
Reaffirming that States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to
exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental and developmental policies, and the responsibility to ensure that activities within
their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction,
Taking into account the circumstances and particular requirements of developing countries, in particular the least developed among them, and
countries with economies in transition, especially the need to strengthen their national capabilities for the management of chemicals, including
through the transfer of technology, the provision of financial and technical assistance and the promotion of cooperation among the Parties,
Taking full account of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, adopted in Barbados on 6 May
1994,
Noting the respective capabilities of developed and developing countries, as well as the common but differentiated responsibilities of States as set
forth in Principle 7 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development,
Recognizing the important contribution that the private sector and non-governmental organizations can make to achieving the reduction and/or
elimination of emissions and discharges of persistent organic pollutants,
Underlining the importance of manufacturers of persistent organic pollutants taking responsibility for reducing adverse effects caused by their
products and for providing information to users, Governments and the public on the hazardous properties of those chemicals,
Conscious of the need to take measures to prevent adverse effects caused by persistent organic pollutants at all stages of their life cycle,
20
Reaffirming Principle 16 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development which states that national authorities should endeavour to promote
the internalization of environmental costs and the use of economic instruments, taking into account the approach that the polluter should, in principle,
bear the cost of pollution, with due regard to the public interest and without distorting international trade and investment,
Encouraging Parties not having regulatory and assessment schemes for pesticides and industrial chemicals to develop such schemes,
Recognizing the importance of developing and using environmentally sound alternative processes and chemicals,
Determined to protect human health and the environment from the harmful impacts of persistent organic pollutants,
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
Objective
Mindful of the precautionary approach as set forth in Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, the objective of this
Convention is to protect human health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants.
Article 2
Definitions
For the purposes of this Convention:
(a) “Party” means a State or regional economic integration organization that has consented to be bound by this Convention and for which the
Convention is in force;
(b) "Regional economic integration organization" means an organization constituted by sovereign States of a given region to which its member
States have transferred competence in respect of matters governed by this Convention and which has been duly authorized, in accordance with its
internal procedures, to sign, ratify, accept, approve or accede to this Convention;
(c) "Parties present and voting" means Parties present and casting an affirmative or negative vote.
Article 3
Measures to reduce or eliminate releases from intentional production and use
1. Each Party shall:
(a) Prohibit and/or take the legal and administrative measures necessary to eliminate:
(i) Its production and use of the chemicals listed in Annex A subject to the provisions of that Annex; and
(ii) Its import and export of the chemicals listed in Annex A in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2; and
(b) Restrict its production and use of the chemicals listed in Annex B in accordance with the provisions of that Annex.
2. Each Party shall take measures to ensure:
(a) That a chemical listed in Annex A or Annex B is imported only:
(i) For the purpose of environmentally sound disposal as set forth in paragraph 1 (d) of Article 6; or
(ii) For a use or purpose which is permitted for that Party under Annex A or Annex B;
(b) That a chemical listed in Annex A for which any production or use specific exemption is in effect or a chemical listed in Annex B for which any
production or use specific exemption or acceptable purpose is in effect, taking into account any relevant provisions in existing international prior
informed consent instruments, is exported only:
(i) For the purpose of environmentally sound disposal as set forth in paragraph 1 (d) of Article 6;
(ii) To a Party which is permitted to use that chemical under Annex A or Annex B; or
(iii) To a State not Party to this Convention which has provided an annual certification to the exporting Party. Such certification shall specify the
intended use of the chemical and include a statement that, with respect to that chemical, the importing State is committed to:
a. Protect human health and the environment by taking the necessary measures to minimize or prevent releases;
b. Comply with the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 6; and
c. Comply, where appropriate, with the provisions of paragraph 2 of Part II of Annex B.
The certification shall also include any appropriate supporting documentation, such as legislation, regulatory instruments, or administrative or policy
guidelines. The exporting Party shall transmit the certification to the Secretariat within sixty days of receipt.
(c) That a chemical listed in Annex A, for which production and use specific exemptions are no longer in effect for any Party, is not exported from it
except for the purpose of environmentally sound disposal as set forth in paragraph 1 (d) of Article 6;
(d) For the purposes of this paragraph, the term “State not Party to this Convention” shall include, with respect to a particular chemical, a State or
regional economic integration organization that has not agreed to be bound by the Convention with respect to that chemical.
3. Each Party that has one or more regulatory and assessment schemes for new pesticides or new industrial chemicals shall take measures to
regulate with the aim of preventing the production and use of new pesticides or new industrial chemicals which, taking into consideration the criteria
in paragraph 1 of Annex D, exhibit the characteristics of persistent organic pollutants.
4. Each Party that has one or more regulatory and assessment schemes for pesticides or industrial chemicals shall, where appropriate, take into
consideration within these schemes the criteria in paragraph 1 of Annex D when conducting assessments of pesticides or industrial chemicals
currently in use.
5. Except as otherwise provided in this Convention, paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to quantities of a chemical to be used for laboratory-scale
research or as a reference standard.
21
6. Any Party that has a specific exemption in accordance with Annex A or a specific exemption or an acceptable purpose in accordance with Annex
B shall take appropriate measures to ensure that any production or use under such exemption or purpose is carried out in a manner that prevents or
minimizes human exposure and release into the environment. For exempted uses or acceptable purposes that involve intentional release into the
environment under conditions of normal use, such release shall be to the minimum extent necessary, taking into account any applicable standards
and guidelines.
Article 4
Register of specific exemptions
1. A Register is hereby established for the purpose of identifying the Parties that have specific exemptions listed in Annex A or Annex B. It shall not
identify Parties that make use of the provisions in Annex A or Annex B that may be exercised by all Parties. The Register shall be maintained by the
Secretariat and shall be available to the public.
2. The Register shall include:
(a) A list of the types of specific exemptions reproduced from Annex A and Annex B;
(b) A list of the Parties that have a specific exemption listed under Annex A or Annex B; and
(c) A list of the expiry dates for each registered specific exemption.
3. Any State may, on becoming a Party, by means of a notification in writing to the Secretariat, register for one or more types of specific exemptions
listed in Annex A or Annex B.
4. Unless an earlier date is indicated in the Register by a Party, or an extension is granted pursuant to paragraph 7, all registrations of specific
exemptions shall expire five years after the date of entry into force of this Convention with respect to a particular chemical.
5. At its first meeting, the Conference of the Parties shall decide upon its review process for the entries in the Register.
6. Prior to a review of an entry in the Register, the Party concerned shall submit a report to the Secretariat justifying its continuing need for
registration of that exemption. The report shall be circulated by the Secretariat to all Parties. The review of a registration shall be carried out on the
basis of all available information. Thereupon, the Conference of the Parties may make such recommendations to the Party concerned as it deems
appropriate.
7. The Conference of the Parties may, upon request from the Party concerned, decide to extend the expiry date of a specific exemption for a period
of up to five years. In making its decision, the Conference of the Parties shall take due account of the special circumstances of the developing
country Parties and Parties with economies in transition.
8. A Party may, at any time, withdraw an entry from the Register for a specific exemption upon written notification to the Secretariat. The withdrawal
shall take effect on the date specified in the notification.
9. When there are no longer any Parties registered for a particular type of specific exemption, no new registrations may be made with respect to it.
Article 5
Measures to reduce or eliminate releases from unintentional production Each Party shall at a minimum take the following measures to reduce the
total releases derived from anthropogenic sources of each of the chemicals listed in Annex C, with the goal of their continuing minimization and,
where feasible, ultimate elimination:
(a) Develop an action plan or, where appropriate, a regional or subregional action plan within two years of the date of entry into force of this
Convention for it, and subsequently implement it as part of its implementation plan specified in Article 7, designed to identify, characterize and
address the release of the chemicals listed in Annex C and to facilitate implementation of subparagraphs (b) to (e). The action plan shall include the
following elements:
(i) An evaluation of current and projected releases, including the development and maintenance of source inventories and release estimates, taking
into consideration the source categories identified in Annex C;
(ii) An evaluation of the efficacy of the laws and policies of the Party relating to the management of such releases;
(iii) Strategies to meet the obligations of this paragraph, taking into account the evaluations in (i) and (ii);
(iv) Steps to promote education and training with regard to, and awareness of, those strategies;
(v) A review every five years of those strategies and of their success in meeting the obligations of this paragraph; such reviews shall be included in
reports submitted pursuant to Article 15;
(vi) A schedule for implementation of the action plan, including for the strategies and measures identified therein;
(b) Promote the application of available, feasible and practical measures that can expeditiously achieve a realistic and meaningful level of release
reduction or source elimination;
(c) Promote the development and, where it deems appropriate, require the use of substitute or modified materials, products and processes to
prevent the formation and release of the chemicals listed in Annex C, taking into consideration the general guidance on prevention and release
reduction measures in Annex C and guidelines to be adopted by decision of the Conference of the Parties;
(d) Promote and, in accordance with the implementation schedule of its action plan, require the use of best available techniques for new sources
within source categories which a Party has identified as warranting such action in its action plan, with a particular initial focus on source categories
identified in Part II of Annex C. In any case, the requirement to use best available techniques for new sources in the categories listed in Part II of that
Annex shall be phased in as soon as practicable but no later than four years after the entry into force of the Convention for that Party. For the
identified categories, Parties shall promote the use of best environmental practices. When applying best available techniques and best
environmental practices, Parties should take into consideration the general guidance on prevention and release reduction measures in that Annex
and guidelines on best available techniques and best environmental practices to be
adopted by decision of the Conference of the Parties;
(e) Promote, in accordance with its action plan, the use of best available techniques and best environmental practices:
22
(i) For existing sources, within the source categories listed in Part II of Annex C and within source categories such as those in Part III of that Annex;
and
(ii) For new sources, within source categories such as those listed in Part III of Annex C which a Party has not addressed under subparagraph (d).
When applying best available techniques and best environmental practices, Parties should take into consideration the general guidance on
prevention and release reduction measures in Annex C and guidelines
on best available techniques and best environmental practices to be adopted by decision of the Conference of the Parties;
(f) For the purposes of this paragraph and Annex C:
(i) "Best available techniques" means the most effective and advanced stage in the development of activities and their methods of operation which
indicate the practical suitability of particular techniques for providing in principle the basis for release limitations designed to prevent and, where that
is not practicable, generally to reduce releases of chemicals listed in Part I of Annex C and their impact on the environment as a whole. In this regard:
(ii) “Techniques” includes both the technology used and the way in which the installation is designed, built, maintained, operated and
decommissioned;
(iii) “Available” techniques means those techniques that are accessible to the operator and that are developed on a scale that allows implementation
in the relevant industrial sector, under economically and technically viable conditions, taking into consideration the costs and advantages; and
(iv) “Best” means most effective in achieving a high general level of protection of the environment as a whole;
(v) "Best environmental practices" means the application of the most appropriate combination of environmental control measures and strategies;
(vi) “New source” means any source of which the construction or substantial modification is commenced at least one year after the date of:
a. Entry into force of this Convention for the Party concerned; or
b. Entry into force for the Party concerned of an amendment to Annex C where the source becomes subject to the provisions of this Convention only
by virtue of that amendment.
(g) Release limit values or performance standards may be used by a Party to fulfill its commitments for best available techniques under this
paragraph.
Article 6
Measures to reduce or eliminate releases from stockpiles and wastes
1. In order to ensure that stockpiles consisting of or containing chemicals listed either in Annex A or Annex B and wastes, including products and
articles upon becoming wastes, consisting of, containing or contaminated with a chemical listed in Annex A, B or C, are managed in a manner
protective of human health and the environment, each Party shall:
(a) Develop appropriate strategies for identifying:
(i) Stockpiles consisting of or containing chemicals listed either in Annex A or Annex B; and
(ii) Products and articles in use and wastes consisting of, containing or contaminated with a chemical listed in Annex A, B or C;
(b) Identify, to the extent practicable, stockpiles consisting of or containing chemicals listed either in Annex A or Annex B on the basis of the
strategies referred to in subparagraph (a);
(c) Manage stockpiles, as appropriate, in a safe, efficient and environmentally sound manner. Stockpiles of chemicals listed either in Annex A or
Annex B, after they are no longer allowed to be used according to any specific exemption specified in Annex A or any specific exemption or
acceptable purpose specified in Annex B, except stockpiles which are allowed to be exported according to paragraph 2 of Article 3, shall be deemed
to be waste and shall be managed in accordance with subparagraph (d);
(d) Take appropriate measures so that such wastes, including products and articles upon becoming wastes, are:
(i) Handled, collected, transported and stored in an environmentally sound manner;
(ii) Disposed of in such a way that the persistent organic pollutant content is destroyed or irreversibly transformed so that they do not exhibit the
characteristics of persistent organic pollutants or otherwise disposed of in an environmentally sound manner when destruction or irreversible
transformation does not represent the environmentally
preferable option or he persistent organic pollutant content is low, taking into account international rules, standards, and guidelines, including those
that may be developed pursuant to paragraph 2, and relevant global and regional regimes governing the management of hazardous wastes;
(iii) Not permitted to be subjected to disposal operations that may lead to recovery, recycling, reclamation, direct reuse or alternative uses of
persistent organic pollutants; and
(iv) Not transported across international boundaries without taking into account relevant international rules, standards and guidelines;
(e) Endeavour to develop appropriate strategies for identifying sites contaminated by chemicals listed in Annex A, B or C; if remediation of those
sites is undertaken it shall be performed in an environmentally sound manner.
2. The Conference of the Parties shall cooperate closely with the appropriate bodies of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary
Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal to, inter alia:
(a) Establish levels of destruction and irreversible transformation necessary to ensure that the characteristics of persistent organic pollutants as
specified in paragraph 1 of Annex D are not exhibited;
(b) Determine what they consider to be the methods that constitute environmentally sound disposal referred to above; and
(c) Work to establish, as appropriate, the concentration levels of the chemicals listed in Annexes A, B and C in order to define the low persistent
organic pollutant content referred to in paragraph 1 (d)(ii).
Article 7
Implementation plans
1. Each Party shall:
(a) Develop and endeavour to implement a plan for the implementation of its obligations under this Convention;
23
(b) Transmit its implementation plan to the Conference of the Parties within two years of the date on which this Convention enters into force for it;
and
(c) Review and update, as appropriate, its implementation plan on a periodic basis and in a manner to be specified by a decision of the Conference
of the Parties.
2. The Parties shall, where appropriate, cooperate directly or through global, regional and subregional organizations, and consult their national
stakeholders, including women’s groups and groups involved in the health of children, in order to facilitate the development, implementation and
updating of their implementation plans.
3. The Parties shall endeavour to utilize and, where necessary, establish the means to integrate national implementation plans for persistent organic
pollutants in their sustainable development strategies where appropriate.
Article 8
Listing of chemicals in Annexes A, B and C
1. A Party may submit a proposal to the Secretariat for listing a chemical in Annexes A, B and/or C. The proposal shall contain the information
specified in Annex D. In developing a proposal, a Party may be assisted by other Parties and/or by the Secretariat.
2. The Secretariat shall verify whether the proposal contains the information specified in Annex D. If the Secretariat is satisfied that the proposal
contains the information so specified, it shall forward the proposal to the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee.
3. The Committee shall examine the proposal and apply the screening criteria specified in Annex D in a flexible and transparent way, taking all
information provided into account in an integrative and balanced manner.
4. If the Committee decides that:
(a) It is satisfied that the screening criteria have been fulfilled, it shall, through the Secretariat, make the proposal and the evaluation of the
Committee available to all Parties and observers and invite them to submit the information specified in Annex E; or
(b) It is not satisfied that the screening criteria have been fulfilled, it shall, through the Secretariat, inform all Parties and observers and make the
proposal and the evaluation of the Committee available to all Parties and the proposal shall be set aside.
5. Any Party may resubmit a proposal to the Committee that has been set aside by the Committee pursuant to paragraph 4. The resubmission may
include any concerns of the Party as well as a justification for additional consideration by the Committee. If, following this procedure, the Committee
again sets the proposal aside, the Party may challenge the decision of the Committee and the Conference of the Parties shall consider the matter at
its next session. The Conference of the Parties may decide, based on the screening criteria in Annex D and taking into account the evaluation of the
Committee and any additional information provided by any Party or observer, that the proposal should proceed.
6. Where the Committee has decided that the screening criteria have been fulfilled, or the Conference of the Parties has decided that the proposal
should proceed, the Committee shall further review the proposal, taking into account any relevant additional information received, and shall prepare
a draft risk profile in accordance with Annex E. It shall, through the Secretariat, make that draft available to all Parties and observers, collect
technical comments from them and, taking those comments into account, complete the risk profile.
7. If, on the basis of the risk profile conducted in accordance with Annex E, the Committee decides:
(a) That the chemical is likely as a result of its long-range environmental transport to lead to significant adverse human health and/or environmental
effects such that global action is warranted, the proposal shall proceed. Lack of full scientific certainty shall not prevent the proposal from proceeding.
The Committee shall, through the Secretariat, invite information from all Parties and observers relating to the considerations specified in Annex F. It
shall then prepare a risk management evaluation that includes an analysis of possible control measures for the chemical in accordance with that
Annex; or
(b) That the proposal should not proceed, it shall, through the Secretariat, make the risk profile available to all Parties and observers and set the
proposal aside.
8. For any proposal set aside pursuant to paragraph 7 (b), a Party may request the Conference of the Parties to consider instructing the Committee
to invite additional information from the proposing Party and other Parties during a period not to exceed one year. After that period and on the basis
of any information received, the Committee shall reconsider the proposal pursuant to paragraph 6 with a priority to be decided by the Conference of
the Parties. If, following this procedure, the Committee again sets the proposal aside, the Party may challenge the decision of the Committee and the
Conference of the Parties shall consider the matter at its next session. The Conference of the Parties may decide, based on the risk profile prepared
in accordance with Annex E and taking into account the evaluation of the Committee and any additional information provided by any Party or
observer, that the proposal should proceed. If the Conference of the
Parties decides that the proposal shall proceed, the Committee shall then prepare the risk management evaluation.
9. The Committee shall, based on the risk profile referred to in paragraph 6 and the risk management evaluation referred to in paragraph 7 (a) or
paragraph 8, recommend whether the chemical should be considered by the Conference of the Parties for listing in Annexes A, B and/or C. The
Conference of the Parties, taking due account of the recommendations of the Committee, including any scientific uncertainty, shall decide, in a
precautionary manner, whether to list the chemical, and specify its related control measures, in Annexes A, B and/or C.
Article 9
Information exchange
1. Each Party shall facilitate or undertake the exchange of information relevant to:
(a) The reduction or elimination of the production, use and release of persistent organic pollutants; and
(b) Alternatives to persistent organic pollutants, including information relating to their risks as well as to their economic and social costs.
2. The Parties shall exchange the information referred to in paragraph 1 directly or through the Secretariat.
3. Each Party shall designate a national focal point for the exchange of such information.
24
4. The Secretariat shall serve as a clearing-house mechanism for information on persistent organic pollutants, including information provided by
Parties, intergovernmental organizations and nongovernmental organizations.
5. For the purposes of this Convention, information on health and safety of humans and the environment shall not be regarded as confidential.
Parties that exchange other information pursuant to this Convention shall protect any confidential information as mutually agreed.
Article 10
Public information, awareness and education
1. Each Party shall, within its capabilities, promote and facilitate:
(a) Awareness among its policy and decision makers with regard to persistent organic pollutants;
(b) Provision to the public of all available information on persistent organic pollutants, taking into account paragraph 5 of Article 9;
(c) Development and implementation, especially for women, children and the least educated, of educational and public awareness programmes on
persistent organic pollutants, as well as on their health and environmental effects and on their alternatives;
(d) Public participation in addressing persistent organic pollutants and their health and environmental effects and in developing adequate responses,
including opportunities for providing input at the national level regarding implementation of this Convention;
(e) Training of workers, scientists, educators and technical and managerial personnel;
(f) Development and exchange of educational and public awareness materials at the national and international levels; and
(g) Development and implementation of education and training programmes at the national and international levels.
2. Each Party shall, within its capabilities, ensure that the public has access to the public information referred to in paragraph 1 and that the
information is kept up-to-date.
3. Each Party shall, within its capabilities, encourage industry and professional users to promote and facilitate the provision of the information
referred to in paragraph 1 at the national level and, as appropriate, subregional, regional and global levels.
4. In providing information on persistent organic pollutants and their alternatives, Parties may use safety data sheets, reports, mass media and other
means of communication, and may establish information centres at national and regional levels.
5. Each Party shall give sympathetic consideration to developing mechanisms, such as pollutant release and transfer registers, for the collection and
dissemination of information on estimates of the annual quantities of the chemicals listed in Annex A, B or C that are released or disposed of.
Article 11
Research, development and monitoring
1. The Parties shall, within their capabilities, at the national and international levels, encourage and/or undertake appropriate research, development,
monitoring and cooperation pertaining to persistent organic pollutants and, where relevant, to their alternatives and to candidate persistent organic
pollutants, including on their:
(a) Sources and releases into the environment;
(b) Presence, levels and trends in humans and the environment;
(c) Environmental transport, fate and transformation;
(d) Effects on human health and the environment;
(e) Socio-economic and cultural impacts;
(f) Release reduction and/or elimination; and
(g) Harmonized methodologies for making inventories of generating sources and analytical techniques for the measurement of releases.
2. In undertaking action under paragraph 1, the Parties shall, within their capabilities:
(a) Support and further develop, as appropriate, international programmes, networks and organizations aimed at defining, conducting, assessing and
financing research, data collection and monitoring, taking into account the need to minimize duplication of effort;
(b) Support national and international efforts to strengthen national scientific and technical research capabilities, particularly in developing countries
and countries with economies in transition, and to promote access to, and the exchange of, data and analyses;
(c) Take into account the concerns and needs, particularly in the field of financial and technical resources, of developing countries and countries with
economies in transition and cooperate in improving their capability to participate in the efforts referred to in subparagraphs (a) and (b);
(d) Undertake research work geared towards alleviating the effects of persistent organic pollutants on reproductive health;
(e) Make the results of their research, development and monitoring activities referred to in this paragraph accessible to the public on a timely and
regular basis; and
(f) Encourage and/or undertake cooperation with regard to storage and maintenance of information generated from research, development and
monitoring.
Article 12
Technical assistance
1. The Parties recognize that rendering of timely and appropriate technical assistance in response to requests from developing country Parties and
Parties with economies in transition is essential to the successful implementation of this Convention.
2. The Parties shall cooperate to provide timely and appropriate technical assistance to developing country Parties and Parties with economies in
transition, to assist them, taking into account their particular needs, to develop and strengthen their capacity to implement their obligations under this
Convention.
3. In this regard, technical assistance to be provided by developed country Parties, and other Parties in accordance with their capabilities, shall
include, as appropriate and as mutually agreed, technical assistance for capacity-building relating to implementation of the obligations under this
Convention. Further guidance in this regard shall be provided by the Conference of the Parties.
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4. The Parties shall establish, as appropriate, arrangements for the purpose of providing technical assistance and promoting the transfer of
technology to developing country Parties and Parties with economies in transition relating to the implementation of this Convention. These
arrangements shall include regional and subregional centres for capacity-building and transfer of technology to assist developing country Parties and
Parties with economies in transition to fulfil their obligations under this Convention. Further guidance in this regard shall be provided by the
Conference of the Parties.
5. The Parties shall, in the context of this Article, take full account of the specific needs and special situation of least developed countries and small
island developing states in their actions with regard to technical assistance.
Article 13
Financial resources and mechanisms
1. Each Party undertakes to provide, within its capabilities, financial support and incentives in respect of those national activities that are intended to
achieve the objective of this Convention in accordance with its national plans, priorities and programmes.
2. The developed country Parties shall provide new and additional financial resources to enable developing country Parties and Parties with
economies in transition to meet the agreed full incremental costs of implementing measures which fulfill their obligations under this Convention as
agreed between a recipient Party and an entity participating in the mechanism described in paragraph 6. Other Parties may also on a voluntary basis
and in accordance with their capabilities provide such financial resources. Contributions from other sources should also be encouraged. The
implementation of these commitments shall take into account the need for adequacy, predictability, the timely flow of funds and the importance of
burden sharing among the contributing Parties.
3. Developed country Parties, and other Parties in accordance with their capabilities and in accordance with their national plans, priorities and
programmes, may also provide and developing country Parties and Parties with economies in transition avail themselves of financial resources to
assist in their implementation of this Convention through other bilateral, regional and multilateral sources or channels.
4. The extent to which the developing country Parties will effectively implement their commitments under this Convention will depend on the effective
implementation by developed country Parties of their commitments under this Convention relating to financial resources, technical assistance and
technology transfer. The fact that sustainable economic and social development and eradication of poverty are the first and overriding priorities of the
developing country Parties will be taken fully into account, giving due consideration to the need for the protection of human health and the
environment.
5. The Parties shall take full account of the specific needs and special situation of the least developed countries and the small island developing
states in their actions with regard to funding.
6. A mechanism for the provision of adequate and sustainable financial resources to developing country Parties and Parties with economies in
transition on a grant or concessional basis to assist in their implementation of the Convention is hereby defined. The mechanism shall function under
the authority, as appropriate, and guidance of, and be accountable to the Conference of the Parties for the purposes of this Convention. Its operation
shall be entrusted to one or more entities, including existing international entities, as may be decided upon by the Conference of the Parties. The
mechanism may also include other entities providing multilateral, regional and bilateral financial and technical assistance. Contributions to the
mechanism shall be additional to other financial transfers to developing country Parties and Parties with economies in transition as reflected in, and
in accordance with, paragraph 2.
7. Pursuant to the objectives of this Convention and paragraph 6, the Conference of the Parties shall at its first meeting adopt appropriate guidance
to be provided to the mechanism and shall agree with the entity or entities participating in the financial mechanism upon arrangements to give effect
thereto. The guidance shall address, inter alia:
(a) The determination of the policy, strategy and programme priorities, as well as clear and detailed criteria and guidelines regarding eligibility for
access to and utilization of financial resources including monitoring and evaluation on a regular basis of such utilization;
(b) The provision by the entity or entities of regular reports to the Conference of the Parties on adequacy and sustainability of funding for activities
relevant to the implementation of this Convention;
(c) The promotion of multiple-source funding approaches, mechanisms and arrangements;
(d) The modalities for the determination in a predictable and identifiable manner of the amount of funding necessary and available for the
implementation of this Convention, keeping in mind that the phasing out of persistent organic pollutants might require sustained funding, and the
conditions under which that amount shall be periodically reviewed; and
(e) The modalities for the provision to interested Parties of assistance with needs assessment, information on available sources of funds and on
funding patterns in order to facilitate coordination among them.
8. The Conference of the Parties shall review, not later than its second meeting and thereafter on a regular basis, the effectiveness of the
mechanism established under this Article, its ability to address the changing needs of the developing country Parties and Parties with economies in
transition, the criteria and guidance referred to in paragraph 7, the level of funding as well as the effectiveness of the performance of the institutional
entities entrusted to operate the financial mechanism. It shall, based on such review, take appropriate action, if necessary, to improve the
effectiveness of the mechanism, including by means of recommendations and guidance on measures to ensure adequate and sustainable funding to
meet the needs of the Parties.
Article 14
Interim financial arrangements
The institutional structure of the Global Environment Facility, operated in accordance with the Instrument for the Establishment of the Restructured
Global Environment Facility, shall, on an interim basis, be the principal entity entrusted with the operations of the financial mechanism referred to in
Article 13, for the period between the date of entry into force of this Convention and the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties, or until such
time as the Conference of the Parties decides which institutional structure will be designated in accordance with Article 13. The institutional structure
26
of the Global Environment Facility should fulfill this function through operational measures related specifically to persistent organic pollutants taking
into account that new arrangements for this area may be needed.
Article 15
Reporting
1. Each Party shall report to the Conference of the Parties on the measures it has taken to implement the provisions of this Convention and on the
effectiveness of such measures in meeting the objectives of the Convention.
2. Each Party shall provide to the Secretariat:
(a) Statistical data on its total quantities of production, import and export of each of the chemicals listed in Annex A and Annex B or a reasonable
estimate of such data; and
(b) To the extent practicable, a list of the States from which it has imported each such substance and the States to which it has exported each such
substance.
3. Such reporting shall be at periodic intervals and in a format to be decided by the Conference of the Parties at its first meeting.
Article 16
Effectiveness evaluation.
1. Commencing four years after the date of entry into force of this Convention, and periodically thereafter at intervals to be decided by the
Conference of the Parties, the Conference shall evaluate the effectiveness of this Convention.
2. In order to facilitate such evaluation, the Conference of the Parties shall, at its first meeting, initiate the establishment of arrangements to provide
itself with comparable monitoring data on the presence of the chemicals listed in Annexes A, B and C as well as their regional and global
environmental transport. These arrangements:
(a) Should be implemented by the Parties on a regional basis when appropriate, in accordance with their technical and financial capabilities, using
existing monitoring programmes and mechanisms to the extent possible and promoting harmonization of approaches;
(b) May be supplemented where necessary, taking into account the differences between regions and their capabilities to implement monitoring
activities; and
(c) Shall include reports to the Conference of the Parties on the results of the monitoring activities on a regional and global basis at intervals to be
specified by the Conference of the Parties.
3. The evaluation described in paragraph 1 shall be conducted on the basis of available scientific, environmental, technical and economic information,
including:
(a) Reports and other monitoring information provided pursuant to paragraph 2;
(b) National reports submitted pursuant to Article 15; and
(c) Non-compliance information provided pursuant to the procedures established under Article 17.
Article 17
Non-compliance
The Conference of the Parties shall, as soon as practicable, develop and approve procedures and institutional mechanisms for determining non-
compliance with the provisions of this Convention and for the treatment of Parties found to be in non-compliance.
Article 18
Settlement of disputes
1. Parties shall settle any dispute between them concerning the interpretation or application of this Convention through negotiation or other peaceful
means of their own choice.
2. When ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to the Convention, or at any time thereafter, a Party that is not a regional economic integration
organization may declare in a written instrument submitted to the depositary that, with respect to any dispute concerning the interpretation or
application of the Convention, it recognizes one or both of the following means of dispute settlement as compulsory in relation to any Party accepting
the same obligation:
(a) Arbitration in accordance with procedures to be adopted by the Conference of the Parties in an annex as soon as practicable;
(b) Submission of the dispute to the International Court of Justice.
3. A Party that is a regional economic integration organization may make a declaration with like effect in relation to arbitration in accordance with the
procedure referred to in paragraph 2 (a).
4. A declaration made pursuant to paragraph 2 or paragraph 3 shall remain in force until it expires in accordance with its terms or until three months
after written notice of its revocation has been deposited with the depositary.
5. The expiry of a declaration, a notice of revocation or a new declaration shall not in any way affect proceedings pending before an arbitral tribunal
or the International Court of Justice unless the parties to the dispute otherwise agree.
6. If the parties to a dispute have not accepted the same or any procedure pursuant to paragraph 2, and if they have not been able to settle their
dispute within twelve months following notification by one party to another that a dispute exists between them, the dispute shall be submitted to a
conciliation commission at the request of any party to the dispute. The conciliation commission shall render a report with recommendations.
Additional procedures relating to the conciliation commission shall be included in an annex to be adopted by the Conference of the Parties no later
than at its second meeting.
Article 19
Conference of the Parties
27
1. A Conference of the Parties is hereby established.
2. The first meeting of the Conference of the Parties shall be convened by the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme no
later than one year after the entry into force of this Convention. Thereafter, ordinary meetings of the Conference of the Parties shall be held at
regular intervals to be decided by the Conference.
3. Extraordinary meetings of the Conference of the Parties shall be held at such other times as may be deemed necessary by the Conference, or at
the written request of any Party provided that it is supported by at least one third of the Parties.
4. The Conference of the Parties shall by consensus agree upon and adopt at its first meeting rules of procedure and financial rules for itself and any
subsidiary bodies, as well as financial provisions governing the functioning of the Secretariat.
5. The Conference of the Parties shall keep under continuous review and evaluation the implementation of this Convention. It shall perform the
functions assigned to it by the Convention and, to this end, shall:
(a) Establish, further to the requirements of paragraph 6, such subsidiary bodies as it considers necessary for the implementation of the Convention;
(b) Cooperate, where appropriate, with competent international organizations and intergovernmental and non-governmental bodies; and
(c) Regularly review all information made available to the Parties pursuant to Article 15, including consideration of the effectiveness of paragraph 2 (b)
(iii) of Article 3;
(d) Consider and undertake any additional action that may be required for the achievement of the objectives of the Convention.
6. The Conference of the Parties shall, at its first meeting, establish a subsidiary body to be called the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review
Committee for the purposes of performing the functions assigned to that Committee by this Convention. In this regard:
(a) The members of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee shall be appointed by the Conference of the Parties. Membership of the
Committee shall consist of government-designated experts in chemical assessment or management. The members of the Committee shall be
appointed on the basis of equitable geographical distribution;
(b) The Conference of the Parties shall decide on the terms of reference, organization and operation of the Committee; and
(c) The Committee shall make every effort to adopt its recommendations by consensus. If all efforts at consensus have been exhausted, and no
consensus reached, such recommendation shall as a last resort be adopted by a two-thirds majority vote of the members present and voting.
7. The Conference of the Parties shall, at its third meeting, evaluate the continued need for the procedure contained in paragraph 2 (b) of Article 3,
including consideration of its effectiveness.
8. The United Nations, its specialized agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency, as well as any State not Party to this Convention, may
be represented at meetings of the Conference of the Parties as observers. Any body or agency, whether national or international, governmental or
non-governmental,
qualified in matters covered by the Convention, and which has informed the Secretariat of its wish to be represented at a meeting of the Conference
of the Parties as an observer may be admitted unless at least one third of the Parties present object. The admission and participation of observers
shall be subject to the rules of procedure adopted by the Conference of the Parties.
Article 20
Secretariat
1. A Secretariat is hereby established.
2. The functions of the Secretariat shall be:
(a) To make arrangements for meetings of the Conference of the Parties and its subsidiary bodies and to provide them with services as required;
(b) To facilitate assistance to the Parties, particularly developing country Parties and Parties with economies in transition, on request, in the
implementation of this Convention;
(c) To ensure the necessary coordination with the secretariats of other relevant international bodies;
(d) To prepare and make available to the Parties periodic reports based on information received pursuant to Article 15 and other available
information;
(e) To enter, under the overall guidance of the Conference of the Parties, into such administrative and contractual arrangements as may be required
for the effective discharge of its functions; and
(f) To perform the other secretariat functions specified in this Convention and such other functions as may be determined by the Conference of the
Parties.
3. The secretariat functions for this Convention shall be performed by the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, unless
the Conference of the Parties decides, by a three-fourths majority of the Parties present and voting, to entrust the secretariat functions to one or
more other international organizations.
Article 21
Amendments to the Convention
1. Amendments to this Convention may be proposed by any Party.
2. Amendments to this Convention shall be adopted at a meeting of the Conference of the Parties. The text of any proposed amendment shall be
communicated to the Parties by the Secretariat at least six months before the meeting at which it is proposed for adoption. The Secretariat shall also
communicate proposed amendments to the signatories to this Convention and, for information, to the depositary.
3. The Parties shall make every effort to reach agreement on any proposed amendment to this Convention by consensus. If all efforts at consensus
have been exhausted, and no agreement reached, the amendment shall as a last resort be adopted by a three-fourths majority vote of the Parties
present and voting.
4. The amendment shall be communicated by the depositary to all Parties for ratification, acceptance or approval.
28
5. Ratification, acceptance or approval of an amendment shall be notified to the depositary in writing. An amendment adopted in accordance with
paragraph 3 shall enter into force for the Parties having accepted it on the ninetieth day after the date of deposit of instruments of ratification,
acceptance or approval by at least three-fourths of the Parties. Thereafter, the amendment shall enter into force for any other Party on the ninetieth
day after the date on which that Party deposits its instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval of the amendment.
Article 22
Adoption and amendment of annexes
1. Annexes to this Convention shall form an integral part thereof and, unless expressly provided otherwise, a reference to this Convention constitutes
at the same time a reference to any annexes thereto.
2. Any additional annexes shall be restricted to procedural, scientific, technical or administrative matters.
3. The following procedure shall apply to the proposal, adoption and entry into force of additional annexes to this Convention:
(a) Additional annexes shall be proposed and adopted according to the procedure laid down in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of Article 21;
(b) Any Party that is unable to accept an additional annex shall so notify the depositary, in writing, within one year from the date of communication by
the depositary of the adoption of the additional annex. The depositary shall without delay notify all Parties of any such notification received. A Party
may at any time withdraw a previous notification of non-acceptance in respect of any additional annex, and the annex shall thereupon enter into
force for that Party subject to subparagraph (c); and
(c) On the expiry of one year from the date of the communication by the depositary of the adoption of an additional annex, the annex shall enter into
force for all Parties that have not submitted a notification in accordance with the provisions of subparagraph (b).
4. The proposal, adoption and entry into force of amendments to Annex A, B or C shall be subject to the same procedures as for the proposal,
adoption and entry into force of additional annexes to this Convention, except that an amendment to Annex A, B or C shall not enter into force with
respect to any Party that has made a declaration with respect to amendment to those Annexes in accordance with paragraph 4 of Article 25, in which
case any such amendment shall enter into force for such a Party on the ninetieth day after the date of deposit with the depositary of its instrument of
ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with respect to such amendment.
5. The following procedure shall apply to the proposal, adoption and entry into force of an amendment to Annex D, E or F:
(a) Amendments shall be proposed according to the procedure in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 21;
(b) The Parties shall take decisions on an amendment to Annex D, E or F by consensus; and
(c) A decision to amend Annex D, E or F shall forthwith be communicated to the Parties by the depositary. The amendment shall enter into force for
all Parties on a date to be specified in the decision.
6. If an additional annex or an amendment to an annex is related to an amendment to this Convention, the additional annex or amendment shall not
enter into force until such time as the amendment to the Convention enters into force.
Article 23
Right to vote
1. Each Party to this Convention shall have one vote, except as provided for in paragraph 2.
2. A regional economic integration organization, on matters within its competence, shall exercise its right to vote with a number of votes equal to the
number of its member States that are Parties to this Convention. Such an organization shall not exercise its right to vote if any of its member States
exercises its right to vote, and vice versa.
Article 24
Signature
This Convention shall be open for signature at Stockholm by all States and regional economic integration organizations on 23 May 2001, and at the
United Nations Headquarters in New York from 24 May 2001 to 22 May 2002.
Article 25
Ratification, acceptance, approval or accession
1. This Convention shall be subject to ratification, acceptance or approval by States and by regional economic integration organizations. It shall be
open for accession by States and by regional economic integration organizations from the day after the date on which the Convention is closed for
signature. Instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession shall be deposited with the depositary.
2. Any regional economic integration organization that becomes a Party to this Convention without any of its member States being a Party shall be
bound by all the obligations under the Convention. In the case of such organizations, one or more of whose member States is a Party to this
Convention, the organization and its member States shall decide on their respective responsibilities for the performance of their obligations under the
Convention. In such cases, the organization and the member States shall not be entitled to exercise rights under the Convention concurrently.
3. In its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, a regional economic integration organization shall declare the extent of its
competence in respect of the matters governed by this Convention. Any such organization shall also inform the depositary, who shall in turn inform
the Parties, of any relevant modification in the extent of its competence.
4. In its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, any Party may declare that, with respect to it, any amendment to Annex A, B or
C shall enter into force only upon the deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with respect thereto.
Article 26
Entry into force
29
1. This Convention shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after the date of deposit of the fiftieth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or
accession.
2. For each State or regional economic integration organization that ratifies, accepts or approves this Convention or accedes thereto after the deposit
of the fiftieth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval for accession, the Convention shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after the date of
deposit by such State or regional economic integration organization of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.
3. For the purpose of paragraphs 1 and 2, any instrument deposited by a regional economic integration organization shall not be counted as
additional to those deposited by member States of that organization.
Article 27
Reservations
No reservations may be made to this Convention.
Article 28
Withdrawal
1. At any time after three years from the date on which this Convention has entered into force for a Party, that Party may withdraw from the
Convention by giving written notification to the depositary.
2. Any such withdrawal shall take effect upon the expiry of one year from the date of receipt by the depositary of the notification of withdrawal, or on
such later date as may be specified in the notification of withdrawal.
Article 29
Depositary
The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall be the depositary of this Convention.
Article 30
Authentic texts
The original of this Convention, of which the Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited
with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorized to that effect, have signed this
Convention.Done at Stockholm on this twenty-second day of May, two thousand and one.
30
TITLE: Climate Change Information Kit
SOURCE: UNFCCC, UNEP, UNDP
Is available also in: http://unfccc.int/files/essential_background/application/pdf/infokit_02_en.pdf
Foreword more >>

1. An introduction to climate change more >>
Understanding the climate system

2. The greenhouse effect more >>
3. Greenhouse gases and aerosols more >>
4. How will greenhouse gas levels change in the future? more >>
5. How will the climate change? more >>
6. Has climate change already begun? more >>
7. The evidence from climate models more >>
8. The evidence from past climates more >>
Facing the consequences

9. Adapting to the impacts of climate change more >>
10. Agriculture and food security more >>
11. Sea levels, oceans, and coastal areas more >>
12. Biological diversity and ecosystems more >>
13. Water resources more >>
14. Human health more >>
15. Infrastructure, industry, and human settlements more >>
16. Climatic disasters and extreme events more >>
The Climate Change Convention

17. The international response to climate change more >>
18. The Climate Change Convention more >>
19. The Conference of the Parties (COP) more >>
20. Sharing and reviewing national information more >>
21. The Kyoto Protocol more >>
Limiting greenhouse gas emissions

22. How human actions produce greenhouse gases more >>
23. The challenge for policymakers more >>
24. Crafting policies that are cost-effective more >>
25. New energy technologies and policies more >>
26. New transportation technologies and policies more >>
27. New approaches to forestry and agriculture more >>
28. Financing action under the Convention more >>
29. Global cooperation on technology more >>
Facts and figures

30. Data on Greenhouse gas emissions and sources more >>
Climate Change Information Sheet 15

Infrastructure, industry, and human settlements
Climate change will affect human settlements. Settlements that depend heavily on commercial fishing, subsistence agriculture and other natural
resources are particularly vulnerable. Also at risk are low-lying areas and deltas, large coastal cities, squatter camps located in flood plains and on
steep hillsides, settlements in forested areas where seasonal wildfires may increase, and settlements stressed by population growth, poverty and
environmental degradation. In all cases, the poorest people will be the most affected. Though climate change will often have less impact on this
sector than will economic development, technological change, and other social and environmental forces, it is likely to exacerbate the total stress on
settlements.
Infrastructure will become more vulnerable to flooding and landslides. More intense and frequent precipitation events are expected to intensify
urban flooding. The flood risks may also increase for settlements along rivers and within flood plains. The risk of more landslides is greatest for
31
hillside areas.
Tropical cyclones are expected to become more destructive in some areas. Also known as hurricanes and typhoons, these massive storm
systems combine the effects of heavy rainfall, high winds, and storm surge and sea-level rise. The risk is that warmer oceans will increase the
frequency and intensity of such storms.
Warming, dryness and flooding could undermine water supplies. Settlements in regions that are already water-deficient – including much of
North Africa, the Middle East, Southwest Asia, portions of western North America and some Pacific islands – can be expected to face still-higher
demands for water as the climate warms. There are no obvious low-cost ways in which to obtain increased freshwater supplies in many of these
regions. In some regions, repeated flooding could create problems with water quality.
The danger of fire could increase. However, there are many uncertainties about how hotter and drier weather will combine with other factors to
affect the risk of fire.
Agriculture and fisheries are sensitive to climate change. In some cases agricultural yields may be reduced by up to several tens of percent as a
result of hotter weather, greater evaporation, and lower precipitation, particularly in mid-continental growing regions. However, other regions may
benefit and could experience higher yields. Fisheries will be affected because changes in ocean conditions caused by warming can substantially
impact the locations and types of target species.
Heat waves would become a greater threat to human health and productivity. Heat waves have their most severe effects on the old, the
chronically ill and the very young. The likely effects on the overall death rate are less clear. Stronger urban heat-island effects would further
exacerbate the oppressive effects of heat waves by increasing the temperatures experienced in the summer by up to several degrees Centigrade.
Meanwhile, as the weather becomes very warm, the economic productivity of unprotected and outdoor populations declines.
Sea-level rise will affect coastal infrastructure and resource-based industries. Many coastlines are highly developed and contain human
settlements, industry, ports, and other infrastructure. Many of the most vulnerable regions include some small island nations, low-lying deltas,
developing countries and densely populated coasts that currently lack extensive sea and coastal defense systems. Several industries such as
tourism and recreation – the principle earners for many island economies – are particularly dependent on coastal resources.
Energy demand is sensitive to climate change. Heating requirements at mid- and high latitudes and altitudes would decline but cooling
requirements would increase. The net overall impact of these changes on energy use would depend on local circumstances. For example, if
temperature increases take place primarily at night and during the winter months, the demand for heating would be less, as would the demand for
cooling and for irrigation. Meanwhile, energy supply systems will be vulnerable to changes resulting from global warming. For example, increased
water deficits, less winter snowfall to fill summer streams, and more demand for freshwater supplies would affect hydropower production.
Infrastructure in permafrost regions is vulnerable to warming. Permafrost melting is a threat to infrastructure in these regions because it would
increase landslides and reduce the stability of foundations for structures. Other impacts would include greater damage from freeze-thaw cycles. In
addition, melting permafrost is thought to be a source of methane and carbon dioxide emissions.
Local capacity is critical to successful adaptation. The capacity of local communities to adapt tends to be strongly correlated with wealth, human
capital and institutional strength. The most effective sustainable solutions are those that are strongly supported – and often developed – locally. The
role of higher-level bodies is then to provide technical assistance and institutional support. A clear message for policy-makers is to always anticipate
the likely future impacts of climate change when they take decisions regarding human settlements and make investments in infrastructure.
Climate Change Information Sheet 18

The Climate Change Convention
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Convention is the foundation of global efforts to combat global warming. Opened
for signature in 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit, its ultimate objective is the "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a
level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic [ human-induced] interference with the climate system. Such a level should be achieved within a
time-frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened and to enable
economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner."
The Convention sets out some guiding principles. The precautionary principle says that the lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as
an excuse to postpone action when there is a threat of serious or irreversible damage. The principle of the "common but differentiated
responsibilities" of states assigns the lead in combating climate change to developed countries. Other principles deal with the special needs of
developing countries and the importance of promoting sustainable development.
Both developed and developing countries accept a number of general commitments. All Parties will develop and submit "national
communications" containing inventories of greenhouse gas emissions by source and greenhouse gas removals by "sinks". They will adopt national
programmes for mitigating climate change and develop strategies for adapting to its impacts. They will also promote technology transfer and the
sustainable management, conservation, and enhancement of greenhouse gas sinks and "reservoirs" (such as forests and oceans). In addition, the
Parties will take climate change into account in their relevant social, economic, and environmental policies; cooperate in scientific, technical, and
educational matters; and promote education, public awareness, and the exchange of information related to climate change.
Industrialized countries undertake several specific commitments. Most members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) plus the states of Central and Eastern Europe – known collectively as Annex I countries – committed themselves to adopting
policies and measures aimed at returning their greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000 (emissions targets for the post-2000
period are addressed by the Kyoto Protocol). They must also submit national communications on a regular basis detailing their climate change
strategies. Several states may together adopt a joint emissions target. The countries in transition to a market economy are granted a certain degree
of flexibility in implementing their commitments.
32
The richest countries shall provide "new and additional financial resources" and facilitate technology transfer. These so-called Annex II
countries (essentially the OECD) will fund the "agreed full cost" incurred by developing countries for submitting their national communications. These
funds must be "new and additional" rather than redirected from existing development aid funds. Annex II Parties will also help finance certain other
Convention-related projects, and they will promote and finance the transfer of, or access to, environmentally sound technologies, particularly for
developing country Parties. The Convention recognizes that the extent to which developing country Parties implement their commitments will depend
on financial and technical assistance from the developed countries.
The supreme body of the Convention is the Conference of the Parties (COP). The COP comprises all the states that have ratified or acceded to
the Convention (185 as of July 2001). It held its first meeting (COP-1) in Berlin in 1995 and will continue to meet on a yearly basis unless the Parties
decide otherwise. The COP’s role is to promote and review the implementation of the Convention. It will periodically review existing commitments in
light of the Convention’s objective, new scientific findings, and the effectiveness of national climate change programmes. The COP can adopt new
commitments through amendments and protocols to the Convention; in December 1997 it adopted the Kyoto Protocol containing binding emissions
targets for developed countries.
The Convention also establishes two subsidiary bodies. The Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) provides the
COP with timely information and advice on scientific and technological matters relating to the Convention. The Subsidiary Body for Implementation
(SBI) helps with the assessment and review of the Convention’s implementation. Two additional bodies were established by COP-1: the Ad hoc
Group on the Berlin Mandate (AGBM), which concluded its work in Kyoto in December 1997, and the Ad hoc Group on Article 13 (AG13), which
concluded its work in June 1998.
A financial mechanism provides funds on a grant or concessional basis. The Convention states that this mechanism shall be guided by, and be
accountable to, the Conference of the Parties, which shall decide on its policies, programme priorities, and eligibility criteria. There should be an
equitable and balanced representation of all Parties within a transparent system of governance. The operation of the financial mechanism may be
entrusted to one or more international entities. The Convention assigns this role to the Global Environment Facility (GEF) on an interim basis; in
1999 the COP decided to entrust the GEF with this responsibility on an on-going basis and to review the financial mechanism every four years. In
2001 the COP agreed on the need to establish two new funds under the Convention – a Special Climate Change Fund and a fund for least
developed countries – to help developing countries adapt to climate change impacts, obtain clean technologies, and limit the growth in their
emissions. These funds are to be managed within the GEF framework. (The COP also agreed to establish an Adaptation Fund under the 1997 Kyoto
Protocol.) The COP and its subsidiary bodies are serviced by a secretariat. The interim secretariat that functioned during the negotiation of the
Convention became the permanent secretariat in January 1996.
The secretariat arranges for sessions of the COP and its subsidiary bodies, drafts official documents, services meetings, compiles and
transmits reports submitted to it, facilitates assistance to Parties for the compilation and communication of information, coordinates with secretariats
of other relevant international bodies, and reports on its activities to the COP. It is based in Bonn, Germany (see unfccc.int).
33
TITLE: Overview of global developments and Office activities concerning codes of conduct, social labelling
and other private sector initiatives addressing labour issues
SOURCE: ILO Governing Body GB.273/WP/SDL/1(Add.1)
Enterprise Social Responsibility and Accountability
Is available also in: http://www.ilo.org/vpidocuments/IO_ILO11.htm
Executive summary
1. At the request of the Working Party on the Social Dimensions of the Liberalization of International Trade, the Office prepared an overview of
global developments and Office activities concerning codes of conduct, social labelling programmes, and shareholder and other private sector
initiatives. The initiatives at issue are distinguished by their non-governmental, or private, character and their focus on labour practices in the context
of public demand for social accountability among business partners in globalized contractual or equity arrangements. Among the leaders of such
initiatives are individual enterprises, non-governmental organizations, employers' and workers' organizations and various enterprise associations. In
addition, voluntary enterprise initiatives with governments and inter-governmental organizations may involve operational programmes, guidelines for
enterprise social policies or technical standards. The results of the proliferation of private sector initiatives are particularly critical for developing
country enterprises, especially those of small and medium scale, which must find cost-effective ways to make the technical and managerial changes
needed to obtain access to foreign markets or to sell to large international buyers who impose social requirements. The preparation of the overview
included a review of more than 200 operational and model codes, a dozen social labelling programs, and secondary literature.
2. The social concerns at the root of the phenomenon under review are a welcome development, yet a number of limitations appear inherent in the
very nature of the initiatives. A lack of transparency and of participation by the supposed beneficiaries is attributable to their unilateral origin.
Selectivity in the nature of the labour issues addressed as well as an absence of uniformity in the definition of principles underlying best practices
result in a disparity between the goals of many initiatives and the universal principles underlying fundamental labour standards. This disparity is
borne out in a review of the content of codes and labelling programs, described below. Further limitations in measuring the impact of labour-related
goals result from a lack of standardization of labour criteria and methods of implementation, as well as the variability of the external and internal
environments of the enterprises concerned. Such limitations have been exposed in a review of codes, labels, investment-fund screening
programmes and shareholder initiatives focusing on labour practices.
3. The selectivity apparent in the fundamental labour issues addressed in codes suggests that the content of the codes is largely decided in ad hoc
negotiations between various interested parties with various levels of access to information and bargaining power. In the codes reviewed, references
to various fundamental labour issues can be estimated as follows: freedom of association and collective bargaining (15 per cent of codes had
relevant references); forced labour (25 per cent); wage levels (40 per cent); child labour (45 per cent); freedom from discrimination (two-thirds); and
health and safety (three-quarters). Diversity in the definition of the principles in the codes arises from the fact that most of their authors tend either to
create their own definitions of principles in codes or social labelling requirements ("self-definition") or, in some instances, refer to national law,
international labour standards or industry practice. Disparity between self-definitions and international labour standards is particularly apparent, as
demonstrated especially by the treatment of freedom of association. No more than one-third of the codes reviewed bore any reference to
international labour standards generally or to the principles enshrined in specific ILO Conventions or Recommendations. A single code referred to
the Tripartite Declaration on Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, and another to the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and
Rights at Work.
4. The wide variety of methods of implementation, including internal management systems and external monitoring or inspection, makes it virtually
impossible to verify the credibility of the claims made. Similarly, the lack of standardization of criteria and procedures for implementation impede the
ability to assess the concrete effects of such initiatives, or to compare the outcomes in different enterprises, systems of certification and labelling
programmes. The content of labour provisions in codes naturally affects the type of criteria, and even procedures, used for internal monitoring or
external inspection. Recognizing this, some independent inspection companies have requested assistance from the ILO in using international labour
standards to set basic criteria for inspection and to advise on the content of codes to be the subject of inspection.
5. Selectivity of focus and diversity of implementation are particularly notable in the operation of social labels, which are rooted largely in the
concerns of consumers, the media and civil society. Social labelling programmes focusing on labour practices operate primarily in export markets
involving retail trade and with market "niche" products, especially those bought and consumed publicly or associated with social identity (clothing,
footwear, food) or discrete production processes (tea). As workers' organizations become more involved, some labelling programmes originally
aimed only at non-labour issues have added labour issues to their agendas. Unlike the developing international system of standardization for eco-
labels within the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the market has been ineffective to date in developing a uniform and generally
accepted set of standards which could help promote the benefits and prevent the risks of social labelling efforts, both for supposed beneficiaries
34
such as child workers, and participating enterprises and other interested parties. The Appendix to the paper summarizes in tabular form the general
features of a dozen social labelling programmes.
6. A review of ILO activities discusses some relevant research and operational programmes. In addition, a great diversity marks the requests and
demands made to the Office for various types of assistance, to which the Office has replied in a limited fashion, largely by providing information on
ILO standards. These requests, among other circumstances, reflect an apparent need for an external source of reference and legitimacy, but the
prospect of a privatized and impartial system for standardization of content and verification of the initiatives appears unlikely. In assessing the
possible impact of the initiatives on ILO objectives, the study observes that, depending on the circumstances, private initiatives and international
labour standards can operate both in parallel and in competition with one another in relation to governments and enterprises. In leaving to the
Working Party an assessment of whether better complementarity can be envisaged between these initiatives and an inclusive process of social
progress, the overview considers various possible ILO positions, which indeed may evolve gradually as experience develops. The positions range
from a minimalist approach to facilitate further research and discussion; a role in providing support services to enterprises seeking to adopt initiatives
or to adapt to initiatives; and a proactive position, which could include adopting a text recommending good practices in voluntary social initiatives, to
a verification system for enterprises wishing to voluntarily subscribe to commitments based on such recommendations.
35
TITLE: ILO OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CONVENTION, 1981
SOURCE: ILO
Is available also in: http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/convdisp1.htm in Russian, Arabic, Chinese,

Deustch and Portuguese
The General Conference of the International Labour Organisation,

Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the International Labour Office, and having met in its Sixty-seventh Session on 3 June
1981, and
Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to safety and health and the working environment, which is the sixth item on the
agenda of the session, and
Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of an international Convention,
adopts this twenty-second day of June of the year one thousand nine hundred and eighty-one the following Convention, which may be cited as the
Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981:
PART I. SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS
Article 1
1. This Convention applies to all branches of economic activity.
2. A Member ratifying this Convention may, after consultation at the earliest possible stage with the representative organisations of employers and
workers concerned, exclude from its application, in part or in whole, particular branches of economic activity, such as maritime shipping or fishing, in
respect of which special problems of a substantial nature arise.
3. Each Member which ratifies this Convention shall list, in the first report on the application of the Convention submitted under Article 22 of the
Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, any branches which may have been excluded in pursuance of paragraph 2 of this Article,
giving the reasons for such exclusion and describing the measures taken to give adequate protection to workers in excluded branches, and shall
indicate in subsequent reports any progress towards wider application.
Article 2
1. This Convention applies to all workers in the branches of economic activity covered.
2. A Member ratifying this Convention may, after consultation at the earliest possible stage with the representative organisations of employers and
workers concerned, exclude from its application, in part or in whole, limited categories of workers in respect of which there are particular difficulties.
3. Each Member which ratifies this Convention shall list, in the first report on the application of the Convention submitted under Article 22 of the
Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, any limited categories of workers which may have been excluded in pursuance of paragraph 2
of this Article, giving the reasons for such exclusion, and shall indicate in subsequent reports any progress towards wider application.
Article 3
For the purpose of this Convention--
(a) the term branches of economic activity covers all branches in which workers are employed, including the public service;
(b) the term workers covers all employed persons, including public employees;
(c) the term workplace covers all places where workers need to be or to go by reason of their work and which are under the direct or indirect control
of the employer;
(d) the term regulations covers all provisions given force of law by the competent authority or authorities;
(e) the term health , in relation to work, indicates not merely the absence of disease or infirmity; it also includes the physical and mental elements
affecting health which are directly related to safety and hygiene at work.
PART II. PRINCIPLES OF NATIONAL POLICY
Article 4
1. Each Member shall, in the light of national conditions and practice, and in consultation with the most representative organisations of employers
and workers, formulate, implement and periodically review a coherent national policy on occupational safety, occupational health and the working
environment.
2. The aim of the policy shall be to prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of, linked with or occurring in the course of work, by minimising,
so far as is reasonably practicable, the causes of hazards inherent in the working environment.
Article 5
The policy referred to in Article 4 of this Convention shall take account of the following main spheres of action in so far as they affect occupational
safety and health and the working environment:
(a) design, testing, choice, substitution, installation, arrangement, use and maintenance of the material elements of work (workplaces, working
environment, tools, machinery and equipment, chemical, physical and biological substances and agents, work processes);
(b) relationships between the material elements of work and the persons who carry out or supervise the work, and adaptation of machinery,
equipment, working time, organisation of work and work processes to the physical and mental capacities of the workers;
(c) training, including necessary further training, qualifications and motivations of persons involved, in one capacity or another, in the achievement of
adequate levels of safety and health;
(d) communication and co-operation at the levels of the working group and the undertaking and at all other appropriate levels up to and including the
national level;
36
(e) the protection of workers and their representatives from disciplinary measures as a result of actions properly taken by them in conformity with the
policy referred to in Article 4 of this Convention.
Article 6
The formulation of the policy referred to in Article 4 of this Convention shall indicate the respective functions and responsibilities in respect of
occupational safety and health and the working environment of public authorities, employers, workers and others, taking account both of the
complementary character of such responsibilities and of national conditions and practice.
Article 7
The situation regarding occupational safety and health and the working environment shall be reviewed at appropriate intervals, either over-all or in
respect of particular areas, with a view to identifying major problems, evolving effective methods for dealing with them and priorities of action, and
evaluating results.
PART III. ACTION AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL
Article 8
Each Member shall, by laws or regulations or any other method consistent with national conditions and practice and in consultation with the
representative organisations of employers and workers concerned, take such steps as may be necessary to give effect to Article 4 of this
Convention.
Article 9
1. The enforcement of laws and regulations concerning occupational safety and health and the working environment shall be secured by an
adequate and appropriate system of inspection.
2. The enforcement system shall provide for adequate penalties for violations of the laws and regulations.
Article 10
Measures shall be taken to provide guidance to employers and workers so as to help them to comply with legal obligations.
Article 11
To give effect to the policy referred to in Article 4 of this Convention, the competent authority or authorities shall ensure that the following functions
are progressively carried out:
(a) the determination, where the nature and degree of hazards so require, of conditions governing the design, construction and layout of
undertakings, the commencement of their operations, major alterations affecting them and changes in their purposes, the safety of technical
equipment used at work, as well as the application of procedures defined by the competent authorities;
(b) the determination of work processes and of substances and agents the exposure to which is to be prohibited, limited or made subject to
authorisation or control by the competent authority or authorities; health hazards due to the simultaneous exposure to several substances or agents
shall be taken into consideration;
(c) the establishment and application of procedures for the notification of occupational accidents and diseases, by employers and, when appropriate,
insurance institutions and others directly concerned, and the production of annual statistics on occupational accidents and diseases;
(d) the holding of inquiries, where cases of occupational accidents, occupational diseases or any other injuries to health which arise in the course of
or in connection with work appear to reflect situations which are serious;
(e) the publication, annually, of information on measures taken in pursuance of the policy referred to in Article 4 of this Convention and on
occupational accidents, occupational diseases and other injuries to health which arise in the course of or in connection with work;
(f) the introduction or extension of systems, taking into account national conditions and possibilities, to examine chemical, physical and biological
agents in respect of the risk to the health of workers.
Article 12
Measures shall be taken, in accordance with national law and practice, with a view to ensuring that those who design, manufacture, import, provide
or transfer machinery, equipment or substances for occupational use--
(a) satisfy themselves that, so far as is reasonably practicable, the machinery, equipment or substance does not entail dangers for the safety and
health of those using it correctly;
(b) make available information concerning the correct installation and use of machinery and equipment and the correct use of substances, and
information on hazards of machinery and equipment and dangerous properties of chemical substances and physical and biological agents or
products, as well as instructions on how known hazards are to be avoided;
(c) undertake studies and research or otherwise keep abreast of the scientific and technical knowledge necessary to comply with subparagraphs (a)
and (b) of this Article.
Article 13
A worker who has removed himself from a work situation which he has reasonable justification to believe presents an imminent and serious danger
to his life or health shall be protected from undue consequences in accordance with national conditions and practice.
Article 14
Measures shall be taken with a view to promoting in a manner appropriate to national conditions and practice, the inclusion of questions of
occupational safety and health and the working environment at all levels of education and training, including higher technical, medical and
professional education, in a manner meeting the training needs of all workers.
Article 15
1. With a view to ensuring the coherence of the policy referred to in Article 4 of this Convention and of measures for its application, each Member
shall, after consultation at the earliest possible stage with the most representative organisations of employers and workers, and with other bodies as
appropriate, make arrangements appropriate to national conditions and practice to ensure the necessary co-ordination between various authorities
and bodies called upon to give effect to Parts II and III of this Convention.
37
2. Whenever circumstances so require and national conditions and practice permit, these arrangements shall include the establishment of a central
body.
PART IV. ACTION AT THE LEVEL OF THE UNDERTAKING
Article 16
1. Employers shall be required to ensure that, so far as is reasonably practicable, the workplaces, machinery, equipment and processes under their
control are safe and without risk to health.
2. Employers shall be required to ensure that, so far as is reasonably practicable, the chemical, physical and biological substances and agents under
their control are without risk to health when the appropriate measures of protection are taken.
3. Employers shall be required to provide, where necessary, adequate protective clothing and protective equipment to prevent, so far is reasonably
practicable, risk of accidents or of adverse effects on health.
Article 17
Whenever two or more undertakings engage in activities simultaneously at one workplace, they shall collaborate in applying the requirements of this
Convention.
Article 18
Employers shall be required to provide, where necessary, for measures to deal with emergencies and accidents, including adequate first-aid
arrangements.
Article 19
There shall be arrangements at the level of the undertaking under which--
(a) workers, in the course of performing their work, co-operate in the fulfilment by their employer of the obligations placed upon him;
(b) representatives of workers in the undertaking co-operate with the employer in the field of occupational safety and health;
(c) representatives of workers in an undertaking are given adequate information on measures taken by the employer to secure occupational safety
and health and may consult their representative organisations about such information provided they do not disclose commercial secrets;
(d) workers and their representatives in the undertaking are given appropriate training in occupational safety and health;
(e) workers or their representatives and, as the case may be, their representative organisations in an undertaking, in accordance with national law
and practice, are enabled to enquire into, and are consulted by the employer on, all aspects of occupational safety and health associated with their
work; for this purpose technical advisers may, by mutual agreement, be brought in from outside the undertaking;
(f) a worker reports forthwith to his immediate supervisor any situation which he has reasonable justification to believe presents an imminent and
serious danger to his life or health; until the employer has taken remedial action, if necessary, the employer cannot require workers to return to a
work situation where there is continuing imminent and serious danger to life or health.
Article 20
Co-operation between management and workers and/or their representatives within the undertaking shall be an essential element of organisational
and other measures taken in pursuance of Articles 16 to 19 of this Convention.
Article 21
Occupational safety and health measures shall not involve any expenditure for the workers.
PART V. FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 22
This Convention does not revise any international labour Conventions or Recommendations.
Article 23
The formal ratifications of this Convention shall be communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration.
Article 24
1. This Convention shall be binding only upon those Members of the International Labour Organisation whose ratifications have been registered with
the Director-General.
2. It shall come into force twelve months after the date on which the ratifications of two Members have been registered with the Director-General.
3. Thereafter, this Convention shall come into force for any Member twelve months after the date on which its ratification has been registered.
Article 25
1. A Member which has ratified this Convention may denounce it after the expiration of ten years from the date on which the Convention first comes
into force, by an act communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration. Such denunciation shall not take effect
until one year after the date on which it is registered.
2. Each Member which has ratified this Convention and which does not, within the year following the expiration of the period of ten years mentioned
in the preceding paragraph, exercise the right of denunciation provided for in this Article, will be bound for another period of ten years and, thereafter,
may denounce this Convention at the expiration of each period of ten years under the terms provided for in this Article.
Article 26
1. The Director-General of the International Labour Office shall notify all Members of the International Labour Organisation of the registration of all
ratifications and denunciations communicated to him by the Members of the Organisation.
2. When notifying the Members of the Organisation of the registration of the second ratification communicated to him, the Director-General shall
draw the attention of the Members of the Organisation to the date upon which the Convention will come into force.
Article 27
The Director-General of the International Labour Office shall communicate to the Secretary-General of the United Nations for registration in
accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations full particulars of all ratifications and acts of denunciation registered by him in
accordance with the provisions of the preceding Articles.
Article 28
38
At such times as it may consider necessary the Governing Body of the International Labour Office shall present to the General Conference a report
on the working of this Convention and shall examine the desirability of placing on the agenda of the Conference the question of its revision in whole
or in part.
Article 29
1. Should the Conference adopt a new Convention revising this Convention in whole or in part, then, unless the new Convention otherwise provides:
a) the ratification by a Member of the new revising Convention shall ipso jure involve the immediate denunciation of this Convention, notwithstanding
the provisions of Article 25 above, if and when the new revising Convention shall have come into force;
b) as from the date when the new revising Convention comes into force this Convention shall cease to be open to ratification by the Members.
2. This Convention shall in any case remain in force in its actual form and content for those Members which have ratified it but have not ratified the
revising Convention.
Article 30
The English and French versions of the text of this Convention are equally authoritative.
39
TITLE: Freshwater management: policy options and possible actions to expedite
implementation Report of the Secretary-General
SOURCE: UNITED NATIONS Commission on Sustainable Development
Working Group: Public access to Resources & Services
Is available also in: http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/
Summary
While some progress has been made towards the safe drinking water targets set out in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, a concerted and
heightened effort is required from the international to the local level to ensure that safe drinking water is available to all. Strengthened government
and donor commitment are needed in the elaboration of detailed investment plans to meet the targets set out in the Plan of Implementation, backed
by adequate budgetary and aid allocations and strategies to raise additional low-cost financing. Resources are needed not just for infrastructure but
also for strengthening decentralized water governance and institutional capacity building.
As main water service providers, public utilities are in need of support for strengthened governance, notably to achieve better cost recovery in order
to maintain and upgrade existing systems while extending service to those, mostly poor, people who are not yet served. Tariff reform and better
targeted subsidies are key areas for action. A public consensus could be sought on how best to involve the private sector in water services, including
both large and small-scale private providers. Integrated water resources management can help reconcile conflicting water uses, address
environmental and social concerns stemming from unsustainable water consumption
and strengthen water-related disaster prevention. Adoption of low-cost technologies and demand management measures can enhance water use
efficiency. Strengthened water monitoring systems, regulatory mechanisms and enforcement capacities will be essential to manage water quality
concerns. Greater community involvement in water resources management can promote use of simple, easily maintained technology, facilitate cost
recovery and help ensure equitable access.
Contents
I. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–3 3
II. Providing safe drinking water to all. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4–18 3
A. Supplying safe drinking water in urban areas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6–13 4
B. Supplying safe drinking water in rural areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14–18 6
III. Implementing integrated water resources management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19–32 7
A. Preparing integrated water resources management and water efficiency plans . . . 21–22 7
B. Enhancing water use efficiency and productivity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23–26 9
C. Managing competing water uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27–28 10
D. Protecting water quality and ecosystems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29–30 11
E. Preventing water-related disasters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31–32 11
IV. Strengthening water monitoring programmes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33–35 12
V. Meeting the financing challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36–44 13
VI. Moving ahead: towards a framework for action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45–55 15
I. Introduction
1. At its twelfth session at Headquarters in April 2004, the Commission on Sustainable Development reviewed the state of implementation of the goals and targets
relevant to freshwater management, as contained in Agenda 21, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of
Implementation. Also at its twelfth session, the Commission identified
constraints and continuing challenges to the implementation of these goals, including the targets set out in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation on access to
safe drinking water and integrated water resources management.
2. The focus of the present report is on policy options and possible actions to overcome these constraints and challenges. The report provides a point of departure for
the discussions of the intergovernmental preparatory meeting. The outcome of those discussions will be considered by the thirteenth session of the Commission on
Sustainable Development.
3. Findings of the present report are based on data and information from various sources and stakeholders, including UN-Water,1 major groups and networks and
secretariats of various United Nations conventions. The report makes reference to sanitation and human settlements insofar as there are clear policy linkages,
indicating where specific options and actions are treated at greater length in the companion reports of the Secretary-General on those themes. It also addresses
cross-cutting issues such as poverty reduction, health, gender equality and sustainable consumption and production.
II. Providing safe drinking water to all
4. The 2004 report of the Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation2 concludes that, over the 12 years leading up to 2002, 1.1 billion people have
gained access to an improved source of drinking water, with an increase in global coverage from 77 to 83 per cent. While gains in South Asia were the greatest, from
71 to 84 per cent, Asia as a whole still accounts for two thirds (675 million) of the world population lacking satisfactory access to safe drinking water. Sub-Saharan
Africa has expanded coverage from 49 to 58 per cent, leaving 288 million people without access. The Joint Monitoring Programme reports a sizeable increase in
numbers without access to an improved source in urban areas of East and South-East Asia, the result of rapid urbanization. Still, by far the largest number of people
without access to safe drinking water worldwide remain in rural areas.
5. Governments that are lagging significantly behind in meeting the water goals and targets may wish to review their national sustainable) development strategies,
with a view to increasing the priority assigned to providing access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. Some countries (for example, South Africa3) have
chosen to enshrine a right of access to water in their constitutions, while others reflect this in national water legislation. Credible commitment would involve best
efforts to mobilize the necessary financial and technical resources to meet water supply goals and targets, including through the creation of a strong enabling
40
environment for sectoral investment and efficient service delivery by a range of providers. Given how far they lag behind, rural areas deserve special emphasis in
government water investment plans.
A. Supplying safe drinking water in urban areas
6. The rapid urbanization of the developing world, with its expansion of informal settlements, poses a major challenge in water supply as in other infrastructure
sectors.4 While mega-cities continue to grow, roughly half of urban residents in the developing world live in cities of fewer than 500,000 inhabitants.5 These
settlements hold limited attraction for large-scale private water companies and may also escape the attention of donors prioritizing investment in rural water supply.
7. Public water utilities remain the predominant supplier of water to urban households throughout the world. In developing countries, they are frequently underfunded
and poorly managed. Low tariffs, which do not permit cost recovery even from those able to pay, compromise service quality and reliability and service expansion.
Thus, customers are reluctant to pay higher prices, which prevents
service improvement, creating a vicious cycle. While in some instances encouraging private participation in water utility management may be an option to address
these deficiencies, in others it is not, either because of an inability to attract private investors or because of public reservations. The immediate priority in those
instances would be to build stronger managerial capabilities within the public
utilities themselves. Corporatization is a common approach that creates an arm’s length relationship between Governments (as the regulators) and regulated public
utilities, giving managers the independence and incentives to operate the utility as a commercial venture without forsaking its public service mandate. In many
instances, greater reliance on competitive contracting for specific water-related services (including, meter installation, reading, billing and collection, repair and
maintenance and computer services) has enabled public utilities to lower costs and improve the quality of service. A move in this direction would have the added
advantage of stimulating local entrepreneurship and strengthening small-scale service providers.
8. Ensuring access to all and providing for the sustainability of water supply systems both depend on achieving a reasonable cost recovery from those who can afford
to pay. In the short term, adjustments to the tariff structure could aim at recovering operation and maintenance costs of water supply systems, with gradual movement
towards full cost recovery. In Senegal, for instance, the reform of the water utility was accompanied by an operating subsidy in the early years, with tariffs gradually
rising to cost-recovery levels.
9. Experience suggests that a variety of approaches can be used to address the water needs of the poor, including a guarantee of free minimum service (as in South
Africa, where the new water law provides every household with 200 litres of free water per day), increasing block tariffs (as in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal), direct
subsidies (as in Chile where they are means-tested and subtracted from water bills of eligible customers, or in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, where they go to cover
connection costs), community service obligations, performance incentives and fiscal transfers to utilities.7 Preferential tariffs and direct subsidies to the poor can
weigh
heavily on public finances where the majority of water consumers are poor, especially when the income elasticity of demand for water is low8 and the scope for
cross-subsidy from better-off consumers limited.9 Colombia has developed a wellfunctioning cross-subsidy scheme for water and other public services based on
assignment of each household to one of six residential strata, with the lowest
receiving a sizeable subsidy and the highest paying a surcharge on full marginal cost. In many countries, high-volume industrial and commercial water users
crosssubsidize residential ones.
10. Participation of large private companies in the water sector is sought for a variety of reasons, from improved management of water assets and service delivery to
injection of additional capital into the expansion of the water supply network. Such participation can take many forms, from management contracts, lease contracts
and concessions, to greenfield projects (build-lease-own and build-operate-transfer, for example), joint public-private ownership and asset transfer through
privatization, giving Governments considerable discretion. The range of options spans different contract durations and different mixes of public-private ownership,
financing and risk bearing and operational responsibility. Where private participation is sought, wide public consultation is crucial to building consensus on the
rationale for and the form of such participation. This can reduce political risk and thus the rate of return
that prospective investors in the sector would be willing to accept.
11. Experience shows that small-scale private providers and community-based organizations can provide a valuable service in informal settlements not connected to
the main piped network. Until Governments can connect slum communities to the piped network, for example through “last-mile” financing,10 the contribution of such
providers could be enhanced through easier access to credit, technical support and suitable regulations to safeguard water quality.11 They may also be encouraged
to form partnerships with larger enterprises, which may enjoy readier access to finance and certain economies of scale, while small firms may be more familiar with
customer needs and have better knowledge of locally appropriate technologies such as low-cost piping.
12. Experience also suggests that communities are capable of mobilizing significant resources, in cash and in kind, for investing in water infrastructure, for instance
through community savings schemes. Still, given the widespread poverty in slum communities and the extensive social benefits of having access to safe drinking
water and sanitation, there is an important role to be played by Governments. This may involve construction grants, low-interest loans or loan guarantees. It may also
involve well-targeted government subsidies to assist poor households that lack easy credit access to finance the upfront costs of water access. All such measures
would be more effective if complemented, notably in the case of informal settlements, by the regularization of land titles and tenure security, which promote credit
access and encourage investment in water, sanitation and other infrastructure.
13. A key responsibility of the water regulatory authority is to ensure that contracts are properly executed and service obligations properly adhered to. While early
experience with public-private partnerships in the water sector and in other infrastructure sectors was mixed, including instances of poor contract design, learning
through experience should help in avoiding some of the pitfalls in future. In general, while not all contingencies can be fully anticipated and reflected in contractual
terms, well-designed contracts can minimize disputes and demands for renegotiation at a later date. Having an effective arbitration mechanism in place with well-
defined and enforced remedies for breach of contract can help to bring about prompt dispute resolution and create a predictable investment environment.
B. Supplying safe drinking water in rural areas
14. Roughly a third of the world’s rural population remains unserved by improved drinking water sources. Expanding rural water supply, together with sanitation, can
be viewed as integral to broader poverty reduction efforts. The rural poor generally do not pay for water with cash but spend their time and energy fetching water
(especially women and girls). Thus, along with other measures, improving the accessibility to safe drinking water can contribute both in the near and long term to
boosting rural welfare and incomes, which will be essential in order to generate the resources for maintaining water supply and other essential infrastructure.
15. The “top-down engineering” approach of the International Decade on Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation has shown its limits in terms of the sustainability of
the installed water supply systems (including pumps and wells). Thus, even as Governments work to extend coverage to unserved rural communities through new
infrastructure development, the rehabilitation of existing water infrastructure cannot be neglected. Rural water supply programmes would do well to rely more on a
bottom-up approach, considering local communities as empowered stakeholders rather than beneficiaries, building on community institutions, know-how and
resources in water system design and management, utilizing technologies that require a minimum of maintenance and ensuring that communities and local
entrepreneurs have the skills and affordable materials and spare parts to perform necessary maintenance. A degree of design standardization would be desirable to
achieve scale economies in parts and materials production or procurement and in training on system maintenance.
16. In managing local water-supply systems, community-based institutions such as water committees and user groups, with due involvement of women, can play a
vital role in ensuring equitable access, operational efficiency, system maintenance and accountability to end users. They can also devise means of mobilizing
41
resources, including through user fees, for construction and maintenance of community water infrastructure. These institutions may need to be given higher legal
standing in national legislation and their capacities strengthened. Decentralization has limits and there may be situations where a single water source is shared by
several villages, calling for joint management of the resource (one example being the Chandnapuri multi-village water scheme in Maharashtra State in India). At a
higher administrative level, regional water or river basin authorities have the responsibility of addressing spillovers across jurisdictions (for example, shared aquifers
and upstream pollution of downstream water supplies) and they too would benefit from institutional capacity-building.
17. Where surface water is of good quality but seasonal in flow, small dams and reservoirs to store water both for household use and for agriculture may be an
attractive option. Owing to the scarcity of clean surface water in many rural areas, groundwater resources will often need to be tapped for providing drinking water
supply. Sustainable development and management of groundwater resources
requires a strong regulatory or incentive regime to control aquifer depletion and quality deterioration. Use of brackish groundwater from mining of extensive aquifers
may be an option in water scarce countries, using small reverse osmosis units, possibly driven by renewable energy sources.
18. Rainwater harvesting can also be an important water source in rural communities.13 While the collection of rainwater by a single household may not be
significant, the impact of thousands or even millions of household rainwater storage tanks can potentially be enormous. The harvested rainwater needs to be filtered
or disinfected, however, before it can be used for drinking purposes. In Bangladesh, since 1997, about 1,000 rainwater harvesting systems have been installed,
primarily in rural areas, as a viable alternative for providing safe drinking water in arsenic affected areas. Seventeen provinces in China have adopted the rainwater
utilization technique, building 5.6 million tanks with a total capacity of 1.8 billion cubic metres, supplying drinking water for approximately 15 million people and
supplemental irrigation for 1.2 million ha of land.
III. Implementing integrated water resources management
19. Integrated water resources management is a well-recognized framework for pursuing wise and forward-looking management and the development of water
resources, including their allocation among competing uses. Managing competing uses within this framework would allow adequate consideration of environmental
flow requirements, variations in water quality from upstream to downstream and within aquifers, and the impacts of unregulated groundwater withdrawals. The
development of guidelines on allocation between different use-categories can be made part of integrated water resources management plans.
20. Fostering international cooperation on international watercourses, based on legal instruments and pragmatic measures and programmes, can contribute to both
sustainable development and peace and security. Such cooperation, whether bilateral
or regional, can include sharing of information and experience, cooperative monitoring networks, joint infrastructure development, shared training programmes, and
technology transfer and adaptation. Strengthening capacities of international river basin organizations is viewed an important condition for promoting such
cooperation, while partnerships and dialogues involving local authorities, communities, civil society and the private sector have also proven useful.
A. Preparing integrated water resources management and water efficiency plans
21. In the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, the target date for the preparation of national integrated water resources management and efficiency plans was set
at 2005. While there are no official data on progress towards this target, surveys suggest that implementation is uneven. It is hampered in many instances by limited
understanding of what integrated water resources management means in practice, lack of a common methodology for plan formulation, limited technical capacities
and insufficient financial support for plan preparation and stakeholder resistance to an approach that may threaten the status quo, for example, with respect to the
allocation of responsibilities for water resources management. Given that some countries are late in starting the process, a reasonable expectation is that most
countries will have commenced plan preparation by the end of 2005, with an appropriate institutional responsibility and financing in place, if need be with donor
support.
22. Despite difficulties, experience in plan preparation is accumulating in this field, with countries following approaches tailored to their water management objectives
and institutional capacities. Some have taken the route of developing comprehensive plans covering basin-wide assessment of surface and groundwater resources,
water demand projections, water management analysis to balance supply and demand among different uses, a framework for stakeholder participation, investment
requirements, and enabling policy and institutional frameworks. Others have chosen to start with a step-wise approach, considering the elaboration of key
policy principles or establishment of water management institutions as an important first step. Advancement in the process in many countries falls somewhere in
between these two extremes. The following are emerging as key elements of the integrated water resources management plan preparation process: (a) Setting up a
high-level national mechanism for the preparation of the
plan, for example an inter-ministerial committee that delegates technical responsibility to an existing water management institution or, if necessary, a newly created
one. The committee could define lead institutional responsibilities, intersectoral coordination arrangements, the nature and extent of stakeholders’ participation, broad
needs of water user sectors, information and data requirements on water resources and the socio-economic status of users and the time frame for preparing the plan;
(b) Aligning national water management objectives and priorities with national socio-economic development plans and national sustainable development strategies,
and with global commitments translated into the national context;
(c) Assessing national capacities required to prepare the plan. If existing capacities are limited, seeking external assistance for training to strengthen the process;
(d) Evaluating baseline conditions, including supply and demand trends, and identifying the main challenges and constraints to be overcome in order to meet the
targets set out in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and other water sector objectives;
(e) Launching a multi-stakeholder dialogue to define priorities and inform the preparation of the plan and enhancing mechanisms for information sharing;
(f) Defining strategic options together with time-bound activities and concrete actions; their estimated costs; institutional responsibilities for execution; monitoring and
evaluation mechanisms; and other measures to secure plan implementation;
(g) Securing political and budgetary support during the preparatory process and ensuring endorsement of the plan at the highest political level since it encompasses
actions that go beyond the administrative jurisdiction of a particular water institution;
(h) Defining minimum performance thresholds for various elements of the plan, and providing for regular plan updating.
B. Enhancing water use efficiency and productivity
23. In the case of agriculture, which accounts for 70 per cent of global water withdrawals, raising water use efficiency and water productivity is often crucial to
sustained improvements in farmers’ incomes. In some contexts, the principal challenge is to make more efficient use of water that is already being extracted for
irrigation. In others, the challenge is to harness more effectively available water resources for irrigation and other uses whether surface water, groundwater or rainfall,
always mindful of natural flow requirements. Measures that have worked for improving water use efficiency in irrigated agriculture with varying degree of
success under alternative socio-economic conditions include: economic incentives to encourage investments for enhancing water productivity; reform of irrigation
water subsidies; decentralization of infrastructure management; structural improvements to water conveyance infrastructure (for example, lining of irrigation canals);
modernization of irrigation management; sustainable farm management practices; and implementation of institutional arrangements that enhance the role of local
authorities, operators and water users associations. Reform to certain energy subsidies may also create incentives to limit pumping for irrigation.
24. Patterns of water demand are changing in many developing countries, with industrial and urban uses increasingly competing with agriculture, making accustomed
free or low-priced irrigation water in many countries less and less tenable. Water user fees have been used extensively for rationalizing water use in all economic
sectors. Where irrigation fees reflect water scarcity, they tend to induce
42
water conservation measures as well as changes in cropping patterns that favour less water-demanding crops. With respect to water-efficient irrigation, a number of
small-scale irrigation options are becoming increasingly affordable to low-income farmers, including small drip irrigation kits (the Chapin bucket-kits in Kenya), micro-
irrigation kits using low-grade plastic tubes (the Pepsee kit in India) and footoperated treadle pumps.17 Experience suggests that, if supported by microcredit and
farmer training programmes, the adoption of such methods could advance at a rapid pace.
25. With respect to improved crop varieties, biotechnology research has yielded positive results in terms of enhanced crop yields per litre of water consumed, but
there is scope for significant progress. Switching to less water-demanding crop varieties may depend on changes in consumer preferences if they are principally for
domestic food consumption. This approach is being introduced experimentally in Africa, utilizing the experience of several local and regional institutions to produce
an improved food-barley variety using sustainable management practices.
Complementary measures are warranted in soil and land management to enhance water infiltration and retention in different types of soil as well as a proper
balancing of water and nutrients. In the event that a switch is made to cash crops, while there is a potential to raise farmers’ incomes in the long term, support from
agricultural lending institutions in the form of low-cost credit and agricultural
extension services may be critical to smooth the transition, especially where the new crops (for example, certain tree crops) take several years to mature.
26. Improvements in water savings and water quality can also be achieved through the use of more efficient and cleaner technologies in the industrial sector.
Inducing their adoption would call for a combination of water user fees and water pollution charges/penalties. In household facilities, techniques such as low-flush
toilets and low-flow showers have shown positive conservation impact. Demand for these technologies can be stimulated through appropriate incentives to water
users, including usage-based water tariffs and the incorporation of water conservation standards in building codes. Governments may also be able to stimulate local
supply of such technologies through directed credit to local entrepreneurs who might otherwise be unable to finance the necessary investments. At the same time,
Governments can encourage efforts, whether through government-sponsored research or incentives to private enterprises, to find improved, low-cost technological
solutions to tapping non-conventional sources of water such as rainwater, recycled water, grey water, storm water, fog water and, in some instances, desalination. In
many instances, more widespread metering and more effective bill collection have contributed to reducing the amount of unaccounted-for water in urban distribution
systems by generating revenues for improved operation and maintenance.
C. Managing competing water uses
27. By 2025, 1.8 billion people will live in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity.18 Even with effective policies and programmes to improve water use
efficiency and productivity, the challenge will remain to allocate water efficiently and equitably among competing uses. Recognizing the economic, environmental and
socio-cultural values of water is fundamental to making water allocation decisions. In most cases, the main allocation decision is to strike a balance between water for
agriculture and water to maintain ecosystem services, although in some countries rapid industrialization also constitutes a significant demand for water. Achieving
equitable and efficient allocation will require more effective inter-sectoral coordination, greater stakeholder participation, realigned economic incentives and
strengthened capacity for decentralized water resources management.
28. If unchecked, excessive water extraction for agriculture can have major disruptive effects on ecosystems, as attested to by numerous examples from around the
world (for example, the Aral Sea and the Murray-Darling Basin (in Australia).
In those cases where damage is not already irreversible, ensuring long-term sustainability of supplies calls for restricting overall extraction rates within a water basin,
whether a river basin, an aquifer or another common water source.
Experience suggests that this can be done through application of the “user-pays” principle, restriction of quantity extracted or both. If policy makers choose to impose
time-bound extraction limits, then within those limits fair and efficient allocation rules and the institutions to apply them would need to be in place. In some instances,
customary rights already function well as the basis for water
allocation. Where they do not, and where extraction rates are excessive, formal rules may need to be devised. Stakeholder participation is crucial to rule-setting if the
resulting allocation of water rights is to have force of legitimacy. In general, it is
desirable to allow for some transfer of water rights between uses and users, subject to certain constraints, including a system that would ensure fair compensation to
those forfeiting their rights. Water markets are one possible mechanism for effecting such transfers, with compensation to sellers dictated by the market price for
extraction permits. Where they are not already well-functioning, however, a cautious approach to their introduction would be advised in order to avoid problems
arising from asymmetric information between prospective buyers and sellers and market power.19 A balance is desirable between market forces and government
regulation to address these concerns as well as to protect third-party interests, including that of safeguarding ecosystem services.
D. Protecting water quality and ecosystems
29. Poor water quality combined with inadequate hygiene practices is a major source of ill-health and life-threatening diseases in developing countries. In addition,
the capacity of inland and coastal water ecosystems to support biodiversity is often highly degraded as a result of pollution. Agricultural chemical runoff is one of the
most difficult sources of water pollution to control, but the problem is exacerbated by subsidies to fertilizer and pesticide use or to output that weaken incentives for
efficient chemical use. Together with a review and, if appropriate, reform of such subsidies, Governments would do well to consider how agricultural extension
services could assist farmers in the more effective use of less harmful chemicals and alternative methods of pest management. In the case of industrial effluent and
effluent from municipal sewage systems, an important policy objective would be to strengthen regulations and penalties for discharge of non-treated effluents into
watercourses. In the interests of greater economic efficiency, Governments may also wish to consider, in the case of non-toxic pollutants, the wider use of effluent
charges instead of, or in addition to, discharge standards. Raising investment in wastewater treatment facilities is also likely to be a crucial part of any effort to
improve water quality, especially in the case of large population and industrial centres.
30. External costs of pollution often need to be addressed at the river basin level; a river basin agency is best placed to achieve this goal. Raising public awareness
at all levels about water quality’s implications for ecosystem functions and services and about the social and economic costs of water pollution can help in water
quality management. To the extent feasible, the valuation of multiple water use and ecosystem benefits can be utilized to complement other information available to
decision makers for making rational policy choices. Promoting understanding of issues such as water flow requirements of river ecosystems and sustainable yield
from aquifers can help in protecting these natural assets and encouraging wise use. Similarly, disseminating experiences of cooperation between upstream and
downstream communities, including through use of innovative economic tools such as payment for environmental services, can contribute to sound ecosystem
management.
E. Preventing water-related disasters
31. Integrated water resources management can provide a useful framework for prevention and mitigation of floods, droughts and other water-related disasters by
ensuring protection of wetlands, forests and other ecosystems that regulate water flow and retention. Experience shows that protection of the water flow regulation
function of catchment areas can be a highly efficient method of flood prevention. Adequate investment in water-related infrastructure is also crucial to flood and
drought prevention, including dams, reservoirs, dikes and canals. Even with such an investment in infrastructure, not all disasters are entirely preventable.
Governments
need to put policies and programmes in place to mitigate losses. The vulnerability of different human settlements and population groups would need to be assessed,
and early warning systems set up, with well-rehearsed contingency plans for reinforcement of dikes and embankments, evacuation of vulnerable populations and
other emergency response measures.
43
32. In devising response strategies, it is advisable to tap traditional and indigenous knowledge accumulated over years of coping with disasters. In the case of floods,
there is a growing appreciation of the need for balance between structural measures (flood prevention infrastructure and improved building codes) and non-structural
measures (land use regulation, insurance schemes and improved community participation). The linkage between disaster reduction and poverty alleviation
necessitates the involvement of all stakeholders at the local, national and regional levels. Regional cooperation would be useful for disaster reduction and response
in
shared river basins, ranging from information sharing to coordinated disaster mitigation planning.21 Confronting climate change also requires international
cooperation, including resource transfers, to help vulnerable countries adapt and mitigate risks of water-related disasters.
IV. Strengthening water monitoring programmes
33. Strengthening of water-related monitoring programmes is essential both for monitoring progress towards internationally agreed goals and for supporting
integrated water resources management and water resources development, including effective planning to reduce risks from water-related disasters. Because most
countries lack reliable water monitoring programmes, limited information exists on both water quantity and water quality. Countries could use the opportunity provided
by the commitment to prepare plans for integrated water resources management by 2005 to assess current deficiencies in existing datasets and monitoring networks
in
order to define a strategy and methodology to make these more reliable. Carrying out a national water quality and quantity inventory for surface and groundwater
resources, creating baseline data and identifying water “hot spots”, is an essential step in the formulation of integrated water resources management plans. Increased
budgetary allocations are essential to make monitoring programmes and networks financially sustainable. In some countries, rehabilitation of existing hydro-climatic
and groundwater measurement stations is a priority. In most, there is a need to install new stations.
34. Sustainability of monitoring networks could be enhanced by decentralizing their management to institutions (such as basin agencies) involved in regional or local
level water resource planning. Institutional cooperation within Governments as well as cooperation with other stakeholders (e.g., local authorities, industry
associations and water-user groups) is needed to improve data availability and reliability and to consolidate and reconcile all the relevant data within the framework of
a national water information system. With further methodological refinement and improved data availability and quality, integrated national water accounts may prove
useful in providing a rough indication of the value of water for different uses, including non-extractive uses.
35. Improving the global monitoring of water and sanitation goals requires mobilizing political support for the process. The methodology of the joint monitoring
programme could be improved by including data on variables such as efficiency, quality, regularity, affordability and convenience of services. Aligning national-level
initiatives with the methodology and deploying more resources to support national monitoring and data collection efforts could begin to address these deficiencies.
V. Meeting the financing challenge
36. Current annual investment in the water sector in developing countries and countries with economies in transition is an estimated $75 billion, of which about $13
billion goes to drinking water supply and $2.5 billion to sanitation. In recent years, $2 to 3 billion of official development assistance (ODA) has gone into the water and
sanitation sector, representing around 5 per cent of total ODA. By
general agreement, investment in the water sector will need to rise significantly, by one estimate, double, over the next decade in order to meet the targets set out in
the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.
37. High-level commitment by Governments to meet the water and sanitation targets as part of national poverty reduction strategies would send a strong signal to
donors. A national-level assessment of investment needs to meet those targets could be undertaken in conjunction with preparation of integrated water resources
management and water efficiency plans, with results feeding into national budget preparation. In investment programming, the “software” side of the equation,
including institutional and human resources development, deserves attention alongside hardware investments, following a “learning by doing” approach.
38. The efficiency and effectiveness with which resources are used can influence the flow of ODA. In some instances, the capacity of the water sector may constrain
effective use of increased inflows, so that managerial and technical capacity would need to be scaled up along with investment. Improved institutional and financial
governance can prevent financial leakage and maximize impacts on beneficiaries. Experience shows that strengthening national level coordination among donor
programmes in the water sector, in close consultation with the relevant national water management institutions, can help to rationalize use of resources.
39. Where donors and multilateral development banks are willing to provide grant financing, this would be the preferred option, although financing would have to be
targeted to investments where other sources are not readily available, notably to serve poor rural and urban communities. To undertake the investments required in
the water sector, Governments may have to turn to sources of long-term finance, whether domestic or international. In doing so, they will want to consider how capital
can be raised at the lowest cost, since ultimately the users of water services and/or the general taxpayer will have to repay those costs. Evidence suggests that
equity finance for water infrastructure in developing countries is in generally short supply and is likely to prove particularly expensive because of investor concerns
about non-controllable risks.25 This suggests that in many instances Governments would choose to rely principally on debt financing.
40. Decentralization of relevant decision-making authority and command over resources can aid improved water sector governance. In some cases, fiscal transfers
from the central Government will provide the bulk of local authorities’ resources; in others, a degree of fiscal autonomy would permit local authorities to raise
financing on their own for local water and other infrastructure investment. One example of capital grants from the national Government to state/provincial authorities
is the system of revolving funds created in the United States of America to help finance investments in clean drinking water. All types of water providers, public,
private and community-based, are eligible to borrow from the fund. Each state has the option to set aside up to 30 per cent of its capital grant to provide preferential
financing to disadvantaged communities, including through lower-interest-rate loans, principal forgiveness and negative-interest-rate loans.
41. Local authorities may either turn to bank loans or to the capital markets to raise debt finance for water, sanitation and other local infrastructure investment. In
many countries, municipal development banks specialize in servicing the investment and other banking needs of local authorities. Municipal bond banks, which
began in Canada in 1956, offer a form of credit enhancement to local authorities by selling their own securities and relending bond proceeds to local governments,
enabling them to pool their borrowing requirements and thus lower finance costs through a wider distribution of fixed costs and a wider market. In some states in the
United
States, specialized bond banks have emerged for water and sewerage, backed by partial grant funding that enables them to offer lower interest rates. Another
approach is for a public sector financial institution to rediscount a sizeable portion of commercial bank loans to municipalities for infrastructure financing, as with
Colombia’s programme, Financiera de Desarrollo Territorial (FINDETER). In this
case, commercial banks assume all the credit risk and lending is not influenced by political pressure, which helps to explain the very low share of non-performing
loans. Over time, as municipalities demonstrate creditworthiness, they rely increasingly on direct bond market financing, with its lower potential costs. Where local
capital markets are relatively well-developed, Governments may choose to issue local currency infrastructure (or utility) bonds. In some instances, they may also be
able to access international bond markets, though in so doing they assume the currency risk.
42. Financial sector reforms could open up new financing options by strengthening domestic credit markets. Elements include establishing a legal framework for
securities issuance and trading, including regulations for underwriters, brokers, dealers and other entities providing supporting services for the securities market.
Municipal-level reforms that would facilitate local resource mobilization include strengthened local tax collection and authority to levy user charges, both of which
would improve the revenue side of the budget and enhance the creditworthiness of borrowing institutions. Establishing a clear and comprehensible set of municipal
44
accounts, independently audited with results published, would help in gaining access to capital markets. Municipalities could also benefit from strengthened capacity
for generating commercially viable projects, sound financial management and regulatory enforcement.
43. National Governments may be willing and able to provide a partial guarantee for subnational public debt, but only if they are reasonably confident of the ability of
provincial or local authorities to repay. In the water sector, that ability depends on a combination of the water utility’s expected revenue stream from user fees and the
local authority’s expected incremental tax revenues as a result of a stronger local economy. Donors may also find such a partial guarantee, whether for loans or
bonds, an attractive option, since it is a means of leveraging private resources, lengthening maturities and reducing the cost of funds. Where such guarantees are not
available, raising long-term municipal finance depends crucially on strengthening confidence in local financial markets and creating mechanisms that allow financial
instruments to be traded.
44. In rural areas and urban informal settlements, experience shows that mobilizing community-level resources. both in cash and in kind, can be an important option
to expand water and sanitation infrastructure. Microcredit schemes and revolving credit funds can serve a dual purpose: on the one hand, helping households finance
water connections; on the other, financing small-scale water service providers, whether NGOs or private entrepreneurs, to expand and upgrade their services.28
Beyond a very small-scale investment, however, microcredit would not prove adequate, and other financing facilities would be needed to serve the multiple small-
scale water projects that are likely to account for a sizeable share of water investment in rural areas and smaller towns and cities. A promising approach supported by
a regional development bank is that of the Chinese Water Infrastructure Financing Facility, under which loans are made, without sovereign guarantee, to a Shanghai-
based investment holding company for use in financing small-scale municipal water projects that the Asian Development Bank would notfind economical to process
individually.
VI. Moving ahead: towards a framework for action
45. The preceding sections have outlined wide-ranging policy options and actions to overcome the obstacles impeding the achievement of water goals
and targets agreed in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. They are by no means exhaustive. Given that circumstances and priorities can differ,
often dramatically, across countries and even across regions within countries, there is clearly no one-size-fits-all solution, and Governments will want to
craft their own strategies, learning from experience, but also charting new directions with innovative approaches.
46. National Governments, in partnership with municipalities and local governments, bear principal responsibility for water resources management and
supplying safe drinking water to their people, but not all can achieve this goal without the close cooperation of the international community. Each has a
vital role to play. At the national level, strong political commitment could be demonstrated in a number of ways: by recognizing access to water as a
basic right in national legislation; by including water provision in national poverty alleviation strategies and programmes; by allocating larger resources
in national budgets to water investments; by targeting ODA to meet the most pressing water needs in rural areas and urban informal settlements; and by
creating a strong enabling environment for raising low-cost, long-term financing for the water sector, including by encouraging public-private
partnerships.
47. The international donor community can support the efforts of national Governments by: significantly increasing the overall volume of ODA and the
amount devoted to water supply and sanitation and to water resources management; securing a sizeable component of grant financing for water supply
to serve poor rural and urban communities; better coordinating donor water initiatives at the national level; supporting capacity-building of waterrelated
institutions and organizations at all levels in developing countries and countries with economies in transition; and/or devising new financing
mechanisms to meet the smaller-scale investment needs of water projects in rural areas and smaller towns and cities.
48. Local authorities and community-based organizations are in the front line of water supply and water management. Options at the disposal of
Governments to strengthen local water governance include: recognition of the role, responsibilities and powers of local authorities and community-
based organizations in national water legislation; strengthening of the managerial and technical capacities of local entities as an integral part of
decentralization of water sector management; ensuring adequate local-level capacity for resource mobilization to meet both operation and maintenance
and investment needs of local water systems; and encouraging, through regulatory reform if appropriate, the more active participation of private,
including small-scale, providers in local water supply, backed by a regulatory system adequate to enforce water quality standards and ensure
affordability.
49. Governments may wish to consider a number of policy options in order to expand and upgrade coverage of urban water supply. In as much as public
water utilities remain the principal urban water service providers, measures could include: strengthening their governance through technical and
managerial capacity-building, including for network planning, finance,
administration, metering and bill collection and maintenance; corporatization or other governance reforms to grant public utilities greater decision-
making autonomy, for example, with respect to tariff setting, personnel and procurement; encouragement of competition in areas of the water business
not subject to natural monopoly; ensuring affordable access to the poor through regulation of tariff structures and/or targeted subsidies (including, as
appropriate, for upfront connection costs). To serve those poor communities, often informal settlements, not yet connected to the piped network, a
combination of measures may be considered, including: making concessional finance available to community organizations and small-scale private
providers for investment in low-cost infrastructure; working with community organizations towards regularizing land titles and providing tenure security
in order to strengthen household incentives to invest in water supply and sanitation and to unlock finance from commercial banks; and devising plans,
including for mobilizing finance, to extend the piped network to such settlements in a phased manner.
50. Along with urban informal settlements, the funding of rural water supply deserves high priority from national Governments and donors. Support for
local initiatives led by community-based organizations, including participation of women, is most conducive to project sustainability. As the main water
haulers, women are likely to have the strongest interest in ensuring effective operation and maintenance of a convenient and safe water source.
Community organizations could benefit in many instances from capacity-building support, in which NGOs can play a valuable role. Tapping local
knowledge can result in technical designs and management arrangements better suited to local circumstances. Some degree of equipment
standardization is desirable to permit scale economies in parts and components production or procurement and in training maintenance technicians.
Donor coordination with Governments in devising such standards is highly desirable. Financial and
technical support to small-scale private providers can also be helpful in expanding rural water access.
51. While integrated water resources management provides a useful framework for addressing water management challenges, many Governments have
still to assign institutional responsibility for coordinating the formulation of such plans and donors may wish to redouble efforts to ensure adequate
financing and technical assistance to support that process. Greater flexibility
would help water allocation institutions to adapt to changing patterns of demand, while institutional design and regulation emerging from a consultative
process would help ensure that allocation rules and compensation for water right transfers are both fair and are seen to be so. Integrated water
resources management can provide a strong basis for an effective water-related-disaster early warning, prevention and mitigation system.
52. National policy and donor-supported actions can make an important difference to water use efficiency, with policies relating to the agricultural sector
being particularly important in view of its predominance as water user. Among the options to be considered are: reforming subsidies that encourage
wasteful water use, including for irrigation water, fuel and electricity used in water pumping, inputs that are water complements and agricultural output;
45
supporting improvements to water conveyance infrastructure; providing lowcost credit to farmers for water-efficient, small-scale irrigation technologies;
extending technical assistance to farmers for introducing improved on-farm water management practices; and research into developing less
waterdemanding and more drought-resistant plant varieties. In the case of industrial water use, stricter application of the user-pays and polluter-pays
principles would encourage water conservation and recycling and wastewater treatment.
53. An augmented water-related ODA flow is key to meeting the water financing gap. Consideration could be given to an increasing grant component,
focusing in particular on serving those populations most in need. Beyond that, Governments may have a number of other financing options, not all
equally feasible in all countries. These include: augmenting revenues from taxes and user fees, notably to cover operation and maintenance costs;
raising long-term debt and equity finance for water network expansion; devising new low-cost financing arrangements for small-scale water systems, for
example, through
dedicated water financing facilities and consolidated borrowing of multiple local authorities or service providers; and promoting public-private
partnerships to strengthen water utility management and to provide new and additional water sector finance.
54. Advancing implementation of the water goals and targets remains at the core of work of several United Nations agencies, as well as of many other
international organizations and networks. Greater cooperation and coordination among these initiatives would enhance their coherence and
effectiveness. This applies also to mobilizing the sizeable additional financial
and technical resources that are critical to reaching the water targets. Strengthening the global monitoring programme and national monitoring and
evaluation systems and capacities through technical assistance is fundamental to enable assessment of progress towards the water and sanitation
targets.
55. While the challenge is daunting, there are good reasons for optimism. The international community is focused on what is needed to meet the target on
provision of access to safe drinking water set out in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (and the related targets on sanitation and improving the
lives of slum dwellers) as part of a broad thrust to accelerate progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. With time-bound targets
agreed by some key donors, momentum would appear to be building to meet the Monterrey commitments on development assistance. Governments are
much more aware of what is required from them in terms of policy, budgetary and institutional reforms to mobilize additional domestic resources and
external support. Local authorities have in many instances been accorded greater autonomy and, to a lesser degree perhaps, command over resources.
Solutions are well known to practitioners, and communities, NGOs, and the private
sector have acquired valuable experience in water service delivery on which to build in partnership with Governments. Innovative instruments are being
employed to secure low-cost long-term financing for water management and other infrastructure.
46
TITLE: BEIJING DECLARATION ON RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Working Group: Climate Change and Energy
Is available also in: http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/index.htm
BEIJING DECLARATION ON RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
1. We, Ministers and Government Representatives from 78 countries, having met at the Beijing International Renewable Energy Conference 2005
(BIREC), reaffirm our commitment to implement the outcomes of the Earth Summit, the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), and
the United Nations 2005 Millenium Review Summit, and to substantially increase with a sense of urgency the global share of renewable energy in
the total energy supply, as called for in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.
2. We welcome the ongoing and future activities and commitments that have arisen from the WSSD, the Bonn International Conference for
Renewable Energies, the G-8 Gleneagles Summit, and other international and regional initiatives that help promote renewable energy.
3. We emphasize the multiple benefits of increased energy efficiency and the use of renewable sources of energy for improving access to energy
services, thereby contributing to the eradication of poverty as called for in the UN Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), increasing job opportunities,
improving air quality and public health, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and combating climate change, enhancing energy security, and offering
a new paradigm for international cooperation.
4. We note with concern that more than 2 billion people in developing countries do not have access to modern energy services and 2.4 billion people
rely on traditional biomass for their basic energy needs. This energy divide entrenches poverty by limiting access to information, education,
economic opportunity, and healthier livelihoods, particularly for women and children, and erodes environmental sustainability at the local, national,
and global levels.
5. We also note with concern that recent trends in the world energy market, especially the doubling of oil prices in less than two years, has increased
the economic risk of relying primarily on imported energy and a volatile world energy market. By developing local sources of energy such as hydro,
wind, solar, geothermal and modern biomass including liquid biofuels, countries can create diversified energy portfolios that are less vulnerable to
wide price fluctuations. There is considerable scope, for example, for deploying biofuels in support of rural development and the transport sector.
6. Despite the growing expansion in the development and use of renewable sources of energy in developed countries, the combined share of
renewable sources in the global primary energy supply remains small and limited. Most developing countries have not benefited from such
expansion. The international community should strengthen its commitment to the scaling up of renewable energy development and use,
especially in developing countries.
7. We agree to take further actions at the national, regional, and international levels to accelerate the market uptake of renewable energy
technologies and increase investment in research and development (R&D), especially by developed countries, in order to enhance efficiency and
reduce up-front costs. We also agree on the need for strengthened support for the commercialization and transfer of technologies through North-
South and South-South cooperation.
8. We recognize that significantly increasing the use of renewable energy faces a number of challenges. Government policies have a significant
impact on attracting private sector investment and the pace of expansion of renewable energy as demonstrated in several developed and developing
countries. Experience has shown that successful actions for scaling up the use of renewable energy, include: (1) creating supportive policy, legal,
and institutional frameworks; (2) securing public sector commitment, including for R&D and procurement policies; (3) leveling the playing field; (4)
promoting private sector involvement and a stronger alignment between policy timeframes and timelines for investment; (5) supporting the
establishment of national renewable energy industries including small and medium enterprises; and (6) providing access to affordable finance,
including micro-finance, and consumer credit mechanisms.
9. We also recognize the need for significant financial resources, both public and private, for investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency,
including the use of innovative financing mechanisms, such as loan guarantees and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and market-based
instruments that can leverage scarce public funds. We are committed to creating a positive investment climate to attract private capital for renewable
energy. We emphasize the catalytic role that financial incentives and higher shares of ODA can play and we urge International Financial Institutions
(IFIs), including the World Bank, the Regional Development Banks, and the GEF, as well as individual governments to significantly expand their
investments in renewable energy technologies. We also urge IFIs and other actors to design improved instruments and products to ensure effective
blending of public and private financing which should help buying down the risks associated with renewable energy technologies.
10. We further emphasize the need for enhanced international cooperation for capacity building in developing countries for: (1) strengthening
national policy frameworks and the integration of renewable energy use into national sustainable development strategies for poverty reduction,
47
health, education, and agriculture; (2) enhancing national capacity for R&D and transfer and diffusion of renewable energy technologies; (3)
establishing markets for renewable energy; (4) increasing access to finance; (5) enterprise development for sourcing, installing, operating, and
maintaining renewable energy systems; and (6) combining the increased use of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and greater application of
cleaner fossil fuel technologies.
11. We recognize the need for making technical assistance for renewable energy widely accessible to developing countries, especially least
developing countries. The UN system can and should play a key role in this regard. Its capacity and resources should be strengthened and
interagency cooperation should be enhanced in order to avoid fragmentation of effort. We also recognize the importance of disseminating
information and knowledge, lessons learned, best practices, and scaling up experiences in the development and application of renewable energy
and energy efficiency. Connecting multi-stakeholders through networks as well as other international and regional initiatives should facilitate such
exchanges and make information more accessible to developing countries.
12. We note with appreciation the major focus on energy in the upcoming 2006/2007 cycle of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable
Development (CSD). We also note that the current global situation, including a growing awareness of energy poverty in developing countries, the risk
of climate change and the important role that renewable energy should play in sustainable development and energy security, the increasing number
of international initiatives and commitments, and volatility of world energy markets, provides an unprecedented opportunity for addressing the
strategic challenge of transforming our energy systems and closing the energy divide between poor and rich, and between developing and
developed countries. We invite the Commission to consider an effective arrangement to review and assess progress towards substantially increasing
the global share of renewable energy as foreseen in paragraph 20(e) of Johannesburg’s Plan of Implementation. This would provide a long-term
prospective and encourage prompt action. Such periodic review could offer opportunities for enhanced national, regional, and international
cooperation on renewable energy for sustainable development through, for example, exchange of lessons learned and best practice and a more
favorable environment for technology transfer and the rapid commercialization of innovative renewable energy technologies.
The review could also be useful in addressing the linkages between energy and the commission’s biannual thematic cluster, and voluntary reporting
could be enhanced through inputs from relevant international organizations and networks.
13. We welcome the participation, and contributions made, at the conference by parliamentarians, local and regional authorities, international
institutions, the private sector, international industry associations, NGOs, civil society, women’s groups, youth, and academia, and emphasize the
importance of their continued role in increasing the development and use of renewable energy.
14. We express our deep appreciation and thanks to the people and Government of the People’s Republic of China for successfully organizing this
conference and for their generosity and hospitality. We kindly request the Chinese authorities to consider reporting the outcomes and declaration of
the Conference to the CSD at its 14th session.
48
TITLE: Supplying Water — For a Price
Is available also in: http://www.wateryear2003.org/en/
Supplying water and sanitation for the world’s people is a huge task — and an expensive one. Whether these essential services are best carried out
by governments or the private sector is a much-debated question among policy makers, experts and citizen groups. Some background to this debate
and key positions are outlined below.
Providing safe drinking water and sanitation to those lacking them requires massive investment — estimated at $14- 30 billion per year in addition to
current annual spending levels of $30 billion worldwide. as with other infrastructure services such as electricity, telecommunications and transport,
most developing countries rely on public sector utilities to finance and operate water and sanitation services. But because of financial and human
resource constraints, the results are often low productivity and inefficient service and coverage. according to the World Bank, technical inefficiencies
in power, water, roads and railways alone were estimated to have caused losses of $55 billion a year in the early 1990s — equivalent to one per cent
of the gdP of all developing countries, a quarter of their annual infrastructure investment, and twice the annual development finance for infrastructure.
In the late 1980s, urged by international lenders, countries around the world began turning to the private sector, both to take over the operation of
existing infrastructure enterprises and to finance new infrastructure assets. It was argued that private sector financing and management expertise
could improve the quality and quantity of infrastructure services. Private financial resources could be tapped and services expanded, while reducing
the burden on scarce public resources. In developing countries, water and sanitation services are often subsidized, traditionally through direct
payments to utilities, and are paid for by general taxation. The current investment in water and sanitation in developing countries is about $15 billion
annually. According to the World Bank, governments are responsible for close to 75 per cent of financing and the private sector for about 11 per cent,
with the remaining 14 per cent of financing coming from external support agencies.
Popular belief generally holds that water is a common good and basic need that can best be provided by the public sector at very low cost. As a
result, the full cost of supplying water is seldom charged to consumers. even where tariffs are charged to industrial users, they are usually based
upon average costs and ignore the real costs of externalities such as wastewater disposal, as well as the “opportunity costs” such as the benefits lost
by not pursuing alternative uses of water. One result is that much water is undervalued and wasted, even as the world faces greater and greater
water shortages.
Without compensation for the costs incurred, developing country governments usually cannot afford to expand their services to all in need, and the
poor who are not serviced are often forced to take arduous treks to fetch water and risk becoming sick from unsafe supplies.
Some proponents argue that privatization of water and sanitation services can address some of these problems. Currently the private sector
manages the water system for only 7 per cent of the world population. That figure is expected to more than double by 2015. Private water
management is estimated to be a $200 billion per year business at present, which World Bank projections show could reach $1 trillion a year by
2021.
Growing Criticism
However, the growing involvement of the private sector comes with growing criticisms. Just as when water and sanitation services were managed by
the public sector, there are reports of privately-run services wrought with unsafe contaminants, leaky pipes that go un-repaired for weeks and,
notably, price hikes that put poor people in a position of having to choose between food and water. In Cochabamba, the third largest city in Bolivia,
prices increased by 35 per cent after a private consortium took over the city’s water system in 1999, resulting in protracted street protests. The
contract with the private water supplier was rescinded less than a year later. Even attempts by some developing country governments to adopt
private sector approaches have served as painful lessons. When the South African government tried to end water subsidies in 2000, the result was
that millions of poor people were forced to use water from polluted rivers and lakes, causing one of the country’s biggest cholera outbreaks ever.
These cases reinforce two common perceptions — that private sector participation enriches a few at the expense of many, and that water flows to
those who can pay. critics say that private companies, in their attempt to make attractive bids for long-term contracts, often underestimate the cost of
maintaining a water system. once the contract has been won and operations begun, they resort to cutting staff and maintenance costs, raising prices,
or both, to turn a profit. Other detractors of privatization argue that water is a human right and everyone should be ensured equal and adequate
access on a non-profit basis. It should not be managed by for-profit enterprises.
Finding Solutions
However, no matter who manages this key resource, water supply and sanitation will inevitably have to be paid for by someone, whether consumers
or taxpayers. Some experts argue that private enterprises, which in many cases are in a better position to identify gaps and provide needed services,
have an important role to play. But working with the private sector does not mean that a government would, could or should simply hand over the
management of its water resources to the private sector, and let the profit motive run its course. Rather, it implies a dialogue among government, the
private sector and all users, to come up with equitable and environmentally sound solutions.
49
A spectrum of relationships could evolve, with many different options for the role of the private sector. Governments could transform their role from
the exclusive financiers and providers of infrastructure services to facilitators and regulators of services provided by private firms. Contracts would
have to be well designed, with the right balance of minimum standards and penalties, as well as incentives. In all cases, the government must be
engaged in both oversight and overall regulation.
Better pricing of water by governments is another proposal considered to be a potential solution. Developing pricing schemes that meet social,
technical, economic and environmental concerns is a major challenge. one option being tested in some countries is for governments to pay part of
the water bill for poor households that meet certain criteria under a direct subsidy approach. Beyond the basic minimum, consumers would have to
pay increasing tariffs per unit used. This would be an alternative to allowing the price of water to fall below economic costs indiscriminately.
50
TITLE: Responsible entrepreneurship for sustainable development – facts and figures
SOURCE: UNEP-DTIE
Is available also in: http://www.uneptie.org/media/review/vol25no2/I&EVOL25.PDF
At the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, business and industry1 were identified as one of nine major groups
involved in implementing Agenda 21 (the UNCED action plan). Ten years later, business representatives to the World Summit on Sustainable
Development in Johannesburg are among those reviewing the progress on Agenda 21 and working to move it forward.
This issue of Industry and Environment is part of UNEP’s contribution to the WSSD. It examines the role of business in bringing about the changes
needed for sustainable development. The articles present the views of business, academia, NGOs, an intergovernmental organization and a trade
union federation. To help put these articles and the preparatory work on the WSSD in context, the main trends affecting business worldwide will be
examined below. Two new publications are rich sources of relevant facts and figures:
- Tomorrow’s Markets: Global Trends and Their Implications for Business, a joint publication of UNEP, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the
World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), is concerned in particular with trends shaping the global business environment.
- UNEP’s Global Environment Outlook 3 reviews progress and setbacks since the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. It
assesses the current state of the environment (see box, p. 6) and takes an innovative look at prospects for the next three decades, using four
different scenarios. GEO-3 stresses that action is needed worldwide – at all levels – if sustainable development is to become a reality.
Current situation and trends Economy
World production of goods and services (over US$ 30 trillion in current dollars) has more than doubled since 1975.2 Most growth in wealth has taken
place in countries that are already comparatively rich (Figure 1). By contrast, in Sub-Saharan Africa (the world’s poorest region, but one in which
there is high population growth) gross domestic product per capita has shrunk.
Many researchers are studying the relationship between income inequality and development. It is increasingly accepted that reducing the income
gap is not only desirable from a social standpoint, but also a prerequisite for long-term business growth.
In terms of value added, industry accounts for nearly one-third of world GDP and the service sector for most of the rest. Agriculture represents barely
5%. The shares of the industrial and farming sectors have essentially been declining since at least the 1960s. The public sector’s weight in GDP has
been growing throughout the world for decades, despite a trend in recent years towards privatization of state enterprises. In developed and transition
countries, where this trend has been most marked, public sector shares of GDP are generally higher than in developing countries5. However, even
in the developed world the private-public split differs considerably: in France it is about 50- 50, in Ireland roughly 66-33 and in the United States 72-
28.7. A new study suggests that expansion of government is due to “the state’s unique ability to reallocate risk”.
Human development
GDP is increasingly considered an inadequate indicator in that it does not reflect other elements of wealth, such as human and environmental capital.
Thus, indicators to complement GDP are being developed. Income level is closely related to primary school enrolment rates, with lower-income
children underrepresented in many countries. This leads to a vicious circle, as the correlation between education level and adult earnings is equally
clear. One result of the shift to a service economy is increased opportunities for women. The proportion of working-age women in the formal labour
force is growing in most countries for which data are available – even though women are often handicapped in the labour market by factors such
as limits on the kinds of employment available to them, training/education gaps, lower seniority (i.e. greater vulnerability to layoffs) and the need to
take time off for childbearing. Worldwide about half of all women work, while they make up about one-third of the total workforce. They receive less
than one-fifth of total wages and earn about twothirds what men do in comparable jobs. Progress has been made in reducing child labour, especially
since the International Labour Organization began a campaign on this issue ten years ago. The ILO reported in May that some 246 million children
between the ages of five and 17 (one-sixth of that age group) hold jobs inappropriate for their age; of those, around 179 million do work that
endangers their physical, mental or moral well-being. The ILO is also attempting to improve statistics on occupational diseases, injuries and deaths.
Its current rough estimates (worldwide) are as follows: 14 out of 100,000 workers per year die from occupational injuries; altogether nearly a million
deaths per year are due to work-related diseases; and the economic costs of occupational injuries and diseases represent the equivalent of around
4% of GDP.
Globalization
Business, particularly when conducted by multinational (or “transnational”) corporations, is a key vehicle for the phenomenon known as
“globalization”: the increasing worldwide flows of money, goods, services, people, information, communications, culture, etc. In the latest UN
Conference on Trade and Development ranking of multinational companies, the top 47 (by foreign assets) are based in the developed world. A
comparison of the top 15 worldwide multinationals and the developing world’s top 15 is as notable for similarities as for differences. For instance, oil
and automotive companies dominate the former; while oil is present on the latter list, the largest category is diversified conglomerates.
Multinationals play a major role in foreign direct investment. World inflows of FDI hit a record of nearly US$ 1.3 trillion in 2000, with most (just over
US$ 1 trillion) going to developed countries.
Another vehicle of globalization is information and communications technology (ICT). Use of telephones (both fixed and mobile) grew 86% worldwide
between 1996 and 2000, to 286 phones per 1000 people. The number of personal computer numbers grew 62% during the same period, to 78 per
1000 people; the number of internet users increased over sixfold, to more than 366 million. Geographic distribution is very uneven.
Energy
51
The richest 20% of the world’s people consume over half the world energy supply, while the poorest 20% consume only 5%. The World Energy
Assessment, a joint effort of the UN Development Programme, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the World Energy Council,
estimates that 2 billion people have no access to electricity and that, for a further 2 billion, access to power is unreliable. This puts worldwide per
capita electricity use (more than 2000 kWh in 1999) into perspective. In the past three decades, largely thanks to increased energy efficiency in
some countries, world energy supply has been rising at a slightly lower rate than GDP. Between 1980 and 2000 global energy output rose 42%, to
9352 million tonnes of oil equivalent. In all regions the carbonrich fossil fuels (chiefly coal, oil and natural gas) and their derivatives account for over
half of energy supply; in Europe, North America and the Middle East they account for over three-quarters.
Overall energy use in industry has been decreasing (despite increases in some sectors, e.g. iron and steel). Energy use in transport, particularly
road transport, is growing. Household energy use is increasing rapidly worldwide. According to a recent RIVM (Netherlands Institute of Public Health
and the Environment) report, energy receives a worldwide total of US$ 240 billion per year in public subsidies, representing one-quarter of all state
subsidies. RIVM considers “perverse” subsidies one of the main causes of unsustainable development. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has
estimated that removing price-distorting energy subsidies n eight major developing countries would reduce demand enough to lower these countries’
energy use by 13%, worldwide energy use by 3.5% and global CO2 emissions by 4.6%.Energy use, especially burning of fossil fuel, directly affects
local air quality (see below) and the global climate. In March of this year the US Energy Information Administration warned that world oil demand was
growing 2.2% per year on average, a rate that would translate to an extra 3.8 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions per year by 2020. Most of this increase
would be for transport in the developing world. Oil’s share of the world energy supply is not expected to grow significantly (remaining at around 40%)
as countries seek alternatives to oil for electricity generation. Renewable energy sources such as wind, sun, biomass and geothermal are playing an
increasingly important role. Renewables now account for around 11.5% of world energy use. Wind power is the fastest growing form of electricity
generation worldwide, though its share of consumption is now only about 1%. A Danish consulting firm recently forecast that the wind power market
would grow 16% in the next five years.
Air and water
The latest available pollution figures for OECD countries show that transport and industry are responsible for significant shares of conventional air
pollutants: in 1997, 85% of carbon monoxide.
It has been estimated that the number of people affected by disasters climbed from an average of 147 million per year in the 1980s to an average of
211 million per year in the 1990s. Global financial losses from natural disasters in 1999 have been estimated at over US$ 100 billion. Weather-
related disasters are becoming more severe: 90% of deaths resulting from disasters in the 1990s were caused by events such as floods, windstorms
and droughts. India loses over US$ 10 billion per year due to environmental degradation (the equivalent of 4.5% of its GDP). Human induced land
degradation in India is responsible for productivity losses of around US$ 2.4 billion per year. The Montreal Protocol was adopted in 1987. Production
of the main chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) destroying the ozone layer peaked in 1988 and is now at very low levels. Over US$ 1.1 billion has been
provided to assist 114 developing countries in phasing out ozone depleting substances. By 2000 total consumption of such substances had been
reduced by 85%. One-fifth of the world population accounts for nearly 90% of total personal consumption. Some 4 billion people survive on less than
a dollar or two per day. Around half the world’s rivers are seriously depleted and polluted. About 60% of the 227 largest rivers have been strongly or
moderately fragmented by dams and other engineering works, which have displaced between 40 million and 80 million people since the 1950s.
Global production of roundwood exceeds 3 billion cubic metres. Around half of this wood is used for fuel. Commercial logging methods in West Africa
destroy about two cubic metres of trees to produce one cubic metre of logs. By the end of 2000 about 2% of world forests had been certified for
sustainable management under programmes such as those operated by the Forest Stewardship Council. Most of these programmes are in Canada,
Finland, Germany, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United States. Up to one-half of recent mangrove destruction has resulted from clear cutting for
shrimp farms. By 1994 an estimated 37% of the human population (more than the total number of people alive in 1950) lived within 60 kilometres of
a coast. The global economic impact of marine contamination, measured in terms of human health effects, may amount to nearly US$ 13 billion per
year. Some 25,000 people per year suffer long-term disability due to liver damage from infectious hepatitis caused by consumption of contaminated
shellfish. In 1991-92 fish farmers in the Republic of Korea sustained US$ 133 million in economic losses as a result of toxic algal blooms (“red tides”)
triggered by nutrients.
Just under one-third of the world’s fish stocks are designated as depleted, overexploited or recovering as a result of overfishing stimulated by
subsidies estimated at up to US$ 20 billion per year.
Although industrialized world emissions have largely been falling for at least two decades, those of the developing world are rising and project to
continue doing so.
Industry is also implicated in water quality problems. Its impact on the world level is expected to increase dramatically in the years to come, as
developing countries industrialize. Other major sources of water pollution are agriculture and waste water disposal; one key water quality indicator,
for instance, is the percentage of the population connected to public waste water treatment plants.The relationship between water quality and water
quantity, including the role of water use efficiency in reducing water pollution problems, is increasingly being studied. Water scarcity is becoming a
crucial issue in much of the world. On World Water Day, in March, the Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization pointed out that
global water demand grew nearly sevenfold just over 1990-95 – more than twice the rate of population growth.22 Some 41% of the world’s people
live in areas categorized as “water stressed” – that is, with freshwater resources per capita of less than 1700 cubic metres per year. Lack of access
to safe water and the concomitant implications for health especially affect rural areas. Agriculture is not only an important non-point source of
pollution, but it also accounts for some 70% of all freshwater withdrawal worldwide.
Waste
Waste generation and disposal are also matters of increasing concern, but this is an area where data availability is a particular problem. One reason
is that definitions of municipal waste, industrial waste, construction and demolition waste, hazardous waste, etc., vary considerably even among the
countries where record-keeping is the most developed. It is clear that many waste streams are increasing in volume, and that increased affluence
tends to mean higher waste generation per capita. One effect of this trend is growth in the trade of waste, which is of particular concern as regards
52
hazardous waste. To date, 149 countries have ratified the Basel Convention on transboundary movements of hazardous waste (the United States,
Haiti and Afghanistan have signed but not ratified it), a central goal of which is to minimize hazardous waste generation.
Affluence brings greater consumption and different consumption patterns. The shares of such necessities as food, clothing and fuel tend to drop,
while goods and services that might be said to enhance the quality of life claim larger amounts of household income. Waste generation is not the
only consequence of increases and changes in consumption: rising levels of protein in the diet, for instance, can lead to more land use changes,
water pollution, erosion and overfishing; higher production of goods
Multilateral agreements
Before the increased awareness of nuclear issues in the 1960s, the main multilateral environmental agreements largely concerned fishing, shipping,
marine pollution and trade. Control of consumer products, including hazardous substances, began to be addressed in the late 1960s and early 1970s,
principally in the form of regional accords. Wildlife dominated the 1970s agenda, including as a key motivation for agreements on marine pollution. In
the late 1970s regional freshwater and air quality entered the picture, along with shipments of hazardous waste. Many people consider the 1985
Vienna Convention on Protection of the Ozone Layer the first agreement on a truly global issue. The period leading up to and following the Rio
summit saw a spate of agreements on issues more directly affecting business (e.g. regional accords on environmental impact assessment and
industrial accidents and, less directly, the UN climate change and desertification conventions). In recent years there have been agreements on
international control of hazardous substances. Meanwhile, throughout this entire period, trade and maritime issues have continued to receive the
attention of international lawmakers.
The first mention of sustainable development as such appears in the 1987 ASEAN Resolution on Sustainable Development, an example of what is
sometimes called “soft law” (essentially, nonbinding measures). Distinguishing between environmental law and sustainable development law is often
difficult; some commentators feel the latter has become the overarching category. UNEP’s 1997 Nairobi Declaration mention’s “international
environmental law aiming at sustainable development”.
National legislation and enforcement
Very generally speaking, national environmental legislation in many of the major developed economies is gradually moving – albeit slowly in places,
and not without many hiccups – towards an integrated approach aimed at incorporating sustainable development principles and economic
instruments. As can be seen in the OECD Environmental Performance Review series of country studies, compliance with (and enforcement of )
national legislation varies considerably by country and even by administrative subdivision; though a correlation with income exists, other factors
(often cultural) can play a strong role.
In recent years the transition economies, which could generally be said to have started the 1990s about where the “rich” countries were 20 years
earlier, have been in a position to profit from the integration model. However, some (e.g. the Czech Republic) have done so to a far greater degree
than others. Legislation and enforcement tend to be much weaker in developing countries, where they exist at all, but this need not mean a “race to
the bottom”. Some studies have indicated that as FDI inflows and income rise, pollution tends to decline.
Market-based and economic instruments
Hard experience with trading of emission/discharge credits, permits or quotas dates back little more than a decade. This market-based approach to
pollution control is being applied to greenhouse gas emissions (see World News) and is under discussion for such hard-to-tackle problems as diffuse
pollution by nutrients. Supporters of the market-based approach say it fulfils the purpose of the polluter pays principle and is more effective than
regulation in the long run. Critics object to making pollution a commodity and point out the potential for cheating. Tradable or transferable fishing
quotas are another widely used market-based instrument. They are credited with helping protect fisheries and the livelihoods of those exploiting
them. In many programmes requiring electricity suppliers to use a certain percentage of renewablebased power, suppliers can instead choose to buy
credits or certificates, which are generally priced higher than the incremental cost of renewablebased electricity. A related fiscal instrument attributes
tax credits for renewable-based electricity generation – more or less the opposite of carbon taxes, levied against fuels’ carbon content, which have
proved much less acceptable politically. Still, effective carbon taxes are being used in the Scandinavian countries. The Worldwatch Institute’s State
of the World 2002 reports that Norway’s 1991 carbon tax has so far cut power plants’ carbon emissions by 21%. It also reports that 19 industrialized
countries are planning fiscal reform measures that would affect greenhouse gas emissions, and that 11 of these measures are carbon or emission
taxes. Part of the goal is to apply the polluter pays principle.
Voluntary initiatives/codes of conduct
Voluntary agreements involving business and (usually) governments predate the 1992 Rio summit, but they have been used increasingly since then.
There are many types of VAs, including: - commitments by individual companies; - codes of conduct adopted at national or international level by
industry associations; - agreements on environmental performance targets negotiated between a government and a company, a group of companies
or an entire sector.
According to the OECD, recent surveys indicate that over 300 negotiated environmental agreements exist in the European Union, Japan has some
40,000 local pollution control agreements and the US Government manages more than 40 federal-level voluntary programmes. State of the World
2002 reports that around 21 voluntary agreements were initiated in 1999 alone, including four in the power generation industry, two in transport and
11 in general industry and manufacturing. It notes that they range from strong (with the threat of regulation if partners do not comply) to “cooperative”
(relying on incentives to develop and deploy new technology). Agenda 21 mentions the chemical industry’s Responsible Care® programme as a way
to promote good environmental practices. Responsible Care began in the early 1980s in Canada and was adopted in 1988 in the US, in response to
the Bhopal disaster in 1984. According to the American Chemistry Council, 46 national associations representing over 85% of the world’s chemical
production, are in various stages of implementing Responsible Care. Another example is the code of conduct of the World Federation of the Sporting
Goods Industry, adopted in 1997 and revised in 2000 (see www.wfsgi.org/SGI/activities/Code_Conduct.htm). At UNEP’s instigation, sectoral
initiatives have been established or are being developed in the financial sector (one for financial institutions and another for insurance and related
activities, the former involving over 170 companies and the latter over 90), tourism (25 companies), ICT (13 companies), and the automotive,
advertising and gold industries (proposed or under development). The UNEP International Declaration on Cleaner Production has been signed by 47
countries, 20 subnational governments, 106 companies and 144 business associations, NGOs and other organizations since it was launched in 1998.
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Corporate responsibility and accountability
In 1989 several socially responsible investment firms and public pension funds joined leading environmentalists in a bid to change corporate
environmental practices. The resulting Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES) drew up a set of principles shortly after the
Exxon Valdez oil spill the same year. What would come to be called the CERES Principles comprised a ten-point code of corporate environmental
conduct, which companies working to improve their performance were asked to publicly endorse. In 1993, Sunoco became the first Fortune 500
company to endorse the CERES Principles. In 1997 CERES and UNEP established the Global Reporting Initiative to design globally applicable
guidelines for preparing reports on the environmental, social and economic impact of corporate activities. The GRI’s revised Sustainability
Reporting Guidelines on Economic, Environmental and Social Performance were released i June 2000. In July 2000 UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan launched the Global Compact, challenging businesses to support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges, undertake initiatives
to promote greater environmental responsibility, and encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies, among other
objectives.
At least 112 companies are known to be using the GRI guidelines, and several hundred companies have pledged to support the Global Compact;
126 companies, organizations and institutions are certified as having fulfilled its initial requirements in 2001. The two initiatives have set up a
cooperative framework in which company submissions made under the aegis of the GRI are considered as fulfilling the Global Compact
requirements. Business-founded groups promoting corporate social responsibility include the World Business Council for Sustainable Development
(www.wbcsd.ch), with 150 corporate members, and the International Business Leaders Forum (www.iblf.org), whose more than 60 members are
CEOs of multinational companies. The IBLF runs the web-based Corporate Social Responsibility Forum (www.ihei.org/csr/csrwebassist.
nsf/content/e1. html#leading). A new French law, one of the most significant developments so far in regard to sustainability reporting, requires all
major French corporations to report on the social and environmental effects of their activities starting with their 2003 annual reports (for the 2002
financial year).
NGOs
Environmental non-governmental organizations essentially date back to Victorian Britain, but their numbers and roles have expanded greatly in
recent decades. At Rio in 1992 more than 8000 NGO members participated; later this summer in Johannesburg some 40,000 are expected. The
REC NGO Directory of environmental organizations working in Central and Easern Europe, updated in 2001, contains contact information for over
2700 organizations from 15 CEE countries. The OECD has published directories of 1905 NGOs in the field of sustainable development in Australia,
Canada, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and the United States; an earlier volume listed 3900 sustainable development NGOs in Europe.
Labour
Workers and trade unions constitute one of the major groups mentioned in Agenda 21, which calls for strengthening their role in working for
sustainable development. Trade unions have been extending their traditional occupational health and safety concerns in recent years to include the
environment. They have also been forming alliances with environmental and sustainability NGOs, such as Earthworker in Australia and the
Blue/Green Alliance in the United States. Unions have been involved in introducing such environmental management tools as environmental audits
and cost-benefit analysis that incorporates social and environmental costs. Inside and outside the workplace, they have been particularly
involved in climate change and global warming issues. Another issue of importance to labour is environmentally sustainable jobs. The International
Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM) organized the world’s first trade union conference on “green jobs” in
1996. Ten US unions have formed a group called Unions for Jobs and the Environment, whose main activity is a web site (www.ujae.org).
Sustainability in higher education
In the long term, education may offer the best hope for making sustainability a reality. Among the many organizations endorsing this view is the US-
based University Leaders for a Sustainable Future (www.ulsf.org), whose aim is to make sustainability a major focus of teaching, research,
operations and outreach at colleges and universities worldwide. ULSF is also the repository of the 1990 Talloires Declaration, a ten-point action plan
for incorporating sustainability and environmental literacy in teaching, research and other operations of higher education institutions. The Declaration
has been signed by over 275 university presidents and chancellors in more than 40 countries. ULSF works closely with Copernicus (www.
copernicus-campus.org), a European programme that cooperates with industry, governments, international organizations and other groups to raise
awareness of the need to make sustainability a major focus of higher education. There are over 300 institutional members in almost 40 countries.
54
PART II: INTERNATIONAL TRADE UNION ORGANIZATIONS
BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS
TITLE: ICFTU RESOLUTION 02 - GLOBALISATION, DECENT WORK AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

SOURCE: ICFTU 18TH CONGRESS.
All Delegates
Is available also in: http://congress.icftu.org/
1. Congress pledges the ICFTU to mobilise to fundamentally change globalisation so that it works for working people, the unemployed and the poor.
All trade union objectives depend upon the creation and governance of a global economy which ensures universal respect of workers’ fundamental
rights, and upon development which generates decent work for all, substantially reducing inequality, which will promote sustainable development and
offer real perspectives for closing the gap between rich and poor countries and putting an end to mass poverty. While globalisation carries the
potential to achieve such results, the model of neo-liberal globalisation that has been consolidated in the period since Congress last met does none
of this.
2. Congress rejects the simplistic policies of free market neo-liberalism as discredited, anti-worker and anti-poor. The ICFTU and its affiliates must
contribute to the elaboration of alternatives to achieve social justice, full decent employment for all, sustainable and equitable development, fair
income distribution, human rights including workers’ rights, and gender equality. In order to make a different shape of globalisation a reality, special
attention must be given to the coherence of our strategy in all sectors and at all levels (national, regional and global).
3. The international community must confront its manifest incoherence and failings on globalisation. In the UN Millennium Development Goals it has
set targets for the progress of humanity. But, at the same time, it has encouraged and implemented policies that stand in stark contradiction to their
achievement.
4. Real international cooperation to formulate and implement an agenda for a new globalisation must quickly supplant the ineffectual interaction seen
so far. Industrialised countries must increase official development assistance to reach the UN target of 0.7 per cent of national output, and take
decisive actions to end the tragedy of developing country debt and underdevelopment, including the cancellation of the debt of least developed
countries that respect human rights, including trade union rights, and the creation of a fair and transparent mechanism for international debt
arbitration and restructuring. All countries should work together to establish a UN Economic and Social Security Council and to implement the
commitments of the UN Monterrey Consensus on Financing for Development. The ICFTU welcomes the recommendations for effective international
cooperation of the report of the World Commission on the Social Dimensions of Globalisation as a platform for action.
5. Progress will depend on fundamental reform of international organisations including more democracy and full transparency in their decision-
making processes; increased coherence between them; and governments taking seriously their responsibility to govern international organisations
so that they work to achieve democratically decided goals. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has a vital and pre-eminent role to play in
achieving such inter-institutional coherence and cooperation, and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work is a necessary
component of any acceptable approach to governance of globalisation. The ILO must continue its campaign for the ratification of its fundamental
rights Conventions and its efforts to encourage ratification and implementation of its other standards.
6. The ICFTU will continue its work to make international organisations responsive to trade union goals. Dialogue with them will need to be guided by
well-defined objectives and with full regard to impact. It remains a fundamental responsibility to denounce and confront such organisations if and
when they act, directly or indirectly, against the rights and interests of working people and the poor.
7. Despite increased emphasis in policy statements on poverty reduction and national ownership, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World
Bank continue to make financial support to developing countries conditional on anti-worker and anti-poor structural adjustment programmes. These
typically promote privatisation, trade and investment liberalisation, and labour market deregulation, and in many countries have increased social
precariousness and led to the effective dismantling of the capacities of the state to undertake adequate governance of the country and determine
and pursue their own development strategies. The ICFTU must press for alternatives that promote sustainable and socially just development, instead
of undercutting it. A priority will be to build capacity and opportunity for trade unions to intervene systematically in formulating and promoting
development strategies and poverty reduction strategy papers (PRSPs), and get maximum advantage from increased opportunities for consultation
with these international financial institutions (IFIs) as well as with the regional development banks. Particular attention is needed to improving the
situation of the billions of impoverished rural people in developing countries.
8. The incremental progress that has been made in having the IMF and the World Bank support respect for core labour standards needs to be both
consolidated (by having formal policy decisions translated into operational realities at country level), and extended (by having respect of these
standards introduced by the IFIs and regional banks into their country programmes and procurement policies). The global trade union movement will
55
only be convinced by actions, not words.
9. Since its creation, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been the vehicle for a model of trade liberalisation that exacerbates workers’
exploitation, developmental inequalities, environmental destruction, and gender imbalances. It has set an agenda for trade that encourages
governments, under pressure from business, to seek export advantage from suppression of workers’ rights and that, worldwide, puts downward
pressure on working and living conditions. Certain WTO rules undermine the ability of governments to pursue developmental strategies. There are
increasing attempts to extend its scope beyond traditional trade to investment, competition policy and trade facilitation. The collapse of the 5th WTO
Ministerial Conference (Cancun, September 2003), due in part to the welcome emergence of an unprecedentedly strong developing country “G20”
bloc to oppose agricultural protectionism by industrialised countries, shows that this model is not only unacceptable, but has reached the end of the
road. Trade unions need to develop contacts and intervene with those governments, including those in the “G20”, who work constructively with their
domestic trade union movements and share our concern for trade justice, development and fair employment, both in the international trading system
and at national level.
10. The ICFTU has new opportunities to progress its established goals of having the WTO integrate the development, social, labour, environmental
and gender impact of trade into its work programme. The commitment made by member states at the 1st WTO Ministerial Conference (Singapore,
December 1996) to the observance of core labour standards demands urgent action by the WTO together with the ILO. The ICFTU reaffirms that it
can best be honoured through the incorporation of a workers’ rights clause into WTO statutes that would require all products traded between
countries to be produced and distributed in compliance with core labour standards. Such a clause would be anti-protectionist, pro-development, and
a crucial instrument for social justice in an open world trading system. The ICFTU has to make that message better and more widely understood,
including within the ranks of its own affiliates.
11. Congress recognises the need for the ICFTU to campaign on the wide range of trade-related issues of concern to working people, both at the
WTO and in the increasing number of bilateral and regional trade agreements, and to take advantage of opportunities to work closely with others in
civil society pursuing compatible goals, as well as with employers’ organisations where that is productive. Trade unions should work with those
organisations sharing their views and which respect the unique role of trade unions as representatives of workers’ interests, and can benefit from
their special knowledge and skills. There is a common interest in making WTO processes open and transparent, and in the creation of formal
consultative mechanisms, including for trade unions. The WTO needs also to establish structured co-operation and coherence with the relevant
agencies of the UN, including the ILO which should have observer status in the WTO. The WTO should establish a working group or standing
working forum on trade, social development and labour standards, with full participation of the ILO, to consider how to ensure respect for core labour
standards within the WTO.
12. The ICFTU must in particular press for the WTO to address key concerns of developing countries, as part of an integrated effort from every area
of the multilateral system, including greatly enhanced debt relief. Trade is not working for development and has to be made to do so. That requires,
above all, eliminating agricultural export subsidies; ensuring that developing countries are not prevented from undertaking legitimate domestically-
based industrial development strategies; and making WTO working methods transparent and democratic so that the views of the developing world
carry their full weight in accordance with the one member, one vote founding principle of the WTO. Development must not take place on the basis of
attaining lower production prices through reducing environmental standards in developing countries, while at the same time, industrialised countries
must not use environmental protection as a pretext for protectionist trade barriers.
13. Congress is dismayed by the threat to public services posed by the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and reaffirms that vital
public services – notably education, health, water, public transport and other essential public utilities – must be excluded from negotiations on trade
liberalisation under its auspices, with governments retaining the right to regulate and protect in the public interest. The GATS must be changed so
that a country is allowed to transfer a privatised service back into a public service without facing requests for compensation in other areas. Any
international negotiations on investment would need to embody a strong framework of regulation of investor responsibilities with a view to preventing
potential abuse of business power; maximising the benefits of investment to host country development and preserving host country rights to
determine the conditions for potential investments; establishing minimum standards to prevent labour, social, environmental and fiscal dumping; and
implementing the terms of the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy and the OECD
Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. The ICFTU will work towards an international agreement on investment that fulfils these conditions.
Speculative capital movements by international investors need to be discouraged, in part through the international taxation of foreign exchange
transactions.
14. Congress recognises that ICFTU interaction with individual international organisations needs to be within an overarching strategy to promote
international policy coherence for sustainable development and to end unsustainable consumption practices.. The World Summit on Sustainable
Development (Johannesburg, August 2002) highlighted the interdependence of the social, economic and environmental pillars of sustainable
development. The ICFTU’s strategy must integrate the link between health and environment into both policy and action, particularly in the area of
workplace, enterprise and national action to protect occupational health and safety and working conditions, and by work to bring workers’ issues into
the activities of the Commission for Sustainable Development, the World Health Organisation and the United Nations Environment Programme. The
protection of global public goods such as the rain forests requires fair burden-sharing. All countries should work together in negotiations within the
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change concerning implementation of the Kyoto Protocol. Accordingly, Congress condemns and regrets the
opposition to the Kyoto Protocol of the Bush administration, among others. The ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by Russia has restarted the process
of implementation. The ICFTU, while preferring all countries to work together through UN negotiations, will nonetheless work to support its
56
implementation, particularly concerning its social impact.
ICFTU Action Programme
15. Congress instructs the ICFTU and regional organisations, working together with Global Unions partners and affiliates, to:
a) Fight for a different form of globalisation in order to achieve decent and freely chosen work, equitable income distribution, gender equality, safe
workplaces, strong public services, universal and egalitarian social protection on the basis of solidarity, respect of fundamental workers’ rights and
accelerated sustainable development to close the gap between developing and industrialised countries, including realisation of the Millennium
Development Goals as a step towards the elimination of world poverty;
b) Stress the urgent need for international policy coherence and serious initiatives for effective multilateral regulation and governance of the global
economy as recommended by the World Commission on the Social Dimensions of Globalisation, requiring an enhanced role for the ILO;
c) Intensify pressure, interaction and negotiation at national and international levels with relevant international organisations, particularly the IMF,
World Bank, WTO, OECD and the UN system, with continuous review of the impact of such actions;
d) Support the implementation of trade union proposals to the World Summit on Sustainable Development, develop an evaluation process for socio-
economic and environmental problems with an impact on occupational safety and health, and promote a better integration of international
environmental policies and programmes through strengthening coherence and implementation via one single environmental authority and, if needed,
through the creation of a new environmental agency;
e) Pressure governments to give greater assistance to workers facing structural adjustment as a result of changing trade relations;
f) In support of trade union demands for the globalisation of rights, support coordination of trade union actions around the world, promote solidarity
with the actions being undertaken to achieve this end and prepare and implement general trade union actions in support of the demands of working
women and men worldwide;
g) Make every effort to enhance the participation of unions from developing countries in all activities, including meetings and other activities on trade,
investment and labour standards;
h) Facilitate partnerships between democratic and representative trade unions in countries both of production and of distribution in order to promote
respect for core labour standards;
i) Provide regular information as well as undertake analytical and research work, in particular through the development of the Global Union Research
Network (GURN);
j) Support the capacity of unions to address globalisation by direct assistance and provision of educational materials;
k) Spearhead the development of capacity by affiliated unions, and within the ICFTU and its regional organisations, to engage in the debates
surrounding the principles and platform articulated in this resolution;
l) Build capacity of union women and youth on trade, investment and labour standards in order to counter their unintended marginalisation in such
debates;
m) Develop a process, starting with regional discussions, to develop a deeper understanding amongst unions about the relationship between trade
and development, and in particular to define trade strategies that will support development and decent work in developing countries;
n) Where appropriate, work with political parties, organisations and movements which share the concerns, values and objectives of the ICFTU and
respect its independence, and use the opportunities arising from participation in the World Social Forum;
o) Include specific programmes of work on regional and sub-regional integration processes, bilateral trade and investment agreements and the
regional development banks;
p) Give priority to campaign work that engages national unions actively and makes action on globalisation accessible and relevant to their members;
q) Support struggles against those multinational corporations that act in a manner that is anti-worker and anti-poor in order to reap profits and those
governments that are subservient to them or also act in such a manner.
57
TITLE: Climate Change: Avenues for Trade Union Action.
Chapter 4: The challenges of energy transition for European trade-union actions
SOURCE: EUROPEAN TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION (ETUC)

Is available also in: http://www.etuc.org/
The European Trade Union Confederation has made the issue of climate change a priority in its sustainable development strategy (ETUC/TUTB,
2002). The climate change mitigation process, if globally co-ordinated and deep-routed in a broad social consensus in Europe, constitutes a unique
opportunity to make a social transition to improve the environment and to boost employment and well-being. During the Johannesburg Earth Summit
2002, European Trade Unions took an offensive stand towards mitigating the effects of climate change in a fair and socially acceptable way.
Recently, the ETUC conference on climate change Milan in 2003 demonstrated
the wide range of initiatives developed by European trade unions all over Europe in the field of climate change. At the European level, the main
challenges ahead of trade unions lie in their capacity to formulate proposals, take initiatives and involve themselves proactively in negotiating the
changes that will take place as a consequence of Kyoto-implementation, in three main areas:
– evaluating the policies and measures which are likely to channel energy demands and generation towards more sustainable trends while at the
same time ensuring social progress;
– analysing the impact of climate change and measures to reduce emissions on jobs, job quality and qualifications in Europe, including intersectoral
aspects;
– defining objectives to be achieved in each sector depending on its technological potential and its social situation and which realistically be achieved
in economic terms.
Which European policies and measures?
There is no doubt that the majority of efforts required in combating global warming still lies ahead. The Kyoto Protocol is just the first stage of the
necessary process to reduce emissions by between 60 and 70% to achieve the concentrations of greenhouse gases considered “tolerable”, in
accordance with the objective proposed by the EU of limiting temperature increases to a maximum of 2°C in relation to pre-industrial levels. Such
reductions will require action on the long term in respect of all the factors determining the non-sustainable nature of the current energy model, in
particular inequalities in terms of income, technological capacity and access to resources between North and South, the intensity in energy
resources of economic growth in industrialised countries, the pressure
to liberalise energy markets which is fostering predatory short term behaviour patterns and obstacles in the way of the emergence of clean
technologies and renewables. It is vital for the EU to become involved in drawing up a post-Kyoto plan to support these objectives and the integration
of Southern countries in the process while respecting the principle of a diverse range of energy and development models. Bearing in mind Europe’s
technological capacity and the fact that its production model is more efficient than that of the United States, it can and must open the way by creating
an innovative energy model. However, the lack of any real coordination of the individual Member States’ energy policies at the European level is
proving a major obstacle to achieving this objective. The challenge lies in putting in place a system of enhanced cooperation between the various
national energy policies, aimed at establishing
complementarity between national energy systems and creating solidarity mechanisms.
The ETUC has set out its recommendations for a mitigation policy in its declaration “Union proposals for a European policy on climate change”
(Annex 4).
The scale of reductions needed will require a combination of the benefits inherent in energy efficiency and energy sources that are low in carbon.
Consideration should be given to the response of the energy system in the broadest sense, including end users and other players such as designers
(car manufacturers) and consultants (architects) rather than concentrating solely on the energy sector.
In EU countries where general consumption of electricity is continually on the increase, the speed with which renewable sources of electricity are
integrated and the future of nuclear energy are two key factors if they are to achieve the objectives of reducing Greenhouse gases in the short to
medium term.
In the long term, investment in research, within a truly European research and development policy, should give rise to technological innovation in the
area of energy efficiency, clean technologies, renewable energies in a bid to guarantee diverse range of energy in terms of sustainable development
and creation of jobs.
The creation of a single energy market within the EU should come about in a way which will guarantee that energy supply will remain a public service
of general interest and which all consumers will be entitled and in capacity to access.
The required refocusing of production and consumption methods towards a more sustainable model will not come about without massive investment
programmes in which public investment will play a key role. The transport, housing and urban development sectors, in particular, can bring huge
environmental, social and economic benefits.
58
An ambitious tax reform should be undertaken by the European Union to ensure that prices accurately reflect the environmental and social costs of
different energy products and uses. This must be accompanied by a programme of fiscal harmonisation. European trade unions support these
reforms provided that the process is conducted fairly:
– the negative repercussions on the destitute, vulnerable economic sectors, the energy sector and energy-intensive sectors need to be identified to
enable prevention and support measure to be put in place.
– tax revenue derived from eco-taxation will be used, in particular, to reduce the tax burden on labour and to encourage the creation of highquality
jobs.
The success of prevention policies inevitably require workers and their representatives to be involved in the process. Experience has shown that the
presence of institutionally well embedded trade unions taking anticipating instances and involving themselves pro-actively in negotiating the changes
are important, for those changes to occur in an equitable and socially acceptable way.
Some national trade union confederations are taking part to the definition of the National Climate Change strategy and of the Allocation Plan for the
emissions allowances. Some confederations are trying, successfully, to bolster the role of works councils in preventing climate change.
Moreover, the European trade unions ask for the Kyoto Protocol’s flexible mechanisms to be transparent processes and for workforce
representatives to be involved.
Assessing the consequences and opportunities for jobs andsocial cohesion
One initial question is raised first of all: in the EU, climate change is already producing effects that are impacting substantially on the productive base
of some activities and regions. Although present and future policies area will significantly reduce emissions, it is important to consider that some
degree of climate change is inevitable. Agriculture is certainly the sector in Europe which is most vulnerable to the effects of global warming but the
tourism, forestry and insurance sectors are also likely to be affected. The periods of drought and fires experienced by Southern Europe over the past
few years are the most visible evidence of climate change despite the fact that other factors do play a part in these phenomena. The cost of the
efforts needed to tackle these effects (relocation or abandoning of come activities, development of new crop varieties less vulnerable to drought,
reduced yield) could prove extremely costly for the most vulnerable regions and farms and could have long-term effects on the jobs associated with
them. In some regions of the EU, on the other hand, tourism and agriculture could benefit from more favourable climatic conditions.
A second aspect is that of the economic and social consequences of policies introduced to limit emissions of greenhouse gases. Any effort towards
this aim will require changes in behaviour and investments in technologies – in short changes in economic activity that could impose costs on society.
Various studies have tried to estimate the overall cost of implementing the Kyoto Protocol in the EU and have concluded that it would be a very small
proportion of the EU’s economic output (less than 1% of GDP), subject to the granting of negotiable emissions rights. As a general rule, the studies
suggest that the negative impact of policies to prevent climate change on the EU’s competitiveness would be as high as the objectives in terms of
reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions are high. However, it is
important to point out that these studies do not generally take into account the role of technological innovation, which is an essential factor for long
term EU competitiveness. Neither do they include analysis of the sectoral effects of mitigation.
According to studies conducted by the OECD, the impact on overall employment in the EU of implementing the Kyoto Protocol could be slightly
positive depending on the size and pace of the emission reduction, and on the methods used to implement it. Relocalisation of manpower would
represent approximately 0.2% of the total workforce by 2010. Despite these positive prospects for employment, we know that the process of
reducing emissions of greenhouse gases will certainly not be smooth. There will be opportunities arising for specific countries, regions and industries
(energy efficiency, demand management, renewable energy sources, building materials) while others will be negatively affected (fossil fuel-based
power generation, chemical industries, energy-intensive industries).
This comes in addition to the fact that many of the industries and workers at risks from climate change policies already face other threats. Many
energy-intensive industries face strong international competition for their products and services. Employment in the coal mining industry has been
declining for the past two decades due to increased mechanisation. The qualifications needed to satisfy the potential demand for new jobs in
sustainable activities will not necessarily be available in declining industries.
Therefore, a part of the workforce will need professional training to meet the new requirements.
It is important also not to underestimate the potential effects of policies to increase energy prices on access to energy for low-income households
and people in a situation of "energy poverty" in the context of liberalisation of the energy markets.
In the face of these challenges, the trade unions are anxious to ensure fair division between all economic sectors and with workers of the economic
responsibilities and opportunities brought about by climate change as well as mitigation policies. The burden of mitigation should not be spread only
among the energy-generation sectors and energy-intensive industries. To ensure an orderly conversion for workers and affected communities with
income protection, access to new jobs, educational assistance and social programs, social and employment transition measures are vital. Therefore,
workers and their representatives must be able to negotiate this social transition via the social dialogue with employers, and within companies
through works councils. The trade unions believe that a detailed analysis of the potential impact of climate change on employment in Europe should
be conducted as a matter of urgency. Such an analysis should make it possible to identify those sectors and regions which are benefiting and those
which are losing out as well as to determine the extent to which they would be affected. Based on these findings the appropriate transitional
measures and adjustments can be made. It would also offer the advantage of highlighting the “cost of inaction”, thereby contributing to a more
balance understanding of the costs and benefits of climate-change policies.
An equitable energy transition within the European Economy
The energy sector
59
The energy sector will face some major challenges as a consequence of the coming energy transition. Whatever mitigation strategy is implemented
by policy makers, the inevitable replacement of fossil fuels by low- or non-carbon alternatives means segments of the energy sector will face
hardship. Switching towards natural gas, which is likely be an important part of meeting Kyoto commitments in some countries, will have serious
impact on employment, i.e. in coal power plants. Moreover, gas based power plants are less labour intensive than coal based power plants.
Although shifting from fossils to nuclear power could lead to a substantial CO2 reduction, a
lot of public opposition towards nuclear power remains, reflected in some EU countries’ decision to plan a nuclear phase-out.
For electricity generators, the level of constraint presented by the application of the Emissions Trading Directive depends on the fuel used. The most
direct impact would therefore be felt by workers involved in producing and delivering fossil-based energy. Such industries include the fossil fuel
industries themselves (crude oil, oil refining, natural gas extraction and utilities, and coal mining), as well as electric utilities, which burn coal and
natural gas in the generation process. Employment in the electricity sector across the EU has sharply decreased (by around 300,000 jobs) since the
1990s, due primarily to the opening-up of electricity markets to competition. This is the reason why concern in respect of the impact of the Kyoto
Protocol on employment is particularly great among European trade unions, in particular, the European mining, chemical and energy federation
(EMCEF) and the European federation of public services unions (EPSU).
A very contentious issue is the extent to which the implementation of the Kyoto protocol in the EU could lead to a shift in fossil fuel production to
other low-cost countries without emission targets or strict environmental rules.
However, experts believe that, on a European energy market where all players acknowledge that liberalisation is incomplete, competition will have a
limited impact between the players, thus giving them the opportunity to pass on their increased costs and investments in their prices. This trend
should be bolstered by growth in European electricity demand. Moreover, emission trading is expected to reduce compliance costs for the coal and
oil industries.
The renewable energy industry is the sub-sector most likely to benefit strongly from climate change policies. Trade unions are convinced that
renewable energy has the potential to be an important source of job creation representing a variety of occupations in many industries (renewable
electricity generation, manufacturing and construction of new generation facilities) (see box below).
The European federations EMCEF and EPSU have been active in the debate opened by the implementation of the Emissions trading Directive in the
EU. They have tried to influence the development of the Emissions Trading Scheme and have argued for the creation of a transition programme
(consisting of training, income support, relocation funds, etc.) for workers at risk of losing their job.
At national level, affiliates are involved in devising national allocation plans for CO2 allowances. They are concerned with the question how to shape
the emissions trading instrument in a way that leaves jobs untouched.
They particularly discuss three key issues: how the phasing out of nuclear energy, a decision taken by some countries, should be taken into account
when allocating allowances to coal based power plants, the need to ensure fair treatment of good quality cogeneration of heat and power (CHP), and
the allocation of allowances in relation to new or closing power plants.
Industrial energy users
The industrial sectors impacted by the Emissions Trading Directive are iron and steel, the mineral industry (cement, glass and ceramics production),
and pulp and paper production. These are highly carbon-intensive industries, even though the non-ferrous metals and chemicals sectors – which
emit particularly high levels of CO2 – were not covered by the Directive. The fact that, at this stage, Kyoto applies only to a limited geographical area
leads to questions being raised as to the threat it poses to the competitiveness of these sectors. The impact of these sectors on competitiveness will
certainly be expressed at several levels.
Firstly, depending on the degree of exposure to international competition, which varies fairly widely in this group of industries, companies will be
exposed to increased competition from industries located outside the Kyoto zone.
Secondly, the process of competition between industries will be expressed as a benefit for low-carbon products, for instance non-ferrous metals
compared to steel: this will change the face of competition between aluminium, plastic and steel.
Thirdly, industries will most likely have to cope with the fact that their electricity suppliers will pass on additional costs arising as a result of the
implementation of the Emissions Trading Directive. Faced with the challenge of applying the directive to these sectors, the ability
to implement new technological processes in the near future to reduce emissions seems as though it will be a decisive factor for jobs and
competitiveness. They must enable European industry to progressively become a competitive advantage and to sell the cleanest and most efficient
processes on the global market.
The building and housing sectors
The building sector is linked to 40% of total EU greenhouse gas emissions. Electricity use in houses and buildings for services such as lighting,
space heating and cooling, and electricity for equipment is the largest source of CO2 emissions in this sector.
The building sector offers the largest single potential for improvement of energy efficiency. Research shows that more than one fifth of current
energy consumption could be saved by 2010 by applying more ambitious standards to new and refurbished buildings. This represents a
considerable contribution to meeting the Kyoto targets. The social and economic impact of climate change mitigation measures for the most part
seem positive for this sector. The introduction of lowcost, energy-efficient technologies, such as low-energy lighting, insulation materials, more
efficient heating and cooling systems and household equipment, has a huge employment creation potential in manufacture, installation, advisory
services and service provision. Some energy-saving improvements, such as insulation programmes, are very labour intensive. The more widespread
use of renewables will lead to more work in installation services such as the installation of solar energy systems during the construction of buildings.
As the experience in Germany shows (see box below), combining efforts to mitigate climate change with the retrofitting of existing buildings can lead
60
to a reduction in emissions and create the new jobs that are needed in the sector in Europe. A study commissioned by the European Foundation for
the Improvement of Working and Living Conditions (ECOTEC, 1994) found that adopting energy-saving technologies could create 500,000 extra jobs
in the European Union.
Because of these interests, the European Federation for Building and Wood Workers (EFBWW) supported the Kyoto Protocol as well as one of the
vital components of the European climate policy, the EU Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings, in force since January 2003. The
Directive requires Member States to establish minimum standards for energy performance for both new buildings and major refurbishments of
existing large buildings.
The EFBWW recognises that improving sustainability in the building sector has some other direct consequences. Improving the environment, for
example, can simultaneously lead to an improvement in health and sectoral safety records. Furthermore, sustainable construction can only be
achieved by a capable, well-paid workforce, which makes investing in skills and knowledge necessary. And lastly, sustainability may improve the
image of the sector and attract new workers. In addition, the option of including social and environmental clauses in public procurement contracts –
one of the advances made in the new EU Public Procurement Legislation adopted in 2004 – is viewed by the unions as a major opportunity to
promote sustainable development, especially in the construction sector.
The transport sector
The sector is the fastest growing consumer of energy and producer of greenhouse gases in the EU. Technology and fuel improvements have
resulted in marked decreases of emissions of certain pollutants but these will not be able to offset the increased emissions from projected transport
growth.
In this context, the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) recognizes the need to increase the share of environmentally friendly modes of
transport; this is also a strong focus of the Commission’s view on the future EU transport policy (2001 White Paper on European transport policy for
2010: Time to decide). However, the trade union federation is aware of the fact that the competitive advantages of road transport are largely due to
the fragmentation of the sector – a lot of small and medium-sized companies
offer services of transport of goods – and the availability of cheap and flexible labour.
So how can we promote the use of more sustainable forms of transport while at the same time bearing in mind the working conditions of lorry drivers?
Imposing a tax on Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) for the use of certain roads may be a satisfactory response, provided that companies do not
compensate the resulting cost increase by cutting wage costs, for example, by extending driving hours and reducing drivers’ rest hours. This is why
the federation is calling for income generated by taxation to be used also to fund better monitoring of the application of social legislation, in particular
rules on driving and rest time and working hours. The ETF welcomes the political will shown by the Commission to rebalance the distribution of
modes of transport by revitalising the railways, but it stresses that policy on liberalisation will not make it possible to recover market share lost by rail.
In any case, the ETF demands that a high level of
safety be maintained in the European rail transport sector.
In the view of the trade unions, efficient, environmentally friendly urban transport is crucial to a sustainable transport system. Accordingly,
liberalization policies must guarantee that public authorities have the option of subsidising this type of transport. Sustainable mobility is also the
responsibility of companies, specifically with respect to their employees traveling between their home and the workplace. This is an area where the
unions are making ever greater efforts.
61
TITLE: ICEM World Conference on the Chemical Industries – Background Document
Chapter on Occupational Health, Safety and Environment
SOURCE: International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions
Is available also in Deutsch and Russian in: http://www.icem.org/
Health, Safety and Environment

“Workers and the public must take a more active role in monitoring and contributing to chemical safety management discussions. To facilitate this,
good data from industry on health and environmental impacts must be made more widely available. Policies need to be established to ensure that
this information is reliable, and presented in a way that is useful to all potential users for decision-making, including workers, the general public and
non-OECD countries.” (OECD ‘Environmental Outlook for the Chemical Industry’, 2001)
Over the entire life of a chemical product (from “cradle” to “grave”) there is the potential for negative impacts on both humans and the broader
environment:
• First, as a user of raw materials (e.g. natural gas, coal and coke, minerals, fuel oil, liquefied petroleum gas) as sources of energy and feedstocks,
the chemical industry can have major impacts on the supply of non-renewable resources.
• As these sources of energy and feedstocks are in general based on hydrocarbons, their combustion can lead to emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2)
– a greenhouse gas – and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), as well as nitrogen oxides (Nox) which contribute to the formation of tropospheric
ozone and “smog”. Global CO2 emissions from the chemicals industry are small part of total CO2 emissions, but these are projected to increase in
the future.
• Processing the raw materials and feedstocks can result in the release of hazardous pollutants to the environment (e.g. benzene emitted from a
chemical plant) as can their actual use, either by other industries or consumers (e.g. benzene in petrol emitted during the fuelling of automobiles).
• Hazardous waste can be generated by the chemicals industry as a by-product of manufacturing and from products that work their way through the
supply chain and are eventually disposed of after final use.
• Consumption of water in the chemical industry is large compared to other industries – though not compared to agriculture.
• Comparatively little information exists on hazardous chemicals sold in commerce and used in countless products. This means that there are
potentially many chemicals whose risks are neither being evaluated nor managed because the necessary information to do so is not available. For
products, more information usually exists for new industrial chemical formulations and pesticides, but not for the much greater number of existing
chemicals.
• Increased production of chemicals in developing countries will often be the concern of OECD-based multinational corporations. Given the usually
lower health, safety and environmental standards, and the frequently poorer human and trade union rights standards in these developing countries, it
is essential to ensure that multinational corporations do not shirk their responsibilities.
‘Best standards’ do not mean protectionism
It has become commonplace for free market apologists to claim that the demand by unions from highly developed countries for globally applicable
health, safety and environmental standards amounts to a severe restriction on the market. Unions have sometimes been accused of ‘protectionism
dressed up as concern for health and the environment’. It is very important to ensure that this accusation does not go unchallenged. There are a
number of very good reasons why the ICEM has put globally applicable health, safety and environmental standards at the top of its list of
priorities. These include:
• Ensuring that poor health, safety and environmental standards in some parts of the world are not used to role back or resist high standards in other
countries
• Ensuring that developing countries are able to develop in ways, which – as far as possible – obviate the need for them to repeat the mistakes,
made during industrialisation in the earlier industrialising countries
• Recognising that the majority of the ICEM’s industries are highly resource intensive, often highly polluting and also frequently dangerous. For this
reason, they are already at risk of serious backlash from NGO’s and local communities. For these industries to remain secure and to provide jobs
well into the future, they will increasingly have to demonstrate very high health, safety and environmental standards – wherever they operate.
The ILO Conventions on Safety in the Use of Chemicals at Work and the Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents
There are two major ILO Conventions (both of which are accompanied by relevant ILO Recommendations) of particular relevance to the chemical
sector. These are:
1. Convention concerning Safety in the use of Chemicals at Work (Convention 170), which was adopted on 25 June 1990 and came into
force on 4 November 1993, and
2. Convention concerning the Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents (Convention 174), which was adopted on 22 June 1993 and came into
force on the 3 January 1997.
Ten years after adoption, Convention 170 has been ratified by only nine countries: Brazil, Burkina Faso, China, Colombia, Mexico, Norway, Sweden,
United Republic of Tanzania and Zimbabwe); seven years after adoption, Convention 174 has been ratified by only five countries: (Armenia,
Colombia, Estonia, Netherlands and Sweden).
There is much more that unions could do to lobby their governments to ratify these two ILO Conventions.
For some people, health, safety and environmental safety are ‘non-negotiable’ issues. In reality, resources for health, safety and the environmental
protection have to be fought for against a background of competing demands. This necessarily leads to questions about priority-setting, decision-
62
making, resource allocation, etc. In other words, precisely those things that have always been, and remain, the natural focus for negotiation for trade
unions.
Trade unions have from the beginning been involved in negotiating for higher workplace standards – including health, safety and environmental
standards. The difference today is that with the advent and prolific expansion of multinational corporations, such negotiations have to be carried out
at the international level - even though they still need to be applied, enforced and monitored at the local level.
There is nothing intrinsically unethical or unprofessional about negotiating for the best possible health, safety and environmental standards. The real
issue is; who does the negotiating, and how can the negotiations be carried out in a fair and transparent manner?
At the international level, the ICEM needs to ensure that the global chemical industry operates in accordance with globally high standards of health,
safety and environmental performance. This has been the rationale for the ICEM involvement in discussions and negotiations with the International
Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) concerning the chemical industry ‘Responsible Care’ initiative – probably still the largest voluntary industry
initiative in the world. Whilst progress on the draft Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) on Responsible Care is currently stalled, the ICEM remains
convinced that there are benefits for both unions and the chemical industry in reaching a joint ICEM/Industry global agreement on Responsible Care.
Along with the ICEM/ICCA cooperation concerning Responsible Care, the ICEM is also actively pursuing the development of global company
agreements. These will follow the general pattern set by the agreements already signed with Statoil and Freudenberg and will aim to establish the
principle that companies operate to the same high standards wherever in the world they are located and agree the necessary joint
union/management structures to ensure that this happens.
The Globally Harmonised System of Chemical Classification and Labeling (GHS)
The UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED, or ‘Earth Summit’) in 1992 identified the harmonization of classification and labeling
of chemicals as one of six action programs in Chapter 19 of UNCED Agenda 21. Its objective was: "…a globally harmonized hazard classification
and compatible labeling system (GHS) including material safety data sheets and easily understandable symbols, should be available, if feasible, by
the year 2000." In several international fora, countries have continued to stress the importance and urgency of meeting the UNCED objective. For
them, international harmonization will: (a) enhance the protection of mankind and the environment by providing an internationally comprehensive
system for hazard communication; (b) reduce the need for duplicative testing and evaluation of the hazards chemicals; (c) eliminate the barriers to
international trade in chemicals whose hazards have been properly assessed and identified on an international basis; (d) provide a recognised
framework for those countries not having an existing system.
The ICEM has been involved in the Coordinating Group dealing with the Harmonisation of Chemical Classification Systems (CG/HCCS) from the
beginning. This harmonization work has been overseen by the Inter-Organisation Management Committee (IOMC) whose members are: FAO, ILO,
IMO, OECD, UNEP, UNIDO UNITAR, WHO) recognising that:
(a) the overall level of protection offered to workers, consumers, the general public and the environment should not be reduced as a result of
harmonizing the classification and labeling systems;
(b) the hazard classification process refers only to the hazards arising from the intrinsic properties of chemical elements and compounds, and
mixtures thereof, whether natural or synthetic;
(c) harmonisation means establishing a common and coherent basis for chemical hazard classification and communication, from which the
appropriate elements relevant to means of transport, consumer, worker and environment protection can be selected;
(d) the scope of harmonisation includes both hazard classification criteria and hazard communication tools, e.g. labeling and chemical safety data
sheets;
(e) changes in all existing systems will be required to achieve a single globally harmonized system; transitional measures should be included in the
process of moving to the new system;
(f) the involvement of concerned international organisations of employers, workers, consumers, and other relevant organizations in the process of
harmonization needs to be assured;
(g) the comprehensibility of chemical hazard communication tools, by the target audience, e.g. workers, consumers and the general public needs to
be addressed;
(h) test data already generated for the classification of chemicals under the existing systems, should be accepted when reclassifying these chemicals
under the harmonised system;
(i) a new harmonised classification system may require adaptation of existing methods for testing of chemical substances and mixtures;
(j) in relation to chemical hazard communication, the safety and health of workers, consumers and the public in general should be ensured while
protecting confidential business informaton, as prescribed by the competent authorities.
The GHS is now almost finished and, beginning next year, there will need to be a concerted effort to publicise it and to encourage governments
around the world to adopt it as a ‘ready made’ or ‘off-the-shelf’ system for ensuring that chemicals are properly managed in their countries.
63
TITLE: WATER IN PUBLIC HANDS
SOURCE: PSIRU Commissioned by Public Services International
Working Group: Public access to Resources & Services
Is available also in: http://www.psiru.org/reports/2001-06-W-public.doc
Preface
PSI is the global confederation that represents the world’s water workers, through our 587 affiliated unions in 146 countries. Those workers are
intimately involved in, and deeply concerned by, the decisions taken by politicians and water managers.
Decision-makers are now under increasing pressure to contract the operation of water systems to the private sector, usually through a concession or
management contract. The water division of the World Bank, the multinational water companies themselves, and bodies such as the Global Water
Partnership have all argued that the solution to water problems is always in the private sector – whether it is called privatisation, public-private
partnership (PPP) or private sector participation (PSP) .
This orthodoxy is now virtually compulsory for developing countries. Both the World Bank and the IMF impose privatisation in some form as a pre-
condition for funding water and sanitation. The institutions are saying, in the words of Mrs Thatcher: ‘there is no alternative’.
PSI is publishing this guide as a counter to these theoretical and commercial publications which advocate a central role for the private sector . This
guide is the result of research conducted by the Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU) at the University of Greenwich in the United
Kingdom. It is based on extensive empirical observation of what has happened in the field over the years. It shows simply the problems
experienced with private sector involvement, and also the real achievements of public sector water and sanitation systems. Finally, it shows the
potential for development and capacity-building through using the experience and know-how of the public sector, through public-public partnerships
(PUPs).
PSI believes that this analysis demonstrates why the private sector should not dominate decision-making. Water and sanitation systems are
essential in sustaining life, in social progress, and for economic development. Access to water should not be left to market forces, which affect too
heavily the basic questions of who gets water (only those who can afford to pay), the impact of water decisions on the environment, and a range of
other questions. Water should remain a public good, owned and operated by the public sector.
Hans ENGELBERTS
General Secretary
Public Services International
June 2001
Executive Summary
Many organisations encourage developing countries to privatise water through some form of public-private partnership (PPP) or private sector
participation (PSP). The alternative of a public sector water undertaking (PWU) is ignored, although public sector water undertakings are the
providers of water and sanitation services for the great majority of the population in developed countries.
Ignoring this option means that the main competitor to any of the private companies is being excluded. Yet there is evidence of problems with PPPs,
and evidence that the public sector can successfully operate PWUs in developing countries, which the booklet sets out. Decision-makers are
advised to follow three rules:
- Always construct and consider a public sector option.

- Always evaluate any PPP proposal against a public sector option, in a public process.
- Avoid secret agreements and secret contracts.
There have been problems with privatised management of water systems through all forms of PPPs, whether concessions, leases, management
contracts, or build-operate-transfer (BOTs). These include:
- a lack of competition, with two globally dominant multinational companies

- higher prices, often caused by privatisations used to make debt reductions
- difficulty in terminating unsatisfactory concessions
64
- poor results from private management
- private sector reluctance to extend water and sanitation access to the poor
- multinationals use of water profits to subsidise other global investments
- difficulty in regulation, lack of transparency, secrecy and cases of corruption
Public authorities have been able to operate successful PWUs in transition and developing countries, as well as in developed countries.
- PWUs score well on efficiency indicators, and have better public support
- a PWU can take various forms, ranging from a department to a corporatised body
- transparency, accountability and defined managerial autonomy can be built in
- business plans and pricing policies can include a range of cross-subsidies
- PWUs can turn around their finances and improve collection of bills.
Examples of good practice by PWUs are drawn from cities in a diverse range of countries, including Sao Paulo, Brazil; Debrecen, Hungary;
Lilongwe, Malawi; Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
Raising finance for investment is a key issue for any water undertaking. A range of sources is available to both private and public sector operators,
including internally generated surpluses, government grants or loans, bank loans and bond financing, and aid agencies. Special municipal
development funds may also be used. The development banks, including the World Bank, can and do make loans for investment by PWUs, but
conditionalities may create a political obstacle. Lenders use defined criteria for making loans. PWUs may be able to get loans on terms as good as
the private sector.
Where there is a need for managerial capacity-building it can be done through ‘public-public partnerships’ (PUPs), without the need to hand control
to the private sector. These are twinning arrangements which linked established public sector providers with PWUs in need of restructuring. There
are successful examples of PUPs in transition and developing countries, especially in the Baltic states where financial packages were often arranged
as part of the PUP.
Table of abbreviations
ADB Asian Development Bank
AFDB African Development Bank
BOT Build-Operate-Transfer
BOTT Build-Operate-Train-Transfer
DBSA Development Bank of Southern Africa
EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
EIB European Investment Bank
EU European Union
IADB Inter-American Development Bank
IFI International Financial Institutions
IMF International Monetary Fund
INCA Infrastructure Finance Corporation Limited (South Africa)
ISDB Islamic Development Bank
MDF Municipal Development Fund
NIS Newly Independent States (countries of the former Soviet Union)
O&M Operations and maintenance
PPP Public-private partnership (usually private concession or lease)
PSP Private sector participation (private concession, lease or management contract)
PSI Public Services International
PUP Public-public partnership
PWU Public Sector Water Undertaking
WB World Bank
Introduction
Challenges, objectives and decisions

In most countries, water undertakings face a similar set of challenges and objectives. They include:
• Infrastructure – reducing leakage, replacing and extending networks, improving technology i
• Social and political – improving coverage, affordability, higher standards, transparency, accountability
• Environment and health – public health needs, environmental management, conservation of water
• Financial – sustainable and equitable tariffs, effective revenue collection, financing investment
65
• Managerial – improving efficiency and productivity, capacity building, efficient procurement
In the last 10 years many organisations have promoted privatisation, invariably through a concession or lease arrangement on the French model
(sometimes described as a public-private-partnership – (PPP)), as the way forward for urban water supply and sanitation. This is the position taken,
understandably, by the multinational water companies, and is the dominant view in the World Bank.
The purpose of this booklet is to show that the challenges facing developing and transition countries can be met by restructuring and development of
water undertakings within the public sector – providing a public service directly owned and controlled by a democratically elected authority. It is
based on actual cases.
It is intended to complement the existing literature on water and sanitation, much of which concentrates on the question of how to privatise
management through PPPs - but does not spend much time discussing whether it is in fact the best of the possible options.
Decision-makers need information on alternatives which can be considered, in order for rational choices to be made. But this cannot be fulfilled if the
only option presented and considered by most public authorities is some form of privatised management. The alternative of a public sector water
undertaking (PWU), historically the most favoured model, is ignored. Ignoring this evidence means that the main competitor to any of the private
companies is being excluded.
This booklet offers three simple messages for sounder decision-making:

- always construct and consider a public sector option
- always evaluate any PPP proposal against a public sector option, in a public process
- avoid secret agreements and secret contracts
The public sector water undertaking is a necessary option.
Public sector is normal
In developed countries, the public sector is the normal mode of management of water supply and sanitation services. The table shows the picture
for the EU – everywhere except for the UK and France, water supply is predominantly public sector managed. In the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia
and New Zealand the picture is the same – privatisation or public-private partnerships (PPPs) are the exception.
Table: Water supply in EU countries by public or private (including mixed) management, 1996
(percentage of population supplied by each type)
66
PUBLIC PRIVATE
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
the urg
Au s
mb ly
d
y
Fin al
Sw nd
Ge ark
Gr e
Po ria
De um
en
ce
UK
ain
nd
an
lan
nc
ta
g
la
ee
st
ed
rtu
o
nm
lgi
Sp
rla
rm
Fra
Ire
Be
xe
Ne
Lu
Source: Eureau: Management Systems of Drinking Water production and Distribution Services in the EU Member states, 1996.
67
TITLE: A Trade Union Guide to Globalization – Chapter 6, the social responsibility of business.
SOURCE: INTERNATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF FREE TRADE UNIONS (ICFTU)
Is available also in: http://www.icftu.org/pubs/globalisation/globguide.html
Globalisation has led to increased concerns about the relationship of business with the rest of society. These concerns have sparked a debate over
the social responsibilities of business, stemming from both positive and negative causes. On the one hand, many, both in the business community
and among the general public, consider that business can have a constructive role to play in addressing today’s most pressing social problems.
There is a lot of interest in the “public-private partnerships”, whereby business supports projects that address the needs of the wider society, while at
the same time serving its own objectives. Examples would be business initiatives to tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic or to provide quality training.
On the other hand, much of the momentum behind the debate arises from a growing public distrust of global business. All too often today, it is
threats to relocate that define the relationship between multinational enterprises and communities. Public distrust is being fuelled by a culture of
greed, as revealed through the seemingly unending series of scandals, involving corporate malfeasance and criminality, victimizing both workers and
shareholders alike. Many rightly question whether, given this long series of bad examples, many companies have any sense of responsibility or
loyalty towards workers and communities. Another source of public distrust is the frequency of media reports (often well-founded) concerning the
exploitation of workers in developing countries by companies.
Most of the situations that gave rise to the debate over the social responsibilities of business relate, in one way or another, to the failure of national
governments to fulfil their role or, at the international and intergovernmental level, to the failure to develop international rules governing the behaviour
of business. Some argue that, as the power of companies has grown relative to the power of governments, business should do more for society. The
problem, however, is that business activity can never replace the role of government. Nor can it protect all interests in society. It is the role of
governments to ensure that contracts are fair and honoured, that debts are paid, that consumers are not cheated, that the environment is protected,
that products are safe, that human rights are respected, etc.
In the end, the demand that business do more is not as important as the demand that governments make business more accountable. The main
foundation of business accountability is law and regulation. These laws will usually be found at national level (although in some federal countries,
such as the United States, many of the most important laws are at the state level). This chapter begins with a discussion of the role that only
government can have in holding business accountable to society. It focuses on the institutional and legal framework of corporate governance as one
of the most important means for government to hold management accountable to both the shareholders and society as a whole. The concept of
corporate social responsibility (CSR) is often confused with the concept of the social responsibilities of business. Both concepts are explained and
contrasted. Many of the challenges of CSR for trade unionists are reviewed, including the attempt to have it substitute for the role of governments or
for collective bargaining, the dangers of private standard-setting in the social area, and the challenges associated with rating companies, as well as
the challenges involved in deciding what companies should report on to the public, as considered by the Global Reporting Initiative.
The two most important international standards concerning the social responsibilities of business, the OECD Guidelines and the ILO MNE
Declaration, are described. There is a discussion of the role and responsibilities of business with respect to human rights. The subject of codes of
conduct is explored, and the difference between codes that apply to suppliers of a company and those meant to apply to a company’s own
operations is explained. Finally, the positive and negative experiences of working with the UN Global Compact are considered.
Corporate governance and accountability
There are many ways through which governments can hold business accountable. In addition to direct regulation, which obliges the company to
perform (or refrain from) specific behaviour, governments also provide the legal frameworks within which a wide range of desirable behaviour is
encouraged and facilitated. These frameworks set the “rules of the game” within which private activity takes place. One of the most important legal
frameworks is the one that establishes corporate governance. Because corporations can control most of the productive assets, i.e. labour and capital,
the system of corporate governance should be central to any consideration of the social responsibilities of business.
The rules and regulations for corporate governance apply to organisations that are joint stock organisations with limited liability, that is, to
organisations that are shareholder-owned. Because these organisations, which are called corporations, are collectively owned by various
shareholders, it is necessary for owners to delegate control to a different party, the management. A corporate governance framework defines the
relationships between management and the owners of the corporation, i.e. its shareholders. Corporations are brought into being as fictitious
individuals by becoming “incorporated”. This legal incorporation is essentially a license, granted by government, to individuals who seek to act
together according to certain rules. The government, in granting this license, is obliged to ensure that the corporation is accountable internally
to its constituents, usually considered to be its owners and management (and sometimes its employees).
The government must also protect the interests of others, external to the corporation. Governments allow corporations to become established
because they serve purposes that, although of value to individuals, are also of value to wider society, such as the creation of wealth. The
government is, therefore, obliged to ensure that the corporation’s activities are at least consistent with the needs of the society under whose laws
it is established or permitted to operate. One important part of the corporate governance framework is the issue of disclosure of information. This has
both an external and an internal dimension. The external dimension involves the public reporting of financial information, based on the application
68
of accounting and reporting standards that companies have to respect. Among other things, this information is essential for financial markets to work
properly. The internal dimension of disclosure concerns the Board of Directors and, in particular, the balance of power between executive directors
(the management) and the non-executive directors on the Board.
Both dimensions are important for workers and trade unions. Externally, receiving true and fair financial information is necessary for collective
bargaining, as well as for making investment decisions related to pension funds. Transparency of financial information is also essential for the
protection of the integrity and stability of the financial market as a whole. The internal dimension is also important. The organisation of the Board of
Directors should ensure that the interests of all constituencies of the company are properly taken into account. This includes not just the interest of
the shareholders, but also of the workers who contribute their human capital, as well as deferred compensation in the form of their pensions, to the
success of the company. Stealing is not the same thing as creating wealth. The corporate collapses and corporate scandals of recent years involved
corporate insiders abusing their knowledge or authority in such a way as to betray their obligations to workers and shareholders in order to enrich
themselves. Their manipulations were based on conflicts of interest that, while often illegal acts, were not being dealt with adequately by the existing
corporate governance system.
This corporate misbehaviour has been partly responsible for the increase in intergovernmental co-operation over corporate governance issues,
mainly with a view towards protecting shareholders and financial markets. The interests of other stakeholders have, regrettably, received less
attention. In 1999, the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance were adopted. These were revised in 2004. The OECD and the World Bank have
agreed to work jointly in this area. TUAC has represented the trade union interests at many of these discussions, with significant results with respect
to the rights of stakeholders. However, in spite of this work, the potential for corporate governance reform to provide a powerful check on
management abuse is not yet fully realised.
Industrial relations and accountability
Another important legal framework for holding business accountable is the system of industrial relations under which collective bargaining takes
place. Collective bargaining remains the most important private means to ensure that business activity has a positive social impact. Having good
industrial relations is one of the most important social responsibilities of companies. Collective bargaining shares an essential idea with corporate
governance: that a company does not consist of its management alone. Even though collective bargaining usually takes place without any
government involvement, a legal framework, established by the government, is important in order to sort out who the parties are to engage in
collective bargaining. This framework is also needed in order to ensure that the rights of workers to bargain collectively are respected by the
employer. Without a supporting legal framework, collective bargaining may not realise its great potential to make businesses behave responsibly.
Without the framework, collective bargaining itself may not even be sustainable.
International accountability
Because of globalisation, there is now much more pressure on governments to cooperate, at the international level, in order to increase the
accountability of business in several areas. One such area concerns standards of accounting and reporting. In this area, work is ongoing at different
levels, such as the OECD, the EU, and the UN. Another area at the international level is corruption, which has been the subject of
much intergovernmental cooperation in recent years. Most of this discussion has been on bribery by business. This has led to the adoption of the
OECD Convention on Bribery of Foreign Officials, which came into force in 1999. In addition to that, the UN has, in 2003, adopted the UN
Convention against Corruption.
What corporate social responsibility (CSR) really means
Over the last few years, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has emerged as a concept that has had great influence on how many people think
about the social responsibilities of business. It has become a big part of the debate on both globalisation and sustainable development.
It is important to know that “corporate social responsibility” is not the same thing as the “social responsibilities of business.” Nor is it the same thing
as what some think the social responsibilities of business should be. CSR is about what management does, usually unilaterally. CSR is, therefore,
not the same thing as regulation or the other legal frameworks that hold management accountable.
Although there is no single definition of CSR, the following elements are widely accepted as being the most important elements of the concept:
• CSR is about voluntary actions of management.
• CSR is concerned with the role of management. It is about management initiatives, management systems, and about how management manages
social impact. Usually, it involves work that managers already do: measuring and improving performance.
• CSR is, more often than not, about activities that are considered “above or beyond” compliance with the law. Where it is about activities that fall
within the scope of law, CSR assumes compliance with the law.
• CSR concerns the ongoing and regular activities of a business and does not deal with unrelated philanthropic activities, such as giving money to
charities.
• The essential idea of CSR is that management should take into account the impact of ongoing business activities on all of those affected by its
activities. It is one kind of business ethics. CSR can be contrasted with other concepts of business ethics, such as the one that stresses that the sole
moral duty of management is to increase the wealth of the shareholders, or with those concepts of business ethics that are based on religious values.
• In the language of CSR, those affected by the activities of a business are referred to as “stakeholders”. CSR is about how an enterprise identifies,
engages, and reports on its performance to its “stakeholders”.
CSR also goes by other names – notably “corporate responsibility” (CR), “social responsibility” (SR) and “Corporate citizenship”. Sadly, much of what
is called CSR is just “PR” (Public Relations).
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• Campaigning for the inclusion of non-economic criteria in the awarding of public procurement contracts;
• Campaigning for legislation that protects whistleblowers;
• Campaigning for export credit agency reform, so that they take social and labour standards into account.
The current concept of CSR has many sources, one of which is concern over the environment. It is no coincidence that CSR has been described as
“the business contribution to sustainable development”. This is why CSR is often organised along the three dimensions of sustainable development –
economic, environmental and social – as identified by the United Nations ‘Earth Summit’, in 1992.
Many of the ideas associated with CSR were inspired by environmentalists. This is also true for the “business case for CSR”, which is the idea that
responsible behaviour can be financially sound. The “business case” concept is based on the experience that less pollution can result in an “eco-
efficiency” that saves money. The approach to identify the impact of all affected by business activity (the “stakeholders”) also reflects ecological
thinking.
Furthermore, CSR emphasises the “voluntary private initiatives” and “public-private partnerships” that now take a prominent place in the sustainable
development policies of many governments. In "public-private partnerships", business supports projects that address the needs of the wider society,
while, at the same time, serving business objectives. In this sense, because they now also serve business interests, these projects are very different
from traditional philanthropy. CSR is more than fashion or a hot topic - it has given birth to an industry of consultants and enterprises selling CSR
services to companies. It has also become a part of the work - and policy - of many governments, as well as of intergovernmental organisations,
such as the OECD and the European Union. Many NGOS have devoted much attention to the CSR idea. Some NGOs have even been created for
this sole purpose. In addition, business organisations and “multi-stakeholder” organisations, consisting of business and NGOs, have been created to
advance one or more aspects of CSR. CSR is both a concept and a phenomenon. It is shaping the environment in which trade unions must work. It
is not something to be embraced, rejected or ignored. Trade unionists must take a nuanced approach and recognise both the dangers and
opportunities in CSR.
Who are the real stakeholders?
CSR has popularized the term “stakeholders”, which is now used extensively when the relationship of business to the rest of society is considered.
The term is, therefore, exerting a strong influence on our thinking. Unfortunately, its meaning has changed and, as the word is most often used, it
obscures more than it clarifies relationships. The term “stakeholder”, which has an important use in the debate over corporate governance,
was intended to contrast with the term “shareholder”. In this view, stakeholders, like shareholders, are those that have an identifiable interest in the
success of a corporation. As with shareholders, the interests of stakeholders need to be taken into account. In this sense, workers and communities
can often be considered as important stakeholders in specific companies. In the new CSR language, however, the meaning of the term ‘stakeholder”
changed to include anyone that is affected, in any way, by the activities of business. The term no longer referred to a specific party in a specific
relationship. In its new use, it is not expected that stakeholders name the specific company in which they hold a “stake”. In practice, the term usually
is used as just a synonym for “organisation”, or for “NGO”.
Sometimes the term replaces words such as “workers”, “consumers” or “environmentalists”. In these cases, the term has less meaning than the
words that it is replacing. There is a moral dimension to stakeholders’ claims in the term’s earlier and more precise use. The reason why claims of
stakeholders should be taken into account is that it is in the interest of society. The interest of society as a whole includes, among other things,
secure employment, the fairness of contracts and financial transparency. Some claims are going to be more important than others in this regard.
One implication of this is that not every stakeholder is equal and therefore not entitled to the same treatment. These important distinctions are rarely
appreciated by those using the term in its newer, broader and less meaningful sense.
It is not possible for companies to identify and engage all of their “stakeholders”, especially if the term is used in this broad sense. The practice has
become for companies to engage with NGOs, as surrogates for the real stakeholders. This is regrettable as only rarely are these organisations
genuine representative organisations. Many of them do not have any meaningful stake in any specific company. Trade unions, which are among the
most important representative organisations in society, are usually treated as ‘just one of many’ stakeholders. Worse, they are often overlooked. The
result is that the term “stakeholder”, ill-defined as it is, may help business avoid responsibilities. As an example of how this term has become
misused, a few representatives of democratic governments have begun to refer to citizens as “stakeholders.” Because these citizens have voting
rights, it would be more accurate to consider them as “shareholders” when making any such analogy.
What the social responsibilities of business really are
The social responsibilities of business are the set of widely accepted expectations on how business should behave. These are the expectations of
society as a whole. They can come in the form of laws or they can take non-legally binding forms. They can be legitimately defined in both formal
and informal ways. For instance, they are set out formally where a democratic government, acting as the instrument of the entire society, adopts
laws or regulations. They can also exist informally as widely shared cultural values expressed in various ways.
Sometimes, these social responsibilities are identified through social dialogue or tripartite consultation. At the international level, the two most
important sets of expectations concerning the social responsibilities of business, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the ILO
Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, are in the form of non-binding, but universally applicable
instruments. Business does not have the legitimacy to unilaterally define its social responsibilities with respect to the rest of society. This is true even
where the activities go beyond legally binding obligations. CSR, which is about what business does and about what it wants to do, must therefore not
be confused with what society wants business to do.
CSR and the proper role of government
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It is extremely important for trade unionists to clearly identify CSR as the voluntary concept it is - and not to treat it as a synonym for “the social
responsibilities of business”, which may or may not be defined in legally binding ways. One reason to make the distinction is that CSR is often seen,
by governments and corporations alike, as a substitute or alternative to governmental regulation. CSR has therefore also become part of another
debate, one concerning the role and responsibilities of government. This debate is usually over liberalisation, deregulation and privatisation.
Many promoters of CSR are advertising CSR as something demanded by the public.
However, what the public is more likely to be demanding is greater accountability to the government, which is not what CSR is about.
There are many reasons to have binding rules concerning the social responsibilities of business. One is that there is not always a “business case” for
responsible behaviour. In today’s competitive business environment, “doing the right thing” can sometimes be a real liability. Instead of arguing that
there must always be “a business case for CSR”, companies should recognise that CSR can not replace legal frameworks and regulations.
Today, some national governments, and even the European Union, are considering making certain CSR practices (such as “social responsibility” - or
“sustainability” - reports) legal obligations. Should this happen, these activities should no longer be considered CSR activities, as they would no
longer be management driven. One potential danger is that CSR might not only substitute the role of governments but also become a substitute for
trade unions and collective bargaining.
Private standard setting and its dangers
It should be clear that business must not be allowed to unilaterally determine its social responsibilities. The problem is, however, how to prevent this
from happening, given that the current interest in CSR is providing many opportunities for business to do precisely this.
CSR activities are already being used to reinterpret or redefine existing obligations and responsibilities. In many cases, the reason is to make it seem
as if a company’s responsibilities and obligations are less than what they already are. For example, managers will, when describing their social
responsibilities with respect to employees, almost never mention their responsibility to have good industrial relations. Nor will they explain the
benefits to society of collective bargaining. This is even true for companies that have good collective bargaining relationships.
However, overlooking responsibilities is only one of the ways used by business to avoid responsibilities. Responsibilities can also be redefined. This
often happens through formal statements such as company codes of conduct, or responsibility guidelines or principles. Another way to redefine or
reinterpret responsibilities is through the various forms of standard setting, as found in many CSR initiatives.
Very few of the public pronouncements on social responsibility by companies, or business organisations, whether they are called “principles”,
“guidelines”, “statements”, or “codes”, will mention trade unions or collective bargaining. In some cases, “freedom of association” is included in a
longer list of human rights. However, even then, it is not always made clear that this freedom includes the right of workers to form or join trade unions.
Where freedom of association is mentioned, it is usually qualified in some way, such as by adding “where lawful”.
One example of putting a “spin” on existing obligations is the pledge in the Global Sullivan Principles for Corporate Social Responsibility to respect
“our employees’ voluntary freedom of association.” What is wrong with the language in this misleading code is that it suggests that not all kinds of
“freedom of association” need to be respected. The meaning of Freedom of Association is well documented by the ILO and is understood by human
rights experts. The expression “voluntary freedom”, as well as the implication that there is such as thing as “involuntary freedom”, is absurd.
CSR has resulted in a lot of new standards. Some standards are intended to meet the needs identified by management in carrying out company
CSR programmes. Other standards are demanded by “stakeholders”, who want management to be able to prove that it is doing the right thing.
These new standards are, most of the time, set by voluntary organisations that are created for this purpose. These organisations usually involve
business and other organisations. They can therefore be considered a form of “private standard setting”. The new private CSR standards come in
two kinds. Some concern process, which is about how something should be done. Others concern substantive matters, which is about what should
be done. As to the first kind, CSR involves many processes. These include identifying social impact, measuring it, identifying ‘stakeholders”,
engaging them, measuring performance, as well as reporting results. There is a big demand by business for “management systems” and other
“tools” that can be used by management for these processes. One example of a CSR process standard is the AA 1000 which purports to provide
guidance for companies on “stakeholder engagement.”
The second kind of standard involves substantive matters and concerns the scope of CSR. CSR can involve such a wide range of subjects that it
would be difficult, if not impossible, to make an exhaustive list. Such diverse subjects as air quality, product safety, discrimination or corruption - to
name only a few - can all be considered as possible aspects of CSR. These same subjects can be broken down into further subjects that could also
be treated as aspects of CSR. (For instance, the subject “corruption” can be broken down into subjects such as “tax evasion” or “bribery”). Subjects
become aspects of CSR after the desirable or appropriate behaviour of management with respect to the subject has been identified. For example,
where air pollution is the subject, then the CSR aspect of air pollution could be the responsibility of management to monitor and report factory
emissions. Deciding which subjects are more important, and how they should be treated as aspects of responsible business behaviour, can also be
a form of standard setting. Private standard-setting in the social area can be, in the eyes of business, merely an extension of work they are already
doing through technical standard setting. One example of this technical standard setting is the standardisation of products in order to make them
interchangeable between brands. Another example is where every product is made in exactly the same way, so as to assure customers of product
quality. This kind of standard setting is associated with the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), as well as with the national
standards organisations that exist in most countries. Most of these are affiliated to the ISO. It was, therefore, not a surprise when, in 2004, the ISO
decided also to get involved in setting standards in the area of social responsibility.
The processes that are associated with this kind of ISO standard setting have, in recent years, been imitated by other organisations. As a result,
there are now many newly established “standards” that deal with various aspects of sustainable development or ethical behaviour.
Many of these standards are created so that a company or a product can be “certified”, as being in compliance with the standard. Being certified
usually means that an “independent” organisation, authorised for this purpose, has “determined” that a company’s performance meets the criteria
from a standard. A company can, once it is certified, then publicise its certification in advertising or in its “sustainability report.” In other cases
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certification means that a company is authorised to put a label on its products, informing users that the product, or a process involved in making the
product, complies with the standard.
Standards or criteria are also used (or invented) to judge companies so that they can receive social responsibility “awards”. Such awards are
increasingly bestowed by NGOs on their corporate donors, by business organisations on their members or by commercial enterprises, such as
business magazines, on their business customers.
Who decides when a business is being “socially responsible”?
Much of this ISO-imitating private CSR standard setting is self-serving and involves the wrong people who are, more often than not, self-appointed.
The processes often involve unrepresentative organisations claiming to be “stakeholders.” Many of these organisations do not have any meaningful
“stake” in any corporation. Others do have a “stake”, but only in the sense that they receive significant financial support from companies. Not
surprisingly, many corporations find it more comfortable to engage in dialogue with these organisations than with other, more genuine, parts of
civil society.
The most serious problems occur where already existing and clearly legitimate standards, such as those on trade union or other human rights, are
reinterpreted or overlooked with a view to obtaining business support (“obtaining corporate buy-in”). The mere fact that it is possible for private
initiatives to develop CSR tools for management does not mean that these initiatives have the legitimacy either to identify the interests of society or
to determine what the relationship between business and society should be. Only democratic governments, or institutions such as the ILO, which
have the most representative organisations as constituents, have the legitimacy to formally set the social standards that deal with these questions.
72
TITLE: ICFTU RESOLUTION A 21ST CENTURY APPROACH TO OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY FOR TRADE UNIONS
SOURCE: ICFTU 18TH CONGRESS
Is available also in: http://congress.icftu.org
1. Congress condemns the fact that over two million women and men die each year as a result of occupational accidents and work-related diseases,
an average of more than 5,000 people every single day. Across the globe, there are some 270 million occupational accidents annually and 160
million workers suffer from occupational diseases. The cost amounts to some 4% of gross world domestic product every year.
2. Congress denounces the conditions imposed by a neo-liberal form of globalisation which induces the replacement of safe and healthy workplaces
in one part of the world by more dangerous working environments in others. The aftermath of the Bhopal, India chemical factory accident 20 years
ago, which so far has killed over 20,000 people is a vivid reminder that the protection of workers’ health and their compensation for injuries are still
only a distant reality for the vast majority of the world’s population.
3. Action is needed to stop the social dumping that can result from the export of work processes, machinery and chemicals or chemical products for
use in workplaces of recipient countries. Increased vigilance and concerted initiatives are needed to prevent the appalling number of worker fatalities,
injuries and illness that result from new and existing chemicals and products, such as asbestos and persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
4. Dangerous working methods and machinery present a particular threat to workers’ safety, particularly where old and unsafe machinery is exported
to developing countries. Moreover, the rise in precarious working conditions and informal employment world-wide is bringing about a generalised
increase in occupational risks, especially in small and medium sized enterprises where the rate of occupational injuries is markedly higher.
5. Congress reaffirms that one of the most effective measures that has been shown to reduce injury and illness is the involvement of workers and
their representatives in all aspects of health and safety. The increased protection that trade unions provide constitutes a major benefit from trade
union membership. The right to join a trade union confers the right to health and safety at work.
6. Congress pledges the ICFTU to strengthen occupational health and safety for all workers, especially for vulnerable groups, and to get
governments, employers and international organisations to do the same.
7. The ICFTU and its member organisations must work to promote international and national initiatives between the social partners and at the
tripartite level as part of their efforts to promote health and safety at work and the well-being of workers.
ICFTU Action Programme
8. Congress instructs the ICFTU and regional organisations, working together with Global Unions partners and affiliates, to:
a) strive for the right to decent, safe and healthy work to be recognised as an inalienable right for all workers and the cornerstone of a civilised
society;
b) assist unions in obtaining the ratification and full implementation of ILO instruments related to health and safety and the well-being of workers,
particularly ILO Convention 155, the Occupational Safety and Health Convention;
c) support the development of a new ILO promotional instrument on occupational safety and health based on the conclusions of the 2003
International Labour Conference discussion on this theme, which would promote the concept of “preventative safety and health culture”, workers’
rights for union safety representatives, union rights for access to workplaces and protection from victimisation for raising safety concerns;
d) work to promote programmes for the improvement of health and safety standards in all countries, to use collective bargaining to protect
occupational health and safety, and to prevent competition from undermining progress in occupational health and safety anywhere;
e) promote training and education at the national level, and the establishment and enforcement of safety standards for dangerous machinery and
practical safety measures for workers using machinery or other potentially dangerous technological processes or products, especially for the most
vulnerable groups like young and aging workers, as well as women;
f) ensure that workplace practices protect the reproductive health of men and women, do not cause infertility and do not harm the health of future
children;
g) ensure that migrant workers have the training and health and safety measures, suited to their situation and special needs, so as to have equal
protection at the workplace as others;
73
h) ensure that all workers have access to trade union safety representatives who have the right to inspect workplaces, see all relevant information,
and stop production if there is a risk to health or safety;
i) broaden unions’ understanding of and response to musculoskeletal and repetitive strain injuries (which are particularly common among women
workers), including through supporting the negotiation of a new instrument of the ILO and working for those suffering from such occupational
diseases to be entitled to national employment injury compensation and benefits;
j) develop union actions to address mental difficulties and stress at work, with its negative impact on mental and physical health;
k) increase unions’ actions against violence in the workplace, particularly to prevent violence against women and sexual harassment;
l) encourage cooperation between the ILO and the World Health Organisation (WHO), particularly in order to review the ILO’s list of occupational
diseases, and further endeavour to ensure that lists of occupational diseases at national level are fully comprehensive and up-to-date and that such
diseases are compensated;
m) promote the provision of occupational medicine and specified centres for occupational medicine;
n) support trade union involvement to achieve the best possible outcome at important forthcoming international meetings including the XVIIth World
Congress on Safety and Health at Work in September 2005;
o) work for the principle of Prior Informed Consent (PIC) in the export of chemicals and dangerous products;
p) support legislation to provide adequate information concerning all chemicals (both existing and new) used in production processes, through
measures such as those included in the proposed REACH regulation in the European Union;
q) campaign for a total world ban on the use and commercialisation of asbestos; promote ratification of relevant ILO Conventions; work with affiliates
to apply pressure on national governments to cease the further use of asbestos; ensure proper, strengthened, safeguards to protect workers and
communities that are or will be exposed to asbestos products; and implement employment transition programmes for workers displaced by the
banning of asbestos, including economic support for regions that are particularly affected;
r) support and seek resources for just employment transition programmes wherever safety and health measures have negative impacts on working
people;
s) work to ensure fair compensation payments and continuing adequate assistance for victims of occupational illnesses and accidents, and
specifically, support its affiliates in India to achieve proper resolution of unresolved compensation issues for workers affected by the Bhopal disaster;
t) support the right for all workers to a smoke-free workplace;
u) strengthen efforts by trade unions to promote precautionary and prevention principles and measures in corporate and in government programmes,
together with effective and rigorously enforced inspections systems, while opposing exemptions from health and safety legislation for small and
medium-sized enterprises or for certain public sector employers;
v) demand the establishment of enquiry procedures, which must include trade union representatives, in the event of worker fatality or serious
occupational injury;
w) focus on the extent and gravity of death at the workplace by supporting or promoting campaigns for the implementation of corporate legal liability
on the part of business and of state bodies for the health and safety of their workers;
x) promote world-wide recognition of 28 April as the International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers, as a way of educating workers
and the public about workplace hazards and to promote safe and sustainable workplaces, whilst retaining the specific character of 28 April as a day
primarily led by trade unions;
y) maximize effective trade union co-operation, including through exchanging information and trade union know-how and full use of the technical
resources of the European Trade Union Technical Bureau for Health and Safety (TUTB) and other such institutes;
z) encourage governments, intergovernmental bodies, trade unions and all other relevant bodies to build and strengthen occupational health and
safety institutions, practices and services through measures to promote sustainable workplaces and communities.
74
TITLE: TU comments to the PrepCom SAICM 2005
SOURCE: ICFTU
Comments by The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)

Ms. Estefania Blount (CC.OO. – Spain) – 19 September, 2005
Thank you Chair,
The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions speaks for 145 million workers from 154 countries and territories, both developed and
developing.
We consider SAICM to be a very important process because we know that chemical substances have a huge impact on workers’ health and well-
being. Workers are the most exposed population to chemicals, as evidenced by the such stark examples as the exposures to asbestos.
We are not only exposed to them at our workplace, within the production and service sectors. We are also exposed to them in our communities,
through overall environmental contamination and as consumers. Therefore, our interest is to support and promote a strategy that addresses both the
workplace and the community, including workers, as well as mothers and children.
We are of the firm belief that the only way to reach the year 2020 goal for protecting public health and the environment from chemical risks is through
the implementation of binding international and national instruments.
Also, we recognize that the implementation of SAICM will be most effective where chemical substances are mostly used – in the world’s workplaces.
There, workers and their unions have an important role to play. They are in a position to exercise well-learned skills, as they already have
considerable experience in promoting the safe use of chemicals, through a variety of means, be they collective agreements or other voluntary
measures with employers to improve the quality for health, safety and environment.
However, to capture the full potential of our skills, experiences and our position in production, a framework that guarantees workers’ access to
information, freedom to organize and to participate in decision-making is a prerequisite.
The Plan of Action can, therefore, be improved.
Our affiliates call on SAICM to become a vivid Strategy for reaching the year 2020 goals, which governments from throughout the world have
adopted in Johannesburg. The following elements in the Global Policy Strategy should be strengthened:
• The elimination of the most dangerous substances CMR??, DE??, PBT?? and heavy metals. Trade unions have begun a world campign to
ban the uses and commerialisation of asbestos.
• Concrete measures are needed to ensure effective implementation and follow-up to SAICM,
• The precautionary principle must be clearly applied to matters dealing with multiple exposures to chemicals,
• The role of wokers and trade unions must be incorporated as crucial elements, and
• Financial instruments, involving new and addtional resources must be identified, especially through the full internalisation of costs.
Including these elements would help garantee the aplicación of the “polluter pays”, principle. Moreover, doing so would prevent SAICM from
becoming irrelevant.
From the ICFTU’s point of view, the full impacts of implementing SAICM must be well understood and addressed, including the loss of local
employment that might result from eliminating certain sustanstances.
In general, we welcome the three discusión documents. We believe they constitute a good basis for discusión this week and we thank those who
contributed to their production. The ICFTU is committed to this process and is pager to participate in the successs of what we hope will be an
abitious strategy for implementation.
For the sake of future generations, we cannot but support any opportunity to help take giant steps toward the sustainable management of chemical
substances.
Thank you
75
TITLE: Responsible Business – a UNI guide to International Codes of Practice - Introduction
SOURCE: Union Network International (UNI)
Is available also in: http://www.uni.org/
Introduction
The anti globalisation pressure that has come to such prominence recently is one result of the campaigns and many years of effort that has been
exerted by UNI and the workers from affiliated unions in trying to influence the behaviour of the companies for which they work. On the one hand,
there is the very clear financial pressure coming from the stock market, the banks and those who provide the capital. On the other hand, there are
pressures on companies not to act solely in line with their short-term financial interests. Part of this pressure comes from unions, organised at
national, regional and global level. But companies are also influenced by governments, nongovernmental organisations, particularly campaigning
groups, like Greenpeace and Amnesty International, and public opinion itself.
There is substantial evidence that recently this pressure is growing, that more and more people are unwilling to see the financial interests of
individual companies winning out over the wider interests of society. The demonstrations at Seattle, Prague and Nice and the criticism of much of
“globalisation” are one indication of this. Another is provided by the consumer boycotts that have followed revelations of the human rights,
employment and environmental practices of some of the world’s biggest brands.
As a result there is renewed interest in guidelines and codes of practice that seek to regulate the activities of individual companies. Codes of practice
of this sort are not new. They stretch back at least as far as the period around the Second World War. There was a further increase in interest in
the late 1960s and 1970s, when many felt multinationals needed to be controlled – a view reinforced by the role of US multinational ITT in the anti-
democratic coup in Chile in 1973. The second half 1990s saw a renewal of interest in the possibilities provided by codes of conduct. As a result a
large range of different codes and guidelines, some adopted by individual companies, some taken up by trade associations or industrial sectors, and
some with a much wider level of support have been produced. This document looks at the most important current guidelines, principles, declarations
and codes of practice relevant to the operations of multinational companies and is divided into three sections:
? An introduction to the most important codes and guidelines in existence
? Identifying the key issues that can be taken from the codes and guidelines
? A suggestion of the action that can be taken on the codes including examples of existing
good practice
The aim throughout is to concentrate on those issues which are most relevant to UNI unions and in doing so provide a valuable guide to UNI unions
on which Codes of Conduct may be appropriate to use in a particular circumstance.
Responsible Business? –A UNI guide to International Codes of Practice
As explained in the Forward to this document, it was originally written for UNI to assist the more than 600 European works council in existence. Of
these more than 100 are in areas in which UNI organises. This means that since the European works council directive was adopted in September
1994 something like half of all the companies which could be obliged to set up European works councils have actually done so. This is a
considerable success for the trade unions at both European and national level, who have been the prime movers in the process.
Trade unions are still heavily involved in establishing European works councils in those companies, where they have not been set up, despite being
covered by the directive. Often these are smaller companies, sometimes with a tradition of hostility to employee representation, so this is
not an easy task. However, as well as this, unions are beginning to devote more of their efforts to helping existing European works councils to
function effectively. This includes providing advice and support for individual European works councils often through a nominated trade union officer,
providing training for their members, and developing as more general trade union policies on their objectives and goals.
European works councils and their members need to be aware of the most important of these codes and guidelines because, even though they are
not legally enforceable, they may have an impact on the companies they work for. More significantly they may be useful to European works
councils in strengthening their position and that of those they represent. They can also help the European works councils to play a more effective
role on a wider stage.
76
TITLE: Electricity liberalisation: The beginning of the end (Introduction)
SOURCE: PUBLIC SERVICES INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH UNIT (PSIRU)
Is available also in: http://www.psiru.org/reports/2004-09-E-WEC.doc
Introduction
The World Bank is finally beginning to admit its ‘one-size-fits-all’ policy of privatisation and liberalisation of electricity industries is not the perfect
solution it was claimed to be. In June 2004, the World Bank’s chief economist, François Bourguignon, admitted ‘there was probably some 'irrational
exuberance' in recent years on the potential benefits of privatization’5. The President, James Wolfensohn also said that ‘the Washington
Consensus6 [the 1989 international agreement that paved the way for privatisation and liberalisation of utility industries] has been dead for years’7.
How far this is a genuine and welcome change of heart or whether it is a pragmatic response to current realities is not clear. Electricity privatisation,
as the World Bank concedes is widely unpopular now and, as it also acknowledges, foreign investment in electricity industries has dried up as US
and European electric utilities lick their wounds from massive losses on foreign investments not only in developing countries but even in ‘safe’
environments like the UK. So, privatisation is no longer politically or practically an option in many cases.
The European Commission, one of the most vocal advocates of competition in the electricity sector, talks big on competition but its acts speak of a
distrust of the market and belief in planning and private sector oligopolies. In 2003, it introduced a new Electricity Directive (EC/2003/54/EC) with
much stronger requirements on competition. However, its proposed Directive (COM (2003) 740 final) on security of supply in electricity re-imposes
many of the old planning functions for the electricity industry on government. It has also designated electricity as a ‘service of general economic
interest’, placing requirements on governments about price, quality and accessibility that no genuinely free market can possibly guarantee to deliver.
Nevertheless, this apparent recognition that competition and electricity supply do not mix is not all it seems nor does it mean the clamour for reforms
will disappear. There are many vested interests that will continue to promote the idea. Consultants will continue to advise governments to opt for a
liberalised model. Coopers & Lybrand in its notorious ‘world tour’ of the mid-90s found that a model almost identical to the 1990 UK reforms was
appropriate for a range of countries with as diverse needs as Brazil, Ukraine and Colombia. Commodity trading houses now have a new product,
electricity futures, to play with, while oil companies have found secure new long-term markets for natural gas displacing national fuel supplies. Not
last, the International Financial Institutions (IFIs) such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be loath to give up one of their main tools for
governments to generate income to repay loans to them.
The free trade lobby also has its sights on electricity through the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). Developed countries or groups
of countries such as the USA and the European Union are putting immense pressure on developing countries to open up their electricity industries to
foreign investment. This is a commitment that once made cannot be withdrawn no matter how badly reforms go. Ironically, as argued above, the EU
and US electricity companies have no current interest in taking up the opportunity to invest in developing countries at present, but it is an option for
the future and if an industry cannot be closed, governments will not be able to take control of entry and exit and cannot ensure supply and demand
balance.
Even if the IFIs were to stop placing conditionality clauses requiring privatisation on their loans, national governments will read the World Bank’s
papers and see their contempt for publicly-owned monopoly companies and will believe that privatising utilities will ingratiate them with the banks
that they depend on for financial support.
The power of the rhetoric of privatisation with the public should not be forgotten, such that even though the case against privatisation and
liberalisation is so strong, the public may still be supportive. Who could be against ‘consumer choice’, ‘reforms’, ‘liberalisation’, ‘breaking
monopolies’, ‘opening up markets’, ‘introducing the discipline of private sector competition’? And who would want ‘centralised planning’, ‘publicly
owned monopolies’ and ‘government regulation’?
This raises at least three important questions:
• What is the World Bank’s current position?
• Why does the liberalised competitive electricity model not work? and
• What policies should governments now follow towards their electricity industry?
5 World Bank (2004) ‘Credible Regulation Vital For Infrastructure Reform To Reduce Poverty, Says World Bank’ Press release, June 14, 2004.
6 The main lines defined in this ‘Consensus’ are: The elimination of institutional barriers blocking foreign capital; The privatisation of Government-run enterprises (whether strategic or
not); The end of Government monopolies; The energy sector viewed as a mere producer of a simple commodity, eliminating its strategic character from discussion; The efficiency and
competitive edge of national output as a way of being included in what is known as globalisation.
7 http://www.southcentre.org/info/southbulletin/bulletin80/bulletin80-03.htm
77

Backgrounder To The Trade Union Assembly On Labour and The Environment (Sustainlabour, 2006)

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Agenda 21 (Working groups: Occupational, Environmental and Public Health 2

TITLE: AGENDA 21 - SELECTED CHAPTERS

Is available also in: http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/index.htm in Russian, Arabic

Agenda 21: Chapter 6

PROTECTING AND PROMOTING HUMAN HEALTH

6.2. The following programme areas are contained in this chapter:

E. Reducing health risks from environmental pollution and hazards

B) Scientific and technological means

C) Human resource development

Agenda 21: Chapter 9

B. Promoting sustainable development

1. Energy development, efficiency and consumption

Basis for action

Agenda 21: Chapter 18

A. Integrated water resources development and management

Basis for action

A) Financing and cost evaluation

B) Scientific and technological means

C) Human resources development

Agenda 21: Chapter 19

19.4. Six programme areas are proposed:

Agenda 21: Chapter 29

B) Strengthening participation and consultation

29.11. Trade unions should:

A) Financing and cost evaluation

Agenda 21: Chapter 30

Basis for action

30.10. Business and industry, including transnational corporations, should be encouraged:

B. Promoting responsible entrepreneurship

Basis for action

Financing and cost evaluation

Is available also in: http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POIToc.htm

122 See A/51/312, annex II, decision II/10.

126 See E/CN.17/2002/PC.2/15.

128 FCCC/CP/1997/7/Add.1, decision 1/CP.3, annex.

Is available also in: http://www.chem.unep.ch/saicm/repdocs.htm

DECISION ADOPTED BY THE GOVERNING COUNCIL AT ITS SEVENTH SPECIAL

The Governing Council,

10. Invites the World Summit for Sustainable Development3 to:

6th meeting - 15 February 2002

Is available also in: http://www.pops.int/

STOCKHOLM CONVENTION ON PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS

The Parties to this Convention,

Conscious of the need for global action on persistent organic pollutants,

Have agreed as follows:

Is available also in: http://unfccc.int/files/essential_background/application/pdf/infokit_02_en.pdf

Foreword more >>

Understanding the climate system

Facing the consequences

The Climate Change Convention

Limiting greenhouse gas emissions

Facts and figures

Climate Change Information Sheet 15

Climate Change Information Sheet 18

Is available also in: http://www.ilo.org/vpidocuments/IO_ILO11.htm

Is available also in: http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/convdisp1.htm in Russian, Arabic, Chinese,

The General Conference of the International Labour Organisation,

Is available also in: http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/

Is available also in: http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/index.htm

BEIJING DECLARATION ON RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Is available also in: http://www.wateryear2003.org/en/