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At
the conclusion of the Habitat II Conference, Under-Secretary
General Nitin Desai visited with the ENB team in Istanbul. In this
interview he speaks on the significance of Habitat II in relationship to
the other conferences during this decade. He speaks of their role in defining
development cooperation and the "appropriate space" for public
policy. Desai also talks about the emphasis of local action, the role of
local authorities and the identification of "good practices"
as we are moving into an implementation stage.
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| Marcela
Nicodemus of Brazil chaired the drafting group that reached an agreement
on the right to adequate housing for the Habitat Agenda. She spoke Saturday
8 June with ENB editors Kira Schmidt and Steve Wise about the process of
reaching agreement, the shift in positions and flexibility since PrepCom
III and the potential impact of the agreement on national housing policies.
(total length: 7:07) |
Nicodemus said the impact of Habitat II agreeing on a right to adequate housing will depend on how governments implement the decision in their own policies. |
| Shafqat
Kakakhel of Pakistan was elected chair of Committee I. Also serving
as chair of the Committee's Working Group I, Kakakhel is overseeing the
negotiation of the Habitat Agenda, the main output of Habitat II. He spoke
Friday, 7 June with ENB editors Peter Doran and Steve Wise about his frustration
with the slow pace of negotiations, the lack of substantive disagreements
and the likelihood that delegates will need to extend their work into the
high level session set to begin on Tuesday.
(total length: 6:50) |
Kakakhel said he is disappointed but not hopeless about progress in negotiation of the Habitat Agenda |
Sreenivasan said there are a number of ways to solve the disagreement about economic growth and sustainable development, and Habitat II much choose among them. |
Amb. T.P.
Sreenivasan is High Commissioner of India to Kenya and is serving as
the spokesperson for the G-77/China in Working Group II, which is responsible
for negotating financial and implementation issues in the Habitat Agenda.
He spoke Wednesday 5 June with ENB editors Lynn Wagner and Steve Wise about
the roots of the ongoing debate over the priority of economic growth within
sustainable development, the need to resolve the issue within the context
of human settlements and its relationship with other undecided matters
at Habitat II. (total length: 5:20) |
T�pfer (center) consults with other delegates at Habitat II |
Former German Environment
Minister and Chair of the Second UN Commission on Sustainable Development
Klaus T�pfer spoke 2 June with Earth Negotiations
Bulletin Editor Peter Doran after Sunday's informal consultations prior
to the official opening of Habitat II. T�pfer discussed the need to develop
a "politically binding agreement" in Istanbul, the relationship
between human settlements and security, and the prospects for results from
the Conference. (total length: 6:40) |