RECENT COVERAGE BY IISD REPORTING SERVICES

.

.
COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT MEETS FOR FIRST SUBSTANTIVE SESSION AFTER WSSD, ADOPTS MULTI-YEAR PROGRAMME OF WORK
28 April – 9 May 2003 | UNHQ, New York
Meeting for its first substantive session since the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, took decisions on its organization of work and multi-year programme of work. The CSD adopted as its new work programme, a series of two-year action-oriented Implementation Cycles, with a Review Session and a Policy Session in each cycle. Each two-year cycle is expected to consider a thematic cluster of issues and a suite of cross-cutting issues, with the upcoming 2004/2005 cycle focusing on water, sanitation and human settlements. The CSD also decided on the modalities for reporting, partnerships and enhancing UN system coordination and Major Groups contributions. Delegates further adopted a decision on the preparations for the 10-year review of the Barbados Programme of Action on the sustainable development of small island developing States. Click here for Earth Negotiations Bulletin’s coverage of this meeting.

.
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE ADDRESSES PROTECTION OF FORESTS IN EUROPE
28-30 April 2003 | Vienna, Austria
The fourth Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe convened recently, adopting the Vienna Living Forest Summit Declaration, “European Forests - Common Benefits, Shared Responsibilities,” and five Resolutions on: strengthening synergies for sustainable forest management (SFM) in Europe through cross-sectoral cooperation and national forest programmes; enhancing the economic viability of SFM in Europe; preserving and enhancing the social and cultural dimensions of SFM in Europe; conserving and enhancing forest biological diversity in Europe; and climate change and SFM in Europe. Other highlights included: the opening of an international exhibition “Forest.Art”; a multi-stakeholder dialogue; and a signing ceremony for the Vienna Declaration. Click here for Sustainable Development's report of this meeting.
.

RECENT MEETINGS

.
LEGAL EXPERTS DISCUSS THE ROLE OF THE JUDICIARY IN THE IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
9-10 May 2003 | Rome, Italy
Judges and legal experts from around the globe met to advance the implementation of the WSSD’s Johannesburg Plan of Implementation as it relates to the role of the judiciary in achieving sustainable development. The meeting also centered on the UNEP Global Judicial Symposium and on furthering progress on the recommendations made at the IUCN/UNEP European Judges Symposium held in London, UK in October 2002. More information.

FIRST SESSION OF THE OPEN-ENDED WORKING GROUP (OEWG-1) OF THE BASEL CONVENTION
28 April – 2 May 2003 | Geneva, Switzerland
Established at the sixth Conference of the Parties of the Basel Convention, the Open-Ended Working Group of the Basel Convention met recently for its first session to assist the COP in developing and reviewing the implementation of the Convention’s work plan. The OEWG considered a range of issues relating, inter alia, to: the Strategic Plan for the implementation of the Basel Convention; the compliance mechanism; the preparation of technical guidelines on the environmentally-sound management of POPs as waste; the sustainable partnership on the environmentally-sound management of end-of-life mobile telephones; and follow-up to the WSSD. At the meeting, more than 100 Parties agreed to fund a first batch of 15 projects designed as the first step in the implementation of the new 10-year Strategic Plan . More information.

ECOSOC CONVENES HIGH-LEVEL MEETING WITH BRETTON WOODS INSTITUTIONS AND WTO
14 April 2003 | New York
Convened as a follow-up to the Monterrey Consensus of the International Conference on Financing for Development, the high-level meeting of the Economic and Social Council with the Bretton Woods institutions and World Trade Organization (WTO) met on 14 April 2003 in New York. In addition to representatives from ECOSOC, the Bretton Woods institutions and the WTO, ministers of finance and development cooperation, governors of central banks and heads of international organizations participated in the meeting, which considered “Increased coherence, coordination and cooperation for the implementation of the Monterrey Consensus at all levels one year after the Conference.” More information.

WTO EXAMINES MEAs and TRADE RULES
1-2 May 2003 | Geneva, Switzerland
The WTO Special Session of the Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) resumed its efforts recently to clarify the relationship between the WTO rules and specific trade obligations in several multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). At this meeting, WTO Members were particularly concerned with identifying what constitutes a “specific trade obligation” (STO), yet reached no definitive conclusions on how to do so. The CTE also discussed how decisions taken at MEA Conference of the Parties (COPs) should be considered within its deliberations of the WTO-MEA relationship, but, again, no decisions were taken on this issue. More information.

.
WORLD BANK AND IMF RENEW COMMITMENT TO MDGs AT ANNUAL SPRING MEETING
12-13 April 2003 | Washington, DC
The World Bank’s Development Committee and the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) International Monetary and Financial Committee held its annual spring meeting recently to discuss issues related to poverty reduction, international economic development and finance. In a final meeting communiqué, the World Bank and the IMF renewed their commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and global efforts to reduce poverty. More information.

CMS CONCLUDES MOU AND ACTION PLAN FOR AQUATIC WARBLER
29-30 April 2003 | Minsk, Belarus
An international meeting, held recently in Minsk from 29-30 April 2003, finalized and adopted a Memorandum of Understanding and Action Plan concerning Conservation Measures for the Aquatic Warbler under the auspices of the Convention on Migratory Species. The MoU expresses countries’ intentions to identify, protect and manage sites where the Aquatic Warblers breed, rest on migration, or spend the winter. Conservationists see the MoU as a significant milestone in the protection of this globally threatened bird and its habitat. More information.
.

CONFERENCE CONSIDERS POLICY AND PRACTICE OF FOREST CERTIFICATION
25-29 March 2003 | Vancouver, Canada
This meeting centered on seven panels, which discussed an update on the strategic directions of the four leading North American forest certification programmes; forest certification implementation strategies; lessons learned from the implementation of SFM and certification; key issues concerning forest certification in British Columbia; three perspectives on the driving forces of forest certification; the customer’s perspective on certification; and concluding perspectives on the conference. More information.
.

MEDIA REPORTS

.
US AND CANADA INITIATE WTO PROCEEDINGS AGAINST THE EU ON GMOS
On 13 May, both Canada and the US filed separate official requests for consultations with the EU over its de facto moratorium on the approval of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Argentina and Egypt have expressed their intention to follow. The countries allege that the moratorium poses an unjustified trade barrier in violation of WTO Agreements. More.
.
WTO AND UNCTAD ENHANCE COOPERATION IN TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
WTO and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) have recently signed a MoU, establishing a legal framework for technical assistance cooperation between the two organizations. The specific purpose of the partnership is to help enhance the implementation of the Doha Development Agenda, improve development, and integrate LDCs into the global economy. More.
.
EU INTRODUCES STRICTER CHEMICAL REGIME
The European Commission has introduced what many observers describe as “radical” new proposals to managing chemicals. These proposals are aimed at minimising human health and environmental impacts of the more than 30,000 chemicals that are produced, imported or used in Europe. More. 
.
US STUDY CALLS FOR TIGHTER LIMITS ON LEAD
A recent study contends that even low levels of lead exposure may have an impact on the intelligence of children, and suggests that current guidelines on exposure levels are probably not sufficiently tough. More.
.
LEBANON TO HOST WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has announced that Lebanon will host this year’s World Environment Day, the first Arab nation to do so in the event’s 30-year history. More.
.

.
GEF COUNCIL ADOPTS OPERATIONAL MODALITIES ON SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT
At its May 2003 meeting, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council adopted operational modalities on sustainable land management, designating land degradation, primarily desertification and deforestation, as the Fund's fifth focal area. More.
.
NEW INITIATIVE PROMOTES VOLUNTEERISM FOR SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT
On 8 May, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) and the Secretariat of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification launched a joint initiative to tackle both youth unemployment and land degradation in Cape Verde. More.
.
NEW WEST AFRICAN REGIONAL STRATEGY DEALS WITH CLIMATE CHANGE AND DESERTIFICATION
General preparedness of the countries of West Africa to climate variability and change is low, even when they already feel the impacts of desertification. It is also a region where many of the rivers are shared by different countries. In such a context, effective mitigation of the impacts of climate change can only be achieved if countries work together on the management of their shared water resources. More.
.
UNESCO-IHE JOINS WORLD BANK'S GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT LEARNING NETWORK
The UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education in Delft, the Netherlands has become the newest member of the World Bank-supported Global Development Learning Network, focusing on water resources management programmes. More.
.
GEF ANNOUNCES MORE FUNDING FOR WATER PROJECTS
The GEF has announced plans to contribute US$400 million to address critical global water problems over the next four years, bringing the international environmental financial organization’s total investment for water issues to more than $1.37 billion. More.