ENB @ GMEF-3: 14 February (day 3)

Day 3: Thursday, 14 February

Day three of GMEF-3 was spent in two parallel meetings - the Plenary and the Committee of the Whole - as well as in contact groups on: finance, a resolution on civil society, a resolution on chemical management, and a resolution on the Palestinian Territories. Open ministerial-level informal consultations were held throughout the day on International Environmental Governance. The consultations on the IEG met at 11 pm, and are expected to go through the night.

Committee of the Whole:
The Palestinian Resolution

< Tupuk Sutrisno (Indonesia), Chair of the COW.

Listen to several members of the Arab Group expressed their support for the resolution

< Israel described how the outbreak of violence in September 2000 resulted in the breakdown of cooperation with the Palestinian Authority.

Listen to Israel's statement

< Egypt presented its draft decision on the environmental situation in Palestine, which: expresses concern over continuing deterioration and destruction of the environment in the occupied territories, invites the Executive Director to visit Palestine as soon as possible, asks the Executive Director to designate a team of experts to prepare a desk study to outline the state of the environment and to identify major areas of environmental damage, and urges the Executive Director to establish a representative in Palestine.

Listen to Egypt's statement

< Palestine said that half a million trees have been uprooted, 150,000 animals killed and 150,000 wells destroyed since September 2000. He called upon the global community to assist the Palestinian Authority in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the territories.

Listen to Palestine's statement

In its impassioned reply to Israel's statement, Palestine noted that pollution was not limited to the valleys of the occupied territories, and that hazardous wastes were illegally buried in Palestine.

Listen to Palestine's rebuttal

THE OUTCOME: After informal consultations led by the Executive Director of UNEP, delegates reconvened for a short afternoon meeting of the COW where the resolution was adopted by consensus. This marked the first time in UNEP's history that a resolution relating to Palestine has been the object of consensus.

GMEF Plenary:
Contribution of UNEP to the WSSD

< Masumeh Ebtekar, Vice President for Environmental Protection of Iran, summarized many of the positions of the G-77/China on IEG.

Listen to Ebtekar's general statement on IEG

< A representative of the Civil Society Forum said democracy was a prerequisite for sustainable devlopment. She urged Ministers to include ethical considerations in their deliberations, and use a rights-based approach to sustainable development. She said that a failure at WSSD would result in great difficulties in obtaining funding for sustainable development in the future.

Listen to the Civil Society Forum's statement

< Nigeria made a detailed presentation of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), which commits African states to address: conflict resolution, macro-economic stability, peace and human rights, market reforms, education, promotion of the role of women, the enforcement of law and order, and agricultural development.

Listen to Nigeria's statement

< Germán Garcia-Durán, Delegation of Colombia, speaking on behalf of the G-77/China, asked that past commitments be reaffirmed and smechanisms to ensure their fulfillment established.

Listen to G-77/China's statement

Kicking off the day's work, Anderson said: "This is the time for focus (...) It is time for the frankness that generally comes at the end of our meetings." He urged delegates to not re-open agreed text, and use the papers by Miyingo, Roch and Ashe as the basis o f their discussions, which represent substantial amounts of agreement. He announced that Ministers Mayr and Meacher will be leading informal consultations on remaining issues of disagreement.

Listen to Anderson's statement

Klaus Töpfer, Executive Director of UNEP, outlined the contribution of UNEP to the WSSD. He highlighted: the third GEO report which will be published before WSSD PrepCom-IV; capacity building; proposal for the creation of a decentralized network for sustainable energy; and urbanization.

Listen to Töpfer's statement

< Mohammed Vali Moosa, Minister of the Environment of South Africa, discussed the direction in which he would like to see debates taken in preparation for WSSD. He urged a recommitment to, and not a renegotiation of, Agenda 21. He pleaded for agreement on a global compact to finance sustainable development.

Listen to Moosa's statement

< Canada described the Health and Environment in the Americas Region Ministerial Initiative, and said that it represented an important theme for WSSD.

Listen to Canada's statement

Hallways abuzz with informal consultations...

< Mohammed Vali Moosa, Minister of the Environment of South Africa (right) talking with UK's Michael Meacher, Minister of State (Environment) and Chair of the Ministerial consultations on IEG.

Above, and below: Töpfer consulting with Xie Zenghua, Minister of the Environment of China.