Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure
to welcome you to the first Regional Implementation
Forum on Sustainable Development hosted
by the United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe. The high attendance here today
is proof of the importance that the UNECE
member States attach to the issue of sustainable
development and of their willingness to
meet the dual purpose of this Forum, namely
to review the progress made in our region
since the World Summit on Sustainable Development
and analyse the remaining problems and challenges,
on the one hand, and on the other to contribute
to the review year of the Commission on
Sustainable Development.
Sustainable development
has been defined as "development which meets
the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs." It is based on inter-generational
solidarity and addresses the economic, social
and environmental dimensions of development.
In our discussions we have to keep all three
dimensions in mind.
The Commission on Sustainable
Development has decided to focus this first
cycle of its multiyear follow-up to the
Johannesburg Summit on water, sanitation
and human settlements. This Forum is, therefore,
a welcome opportunity to raise political
awareness about these issues, which play
an important role in sustainable development
and are very much relevant to the UNECE
region. UNECE is pleased to provide a forum,
not only to policy makers but also to the
many international, national and non-governmental
organizations that work on water, sanitation
and human settlements throughout our region
so that they can share their experiences.
Apart from this catalysing role, the United
Nations Economic Commission for Europe itself
also has much of experience and expertise
that it can contribute to other regions
and global processes.
The UNECE region is economically,
socially and environmentally very heterogeneous.
The water and sanitation problems that affect
it are many: poor waste-water treatment,
contaminated drinking water, water-related
disease, depleted groundwater resources
and water leakage, to name but a few.
An estimated 120 million
of its people do not have access to safe
drinking water and adequate sanitation.
As a result, they are also more vulnerable
to water-related diseases. The prevention,
control and reduction of such diseases,
therefore, remain important challenges for
many UNECE countries. To meet these challenges
improved water management is vital.
The water quality in rivers
and lakes has improved as a direct result
of better waste-water treatment. Nevertheless,
hazardous chemicals still make their way
into surface water, and, particularly in
Western and Central Europe, groundwater
is polluted with nitrates and pesticides,
and drinking water from shallow aquifers
does not always meet applicable health standards.
Many countries depend on
groundwater as their main source of drinking
water and are turning to deep aquifers to
meet demand. The measures taken to manage
demand for water and ensure its rational
use do not go far enough. More needs to
be done to protect the sources of drinking
water against both pollution and overuse.
On the positive side, there
has recently been a move towards a more
integrated approach to water management
in the region. Most UNECE countries have
embedded the "polluter pays" and the "user
pays" principles in their legislation. However,
passing legislation is not sufficient; tougher
action must be taken to enforce it.
Our region is fortunate
in having a legal framework, negotiated
under the auspices of UNECE, to address
transboundary cooperation on the environment.
Such international law-making is a good
example of what can be achieved when governments
work together with NGOs, the business community
and other stakeholders who will be involved
in implementation, enforcement and compliance
measures.
In human settlements, too,
the challenges are numerous: urban poverty,
social exclusion, homelessness, physical
decay, unsustainable production and consumption
patterns, inadequate institutional capacity
and lack of transparency in policy implementation.
UNECE countries with traditional
market economies have enjoyed strong economic
growth in the past decade. Generally speaking,
living standards there have improved. Yet,
the distribution of wealth from economic
growth is increasingly, in some of them,
uneven and this growing disparity between
rich and poor is also apparent in our cities.
Urban poverty has become a significant social
and political challenge.
Those most at risk of poverty
are the long-term unemployed, large or one-parent
families and people with little education.
They are increasingly isolated in our societies.
They have no access to essential services
and have little political say. Innovative
urban development policies will have to
contribute to poverty reduction which is
a comprehensive and complex task. Clearly,
it is not enough to help the poor survive;
inclusive social housing and empowerment
policies, employment policy, development
of services of general interest are required
to give them training, access to services
and job opportunities.
For the accomplishment
of this complex task, the role of local
governments is indispensable. Indeed, a
number of local authorities have succeeded
in achieving economically productive, socially
inclusive and environmentally sound cities,
and promoting sustainable production and
consumption patters. Some 6,400 municipalities
have accepted Local Agenda 21 initiatives,
advancing a culture of good practice and
excellence and promoting democratic governance
that responds to the needs of their communities.
In Central and Eastern
Europe, many responsibilities have been
decentralized and devolved to local authorities.
However, the funding that these local authorities
receive is not commensurate with their new
responsibilities and they themselves have
only limited fiscal powers. This is inevitably
eroding the quality of basic services, such
as water and sanitation services, household
waste management and public transport. To
overcome such shortcomings, some local authorities
are forming public-private partnerships.
Such arrangements provide for an efficient
delivery system, while at the same time
ensuring that the services are available
to all.
The wholesale privatization
of housing to the sitting tenants in these
countries has had mixed results. Homeownership
has increased -- in some countries to 90%
-- but many of the new owners do not have
the financial resources required for the
maintenance of their homes. This will lead
to further decay, which will eventually
become irreversible, particularly in prefabricated
high-rise buildings, where 40% of residents
in large cities live.
The large-scale privatization
of housing also means that there is less
social housing available for the poor. Throughout
the UNECE region, homelessness is now an
acute problem. It is estimated that in the
European Union and in the United States
alone some 6 million are homeless and another
23 million are inadequately housed. Homelessness
and inadequate housing in transition and
post-transition States is simply widening.
Too many people still live
on the margins of society. They have few
opportunities for contributing to their
local communities. It is clear, therefore,
that the search for effective urban regeneration
strategies to create job opportunities,
recycle brownfield sites and improve housing
and infrastructure must continue. This is
the way to deal with physical deprivation,
social exclusion and environmental degradation
at the level of local communities. To make
our cities more sustainable, urban planners
also have to recognize the need for compact
city planning with higher densities, mixed
communities, shorter commuting distances
and better services, including shops, schools
and leisure facilities. The goal must be
to foster economic and social prosperity
and support democratic governance.
The UNECE region is characterized
by major heterogeneity in water, sanitation
and human settlements developments. This
is an opportunity for less advanced countries
to learn from the experiences of more advanced
countries and share among themselves lessons
learned.
I very much hope that it
is in this spirit of cooperation and solidarity
that the round tables and debates of the
next two days will take place, so that the
UNECE region as a whole can assess the scale
of the sustainable development challenges
ahead and raise political awareness of them.
Finally, I also welcome
this opportunity to contribute to the upcoming
session of the Commission on Sustainable
Development. I strongly believe that input
from the regional commissions, including
from UNECE, constitutes a key contribution
to the global process, as it provides for
an exchange of experiences with other regions
and helps to anchor the global process in
regional realities. I am therefore looking
forward to a long-term partnership with
the Commission on Sustainable Development.
Thank you.
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