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Reflections on CSD-16
Reflections on CSD-16


CSD Workshop in Ottawa
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

CIELAP is organizing its Fourth Partnering for Sustainability workshop to be held over two days in Ottawa in the late fall of 2008. This workshop will bring together multiple stakeholders to share case studies, lessons learned, best practices, constraints, challenges and opportunities, on the theme of land-use planning and management for sustainable development with respect to agriculture. The event will foreshadow and feed directly into the UN’s Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD) process. The thematic areas of the CSD’s 2008/2009 review and policy cycle are agriculture, rural development, land use, drought, desertification and Africa.

CIELAP’s workshop will help stakeholders better understand the benefits of this international forum and will give them the opportunity to input into Canada’s participation at CSD. CSD is the only global plenary session that applies a sustainable development lens to pressing international issues. The international forum provides Canadian sustainable development thinkers and decision-makers with the opportunity to interact; share successes and best practices; learn from other cast studies; bring divergent opinions together to help bridge differences; and advance policies and standards that set the stage for Canadian policy-making at national, regional, and local levels.
To get involved with the workshop or to ask any questions you may e-mail Carolyn Webb at carolyn@cielap.org

August 20, 2008 | 6:02 PM Comments  0 comments

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The Youth Major Group Goes to the World Youth Congress
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

This Friday I will be co-facilitating a workshop at the World Youth Congress on the role of youth at the Commission on Sustainable Development. The workshop is being organized by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the presenters include Tonya Vaturi (from the Major Groups Programme at UN DESA), Ivana Savic (fellow Youth Caucus Member), and myself. The goal of the workshop is to inform others about youth involvement in the CSD, and to mobilize and enhance youth participation in upcoming CSD meetings. I will follow-up from the presentation including any interesting points raised by workshop participants, as well as follow-up materials distributed in the workshop.

The following is a summary of the workshop:

The UN Commission on Sustainable Development Needs Youth

Involvement of today's youth in decision-making processes is essential to the successful implementation of sustainable development policies and programmes. The UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) seeks to advance the role of youth and actively involve them in the protection of the environment and the promotion of economic and social development. Agenda 21 states that “it is imperative that youth from all parts of the world participate actively in all relevant levels of decision-making processes because it affects their lives today and has implications for their futures. In addition to their intellectual contribution and their ability to mobilize support, they bring unique perspectives that need to be taken into account.”

CSD meetings consistently provide innovative spaces for the participation of youth and other major groups, with the overall purpose of informing the Commission’s decision-making processes. Youth infuse the CSD with new ideas and information, and present challenges that enrich the inter-governmental debate. They participate in interactive dialogues, develop coordinated statements through the CSD Youth Caucus, and lobby for particular initiatives that they feel should be supported. They also contribute significantly to sustainable development initiatives surrounding the CSD process.

This workshop will be comprised of a presentation on how youth can engage in CSD, followed by questions and discussion among participants. It is designed to highlight the role of youth in CSD and to mobilize action for increased youth participation in upcoming CSD meetings.




August 13, 2008 | 4:44 PM Comments  1 comments

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CSD Listserve in Canada
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

The following listserv has been put together because of an identified need to better collaborate organizing amongst Canadian major groups at the CSD. The listserv is managed through Taking It Global and was first discussed during a CSD major groups debrief call that was facilitated by the Canadian Environmental Network. Please consider joining our discussion if the information interests you.

Description:
The purpose of this group is to provide a forum for discussion among all individuals interested in Canada's role at the Commission on Sustainable Development. In particular, this listserve will enable Canadians active in the CSD process to connect, share resources, and identify opportunities for the Canadian Government to move forward at the CSD.

During the CSD, members can use the listserve to connect in person at the UN and to seek input from Canadians back home on pressing issues as they emerge.

Send a message: csdcanada@groups.takingitglobal.org
Subscribe: csdcanada-subscribe@groups.takingitglobal.org
Unsubscribe: csdcanada-unsubscribe@groups.takingitglobal.org

August 13, 2008 | 4:40 PM Comments  0 comments

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Bringing the dialogue home
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

It seems the best time for shaping a country position is not at the high-level conferences but before. And so the best way for civil society to try to collaborate with or influence the government delegation position is well before the CSD or the intergovernmental preperatory meetings (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/csd15/csd15_ipm.htm). CIELAP (the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy) will be hosting a stakeholder meeting in November for civil society to share their thoughts for the policy year of CSD-16 (http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/policy.htm).

There are a lot of issues to follow and be engaged with. News about the collapse of the salmon fish stocks is a clear reminder of how urgently we must sustain the earth - its systems, resources. If the CSD isn't the policy forum of choice for Canadian youth I think that is okay just as long as we are all engaged, and active, and concerned, and asking questions.






May 14, 2008 | 5:36 PM Comments  0 comments

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Chairperson Summary
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

The chair just released a summary of the negotiations so far. The single negotiating text is compiled by the chair after listening to the views of the delegates and major groups from the past week. The delegates and major groups then come together to review their concerns and suggested changes for a final version. Howard Raiffa writes about the theory behind this negotiation structure in the Art and Science of Negotiation.

In particular, a shout out to youth are made:

Para 240. "An energetic youth force is emerging that intends to hold Governments responsible for their commitments. Youth are increasingly integrated into Government delegations in some regions, and their presence as current and future producers and leaders has inspired progress in the creation of new outreach education programs in sustainable agriculture and rural development. Integrating sustainability themes into all levels of education is an important measure that would ensure that future generations are conscious of sustainable development."

May 13, 2008 | 6:07 PM Comments  0 comments

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