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Information Habitat: Where Information Lives

Proposed additions to Vice-Chairs' Paper on

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOVERNANCE AT THE INTERNATIONAL,
REGIONAL AND NATIONAL LEVELS^*

Presented to Working Group III at PrepCom 3, 2002.03.28
Proposed additions are in bold

3. In this context, the general framework for effective sustainable development governance should address the following, at all levels:

• Systematic use of information and communication technologies to enable coherent access to relevant agreements and laws and broad-based participation in consultation and decision-making.

10. A strategic partnership for implementation of sustainable development, should be formed at the highest level, between agencies and organisations of the UN system, international financial institutions and the WTO. ... An integrated document database should be maintained, making use of web-based links between all relevant international agreements and key UN documents relating to sustainable development.

12. There is a need to strengthen ECOSOC's role in promoting sustainable development through measures such as:

• Development and maintenance of an integrated geographic information system framework for economic, social and environmental data so as to make readily visible relationships, trends and patterns of the data.

21. In relation to its implementation role, the CSD should give emphasise the following:

• Analysis and exchange of experience with respect to tools that assist sustainable development planning, decision making, implementation etc. such as sustainable development strategies, sustainable development impact analysis and use of indicators and geographic information systems. In this regard, the CSD could give consideration to more effective use of national reports and regional reviews.

34. There is a need for a continuing and strengthened role of the international system in supporting capacity building for sustainable development governance. Therefore the following should be implemented:

• Ensure that the UN system helps developing countries as well as countries with economies in transition to overcome the fragmented approach to national development plans/strategies and approach social, economic and environmental policies in a more coherent way, inter alia, providing support for the effective use of modern information technology including geographic information systems, while at the same time ensuring full ownership and leadership by the countries.

35. Efforts by developing countries as well as countries with economies in transition to enhance national governance arrangements for sustainable development need to be complemented by undertakings by the international community in support of new or enhanced national governance capacity building programs related to sustainable development. Some of the critical areas for capacity building include:

vi. Capacity development in monitoring and evaluation through, inter alia, support for improving public sector management and performance, at national and local levels, including, data collection, the use of sustainable development indicators and complementary quantitative techniques, including the use of geographic information systems.

Note:

* This document only contains the sections of the Vice-Chairs' Paper for which additions were proposed; the full text of the paper is available at www.johannesburgsummit.org/html/documents/prepcom3docs/governance_discussion_paper.doc
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