WSSD News for US NGOS
March 14, 2002 issue
Produced by CitNet for the US Citizens Preparatory Committee for WSSD
The World Summit Process: News and Updates
*** Indonesian government moves PrepCom 4 to Bali, NGOs object
On March 8, 2002, the Government of Indonesia officially
announced the decision to hold PrepComm IV in Nusa Dua-Bali, despite NGOs' attempt
to keep the meetings in Jakarta. The Government's decision on Bali is a major
step back in terms of the International People Forum's preparation for civil
society events. Last week IPF had sent a team to Bali to assess the facilities
available for the planned activities.
Although the facilities in Bali would be less than what would have
been available in Jakarta, we hope this will not deter civil society from making
a valuable contribution at the PrepCom.
*** PrepCom 2 documents released
The official PrepCom 2 documents are all now available. The "Chairman's
Paper", along with the "Proposals for Partnerships/Initiatives",
will shape
the discussion at PrepCom 3; all PrepCom 3 participants are encouraged to
review these beforehand.
HTML versions available at:
http://www.citnet.org/worldsummit/events/PrepComOutcomes.aspx
Original MS Word versions at:
http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/html/documents/prepcom2.html
*** Need Joburg Accomodations? Coming Next Week!
Many questions recently about housing and accomodations in Johannesburg have
come our way. JOWSCO (contracted by UN to handle logistics) has reserved
53,000 beds with fixed prices for the event. Online bookings for group accomodations
will be available this Monday, March 18th. (Individual bookings will follow
shortly.)
Once available online, bookings can be done at:
http://www.wssddmc.com/
** A Babel of Voices for World Summit?
An article from the Johannesburg Mail & Guardian finds that the delegates
and participants in WSSD may bring conflicting agendas to Joburg, and suggests
that the Summit will have to transcend the narrow economic interests of national
governments whose first obligation is to their own citizens.
Read the article:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200202280515.html
Upcoming Events
*** March 15: The US and the Global Review of Progress
The US CPC and CitNet have organized a US citizens consultative meeting, entitled
"Preparing for PrepCom III: The US and the Global Review of Progress"
for Friday, March 15 at 10 AM at the Environmental Law Institute. RSVP is requested,
but not necessary to attend.
For meeting agenda or RSVP info, see:
http://citnet.org/events/15Mar02-Consultation-Info.aspx
*** March 18-22: Financing for Development Conference, Monterey
This summit-level meeting on Financing for Development, to be held in Monterey,
Mexico, will involve the World Bank, the IMF, and the WTO, as well as representatives
of civil society and the business sector. A Civil Society Forum will take place
beforehand, Thursday-Saturday, 14-16 March 2002.
Visit the Financing for Development website:
http://www.un.org/esa/ffd/
Browse the Civil Society Forum website:
http://www.ffdforoglobal.org/en/
*** March 21-31: Global Youth Forum 2002, Copenhagen
UNEP and Nature and Youth (Natur og Ungdom, a Danish youth and environment
NGO) will be convening the Global Youth Forum in Copenhagen, Denmark. A number
of US youth from SustainUS have been selected to attend.
More info at the Global Youth Forum website:
http://www.globalyouth2002.org/
*** March 22: Online Energy Policy Discussion
Worldwatch President Christopher Flavin will be online live on Friday, March
22 from 12:00-13:00 EST (17:00-18:00 GMT) to take your questions about energy
policy (currently the subject of hot debate in the U.S. Congress).
Find out how to participate at:
http://www.worldwatch.org/live/
*** March 25-April 5: WSSD PrepCom 3, New York
PrepCom 3, also to be held in New York City, is scheduled for March 25 to
April 5. Find out now what will be happening and which PrepCom 2 papers will
initiate the discussions before you arrive.
For the current provisional agenda, see: (PDF)
http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/html/documents/prepcom3docs/agenda.pdf
Official outcomes from PrepCom 2 at:
http://www.citnet.org/worldsummit/events/PrepComOutcomes.aspx
*** March 26: Dialogue on Sustainable Development in DC
Sustainable DC (SDC), in partnership with the GWU Environmental & Social
Sustainability Initiative (ESSI), the Metropolitan Washington
Environmental Professionals (MWEP), and the National Park Service (NPS)
National Capital Region, is holding a forum on March 26 from 3-7 PM at the George
Washington University Marvin Center (Kayser Room #307). This will
be the first in a series of forums to be held over the next six months. RSVP
required.
For more info and to RSVP:
http://citnet.org/wg/communities/events/26mar02-Dialogue.aspx
*** March 29-31: US Youth Summit on Sustainable Development, New York
The US Youth Summit is being held by SustainUS in New York the first weekend
of PrepCom 2 to engage students and youth in the WSSD process and their communities.
For more information or to register, visit:
http://www.geocities.com/youthsummitny/
*** Jun. 5-9: People and the Planet conference in Ontario
"People and the Planet - Changing Values for a Sustainable Future",
a
conference for Canadian NGOs will be held at Queen's University, Kingston,
Ontario, in June. Goals include: initiating a citizens' agenda for positive
environmental change, preparing recommendations for all levels of government
that will aid in the movement towards a more sustainable society, and
networking opportunities.
Find out more at Sierra Club of Canada's website:
http://www.sierraclub.ca/national/people-and-planet-conf.html
New Publications
*** CorpWatch Releases New Report on UN and Corporations
CorpWatch released a new report called "Greenwash + 10 -- The UN's Global
Compact, Corporate Accountability and the Johannesburg Earth Summit." The
report documents corporate influence on the United Nations and calls on the
UN to implement measures for accountability.
View press release at:
http://www.corpwatch.org/press/PPD.jsp?articleid=1374
Related News
*** PSR requests signons to "Prescription for Johannesburg"
Responding to a general lack of the public health voice in WSSD preparations
to date, Physicians for Social Responsibility has crafted a "Prescription
for Johannesburg." The Prescription outlines a number of key concerns from
the environmental health community, along with a concise set of specific demands
for action from Summit participants.
PSR is asking for public interest NGOs of all kinds to support this
statement. If you would like to add your organization's name to the list of
supporters of this statement, please indicate this in an email to Karen Perry
<kperry@psr.org>.
A copy of "Prescription for Johannesburg" is at:
http://citnet.org/wg/healthenv/docs/PrescriptionJoburg.aspx
*** Women's Caucus proposes "All Women's Voices Tent" at WSSD
The Women's Caucus for WSSD is proposing an "All Women's Voices Tent"
at
Johannesburg, to be organized in collaboration with South African women's
groups. This will be a space for issue/regional meetings, workshops,
exhibitions, music and art. There is room for organizations to bring
their own ideas and presentations.
For more info, visit:
http://citnet.org/uscpc/docs/WomensTent.aspx
or contact Rebecca Pearl(WEDO) at rebecca@wedo.org.
*** Concept of Sustainable Development Still Eludes Most Media
According to an article on the UN's Summit website, journalists have not
become much more knowledgeable about sustainable development, despite
emerging as an emphasis in development discussions since Rio.
Read the article at:
http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/html/whats_new/otherstories_concept_of_sd_6feb.html
*** US enviro NGOs urge Bush to attend Summit, take leadership role
More than 30 U.S. environmental leaders, release letter urging President
Bush to attend the World Summit, and calls on President Bush not only to
attend the Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, but to announce a specific
set of actions -- set forth in the Call for Action -- to ensure that the
United States plays a leadership role on a range of critical international
environmental issues, including climate change, toxics and the oceans,
to achieve sustainable development for future generations.
Read the release at:
http://www.ems.org/world_summit/world_summit.html
Recent Events In The US
Many events are happening in the US related to the World Summit. Below is a
sampling of some of the more recent events, their organizers, and links for
more details.
January 17, New York:
"Changing Power in New York: Energy Options for National Security and Environmental
Protection"
UNA-USA and CitNet
http://citnet.org/wg/energyclimate/docs/17Jan02-Report.aspx
January 26-27, New York:
SustainUS Youth Planning Meeting
http://www.sustainus.org
January 28-February 8, New York:
WSSD Global PrepCom 2
http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/html/documents/prepcom2.html
January 31-February 5, New York:
World Economic Forum
http://www.weforum.org/site/homepublic.nsf/Content/Annual+Meeting+2002
February 22, Washington, DC:
Workshop on Implementation of the UN's IPF/IFF Proposals for Action
Pinchot Institute for Conservation, USDA Forest Service and Roundtable on Sustainable
Forests
http://www.fs.fed.us/sustained/wssd/documents/announce.doc
February 26-28, Washington, DC:
Brown bag discussions on national forest report
The Roundtable on Sustainable Forests
http://citnet.org/issues/forests/events/RoundtableBrownbags.aspx
February 28, Washington, DC:
Citizens Forum on Sustainable Production and Consumption
CitNet and the USCPC
http://www.citnet.org/events/28Feb02-SPACForum-Info.aspx
March 2, New York:
Conference on Trade, Sustainability, & Global Governance
Environmental Law Society of Columbia Law School
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/law/els/
March 7, St. Paul, MN:
"Coming Full Circle: Sustainable Agriculture, Food Security, & Health"
University of Minnesota lecture series
http://www.coffman.umn.edu/earth/forum4.php
March 7, Washington, DC:
Citizens Forum on Globalization and Corporate Accountability
CitNet and the USCPC
http://citnet.org/events/06Mar02-Globalization.aspx
March 11, New York:
GEF Roundtable on Forests
http://www.gefweb.org/Whats_New/GEFRoundTable.pdf
Recent Events Around the World
While there are too many WSSD-related events occurring around the world to
mention here, below are a few of the most recent events which have a global
focus and potentially significant impact on WSSD proceedings.
February 13-15, Cartagena:
Final Meeting on International Environmental Governance
UNEP Global Ministerial Environmental Forum (Intergovernmental Group)
http://www.unep.org/governingbodies/gc/specialsessions/gcss_vii/
March 14-15, Rio de Janeiro:
"Financing a Sustainable Future"
UNEP Finance Initiatives Annual Global Roundtable Meeting
http://www.unepfi.net/rio/
February 22- March 1: North Vancouver, Canada:
"Local Agenda to Action - Building a Sustainable Future"
Local Government International Preparatory Meeting organized by ICLEI
http://www.iclei.org/prepcom/
Useful Resources Around The Web
*** USDA launches interactive success stories website
U.S. Department of Agriculture in cooperation with the National Association
of Resource Conservation and Development Councils (NARC&DC) has launched
an interactive website that will collect and make available success stories
projects on sustainable agriculture, sustainable community development and sustainable
forest management. Success stories can be viewed and submitted online as a searchable
database, with selected cases published for WSSD.
View the success stories or contribute one at:
http://www.rcdsuccess.com/
*** South African sites for the Summit
Several South African websites for the Summit have been created to cover
everything from logistics to NGO participation.
- The JOWSCO (Johannesburg World Summit Company) site covers logistics,
tourism, info on South Africa, and more.
http://www.joburgsummit2002.com/
- The South African Civil Society Secretariat, run in partnership with
SANGOCO and RDSN, is coordinating the civil society events planned during
the Summit.
http://www.worldsummit.org.za
*** New US State Department site
The State Department has a new website, "Global Issues of Sustainable
Development", run by the Office of International Information Programs.
According to a spokesperson, the site "will serve as a platform for
information, articles, and links on upcoming sustainable development events,
i.e., UN Summit on Financing for Development in Mexico, World Food Summit:
five years later, UN Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, etc.
View their site at:
http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/global/develop/
Call for Side Event Info!
If you are planning a side event for PrepCom 3, let us know! We will publish
a list of known events relevant for US NGOs next week.
Submit your event info to uscpc-news@citnet.org, with title, time, location,
a brief 1-2 sentence description, and a URL (or less preferrably, an attached
document) on how to get more details. Also mention whether an RSVP is necessary.
ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER:
WSSD News for US NGOs is a semi-weekly publication produced by CitNet for the
US Citizens Preparatory Committee. WSSD News shares what other US NGOs are doing
related to the Summit and disseminates relevant information about the Summit
process itself. It's the best way for US NGOs to get involved, stay informed,
or get up to speed on the issues surrounding the World Summit.
Archives available at: http://citnet.org/uscpc/newsletters/
If you would like to contribute, have news to publicize, or would like to share
your comments and suggestions, email us at uscpc-info@citnet.org.
Thanks to Citizens Network for Sustainable Development for hosting and maintaining
the listserve, and to all organizations and individuals who contributed content
and news to this issue.
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