CitNet - Earth Summit (The Citizens Guide to the World Summit)

CSD Sessions

The UN Commission for Sustainable Development (UNCSD) was set up after the Earth Summit to meet annually and work on a multi-year work program.

Each year has been dedicated to a sectoral theme (such as freshwater management), a cross-sectoral theme (such as production and consumption patterns), and an economic sector or major group (such as transport).

One of the key developments that emerged from CSD were the Multistakeholder Dialogues (MSDs). These brought governments together with representatives of the nine major groups of society to dialogue on the conference topics. These dialogues were a result of the mandate from Agenda 21's chapter 23 on broad public participation in decision-making.

This model, while it begun with a rocky start, has been applauded by most civil society participants and has resulted in the CSD conferences being one of the most open UN events to NGO participants, with easy access to the speaking floor, and frequent interactions with government delegations. The concept of MSDs is increasingly being tried in other arenas, such as at the World Food Summit in June 2002.

For those looking for CSD details on specific issues, a list of all CSD issues over the past ten years is on the UN site.