Speeches and Dialogues

the General Assembly

It was a great opportunity to be able to witness CSD-17 Chair, Ms. Gerda Verburg and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon deliver speeches at the General Assembly! Detailed speeches and dialogues can be found at this weblink http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/csd/csd_csd17.shtml

A temporary respite from the information overload.

As we approach the culmination of CSD-17, the youth caucus has embarked upon a new creative effort: a project which consists of folding origami flowers out of the innumerable leftover flyers strewn outside the conference halls of the UN building. These flowers are then pinned proudly on one’s lapel, attached to a leaf across which is boldly emblazoned: “WASTE?”

Youth delegate Krisy (US) and her flower

What’s the point of all this? Quite simply, a way to express the growing fear of many attendees that CSD-17, upon its conclusion on May 15, will turn out to have been nothing but a waste. This concern, expressed admirably in a front-page article in the 14/5 issue of Outreach, is both about the material and immaterial; given the possibility that government delegates may not reach a conclusive agreement in the Negotiating Text, there may be ultimately nothing to show for CSD-17 but a futile exhaustion of resources (paper, power, airplane fuel) and individual capacities (time, energy). The youth caucus finds this unacceptable.

The original idea was to speak out through the act of donning armbands bearing the same message. This was rejected for its potential hypocrisy (a one-use item casually disposed of after its run does not for a successful anti-waste campaign make). Several other ideas were floated before we hit upon the brainwave of turning waste into an artistic statement. Before we knew it, nearly the entire youth caucus was gathered around a table in the cafeteria learning the painstaking art of origami.

Youth Caucus members folding paper flowers

More paper flowers

The entire youth caucus plans to sport these on the last day of CSD-17. Though realistically speaking it is doubtful that our campaign will make much tangible impact, it is significant nonetheless to have the youth representatives exert a concerted effort to make a statement and remind the governmental sector of their duty.

13th May (Wednesday)

Wednesday marked the opening of the high level segment in the General Assembly. The meeting was chaired by Gerda Verburg (Netherlands), Chairperson of CSD-17. There was also a sharing by Secretary-General Ban Ki- Moon.

There was a wide range of events held today. We visited the Farmer’s Market held at Daj Hammarskjold Plaza, a few blocks away from the UN Building. The linkage between city and farm agriculture was showcased. Some events held were:

• Learn It, Grow It, Eat it youth-led nutrition education
• Teen Idol Chef Cooking Demo with international recipes
• Greenmarket Youth Farmer’s Market-urban youth partnering with regional farmers
• NYC/International youth caucus videos

We learnt more about supporting local agriculture and more on organic farming.

Some booths at the Farmers' Market

Youth Cooking Demonstration

The crucial role of genetic resources in ensuring food security in a changing climate

• Nordic countries- starting a program to establish seed banks,
• Seed banks for genetically produced seeds to ensure effective storage in certain climates help global south ensure food security
• Map of countries which currently face food crisis shows that majority of these countries are found in the South
• But countries producing seeds are situated in both North and South
• Developing countries rely greatly on developed countries for food aid
• Imbalance
• One of the causes of existing food crisis
• The seed bank program costs $100,000 yearly to maintain and has a start up cost of  $9million
• Seeing that profits are minimal, this program was established out of goodwill

Talks with education NGO representative

• Eco effectiveness-Instead of a cradle to grave system, move to a cradle to cradle system.
• Taking into consideration that it is difficult to recycle all components of a product (such as a laptop), there must be a paradigm shift to improve recycling capabilities. Hence the cradle to cradle approach should be adopted.
• This will also help to improve eco efficiency

More information can be found at www.storyofstuff.com and www.mcdonough.com containing works by William McDonough (cradle to cradle system)

Meat the Truth Documentary

• Displays the massive impact of livestock farming on climate change
• Presented by Marianne Thieme (Netherlands), the world’s first MP for animal rights

The documentary Meat the Truth is the first major project undertaken by the Nicolaas G. Pierson Foundation. Meat the Truth is a high-profile documentary, presented by Marianne Thieme (leader of the Party for the Animals), which forms an addendum to earlier films that have been made about climate change. Although such films have convincingly succeeded in drawing public attention to the issue of global warming, they have repeatedly ignored one of the most important causes of climate change, namely: intensive livestock production. Meat the Truth has drawn attention to this by demonstrating that livestock farming generates more greenhouse gas emissions worldwide than all cars, lorries, trains, boats and planes added together.

Information taken from www.meatthetruth.com

How does livestock farming contribute to greenhouse gas emission?

• Methane produced by cows
• Waste produced by livestock
• Food is needed to feed livestock
• Deforestation occurs so as to create land to grow crops for animal feed
• All the above contributes to greenhouse gas emission
• 18% of greenhouse gas emission contributing to climate change, comes from livestock farming

Transcript of Youth Caucus Meeting with the Chairperson (11 May 2009)

Chairperson’s introduction: The representatives of children and youth have a very important role to play, not only by making contributions during plenaries but in the corridors, discussing the future of the next generation. In 10 to 15 years, youth will be representing their countries, and there is a responsibility to represent the interest of your own country, and take into account the common interest. Best outcomes and best results usually emerge under pressure. Difficulties can be overcome so we can make sincere and concrete steps forward, and solve the problem of how to feed the world, both today and in 15 or 20 years.

Questions

Vicnan: Action-oriented policies wanted, intended for the outcome of CSD-17. How optimistic are we that the upcoming document will be translated into action for youth, and how can what we are doing here translate into action back in our own countries?
Chair: You can play a role in that, ask governments how you can help with sustainable development, what their commitments are. In Netherlands, youth reps are members of the delegation at CSD-17. Perhaps we could try being part of the delegation. Consider that next year there will be a review of what has been done already, Did the governments and youth stick to their promises? Write articles in papers or make interviews with responsible people in your country.

Alicia: In the language of the working text, we are glad that youth are taken out of the tag of “vulnerable groups”. Recognition is there that youth really have the capacity to participate in sustainable development – how can youth now take a more collaborative role in SD and how policies are formed, etc, instead of just a participatory role?
Chair: Like I mentioned – take a role in your government delegation. We underestimate our own potential and influence here, there is a possibility here so use it. Talk to people, have influence during the side events, participate in high level segments, influence the reflections of the major groups. Try to be the spokesman on the part of the major groups.

Esther: As a young person growing up in Africa, my country believes young people have nothing to say. Why are African politicians not believing that youth have a part to play?
Chair: You are in a good position to be here to network and influence the ministers and delegations.

Lisa: One of the problems mentioned is climate change, leaning towards Copenhagen and how we can put linkages between climate change and sustainable development? How is climate change an interlinking issue in CSD?
Chair: Very difficult to be specific on this. Sort out the role that agriculture and rural development can play. Many people consider agriculture as one of the problems causing climate change. Agriculture is one of the solutions, not the problem. We should consider it as such. Both agriculture and rural development can play a huge role in steps forward toward sustainability, should be seen as part of the solution and not problem. Agriculture must and should play an important role also in Copenhagen.

Weixin: What are the most pressing issues of education for SD? How should we engage youth and others?
Chair: Put pressure on governments during election period. Say that agriculture should be at the top of the agenda.

Chair: Actions that you will undertake through the week to get the best outcome? How do you consider the proceses and report till now? Touching on the ethical and moral dimensions of a number of issues, it is especially important to enter these into the dialogue. Specifically for the youth this is what we are trying to focus on, can shape the way we interact with the delegation. Up to us to step up, we hear the call and we are answering that. Youth are not seen as vulnerable, not being condescended to anymore, so you can make a concerted effort. Identify key events, orgaisations and persons to discuss, to bring forward your message. As concrete as possible since we need concreteness to further the message. Speak to governments, then come back next year and exchange experiences.

Transcribed by: Shirlynn

(12/5) Summary

Upcoming Events
Roundtables: Food crisis (13/5), Green Revolution (14/5), Land & Water
Management (14/5)
Commencement of General Assembly and High-Level Negotiations, conclusion on Friday

Casual Dialogue with Chair of Education Caucus (Takeaway Points)

• In the green revolution, environment cannot be compromised whereas social economic aspects can be
• Companies (technology and business) must be treated with caution in view of a tendency to repackage old solutions as new and market it as the new green revolution when in truth said solutions are ineffective and may even exacerbate the situation
• Eco-effectiveness should be prized over eco-efficiency: the focus should not be on increasing yields whilst factors such as th production capacity of land, food and water security, social issues (transfer of indigenous knowledge, etc) are compromised
• Precautionary principle is needed: we should not freely adopt solutions till they are proven safe, as long-term adverse effects may manifest

SIDE EVENTS

Stakeholder Forum

• Youths should be given more presence and awarded opportunities to be part of their government delegation in order to strengthen the youth voice and involve youths in more levels of decision making
• Youths are deeply immersed in technological and online platforms and therefore can emphasise and bolster democratic principlegs by reaching out to a demographic beyond those physically present at the conference
• Links must be drawn between agriculture and youths to make agriculture more attractive as a career choice; investment in rural as well as urban areas to attract youth to agriculture)l; proper education given to youths in addition to vocational training; microcredits made available

Sustainable Bioenergy – A practical decision support tool for decision makers in developing countries

Bioenergy is the oldest and most common type of energy used in less developed countries
Growing interest in developing modern bioenergy due to growing demand for biofuels in the North
Africa is engaged in talks about this; however there is a dearth of bioenergy policy, specific strategy and regulatory framework
Suggested actions: a more participative approach, decide in terms of production and utilisation where biofuels should be produced (eg. produced as natural resources or residues, produced for domestic use or for export)

Food Security – Will the next revolution be more sustainable?

• The green revolution in the past was not sustainable as it ignored the holistic aspects (social, economic, environmental) of sustainable development; therefore it failed because it did not consider the long-term impacts on ecosystems, leading to the degradation of land and destruction of the production base for food security
• Hence a paradigm shift in our understanding of the ecosystem is needed – it is deeply urgent that science and policies consider the issues of food sovereignty and fair competition for small-scale farmers.
• If managed correctly, agriculture has enormous potential in ensuring the restoration of ecosystems, as well as in terms of benefiting humanity by means of according small-scale farmers recompensation for driving the restoration and preservation of agricultural land in addition to their ordinary production

The Role of Youth Delegates at the United Nations/CSD

• The vitality of youth’s thinking fuels the youth caucus at CSD and is integral to furthering issues that are relevant to youth
• Appealing to governments to send youth delegations will enable youths to gain experience in speaking out and to use their experiences to build on sustainable development issues back in their home countries
• Africa has the least youth representation at CSD even though the region itself happens to be one of the most contentious issues on the table; Africa must partner with youth people more for sustainability to be established in the continent
• As children and youth are the ones who stand to be most directly affected by sustainable development and climate change (stewards of the future), it is important for them to have more than mere nominal representation at the CSD
• The importance of continuous learning and education for youth to contribute to sustainable development issues must be stressed

11th May Takeaway Points

Food and Water Security

• Fighting for limited resources
• Secrurity leads to peace, reduces need to fight for resources
• Encouragement to embrace green revolution, new technologies
• Technologies must embrace a new paradigm, including environmental/social issues

Gender and Agriculture

• Women are less likely to be a in a position to invest capital and time.
• As a result of credit, women undertake activities that require less capital but also reap less profit. This provides less of a buffer in times of shock.
• To improve women’s resilience in agriculture, it is advised to  invest more in labour and energy saving technology.
• We have to establish food banks where women are able to borrow food, so that women may learn how to manage and increase their capacity.

CSD-17 so far…

We have finally reached the end of a busy week.

It has been rather disorienting in United Nations, not just for the youth delegates (which includes us) but also to other Major Groups, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), and even government representatives who are new to UNCSD and the United Nations building.

In any case, I went on a tour organised by the International Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture and coordinated by international Major Groups and US Civil Society Organisations today to visit the vibrant green markets as part of understanding more about urban-rural linkages. The tour specifically aims to showcase the innovation, practices and leadership in communities which are encouraged and backed by new paradigmatic government policies on the issue of food security and Sustainable Agriculture. Find out more about the program here.

The greatest thing that struck me was the public-private investment and policy involved.  The federal and state government of New York has invested public funds in infrastructure with the aim of allowing rural and small-scale to mid-scale farmers to directly earn revenue by selling their produce to local distributors and consumers. This benefits the farmers by increasing their profitability and allowing them to compete with large-scale farmers whilst simultaneously ensuring the presence of quality, differentiated local food amidst the influx of imported food.

The benefits of this are two-pronged:

Government:

1. Establish Sustainable Agriculture (Social and environmental benefits beyond the mere economic)
2. Offers an additional choice of livelihood in the form of an agricultural lifestyle
3. Ensures food security and quality for the people

Local/ rural farmers:

1. Secure source of income
2. Chance for entrepreneurial expansion via the demand for local food produce
3. Accumulated agricultural skills and knowledge will not be lost due to lack of job security/demand

In addition, it was exciting to hear how the New York state government is willing to grant non-utilised state land and state property for these initiatives which benefit society. Perhaps Singapore can look into ways to ensure the preservation of skills of our lower and middle working class citizens and thereby engage in public-private partnerships for environmental, social as well as economic development to achieve truly holistic sustainable development.

Till then, I will be glad to learn as much as I can from UNCSD and people from around the world and hopefully transform this knowledge into action back in Singapore in order to contribute to our very own civil society and nation.

Cheers, weixin

(08/05/09) Summary

SIDE EVENTS
Climate Change in African Drylands: Adaptation & Mitigation Options
Speaker 1:

• Drylands form 40% of earth
• By 2020 75 million people are estimated to be exposed to great water stress
• Climate change threatens pastoral livelihoods
• Agro-ecological zones

Speaker 2

• The connection between drylands and carbon
• Overgrazing leads to diminishing of plants, hence the importance of managing grasslands well
• Manure will be useful in future to makevdestroyed land arable

Speaker 3

• Dialogues work at the international level but not national
• Should disseminate useful information to engage relevant communities in dialogues

Changing World and Water Management Adaptation Strategies

1.

• Climate change impacts developing countries most
• Africa utilises only 4% of water resources, yet lots of people have no access to water resources
• Inaction is not an option

2. World Water Forum

• Bring people together so voices will be heard (by elected officials)
• Serves to generate political will for elected officials
• Ideas: get parliamentarians involved, create parliament water help desks – create peer support for promoting water conservation
• Heads of state have launched appeal for global water framework for action (but before this is carried out a legal framework is required)
• Refer to Istanbul Water Consensus for guidance

3.

• Political messages of world water form on water management and strategies
• Ministers must commit to achieving the water Millenium Development Goal, e.g.  agricultural sector must modernise drainage irrigation systems
• On disasters: we must proceed from crisis management to disaster preparedness
• Rebuild, renew water infrastructure, including energy production in disaster management
• Water is cross-cutting issue (all levels of humanity depend intricately on water)

A Policy Forum on Achieving Ecoeffectiveness through Knowledge Sharing Systems

• Concepts should be taught through schools, governments and as many citizens as possible involved in developing a syllabus
• Ideal end state should not be modelled after USA – must figure out a sustainable development plan for individual country/region, and gear education towards achieving that end state
• Emphasise working with young people but young people might not always have access to infocomm technology
• Sponsors can be called in to support such activities, but those involved must be accountable to both funders but also towards experience of beneficiary in order to bring about better, more tangible results

PARTNERSHIP FAIRS
Proposal Development Training Workshop under the Scientific Capacity Building and Enhancement for Sustainable Development in Developing Countries (CAPaBLE) partnership

• Transparent beneficiaries most likely to received funding
• Proposals needed, must be informative and competitive (eg. list effective methods)
• Safety barriers: organisations must not for profit, organisers should not draw salary, etc

LEARNING CENTRES
Africa’s Ecological Footprint – Learning for National Development Strategies in a Resource Constrained World

• Basic concept: countries are consuming more than their ecosystems are able to regenerate
• Goal: not palliative development but lasting development (transformative development, i.e. sustainable)

Points raised from floor:

• Focus should not just be on quantifiable yields; the social quotient (eg. happiness) must be taken into consideration
• Doomsday approach futile
• A question of rights: do people have a right to an ecological footprint?
• What about the carbon footprint of countries exploiting resources not to produce things not for themselves, but for export to the rest of the world? Should individual countries be blamed or the global community as a whole?

Economic – Environmental Accounting at the National Level

• Handbook of National Accounting: Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting 2003 (SEEA 2003): Guides environmental resources and their economic effects, eg. water
• Water management to infiltrate through society such that a system can be operated at community and regional level
• Difficulty of getting information about water in developing countries (unreliable/unattainable)
• Water accounting feasible in countries that have some info used as catalyst to get basic info needed to support system
• Water moves around within the economy and environment (e.g, in agriculture, electricity, households)
• Key towards calculating transactions: measure measurables, and hence infer value of things which unable to measure

Working with the Media-The Full Story

Attended an informative session on media relations today. The scope of the discussion covered the symbiotic relationship between NGOs and media journalists. There were 3 main speakers in the session: Richard Black from the BBC, Jean-Victor Nkolo, experienced journalist in the African region and member of the UN Department of Public Information, and Michael Strauss, established media consultant who has attended UN CSD meetings since 1992.

The session was targeted at NGOs and how they could effectively get their message across to the public through the engine of journalism.

The three main insights I gathered were:

1. The ways to get your stories heard: Black pointed out the importance of the press release as a tool to reach out to journalists. The press release should be at most 2 pages in length and should be concise and to the point. Black recommended representatives of NGOs not to send out press releases indiscriminately. Instead, only send press releases out when there was actual news to report. Quality over quantity.
2. The Importance of Credibility in Relationship Building and Maintanence : Jean-Victor highlighted credibility as a main quality for NGO representatives to possess. Before approaching a journalist for press coverage, the NGO needs to be clear about the organisation’s mandate, mission and goals. Throughout the entire process, the NGO representative must bear in mind the importance of credibility, which is a key motivating factor for the journalist to cover the NGO’s stories.
3. Effective ways to reach the masses: Strauss pointed out the two broad communication strategies that NGOs adopt. One being the vocal and demonstrative approach and the other more subdued, but in no way passive, channelling its efforts towards policy and lobbying. These different communication styles resonate in varying degrees with the masses. Strauss shared that the mainstream media aims to connect with the masses, reaching out to as large a viewership as possible. Therefore, it was unlikely that strong leftist or right-wing stories would be published. He highlighted the importance for the NGOs to visualize their audience, and then craft their message to effectively reach this target group. The core of the message should connect with individuals at an emotional level, but not one that was a heightened, hysterical emotional level, but one that could stir up something inside the readers that would cause them to care and be mobilized to take action.

Wednesday’s Learning Experience (6th May)

Wednesday was a day full of working groups, conferences and workshops. Between our team, we attended a number of workshops and gathered afterwards to share our learning points. Here are some of the insights.

Women’s Group

The wording of certain EU customary law for land  rights contain connotations  which act as an inherent trap for women. e.g. In India, when a landowner passes away, wives do not have the rights to inherit the land. The ownership automatically goes to males, and women are disadvantaged.

Action: Establish clear and secure land tenure

Working Group Sessions

For the agriculture and rural development working group, we proposed 5 suggestions to be made to the relevant government officials. Out of these, 4 out of 5 suggestions were taken into consideration!

Roundtable discussions on Capacity Building Requirements for Rural Development and Sustainable Communities

Weixin and I attended the luncheon/roundtable session organised by World Federation of Engineering Organization. We sat at different tables and had the opportunity to interact with representatives from different backgrounds at our tables. Amongst the representatives at the table, there was a lady from International Labour Organisation, the Adviser to Minister of Agriculture of Lebanon and several others. With individuals from myriad backgrounds, it was a collective sharing of knowledge that was informative and enriching.

We focussed on the topic of Capacity Building in Rural Areas, in terms of Social Capacity, Physical Capacity and Economic Capacity. It was stressed that although Physical and Economic Capacity was important, Social Capacity should not be neglected. In infrastructure planning of rural areas, the existing social aspect should not be overlooked.

Case studies were shared on how farmers in different areas coped with the specific challenges they faced due to the changing climate. The importance of feeder roads were highlighted in the Middle Eastern farming areas. An example mentioned was growing crops in greenhouses to extend the growing season in Ninsha province in China. Suggestions on effective knowledge transfer from agriculture specialists to local farmers was shared. The existing system for extension of skills from agriculture college students to local rural famers and communities is not effective, with problems lying with the lack of funding and support that both stakeholders receive.

Weixin met an NGO member involved in workers’ rights. This source shared that corruption is one of the main challenges that beneficiaries in less developed countries face. In some situations, less than 5% of the original pledged sum reaches the beneficiaries. The importance of sharing information was once again highlighted. Through a knowledge sharing process, individuals, in this case, beneficiaries and farmers, will be empowered and equipped to take effective and relevant action.

Overturning False Solutions to the Food Crisis:

• Africa as a region needs more attention
• Sub Saharan Africa has displayed a significant agricultural input decline
• Solutions are needed
• To solve food crisis, attention needs to be paid to the individual
• Local farmers – Can’t be just the subject of these talks but must be given a voice
• Green revolution- calls for green revolution have been shallow, needs to be more holistic
• 5-6 years ago, it held a lot of potential but currently, it has not reached its full potential due to an overemphasis on the economic aspect.
• A holistic consideration of all relevant sustainable development topics is recommended, which includes social, environmental and economical development aspects.