Intervention by the
Government of Bermuda
Cross Cutting Issues in relation to Sustainable Development
Delivered 13 April 2005
Madame Vice Chair, on behalf of the Government of Bermuda, I would like to express
our appreciation to the UK Government, which is responsible for Bermuda's international
representation, for affording us the opportunity to speak in this debate on the crosscutting
issues relevant to water, sanitation and human settlements .
Bermuda's presence here today is unprecedented . We are honoured to join hands with
our global brothers and sisters to address issues that bind us together regardless of our
locale .
Bermuda is less than 21 sq. miles in size and is located in the Atlantic Ocean some 600
miles away from North America . In many ways sustainable best practices have existed
for centuries within our small isolated enclave of civilization with regard to human
settlement, sanitation and water .
For example, Bermuda an active land use and planning system that carefully allocates
specific uses to defined areas .
Sanitation, developed centuries earlier, is achieved through underground cesspits which
utilize the natural filtration of the Island's limestone sub-strata.
The Island's traditional architecture means most residential buildings collect their own
rainwater from white lime washed roofs, which purifies and then stores that water for
individual use in underground water tanks .
But today, Bermuda is densely populated . Open space is under pressure from
urbanization. Historically, every Bermudian aspired to own a "piece of the rock", as we
would say, but this is becoming more and more difficult ; changes in technology and
living standards mean that we consume more and more water - and climate change may
mean that we collect less rainfall.
So while, as I mentioned, we have in the past adopted sustainable practices by necessity,
our economic success and social changes are contributing to unsustainable trends .
This brings me to cross-cutting issue number 1 - capacity building. We have gained
significantly from the expertise gathered here, and take many lessons home with us . We
welcome efforts to break out of the cycle of solely negotiating texts into the business of
learning from others and sharing knowledge .
The second issue is consultation, and with it, partnership . Bermudians now need to join
together and develop a collective vision for the future . Governments do not have the
monopoly on vision or on the skills needed for delivery. To this end, the Island is about
to engage in a national debate on the issues that face us today .
This debate will form the basis of Bermuda's Sustainable Development Strategy and
Action Plan. That is the third, and possibly paramount, cross-cutting issue that Bermuda
would like to highlight . Actions on water, sanitation and human settlements must be
brought together into a coherent whole, with actions across the board which are mutually
reinforcing . We waste our time if our economic policies undermine our environmental
and social policies, and vice versa .
We are working to meet the Johannesburg target in order to have a comprehensive
strategy in place in 2005 .
Finally, proclamations are worthless without action . Again, this was a theme of
Johannesburg. Hence the Government of Bermuda has committed to the establishment of
a Sustainable Development Unit, the formation of indicators, the publication of an annual
progress report, and Sustainability Impact Assessment for assessing all future policies .
Bermuda is not alone in dealing with these issues . We offer therse cross-cutting issues
for the Commission's consideration . And we invite the rest of the world to support our
national discussion on sustainable development and our efforts in creating and
implementing our first National Sustainable Development Strategy and Action Plan .
Thank You .
