Ghana
Mr. Chairman
Excellencies
Distinguished Delegates
Ghana associates herself with the statement and position already articulated by the
Group of 77 and China and wishes to, in addition, articulate the following points in
support of the cluster of issues raised at the policy session of this CSD
implementation cycle.
Mr. Chairman, the thematic issues of mining, transport, chemicals, waste and
sustainable consumption and production patterns are very relevant to developing
countries and must produce outcomes that benefit the broad layers of society,
particularly women, youth, children and vulnerable groups and communities. The
formulation and implementation of policies, and programmes at international,
regional, national and local levels on these issues should involve all through
partnerships, especially partnerships between governments of the North and the South
on one part, and governments and major groups on the other part, in order to achieve
widely shared goals of sustainable development. These are concerns that we all
already agreed to in Johannesburg in 2002 at the WSSD.
Excellencies, Ghana is happy to note that this policy session immediately precedes
the Rio + 20 Conference which comes on next year. The two themes of the
Conference which border on building the green economy for sustainable development
and reforming institutional arrangements for sustainable development are relevant
also for the decisions that we shall arrive at in this session.
Mr. Chairman, to briefly touch on the individual issues within the cluster we
recognize that policies on waste must continue to support the preventive and resource
recovering approach. We should also encourage the promotion of waste minimization
while maximizing reuse, recycling and the use of environmentally friendly alternative
materials. The participation of government , the private sector and all other
stakeholders to mitigate and control the adverse effects of waste pollution on our
environment should be our priority concern. We therefore call on especially the
developed countries to provide financial, technical and other forms of assistance to
tackle the waste menace which has become a nemesis for many developing countries.
On mining, Ghana?s position is that mining, minerals and metals are important to the
economic and social development of our country. We therefore support efforts to
maximize the benefits of and address the environmental, economic, health and social
impacts of activities related to mining, minerals and metals throughout their life cycle,
including the health and safety of workers and communities. Time is rife for
governments, mining companies and intergovernmental organizations to show more
transparency and accountability for sustainable and responsible mining and minerals
development.
On chemicals, Ghana calls for the adoption of policies that seek to phase out
hazardous chemicals so as to protect human health and the environment. In relation to
this we support the Strategic Approach to Inte rnational Chemicals Management
(SAICM) and the promotion of synergies in the implementation of the chemicals and
wastes related multilateral environmental agreements.
The fundamental policy objective of Ghana?s transport sector is to establish an
efficient and integrated transport network for the movement of people and goods at
the le ast possible cost within the country. Some of our existing policies relevant to the
transport sector also aim to respond to the threat of climate change on our national
economy. Support is needed from the interna tional community and all our friends to
foster the links between a resilient transport network and the opportunity to use
transport infrastructure development, in particular, the public transport system to link
up locations of key services, as a way to low carbon growth in Ghana. In this way
Ghana would be achieving its set target of becoming the transport hub for West
Africa.
.
Mr. Chairman , Ghana is committed to the promotion of sustainable consumption and
production (SCP) patterns and would encourage all countries to promote SCP, with
the develope d countries taking the lead and with all countries benefiting from the
process, taking into account the Rio principles, especially principle 7 which sets out
the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.
In this regard, Ghana supports the promotion of the 10 year framework of
programmes in support of regional and national initiatives to accelerate t he shift
towards sustainable consumption and production. Ghana has put in place a sustainable
development action plan in nine thematic areas including the five CSD thematic areas
and will initiate two pilot projects this year.
In promoting the 10 YFP we must take into account the development needs and
capabilities of developing countries in particular, and provide them with the
wherewithal to increase investments in cleaner production and for eco-efficiency.
Excellencies, Ghana prays that the good opportunity offered by this session would not
slip through our hands without mutually beneficial outcomes even as we prepare for
Rio+20 to take stock of twenty years of working hard to achieve sustainable
development and eradicate poverty.
I thank you.
Excellencies
Distinguished Delegates
Ghana associates herself with the statement and position already articulated by the
Group of 77 and China and wishes to, in addition, articulate the following points in
support of the cluster of issues raised at the policy session of this CSD
implementation cycle.
Mr. Chairman, the thematic issues of mining, transport, chemicals, waste and
sustainable consumption and production patterns are very relevant to developing
countries and must produce outcomes that benefit the broad layers of society,
particularly women, youth, children and vulnerable groups and communities. The
formulation and implementation of policies, and programmes at international,
regional, national and local levels on these issues should involve all through
partnerships, especially partnerships between governments of the North and the South
on one part, and governments and major groups on the other part, in order to achieve
widely shared goals of sustainable development. These are concerns that we all
already agreed to in Johannesburg in 2002 at the WSSD.
Excellencies, Ghana is happy to note that this policy session immediately precedes
the Rio + 20 Conference which comes on next year. The two themes of the
Conference which border on building the green economy for sustainable development
and reforming institutional arrangements for sustainable development are relevant
also for the decisions that we shall arrive at in this session.
Mr. Chairman, to briefly touch on the individual issues within the cluster we
recognize that policies on waste must continue to support the preventive and resource
recovering approach. We should also encourage the promotion of waste minimization
while maximizing reuse, recycling and the use of environmentally friendly alternative
materials. The participation of government , the private sector and all other
stakeholders to mitigate and control the adverse effects of waste pollution on our
environment should be our priority concern. We therefore call on especially the
developed countries to provide financial, technical and other forms of assistance to
tackle the waste menace which has become a nemesis for many developing countries.
On mining, Ghana?s position is that mining, minerals and metals are important to the
economic and social development of our country. We therefore support efforts to
maximize the benefits of and address the environmental, economic, health and social
impacts of activities related to mining, minerals and metals throughout their life cycle,
including the health and safety of workers and communities. Time is rife for
governments, mining companies and intergovernmental organizations to show more
transparency and accountability for sustainable and responsible mining and minerals
development.
On chemicals, Ghana calls for the adoption of policies that seek to phase out
hazardous chemicals so as to protect human health and the environment. In relation to
this we support the Strategic Approach to Inte rnational Chemicals Management
(SAICM) and the promotion of synergies in the implementation of the chemicals and
wastes related multilateral environmental agreements.
The fundamental policy objective of Ghana?s transport sector is to establish an
efficient and integrated transport network for the movement of people and goods at
the le ast possible cost within the country. Some of our existing policies relevant to the
transport sector also aim to respond to the threat of climate change on our national
economy. Support is needed from the interna tional community and all our friends to
foster the links between a resilient transport network and the opportunity to use
transport infrastructure development, in particular, the public transport system to link
up locations of key services, as a way to low carbon growth in Ghana. In this way
Ghana would be achieving its set target of becoming the transport hub for West
Africa.
.
Mr. Chairman , Ghana is committed to the promotion of sustainable consumption and
production (SCP) patterns and would encourage all countries to promote SCP, with
the develope d countries taking the lead and with all countries benefiting from the
process, taking into account the Rio principles, especially principle 7 which sets out
the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.
In this regard, Ghana supports the promotion of the 10 year framework of
programmes in support of regional and national initiatives to accelerate t he shift
towards sustainable consumption and production. Ghana has put in place a sustainable
development action plan in nine thematic areas including the five CSD thematic areas
and will initiate two pilot projects this year.
In promoting the 10 YFP we must take into account the development needs and
capabilities of developing countries in particular, and provide them with the
wherewithal to increase investments in cleaner production and for eco-efficiency.
Excellencies, Ghana prays that the good opportunity offered by this session would not
slip through our hands without mutually beneficial outcomes even as we prepare for
Rio+20 to take stock of twenty years of working hard to achieve sustainable
development and eradicate poverty.
I thank you.
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