IAEA

12th Session
of the
Commission on Sustainable Development
Statement
By
Christophe Yvetot
International Atomic Energy Agency
Thursday, 29 April 2004
UNHQ, New York
Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen:
It is a great pleasure to be able to address the 12th session of the Commission on
Sustainable Development and to have the opportunity to present the IAEA?s approach, as
a scientific and technical partner in sustainable development, to the implementation of
Agenda 21, of the Millennium Development Goals and of the Johannesburg Plan of
Implementation.
The IAEA, a partner in sustainable development
As a UN Agency with a scientific and technical approach to sustainable development
issues, the IAEA supports initiatives undertaken at national, regional and global levels to
promote sustainable development policies and practices. Its scientific integrity and
technological resourcefulness provide significant operational advantage for nation
development which, together with its programme focused on major environmental
problems, can benefit to its partners while providing them the indispensable scientific
basis that allow informed decisions.
Understanding the environment
Assessing the environment, understanding the consequences of human activities at local
and global levels are a key component of sustainable development policies. Nuclear
science and technology provide the most efficient tools for in-depth knowledge of water
resources and of the water cycle, as well as essential means to understand land
degradation and combat desertification. The relevance of policies in these areas depends
largely on the identification and on the understanding of the origin and causes of water
scarcity and ecological change such as desertification. The IAEA offers strategic
innovation and sustainable solutions to address these major problems.
Empowering developing countries
The IAEA programme is demand driven and supports its Member States? priorities.
Through scientific and technical cooperation, IAEA seeks to empower its Member States
and partner institutions at local level in focusing on knowledge transfer (trainings, expert
services) and support to key technical capacity. Its ove rall objective is to create a selfreliant
scientific and technical capacity at local level that will directly contribute to
sustainable development issues. It is particularly essential that the capacity created be
considered by local and international partners and be fully involved in international
projects. The investment made by the IAEA in building the capacity at national and
regional levels should be used to catalyse other partners? investments.
Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen,
The IAEA has been building strong partnerships with its Member States, UN
organisations and other major sustainable development stakeholders in the last 40 years
and is working everyday to advance our common agenda. The IAEA is convinced that
synergy between science and sustainable development objectives is key to achievement
of the Agenda 21, of the Millennium Development Goals and of the Johannesburg Plan
of Implementation. In order to further implement sustainable development objectives, the
IAEA is available to explore with all relevant stakeholders the possibility of building new
partnerships.
Thank you
Annex
Highlights on IAEA activities in water resources management and in addressing
land degradation
Water resources management
Water resources management is an area where nuclear science and technology have
demonstrated their unique contribution to sustainable development in recent years.
Sustainable water resources management requires knowledge of the hydrologic cycle and
how freshwater resources are exploited and renewed. Isotope hydrology provides
indispensable information about how much water is available in any given system and its
quality, whether and how quickly it is replenished, where it flows from, where it flows to
and whether how different bodies of water may be linked. This comprehensive
hydrological knowledge base is necessary for:
· Assessing and managing groundwater resources and replenishment rates;
· Understanding river flows, water catchments, soil erosion and
sedimentation processes;
· Flood management;
· Management of new water supplies;
· Hydro-electric and geothermal energy supply;
· Dam and reservoir management.
Such information is indispensable for any project in water assessment, development, and
management. A few examples demonstrate how nuclear science and technology can
constitute a strategic input of international projects:
· The IAEA is contributing and complementing, with the use of isotope techniques,
to the Guarani aquifer programme, which is supported by the World Bank/Global
Environmental Facility (WB/GEF). The aim of the GEF Guarani Aquifer
programme is to support Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay in developing
a common scientific framework for managing and preserving the Guarani
Aquifer. The long-term objective is the sustainable, integrated management and
use of the Guarani Aquifer System.
· A recent partnership initiative with UNDP/GEF will contribute to the sustainable
management of the Nubian aquifer. A partnership ? both financial and technical ?
was established in 2002 through the signature of a Memorandum of
Understanding between UNDP/GEF, the Government of Egypt and the Agency
for the sustainable development of the Nubian Aquifer. This project, co-financed
by UNDP/GEF and the Agency uses of isotope techniques to expand and
consolidate the technical and scientific knowledge and database describing the
aquifer system and to develop a groundwater management plan based on a
monitoring network of the aquifer.
Follow-up meetings were held 1-5 march 2004 at the IAEA in Vienna with
delegations from 4 countries concerned with the Nubian Aquifer (Chad, Egypt,
Libya, Sudan) and relevant international organizations (UNDP/GEF, UNESCO
and the Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and
Europe, CEDARE) as a first step in the preparation of a Strategic Action Plan
necessary for the Nubian system. The goal is the peaceful and sustainable
management of the water resources of the Nubian Aquifer for the benefit of all
participating countries.
The IAEA has 73 active projects related to water involving member states and partners
all over the world. Other examples include: Mitidja Plain (Algeria), Aquifers in the
south-eastern region (Burkina Faso), Duala Sedimentary Basin (Cameroon), Erdos Basin
(China), Rift Valley (Ethiopia), Gunung Kidul Area (Indonesia), Kufra and Sarir Basins
(Libya), Oshivelo and Kalahari Aquifers (Namibia), Tillabery Region (Niger), Chad
Basin aquifer (Nigeria), Tehran Watershed (Iran), North-western Sahara Aquifer System
(Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia), Rio Lempa (El Salvador).
Land degradation
The IAEA is pursuing innovative approaches based on nuclear science and technology
that provide efficient and sustainable solutions to address land degradation and
desertification problems:
· For example, since 1997, the IAEA has been supporting seven countries (Egypt,
Islamic Republic of Iran, Morocco, Pakistan, Syrian Arab Republic, and Tunisia)
in their fight against land degradation. In the interim, other countries joined this
interregional project: Jordan joined the project in 1999, and Algeria and the
United Arab Emirates in 2001.
The project is demonstrating the feasibility of using saline groundwater to grow
salt-tolerant plants on wastelands to produce biomass that could be economically
used as food, forage, firewood, green manure, and agro- industrial feedstock and
coined the term - "biosaline agriculture". Sites consisting of 5 to 10 hectares of
wasteland located in arid areas where the only source of water is saline
groundwater were selected for introduction of salt-tolerant plants and for
demonstration of a technical package for soil management by end users and
beneficiaries. The project involves four main thrusts: (1) introduction of salttolerant
plant species and selection of those having comparative advantages over
others; (2) good irrigation management using neutron moisture meters and other
techniques so as not to allow surface salt accumulation; (3) regular monitoring
(chemical, isotopic, and other) of groundwater within an area of several kilometer
radius around the site to build an information base about the quality, quantity, and
sources of recharge to determine sustainability; and (4) passing on the technology
to the end users to achieve the desired impact.
· Combating desertification in the Sahel: Desertification and/or soil degradation of
dry land in arid and semi-arid regions is a serious and complex problem with great
social, economic, and environmental impacts. Degradation caused by water and
wind erosion, and chemical and physical processes is exacerbated by human
interventions that eliminate the sparse vegetation cover through overgrazing and
firewood collection. Estimates of African desertification show that 74% of
rangeland, 61% of rain-fed cropland, and 18% of irrigated land are severely
affected in 33 countries of the region. The objective of the project is to intensify
sustainable food production in the rain- fed agriculture of the countries in the
Sahel in order to enhance food security while combating desertification.
Specifically, to develop, pilot-test, and promote the adoption of improved and
integrated soil, water, and nutrient management technologies in cropping systems
through the use of nuclear and related techniques. In the short term, these
outcomes are expected to improve the productivity of the system; and in the long
term, to restore and maintain the soil fertility to effectively combat dry-land
degradation.
Bringing scarce resources together in a complementary management approach is
particularly indispensable in this area. The IAEA has signed an agreement with the
International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) and has initiated a partnership with
the Global Mechanism of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification to
better integrate advanced science with land management development problems.
For further information concerning the IAEA and partnerships for sustainable
development please consult the IAEA website: http://www.iaea.org and its Departme nt of
Technical Cooperation website http://www-tc.iaea.org
Contact person for partnerships in sustainable development:
Mr. Ramachandran Swaminathan
Office of External Relations and Policy Coordination
International Atomic Energy Agency
Wagramer Strasse 5, P.O.Box 100
A ? 1400 Vienna ? Austria
Tel: + 43 1 2600 21259
IAEA partnerships on water/environment registered at the WSSD
Lead Partner: International Atomic Energy Agency
Science and technology, application of isotope techniques for Sustainable Water
Resources and Coastal Zone Management. (SWARCOZM )
The main objective of this partnership initiative is to facilitate and enhance advanced
scientific and technological methodologies such as the Isotopes Techniq ues to the
sustainable use of water resources and coastal zone management.
Expected results include :
* Improved understanding of the groundwater discharge to the ocean and sea water
intrusion in the coastal aquifer processes by the application of wide spectrum of isotopes
techniques.
* Increased capacity of coordination among experts in hydrogeology, oceanography,
coastal resources management
* Improved capacity for efficient water resources and coastal zone management and
related policy development achieved by more effective collaboration between the partner
agencies.
* Increased capacity of national scientific and technical institutions to use advanced
techniques such us Isotopes applications in relation to water resources and coastal zone
management.
* Increased capacity for long-term sustained training capability on isotopes techniques
applications through development of academic centers.
**********
Lead Partner: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Application of Nuclear and non Nuclear Techniques for the Monitoring and Management
of Harmful Algal Blooms in the Benguela Coastal Region
Partnership: University of Copenhagen -International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Sub-regional Benguela Coastal Region: Harmful micro-algal toxins represent a major
threat to public health and marine living resources in the Benguela region. The main
objective of this Partnership/initiative is to develop an integrated monitoring program to
address the adverse effects of harmful algal blooms through the application of isotopic
and classic techniques, in order to contribute to the sustainable development and
management of the Benguela marine coastal environment. More specifically:
1. To transfer to Angola, Namibia, and South Africa, the identification/qua ntification
method for toxic phytoplankton and the receptor binding assay (RBA) and related assays
technologies for algal toxins.
2. To establish the capability to monitor toxic phytoplankton and to perform receptor
assay methods for algal toxins in the Member States laboratories.