Statement by Professor Jane Lubchenco
President of the International Council for Science (ICSU)
Representing the Scientific & Technological Community
at the
High-Level Ministerial Segment of the 12th Session of the
Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD)
United Nations, New York
29 April, 2004
Mr. Chairman, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
As President of the International Council for Science, it is my honor to speak on
behalf of the international scientific and technological (S&T) community. We have
been pleased to note the many calls by delegations over the last few days for more
science and technology as major tools for meeting the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) and the targets in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation -- in
particular as regards the focus of this CSD: freshwater, sanitation and human
settlements.
Scientific and technological information and knowledge are indeed central to the
achievement of these goals. Understanding this centrality as well as the urgency of
the problems, the S&T community has actively embraced the immense challenge of
providing and sharing the knowledge needed to achieve the goals set. As a
consequence, a veritable plethora of new and ambitious efforts is underway that
reflect our collective commitment to upholding our end of the important social
contract that we have with society.
One of these ambitious new efforts is the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA)
that will report its findings in early 2005. The MA is linking scientific knowledge
about ecosystems to human well-being to provide new insight and guidance to
society. New interdisciplinary approaches linking natural and social sciences are
uncovering critical connections between the conditions of ecosystems and the
provision of ecosystem services such as water purification and waste disposal. One
clear message emerging from the MA is that the MDGs will be achieved if and only
if they are tackled as an integrated package, not taken selectively or sequentially.
From the S&T perspective, a number of actions by governments and
intergovernmental organizations and agencies would vastly improve the acquisition
and dissemination of S&T knowledge and information relevant to sustainable
development. I highlight 6 priority actions:
1) Governments should strengthen their support for the involvement of their
science communities in international and coordinated research programmes,
especially those that address water, sanitation, human settlements and other
MDG-relevant topics.
2) The Scientific and Technological Community should strengthen its
cooperation and coordination with programmes of the UN system, especially
UNESCO and UNEP.
3) Global observing systems, especially the freshwater component, should be
strengthened. However, so too must ground-based efforts that complement
remote sensing from space with the collection of on-the-ground socioeconomic
data so that analyses can be done within geo-referenced GIS. All
countries can contribute to and benefit from a coupled global observing
system. Likewise, equitable and open access to these data is imperative.
4) Better use should be made of existing, low cost, appropriate technologies for
water and sanitation. A number of specific examples are provided in our
report to CSD12.
5) Efforts to strengthen science education at the primary and secondary school
level and scientific capacity building should be greatly enhanced.
6) It is important that the dialogue and partnership between the Major Groups
and the governmental delegations be continued during the policy session of
CSD13 and beyond.
In conclusion, policy making at all levels should be based on the best available
knowledge. Some of this knowledge is in hand, but is not fully utilized; in other
arenas new knowledge is needed. Some of this knowledge is universal whereas
much of it is place-based and scale-dependent. Consequently, scientific expertise
is required throughout the world. This morning Mr. Mark Malloch Brown
spoke of the ?enormous passion and immense frustration? that characterize
global attempts to make a transition to sustainability. The S&T community is
deeply committed to helping meet this challenge. We stand ready to partner
with all of you.
