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World Summit on Sustainable
Development (WSSD)
The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), held in Johannesburg,
South Africa, from the 26 August to the 4 September 2002, marked
the ten year anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development (UNCED), otherwise known as the Earth
Summit. The WSSD reviewed progress towards sustainable development
since that time, and made recommendations and identified quantifiable
targets for future action to achieve the goals outlined within Agenda
21.
The Summit was attended by tens of thousands of participants, including
heads of State and Government, national delegates and leaders from
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), businesses and other major
groups.
The Report of the World Summit on Sustainable Development contains
the full text of the two key resolutions of the Summit, the Political
Declaration and the Plan of Implementation
of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, along with
supplementary information on events conducted during the course
of the Summit.
The full report is available:
Report
of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (PDF)
- Johannesburg, South Africa, 26 August- 4 September 2002, A/CONF.199/20*
Reissued for technical reasons.
Further information on the WSSD may be obtained from the official
Summit website: [http://www.johannesburgsummit.org].
To assist interested user the sections of both the Political Declaration
and the Plan of Implementation that are of greater relevance to
the minerals have been identified and outlined below:
•Political Declaration
•Plan of Implementation
| Political Declaration for the World Summit
on Sustainable Development |
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The following are extracts from the Political Declaration
that pertain in some fashion to the activities of the minerals
sector. The headings and paragraph number correspond to those
from the original document.
Extracted from the section:
The challenges we face
| 11. We recognize that poverty
eradication, changing consumption and production patterns
and protecting and managing the natural resource base
for economic and social development are overarching objectives
of and essential requirements for sustainable
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13. The global environment
continues to suffer. Loss of biodiversity continues,
fish stocks continue to be depleted, desertification
claims more and more fertile land, the adverse effects
of climate change are already evident, natural disasters
are more frequent and more devastating, and developing
countries more vulnerable, and air, water and marine
pollution continue to rob millions of a decent life.
14. Globalization has added
a new dimension to these challenges. The rapid integration
of markets, mobility of capital and significant increases
in investment flows around the world have opened new
challenges and opportunities for the pursuit of sustainable
development. But the benefits and costs of globalization
are unevenly distributed, with developing countries
facing special difficulties in meeting this challenge.
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Extracted from the section:
Our commitment to sustainable development
| 18. We welcome the focus
of the Johannesburg Summit on the indivisibility of human
dignity and are resolved, through decisions on targets,
timetables and partnerships, to speedily increase access
to such basic requirements as clean water, sanitation,
adequate shelter, energy, health care, food security and
the protection of biodiversity. At the same time, we will
work together to help one another gain access to financial
resources, benefit from the opening of markets, ensure
capacity-building, use modern technology to bring about
development and make sure that there is technology transfer,
human resource development, education and training to
banish underdevelopment forever.
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21. We recognize the reality
that global society has the means and is endowed with
the resources to address the challenges of poverty eradication
and sustainable development confronting all humanity.
Together, we will take extra steps to ensure that these
available resources are used to the benefit of humanity.
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| 23. We welcome and support
the emergence of stronger regional groupings and alliances,
such as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development,
to promote regional cooperation, improved international
cooperation and sustainable development.
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| 25. We reaffirm the vital
role of the indigenous peoples in sustainable development.
26. We recognize that sustainable
development requires a long-term perspective and broad-based
participation in policy formulation, decision-making
and implementation at all levels. As social partners,
we will continue to work for stable partnerships with
all major groups, respecting the independent, important
roles of each of them.
27. We agree that in pursuit
of its legitimate activities the private sector, including
both large and small companies, has a duty to contribute
to the evolution of equitable and sustainable communities
and societies.
28. We also agree to provide
assistance to increase income generating employment
opportunities, taking into account the International
Labour Organization (ILO) Declaration of Fundamental
Principles and Rights at Work.
29. We agree that there
is a need for private sector corporations to enforce
corporate accountability, which should take place within
a transparent and stable regulatory environment.
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Extracted from the section:
Making it happen!
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34. We are in agreement
that this must be an inclusive process, involving all
the major groups and Governments that participated in
the historic Johannesburg Summit.
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| 35. We commit ourselves
to act together, united by a common determination to save
our planet, promote human development and achieve universal
prosperity and peace.
36. We commit ourselves
to the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and to expedite
the achievement of the time-bound, socio-economic and
environmental targets contained therein.
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| Plan of Implementation for the World Summit
on Sustainable Development |
A number of sections from the Plan of Implementation are
of specific relevance to the mining, minerals and metals sector.
These sections are presented below, in each case the entire
subsection has been extracted to place the reference in context.
The headings and paragraph numbers correspond to those from
the original document while relevant paragraphs are highlighted
with red text.
The following sections of the Plan of Implementation contain
direct references to the activities of the minerals, metals
and mining sector:
•Poverty Eradication
•Protecting and managing the natural
resource base of economic and social development
•Sustainable Development for Africa
Many other sections of the Plan of Implementation may indirectly
impact upon the activities of the mining, minerals and metals
sector. These include, but are not limited to, the following:
•Reuse and Recycling
of Materials, Hazardous Waste and Heavy Metals
•Kyoto Protocol
Extracted from the section:
II. Poverty eradication
10. Strengthen the contribution
of industrial development to poverty eradication and sustainable
natural resource management. This would include actions
at all levels to:
(a) Provide assistance and mobilize resources to
enhance industrial productivity and competitiveness
as well as industrial development in developing countries,
including the transfer of environmentally sound technologies
on preferential terms, as mutually agreed;
(b) Provide assistance to increase income-generating
employment opportunities, taking into account the
Declaration
on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work of the
International Labour Organization;
(c) Promote the development of micro, small and medium-sized
enterprises, including by means of training, education
and skill enhancement, with a special focus on agro-industry
as a provider of livelihoods for rural communities;
(d) Provide financial and technological
support, as appropriate, to rural communities of developing
countries to enable them to benefit from safe and
sustainable livelihood opportunities in small-scale
mining ventures;
(e) Provide support to developing countries for the
development of safe low-cost technologies that provide
or conserve fuel for cooking and water heating;
f) Provide support for natural resource management
for creating sustainable livelihoods for the poor.
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Extracted from the section:
IV. Protecting and managing the natural
resource base of economic and social development
46.
Mining, minerals and metals are important to the economic
and social development of many countries. Minerals are
essential for modern living. Enhancing the contribution
of mining, minerals and metals to sustainable development
includes actions at all levels to:
(a) Support efforts to address
the environmental, economic, health and social impacts
and benefits of mining, minerals and metals throughout
their life cycle, including workers’ health and
safety, and use a range of partnerships, furthering
existing activities at the national and international
levels among interested Governments, intergovernmental
organizations, mining companies and workers and other
stakeholders to promote transparency and accountability
for sustainable mining and minerals development;
(b) Enhance the participation
of stakeholders, including local and indigenous communities
and women, to play an active role in minerals, metals
and mining development throughout the life cycles
of mining operations, including after closure for
rehabilitation purposes, in accordance with national
regulations and taking into account significant transboundary
impacts;
(c) Foster sustainable mining
practices through the provision of financial, technical
and capacity-building support to developing countries
and countries with economies in transition for the
mining and processing of minerals, including small-scale
mining, and, where possible and appropriate, improve
value-added processing, upgrade scientific and technological
information and reclaim and rehabilitate degraded
sites.
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Extracted from the section:
VIII. Sustainable development for Africa
62. Since the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development, sustainable
development has remained elusive for many African countries.
Poverty remains a major challenge and most countries on
the continent have not benefited fully from the opportunities
of globalization, further exacerbating the continent’s
marginalization. Africa’s efforts to achieve sustainable
development have been hindered by conflicts, insufficient
investment, limited market access opportunities and supply
side constraints, unsustainable debt burdens, historically
declining levels of official development assistance and
the impact of HIV/AIDS. The World Summit on Sustainable
Development should reinvigorate the commitment of the
international community to address these special challenges
and give effect to a new vision based on concrete actions
for the implementation of Agenda 21 in Africa. The New
Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) is a
commitment by African leaders to the people of Africa.
It recognizes that partnerships among African countries
themselves and between them and with the international
community are key elements of a shared and common vision
to eradicate poverty, and furthermore it aims to place
their countries, both individually and collectively, on
a path of sustained economic growth and sustainable development,
while participating actively in the world economy and
body politic. It provides a framework for sustainable
development on the continent to be shared by all Africa’s
people. The international community welcomes NEPAD and
pledges its support to the implementation of this vision,
including through utilization of the benefits of South-South
cooperation supported, inter alia, by the Tokyo International
Conference on African Development. It also pledges support
for other existing development frameworks that are owned
and driven nationally by African countries and that embody
poverty reduction strategies, including poverty reduction
strategy papers. Achieving sustainable development includes
actions at all levels to:
(a) Create an enabling environment at the regional,
subregional, national and local levels in order to
achieve sustained economic growth and sustainable
development and support African efforts for peace,
stability and security, the resolution and prevention
of conflicts, democracy, good governance, respect
for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including
the right to development and gender equality;
(b) Support the implementation of the vision of NEPAD
and other established regional and subregional efforts,
including through financing, technical cooperation
and institutional cooperation and human and institutional
capacity-building at the regional, subregional and
national levels, consistent with national policies,
programmes and nationally owned and led strategies
for poverty reduction and sustainable development,
such as, where applicable, poverty reduction strategy
papers;
(c) Promote technology development, transfer and
diffusion to Africa and further develop technology
and knowledge available in African centres of excellence;
(d) Support African countries in developing effective
science and technology institutions and research activities
capable of developing and adapting to world class
technologies;
(e) Support the development of national programmes
and strategies to promote education within the context
of nationally owned and led strategies for poverty
reduction and strengthen research institutions in
education in order to increase the capacity to fully
support the achievement of internationally agreed
development goals related to education, including
those contained in the Millennium Declaration on ensuring
that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls
alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary
schooling and that girls and boys will have equal
access to all levels of education relevant to national
needs;
(f) Enhance the industrial productivity, diversity
and competitiveness of African countries through a
combination of financial and technological support
for the development of key infrastructure, access
to technology, networking of research centres, adding
value to export products, skills development and enhancing
market access in support of sustainable development;
(g) Enhance the contribution
of the industrial sector, in particular mining, minerals
and metals, to the sustainable development of Africa
by supporting the development of effective and transparent
regulatory and management frameworks and value addition,
broad-based participation, social and environmental
responsibility and increased market access in order
to create an attractive and conducive environment
for investment;
(h) Provide financial and technical support to strengthen
the capacity of African countries to undertake environmental
legislative policy and institutional reform for sustainable
development and to undertake environmental impact
assessments and, as appropriate, to negotiate and
implement multilateral environment agreements;
(i) Develop projects, programmes and partnerships
with relevant stakeholders and mobilize resources
for the effective implementation of the outcome of
the African Process for the Protection and Development
of the Marine and Coastal Environment;
(j) Deal effectively with energy problems in Africa,
including through initiatives to:
(i) Establish and promote programmes, partnerships
and initiatives to support Africa’s efforts
to implement NEPAD objectives on energy, which seek
to secure access for at least 35 per cent of the
African population within 20 years, especially in
rural areas;
(ii) Provide support to implement other initiatives
on energy, including the promotion of cleaner and
more efficient use of natural gas and increased
use of renewable energy, and to improve energy efficiency
and access to advanced energy technologies, including
cleaner fossil fuel technologies, particularly in
rural and peri-urban areas;
(k) Assist African countries in mobilizing adequate
resources for their adaptation needs relating to the
adverse effects of climate change, extreme weather
events, sea level rise and climate variability, and
assist in developing national climate change strategies
and mitigation programmes, and continue to take actions
to mitigate the adverse effects on climate change
in Africa, consistent with the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change;
(l) Support African efforts to develop affordable
transport systems and infrastructure that promote
sustainable development and connectivity in Africa;
(m) Further to paragraph 42 above, address the poverty
affecting mountain communities in Africa;
(n) Provide financial and technical support for afforestation
and reforestation in Africa and to build capacity
for sustainable forest management, including combating
deforestation and measures to improve the policy and
legal framework of the forest sector.
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The following sections of the Draft Plan
of Implementation may indirectly impact upon the activities
of the mining sector.
Extracted from the section:
III. Changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and production
22. Prevent and minimize
waste and maximize reuse, recycling and use of environmentally
friendly alternative materials, with the participation
of government authorities and all stakeholders, in order
to minimize adverse effects on the environment and improve
resource efficiency, with financial, technical and other
assistance for developing countries. This would include
actions at all levels to:
(a) Develop waste management systems, with the highest
priority placed on waste prevention and minimization,
reuse and recycling, and environmentally sound disposal
facilities, including technology to recapture the
energy contained in waste, and encourage small-scale
waste-recycling initiatives that support urban and
rural waste management and provide income-generating
opportunities, with international support for developing
countries;
(b) Promote waste prevention and minimization by
encouraging production of reusable consumer goods
and biodegradable products and developing the infrastructure
required.
23. Renew the commitment,
as advanced in Agenda 21,
to sound management of chemicals throughout their life
cycle and of hazardous wastes for sustainable development
as well as for the protection of human health and the
environment, inter alia, aiming to achieve, by 2020,
that chemicals are used and produced in ways that lead
to the minimization of significant adverse effects on
human health and the environment, using transparent
science-based risk assessment procedures and science-based
risk management procedures, taking into account the
precautionary approach, as set out in principle 15 of
the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development,
and support developing countries in strengthening their
capacity for the sound management of chemicals and hazardous
wastes by providing technical and financial assistance.
This would include actions at all levels to:
(a) Promote the ratification and implementation of
relevant international instruments on chemicals and
hazardous waste, including the Rotterdam
Convention on Prior Informed Consent Procedures for
Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International
Trade so that it can enter into force by 2003
and the Stockholm
Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants so
that it can enter into force by 2004, and encourage
and improve coordination as well as supporting developing
countries in their implementation;
b) Further develop a strategic approach to international
chemicals management based on the Bahia Declaration
and Priorities for Action beyond 2000 of the Intergovernmental
Forum on Chemical Safety by 2005, and urge that the
United Nations Environment Programme, the Intergovernmental
Forum, other international organizations dealing with
chemical management and other relevant international
organizations and actors closely cooperate in this
regard, as appropriate;
(c) Encourage countries to implement the new globally
harmonized system for the classification and labelling
of chemicals as soon as possible with a view to having
the system fully operational by 2008;
(d) Encourage partnerships to promote activities
aimed at enhancing environmentally sound management
of chemicals and hazardous wastes, implementing multilateral
environmental agreements, raising awareness of issues
relating to chemicals and hazardous waste and encouraging
the collection and use of additional scientific data;
(e) Promote efforts to prevent international illegal
trafficking of hazardous chemicals and hazardous wastes
and to prevent damage resulting from the transboundary
movement and disposal of hazardous wastes in a manner
consistent with obligations under relevant international
instruments, such as the Basel
Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements
of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal;
(f) Encourage development of coherent and integrated
information on chemicals, such as through national
pollutant release and transfer registers;
(g) Promote reduction of the risks posed by heavy
metals that are harmful to human health and the environment,
including through a review of relevant studies, such
as the United
Nations Environment Programme global assessment of
mercury and its compounds.
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Extracted from the section:
IV. Protecting and managing the natural
resource base of economic and social development
38. Change in the Earth’s
climate and its adverse effects are a common concern of
humankind. We remain deeply concerned that all countries,
particularly developing countries, including the least
developed countries and small island developing States,
face increased risks of negative impacts of climate change
and recognize that, in this context, the problems of poverty,
land degradation, access to water and food and human health
remain at the centre of global attention. The United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is
the key instrument for addressing climate change, a global
concern, and we reaffirm our commitment to achieving its
ultimate objective of stabilization of greenhouse gas
concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would
prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the
climate system, within a time frame sufficient to allow
ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure
that food production is not threatened and to enable economic
development to proceed in a sustainable manner, in accordance
with our common but differentiated responsibilities and
respective capabilities. Recalling the United
Nations Millennium Declaration, in which heads of
State and Government resolved to make every effort to
ensure the entry into force of the Kyoto
Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, preferably by the tenth anniversary
of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
in 2002, and to embark on the required reduction of emissions
of greenhouse gases, States that have ratified the Kyoto
Protocol strongly urge States that have not already done
so to ratify it in a timely manner. Actions at all levels
are required to:
(a) Meet all the commitments and obligations under
the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change;
(b) Work cooperatively towards achieving the objectives
of the Convention;
(c) Provide technical and financial assistance and
capacity-building to developing countries and countries
with economies in transition in accordance with commitments
under the Convention, including the Marrakesh Accords;
(d) Build and enhance scientific and technological
capabilities, inter alia, through continuing support
to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for
the exchange of scientific data and information especially
in developing countries;
(e) Develop and transfer technological solutions;
(f) Develop and disseminate innovative technologies
in regard to key sectors of development, particularly
energy, and of investment in this regard, including
through private sector involvement, market-oriented
approaches, and supportive public policies and international
cooperation;
(g) Promote the systematic observation of the Earth’s
atmosphere, land and oceans by improving monitoring
stations, increasing the use of satellites and appropriate
integration of these observations to produce high-quality
data that could be disseminated for the use of all
countries, in particular developing countries;
(h) Enhance the implementation of national, regional
and international strategies to monitor the Earth’s
atmosphere, land and oceans, including, as appropriate,
strategies for integrated global observations, inter
alia, with the cooperation of relevant international
organizations, especially the specialized agencies,
in cooperation with the Convention;
(i) Support initiatives to assess the consequences
of climate change, such as the Arctic Council initiative,
including the environmental, economic and social impacts
on local and indigenous communities.
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