Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD)

In 1992, more than 100 heads of state met in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The Earth Summit, as UNCED was also known, was convened to address urgent problems of environmental protection and socio-economic development. The assembled leaders signed the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity; endorsed the Rio Declaration and the Forest Principles; and adopted Agenda 21, a 300-page plan for achieving sustainable development in the 21st century.

The Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD ) was formed in 1992 after the Earth Summit to ensure effective follow-up of UNCED, through monitoring and reporting on implementation of the Earth Summit agreements at the local, national, regional and international levels. Following the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002, the CSD was also charged with providing policy guidance to follow up the Johannesburg Plan of implementation (JPOI).

The CSD meets annually. A five-year review of Earth Summit progress took place in 1997 by the United Nations General Assembly meeting in special session, followed in 2002 by a ten-year review by the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). Following discussion of the role of CSD at WSSD, the CSD agreed at its eleventh session in May 2003 that it will now function on the basis of two-year implementation cycles, including review and policy years. The review year will evaluate progress made in implementing sustainable development goals and identifying obstacles and constraints, while the policy year will decide on measures to speed up implementation and mobilize action to overcome these obstacles and constraints. CSD11 agreed on a Program of Work  based on the two-year cycles up until 2016/17. The current cycle is 2005/06, with themes of energy for sustainable development, industrial development, climate change, and atmosphere/air pollution.

Agenda 21

Agenda 21 is an international framework agreement for pursuing global sustainable development that was endorsed by national governments, including the Australian Government, at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Australia's commitment to Agenda 21 is reflected in a strong national response to meet our obligations under this international agreement. For example, all levels of government endorsed the National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development in 1992.

Johannesburg Plan of Implementation

A major outcome of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development was the 54-page agreement called the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation  (JPOI). The JPOI was designed as a framework for action to implement the commitments originally agreed at UNCED. The JPOI sets out priorities for action on sustainable development in areas as diverse as poverty eradication, health, trade, education, science and technology, regional concerns, natural resources, and the institutional arrangements.

The JPOI is divided into eleven chapters, each with its own specific focus. The 11 chapters are: 

• Introduction, outlining the principles of sustainable development;
• Poverty eradication;
• Changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and production;
• Protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development (water; oceans; vulnerability; disaster management; climate change; agriculture; desertification; biodiversity; mountains; tourism; forests; mining);
• Sustainable development in a globalizing world. Characteristics; opportunities and challenges of globalization;
• Health and sustainable development. HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria and other epidemics; health services; environmental health;
• Sustainable development in Small Island Developing States;
• Sustainable development for Africa;
• Other Regional Initiatives ( Latin America and the Caribbean ; Asia and the Pacific; West Asia ; Economic Commission for Europe);
• Means of implementation (trade; finance; debt; technology transfer; role of the scientific community; education; capacity building; and information for decision making); and
• Institutional framework for sustainable development (United Nations, regional and national level arrangements; and participation of major groups or stakeholders).