November 2008: The ANPED Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus CSD-NSDS Capacity Building and Training workshop took place on 27-28 November 2008 in Kyiv, Ukraine. The event was organized for NGOs from Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine with participation of NGO representatives from Latvia and Russia. The workshop was carried out by All-Ukrainian Environmental Non-Governmental Organization "MAMA-86".
The workshop provided the unique opportunity for representatives of non-governmental organizations from the region to assemble and discuss progress of the countries in transition to environmentally balanced patterns of production and consumption, to evaluate their place and role in regional and global processes of transition to sustainable development. During discussion on the most important issues the workshop participants developed recommendations for governments and international organizations.
The workshop covered analysis of the most relevant topics and cross-cutting issues of UN CSD-16 and 17 such as national sustainable development strategies and integration of environmental policy, sustainable agriculture, sustainable development of rural areas and lands, sustainable consumption and production.
The participating countries were discussing their commitments, undertaken in accordance with Agenda 21, the WSSD Plan of Implementation (Johannesburg, 2002); analysis of the current situation in sustainable consumption and production field presented in analytic publication "SPC Policy Review of Western and South Caucasus EECCA Countries"; as well as draft of brief Policy paper of NGOs major group for UN CSD-17 on Agriculture, land, development of rural areas, droughts, desertification and Africa; extracts of draft Statement of European civil society to the UNEP Governing Council; and Manual on CSD, national sustainable development strategies and NGOs’ activities "An oppoptunity not to be wasted". All mentioned above papers and materials were collected into 2 volumes Reader and distributed among participants.
The first day consisted of four plenary sessions with the following reports presented: National Sustainable Development Strategies / Integration of Environmental Policy
- Valentyn Scherbina, Deputy Director of Strategic Planning Department, Ministry of natural environment protection of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine) "Preparing of NSDS/integration of environmental policy"
- Nataliya Andrusevych, Chairman of Board, Resource-analytical center "Society and environment" (Lviv, Ukraine), "Opportunities of European policy of neighbourhood for strengthening of environmental protection and sustainable development issues in policy of sustainable development in Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine"
- Andriy Demidenko, Ukrainian Centre of Environmental and Water Projects (Kyiv, Ukraine), "NSDS, then integration of environmental thoughts into sector policy. What now?"
Preparation for participation in UN CSD
- Janis Brizga, NGO "Green Liberty", Director of the Board ANPED (Riga, Latvia), "Marrakech process and preparation of EU NGOS for UN CSD-17"
- Anna Golubovska-Onisimova, President of MAMA-86 (Kyiv, Ukraine), "SPC policy review of Western and South Caucasus EECCA countries"
- Oleg Suprunenko, Head of Social-Environmental Public Organization "Chistiy Bereg" (Beregovo, Zakarpattya region, Ukraine), "Virus of consumption ideology and its role in economic crisis"
Sustainable Agriculture
- Yevgen Milovanov, President of Ukrainian Federation of Organic Movement (Kyiv, Ukraine), "General state of agriculture in Ukraine from the perspective of environmental impacts and organic prospects"
- Svetlana Berzina, President of All-Ukrainian Public Organization "Live Planet" (Kyiv, Ukraine), "Standardization, green labelling and control in agriculture"
Sustainable Development of Rural Areas
- Anna Tsvetkova, ÌÀÌÀ-86 (Kyiv, Ukraine), "Access to water and sanitation — strategic approach"
- Olga Kazatseva, Deputy Rector for educational process of Modern humanitarian institute, International association "Eco-Tiras" (Chisinau, Moldova), "Sustainable development of rural areas: opportunities and regional priorities"
- Tamara Malkova, Director of International Charity Organization "Informational Centre "Zelenoe dosje" (Kyiv, Ukraine), "Traditional food production in mountainous regions"
Yevgen Shyrokov, Minsk municipal branch of International Public Association of Ecologists (Minsk, Belarus) with his report "Sustainable development of rural areas: opportunities and regional possibilities" opened the second workshop day.
After presentations the workshop participants carried on their discussions in the following working groups:
- Sustainable development of rural areas (group moderator — Ekaterina Kukharuk. Director of Public Organization "Ecostrategii", Chisinau, Moldova)
- Sustainable agriculture and lands (group moderator — Olga Kazantseva, Deputy Rector for educational process of Modern humanitarian institute, International association "Eco-Tiras", Chisinau, Moldova). The report on local sustainable development in Poltava region was made by Julia Berezhna, NGO "MAMA-86-Poltava", Poltava, Ukraine.
- National sustainable development strategies and integration of environmental policy (group moderators — Yaroslav Bekish, coordinator of "Belarus Green Network", Minsk, Belarus, and Anna Golubovska-Onisimova, President of MAMA-86)
Each moderator presented the results of the group work with the review of the problem and recommendations for its solution.
The journalists covering the environmental issues were invited to the press-conference held on the second day of the workshop. The press-announce and press-release were prepared and distributed by the Director of "Green Dossier" NGO Tamara Malkova.
The article "About a virus of consumption on the Day without Buying" (author Oleg Suprunenko, NGO "Chisty Bereg") was published after the press-conference in Internet. Big article of the same author on this issue was also published on previous to the workshop weekend in popular weekly newspaper "Mirrow of the Week". Tamara Malkova also published the article in the regional newspaper "Agropolicy". Another one publication is pending.
In total, 30 representatives of 20 NGOs from Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine took part in the event, and also a special guest from NGO "Green Liberty" (Riga Latvia) and a Member of the Board of Directors ANPED, Janis Brizga.
The final document "Summary Conclusions" was drafted and commented by participants based on the workshop discussions outcomes and it will be used as the guidelines by NGOs from Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine.
See photos of workshop in our gallery.
 November 2008: During the UNEP European Regional Consultation Meeting (RCM), held in Geneva on 17 and 18 November 2008, European civil society representatives, among which were many members of the ANPED network, agreed on a common statement.
At the moment the world is confronted with a food crisis, an energy crisis, and a financial crisis, which challenge world leaders to rethink our actual system. Civil society representatives believe that the Ministers of Environment have a leading position in the transition towards a system which is beneficial for both the planet and the people. They hope that the outcomes of the Governing Council of UNEP, to be held in Nairobi on 16 - 20 February 2009, will strengthen UNEP's role in the UN debates and reform to achieve this goal.
The civil society statement is divided in four chapters, following the GC/GMEF agenda:
- Globalization and the Environment: Global Crises or National Chaos?
- International Environmental Governance and UN Reform: Help or Hindrance?
- Policy Issues
- Programme of Work (2010-2011)
The statement was adopted by representatives of the following eight Major Groups: NGOs, Women, Children and Youth, Indigenous Peoples, Local Authorities, Workers and Trade Unions, Scientific and Technological Communities, and Farmers.
Business and Industry chose not to support this statement.
 October 2008: At the European Regional Meeting on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) under the Marrakech Process, held in Prague, the Northern Alliance for Sustainability (ANPED) delivered a statement addressing the recently adopted EU Action Plan on SCP.
ANPED commends the EU for moving forward in some respects. However, it states that "changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and production requires a comprehensive, coherent and consistent approach". In this regard, ANPED refers to a set of key elements of a broad-based approach to SCP defined by NGO representatives at the 2004 Ostend EU Stakeholder meeting on SCP, which include: ecological fiscal reform; clean and eco-effective production; education for SCP; corporate responsibility and accountability; and information and public participation for SCP.
According to ANPED, the EU focus on energy is far too narrow a scope. Instead, the EU should developed a vision that also takes into account the social dimensions and a wider range of products and services in terms of use of natural resources and waste production. Referring to the 2007 SCP conference in Ljubljana, ANPED stresses the specific attention that should be given to those areas with the highest environmental relevance, which are housing, food and mobility. Furthermore, ANPED states, EU policy on SCP should be as concrete as possible, and the EU should move from a "quantitative towards a qualitative economic model whereby sustainability in terms of production as well as consumption is the key".
Finally, ANPED calls on the EU to promote, facilitate and support SCP policy development and implementation in all European countries, including those outside of the EU in order to avoid any double standards throughout the European region. Here, ANPED calls for Member States and other European countries to develop national action plans on SCP or incorporate SCP action in their national strategies on sustainable development.
 October 2008: The Northern Alliance for Sustainability (ANPED), together with the Moscow office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Ecodefense Group, organized a workshop for Russian NGOs in Moscow on 15 October 2008, entitled NGO Consultations on Issues of the 17th Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development.
Agriculture, rural development, land, drought, desertification and Africa - these are the issues for the 16th and 17th Sessions of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD). CSD-16 took place in New York in May 2008 and was devoted to the REVIEW of the problems and achievements in the above-mentioned fields. CSD-17 will take place in May 2009 and will elaborate on POLICY.
Non-Governmental organizations (NGOs) take part in the UN CSD work. In 2007, during a Consultations process, NGOs from Belarus, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine agreed on a common position on Energy and issues concerning GMOs. This position was presented both at CSD-15 and CSD-16.
To ensure effective NGO participation in the UN CSD process, ANPED, together with Moscow office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Ecodefense! Group held a workshop for NGO representatives from Russia. A similar event for NGOs from Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine will be held in Kiev later this year.
The aims of the consultations were:
1. To elaborate an NGO Position on the CSD-17 issues in the context of climate change;
2. To involve more NGOs in discussions on sustainable development and the work of the UN CSD, both this year as well as for the longer term, by providing information and training on participation in UN processes and lobbying;
3. To discuss and agree on a common position on the adoption of a Russian National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS).
August 2008: Unsustainable consumption and production patterns have brought human civilisation to the brink of a global disaster. Alteration of these patterns in order to minimise their adverse environmental impacts has now become the key question for survival, a question relevant for any country and any citizen.
However, the principle of common but differential responsibility stipulates that every country has the right to economic development; the less economically developed a country is, the higher the destructive environmental effect it may generate in the course of its industrialisation and economic growth. To address these destructive trends, numerous international assistance mechanisms were instituted to support countries in environmentally sound reforming of their economies by transfer of knowledge and technologies that may accelerate transition to sustainable consumption and production (SCP) patterns.
Transition economies have a special role to play in this process as they have not completely gotten rid of their inherited Soviet-style management practices; and their environmental policy – in its modern understanding – is still very young, similar to the market economy and the process of democratic transformation of their political systems. Where are these countries in terms of understanding and implementation of SCP patterns? How are key SCP instruments reflected in their policies and legislation? May NGOs of their countries become driving forces to accelerate greening of their economies?
The SCP Policy Review of Western and South Caucasus EECCA Countries seeks to answer the above questions from the NGO point of view and draw the picture of current progress on the environmental policy integration, sustainable development agenda and sustainable consumption and production concept implementation in countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine. Having many common roots from the legacy of the past, these countries also have differences and specific features, which are important to know and understand.
July 2008: The European Commission this month adopted proposals to expand the scope of existing eco design and labelling requirements to all products that impact on energy consumption. The Commission’s strategy was presented by Industry Commissioner Gunther Verheugen and Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas.
In the proposals, ‘energy-related’ products like windows and shower heads are to fall under the scope of existing rules for energy-using items as set out by the 2005 Eco-design requirements for energy-using products (EuP) Directive. The continued energy focus reveals the heavy control of DG Enterprise, whose sustainable industrial policy focuses purely on energy and climate change. Narrowing the scope of the Directive’s extension to only ‘energy-related’ products means that products with major environmental impacts such as paper, packaging, or furniture are not included.
The Action Plan urges industry to develop benchmarks and voluntary standards for the various products that would be affected by the plans. The Commission would step in and regulate specific standards in cases where industry initiatives are deemed insufficient. The dominance of the voluntary approach, however, sends the wrong signal to companies and investors.
The take-up of more sustainable products through public procurement is promoted, with 10 priority sectors highlighted. For many of these sectors, a European Ecolabel already exists, providing a key area of synergy between ‘environmental benchmark’ products and their more systematic purchase. The European Ecolabel is given a stronger position as a ‘beacon’ of environmental excellence. However, the proposed simplifications to the Ecolabel Regulation would counteract any of the benefits of this synergy and potentially put the label’s credibility into question.
Also, a Retailer Forum will be set up to identify key areas for the sector to improve its own ecological footprint and supply chain, while also making more sustainable products and sustainability information available to consumers. However, an unmonitored, voluntary approach as has been taken, has not proven effective in Europe in the past. There is also no reflection on introducing the producer responsibility principle to the retail or industry sectors.
The Commission will present the legislative proposals to the EU Council of Ministers and the European Parliament. The proposals will go through the co-decision procedure, in which the European Parliament adopts legislation jointly with the Council.
July 2008: The Annual Ministerial Review (AMR) is a new function of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) mandated by Heads of State and Government at the 2005 World Summit. Its purpose is to assess progress made towards the MDGs and the implementation of the other goals and targets agreed at the major UN conferences and summits over the past 15 years, which constitute the United Nations Development Agenda (UNDA); and contribute to scaling-up and accelerating action to realize the development agenda, by serving as global high-level forum with broad-based participation, where lessons learned are exchanged and successful practices and approaches that merit scaling-up are identified.
The AMR forms one part of the ECOSOC High Level Segment which every year brings together member States, UN organizations and other stakeholders, including business, NGOs and academia. The High Level Segment comprises: High Level Policy Dialogue, Development Cooperation Forum, the Annual Ministerial Review, Thematic Debate and an Innovation Fair.
ANPED and Stakeholder Forum have produced two issues of Outreach at the AMR. [ 2 July 2008 ] [ 3 July 2008 ]
June 2008: The CSD-16 Matrix is an information tool developed by the CSD Secretariat at the request of the CSD-16 Bureau. It aims to provide user-friendly information on practical experiences in implementation in the thematic areas of agriculture, rural development, land, drought, desertification and Africa. It is based on information submitted by Governments, including through national reports; by UN agencies, international and regional organizations, as well as by Major Groups. It takes into account information contained in Secretary-General's reports and Partnerships for Sustainable Development registered with the CSD Secretariat, as well as information emerging from the regional implementation meetings.
The Matrix seeks to provide the user with a convenient overview of concrete experiences in addressing barriers and constraints identified in the areas of agriculture, rural development, land, drought, desertification and Africa.
May 2008: The report of the 9th UNEP Global Civil Society Forum (GCSF) is now available. The GSCF is a platform for exchange and consultation on key environmental issues to be addressed during the UNEP Governing Council / Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GC/GMEF), and to facilitate the contribution of Major Groups to the GC/GMEF and other international environmental forums.
May 2008: The Sustainable Development Issues Network (SDIN) is a collaborative effort of three large international networks - TWN, ELCI and ANPED - to form a global NGO network whose purpose is to promote good governance, and enhanced awareness and knowledge about environmental and sustainable development processes and to ensure global quality NGO participation in these global processes within the intergovernmental systems, primarily within the United Nations.
SDIN and Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future present Outreach Issues, the daily civil society newsletter at the CSD. Outreach Issues aims to report with attitude, from the global scene of sustainability.
26 March 2008: A new report by Chris Church, Co-Chair of the Northern Alliance for Sustainability, ANPED, and Tamara Malkova, Director of Green Dossier, looks at the role of NGOs in tackling climate change. The report, Action on Climate Change: From a Divided Europe to a Common Purpose, is based on a survey carried out by NGOs within the ANPED Network in autumn 2007. It looked first at government action on climate change across Europe. It became clear early on that Europe is divided on this issue. Nations that are part of the EU and that have clear targets under the Kyoto protocol are mostly moving in the right direction (often slowly). But in the eastern part of the pan-European region there are very variable approaches. The survey also looked at NGO activity, asked whether and how the NGO was active on climate change. Again there were big differences between east and west.
10 - 11 March 2008: Sustainable Consumption and Production: Framework for Action. This conference is organized by the Sustainable Consumption Research Exchange (SCORE!) Network. SCORE! is an EC-funded network project that supports the development of the UN's 10 Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP). For the present conference, a group of scientists and NGO’s teamed up to develop and launch a ‘Framework of Action on SCP’ for consideration of policy makers world wide. The conference also will mark the launch of the structure of the permanent SCORE spin off that has the ambition to be the ‘Science dialogue‘ in support of the UN’s 10 Year Framework of Programs .
March 2008: The Proposed Organization of Work for UN CSD 16 is now available, with a draft timetable. By the decision of CSD-11, subsequently approved by the Economic and Social Council, the review session of the CSD in the two-year implementation cycle will focus on identifying barriers and constraints in implementation, as well as lessons learned and best practices in relation to its thematic cluster. UN CSD 16’s thematic issues are agriculture, rural development, land, drought, desertification and Africa. It will be held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, from 5 to 16 May 2008.
Insights are drawn from recent studies on stakeholder involvement in the international political process and a series of surveys and semi-structured interviews. The authors identify four challenges. Effort should: be planned more strategically; link sustainable consumption to current priorities; ensure better links between global and local; and NGOs have to better link to other interest groups.
February 2008: How to ensure that products are produced and consumed in a sustainable manner is a challenge the European Commission has sought to address in its 2003 Integrated Product Policy (IPP) proposal. But the IPP has been criticised since the policy contains no legislative provisions to ensure the sustainability of products. In response to this criticism, the Commission consulted stakeholders and has begun formulating action plans on sustainable consumption and production (SCP), prepared by DG Environment, and on a sustainable industrial policy (SIP), prepared by DG Enterprise.
Originally scheduled for publication in December 2007, the Commission's SCP and SIP strategies may now be published in the middle of April, although no definite date has been set, according to a Commission spokersperson.
Below you can find links to further information on the SCP Action Plan:
January 2008: At the Europe and North America Regional Implementation Meeting in preparation of the 16th Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (UN CSD 16), ANPED Board Members Andrey Ozharovskiy and Janis Brizga delivered the statements on behalf of NGOs.
Andrey Ozharovskiy presented the findings on the issue of land degradation and pollution, which include contamination from obsolete pesticides storages, military and space activities, and nuclear contamination. He recommended the establishment of an international policy on contaminated land management; the mapping and marking on site of all the dangerous areas, and the restriction of any agricultural and other activity in those areas.
In his intervention, Janis Brizga stressed there needs to be focus on the underlying causes of the problems we face; that we need to move beyond gross domestic product (GDP) as an indicator of wellbeing; and that we need to use the instrument of National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) in a participatory manner.
UN CSD 16 will focus on agriculture, rural development, land, drought, desertification and Africa.
January 2008: What biodiversity implies for sustainable consumption and thus what sustainable consumption can do for biodiversity is an issue neglected so far in both, the biodiversity and the sustainable consumption discourses.
A new publication by the Northern Alliance for Sustainability, ANPED, Biodiversity and Sustainable Consumption: A Qualified Analysis and Unqualified Suggestions, written by Dr. Joachim Spangenberg, compares the place biodiversity and consumption hold in the overall sustainable development discourse, and focuses on the known reasons for biodiversity loss, asking how they could be influenced, in particular by sustainable consumption.
December 2007: From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.
November 2007: A middle class white guy comes to grips with Peak Oil, Climate Change, Mass Extinction, Population Overshoot and the demise of the American Lifestyle. Heart-felt and poignant, What a Way to Go: Life at the End of Empire will touch you as very few things can. This documentary does a thorough job of presenting the pending mega-crisis in all of its aspects, and then goes even deeper to probe all of the causes, both technological and social. A careful viewing will leave you stunned, informed, and ready to step off the train and begin dismantling the tracks. Watch it yourself, and then present it to as many people as you can. Your life, and your children’s lives, depend on it. Featuring interviews with Daniel Quinn, Derrick Jensen, Jerry Mander, Chellis Glendinning, Richard Heinberg, Thomas Berry, William Catton, Ran Prieur and Richard Manning.
November 2007: The European Commission has published a Citizen's Guide to the Sustainable Development Strategy. It describes how the EU has its own strategy on sustainable development dealing with most of the Earth Summit challenges covering economic, environmental and social issues. The guide covers the topics of climate change; sustainable transport; consumption and production; natural resources; public health; social inclusion; global poverty; cross-cutting policies; and implementation.
November 2007: The report of the conference “Time for Action – Towards Sustainable Consumption and Production in Europe”, held on 27-29 September 2007, in Ljubljana, Slovenia, is now available. Nearly one hundred experts, representing governments, research institutions, civil society, business and international organisations participated in the conference and worked together to formulate recommendations towards sustainable consumption and production (SCP).
October 2007: The Sixth Ministerial Conference "Environment for Europe" was held in Belgrade from 10 to 12 October 2007. European Eco-Forum events were organized in preparation and in parallel to the conference. The Chair's Summary and the Ministerial Declaration are now available.
August 2007: The European Commission has opened a public consultation on sustainable consumption and production and on sustainable industrial policy. The purpose of this consultation is to gather opinions on different policy options that could be implemented at the EU level or by the Member States to achieve this objective. The consultation is open until 23 September and will feed into action plans that the Commission intends to launch in early 2008 on the above topics. A background document offers more information on the rationale behind the different actions and options.
July 2007: When Germany took up the EU Presidency in January, EEB delivered its ‘Ten Green Tests’ to the Government in Berlin. EEB has now published its Assessment of the Environmental Results of the German Presidency of the EU. The assessment clearly scores positive on climate, even though a unilateral 20% greenhouse gas reduction target for the EU by 2020 can hardly be regarded as sufficient. This also counts for the 10% biofuels target. The EEB has now launched its Ten Green Tests for Portugal’s Presidency of the EU (July – December 2007). The Portuguese Presidency is prioritizing some important issues, such as biodiversity, water scarcity, and the marine environment.
June 2007: ANPED was present at the Third International Meeting on Sustainable Production and Consumption under the Marrakech process which took place in Stockholm, Sweden on 26-29 June 2007. The meeting reported and shared progress on national and regional activities related to SPAC and advance the work of the Marrakech Process on sustainable consumption and production that was launched in Marrakech, Morocco in June 2003.
May 2007: UN CSD 15: Outreach Issues is a new and improved civil society newsletter produced by the Sustainable Development Issues Network (SDIN) and Stakeholder Forum (SF). Bringing together the best of the two previous CSD conference dailies, Outreach and Taking Issue, Outreach Issues aims to report with an attitude, from the global scene of sustainability.
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