| The Earth Summit in 1992 recommended
the active participation of citizens along with governments in implementation of the Rio
agreements. Since then, many countries have established their own multi-stakeholder
participatory body, herein referred to as National Council for Sustainable Development, to
promote and implement sustainable development at the national level. Form and functions of NCSDs vary, but its common
roles are -
 |
assist governments in
decision-making and policy formulation; |
|
facilitates the focused
participation and cooperation of civil and economic society with governments for
sustainable development; |
|
integrates economic, social
and environmental action and perspectives; |
|
localize global agreements
such as Agenda 21 and other international conventions related to sustainable development;
and |
|
provide a systematic and
informed participation of civil society in United Nations (UN) deliberations. |
UNCSD and the NCSDs
Following Earth Summit in 1992, the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD)
was established to ensure effective implementation of the Earth Summit agreements,
including Agenda 21.
NCSDs can be seen as national level
counterparts of the UNCSD, facilitating countries' follow-up of the implementation of
Agenda 21 at the national level, and assisting in preparation of national reports to be
presented regularly to the UNCSD.
While the UNCSD provides a forum to
coordinate amongst different countries' interests and concerns to negotiate common global
sustainable development objectives and targets, the NCSDs coordinate amongst the plurality
of national stakeholder interests and concerns to develop and carry out collaborative
sustainable development strategies, policies, programmes and projects for the common
national good. |
