U.S. Statement During the Interactive Discussion on the Role and Contribution of Major Groups

Participation of all major groups and other relevant stakeholders is crucial if we are to achieve the internationally agreed development goals.

Mr. Chairman, you and the other Bureau members and the CSD Secretariat deserve enormous credit for organizing these past two weeks in a way that has offered a variety of entry points for stakeholder participation. Rather than setting aside one or two specific segments for major groups, their inclusion throughout the plenary dialogs has brought their experience and perspective into the discussions among government representatives. It is our hope that, especially in review years -- where we are not negotiating -- it will become the norm that major groups are fully integrated into our discussions and proceedings.

I would like to offer two observations. First, as we shift our focus from the global and national levels to delivering results at the local level, the role of local authorities will be increasingly important, particularly in providing access to clean water and sanitation and meeting the demands of rapidly growing human settlements. One of the challenges we face as national governments working in an intergovernmental body is to figure out how we can engage with local authorities. We would welcome suggestions from the local authorities on how this might be accomplished.

Second, as we move toward an increased focus on “how to” implement sustainable development objectives, sound science to help decision-makers understand how best to proceed will be essential. For example, we need to draw upon the scientific and technological community’s strengths if we are to design effective integrated water resource management plans, for example, or if we are to develop, diffuse, and apply new technologies for clean water and sanitation or water conservation. Advances in remote sensing, geographic information systems, and information management are key to addressing water, sanitation, and human settlement issues, as well as other complex sustainable development challenges. However, it is not only about technological solutions, the social sciences will be important. We need to assess how human systems can adapt to and manage new technologies. We would appreciate the views of the Science and Technology Community on the role of the social sciences in sustainable development.