Discussion on Interlinkages Among the Three Themes & Cross-Cutting Issues

At CSD 11, we set the topics for each two-year cycle through 2015.  We had two goals.  We wanted to be inclusive, recognizing the importance of all the issues in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.  Yet, we also wanted to prioritize by identifying the big themes and the areas where we would focus now.  For the first cycle, which I often hear referred to as the “Water Cycle,” we grouped water, sanitation and human settlements together.   In so doing, we sent a signal to a much broader community beyond the CSD.  Around the world, we saw growing recognition that the UN and specifically the CSD was now working on the  “Water Cycle.”  Indeed, many other organizations and institutions have responded.  They have developed and expanded water programs to deliver results.  This is an important outcome.  Even as we discuss the inter-linkages, we are simultaneously sending a clear message well beyond the UN about our priorities.

The secretariat has helped push us along in this direction.  This year, for example, the secretariat often placed water and sanitation discussions together, allocating the time needed for full exploration of the issues.  Furthermore, we all recognize that the efforts of UN-Habitat take precedence on human settlement issues.  We will discuss human settlements here at CSD, but the bulk of UN efforts on human settlements is likely to take place through another focused UN body.  As a result, for our part, the United States has brought a number of examples of programs and projects on slums and urban employment.  Yet, we have placed a particular emphasis here at CSD on developing the actions and partnerships that will deliver concrete results on meeting the international water and sanitation goals. 

We encourage the Secretariat to apply a similar analysis and approach to the CSD’s upcoming “Energy Cycle.”  As was the case for water, access to energy warrants particular attention given its fundamental importance to so many aspects of sustainable development.   This is especially true for the special needs of many of the lesser developed countries that our colleagues from the G-77 and SIDS have eloquently expressed.  In this context, it would be worth taking into account the other processes and institutional homes that already exist for some of topics that will be addressed during the next cycle.