Division For Sustainable Development :: About

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions are divided into four different topics. Click on each (in the listing to the right) to view the corresponding questions and answers.

UN Commission on Sustainable Development

What is the Commission on Sustainable Development?
What happened at previous CSD meetings?
What is the CSD's future programme of work?
What are the Regional Implementation Meetings (RIMs)?
How does the CSD relate to the Johannesburg Summit?
Who was the Chairman for last CSD session and who is the current Chairman?
Which countries are members of the Commission on Sustainable Development?
What is the process of election to the membership of the CSD?
I am very interested in the work of the CSD and the United Nations. How can I find out more about the UN and employment opportunities?

Q1. What is the Commission on Sustainable Development?

The Commission on Sustainable Development - also known as CSD - was created in December 1992 to ensure effective follow-up of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED - also known as the Earth Summit), in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where world 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. (Full list of UNCED documents)

CSD's role has been to ensure effective follow-up of UNCED; to monitor and report on implementation of the Earth Summit agreements at the local, national, regional and international levels. The CSD is a functional commission of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), with 53 members. A five-year review of Earth Summit progress took place in 1997 by the United Nations General Assembly meeting in special session. In 2002, a ten-year review was held at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Summit reiterated the initial mandate and functions of the CSD as a high level forum on sustainable development, and decided to enhance its role so that it can respond to the new demands emerging from the WSSD Plan of Implementation. This will entail major changes in the programme and organization of work, the nature of the Commission's outcomes, reporting to CSD and the UN Organisations, and ways of engaging major groups and other partner involved in the implementation process. These issues were discussed at the 11th Session of the CSD

...TOP

Q2. What happened at previous CSD meetings?

More information about previous CSD sessions.

...TOP

Q3. What is the CSD's future programme of work?

At CSD-11 in May 2003, the Commission agreed on its future programme, methods and organization of work, including a multi-year programme of work through to the year 2017.

...TOP

Q4. What are the Regional Implementation Meetings (RIMs)?

The Plan of Implementation adopted at the WSSD in 2002 stated that the implementation of Agenda 21 and the outcomes of the Summit should be effectively pursued at the regional and sub-regional levels, through the United Nations Regional Commissions and other regional and sub-regional institutions and bodies.

The CSD, at its eleventh session, invited the regional commissions, in collaboration with the secretariat of the CSD, to consider organizing regional implementation meetings, in order to allow effective consideration of regional and sub-regional inputs throughout the Commission's new two-year implementation cycles. Such meetings should preferably take place before the review sessions of the CSD.

For more information click here.

...TOP

Q5. How does the CSD relate to the Johannesburg Summit?

The tenth session of the CSD acted as the Preparatory Committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (also known as the Johannesburg Summit). The Summit was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 26 August to 4 September 2002.

...TOP