III. Recommendation of the Second Committee

8. The Second Committee recommends to the General Assembly the adoption of the following draft resolution: Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa

The General Assembly,

7. Requests the secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa and appropriate bodies of the Convention, within the scope of the Convention, to improve the effectiveness of collaboration with the secretariats of the other Rio conventions and other partners at the national and, as appropriate, subnational levels to support the implementation, monitoring and follow-up of voluntary land degradation neutrality targets and initiatives;

8. Invites the secretariat of the Convention to take the initiative and invite other relevant agencies and stakeholders, such as United Nations agencies, international organizations, financial institutions, civil society organizations and the private sector, to seek cooperation to achieve target 15.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals;

10. Decides to include, in the United Nations calendar of conferences and meetings for the biennium 2016-2017, the sessions of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention and its subsidiary bodies envisaged for the biennium, and requests the Secretary-General to make provisions for the sessions of the Conference of the Parties and its subsidiary bodies in the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2016-2017;

11. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its seventy-first session a report on the implementation of the present resolution, and decides to include, under the item entitled “Sustainable development”, the sub -item entitled “Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa” in the provisional agenda of its seventy -first session, unless otherwise agreed in the discussions on the revitalization of the Second Committee.

Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

4.b By 2020, substantially expand globally the number of scholarships available to developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States and African countries, for enrolment in higher education, including vocational training and information and communications technology, technical, engineering and scientific programmes, in developed countries and other developing countries

Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

9.a Facilitate sustainable and resilient infrastructure development in developing countries through enhanced financial, technological and technical support to African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States

Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries

10.1 By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate
higher than the national average
10.2 By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status
10.3 Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard
10.4 Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality
10.5 Improve the regulation and monitoring of global financial markets and institutions and strengthen the implementation of such regulations
10.6 Ensure enhanced representation and voice for developing countries in decision-making in global international
economic and financial institutions in order to deliver more effective, credible, accountable and legitimate institutions
10.7 Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies
10.a Implement the principle of special and differential treatment for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, in accordance with World Trade Organization agreements
10.b Encourage official development assistance and financial flows, including foreign direct investment, to States
where the need is greatest, in particular least developed countries, African countries, small island developing States and landlocked developing countries, in accordance with their national plans and programmes
10.c By 2030, reduce to less than 3 per cent the transaction costs of migrant remittances and eliminate remittance
corridors with costs higher than 5 per cent

183. While we acknowledge that some progress has been made towards the fulfilment of international commitments related to Africa?s development needs, we emphasize that significant challenges remain in achieving sustainable development on the continent.

184. We call on the international community to enhance support and fulfil commitments to advance action in areas critical to Africa?s sustainable development and welcome the efforts by development partners to strengthen cooperation with the New Partnership for Africa?s Development. We also welcome the progress made by African countries in deepening democracy, human rights, good governance and sound economic management, and encourage African countries to continue their efforts in this regard. We invite all Africa?s development partners, in particular developed countries, to support African countries in strengthening human capacities and democratic institutions, consistent with their priorities and objectives, with a view to furthering Africa?s development at all levels, including through facilitating the transfer of technology needed by African countries as mutually agreed. We recognize the continued efforts by African countries to create enabling environments for inclusive growth in support of sustainable development and for the international community to make continued efforts to increase the flow of new and additional resources for financing for development from all sources, public and private, domestic and foreign, to support these development efforts by African countries, and welcome the various important initiatives established between African countries and their development partners in this regard.

12. Strong economic performance in Africa is needed to ensure an enabling environment for sustainable development. African countries have taken the leadership in addressing sustainable development challenges, including challenges for sustainable agricultural development, and charting the way forward at the local, national, regional and continental levels, through such initiatives as the New Partnership for Africa?s Development. Nonetheless, average gross domestic product growth remains below the minimum target of seven per cent set by the Partnership and has often occurred in sectors with little impact on employment and income for the majority. Africa still faces challenges in meeting the Millennium Development Goals targets, which are not on track, inter alia, as a result of poorly developed infrastructure, the lack of institutional capacity, and the continuing needs for investment in agriculture. Africa needs a green revolution to help to boost agricultural productivity, food production and national and regional food security in a way which supports ecosystem functions. This would provide a strong foundation for addressing rural poverty, land degradation, drought and desertification. The ongoing multiple global crises pose a serious challenge to the sustainable development prospects of Africa, including sustainable agricultural development. Actions are therefore required at the local, national, regional and global levels to support the ecologically and socially sustainable use of natural resources, the diversification of African economies as well as an African green revolution and the economic, social and environmental dimension of Africa?s sustainable development. Actions are needed to:

(a) Revitalize agriculture as the basis for sustainable rural development. In that context:
(i) Reaffirm the political declaration on Africa?s development needs;11 adopted at the high-level meeting of the General Assembly, on 22 September 2008;
(ii) Take note of the High-level Ministerial Declaration on African Agriculture in the Twenty-First Century: Meeting the Challenges, Making a Sustainable Green Revolution,18 adopted in Windhoek on 10 February 2009 and other relevant meetings such as the Second African Conference on Sanitation and Hygiene, held in Durban, South Africa, in February 2008, and the Eleventh Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government, held in Sharm El-Shaik, Egypt, in July 2008;
(iii) Also take note of the International Conference on Water for Agriculture and Energy in Africa, held in Sirte, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, in December 2008, and the African Conference of Ministers in Charge of Environment on Climate Change for Post 2012, held in Algiers, in November 2008;
(iv) Accelerate agricultural development in line with the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme of the New Partnership for Africa?s Development, including the implementation of the Maputo Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security in Africa;
(v) Encourage and facilitate investment in rural infrastructure specifically to address the socio-economic development of rural communities and vulnerable groups;
(vi) Stimulate private investments in agriculture while supporting small farmers, gender equality, and promoting corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability;
(vii) Increase donor support in order to meet existing commitment for the further development of African agriculture to complement domestic resource mobilization;
(viii) Increase research and development efforts for sustainable agriculture and rural development;
(ix) Support the revision and implementation of sustainable public agricultural policies, involving civil society and the private sector, for strengthening smallholder farms;
(x) Promote equitable access to land and clear and secure land tenure, in particular for women, indigenous peoples and other vulnerable groups;
(xi) Improve land governance, address reasons causing land conflicts and reduce land conflicts;
(xii) Take measures to boost productivity and sustainability, including by access to microfinance and skills development for farmers, especially women farmers;
(xiii) Ensure the equitable and sustainable use, as well as promote integrated management and development, of national and shared water resources in Africa, in accordance with existing international agreements and national priorities;
(xiv) Incorporate the social aspects of agricultural transformation into policy decisions, including managing rural-urban migrations, including through strong urban and rural job creation;
(xv) Support African countries to integrate climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction based on scientific and traditional knowledge and local experience into agricultural policies as well as national development plans;
(b) Integrate African farmers and local entrepreneurs into agricultural supply chains. In that context:
(i) Provide timely access by farmers to affordable public and private inputs and credit and access to public and private insurance instruments;
(ii) Support further the participation of farmer organizations into decision-making processes at all levels;
(iii) Facilitate and support the strengthening of commercial and technical capacity of farmer organizations, including through extension services;
(iv) Increase support, from all sources, to the improvement of market infrastructure and market information systems, including the development and strengthening of rural-urban linkages;
(v) Increase efforts to lower barriers and improve infrastructure to create and expand sustainable domestic and regional food markets;
(vi) Develop national systems incorporating both public and private initiatives to reduce pre- and post- harvest losses, especially through infrastructure and transport development, improvement of storage capacity and supply chains functioning and technology transfer where mutually agreed;
(vii) Foster agro-industries and generate local value added;
(viii) Encourage agro-ecological practices, including the promotion of traditional agricultural practices and, in general, indigenous knowledge, as some of the resources to develop sustainable agricultural production models;
(c) Promote an enabling environment for sustainable development. In that context:
(i) Reaffirm that good governance at all levels is essential for sustained economic growth, poverty eradication and sustainable development;
(ii) Welcome and further encourage the progress many African countries have made with respect to implementing pro-poor economic policies, deepening democracy, protecting human rights and strengthening active participation of civil society and other major stakeholders;
(iii) Stress the importance of African-led initiatives to strengthen political, economic and corporate governance, such as the Africa Peer Review Mechanism;
(iv) Underline that development, peace and security and human rights are interlinked and mutually reinforcing;
(v) Stress that conflict prevention, resolution and management and post-conflict consolidation are essential for the achievement of sustainable development in Africa;
(vi) Welcome and encourage the continuing progress that the African Union and the subregional organizations have made in this regard, inter alia, through the strengthening of Africa?s peace and security architecture;
(vii) Support and strengthen Governments? capacities to manage their resources by strengthening and adhering to their policies and legislations;
(viii) Acknowledge that Africa is the first regional group to have already adopted a regional Ten-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production, which could be used as a tool for poverty eradication;
(d) Ensure the integration of Africa into world trade. In that context:
(i) Improve the access and integration of farmers into local, regional and world markets;
(ii) Accelerate Africa?s regional integration and integration into world markets;
(iii) Encourage further coordination among the African Union, the New Partnership for Africa?s Development partners and the regional economic communities;
(iv) Encourage and support African regional economic organizations to play a key role within the context of the ongoing multiple global crises. Regarding food security, underline the key role that regional economic organizations should play in terms of: support to and coordination of national strategies and policies for agricultural development and food security; improvement of the institutional environment for the agricultural economy; and sustainable management of trans-boundary water resources, in accordance with international agreements;
(e) Continue to reduce the debt burden of African countries. In that context:
(i) Continue efforts, including through effective debt management, to achieve long-term debt sustainability, which is an essential underpinning for growth, as well as for efforts to achieve national sustainable development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals;
(ii) Continue to focus on the poorest countries, but also extend debt restructuring, as necessary and appropriate, even to those countries that are not eligible for assistance under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative;
(f) Increase development aid to Africa. In that context:
(i) Scale up international community support for the implementation of various programmes under the auspices of the New Partnership for Africa?s Development, in particular its Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme and its environment programme;
(ii) Urge donors to meet commitments in particular the Group of Eight commitment to double official development assistance to Africa by 2010 in order to support efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, in particular poverty eradication;
(iii) Ensure that increases in the volume of official development assistance are accompanied by improvements in the effectiveness of aid, including the full implementation of the Accra Agenda for Action;
(iv) Ensure the official development assistance is supportive of national development priorities and poverty reduction programmes and respects national systems of recipient countries so as to increase national ownership and effectiveness;
(v) Increase efforts to promote North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation to further the implementation of sustainable development in Africa;
(g) Increase domestic and foreign investment. In that context:
(i) Increase investment in all types of infrastructure and maintenance of existing infrastructure, in particular rural infrastructure to support rural development, and investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency, where appropriate;
(ii) Encourage private capital to increase flows to Africa by developing a conducive investment climate through international cooperation and global partnership;
(iii) Support economic diversification through investments and focus on activities that add value for exports;
(h) Improve income distribution and promote social development. In that context:
(i) Increase socio-economic benefits to the general population, in particular rural communities and women;
(ii) Promote actions to improve the access of African populations, in particular the most vulnerable ones, to basic primary services and support sustainable economic growth in order to improve the livelihoods of African populations;
(iii) Prioritize, where appropriate, national expenditures on and international aid flows to water and sanitation, as well as for capacity-building, the promotion of integrated water resources management and public-private partnerships;
(iv) Encourage support in strengthening health systems, in particular on reducing infant and maternal mortality and addressing HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, and highlight the need to provide access to adequate nutrition to affected communities and households;
(v) Encourage all efforts to support access to basic primary education and promote improvements in the quality of education in all African countries at all levels, focusing in particular on women?s and girls? education and education in post-conflict areas;
(vi) Support existing centres of excellence and encourage the establishment of new centres;
(vii) Support efforts to generate and deepen knowledge and research, inclusive of technical and vocational training and higher education systems;
(i) Promote, enable and support adaptation to climate change. In that context:
Promote, enable and support the implementation of the three Rio Conventions in Africa, and in this context ensure cooperation and coordination while respecting the individual mandates.

13. Following the significant work already undertaken, coherence should continue to be enhanced between and within international processes and institutions having an impact on agriculture, food security and rural development, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Food Programme and International Fund for Agricultural Development, while noting the work already undertaken by the United Nations Secretary-General?s High-level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis.

14. Policy options and practical measures to expedite implementation should be participatory, multidisciplinary, multisectoral and mutually reinforcing. Policy options should take into consideration the interlinkages among the issues of the thematic clusters as well as cross-cutting issues in order to realize synergies and co-benefits.

15. The eradication of poverty and hunger remains the overarching objective of sustainable development. To this end, the immediate objective should be to meet the Millennium Development Goal of halving, by 2015, the proportion of the world?s people whose income is less than one dollar a day and the proportion of people who suffer from hunger in accordance with the Millennium Declaration target.

16. National sustainable development strategies should address in an integrated manner the social, economic and environmental pillars. These strategies should address, inter alia, the social dimension of globalization, the challenges of international migration, gender equality, multi-stakeholder engagement and policy coherence, as well as strategic assessments, in accordance with national legislation.

17. Revitalizing agriculture and promoting rural development can make an important contribution to eradicating poverty and hunger and to achieving food security as well as to improved health, the empowerment of women and the creation of productive employment opportunities for women, youth, indigenous peoples and local communities. Actions are needed to:

(a) Improve funding and strengthen public health systems in order to better combat, in particular, communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and HIV/AIDS;
(b) Increase investment in education infrastructure, and promote universal and free access to primary education and development of human resources capacity through appropriate education and training programmes in particular for rural youth in poor and vulnerable communities and expand access to education opportunities at all levels;
(c) Promote education and extension services related to agriculture and the food value chain in rural areas at all levels;
(d) Improve the knowledge base for national and regional policy responses to environmental threats to health by strengthening international capacity-building initiatives that assess health and environmental linkages;
(e) Undertake measures to improve and sustain the livelihoods of vulnerable groups such as women, youth, children, seniors, nomadic pastoralists, indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and people living in very remote areas in developing countries;
(f) Empower rural women and promote land ownership and secure land tenure for women farmers; target capacity-building strategies at women farmers and women-headed households;
(g) Strengthen the human resources and institutional capacity of small island developing States and Africa for integrated rural development and sustainable management of natural resources, including in coastal zones and marine fisheries, wetlands, and build the capacity of small island developing States and Africa?s rural communities to help themselves, including by empowering women and youth;
(h) Promote the role of local authorities in partnership with other major groups to exchange information, build networks and create markets for small farmers, especially women and youth.
18. All countries and the international community should strive to manage biodiversity, water, land, and forest in a sustainable manner that also supports ecosystem functions, for the benefit of present and future generations and to facilitate the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
19. The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation sets out three overarching objectives of, and essential requirements for, sustainable development. Fundamental changes in the way societies produce and consume are indispensable for achieving global sustainable development. Actions include:
(a) Promoting sustainable consumption and production patterns, taking actions, including through the Marrakech Process, with developed countries taking the lead, with all countries benefiting from the process and taking into account the Rio principles including, inter alia, the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities;
(b) Encouraging and promoting the development of ten-year frameworks of programmes in support of regional and national initiatives, to accelerate the shift towards sustainable consumption and production, to promote social and economic development within the carrying capacity of ecosystems by addressing and where appropriate, delinking economic growth and environment degradation through improving efficiency and sustainability in the use of resources and production processes and reducing resource degradation, pollution and waste, for deliberation at the eighteenth and nineteenth sessions of the Commission on Sustainable Development. In this regard, all countries should take action, with developed countries taking the lead, taking into account the development needs and capabilities of developing countries through mobilization, from all sources, of financial and technical assistance and capacity-building for developing countries;
(c) Supporting sustainable agricultural production including alternative methods of farming;
(d) Encouraging science-based approaches, such as life cycle analyses, which can help promote more sustainable production practices and offer consumers more sustainable consumption choices;
(e) Promoting education, awareness raising and information, as these can change consumers? behaviour and thus function as a means towards more sustainable lifestyles.
20. Climate change is an urgent global priority that has emerged as a key interlinkage that must be addressed in the context of sustainable development in accordance with the principle of common and differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. It impacts all themes under consideration in the current Commission on Sustainable Development cycle namely agriculture, land, rural development, drought, desertification, and Africa. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the key instrument for addressing climate change. Deliberations on this issue at the Commission should not prejudice the ongoing negotiations under the Framework Convention. In this regard, take actions to:
(a) Support the integration of climate change adaptation measures and disaster risk reduction strategies in agricultural and rural development strategies, sustainable land management and action plans to combat drought and desertification, in particular in developing countries;
(b) Support the development, transfer and diffusion of new technologies in developing countries, across the six themes as appropriate, including, inter alia, for resilient crop varieties and soil management methods to decrease vulnerability to climate change;
(c) Implement the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Programme of Action for Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States in a manner that addresses climate change adaptation needs.
21. As contained in many outcomes of major United Nations conferences and summits such as the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, the provision of means of implementation is critical to achieving global, regional and national policies in various areas, including the thematic areas of this cycle. The means of implementation encompass a range of policy options and practical measures. To complement local and national actions, international cooperation is essential. The internationally agreed development goals including those contained in the Millennium Declaration and Agenda 21, as well as in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, will require significant financial resources as elaborated in the Monterrey Consensus, including through new and additional financial resources, in particular to developing countries, to support the implementation of national policies and programmes developed by them, improve trade opportunities, access to and transfer of environmentally sound technologies, awareness-raising, and capacity-building. Actions are needed to:
(a) Enhance availability and effective use of finance for sustainable development. In that context:
(i) Call for the fulfilment of all official development assistance commitments, including the commitment by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national income for official development assistance to developing countries by 2015, and to reach the level of at least 0.5 per cent of gross national income for official development assistance by 2010, as well as the target of 0.15 0.20 per cent of gross national income for official development assistance to least developed countries, and urge those developed countries that have not yet done so to make concrete efforts in this regard in accordance with their commitments, recognizing the essential role of official development assistance, and the importance of other sources of financing for development, and deliver on commitments made in the Monterrey Consensus of the International Conference on Financing for Development;
(ii) Increase efforts to improve the quality of official development assistance and to increase its development impact. The Economic and Social Council Development Cooperation Forum, along with recent initiatives, such as the High-level Forums on Aid Effectiveness which produced the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and 2008 Accra Agenda for Action, make important contributions to the efforts of those countries, which have committed to them, including through the adoption of the fundamental principles of national ownership, alignment, harmonization, and managing for results. Bearing in mind that there is no-one-size-fits-all formula which will guarantee effective aid assistance, the specific situation of each country needs to be fully considered;
(iii) Enhance multilateral support, in particular from the Global Environment Facility and international financial institutions, and simplify Global Environment Facility procedures;
(iv) Create an enabling environment at all levels for public and private capital flows, including foreign direct investment, taking into account national policies, to boost economic growth and contribute to technology transfer, employment generation and infrastructure development;
(v) Continue to address all relevant issues regarding external debt problems, including through the United Nations, and consider ways to explore enhanced approaches of sovereign debt restructuring mechanisms based on existing frameworks and principles, with broad creditors? and debtors? participation and ensuring comparable burden-sharing among creditors, with an important role for the Bretton Woods institutions;
(vi) Improve access to finance, including microfinance, in particular to local communities, farmers, and small businesses;
(vii) Support and encourage good governance at all levels recognizing that it is essential for achieving sustainable development;
(b) Support the world trading system, recognizing the major role trade plays in achieving sustainable development. In that context:
(i) Promote a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory, and equitable multilateral trading system;
(ii) Provide duty-free and quota-free market access for all least developed countries in accordance with previous commitments;
(iii) Assist developing countries, particularly least developed countries, with the aim to help developing countries with trade policies and regulations, trade development, building productive capacities, trade-related infrastructure, trade-related adjustment and other trade-related needs;
(c) Enhance and promote capacity-building efforts and promote the transfer of technologies to developing countries. In that context:
(i) Implement targeted capacity-building programmes in areas relevant to the thematic cluster, their interlinkages and the cross-cutting issues, in coordination with local, national and regional institutions;
(ii) Strengthen South-South, North-South and triangular cooperation and enhance support from the United Nations development system in promoting such cooperation to enhance financial resources, comprehensive capacity-building, exchange of information and know-how and technology transfer;
(iii) Implement fully the Bali Strategic Plan for Technology Support and Capacity-building, and continue to work towards achieving the goals contained in Agenda 21, including those in chapter 34;
(iv) Increase investments in training, research and development, in particular on sustainable practices and technologies, including agricultural technologies, and accelerate the transfer and diffusion of such technologies, information, methods, practices to reach all users, including farmers, women, youth and indigenous people and those in remote rural areas;
(v) Build capacity for land-use planning aimed at managing land within ecological capacity taking into account long-term potential, soil information and integrating scientific and indigenous knowledge;

Follow-up on agriculture and rural development

2. Calls upon Member States to strengthen the capacities of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the World Food Programme, within their mandates, to provide increased assistance to developing countries, in particular in Africa, on sustainable agriculture and rural development and food security, and requests the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the World Food Programme to follow up the implementation of the provisions of this decision on agriculture and rural development;

Follow-up on land, drought and desertification

3. Further calls upon Member States to support and strengthen the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification for the implementation of the Ten-Year Strategic Plan and Framework to Enhance the Implementation of the Convention, and encourages enhanced coherence among United Nations programmes, funds, agencies and entities working on desertification, drought and land issues, in cooperation with the Convention secretariat;

Follow-up on Africa

4. Decides to devote, in 2012 and 2016, without prejudice to the programme, organization and methods of work of the Commission adopted at its eleventh session, a separate segment at its review sessions, to monitor and follow up the implementation of its decision on Africa taken at the Commission?s seventeenth session.

41. No agreement was reached on measures for Africa but countries supported the
need to implement the priority actions for African countries, including: provision of
affordable and environmentally sound energy services, infrastructure development,
improvement in air pollution and data collection and observation capabilities, and
adaptation to impacts of climate change, such as drought and desertification; and
strengthening financial and technical assistance and resources to support the
implementation of Africa?s agreed programmes of action, and regional
implementation and support in implementing plans on science and technology,
disaster risk reduction and hydropower development.

37. Many countries stressed the importance of taking an integrated approach to the four thematic issues, addressing in a balanced way the economic, social and environmental pillars of sustainable development to enhance effectiveness, influence lifestyle changes and assist in the realization of complementary and mutually reinforcing policy options and actions. Cross-cutting issues needed to be mainstreamed into policy approaches, programmes and development cooperation activities, including through public participation and in particular a strong role of women in decision-making. The means of implementation were critical to turning commitments into actions.

38. The Chairperson?s proposed decision text includes actions on a number of issues on which delegations agreed ad referendum, such as ensuring that energy, industry, air pollution/atmosphere and climate change plans and policies are integrated into national sustainable development strategies, and other policy frameworks; strengthening good governance at all levels, in both the public and private sectors; implementing the global partnership for development and enhancing the momentum generated by the 2005 World Summit; promoting North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation; building partnerships and voluntary initiatives with all relevant stakeholders and major groups; creating an enabling environment for investment; encouraging private international financial flows and public-private partnerships; facilitating greater flows of foreign direct investment; ensuring that investment and trade policies are non-discriminatory; working towards an early conclusion and development-oriented outcome of the Doha Round of trade negotiations; advancing and fully implementing the Bali Strategic Plan for Technology Support and Capacity Building; reaffirming the importance of achieving the goal of universal primary education by 2015; enhancing gender mainstreaming in all areas of sustainable development; integrating health concerns including those of the most vulnerable populations into strategies, policies and programmes and recognizing and utilizing as appropriate the knowledge and experience of the nine major groups identified in Agenda 21.

39. While the meeting was unable to reach a full consensus on all the means of implementation, critical elements in all four thematic areas included the need to mobilize financial resources, from both the public and private sectors, increase official development assistance (ODA), microcredit and innovative funding for renewable energy, energy efficiency, cleaner fossil fuels and other energy; create a positive investment climate at all levels to attract private capital; encourage transfer and dissemination of cleaner energy technologies, including advanced, cleaner fossil fuel technologies; increase investments and strengthen public/private partnerships in research and development (R and D); promote foreign direct investment (FDI) for the development of the resource base; encourage international financial institutions to increase their funding in developing countries; encourage investment in new and more efficient production facilities and products; strengthen investment in capacity-building; enhance access to credit, including microfinancing, by small-scale entrepreneurs; build capacity for monitoring, construction and updating of emissions inventories; promote the development, demonstration and deployment of technologies for adaptation and mitigation, and build capacity for research on climate change impacts and training for technical capabilities, particularly in developing countries.