12. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its seventy-first session, through the Commission on Science and Technology for Development and the Economic and Social Council, a report on the status of
the implementation of and follow-up to the present resolution, taking into account the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the review process of the World Summit on the Information Society and other relevant processes, as part of his annual reporting on the progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the Summit at the regional and international levels, and decides to include the item entitled “Information and communications technologies for development” in the provisional agenda of its seventy-first session, unless otherwise agreed in the discussions on the revitalization of the Second Committee.

Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for
all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

16.1 Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere
16.2 End abuse, exploitation, trafficking nd all forms of violence against and torture of children
16.3 Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all
16.4 By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime
16.5 Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms
16.6 Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels
16.7 Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels
16.8 Broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governance
16.9 By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration
16.10 Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements
16.a Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime
16.b Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development

Decision 9/4
Information for decision-making and participation


Introduction

1. The availability and uses of information are issues that cut across all chapters of Agenda 21 and its implementation. Countries in all regions of the world have made substantial efforts to improve the quality, coherence and cost-effectiveness of data and information-gathering in the years since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). In this context, it is essential to increase investment in human beings, recognize the value of diverse views and appreciate the power of stakeholder participation if countries wish to take advantage of the opportunities that the new knowledge economy presents. A more effective role for an independent, objective media in support of sustainable development is to be promoted. However, there remain significant gaps in the availability and uses of information in many countries. Those developing countries suffering from inadequate infrastructure and information systems and those parts of the population too poor to tap into new information sources are being left behind. Developing countries, in particular, need technology transfer and capacity-building, and will require adequate, predictable, new and additional financial resources, in accordance with chapter 33 of Agenda 21, and paragraphs 76 to 87 of the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, to modernize or establish their information systems.

Guidance to the multilateral system

2. The Commission, recognizing that enhancing information for decision-making in order to achieve sustainable development will require international cooperation and actions compatible with national priorities and circumstances, and seeking to provide assistance to developing countries as well as countries with economies in transition to achieve sustainable development:

Improvements in functioning, coherence and coordination

(a) Encourages international organizations, including international convention secretariats, to rationalize their requests for information with respect to voluntary national reports so as to avoid duplication and unnecessary burden on countries, particularly developing countries. The international organizations should build on existing efforts to improve the compatibility of data-collection methodologies. The purpose of the data requests should be clearly specified, and there should be a demand driven shift from available information to needed information;
(b) Calls for strengthening access by developing countries to information on sustainable development and measures to ensure that the commercialization of information does not become a barrier to developing countries in this regard;
(c) Encourages greater access to Internet information for persons with disabilities;
(d) Urges strengthened cooperation and coordination among global observing systems and research programmes for integrated global observations, taking into account the need for sharing, among all countries, of valuable data, such as ground-based observation data and satellite remote-sensing data;
(e) Encourages countries and relevant international organizations to develop information systems, which make the sharing of valuable data possible, including the active exchange of Earth observation data;
(f) Calls for promoting the development and wider use by developing countries of innovative technologies, such as global mapping, geographical information systems, video transmission technology and Internet technology for the dissemination and use of satellite data.

Training and capacity-building

(g) Encourages countries, particularly developed countries, with the cooperation of relevant international organizations, as appropriate, to:
(i) Assist in training and capacity-building, particularly in developing countries, which will help promote wider use of information and communication technologies, including satellite data, and their application;
(ii) Assist Governments of developing countries to develop the needed technological infrastructure for sustainable development through, inter alia, transfer of technology, including transfer of necessary hardware and software, and implementation of capacity-building programmes to this effect;
(iii) Assist in strengthening national information systems and statistical agencies to ensure that efforts in data collection and analysis are efficient and effective and able to meet a range of decision-making requirements;
(h) Calls for assisting countries, particularly developing countries, in their national efforts to achieve accurate, long-term, consistent and reliable data and use of satellite and remote-sensing technologies for data collection and further improvement of ground-based observations.

Approaches to indicators of sustainable development

3. The Commission, recognizing that any indicators developed under its work programme on indicators of sustainable development are intended only for use by countries at the national level on a voluntary basis, suited to country-specific conditions, and shall not lead to any type of conditionalities, including financial, technical and commercial:
(a) Reiterates the need for the Commission to keep under review the full range of indicators with full participation and ownership of Member States of the United Nations, with a view to avoiding duplication, as well as ensuring the transparency, consistency and reliability of these indicators;
(b) Emphasizes, in accordance with Council resolution 2000/27, that the indicators used by the United Nations Secretariat in the context of the coordinated and integrated follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits should be developed with the full participation of all countries and approved by the relevant intergovernmental bodies;
(c) Notes the important role that national Governments of the 22 testing countries played in developing its work programme on experimental indicators of sustainable development, and in this context notes the usefulness of the above-mentioned exercise and requests that further work on these and other indicators be undertaken, in accordance with Council resolution 2000/27;
(d) Encourages the further work on these and other indicators for the purpose of sustainable development in line with national conditions and priorities in defining and implementing national goals and priorities for sustainable development, including integration of gender aspects, and encourages the involvement of all national stakeholders, as appropriate;
(e) Stresses the need to further develop indicators on means of implementation to evaluate progress towards conference goals in creating an enabling environment for development;
(f) Urges developed countries and international organizations to assist developing countries, as appropriate, in establishing the basic capacities for the development of national indicators of sustainable development through, inter alia, financial support, capacity-building, technical assistance and twinning arrangements;
(g) Recalls the invitation of the Council to the Statistical Commission to serve as the intergovernmental focal point for the review of the indicators used by the United Nations system for the integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits at all levels, and the methodologies employed in formulating them, including in the context of the elaboration of the common country assessment, and to make recommendations with a view to facilitating future consideration by the Council.

Recommendations for activities at the national level

4. At the national level, Governments, taking into account their priorities and respective national circumstances, with the support of the international community, as appropriate, are encouraged to consider to:
(a) Take measures to ensure access to environmental information, public participation in decision-making and access to judicial and administrative proceedings in environmental matters in order to further principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, taking into full account principles 5, 7, and 11 of the Declaration;
(b) Collect and provide access to relevant information for decision-making for sustainable development, including gender-disaggregated data, incorporating indigenous and traditional knowledge into information bases for decision-making, as appropriate;
(c) Establish guidelines to help distinguish between specialized information that can be effectively commercialized from information that should be freely available to the public;
(d) Develop strategies to improve access by all segments of society to information and communication technologies, including the Internet to increase public awareness about sustainable development;
(e) Incorporate data and findings from research and monitoring activities into the decision-making process;
(f) Incorporate sustainable development performance information produced by major groups, including the private sector, in relevant decision-making processes;
(g) Promote, with private sector participation, measures to give developing countries access to information essential for sustainable development;
(h) Foster sustainable development in cooperation with international organizations, by encouraging and providing needed technological infrastructure, in particular to developing countries, and implementing capacity-building programmes that reach out to all sectors of society;
(i) Develop strategic partnerships with non-governmental organizations and the private sector to stimulate innovative data-generation, collection and analysis methods;
(j) Encourage the application of traditional and community knowledge to sustainable resource and community management.

Decision 4/4. Integrating environment and development in decision-making

1. The Commission on Sustainable Development, having examined the report of
the Secretary-General on integrating environment and development in decisionmaking
(E/CN.17/1996/11 and Add.1), notes the progress made at the national
level in providing a framework that integrates economic, social and
environmental policies.

2. The Commission recognizes that responsibility for bringing about changes
aiming at integrating environment and development in decision-making lies with
national Governments, and encourages Governments to establish national
mechanisms, where appropriate, and to develop an integrated approach and
participatory strategies for sustainable development, including economic, social
and environmental aspects of growth.

3. The Commission requests organizations of the United Nations system and
other relevant organizations to support the efforts of Governments to integrate
environment and development in decision-making by, inter alia, strengthening
coordination and exchange of information on "best practices" relating to
sustainable development strategies.

4. The Commission calls on organizations and bodies of the United Nations
system, in cooperation with Governments and, as appropriate, major group
organizations, to place a high priority on actions aimed at supporting national
coordination and planning activities related to the implementation of Agenda 21;
consistent guidelines for national execution of projects and programmes should
be provided to support this process.

5. The Commission calls on Governments to review, as appropriate, their
national legislation in the light of the integrated nature of sustainable
development and the need to implement international legal agreements and
conventions. It requests the international community to continue and strengthen
support for developing the capacities of developing countries for this purpose.

6. The Commission, having noted the work on integrated environmental and
economic accounting being undertaken by the Statistics Division of the United
Nations Secretariat, organizations of the United Nations system and other
intergovernmental organizations, and calls upon them, inter alia, to continue
the work in this area, particularly with regard to methodological development
and technical cooperation.

7. The Commission recalls the importance of integrated environmental and
economic accounting for sustainable development, and encourages Governments to
undertaken further national activities in this area.


Decision 4/5. Information for decision-making

1. The Commission on Sustainable Development, having taken note of the report
of the Secretary-General on information for decision-making (E/CN.17/1996/18 and
Add.1), welcomes the measures taken by Governments to make information more
accessible to decision makers at the national level.

2. The Commission expresses its appreciation of the meetings held during the
inter-sessional period to further the work and understanding of issues addressed
in chapter 40 of Agenda 21, particularly as they relate to indicators of
sustainable development, Earthwatch, Development Watch, the establishment of
common and compatible systems of access to data, and common core data sets.

3. The Commission takes note of the progress made in the implementation of the
work programme on indicators of sustainable development, approved at its third
session, and welcomes that progress, particularly with regard to the preparation
of methodology sheets for the various indicators.

4. The Commission invites Governments to test, develop and use the indicators
of sustainable development based, inter alia, on the work done to date, as
appropriate, on identifying the indicators and preparing the corresponding
methodology sheets. In this regard, Governments are encouraged, as appropriate,
to adopt indicators at the national level and to consider the advantages of
working in partnership with other countries in the testing, further development
and use of the indicators. For example, twinning between countries with more
and less experience in using indicators could prove beneficial to both.

5. The Commission expresses its appreciation of the conclusions of the meeting
on common and compatible systems of access to data, and requests the Department
for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development of the Secretariat, in
cooperation with other organizations of the United Nations system, and within
available resources, to establish a sustainable development home page on the
World Wide Web, with "hot links" to relevant databases throughout the United
Nations system, as a means to facilitate access by countries to sources of
information relevant to sustainable development.

6. The Commission requests the Economic and Social Council?s Ad Hoc Open-Ended
Working Group on the Need to Harmonize and Improve United Nations Information
Systems (for Optimal Utilization and Accessibility by States) to give particular
attention to devising a means of facilitating the access of States Members of
the United Nations to environmental databases throughout the United Nations
system, within available resources.

2. Integrating environment and development in decision-making

13. The Commission, having examined the report of the Secretary-General on
integrating environment and development in decision-making (E/CN.17/1995/19),
noted the need for a framework at the national level for integrating economic,
social and environmental issues and for bringing together sectoral plans in a
more comprehensive manner. The Commission calls on Governments to continue
their efforts to establish, where appropriate, national mechanisms and to
develop integrated, participatory strategies for sustainable development.

14. The Commission welcomes paragraph 11 of the report and emphasizes the
importance of the steps taken by the Inter-Agency Committee on Sustainable
Development to assist Governments in the elaboration of national environmental
and sustainable development strategies and plans and to develop frameworks in
which sectoral plans can be accommodated. It urges all organizations of the
United Nations system, in cooperation with Governments, to participate, as
relevant, in the ongoing programme, and calls upon non-governmental
organizations to contribute to this process to the fullest extent possible.

15. The Commission welcomes offers for hosting international conferences on
promoting sustainable development in order to promote regional and multilateral
cooperation on sustainable development. In this context, the Commission
welcomes the convening of the Third Ministerial Conference, "Environment for
Europe", to be held in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1995. The Commission also welcomes
the initiative of the Government of Belarus for the possible convening of an
international conference of the countries with economies in transition on
promoting sustainable development. The Commission encourages interested
Governments and relevant subregional, regional and other interested
organizations to place, inter alia, the Pan-European Environment Action
Programme for Central and Eastern Europe within the broader framework of
sustainable development, taking due account of the need for the full integration
of countries in transition from centrally planned to market economies, as well
as all other countries, into the world economy, which is essential to
sustainable development.

16. The Commission requests the organizations of the United Nations system and
other relevant organizations to organize, within existing resources, regional
workshops to explore, discuss and further develop methodological approaches to
integration based upon, for example, work being done in environmental economics,
valuation, natural resource accounting and integrated economic and environmental
accounting.

17. The Commission underlines the importance of integrated environmental and
economic accounting for sustainable development and encourages Governments to
undertake further national activities in this area.

18. The Commission takes note of the work in integrated economic and
environmental accounting being undertaken by the Statistical Division of the
United Nations Secretariat, organizations of the United Nations system and other
intergovernmental organizations and calls upon them, inter alia, to further this
work, particularly with regard to promoting the implementation of national
programmes and strengthening technical cooperation in this area.

1. Information for decision-making

1. The Commission, having examined the report of the Secretary-General on
information for decision-making and Earthwatch (E/CN.17/1995/18), noted and
welcomed the important measures taken by Governments to make information more
accessible to decision makers at the national level, and calls upon national
Governments to utilize this information for sustainable development at the
country level. The aim of such measures includes the development of a
comprehensive and coherent information programme, drawing upon public
participation in data collection and assessment. In this context, developed
countries are urged to utilize both bilateral and multilateral channels to
facilitate access by developing countries, and countries whose economies are in
transition, to sources of information relative to sustainable development. The
Sustainable Development Networking Programme of the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) is one model for such initiatives.

2. The Commission calls attention to the feasibility study undertaken by UNDP
to provide access to information on sustainable development to 35 small island
developing States, 2/ which was welcomed by the General Assembly in its
resolution 49/122 on the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of
Small Island Developing States.

3. The Commission expresses its appreciation to the organizers of the six
workshops that furthered understanding of the issues addressed in chapter 40 of
Agenda 21, particularly the efforts related to developing a work programme on
indicators of sustainable development, and it supports and encourages further
work in this area as elaborated in paragraphs 7 and 8 below.

4. The Commission welcomes the contribution of non-governmental organizations
to the process of generating information for decision-making, including the
articulation of views from local and grass-roots levels and from major groups,
and expresses its desire that these activities continue and be integrated, to
the extent possible, with those of national Governments, organizations of the
United Nations system and other intergovernmental organizations.

5. The Commission expresses appreciation for the extensive international
collaboration in the United Nations system-wide Earthwatch and its
responsiveness to the priorities of Agenda 21 and to user needs. It urges
Governments and major groups, as well as relevant international organizations
and the scientific community, to participate actively in strengthening
Earthwatch as an international partnership to ensure an adequate flow of
information on the global and regional environment, to support decision-making
and to give early warning on the state of the environment. Special attention is
drawn to the need for improved delivery of information to decision makers and to
increased participation in environmental observations at the local and national
levels within regional and international frameworks. In this regard, the
Commission welcomes all appropriate participation in the Global Learning and
Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Programme, as described in
General Assembly resolution 49/112.

6. The Commission recalls that, in addition to Earthwatch, which is a global
system for environmental information, Agenda 21, in paragraph 40.13, calls for
the more effective coordination also of development data, "perhaps through an
equivalent and complementary ?Development Watch?". In this context, the
Commission noted the cooperative effort of the organizations of the United
Nations system to prepare proposals for the creation of such a Development
Watch. It requests UNDP, with the Department for Policy Coordination and
Sustainable Development of the United Nations Secretariat, the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Bank, the World Health
Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO), and in cooperation with the regional commissions and other
interested organizations, to further define Development Watch and, in this
regard, to submit a progress report on the implementation of the programme of
work for Development Watch to the Commission at its session in 1997, taking into
account the need for a close linkage between Development Watch and Earthwatch.

7. The Commission noted the importance of developing, among the organizations
of the United Nations system, a common or compatible system of access to their
respective databases, in order to share data fully, to streamline the collection
and interpretation of data and to identify data gaps, for the purpose of
providing more comprehensive and integrated data to decision makers at the
national, regional and international levels. The Commission invites the
Inter-Agency Committee on Sustainable Development to refine measures for
establishing such a common or compatible system and to report thereon to the
Commission at its fourth session. The Commission notes also the rapidly growing
number of information systems for sustainable development at the national and
regional levels, and invites the Secretary-General to consider ways of enhancing
compatibility among and access to these systems and to report his findings to
the Commission at its session in 1997.

8. Governments are encouraged to develop or conduct studies on the development
of indicators of sustainable development in accordance with specific national
conditions. In this context, there is a need for coordination, especially
through the Commission, of the many intergovernmental and scientific
institutions working in this area, as well as a need for intensive international
dialogue.

9. The Commission urges bodies such as the Statistical Division of the United
Nations Secretariat, the statistical services of Member States and other
appropriate institutions, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development, the Statistical Office of the European Communities and major groups
to cooperate in the development of indicators of sustainable development.
Furthermore, the Commission encourages the scientific community, including the
project on indicators of sustainable development undertaken by the Scientific
Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE), to focus its efforts on the
development and improvement of such indicators.

10. The Commission reiterates the importance of developing indicators of
sustainable development for use by decision makers at the local, regional and
national levels and expresses its appreciation to the organizations, both
intergovernmental and non-governmental, and the Governments that have
contributed to the process of defining a programme of work for the further
development of indicators of sustainable development.

11. The Commission approves the programme of work on indicators for sustainable
development contained in annex I to the report of the Secretary-General
(E/CN.17/1995/18) and calls upon the organizations of the United Nations system,
with the support of other intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations,
and through the coordination of the Department for Programme Coordination and
Sustainable Development of the United Nations Secretariat, to implement, within
existing resources, the following, as outlined in the programme of work:
(a) enhancement of information exchange among all interested actors;
(b) development of methodology sheets to be made available to Governments;
(c) training and capacity-building at the regional and national levels;
(d) testing of an appropriate combination of indicators and monitoring of
experiences in a few countries; (e) evaluation of the indicators, including
those mentioned in the report of the Secretary-General (E/CN.17/1995/18), and
adjustment, as necessary; (f) identification and assessment of linkages among
the economic, social, institutional and environmental elements of sustainable
development; (g) development of highly aggregated indicators; and (h) further
development of the conceptual framework for sustainable development indicators,
involving experts from the areas of economics, the social sciences and the
physical sciences and policy makers, as well as incorporating non-governmental
organization and indigenous views. The Commission requests the Secretariat to
provide it with a progress report on the implementation of the programme of work
at its fourth session, in 1996.

12. The Commission took note of the report of the Statistical Commission on its
twenty-eighth session, 3/ and expresses its appreciation to the Statistical
Commission for its offer to collaborate with and support the Commission in its
work on indicators for sustainable development. In this context, the Commission
also welcomes the action taken by the Statistical Commission with respect to the
international compilation of environmental indicators from national statistical
services and looks forward to the contribution of this work to the overall
programme of work on indicators of sustainable development. The Department for
Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development of the United Nations
Secretariat should promote and assist these efforts.

Decision-making structures

5. The Commission welcomes the entry into force of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological
Diversity, as well as the adoption of the Declaration of Barbados and the
Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing
States, and urges that appropriate follow-up action be taken. The Commission
supports the successful conclusion in June 1994 of the negotiations for the
elaboration of an International Convention to Combat Desertification in Those
Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in
Africa, and calls upon all States to accelerate progress in the United Nations
Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks and to
promote the successful conclusion of the Intergovernmental Conference on the
Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities, to be held in
Washington, D.C. in November 1995.

6. The Commission expresses its appreciation to the Government of Austria for
organizing the International Symposium on Sustainable Development and
International Law, held at Baden bei Wien from 14 to 16 April 1994. The
Commission welcomes the report of that Symposium (E/CN.17/1994/16), which opens
a new and promising avenue in the field of codification and development of
international law in support of the fulfilment of the goals and objectives of
Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. The
Commission recommends that relevant international treaty regimes contain
effective machinery for consensus-building and dispute settlement. The
Commission requests the United Nations Environment Programme to study further
the concept, requirements and implications of sustainable development and
international law.

7. The Commission, having examined the report of the Secretary-General
containing an overview of cross-sectoral issues (E/CN.17/1994/2), in particular
section IV on decision-making structures, takes note of the important measures
taken by Governments to integrate environment issues into the development
process within their decision-making structures, and requests all States and
relevant intergovernmental organizations to submit, or continue to submit,
information on an annual, voluntary basis on the implementation of Agenda 21,
the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and other agreements and
conferences related to the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED), as appropriate.

8. The Commission also notes the establishment by the Secretary-General of the
High-level Advisory Board on Sustainable Development, and emphasizes the
desirability of fostering close interaction between the Board and the
Commission, including its Bureau.

9. The Commission takes note of the background paper containing the report
entitled "Decision-making structures: international legal instruments and
mechanisms", prepared by the task manager designated by the Inter-Agency
Committee on Sustainable Development (IACSD). The Commission urges the
Secretary-General to give high priority to coordination through the work of
IACSD. The Commission supports the designation by IACSD of task managers as an
important first step towards improving coordination. It calls upon the task
managers to provide innovative proposals on ways to achieve more efficient
results, including multi-agency joint programming, within available resources.
The Commission requests the Secretary-General to inform the Commission on
progress made in IACSD towards coordination among United Nations bodies in
implementing Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and
other UNCED-related agreements and conferences, as appropriate. United Nations
organizations, as well as international and regional financial institutions,
intergovernmental organizations and other relevant institutions are invited to
give priority to the implementation of Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration, and
UNCED-related agreements and conferences, as appropriate.

10. The Commission emphasizes the importance of creating appropriate national
frameworks for the implementation of Agenda 21 and other relevant agreements and
conferences, bearing in mind the need for a progressive provision of financial
resources and technology transfer, where appropriate. In this respect, the
Commission requests all States to establish the necessary coordinating machinery
for the promotion of sustainable development. The Commission also calls upon
the United Nations system, through the IACSD task managers, to coordinate its
capacity-building activities and to develop joint programming for this purpose,
wherever feasible.

11. In accordance with their national sustainable development priorities,
developing countries should, as appropriate, be supported in strengthening their
capacity in the development or streamlining of sustainable development
strategies, the development and maintenance of environmental law, including the
development of environmental impact assessment procedures, as well as their
capacity to participate effectively in the development of international law
related to sustainable development, and the elaboration of conventions and other
international instruments in this field.

12. The Commission recognizes the importance of full participation of all
interested parties in the negotiation of international agreements relating to
sustainable development, and therefore calls upon the relevant bodies to promote
the provision, through transparent and accountable mechanisms, of financial
support for the participation, in negotiating forums, of developing countries,
in particular the least developed countries, at their request.

13. The Commission recommends that States and international organizations
consider the use of partnerships with business and non-governmental communities
leading to non-legally binding agreements as a first step in the preparation of
international regulations.

14. The Commission notes the need for coordination and more efficient
structural arrangements among the secretariats of conventions related to
sustainable development.