he Chairman of MIO-ECSDE attended the session on Education for Sustainable Devleopment (ESD) of the UNECE Committee on Environmental Policy that took place on 13-15 October 2004 in Geneva. The draft Strategy for ESD has been finalised and will be submitted to the next High-level meeting for final consideration. The next High-Level Meeting of Environment and Education Ministries (or other equivalent national body responsible for education) will take place on 18 March 2005 as a follow-up of the fifth “Environment for Europe” Conference in Kiev. The draft UNECE ESD Strategy provides a solid regional contribution for the UN Decade of ESD and therefore, the High-Level Meeting, in coordination with UNESCO, will launch the UN Decade of ESD in the UNECE region. If you would like to learn more visit the web-site: http://www.unece.org/env/esd/welcome.htm. For a summary of the session on ESD ....

Summary of the ESD Session of the UNECE Committee on Environmental Policy (Geneva, 13-15 October 2004)

Mr. Jon Kahn, the Chair of the UNECE Task Force on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) presented the draft UNECE Strategy for ESD (CEP/2004/15- CEP/AC.13/2004/8/Rev.1). Further to a decision of the Kiev Conference, an open-ended Task Force was set up by the CEP at its 10th session. The Task Force, led jointly by Sweden and the Russian Federation and included representatives from both environment and education sectors, as well as UNESCO, NGOs, and other stakeholders. Member States expressed great interest in this initiative. Task force held its two meetings in February and July 2004, using the Drafting Group in between and prepared the draft Strategy. The strategy is meant to serve as a flexible framework and its implementation can be adapted to each country’s priorities, specific needs and circumstances. Therefore, the document takes into account comments provided by member States and stakeholders, and is based on a general consensus.

Vast majority of delegations that participated in the discussion praised the work of the Task Force, lead countries and the Secretariat. They admitted that the process was inclusive and that it contributed to the interdepartmental cooperation in the capitals. The representative of European EcoForum expressed its appreciation for transparency of the process and that it was open to participation for stakeholders.

The representative of UNESCO expressed its appreciation to the Task Force, lead countries and to the ECE Secretariat for their work. It also provided information about the upcoming UN Decade of ESD and stressed that the Strategy provides a solid regional contribution for the Decade. UNESCO underlined that UNECE is a pioneer in driving the ESD process and could set an example for other regions.

The UNECE CEP thanked the Task Force for finalizing its work in developing a draft UNECE Strategy for ESD, which is supported by most countries. It also agreed to amend the first sentence of the paragraph 8 of the draft Strategy as follows: “The Strategy will be adopted by the interested UNECE member States.”

The UNECE CEP discussed the note on the High-Level meeting of Education and Environment Ministries (CEP/2004/16 - CEP/AC.13/2004/11}. The UNECE CEP decided to convene a High-Level Meeting of Environment and Education Ministries (or other equivalent national body responsible for education) on 18 March 2005 as a follow-up of the fifth “Environment for Europe” Conference in Kiev. The CEP decided to forward the draft UNECE Strategy to the High-level meeting for final consideration. Sweden informed that it is prepared to co-chair the meeting together with the Russian Federation. The meeting, in coordination with UNESCO, will launch the UN Decade of ESD in the UNECE region. The invitations to the High-Level meeting will be send through the permanent missions of the UNECE Member States to the United Nations.

The UNECE CEP discussed the proposal on Framework for Implementation of the UNECE Strategy for education for sustainable development (CEP/2004/17 - CEP/AC.13/2004/10). Continuation of the process received broad support. The UNECE CEP agreed that ESD-related activities would be financed through the extra budgetary voluntary contributions, unless other decision is taken by CEP. It also agreed to review the progress in the programme, including the financial aspects, at the next session of the CEP. It was agreed that framework for implementation will be further discussed at the High-Level meeting on 18 March 2005.