INTRODUCTION - 2002 COUNTRY PROFILES SERIES

Agenda 21, adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de  Janeiro in 1992, underscored the important role that States play in the implementation of the Agenda at the national  level. It recommended that States consider preparing national reports and communicating the information therein to the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) including, activities they undertake to implement Agenda 21, the obstacles and challenges they confront, and other environment and development issues they find relevant. As a result, in 1993 governments began preparing national reports for submission to the CSD. After two years of  following this practice, the CSD decided that a summarized version of national reports submitted thus far would be useful. Subsequently, the CSD Secretariat published the first Country Profiles series in 1997 on the occasion of the five-year review of the Earth Summit (Rio + 5). The series summarized, on a country-by-country basis, all the national reports submitted between 1994 and 1996. Each Profile covered the status of all Agenda 21 chapters.  

The purpose of Country Profiles is to:  

· Help countries monitor their own progress;  

· Share experiences and information with others; and, 

· Serve as institutional memory to track and record national actions undertaken to implement Agenda 21. 

A second series of Country Profiles is being published on the occasion of the World Summit on Sustainable Development being held in Johannesburg from August 26 to September 4, 2002. Each profile covers all 40 chapters of Agenda 21, as well as those issues that have been separately addressed by the CSD since 1997, including trade, energy, transport, sustainable tourism and  industry.

The 2002 Country Profiles series provides the most comprehensive overview to date of the status of implementation of Agenda 21 at the national level. Each Country Profile is based on information updated from that contained in the national reports submitted annually by governments. Preparing national reports is often a challenging exercise. It can also be a productive and rewarding one in terms of taking stock of what has been achieved and by increasing communication, coordination and cooperation among a range of national agencies, institutions and groups. Hopefully, the information contained in this series of Country Profiles will serve as a useful tool for learning from the experience and knowledge gained by each country in its pursuit of sustainable development.

CHAPTER 2:  INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION TO ACCELERATE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND RELATED DOMESTIC POLICIES

CHAPTER 2: INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION TO ACCELERATE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND RELATED DOMESTIC POLICIES - TRADE.

CHAPTER 3: COMBATING POVERTY.

CHAPTER 4: CHANGING CONSUMPTION PATTERNS.

CHAPTER 4: CHANGING CONSUMPTION PATTERNS - ENERGY.

CHAPTER 4: CHANGING CONSUMPTION PATTERNS - TRANSPORT.

CHAPTER 5: DEMOGRAPHIC DYNAMICS AND SUSTAINABILITY.

CHAPTER 6: PROTECTING AND PROMOTING HUMAN HEALTH.

CHAPTER 7: PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE HUMAN SETTLEMENT DEVELOPMENT.

CHAPTER 8: INTEGRATING ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT IN DECISION-MAKING.

CHAPTER 9: PROTECTION OF THE ATMOSPHERE

CHAPTER 10: INTEGRATED APPROACH TO THE PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT OF LAND RESOURCES.

CHAPTER 11: COMBATING DEFORESTATION.

CHAPTER 12:  MANAGING FRAGILE ECOSYSTEMS: COMBATING DESERTIFICATION AND DROUGHT.

CHAPTER 13: MANAGING FRAGILE ECOSYSTEMS: SUSTAINABLE MOUNTAIN DEVELOPMENT.

CHAPTER 14: PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT.

CHAPTER 15:  CONSERVATION OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

CHAPTERS 16 AND 34:  ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND MANAGEMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY AND TRANSFER OF ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND TECHNOLOGY, COOPERATION AND CAPACITY-BUILDING.

CHAPTER 17:  PROTECT ION OF THE OCEANS, ALL KINDS OF SEAS, INCLUDING ENCLOSED AND SEMIENCLOSED SEAS, AND COASTAL AREAS AND THE PROTECTION, RATIONAL USE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR LIVING RESOURCES.

CHAPTER 18: PROTECTION OF THE QUALITY AND SUPPLY OF FRESHWATER RESOURCES: APPLICATION OF INTEGRATED APPROACHES TO THE DEVELOPMENT, MANAGEMENT AND USE OF WATER RESOURCES.

CHAPTER 19: ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND MANAGEMENT OF TOXIC CHEMICALS, INCLUDING PREVENTION OF ILLEGAL INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC IN TOXIC AND DANGEROUS PRODUCTS.

CHAPTERS 20 TO 22:  ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND MANAGEMENT OF HAZARDOUS, SOLID AND RADIOACTIVE WASTES.

CHAPTERS 24 TO 32: STRENGTHENING THE ROLE OF MAJOR GROUPS.

CHAPTER 33: FINANCIAL RESOURCES AND MECHANISMS.

CHAPTER 35: SCIENCE  FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.

CHAPTER 36: PROMOTING EDUCATION, PUBLIC AWARENESS AND TRAINING.

CHAPTER 37:  NATIONAL MECHANISMS AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION FOR CAPACITY-BUILDING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

CHAPTER 38: INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS.