Achieving sustainable development requires the availability of appropriate national and international management and regulatory systems. The technical term for this is governance. The governance of sustainable development is the second main topic at Rio+20, along with the green economy.
The international institutional frameworks for sustainable development are poorly developed and not very effective. Although a UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) exists, it is unable to fulfil the functions assigned to it.
The CSD was created during the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development which took place in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It was actually established to support the development of Agenda 21. Following the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002, the CSD was entrusted with the additional task of providing guidance in the implementation of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation at international, national, regional and local levels.
In addition to the CSD, there are many other actors in the UN system that should contribute to sustainability governance. However, the system is fragmented and the coordination between the different actors is inadequate.
Switzerland also supports the creation of global sustainability goals with a view to improving international sustainability governance. In the context of the reporting on the fulfilment of the millennium development goals up to 2015, it is intended to examine whether sustainability goals should be added to them. Switzerland will present additional concrete ideas for reform.
Intensive discussions on reform have been held in the environmental sector in recent years. The reform process should be brought to a successful conclusion in Rio.
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