Institutionalising sustainable development.

166 Pages·2007·2.36 MB·English

by  OECD

OECD Sustainable Development Studies
O OECD Sustainable Development Studies
Institutionalising Sustainable Development E
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Achieving sustainable development depends on good governance practices, particularly u
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the effective implementation of national sustainable development strategies which integrate t
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government decision-making in the economic, environmental and social spheres. This volume in
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contains recommendations for the true “institutionalisation” of sustainable development. b Sustainable
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Institutionalisation will embed the concept in government operations for the long-term and will D
reduce the vulnerability of sustainable development aims to shorter-term political objectives. e
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ISBN 978-92-64-01887-7
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OECD Sustainable Development Studies
Institutionalising
Sustainable Development
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION
AND DEVELOPMENT
The OECD is a unique forum where the governments of 30 democracies work together to
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© OECD 2007
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3
FOREWORD –

Foreword
This report contains the proceedings of a workshop on Institutionalising Sustainable
Development held in Stockholm, Sweden on 31 August-1 September 2006. The workshop
was sponsored by the Swedish Ministry of Sustainable Development. It was organised
under the auspices of the OECD Horizontal Programme on Sustainable Development and
the United Nations Division for Sustainable Development. There were over 100
participants from developed and developing countries.
The workshop explored the governance aspects of sustainable development and
advancing the implementation of national sustainable development strategies. It is part of
a continuing work programme within the OECD and the United Nations to further the
institutionalisation of sustainable development at national level. In 2002, both the United
Nations and the OECD developed guiding principles for national sustainable
development strategies. These principles, as well as the strategy good practices identified
by the OECD in 2005, were reviewed at the workshop. In addition, approaches for
achieving greater synergies between sustainability strategies and development planning at
country level were discussed.
It should be noted that the papers in this volume reflect the views of the authors and
not necessarily those of the OECD, the United Nations or their Member countries.
INSTITUTIONALISING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT – ISBN-978-92-64-01887-7 © OECD 2007

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TABLE OF CONTENTS –

Table of Contents
Foreword.....................................................................................................................................................3
Preface, ........................................................................................................................................................
Kiyo Akasaka, Deputy Secretary General, OECD, and JoAnne DiSano, Director, UN Division for
Sustainable Development............................................................................................................................7
Workshop Overview and Recommendations,..............................................................................................
Candice Stevens, OECD Sustainable Development Advisor......................................................................9
Part I. Keynote Addresses.........................................................................................................................13
Chapter 1. Advancing Sustainable Development in Sweden....................................................................
Mona Sahlin, Minister for Sustainable Development, Sweden.............................................................15
Chapter 2. Leadership for Sustainable Development................................................................................
Jim MacNeill, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).........................................19
Chapter 3. The Paradigm of Sustainable Development............................................................................
Emil Salim, Asia-Pacific Forum for Environment and Development (APFED)...................................25
Part II. Workshop Reports........................................................................................................................31
Chapter 4. Governance Structures for National Sustainable Development Strategies...............................
Darren Swanson and Lássló Pintér, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)........33
Chapter 5. Sustainable Development Governance Structures in the European Union...............................
Ingeborg Niestroy,European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils.............67
Chapter 6. Sustainable Development Governance in Germany.................................................................
Guenther Bachmann,German Council for Sustainable Development....................................................89
Chapter 7. Monitoring and Reviewing National Sustainable Development Strategies..............................
Barry Dalal-Clayton and Steve Bass,International Institute for Environment and Development.........95
Chapter 8. Approaches for Evaluating National Sustainable Development Strategies..............................
Clive George and Colin Kirkpatrick, University of Manchester.........................................................137
Chapter 9. Monitoring the Sustainability Strategy in Switzerland.............................................................
Daniel Wachter, Swiss Federal Office for Spatial Development.........................................................155

INSTITUTIONALISING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT – ISBN-978-92-64-01887-7 © OECD 2007

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PREFACE –

Preface
Kiyo Akasaka
Deputy Secretary General, OECD
and
JoAnne DiSano
Director, UN Division for Sustainable Development

Sustainable development is a concept encompassing a wide range of economic, social
and environmental issues. Effective implementation of sustainable development
objectives is an institutional challenge with which all governments are struggling. The
sustainability challenges facing developed and developing countries are enormous, but as
many of these challenges are common to several countries, we can share our experiences
and best practices and learn from each other through workshops such as this one.
The Workshop on “Institutionalising Sustainable Development” was the first
sustainable development event organised jointly by the OECD and the United Nations
Division for Sustainable Development (UNDSD). Collaboration between the OECD and
the UNDSD is one of the pillars of the work programme of the OECD Horizontal
Programme on Sustainable Development, under the auspices of the OECD Annual
Meeting of Sustainable Development Experts (AMSDE), as well as of the UNDSD,
which is responsible for the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD).
At the workshop, we were particularly honoured by the presence of Professor Emil
Salim, who was the Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for the 2002 World Summit
on Sustainable Development (WSSD). We were also pleased to have the insights of Jim
MacNeill, the Secretary-General of the World Commission on Environment and
Development (WCED) and the main architect of the 1987 Brundtland Report on
sustainable development, “Our Common Future”. The Workshop was ably chaired by
Gun-Britt Andersson, Swedish Ambassador to the OECD.
The need for national sustainable development strategies (NSDS) was agreed as part
of Agenda 21 signed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
(the Rio Earth Summit) in 1992. In 2002, the WSSD recognised that “good governance is
essential for sustainable development” and made a specific target in its Plan of
Implementation that in order to strengthen institutional frameworks for sustainable
development at the national level, “states should take immediate steps to make progress
in the formulation and elaboration of national strategies for sustainable development and
begin their implementation by 2005.”
The OECD started working on governance for sustainable development in 1998 when
it included a project on “Institutions and Decision-Making” in its original horizontal
programme on sustainable development (1998-2001). In 2000, the OECD Public
Governance Committee prepared country case studies on sustainable development
INSTITUTIONALISING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT – ISBN-978-92-64-01887-7 © OECD 2007
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PREFACE –
governance and concluded that “good governance and sound public management are
preconditions for the implementation of sustainable development policies”. These case
studies were discussed at a 2001 seminar on Improving Governance for Sustainable
Development and provided the basis for an “OECD Checklist” to assist policy-makers in
assessing the adequacy of their institutional approaches to sustainable development.
While many countries have formulated and implemented national strategies for
sustainable development, many lack the basic design and implementation elements
recommended by both the OECD and the UN in their respective NSDS Guiding
Principles. While there is no single method, specific entry point or ideal co-ordinating
mechanism for these strategies, the OECD identified a set of effective approaches in the
2005 publication, “Good Practices in the National Sustainable Development Strategies of
OECD Countries”.
In April 2006, OECD Environment and Development Ministers met in a joint session
to discuss linkages between environmental concerns and development strategies and
proposed greater attention to the nexus between sustainability, development planning and
Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS) in this context. The Stockholm Workshop built on
these efforts to further enhance national sustainable development strategies in both OECD
and non-OECD countries.
Operationally, the Workshop aimed at learning how to overcome the political
obstacles to institutionalising sustainable development by: 1) sharing country experiences
in successful and unsuccessful approaches, 2) sharing ideas with the full range of
stakeholders, including NGOs, and 3) developing best practices for governance for
sustainable development The outcomes should help OECD and non-OECD countries
which have been struggling to find better ways to truly implement sustainable
development.
This work on the institutional aspects of sustainable development will be one of the
most important contributions which the OECD, the United Nations and their Member
countries can make towards achieving the goals set at the WSSD in 2002. It is hoped that
initiatives such as this one will expand to include many more countries so that the
internationally agreed goals of sustainable development can be implemented widely and
effectively.
INSTITUTIONALISING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT – ISBN-978-92-64-01887-7 © OECD 2007