|
News | Huairou Commission Chair Presents Civil Society Perspective at Global Sustainability Panel Report
Inclusion of women is encouraging, but important shifts are still necessary
 |
|
Huairou Commission Chair Jan Peterson
|
On Friday, March 16, Huairou Commission Chair Jan Peterson served as the civil society respondent during the Informal Plenary Session on the recent report, "Resilient People, Resilient Planet." The report was written by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon's High-level Panel on Global Sustainability (GSP), launched in August 2010 in response to pressing global environmental issues like climate change, loss of biodiversity and food insecurity. The GSP was created to "reflect on and formulate a new vision for sustainable growth and prosperity, along with mechanisms for achieving it," according to the Secretary-General.
The Informal Plenary Session, hosted by President of the UN General Assembly Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, offered an opportunity for civil society, represented by Ms. Peterson, and ambassadors from 18 Member States to respond to the report and its recommendations. (To download the full report, click here).
Recognition of Women
"There are many points in the report that we praise," Ms. Peterson stated, "Bringing more people together, trying to come up with more holistic thinking, and that governments here are seriously trying to figure out how to create enabling environments that will allow everybody to participate." She recognized aspects of the report, including its assertion that "local communities must be encouraged to participate actively and consistently in conceptualizing, planning and executing sustainability policies."
Despite these positive advances, important shifts are still necessary, she highlighted. "We have to talk about how are we going to do real power-sharing in order to get the work done, and that means involving in our case local communities and local governments. They need to be involved from the beginning, not later on. We need to reverse the processes so that they're bottom up and not top down."
The Vital Role of Women and Local Communities in Sustainable Development
Ms. Peterson further commented that with the deterioration of the natural environment and ensuing escalation of climate threats, women and their traditional knowledge systems play an integral role in the management of ecosystems. Grassroots women's groups in poor urban and rural areas are proven experts in maximizing the use of limited water and land resources, pioneering efforts in reforestation, food security, and organic production.
Recognizing women's key role in sustainable development, the central challenge in finding a revitalized, new way forward is reversing the existing power dynamic. Discussion and action surrounding sustainable development must integrate discussions on gender equality and recognize women's power. "We must realize that people, and in particular women, in communities are the change makers," Ms. Peterson stated. "We talked a lot about women, but we need to talk about the role of women, not just women as a group distinguished from men. At the local level women cannot be treated as beneficiaries of programs-- they are the change makers." Women's contributions to the environment should be reflected in equitable representation in decision-making bodies and economic programs that affect their lives and communities.
What's more, while the report calls for the creation of new structures, Ms. Peterson believes it is vital to examine solutions and strategies already in place and to prioritize strengthening and scaling up successful practices. Any framework for achieving sustainable development must be based on the full incorporation of community based grassroots organizations, especially those led by women, in all aspects of planning, decision-making and implementation.
The Huairou Commission thanks the UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS) for their ongoing facilitation of civil society participation in the High-level Panel on Global Sustainability and Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon for his recognition of the importance of including the perspective of civil society in the dialogue. Looking towards Rio+20, the Huairou Commission will continue to include grassroots women's voices in discussions of sustainable development.
 |
|
Click here to watch the UN Webcast of the session. Jan Peterson's comments start at 2:06:00
|
|
