Environment and Sustainable Development - United Nations ...

civilizations” in such areas as international peace and
security, human rights, globalization and development, and
environment. Working groups of the conference each
produced a UN-style resolution summarizing the main
points of their concern. 9
Global Environmental Governance
9 These resolutions can be viewed online at http://www.sir.ac.ir/English/Menu.htm.
Although sustainable development involves complex and
multifaceted processes, global agreements and treaties
have tended to focus on specific issues. To counteract this
narrowing of focus, UNU places particular emphasis on
exploring the changing nature of multilateral governance
frameworks relating to technology, the economy and the
environment.
“Inter-Linkages – Synergies and Coordination between
Multilateral Environmental Agreements” – This long-term
University-wide initiative focuses on the need for greater
consistency and coherence within the international
environmental governance system, and between this
system and other aspects of the global governance system,
such as trade and health. In 2002, the project’s workshops
and conferences, as well as its approach and publications,
influenced the lead-up to and the agenda for the WSSD.
The project’s research clearly shows the need to further
investigate opportunities and challenges for coordination at
regional and national levels.
“Modelling Social Change and Water Cycle
Interaction” – One of five new projects started with
funding from Japan Science and Technology Corporation
under Core Research for Evaluational Science and
Technology (CREST), this project deals with integrated
modelling of the water cycle and its impacts on society.
The main components of the project are modelling of the
hydrological cycle and its management, viewed from an
international perspective. A joint UNU-Tokyo University
team is responsible for modelling of the hydrological cycle
and water-exchange constraints in international river
basins, and coupling this with socio-economic models
being developed by other groups. Participants in the
overall project include Kyoto University, Tokyo University
of Agriculture and Technology, Yamanashi University, the
Public Works Research Institute, and the National Institute
of Land and Infrastructure Management.
“Climate Affairs Capacity Building” – The purpose of
this project is to foster the development of multidisciplinary
programmes at institutes of higher education
worldwide. The first training workshop was in February in
Malaysia.
“Forum for Globally Integrated Environmental
Assessment Modelling” – This joint initiative of UNU and
the National Institute for Public Health and the
Environment of The Netherlands aims at developing a
periodic exchange platform for discussions and
brainstorming on issues of globally integrated
environmental assessment. A project report and brochure
were distributed at the WSSD and circulated to potential
members.
Urban Ecosystems and Millennium
Ecosystem Assessment
Of the two billion people that will be added to the global
population over the next 30 years, over 99 per cent will be
located in urban centres. This translates to the addition of
some 190,000 persons to the world’s cities every day.
Responding to the ever-increasing magnitude and
complexity of urban environmental problems worldwide,
the UNU/IAS Urban Programme launched an “Urban
Ecosystems” initiative aimed at better understanding cities
holistically and comprehensively. Broadly speaking, the
initiative looks at ecosystems in cities, at cities as
ecosystems and at cities as modifiers of ecosystems.
Part of the inspiration and motivation for the urban
ecosystems approach was the Millennium Ecosystems
Assessment (MA), which was launched in 2001 as a fouryear
international assessment of the current and future
ability of the world’s ecosystems to meet human needs for
goods and services. UNU/IAS is working in close
cooperation with the MA and making inputs into the
assessment of urban areas, although the initiative is also
directed at a wider audience of urban policymakers.
The urban ecosystems approach is being developed as a
collaborative effort among researchers at UNU/IAS,
UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme, and
WHO’s Healthy Cities Programme in cooperation with
academics and researchers working in related fields. In
addition to participating in MA meetings and activities,
UNU/IAS has organized research meetings and workshops
with its partners to enhance the approach. The first was the
September 2001 “Urban Ecosystems Workshop” in Tokyo,
sponsored jointly by UNU/IAS, WHO and
UNESCO/MAB. In January 2002, a meeting was
organized in Tokyo to discuss “Urban Ecosystems
29