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Chapter 9.ConclusionsScience is no stranger to international sustainabledevelopment policymaking. Agenda 21 contains an entirechapter on science for sustainable development. From aplethora of reports through to formalized scientificassessment processes – a prominent example being theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – internationalsustainable development processes benefit from scientificadvice and analysis. Within the United Nations, the HighlevelPolitical Forum (HLPF) has been given key functions inrelation to sustainable development, including being taskedwith strengthening the science-policy interface. This year’sGlobal Sustainable Development Report sets out to supportthat function. It addresses the complex issue of the sciencepolicyinterface at a number of levels, cognizant also of theemerging contours of the post-2015 development agenda,in particular the sustainable development goals. Muchremains to be settled and decided. Many conclusions are,therefore, of necessity tentative.9.1. The science-policy interface and the High-levelPolitical Forum on sustainable developmentA space has been created within the HLPF for strengtheningthe science-policy interface. Member States will determinemore precisely how they wish to go about this. The Rio+20outcome document refers, in this context, to “review ofdocumentation, bringing together dispersed informationand assessments, including in the form of a globalsustainable development report, building on existingassessments … “ [para 85(k)]. The current Report concludesthat the HLPF could strengthen the science-policy interfacein three broad areas. The first concerns highlighting trendsand providing policy relevant analysis, drawn from a broadrange of sources. The analysis of interlinkages – examplesof which are found in chapters three and four of the Report– falls under this broad heading. This function includesapplying analysis and evidence of all relevant sciences –natural and social – to the task of identifying andaddressing obstacles and barriers to progress towardssustainable development. The second relates to actionsthat the HLPF could take to support enhanced dialoguebetween scientists and policy makers. In this regard, amongthe actions that the Report highlights are bringing the workof scientific advisory groups and initiatives to theintergovernmental arena, as well as providing a platformfor two-way communication between international170assessments and regional and national policy-making. Athird cluster relates to the translation of the science-policydialogue into policy-making. The Report concludes thatactions here could include facilitating agreement onemerging issues that may call for an international responseand providing guidance to the scientific communityregarding research needs to inform sustainabledevelopment policy making.The report highlights the challenges facing countries inspecial situations – LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS –in reaping thebenefits from science and technology. It will be importantfor all three groups of countries to strengthen the sciencepolicyinterface through establishing regular channels ofcommunication and to encourage domestic science,technology and innovation, including through targetedcapacity building for both the scientific and technologicalcommunities and policy makers. Translating research intobriefs for policy makers that suit their timing and needs atdifferent governance levels would be very important.Concerted action can lead to an improved science-policyinterface, as shown by developments in the area of disasterrisk reduction. The Report concludes that, in recent years,partnerships between scientific organisations, on one side,and practitioners and policy makers, on the other, havesignificantly changed the uptake of evidence in DRRplanning and policy. Use of scientific research, including riskassessments and probabilistic models, and consideration ofthe underlying drivers of risk in planning and monitoringshould be further promoted. New methods andtechnological solutions for data gathering are beingdeveloped with increasing speed. In order to harness theseas efficiently as possible, capacity development andtechnology transfer will be required to support developingcountries.Dynamic interaction between the policy community andthe scientific community is important. The science-policyinterface should not be entirely focused on what iscurrently policy-relevant; it should also be able to identifyimportant emerging issues and challenges which have notyet caught the attention of policy makers. The Reportconcludes that a future exercise to identify science issuesfor the deliberations of the HLPF could be built on abroad set of inputs from across the diverse landscape ofexisting United Nations initiatives to identify “emerging