Regional consultative meeting on Sustainable Development, Policy Issues and Global Governance in Visakhapatnam on March 22 and 23, 2002

A meeting was organized by CSE on March 22 and 23, in collaboration with the Indian Network on Ethics and Climate Change (INECC) and the Orissa Development Action Forum (ODAF), with the following objectives:

1. To create awareness amongst civil society groups, government and media about the politics and process leading up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD).
2. To bring about debate on issues relating to the region which have a global character.
3. To draw up recommendations on issues which

a. should be taken up by the global community in view of their serious impact on global environment
b. the groups themselves will take up in their work in the region.

NGOs, media, scientists and bureaucrats from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and West Bengal participated in the meeting. The main theme that emerged was that of people-centric sustainable development. The participants urged that local self-governance be strengthened in terms of natural resource management, knowledge systems, community based value systems, cultural and artisanal practices and alternate dispute resolution processes.

It was agreed that lack of governmental accountability and information, was leading to people signing away their rights. There was thus a call for educating and sensitising legislators, parliamentarians, bureaucrats, media, legal community and victims of global processes, through information documentation and dissemination. There was a growing realisation that Panchayati Raj institutions, community based organisations, and traditional leaders need to network effectively with the scientific community to adequately address complex issues such as climate change.

Simultaneously, they called for pushing the Indian government to be consistent in its national and international agenda, especially with the polluter pays principle and to create pressure for implementation of existing national laws. Pressure must be put on the government to say no to loans and aid from institutions such as the IMF that come with conditionalities that are detrimental to the environment, and to people-centric development.

Some of the other action areas noted were:

1. Create alternative forums for people to represent their vision of sustainable development
2. Document best practices, and disseminate experiences
3. Monitor climate change-related issues, particularly the impacts of climate change on the region
4. Identify relevant indicators of community management, such as

• the efficacy of the institutional set-up
• the extent to which communities have ownership and control over resources
• the communities’ role in decision-making
• access to adequate information to help them make the right decisions

Initiatives already underway in the region that would strengthen the above goals were also noted:

• community based energy needs assessment focussing on biomass
• documentation of local knowledge systems
• strengthening local self-governance
• issue-based interventions on unsustainable development, such as mining and commercial plantations
• demonstrations of community-based alternative systems, for instance management of forests, land, water and energy systems.

A press conference was held at the end of the meeting to brief journalists about the issues discussed and resolutions undertaken. The meeting found coverage in The Hindu, The New Indian Express, the Deccan Chronicle, and Eenadu (regional newspaper), over two days.

• Details of participants in the meeting.