Toward CSD-13: What Does Implementation Look Like?

The 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg marked a key turning point in how we answer these questions. The Johannesburg Summit ushered in the "implementation era." The emphasis is now on concrete actions. The true measurement of our progress is whether these actions achieve results. Thus, the legacy of Johannesburg includes the 200-plus partnerships launched at the Summit, and the 80 such initiatives launched since then. It includes a reformed and action-oriented UN Commission on Sustainable Development. And, more broadly, the legacy of Johannesburg includes a growing sense within the international community that we need to act and implement.

Means of Implementation: An Example

What, then, does implementation look like? Let me focus on a specific example. As all of you know, in addition to our 2015 targets on water and sanitation, we also decided on a much shorter-term target. Embedded in paragraph 26 of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation is a call for the development – by 2005 – of integrated water resources management (IWRM) and water efficiency plans. How are we going to do this? What concrete steps can we take that will enable countries to develop IWRM plans in the very near future?

Like many of you, we have been giving this issue a lot of thought. We recognize that, realistically, some countries are more ready and willing to include IWRM concepts into their management approaches and broader development strategies. We would like to see an opportunity for those countries to work in partnership with a group of donors and other supporters toward this goal. If, at CSD-13, we could produce a means by which several donors, international organizations, and others could support fifteen to twenty developing countries as they work toward their IWRM goals, that is what implementation might look like. In fact, the United States, along with other donors, is talking to the Global Water Partnership, the Global Environment Facility, and the UN about just such an approach, and we are optimistic we can bring something forward at CSD-13.

Lessons for CSD-13

The mechanism I’ve just described is just one means of implementing our objectives. There are other good models that we can draw upon. For example, the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council established the WASH partnership to facilitate action on sanitation and hygiene to reduce disease. The World Health Organization has been instrumental in establishing the International Network to Promote Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage to increase access to safe drinking water. Representatives of those organizations are here today and can provide you with more details.

Based on our experiences thus far, I’d like to draw some initial lessons learned about what implementation looks like:

• First, the 191 countries that make up the UN are a diverse group; this diversity can be a strength. When it comes to implementation, what works for some countries might not work in others. We should not seek one-size-fits-all approaches. Instead, we should develop a robust menu of policy options and a mosaic of actions that allows for country-by-country implementation.

• Second, at the risk of stating the obvious, implementation takes a lot of work. The IWRM project I mentioned earlier has already taken a significant amount of time and energy. We need to think creatively about how we can use the crowded international calendar of events to support these efforts. We need to use not just CSD-13, but also events like the Stockholm Water Week and other "water weeks" that are being planned by regional development banks. The World Water Forum can also play an important role, building directly on the results of CSD-13. We should also think about how to build off other efforts like the World Bank’s Development Marketplace and those of the World Economic Forum’s Global Institute for Partnership and Governance.

• A third observation is that we need to reshape our expectations about what is a useful outcome of a UN meeting. In the run-up to next year’s five-year anniversary of the Millennium Summit, for example, there has been a virtual consensus on the need to focus on implementation. But what does that mean? In general, we are convinced of the need to look country-by-country to determine where there is progress and where there is not, and why. Experience has taught that sound policies, institutions and local commitment and ownership are key to progress. But beyond that, we have to look at specific scetors and specific contexts, moving away from rhetoric and more quickly towards measurable change on the ground. CSD-12 and, hopefully CSD-13, can provide useful examples. The CSD-12 Review Session was an excellent start for the reformed CSD. During the Ministerial segment, Ministers focused on lessons learned and grappled with the challenges of implementation. During the Partnerships Fair, hundreds of participants focused on strengthening existing initiatives and forging new ones. Looking ahead to CSD-13, we have put some of our initial thoughts about next year’s session down on paper and would be happy to share them with interested parties. We look forward to hearing all of your thoughts as well and to continued constructive dialogue with all of you about how we can use CSD-13 to catalyze action.

• The example I mentioned earlier highlights the important role of partnerships, particularly those that involve non-governmental actors. We have made great strides in the past two years in engaging the private sector and civil society in our sustainable development efforts. This year’s CSD Partnerships Fair was again oversubscribed. The Italians hosted the first-ever International Forum on Partnerships for Sustainable Development. We are pleased to hear that Morocco is planning to hold such a forum next year and that even more partnership events are being planned. That said, we still have more work to do. During all of these events, we must stay focused on the need for implementation. It is not enough for us to merely unveil a new partnership. The real measure of our success will be whether these partnerships are delivering results.

We are in the middle of an incredibly creative period. Bit by bit, we are starting to see elements of how we can address the implementation challenge that is before us: collaborative approaches that bring like-minded actors together; dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of actions at all levels that move us towards our goals; innovative meetings that provide incentives for action and the space for new ideas to develop. We are gaining momentum, although we still have a long way to go. It is exciting to be a part of this growing momentum. and we look forward to continuing to work with all of you in the months and years to come.