United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD)
The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was established in December 1992 as a functional commission of the UN Economic and Social Council. It emerged from the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, which produced Agenda 21, a comprehensive action plan addressing global environmental and developmental challenges. The CSD aimed to monitor the implementation of Agenda 21 and to facilitate the integration of sustainable development goals across various sectors, including government, NGOs, and UN agencies.
With fifty-three member states, the CSD met annually in New York City, where it elected a bureau to guide its activities. The commission focused on specific thematic areas such as transport, chemicals management, and sustainable consumption patterns, emphasizing poverty eradication and the sustainable management of natural resources. Despite its significant role in promoting sustainable development, the CSD lacked the authority to create multilateral agreements. The CSD convened its final session in September 2013, marking the end of its operations. This reflects the evolving nature of global governance in sustainable development, underscoring the need for ongoing dialogue and action in this critical area.
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Subject Terms
United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD)
IDENTIFICATION: International organization that was created to monitor progress in the implementation of Agenda 21 as well as activities related to the integration of environmental and sustainable development goals
DATE: Established in December, 1992
The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development ensures that the issue of sustainable development has high visibility within the United Nations system and also helps to improve the coordination of United Nations activities related to the environment and development.
The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was established by a United Nations General Assembly resolution in December, 1992, as a functional commission of the U.N. Economic and Social Council following the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), widely known as the Earth Summit, which was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June, 1992. The Earth Summit resulted in the development of the plan of action called Agenda 21. As Agenda 21 was under preparation, participants in the summit discussed how the implementation of Agenda 21 programs should be monitored and agreed that a new commission was needed to oversee such monitoring. Chapter 38 identified the creation of the Commission on Sustainable Development. The CSD had fifty-three member states, and about one-third of its members were elected on a yearly basis.
The CSD was charged with the implementation of the recommendations of Agenda 21, a landmark global agreement and plan of action that represents a comprehensive approach to addressing issues related to the and development. More specifically, the CSD was in charge of progress in the implementation of Agenda 21 as well as activities related to the integration of goals regarding environmental protection and sustainable development in the respective programs of governments, nongovernmental organizations, and United Nations agencies. The CSD was responsible for monitoring the implementation of Agenda 21, recommending strategies for overcoming barriers to achieving the goals of Agenda 21, addressing difficult and complex sustainable development issues, and charting new courses of action based on assessments of what works. The commission did not have authority to develop multilateral agreements.
The CSD met annually in New York City. At each session, the CSD elected a bureau comprising a chair and four vice chairs. The CSD’s multiyear activity program focused on groups of specific thematic and sectoral issues related to sustainable development. The commission’s major program areas included transport, chemicals, management and mining, and sustainable consumption and production patterns. Among the aims of CSD programs were poverty eradication, protection and management of the natural resources that served as the base for social and economic development, and promotion of efforts to end unsustainable patterns of consumption and production.
In 2012, the members of the commission decided that its twentieth session would be its last. The CSD met for the final time in September 2013.
Bibliography
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Landon, Megan. Environment, Health, and Sustainable Development. New York: Open University Press, 2006.
Robinson, Nicholas A. Strategies Toward Sustainable Development: Implementing Agenda 21. Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Rogers, Peter P., Kazi F. Jalal, and John A. Boyd. An Introduction to Sustainable Development. Sterling, Va.: Earthscan, 2008.
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"20th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development." United Nations, 20 Sept. 2013, sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?menu=1211. Accessed 24 July 2024.
World Bank. Advancing Sustainable Development: The World Bank and Agenda 21. Washington, D.C.: Author, 1997.