The IASS and partners released an issue brief, entitled: Towards an Integrated and Inclusive Follow-up and Review of Natural Resources on the occasion of the upcoming discussions at the third meeting of the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development (26 June- 8 July) with the theme: “Strengthening integration, implementation and review – the HLPF after 2015”.
The issue brief was prepared by the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), the NGO Major Group, Millennium Institute, Biovision Foundation, Landesa, Land Alliance Inc., Sustainable World Initiative, Sustainability Research Institute of the University of Leeds, Oxfam International, and World Centre for Sustainable Development (RIO+Centre). It outlines two recommendations for the zero draft of the outcome document for the UN Summit to adopt the post 2015 development agenda based on the crosscutting role that natural resources will play in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and on the main conclusions of the High-Level Event on “Follow-Up and Review Mechanisms for Natural Resource Management and Governance to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals” held by the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), together with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Biovision Foundation and the Millennium Institute in New York in May, 2015.
The following two recommendations included in the brief aim to ensure that the effective follow-up and review of natural resources in the post-2015 development agenda is aligned with the principles of integration, participation and inclusion:
- Thematic reviews of natural resources as a crosscutting issue, from tenure to their use, should be carried out under the HLPF: Including thematic “nexus/crosscutting reviews” at the HLPF would support the objective to leave no one behind, and managing conflicting uses and the need for protection of the same natural resources across and among different goals and targets. Thematic reviews for crosscutting issues have already received support from member states such as Switzerland, Turkey and the informal “group of seven”.
- National multi-stakeholder and rights-holder initiatives for follow-up and review, within the context of a renewed global partnership for development, should be established or strengthened: The national level, as highlighted by the UN Secretary General’s report on the post-2015 development agenda (Para 149.i – “The Road to Dignity by 2030), “should be the most significant” since it is the “closest to the people”. This is the level where progress will be measured and it is crucial to ensure there are effective follow-up and review mechanisms in place.
For more information of both recommendations, please download document here: Issue Brief – Towards an Integrated and Inclusive Follow and Review of Natural Resources
For more background documents please click here.