Recommendations for Actions and Commitments at Earth Summit II
Non-Governmental Organization Background Paper
Presented at the 19th Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly, June 23-27, 1997
6.3 Integrated Monitoring Frameworks
We call for: The establishment through DPCSD of an integrated comprehensive framework - making effective use of modern information and communications technology - for systematic monitoring of the implementation of all the Rio agreements as well as the agreements of the other recent global conferences.
Information that the UN has available at web-sites and other new information technologies should be made accessible to the public on a no-cost basis
The development of indicators and criteria shall in no way undermine obligations incurred under treaties, covenants conventions or commitments made in conference action plans.
Implementation: Develop a comprehensive framework - to be accessible online - to enable the systematic monitoring and implementation of the agreements of the "Rio cluster" of United Nations conferences and proceedings; develop an integrated, fully searchable database that incorporates the text of all these agreements, that documents initiatives - including best practices - taken by intergovernmental agencies, governments and major groups, and that incorporates data and indicators that can help show current status and trends towards sustainability; the use of geographic information systems as a tool to assist in organizing and integrating information on measures; and measures to support capacity building in the use of information and communications technology - including the strengthening of information and communications infrastructure in developing countries
Rationale: There is currently no systematic framework in place by which it is possible to assess and monitor the extent and specifics of implementation of the Rio agreements. Modern information and communications technology offers a range of powerful tools to organize and integrate a broad base of diverse information, and to make it widely accessible. There are many areas of overlap between the Rio agreements and the other "Rio cluster" agreements - all of which, in one way or another relate to the attainment of a sustainable common future - so there is a need for an integrated process of monitoring implementation of the whole set of agreements.
This document is from Recommendations for Actions and Commitments at Earth Summit II: Non-Governmental Organization Background Paper prepared by the CSD/NGO Steering Committee for the 19th Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly during the 1997 meetings of the Commission on Sustainable Development. The recommendations for this section were prepared by the Information Ecology Caucus in consultation with other NGO participants.
The document does not claim to speak for all non-governmental organizations, it does, however, reflect a commitment by the CSD/NGO Steering Committee to set up an open and transparent process of consultation among NGOs - and to use a variety of mechanisms for consultation - including online distribution and distribution by fax and conventional mail of drafts of versions of this document.
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