REGIONAL PREPARATIONS

An Overview of the Regional Preparatory Meetings - Priorities for WSSD

Background to the Regional Meetings

In each region of the world—Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, and West Asia—intergovernmental Sub-regional and Regional Preparatory Committees (known as PrepComs) were being held during late 2001. These PrepComs assessed the key challenges, opportunities and constraints relating to sustainable development that each region has faced over the past ten years, and identified future priorities, new initiatives and the commitments needed to make progress in the coming years.

More specifically, the regional PrepComs undertook the following main tasks:

1. Conducted a regional assessment of progress, taking into account national reports and country profiles. This included:

- Main achievements in the region since UNCED in the implementation of Agenda 21 and other outcomes of UNCED, including any major regional, sub-regional and national initiatives towards sustainable development

- Progressive outlooks and main constraints faced by the region, and by countries in the region, including:

o Common constraints faced by countries in the region;

o Specific constraints faced by the region (or by the sub-regions); and

o Constraints resulting from global developments and changing conditions

- New initiatives and commitments within the region and its sub-region towards overcoming constraints and fostering further progress

2. Provided an opportunity for interaction and dialogue with major groups and other stakeholders

3. Shared experiences and provided an opportunity to better prepare and understand the concerns and positions of the countries involved

The reports from these Regional PrepComs were taken to the Global PrepCom meetings in advance of the Summit itself.

Representatives from major groups played an integral role in these discussions, through a multi-stakeholder dialogue process in which leaders from all sectors contributed their opinions and expertise to the regional evaluations.

In addition, a series of regional roundtables of eminent sustainable development experts took place in mid-2001. Click here to see the reports from each roundtable.

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Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Division for Sustainable Development
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24 August 2006