With some 100 heads of state and government gathering in Johannesburg for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in August, this past year was to have represented a fresh start for sustainable development.

Indeed the “side events” at WSSD were a great success, illustrating the many actions that governments, civil society and the business community are taking to implement sustainable development. By contrast, though, the official negotiations were disappointing, characterized by a number of heroic statements with few specific timelines and even fewer financial commitments. One success was the agreement among virtually all countries on the critical link between a healthy global environment and the elimination of mass poverty in the developing world. This is familiar territory for IISD. It lies at the heart of our Economic Policy activities.

Based on the work of Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, IISD developed a poverty-environment framework which was endorsed by the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme. The UNEP GC also adopted a workplan to demonstrate the application of this framework in Africa over the next three years. IISD expects to advise and to play a leading role in coordinating the related network and in conducting country studies.

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien announced at WSSD that Canada would ratify the Kyoto Protocol. This touched off a spirited national debate culminating with Parliament’s ratification in December. IISD played an important role in this debate through frequent media appearances and through our close association with the Canadian and Manitoba governments on the issue. We have also been actively exploring the links between climate change and development through our work on a Clean Development Mechanism project in Chile and our collaboration with the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO) of Norway and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) of India on the impacts of climate change and globalization on Indian agriculture.

Our collaborative style

This spirit of partnership is essential to our institutional health and performance. If sustainable development is our purpose, collaboration is our style. From our work with TERI on green budget reform, adaptation to climate change and subsidies; through our knowledge networks on trade, climate change and communications; through our work with numerous development research institutes, we have always sought to strengthen ourselves and our Southern partners and to help ensure that the information flow does not just run from North to South.

We also believe firmly in building our partnerships with the private sector. We completed the North American study for the global Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development initiative, which involved more than 30 of the world’s major mining companies, and we continue to be active participants on the Shell Canada Climate Change Advisory Panel.

Preparing policy recommendations is one thing. They must also be communicated effectively. We are proud of the effectiveness of our Knowledge Communications and Reporting Services teams. The Earth Negotiations Bulletin offered comprehensive coverage of more than 30 international environmental meetings for delegates and interested observers around the world. For the eleventh straight year, the ENB helped to keep processes open and transparent, while levelling the playing field for all negotiators. The ENB also continued to contribute to remarkable traffic on IISD’s Web space. There have been nearly two million document downloads in the past year. We’re very proud of our reach.

People and planning: Laying the groundwork for the future

This past year was a good one for our research and dissemination activities, which are celebrated throughout this report. We are also laying the groundwork for the future. The Long Range Planning Task Force of the Board has updated our Strategic Plan and provided direction for enhancing IISD’s impact and effectiveness. Our budget deficit is down from last year and we will balance our books this year.

IISD does not manufacture widgets. Our strength lies in our people and their ability to create and share ideas. And we are beginning to invest more in our people through major training initiatives and upgraded tools. We believe that our continuously improving ability and willingness to support our people and to create a rewarding and stimulating work environment helps us to attract many of the best and the brightest. We are confident that our investment in staff development will lead to even greater levels of institutional performance.

Our efforts on Trade and Investment, Reporting Services and Climate Change have reached critical mass. Over the coming year we will put major resources into developing our programs on the sustainable management of natural resources and to extending the success of our initial efforts on Environment and Security, a vital subject in the post-September 11 age. We are grateful to our staff, our associates, our Board and our partners for their efforts and for their commitment to IISD.

Board of Directors

Jacques Gérin (Canada), Chair
David Runnalls (Canada), President and CEO
Edward S. Ayensu (Ghana)
James Bruce (Canada)
James Carr (Canada)
Eleanor Clitheroe (Canada)
Angela Cropper (Trinidad and Tobago)
Christian Friis Bach (Denmark)
Charles Hantho (Canada)
Nicolas Imboden (Switzerland)
Aban Marker Kabraji (Pakistan)
Ashok Khosla (India)
Rosemarie Kuptana (Canada)
Huguette Labelle (Canada)
Elizabeth E. May (Canada)
Mark Moody-Stuart (United Kingdom)
Bob Page (Canada)
Edward Schreyer (Canada)

Advisory Participants

Norm Brandson, Deputy Minister, Manitoba Conservation
James Eldridge, Clerk of the Executive Council, Province of Manitoba
Len Good, President, Canadian International Development Agency
Alan Nymark, Deputy Minister, Environment Canada
Maureen O’Neil, President, International Development Research Centre
Mary Simon, Ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs (DFAIT)

Friends of the Institute

Distinguished Fellows

Founding Chair