Objective:

The Fondacion Futuro Latinamericano (FFLA) who are coordinating civil society input to the Summit invited the IISD and FOCAL to host a national consultation in preparation for the Summit. The objective of the Canadian National Consultation was to build consensus positions and recommendations among representatives of civil society on the issues they consider of major importance regarding sustainable development in the hemisphere.

Participation:

Formal letters of invitation with background material about the Summit were sent to more than one hundred thirty (130) people. Approximately seventy (70) attended in person or via tele-conference. Participants were representative of business, industry, non-governmental organizations, academic society, aboriginal groups and governmental organizations. 42% were women and 10% were indigenous. Although a significant number of participants were bilingual, the francophone community was underrepresented and there was less participation by environmental organizations than had been expected.

Context:

A pre-consultation survey was conducted asking participants to assign priorities to a list of issues prepared by FFLA and the national coordinators. From this list, eight (8) issues emerged as the most prominent for discussion at the Canadian National Consultation. Working groups were formed on the following eight topics: Trade and Sustainable Development; Biodiversity; Water; Sustainable Livelihoods and Poverty Eradication; Indigenous Peoples; Forests; Pollution Prevention and Control; and Communication, Education and Public Participation. Two issues, energy and indicators/measures, were not sufficiently high on the priority list to convene working groups but were none-the-less highly ranked. The working groups consisted of between ten (10) and eighteen (18) individuals. Resource people and recorders were assigned to each group.

8:30 Registration and Informal Introductions

9:00 Welcome and Introductions, Ambassador John Fraser, Chair

9:15 Overview of the Summit and Consultations, Dr. Nola-Kate Seymoar, Coordinator

9:30 Orientation to the Day's Agenda and Process, Ruben Kraiem, Facilitator

10:00 Coffee Break and Informal Discussions

10:15 Working Group Sessions:

12:15 to 1:15 Lunch and Informal Discussions (Meeting of Rapporteurs)

1:15 Working Group Sessions:

2:45 Coffee and Informal Discussions (Meeting of Rapporteurs)

3:15 Overarching Themes and Considerations, Ruben Kraiem

4:30 Closing Remarks, Ambassador Fraser

See Meeting Notes in Appendix A.

Trade and Sustainable Development

Canada should share her experience in integrating environmental and social concerns in the extracting and processing of resources (ie. the Whitehorse initiative in the Mining Sector and eco-labelling in the Forestry Sector).

Canada should spearhead efforts to achieve a hemispheric agreement (as recommended in the hemispheric considerations section) banning the export of domestically prohibited goods. Canada should promote a voluntary private sector code of conduct which will hold Canadian multinationals to operate at least at the environmental standards followed in Canada.

Canada's experience with voluntary standards, particularly the Environmental Choice Program is relevant, and should be promoted by the Canadian delegation as an innovative way to green trade without creating unfair trade distortions.

Canada should advocate that trade agreements at all levels should integrate economic, environmental and social considerations. One good example of efforts in this area are the "Winnipeg Principles for Trade and Sustainable Development".

The North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) & North American Agreement on Labour Cooperation (NAALC) should be promoted at the Summit as instructive for other trade negotiations

Land Claims should be a high priority for governments in the region. Any Free Trade Agreement for the Americas (FTAA) should be accompanied by progress in addressing pressing aboriginal issues. Otherwise, such agreements could be prejudicial to outstanding land claims, for example, or harmful to the prospect of their settlement. As well, there needs to be a definition of traditional knowledge in the context of intellectual property rights. Any trade agreements should facilitate, not hinder, the settlement of such issues.

Trade agreements can, while increasing overall prosperity, aggravate existing inequities, and further marginalize those already on the margins. These social dimensions need to be addressed in any FTAA.

Mechanisms for the effective involvement of Canadian civil society in trade policy formulation, should be strengthened.

Biodiversity

Canada should document the lessons from the following programs and policies as models worthy of study within Canada and by our hemispheric partners:

We should strengthen Canadian commitment to biodiversity values through programs that connect local concerns and realities encompassing different values: economic, spiritual, and cultural, with concerns for bio and cultural diversity.

Water

Water should be recognized as a public good, and universal access to water guaranteed.

While water itself is not susceptible to private ownership, Canada should move to full cost accounting for water use, or else water resources will be over utilized. Full cost accounting may impose hardships on some individuals and the pricing system must be sensitive to these distributional issues. What is important is that, overall, the full cost of water usage is incorporated. Options include differential phase-in periods and the like according to the category of user. In no event should the principle of universal access be compromised.

Market forces should be harnessed in water delivery services - piping, plumbing and the like. This will provide efficiencies and will not compromise the notion of water as a public good, i.e. as part of the global commons.

Canada should offer to share its learning with respect to: water resources management; watershed management; water quality management; and transboundary issues. The experience of the International Joint Commission (IJC) and it's approach to boundary issues is particularly relevant. The I.J.C.'s experience would have greater credibility if the Governments of the United States and Canada acted on more of the Commission's recommendations.

Canada should approach policies regarding water based on the following principles:

Any approach to water issues must be integrative - that is, focus on the various uses to which water is put, (agriculture, mining, etc.) and consider sustainable development concerns up front, rather than after technical proficiency and profitability has been considered.

Successful resolution of complex issues depends upon there being an interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder perspective.

Water resources should be managed on a watershed/ecosystem basis as the natural boundaries for land use planning.

Indigenous knowledge should be utilized, and local users empowered.

Before approvals for large-scale projects are considered, a thorough, holistic sustainable development review should take place, including a review of the impact on indigenous peoples.

Sustainable Livelihoods and Poverty Alleviation

The recommendations below suggest two strategies to address poverty alleviation and support sustainable livelihoods: community empowerment and opportunities to generate or acquire wealth in a way that does not prejudice others either in the future or now.

Community Empowerment

Respect for indigenous and community knowledge needs to take primacy. There is a need to encourage and support grassroots to grassroots exchanges of ideas and solutions within Canada and in the hemisphere.

Policy planning for sustainable livelihoods should be initiated from the community level.

Government policies need to be designed to engender respect and foster equity within communities.

Canada is in a particularly good position to illustrate participatory policy dialogue between government and civil society. In the short term, Canada needs to push for and promote the inclusion of civil society at the OAS and in the Summit itself. In addition, indigenous, community and municipal representation should be present on the Canadian delegation at the Summit.

Wealth Generation Opportunities

Communities are the central building blocks for promoting sustainable livelihoods, and as such the Canadian government must ensure financial and other resources to support local solutions to poverty issues. We have not done well in this area. For the purposes of the Americas Summit, it would be useful to document and discuss the lessons learned with respect to an unsuccessful attempt at sustainable development such as the demise of the cod fishery in Newfoundland, juxtaposed to an example of a success story such as the Eagle Project on the Akwesasne reserve.

Governments must invest resources to help successful communities disseminate information about their solutions. Canada should take the lead in supporting social capacity building within Canada and at the Summit.

Policies need to be developed that allow for revenues from the extraction of resources to be shared with the people living on the land where the resources are extracted. Canada needs to take the lead in this issue, specifically with respect to mining in the region.

Each summit, starting with the World Summit on Children has called for the development of "national action plans" to address the issues of the summits. There are about 50 recommendations that are common to all summits, many of them dealing with poverty and environmental issues. The Canadian government, during this coming International Decade on the Eradication of Poverty, should take a leading role by developing a Canadian action plan for the eradication of poverty, with the collaboration of civil society.

Canada's aid program for the region should focus on the poorest of the poor.

Indigenous Peoples:

Sustainable development has always been an integral part of Indigenous values and should be defined with Indigenous input.

Indigenous peoples cannot as individuals speak for their people without community level participation. Thus time and resources should be invested to reach community level consensus prior to participation at the Summit or related meetings.

Indigenous peoples should be referred to as "peoples" in all Canadian documentation.

Indigenous peoples should be invited to participate in the Canadian delegation to the Summit, and to any regional or other meetings in preparation for the Summit.

Indigenous peoples have made their views on issues of sustainable development known before at other international fora, such as the Rio Conference. These recommendations should be incorporated into the Canadian position.

Indigenous peoples of Canada have many success stories that could be shared at the Bolivia Summit but they must be brought forward by aboriginal peoples themselves rather than by the Canadian government.

The Canadian government should be frank in sharing both its successes and failures with regard to government aboriginal policies.

Indigenous peoples of Canada should not participate in meetings under the status of a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) but rather on a nation to nation level. Canada should propose ways of doing so. A start might be to propose a model similar to the involvement of indigenous peoples in the Arctic Council.

The Forestry Sector

Canada should present its lessons learned on:

Model Forests have become a mechanism for practical application of sustainable forestry and related natural resource management practices at the field level. Given that the Model Forest concept is based on partnerships, consensus building and attempts to balance the social, environmental and economic demands placed on forests, it is a contribution which cuts across horizontally the majority of issues that are under consideration.

Within Canada we need to spend more time on intersectoral and cross-sectoral linkages, on how to gain broader recognition of multiple forest values, and link them to other issues such as financing for sustainable forests and climate change action

Pollution Prevention and Control

The Governments of Canada, the United States and Mexico should sign their regional agreements and action plans related to sound chemicals management at the Bolivian Summit (including the management and control of polychlorinated biphenyls, mercury, and DDT) as approved by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation at Oazac on October 13, 1995.

It is important to base Canada's position on a recognition that it is better to start with a basic acceptance of pollution prevention, rather than rely on an acceptance of pollution and end-of-pipe solutions. The International Joint Commission's recommendations are a good model that should be implemented.

The mining industry should be encouraged to develop codes of conduct (based on Canadian environmental laws), that apply equally both domestically and internationally and to senior and junior companies. Success stories should be highlighted, in particular, some of the multisectoral, multidisciplinary approaches, and the management system at Lake Tikagatamat.

Communication, Education and Public Participation

Sustainable development education needs to be promoted through all levels of society to foster public understanding of the goals of sustainable development. Sustainable development education should be the priority as identified in Agenda 21.

Canada needs to be involved in international organizations and the development of strategy at the international level. To do so it must strengthen its financial support of these organizations (i.e. UNEP, UNESCO, IUCN, WWF).

Canada should consider developing a Pan-Canadian framework for sustainable development education which would involve building strategic alliances within Canada and internationally. This framework will provide the groundwork for cohesive work at the international level, with the concurrence of as many stakeholders in Canada as possible.

Canada has a strong reputation in the field of sustainable development education and should share its experiences, both positive and negative. Canada can share its experience with:

round table processes

(1) involvement of indigenous peoples

(2) institutional capacity building

(3) greening of campuses

(4) electronic networking.

Civil society is dependent upon a strong and vibrant NGO community. There should be a concentrated effort to strengthen NGOs dedicated to sustainable development and to make connections between the research community and the NGO community within Canada and in the hemisphere. They should be actively engaged as instruments of change in civil society.

Canada is a leader in multi-stakeholder processes. The round table process implemented in Canada has led to some good educational initiatives, such as the ECO-LINKs of ECO-ED and Learning for a Sustainable Future.

Canada's Round Table approach to conflict prevention and resolution is one that should be promoted at the Summit.

The Environmental Citizenship Program was identified as a Canadian success story. It is in the process of being adopted internationally by agencies such as UNEP and should not be dropped nationally.

There is a need to define terms - the difference between environmental education, global education, development education and sustainable development education, and to identify actions and lessons from program initiatives in all these areas.

Alternative schools with curriculum based on aboriginal traditions should be supported and their lessons shared within Canada and the hemisphere.

Sustainable Development Education

needs to involve civil society actively in research; e.g. fishers collecting fish in local areas, Inuit midwives collecting breast milk, etc.;

information needs to be exchanged in several languages, not just English and French;

importance of networking among people involved in environmental, development and human rights education within Canada and in the hemisphere needs to be recognized;

must resist move to cancel education dollars when fiscal situation becomes tight;

need for environmental and development "heroes" both from the grass roots (Ouje Bougoumou) and the stars (Wayne Gretzy) to deliver message;

need to overcome conflicting messages in education between goals of sustainable development and classic economics;

need for ongoing communication and coordination between environmental and development organizations and educational organizations (i.e. Council of Ministers of Education; teachers federations, faculties of education, school boards, etc.) to ensure the integration of sustainable development education in programs, policies, guidelines, curriculum and professional development of educators;

need for coordination and strategic plan by international agencies such as UNESCO, UNEP, IUCN, etc. to harmonize efforts within the hemisphere.

Trade and Sustainable Development

Canada's experience in integrating environmental and social concerns in the extracting and processing of resources (ie. the Whitehorse initiative in the Mining Sector and eco-labelling in the Forestry Sector) should be considered by other countries in the hemisphere.

There should be an hemispheric commitment to disallow the export of domestically prohibited goods.

Voluntary private sector standards should be promoted in order to green trade without creating unfair trade distortions. Such voluntary standards might include: eco-labelling, ISO 14000 and private sector codes of conduct (including not to export domestically prohibited goods and to operate at least at the environmental standards followed in the country of origin).

The example of the environmental and labour sub-agreements to the NAFTA should be examined to apply their lessons to any Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA).

Any FTAA must be accompanied by progress on addressing aboriginal issues - particularly land claim settlements and traditional knowledge in the context of intellectual property rights.

Mechanisms should be developed for the effective involvement of civil society in trade policy formulation at the national, regional and OAS levels.

Any trade agreements in the hemisphere should integrate environment, economic and social considerations. One good example of efforts in this area are the Principles for Trade and Sustainable Development (the "Winnipeg Principles") which were developed by an International working group for the IISD.

Biodiversity

Countries should consider the lessons from the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy, the International Model Forests Program, and UNESCO's Biosphere Reserves as models where biodiversity conservation is successfully linked to local autonomy and community involvement

Values which support bio and cultural diversity should be integrated in all programs of sustainable development education and public awareness.

Water

Hemispheric countries must be committed to recognizing water as a public good and guaranteeing universal access to water.

While water itself is not susceptible to private ownership, the state should move to full cost accounting for water use, or else water resources will be over utilized. Full cost accounting may impose hardships on some individuals and the pricing system must be sensitive to these distributional issues. What is important is that, overall, the full cost of water usage is incorporated. Options include differential phase-in periods and the like according to the category of user. In no event should the principle of universal access be compromised.

The following principles should be considered when formulating national and international water policies:

Approaches to water issues must be integrative, maintaining consideration for agriculture, mining, etc. and sustainable development concerns should be considered up front, rather than after technical proficiency and profitability.

Approaches to resolving complex water issues are dependent on interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder perspectives

Water resources should be managed on a watershed/ecosystem basis since watersheds create the natural boundaries for land use planning.

Indigenous knowledge should be utilized, and local users should be empowered

Before approvals for large-scale projects are considered, a very thorough and holistic sustainable development review should take place, including a review of their impact on indigenous peoples

Market forces should be harnessed in water delivery services - piping, plumbing and the like. This will provide efficiencies and will not compromise the notion of water as a public good, i.e. part of the global commons.

Sustainable Development and Poverty Alleviation

Countries need to develop better indicators to act as an early warning system for preventing various forms of poverty. The America's Summit could strike a task force to undertake the necessary research, along with the civil society sector, and the specialized agencies of the UN and the Organization of American States to further develop these indicators.

Some of the foreign policy initiatives that countries in the Americas can undertake or reinforce to address the issue of poverty alleviation and support policies that foster sustainable livelihoods include: (a) debt swaps, such as debt for land swaps; (b) development pacts; (c) pushing for regulation of foreign direct investment (Latin America is a net exporter of capital); (d) implementation of the 20/20 compact; and (e) mapping the impact of privatization and the regulation of foreign direct investment on poverty in the region.

There has been an unbalanced trade-off, particularly in the Americas, between the globalization process and the push for free trade and support for sustainable livelihoods strategies. This imbalance needs to be redressed by governments in their social and economic policy formulations. As such, it is important that, while postulating recommendations for the Americas Summit, we utilize existing international agreements and reinforce action to carry out these commitments.

Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous peoples should be referred to as "peoples" in all documentation going to and coming out of the Bolivia Summit. In this respect, Indigenous peoples should not be classified as a vulnerable "group" as was the case in the Miami Summit documents.

Indigenous peoples have made their views on issues of sustainable development known before at other international fora, such as the Rio Conference, and the recommendations from those meetings should be revisited.

The participation of Indigenous peoples should be formalized on a nation-to-nation basis. Perhaps a process similar to that proposed for the Arctic Council could be considered.

Forestry Sector

Regular hemispheric meetings on forests and sustainable development should be held. For example, the North American and Latin American Forest Commissions - which currently meet only rarely, should meet together and also improve the involvement of non-governmental stakeholders in these meetings.

Hemispheric communications on forest initiatives for sustainable development should be broadened (e.g. IISD's Countdown Forests '97 and Earth Negotiations Bulletin).

Conventions on forests (regional and international) could be a key international instrument for moving forward the forest policy dialogue on a hemispheric level.

Pollution Prevention

Industrial ecology concepts and practices should be promoted at the Summit and successful projects highlighted, such as the Ecosystem Industrial Park in Halifax and the model ecosystem industrial park at Cornell.

The hemisphere should move to an ecosystem based approach to pollution prevention, with a focus on community.

Environmental technologies and knowledge should be transferred more readily and easily, and mechanisms should be developed to facilitate technology cooperation among countries in the hemisphere, especially in the area of pollution prevention. Governments should also be accountable for reporting on progress towards the specific international commitments they have made. The hemisphere should adopt some example of technology which is just off-patent but not yet available that could be used as a demonstration model for technology cooperation. A process needs to be established for business to business application of non-proprietary rights that would advance the case of pollution prevention among businesses in the hemisphere. In addition, cleaner production processes should be publicized as success stories, notably the case of Northern Telecommunications and cleaner production centres should be highlighted, such as the one in Brazil with another being developed in Mexico.

Hemispheric countries should commit themselves to the precautionary principle and to achieving a balance and a mix between regulatory, economic instruments and voluntary compliance.

Sustainable Development Education and Public Participation

All countries are encouraged to strengthen support for sustainable development education and awareness programs, particularly by supporting the cooperation and potential integration of environment, development and human rights educational programs to encourage global sustainable development education.

The use of the round table process should be encouraged for all countries in the hemisphere to help build infrastructure to promote awareness and to promote action on sustainable development.

Countries in the hemisphere should be encouraged to undertake an Environmental Citizenship program in partnership with UNEP.

The sharing of information about successful educational and public participation programs should be encouraged - among countries and with First Nations.

Civil society is dependent upon a vibrant NGO community. There should be a concentrated effort to strengthen NGOs dedicated to sustainable development and to make connections between the research community and the NGO community within the Hemisphere. They should be actively engaged as instruments of change in civil society.

Working Group on Trade and Sustainable Development

Five items concerning trade and sustainable development were discussed.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

It was felt that much had yet to be resolved in the WTO on the issue of sustainable development, and that progress elsewhere would hinge on the developments in the WTO's Committee on Trade and Environment. Agreements such as the NAFTA which had been signed by WTO Members, had driven the WTO agenda to some degree. There is hope for such a dynamic with the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) as well.

(2) Financing and Enforcement

Some issues are distinctly hemispheric, and therefore are not primarily driven by the WTO. These include financing and enforcement, for example. The following questions were posed, but not answered: What types of financial commitments should be made as a prerequisite to an FTAA? What enforcement mechanisms need to accompany an FTAA in order to allow laws currently on the books to be effective?

(3) Canada's Experience as a Resource Exporter

It would be useful for Canada to bring to the Summit the fruits of its own unilateral experience, particularly since much of the trade-environment debate tends to manifest as demands by rich countries for action by poor ones. Noting that Canada is basically a resource-exporter, and that many Latin American countries have similar economic structures, Canada's experience in integrating environmental and social concerns in the extraction and processing of resources might be particularly relevant.

Examples include the mining sector (the Whitehorse initiative) and the forestry sector (multistakeholder process under which the Canadian Pulp and Paper Producers and Terra Choice Environment Services are in the process of producing an eco-labeling system for Canadian forest products.)

(4) Voluntary Standards.

Canada's experience with voluntary standards is relevant, and such might be promoted by the Canadian delegation as an innovative way to allow greening of trade without creating unfair trade distortions.

Ecolabelling. Canada's experience with the Environmental Choice Program might be instructive in its need for broader civil sector involvement. Few developing countries in the Western Hemisphere have their own programs, and such programs are useful not only as ways to improve environmental performance, but also as ways to protect ever-greening export markets. Ecolabelling is expected to be a big issue for developing country exporters in the future, as foreshadowed by the current experience with the EU eco-technical import restrictions, and the restrictions facing Canadian seal-hunters and fur trappers.

ISO 14000. There is great potential for producers to mislead consumers by equating ISO 14000 certification -- which deals only with environmental management and not with environmental performance -- with "green" production. The ISO process could be a framework within which hemispheric progress towards green production could ensue. ISO 14000 certification ensures compliance with existing regulations, allowing regulators and negotiators to concentrate solely on the task of setting and improving those regulations.

(5) North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) & North American Agreement on Labour Cooperation (NAALC)

Another Canadian experience which might be promoted at the Summit as instructive is the NAAEC and the NAALC, the environmental and labour side-agreements to the NAFTA. There is a need to integrate the concerns of environment, development and economy in the FTAA, as espoused in the results of the Miami Summit. The side agreements are one model which should be examined as useful in that regard.

The Canadian delegation should promote the idea of a hemispheric commitment to disallow the export of domestically prohibited goods. In some developing countries, however such regulations are seen as eco-imperialism -- the imposition of unwanted foreign standards.

The Canadian delegation should promote a voluntary private sector code of conduct, which holds multinationals to operate a least at the environmental standards followed in the country of origin. Much of the greening of industrial production in developing countries is coming from technology introduced by such multinationals. Again, it was warned that such measures could be seen as eco-imperialism by some.

Any FTAA should be preceded by progress in addressing pressing Aboriginal issues. Otherwise, such agreements could be prejudicial to outstanding land claims, for example, or harmful to the prospect of their settlement. As well, there needs to be a definition of traditional knowledge in the context of intellectual property rights. Any agreement should facilitate, not hinder, the settlement of such issues.

Trade agreements can, while increasing overall prosperity, aggravate existing inequities, and further marginalize those already on the margins. These social dimensions need to be addressed in any FTAA. Trade agreements have traditionally been weak at integrating such concerns.

Finally, the Canadian experience in opening up the process of trade policy formulation to broaden participation should be promoted at the Summit, and should be greatly improved upon at home. There must be mechanisms for the effective involvement of civil society in such policy formulation, both at the national level, and at the level of the international organizations, such as the Organization of American States.

Working Group on Biodiversity

The following Strategic Questions were asked during the course of this working group:

What mechanisms will facilitate the conservation of biodiversity in co-existence with the human species?

What are the knowledge gaps and what are the international priorities?

How can we define and value biodiversity in ways that are policy-relevant for decision-makers?

1) Are there models in place in the Americas that have been successful in promoting collaboration in establishing effective biodiversity conservation programs?

2) What are the barriers to effective biodiversity conservation and how can they be removed or transformed?

Current Problems

Two barriers were identified as the lack of education on the issues and the lack of engagement of civil society on conservation and sustainable development issues.

Successful Programs, Policies and Models

UNESCO - Biosphere Reserve Concept: There are six (6) bio-reserves in Canada, most of which are not "true" biosphere reserves, but rather protected areas, i.e. Niagara Escarpment. They are successful in biodiversity conservation because of their emphasis on local autonomy and community involvement.

Model Forests - Partnership Groups: The Eastern Ontario Model Forest is a successful example of "urban forests", which engage the stakeholder in the idea of sustainable development, and active involvement in decision making and traditional land practices. Elements of model forests that have direct application to the multi-stakeholder process: (a) better research; (b) awareness and education at grassroots level; (c) community involvement - multiplicity of values; and (d) partnerships.

Establishing Biodiversity Values

We must discover how to funnel local concerns and the realities which encompass all different values: economic, spiritual, cultural, etc. into International Channels.

Education is at the core of sustainability and sustainable development education should be integrated not only in the schools but in the broader social context of both formal and informal education methods.

The Best Canadian Practices have been identified as:

AEPS (Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy)

• International/Canadian Model Forests
  
• Canada's Round Table approach to conflict prevention and resolution
  

Working Group on Water

Sustainable Development Principles

Water is integral to life and to human and ecosystem health.

Any approach to water issues must be integrative (that is, focus on the various uses to which water is put -- including, for example, agriculture, mining, etc. and sustainable development concerns should be considered up front, rather than only after the engineering balance of technical proficiency and profitability has been considered)

Successful resolution of complex issues depends on there being an interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder perspective

Operating Principles

Water resources should be managed on a watershed/ecosystem basis. i.e., watersheds are the natural boundaries for land use planning

• The goal is to at least maintain, and preferably improve, present water quality and present water management capacity.
  
• Education, public participation and capacity building are vital.
• Indigenous knowledge should be utilized, and local users should be empowered.
• There should be universal access to water.
• There should be a transition to full cost accounting for water use.
• Market forces should be harnessed.
• International Financial Institutions (IFIs) need to be involved, and deals should be structured so as to facilitate long-term planning

Before approvals for large-scale projects are considered, a very thorough and holistic sustainable development review should take place, including a review of their impact on indigenous peoples.

Water should be recognized as a public good, and universal access to water must be guaranteed. However, while water itself is not susceptible to private ownership, the state should move to full cost accounting for water use, or else water resources will be over utilized. Full cost accounting may impose hardships on some individuals and the pricing system must be sensitive to these distributional issues. What is important is that, overall, the full cost of water usage is incorporated. Options include differential phase-in periods and the like according to the category of user. In no event should the principle of universal access be compromised.

Market forces should be harnessed in water delivery services - piping, plumbing and the like. This will provide efficiencies and will not compromise the notion of water as a public good, i.e. part of the global commons.

Working Group on Sustainable Livelihoods and Poverty Alleviation

Poverty eradication and sustainable livelihoods are particularly relevant to two previous global summits, namely the Environment and Development Summit (Rio) and the World Summit on Social Development (WSSD). It is important that, while postulating recommendations for the Hemispheric Summit we utilize international agreements and documents that already exist and reinforce action to carry out these commitments.

Poverty is not a uni-dimensional phenomena

Impoverishment is not a state of being but a process

Poverty does not just mean economic deprivation

Impoverishment and sustainability is better addressed at the community or household level

Communities can provide innovative solutions but governments must remain accountable

Jurisdictional bureaucracy, language dominance and power structures can underpin and sustain poverty in a community

Neither governments or communities plan for the long-term, severely restricting the efficacy of poverty alleviation strategies.

Working Group on Indigenous Peoples:

Sustainable development has always been an integral part of Indigenous values and should be defined with Indigenous input.

Indigenous peoples cannot as individuals speak for their people without community level participation. It should be noted that when the time and resources are invested to reach community level consensus the result is a strong commitment which cannot easily be manipulated.

The importance of community level dialogue and the additional time and resources required to hold discussion at the community level prior to larger consultations often results in the inability of Indigenous peoples to participate in consultation processes. As a result Indigenous peoples have been accused of apathy when in reality Indigenous peoples feel marginalized.

Cultural nuances between Indigenous peoples and Canadian society at large need to be understood. When indigenous peoples nod their heads it does not mean they are agreeing, it only means they are listening.

Indigenous peoples of Canada have many success stories that could be shared at the Bolivia Summit but there is a hesitation to share them if they are to be carried forward by the Canadian government. It was felt that the Canadian government misrepresents Indigenous issues and does not have a record of doing in Canada what it preaches abroad.

The concern was expressed that when one Indigenous person comes forward to speak, the Canadian government seizes that voice as the voice of all Indigenous peoples of Canada. It was felt that there is a lack of respect for traditional Indigenous discussion processes.

Indigenous peoples of Canada will not participate in meetings under the status of a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). Indigenous peoples want to participate on a nation to nation level.

Indigenous peoples of Canada were not part of the delegation to the Miami Summit which was reflected in the language of the Summit documentation and in the lack of specific recommendations with regard to Indigenous peoples in the Plan of Action.

Working Group on Forests

Discussion centered around two main themes: issues and possibilities for action. This working group discussed issues affecting forests according to the importance of the issues as identified by members of the group. The most important of which were identified as: trade and the environment, certification, participation processes, conventions, criteria and indicators, technology transfer, and integrated resource management. Issues that drew the most attention included education and learning, indigenous rights and knowledge systems, equity and sustainable forest management.

Attention was drawn to Canadian successes in the multi-stakeholder participation process such as Canada's Model Forests and the Forest Roundtable Process. The joint forest management models were also discussed as was the community decision-making on forests in the Akwesasne region.

The Canadian experience with certification was cited as a good example of a lesson learned by Canada worthy of sharing with our Hemispheric partners. The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) and the National Aboriginal Forestry Association provide good indicators for certification.

The need for more work on Intersectoral and cross-sectional linkages (how to translate sustainable development into policy) and Broader recognition of multiple forest values, and link to other issues (i.e. financing for sustainable forests and climate change action) was also identified. Communication needs enhancement between forest stakeholder groups.

Conventions on forests (regional and international) could be a key international instrument for moving forward the forest policy dialogue on a hemispheric level.

Working Group on Pollution Prevention

There should be some commitment and demonstration by OAS towards sound chemicals management, as stated in Agenda 21 and adopted at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. A good window of opportunity exists through the coincidence of timing of the Bolivian Summit to push our respective governments to sign these regional agreements.

It is important to recognize the diverse climatic, socioeconomic and biophysical characteristics and patterns of countries in our attempts to come to hemispheric agreements. These factors affect dissipation rates and many other factors dealing with pollution prevention, and thus, it is important to recognize these diversities, especially with respect to risk management given vastly differing socioeconomic and ecosystem conditions.

The case study of the Caribbean agreement for the highest voluntary standards possible through a coalition of NGOs, academics, business and government was an excellent case study to forward to the attention of the Heads of States.

It is important to start with a basic acceptance of pollution prevention, rather than rely on an acceptance of pollution and end-of-pipe solutions. Discussion focused on whether Canada should allow substances that are banned in Canada to be used by Canadian corporations conducting business in the Third World, for example, leaded gasoline. Some felt we should encourage Canadian corporations operating in Latin America, particularly mining companies, operate in accordance with Canadian laws.

Mining companies might be more amenable to developing codes of conduct rather than the imposition of investment restrictions. There is a difficulty of engaging the mining juniors both socially and environmentally in the country. The mining industry should be encouraged to develop codes of conduct, that apply equally both domestically and internationally and to senior and junior companies. Success stories should be highlighted, in particular, some of the multisectoral, multidisciplinary approaches, and the management system at Lake Tikagatamat.

Civil society is dependent upon a strong and vibrant NGO community, especially in developing countries. There should be a concentrated effort, therefore, to strengthen NGOs dedicated to environmental protection and to make connections between the research community and the NGO community within the hemisphere. They should be actively engaged as instruments of change in civil society.

Working Group on Communications and Education

Discussion centered around Canadian success stories and the needs for environmental and sustainable development education in the broad social context.

"Eco-Links" of the ECO-ED conference were identified as a success story in environmental awareness and education:

(1) Environmental Citizenship Program was identified as a Canadian success story - the Canadian federal government should continue to back this program which continues to have full support of civil society

CIDA and Environment Canada - "Lessons Learned" should be shared:

First Nations

Sustainable Development Education

• needs to involve civil society actively in research; e.g. fishers collecting fish in local areas, Inuit midwives collecting breast milk, etc.;
• information needs to be exchanged in several languages, not just English;
• importance of internal networking;
• must resist move to cancel education dollars when fiscal situation becomes tight;
• must resist the pressure to reduce environmental demands for the sake of "international competitiveness";
• need for environmental and development "heroes" both from the streets (Bombay pavement women) and the stars (Wayne Gretzy) to deliver message;
• need to overcome conflicting messages in education between goals of sustainable development and classic economics;
• need for ongoing communication between environmental and development organizations and educational organizations (i.e. Council of Ministers of Education; teachers federations, etc.) to ensure priority of sustainable development education and co-ordinate efforts;
• need for coordination and strategic plan by international agencies such as UNESCO, UNEP, etc. to harmonize efforts.

Other Discussion:

Procedural Feedback

Participants were concerned that one day for the consultation did not permit for extended discussion.

It was felt that there was not sufficient notice or preparatory materials for the meaningful participation of the participants at the civil society meeting. Discussion papers on each of the issues, circulated in advance, would have been useful to help guide and focus the meeting