UNESCO and sustainable development; 2005

UNESCO andSustainable

Development

Preface“Sustainable development, our common task”by UNESCO’s Director-General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Sustainable development: from awareness to practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Educating for the future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Young people, voices to be heard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Water, unique resource, absolute priority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Natural and social sciences for sustainable development . . . . . . . . . 20

Sustainable Development in Universities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Acting against HIV/AIDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Integrating culture in sustainable development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

From information societies to knowledge societies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Developing sustainable partnerships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

United Nations Decades, reference documents and UNESCO standard-setting instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

UNESCO AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 1

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We have no longer a choice: either we adopt behaviours that respectsustainable development, that is we stop polluting the environment, allowfor the renewal of natural resources and contribute to the improvement of the well-being of all, or sooner or later we sign our own death warrant.

Sustainable development is a moral precept as well as a scientific concept.It is closely linked to peace, human rights and equity as much as to ecologyor global warming. And if it obviously concerns the natural sciences,economics and politics, it is also a cultural issue. Founded on the valuesparticular to one society or another, it implies that we recognize thecomplex interdependence of human needs and the natural environment. It also implies that development goals be conceived not just in nationalterms, but also according to a global vision – as global as our planet.

The years 2005 to 2014, under the banner of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, provide the opportunity forUNESCO to reinforce its commitment in this area in all its different fields of competence. Designated the lead agency for the Decade, UNESCO isresponsible for coordinating the efforts of governments, educators andstudents to integrate the theme of sustainable development in educationalsystems, both formal and non-formal, at all levels. We also intend to workwith civil society organizations, the private sector and the media to helpthem communicate the problems and requirements of sustainabledevelopment to the largest possible audience.

The ultimate goal of the Decade is that sustainable development must be more than just a slogan. It must be a concrete reality for all of us –individuals, organizations governments – in all of our daily decisions andactions, so as to promise a sustainable planet and a safer world, to ourchildren, our grandchildren and their descendants.

Koïchiro MatsuuraDirector-General of UNESCO

Sustainable Development,our common task

Sustainabledevelopment is…

� “Development that meetsthe needs of the presentwithout compromising theability of future generationsto meet their own needs.”(Our Common Future, Reportof the World Commission on Environment andDevelopment, 1987)

� A vision of developmentthat encompassespopulations, animal andplant species, ecosystems,natural resources – water,air, energy – and thatintegrates concerns such asthe fight against poverty,gender equality, humanrights, education for all,health, human security,intercultural dialogue, etc.

In 1968, UNESCO organized the first intergovernmentalconference aiming to reconcile environment anddevelopment, what we now call “sustainable development”. It led to the creation of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere

(MAB) Programme. The conference was a significant step in the process that in 1972 resulted in the Conference on theHuman Environment, held in Stockholm – the first UnitedNations conference on the environment.

In 1987, the World Commission on Environment andDevelopment, presided by Gro Harlem Brundtland, used the expression “sustainable development” for the first time in its report, “Our Common Future”. The concept has evolvedconstantly ever since. At first emphasizing environment only in development policies, the idea has encompassedsocioeconomic domains since the Johannesburg Summit(2002). It now incorporates other areas previously neglected by development, such as education or culture, the latter being recognized as a full-fledged source of development by the Universal Declaration of Cultural Diversity adopted by UNESCO in 2001.

2 UNESCO AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Sustainable Development:From Awareness to Practice

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Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary–General

“Our biggest challenge in this new century is to take an idea that seems abstract — sustainable development — and turn it into a reality for all the world’s people.”

Tropical regions are rich in biodiversity.Giant water lilies, Brazil

Rio Earth Summit 1992

Tens of thousands of participantsincluding 172 governments, 2 400 NGOs and 10,000 journalists

Important outcomes:

� Agenda 21, a joint program for implementing sustainabledevelopment in the 21st century,which has since served as thebasis for measuring progress. A number of countries, regionsand cities have adopted theirown “Agenda 21”.

� Rio Declaration onEnvironment and Development

� United Nations FrameworkConvention on Climate Change

� United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity

� Agreements on desertificationand fishing in the high seas

©UNESCO/Bernard Martinez

1992: The Rio turning point

The main points of the sustainable development concept are defined by Agenda 21, the Action Programme for the 21st century adopted by governments at the Rio Earth Summitin 1992.

At the institutional level, Rio represents a crucial turning point, opening a new era of cooperation between governments,NGOs and the private sector. UNESCO received theresponsibility for implementing the Agenda’s Chapter 35(Science for sustainable development) and Chapter 36(Promoting education, public awareness and training). Thelatter states: “Education is critical for promoting sustainabledevelopment and improving the capacity of the people toaddress environment and development issues.” UNESCOprovides support to Member States and develops pedagogicalmaterial for sustainable development education.

2000: An integral part of the Millennium Declaration

In 2000, the heads of State and Government from all over theworld, in solemn assembly at United Nations Headquarters inNew York for the Millennium Summit, adopted the MillenniumDeclaration that reaffirms the international community’ssupport of “development that is truly sustainable” and defines“respect for nature” as a fundamental value. The Declarationled to the elaboration in 2001 of the Millennium DevelopmentGoals (MDGs), representing an ambitious commitment toreducing poverty. One of the goals calls for efforts to “ensureenvironmental sustainability”, and specifically “to integrate theprinciples of sustainable development into country policies andprogrammes” and “reverse loss of environmental resources”.(www.un.org/millenniumgoals/)

2002: Johannesburg Summit

At the Johannesburg World Summit on SustainableDevelopment in 2002, not only did the number of NGOs andprivate sector actors among the participants increase, but their commitment to sustainable development deepened at all levels, from local to global. The Summit affirmed itscollective determination to promote the pillars of sustainabledevelopment – economic development, social development and safeguarding the environment – as interdependent andmutually reinforcing.


MillenniumDevelopment Goals(MDGs)

Goal 7: Ensure EnvironmentalSustainability

� Integrate the principles ofsustainable development intocountry policies and reversepresent trend of loss of naturalresources.

� Reduce by half theproportion of people withoutsustainable access to safedrinking water.

� Achieve significantimprovement in lives of at least 100 million slum dwellersby 2020.

The use of non polluting and renewable energies can not be avoided. Wind mill, Kenya

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In Johannesburg, UNESCO reaffirmed itscommitment to Agenda 21 and benefited fromhigh visibility, notably due to its involvementwith water issues. It formed severalpartnerships, including the UNESCO/FAOEducation for All Flagship Initiative onEducation for Rural People, the Global HigherEducation for Sustainability Partnership, andthe Educating for Sustainable Living with theEarth Charter initiative.

However encouraging this evolution, it is notsufficient. Poverty and pressures on theenvironment and natural resources areincreasing, while patterns of non-sustainableconsumption and production continue tomultiply. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is reversingprogress made in rates of infant survival, lifeexpectancy and development in many countries.

2005-2014: A Decade for Change

One United Nations response to these problems is the Decadeof Education for Sustainable Development (DESD), adopted in2002 by the United Nations General Assembly for 2005 to 2014.UNESCO has the task of promoting the Decade, which aims to promote sustainable skills and behaviour, inspired bycreative and critical ways of thinking, in order to encourage the resolution and management of problems that stand in the way of sustainable development.

The four priority areas of action for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development aim to:

Promote basic educationIt will not be enough to reinforce literacy and numeracy tomake significant progress in sustainable development. Effortsmust also have impact on the content and methods ofeducation and its adaptation to the cultural context. Basiceducation must also encourage and support people’sinvolvement in community life and decision-making.

Reorient and revise education programs Programmes must be restructured from nursery school touniversity to include explicitly the study and comprehension of problems linked to the social, economic, environmental

JohannesburgSummit 2002

22,000 participants including100 world leaders, 10,000delegates from 193 countries,8 000 representatives of NGOs,the private sector and othersectors of civil society, plus4 000 journalists

Important outcomes:

� Collective decision to lowergreenhouse gas emissions by 5.2% in the next ten years

� Launching of partnerships in a new form, involving civilsociety and not justgovernments, aimed atimplementing sustainabledevelopment


Sustainable Development:

An old sustainable practice, throwing a fishingnet. Lake city of Ganvié, Benin

©UNESCO/Georges Malempré

and cultural sustainability of our planet, emphasizinginterdisciplinary approaches.

Develop public understanding and awarenessWhile the concept of sustainable development is now familiar in institutional, academic and specialized milieus, it still needs to be spread at the grass-rootslevel. All sectors of society must betargeted, from business people tochildren in the most remote areas.

Provide practical trainingAll trained, informed people canplay an active role: this is a basicprecept of sustainabledevelopment. Specific trainingmust be provided through scientificand technological education, butalso with the help of partners inthe world of work, particularly inbusiness and industry.


From Awareness to Practice

Decade of Education for Sustainable DevelopmentStrategic perspectives to inform education and learning for sustainable development

Socio-culturalperspectives

� Human rights

� Peace and humansecurity

� Gender equality

� Cultural diversity andintercultural understanding

� Health

� HIV/AIDS

� Governance

Environmentalperspectives

� Natural resources(water, energy,agriculture, biodiversity)

� Climate change

� Rural development

� Sustainableurbanisation

� Disaster prevention and mitigation

Economicperspectives

� Povertyreduction

� Corporateresponsibility andaccountability

� Marketeconomy

“My car runs on Vanuatu coconut oil.” This Pacific Island state uses its own local resources.

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UNESCO and Education for Sustainable Development

Predictably, UNESCO first demonstrated its concern for sustainable development in the science sectors, very early on. Today, that goal is present in all its fields of competence – education, science, culture andcommunication – and in particular in the projectsimplemented by its field offices. One of UNESCO’sessential comparative advantages in the context ofinternational organizations is this capacity for inter-sectoral action for sustainable development in key areasfor the benefit of Member States.

Directly in line with UNESCO’s strategic objectives, twocrosscutting themes were defined that are intrinsic to allof its programmes. They are the eradication of poverty,especially extreme poverty; and the contribution ofinformation and communication technologies to education,science, culture and information and the construction of a knowledge society.

Furthermore, promotingeducation for all is at the heart of UNESCO’s mission.Essentially all of itsprogrammes and projects haveeducational content, in varyingdegrees. Besides its activities in training, informing andraising awareness, UNESCOundertakes studies and reportsdesigned to guide policy-makers, and produceseducational materials for itsnumerous partners, NationalCommissions, UNESCO clubs,NGOs, and professionalorganizations.

Given the task of promoting the Decade of Education forSustainable Development,UNESCO has a key double role


Sustainable Development:

www.unesco.org/education/desd

UNESCO has set up a trilingual interactive website to presentinformation on the activities, initiatives and events organized – at local, national and international levels – in the context of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development and to encourage the exchange of information and resources.

“I am DD, the mascot of the UNESCO website on

Education for sustainabledevelopment”.

Learning to reconcile economic andenvironmental requirements. Road

through the Peten Forest, Guatemala

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to play. First, to integrate education forsustainable development in national policiesand educational systems. And beyond that, to make the diverse actors in civil society,including the private sector and the media,aware of the importance of the goals ofsustainable development.

In the framework of the Decade, UNESCOdeveloped an international implementationscheme aiming to promote education forsustainable development over the course ofthe next ten years. UNESCO involved in thedrafting of this scheme governments, UNagencies and a range of other actors, fromuniversities to the private sector, as well asyoung people, women, and community groups.

Results achieved during the Decade ofEducation for Sustainable Development willreinforce the work of Education for All(www.unesco.org/education/efa/) and theUnited Nations Literacy Decade, 2003-2012(www.unesco.org/education/litdecade/). These three commitments by the internationalcommunity, putting education at the heart of sustainable development, match theMillennium Development Goals, particularlythose of achieving universal primary educationand gender equality(www.un.org/millenniumgoals/).


From Awareness to Practice

The 2005-2014 Decadeseeks to reach allpeople. Young girl in arice field, Indonesia

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Girls education: a priority

Studies show that women and girls are amongthe best advocates of sustainable development.Unfortunately, “Educational inequality is amajor infringement of the rights of girls andwomen, and an important obstacle to social andeconomic development,” according to the EFAGlobal Monitoring Report 2003/4. “The statemust play the leading role in promoting equaleducation for all,” is one of its conclusions. That is why UNESCO is actively participating in the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative(UNGEI), launched in 2000 by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to boost efforts at a globallevel, by helping governments reinforce theirnational policies in favor of girls’ education.

The vision is at work at the grass roots level,notably through Education for All (EFA), forwhich UNESCO is international coordinator,and the United Nations Literacy Decade, 2003-2012. In addition, UNESCO is implementingChapter 35 of Agenda 21 (Science forsustainable development) as well Chapter 36(Promoting education, public awareness andtraining).

Education is one of the most effective forces tobring about the changes in knowledge, values,behaviour and lifestyles required to achievesustainability and stability within and amongcountries, and to guarantee democracy,human security and peace.


Educating for the Future

Women and girls are the best advocates for sustainable development. Inter-generational exchange, Pakistan

For nearly sixty years, UNESCO has worked to promote and improveeducation, in all of its forms and at all levels, throughout the world.Its vision of education encompasses economic, social, cultural,demographic and environmental issues.

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Aleya Begum, 35 year old, mother of 3 children. Widowed, she undertook a training and started chickenbreeding with a credit from an NGO. Rajapur, Bangladesh

That is the reason why quality education at alllevels constitutes a vital tool to tackle themajor problems linked to sustainabledevelopment, such as poverty, HIV/AIDS,environmental deterioration, non-sustainablepatterns of production and consumption,demographic growth and rural and urbantransformations. Education should alsopromote health, ethics, the creation andsharing of knowledge, gender equality, socialjustice, good governance and cultural diversity.

One certainty today is that education of women and girls is one of the mainstays ofsustainable development. UNESCO chose the topic for its Education for All GlobalMonitoring Report 2003/4, “Gender andEducation for All: the Leap to Equality”(www.efareport.unesco.org).

The international networks created byUNESCO are the dynamic relays of its actionand messages. That is the case in 2005 forsome 7650 Associated Schools workingtogether on such themes as peace, dialogue,and the environment (www.unesco.org/education/asp), for UNESCO Chairs inuniversities, and for the institutions, politiciansand experts who cooperate with UNESCO’sInternational Centre for Technical andVocational Education and Training (UNEVOC)based in Bonn (www.unevoc.unesco.org), andfor the other UNESCO Institutes.

What is education for sustainabledevelopment?

education that allows learners to acquire the skills, capacities, values and knowledgerequired to ensure sustainable development;education dispensed at all levels and in allsocial contexts (family, school, workplace,community);education that fosters responsible citizensand promotes democracy by allowing

individuals and communities to enjoy theirrights and fulfill their responsibilities;education based on the principle of life-longlearning;education that fosters the individual’sbalanced development.

To develop sustainable skills, inspired bycreative and critical thinking, in order toencourage the solving and managing ofproblems that stand in the way of sustainabledevelopment, initiatives launched during theDecade will use formal, non-formal andinformal modes of teaching and the power ofinformation and communication technologies(ICTs) to reach all audiences, including thepoor, women and marginalized people.

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Promotion of basic education

Quality basic education is a prerequisite for learningabout sustainable development. Yet many still do nothave access to basic education: at the turn of themillennium, the number of children not enrolled inschool was estimated at 104 million, 57% of themgirls; illiterate adults with no access to formaleducation numbered 862 million, the majority of themwomen (Education for All Global Monitoring Report2003/4). Illiterate girls and adults are prioritybeneficiaries of a number of UNESCO initiatives.

Simply increasing basic literacy and numeracy willnot suffice to advance significantly sustainabledevelopment. Efforts must focus on the content,methods and quality of basic education; on sharingknowledge, skills and values; on adapting educationto different cultural contexts and the needs oflearners; on the learning environment; and oncultural diversity, commitment to peace and againstdiscrimination.

Basic education must also encourage and assistpeople in taking part in the life and decision-makingof their community, which fosters greatersustainability in community development.



A CD-Rom to train teachers

How can one get training to teach sustainabledevelopment, wherever one happens to be on the planet? UNESCO is making available a free training course on CD-Rom to allteachers, trainers of educators, policy-makers and textbook authors. Launched in 2002 at the Johannesburg Summit, thecourse was compiled with contributions from 300 education professionals from allover the world. “Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future” contains 25 separatemodules on a wide range of topics: educationfor consumption and health, culture andreligion, indigenous knowledge, women,agriculture and sustainable tourism.

It demonstrates the interdependence of such factors as poverty, consumption, waste, pollution, demography and conflicts.The CD-Rom outlines strategies forintegrating sustainable development inschool curricula as well as in activitiesoutside of school. Produced in English, thecourse is aimed at small groups andindividual learners (it can be consulted anddownloaded on line). UNESCO is encouragingits translation and adaptation to localcontexts – the CD-Rom itself containsinstructions for technical adjustments.(www.unesco.org/education/tlsf)

Computer training in the “Goutted’Or” sociocultural centre in Paris,France

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Baltic Sea Project:15 years of on-goingtraining

Since 1989, almost an entiregeneration has discoveredBaltic Sea ecology in borderingcountries – Denmark, Estonia,Finland, Germany, Latvia,Lithuania, Poland, Russia andSweden. Through the BalticSea Project, three hundredschools from UNESCO’sAssociated Schools Networkcooperate to help improve the inland sea’s environment.Students work in theclassroom and in the field, onsuch topics as water quality,rivers, coastal observation, air quality, bird ecology, orenvironmental history. Theproject has produced a video,“It all starts with the rain,” and numerous publications.The most recent concernsenvironmental history andanalyzes the impact of choicesmade in the past on peopletoday.

Down through the yearsorganizers have acquiredvaluable expertise in gatheringinformation on the interactionof populations and theenvironment, and inenvironmental education.(www.kiss.pl/bsp/)

In its numerous programmes, UNESCO pays particularattention to the quality of education, to knowledge-sharing, to the skills, values and needs of learners as well as to thelearning environment, respect for cultural diversity andcommitment to peace and against discrimination.

Reorienting and revising educational programs

Educational content and methods must be oriented moreclearly towards the goals of sustainable development. Fromnursery school to university, curricula must be revised toinclude explicitly the study and understanding of problemslinked to social, economic, environmental and culturalsustainability, while emphasizing transdisciplinary approaches.

Engaged in this process since the 1992 Earth Summit, UNESCOsupports necessary reforms and:

offers professional and technical support to governments(regularly-held conferences of education ministers,coordination of the High-Level Group for Education for All);assists in reorienting teacher training;encourages teachers and students to develop trainingmaterials and curricula;produces educational and training materials for education for sustainable development.


A natural science course in a primary school. China©

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Building public understanding and awareness

The concept of sustainable development may be familiar tothose in institutional, academic and specialized milieus, but itstill needs to filter down to the grass roots level. Informationand public awareness campaigns are indispensable tools tomake the general population conscious of its importance,everywhere in the world. The media is the key partner to helppopularize the concept, but other campaigns can also makeuse of ICTs, community education and information networks,word of mouth and partnerships with performers and otherartistic personalities.

Providing practical training

A basic principle of sustainable development is that everytrained, informed individual can play an active role.

Scientific and technological education must be inspired by the principles of sustainable development. It is a key factor in countries’ efforts towards sustainability, providing thepreparation for scientific careers and the world of work. The support of actors from the private sector is crucial fortraining and capacity-building initiatives.



Pilot project in China

UNESCO is giving technicalsupport to a pilot project ineducation for sustainabledevelopment in China, aftersigning a Memorandum ofUnderstanding with thegovernment. Launched inBeijing in 1997 then extendedto other provinces, it hasalready involved 200,000primary and secondary schoolpupils and some universities.The exciting aspect forstudents is that instruction is coupled with practicalexperience, such as filteringdirty water or making objectsin workshops from recycledmaterials like newspapers and scraps of cloth.

The project has trained some5,000 teachers and 700 prin-cipals as well as a number ofspecialists, and it has broughtenvironmental education intothe school curriculum. In acountry with severe pollutionproblems, the project’s impactgoes beyond the classroom,helping to make parents andothers in the community moreaware of environmental issues.

Reading a newspaper, a window to the world,a result of adult literacy programmes, Cape Verde

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Business and industry actors, having the knowledge andskills to make decisions favouring sustainable development,are also inspired to question their own practices and to givetheir collaborators and partners concrete knowledgeconcerning sustainability.

Challenges

Develop educational programmes for sustainabledevelopment for all;Ensure quality education by adapting it to differentcultural contexts and learners’ needs;Ensure access to basic education, particularly for adultsand girls;Emphasize sharing of knowledge, skills and values;Integrate an educational component in national strategiesof sustainable development;Improve teachers’ training in sustainable developmentwith use of ICTs and any other locally available means;Improve scientific and technological education forsustainable development at all levels;Ensure participation of populations and communitydecision-making.

The Earth Charter

The Earth Charter is theoutcome of an extensiveprocess of worldwideconsultation, launched in 1992,which mobilized hundreds oforganizations and thousands ofpeople from different culturesand origins. It presents valuesand principles for asustainable future, encouragesreflection and seeks tostimulate questions and raisethe awareness of individuals.

Numerous Member Statessupported the Earth Charterresolution, adopted byUNESCO’s General Conferencein October 2003. The resolutionrecognizes the Earth Charteras one of the most significantethical frameworks ofsustainable development andan educational instrument,particularly in the context ofthe UN Decade of Educationfor Sustainable Development.(www.earthcharter.org)


Joy in village life. Madagascar

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Participate in governance

In order for its programmes to take into account youngpeople’s priorities, UNESCO created the Youth Forum in1999. It meets during UNESCO’s General Conferences, to allow young people to express their visions and needs.UNESCO also organizes Youth Forums everywhere in theworld during international or regional events. At the WorldYouth Festival, for instance, during the Barcelona Universal

Forum of Cultures in2004, or at the UnitedNations Small IslandDeveloping Statessummit in Mauritius in January 2005.(www.islandyouth.org)

Since 2001, the action-research project Quartiers du Monde, in progress in nine cities of the North and South, trains youngpeople in municipal policy through active participation, mappingof urban territories, and exchange with local authorities, in a context of gender perspective and overcoming exclusion.(qdm.chez.tiscali.fr/)

Raising awareness about sustainable consumption

Young people are both major consumers and concerned byenvironmental questions. Because they have a key role to playin the future in determining patterns of consumption, theUnited Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and UNESCOconducted a survey on the subject involving 10,000 youngpeople in 24 countries (www.uneptie.org/pc/sustain/youth/research-project.htm) and created an educational kit


Young People,Voices to be Heard

Representing nearly 20% of the world’spopulation, young people are eager toparticipate in decisions and actions forsustainable development – the future of the

world is, after all, their future. Numerous UNESCOprojects allow them to acquire personal andprofessional capacities to play a significant role.

20 March 2004. A young boy is about to speakat the International Day for the Elimination ofRacial Discrimination, UNESCO Headquarters,France

Learn to know the Earth. Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie. Paris, France

©UNESCO/Michel Ravassard

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YouthXchange. It consists ofa guidebook with concreteexamples of sustainableconsumption – coveringtransportation, food, travel,waste reduction and optimaluse of energy – and awebsite (youthxchange. e-meta.net/).

Breaking the cycle of poverty

To empower marginalizedadolescent girls and helpthem break out of thepoverty cycle, a pilot projectin South Asia combineseducation in literacy,management of micro-credit and awarenessof science and technology, and leads to thecreation of community centres for scientificinformation. Young girls work on such topicsas health, environment, human rights, andwomen’s rights.

The project is on going since 2002 in India,Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan inpartnership with governments. It also providestraining to local youth NGOs for theprogramme’s follow-up. (www.unesco.org/shs/poverty + pilot projects)


INFOYOUTH: Information and exchange for and about youth

To facilitate access to scattered sources ofyouth-related information and fulfill theurgent need for appropriate and coherentpolicies on youth from the local to the globallevel, UNESCO decided in 1991 to set up anetwork of international information andexchange of data for and about youth.INFOYOUTH aims to:

� Make available to all those concerned byyouth development the knowledge, experienceand analysis that can serve as a basis forframing youth policies, using the latestcommunication and information techniques.

� Encourage dialogue between actors in the field,associations, institutional partners, youth NGOsand researchers, by organizing national, regionaland international consultations, seminars andcolloquiums, and supporting publications.

The network’s implementation was entrusted tothe Institut national de la Jeunesse et del’Education populaire (INJEP, France). Since 1992,INJEP, designated as project operator, has takencharge of the network’s structure, activity anddevelopment, and made sure the informationavailable is relevant and accurate.(www.infoyouth.org/)

A campaign for peace and environmental education in youth hostelsconducted in partnership with UNESCO.

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Water, source of all life, is currently at the heart of an unprecedented crisis. The maincomponents of the crisis are demographicgrowth, pollution, inadequate management of

water resources, waste due primarily to inefficient systemsof agricultural irrigation and urban water supply, andchanges in climate. Also contributing, however, according to the 2003 World Water Development Report, are politicalinertia and the general public’s lack of awareness.

The goal set by the Millennium and Johannesburg Summitsis to reduce by half between now and 2015 the proportion ofpeople without access to safe water and sanitation, who livein dire conditions characterized by malnutrition, famine,poverty and deadly diseases. Paradoxically, safe water hasbecome more expensive and less available to the poorest.

At the Johannesburg Summit in 2002, UNESCO underlinedthe ethical dimension of the water issue, by affirming“Access to water should be recognized as a basic humanright…. Water is not just a commodity, but a common public good.”

Towards an integrated approach to water management

UNESCO has made water its principal priority in the naturaland exact sciences, whether it is water in its naturalenvironment – ecosystems, wetlands, arid areas, forests –or in technical terms – transport, supply, waste water.

We are caught in a vicious circle: by exhausting andpolluting rivers, lakes and wetlands, we are destroyingecosystems that play a crucial role in filtering and formingfreshwater resources, thus reducing their renewalcapacities.

Managing water resources therefore demands an integratedapproach, as developed by UNESCO’s InternationalHydrological Programme (IHP), whose current focus until2007 is “Water interactions: systems at risk and socialchallenges”. Jointly with the MAB Programme, IHP isdeveloping integrated strategies of water, earth and

Water, Unique Resource,Absolute Priority

Drought, El Goléa, Algeria

Access to clean water has become a luxury.Ecuador

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biodiversity management and conducting training andeducation activities related to water (such as the WETProgramme, “Water, Education and Training”) aimed formaximum impact primarily at universities, continuousprofessional education, and training of trainers.

UNESCO supports the “Water, women and decision-making” network created in 2004, which has three ongoingprojects on water management in Morocco, Brazil and Ivory Coast.

A fundamental tool: the World Water Assessment Programme

We need a better understanding of the world’s waterresources and their evolution. The international communityis facing the challenge through the World WaterAssessment Programme (WWAP), which brings together 24 United Nations agencies and programmes, with UNESCOhousing its secretariat. In 2003, International Year ofFreshwater, WWAP published the first World WaterDevelopment Report, dealing with progress made in suchareas as health, economy, nutrition, ecosystems, and thesharing and governance of resources. (www.unesco.org/water/wwap/wwdr/ex_summary/)

Water for Southern Africa’s arid zones

Focused on water as its central theme,SIMDAS is a major programme created by16 countries in Southern Africa* in closecollaboration with IHP, MAB and UNESCOoffices in the region. The main goals ofthe Sustainable Integrated Managementand Development of Arid and Semi-AridRegions of Southern Africa are tointegrate sustainable developmentprinciples in national policy, increase thenumber of people with access to safedrinking water, reduce infant mortalityand promote gender equality.

A wide range of partners fromuniversities, local communities and NGOsare involved in the projects, which are

aimed particularly at women: advancedtraining, creation of a data base,reinforcement of professional networks,and local initiatives for managingecosystems. SIMDAS will also definestrategies for supplying arid and semi-arid zones with water from the Congo andZambezi basins, propose measures forreducing chemical pollution, identifybiosphere sites and evaluate the energypotential of the region (hydroelectric,solar, etc.)

*Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Democratic Republicof Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius,Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, SouthAfrica, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Falls of the Nile, Ethiopia

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Promoting water education:UNESCO-IHE Institute

UNESCO has significantly boosted its capacities in relation to water by taking over in 2003 the IHEInstitute in Delft (Netherlands), which has acquiredinternational renown in the water sciences since its creation in 1957.

Under its new name of UNESCO-IHE Institute forWater Education, it conducts educational andresearch activities on water and sustainabledevelopment issues: Water Science and Engineering,Environmental Science, Water Management(resources, services, quality), infrastructure,hydraulics, etc. Students come from local andnational governments, water services, trainingcenters, development agencies, businesses andNGOs, from over a hundred developing countries and countries in transition.

Water, Unique Resource,

Scene from daily life in India

Swimming in front of a non polluting geothermal power station. The white smoke is water vapor, Iceland

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The UNESCO-IHE Institute is the heartof the extensive global network formedby all of UNESCO’s partners in watereducation. (www.unesco-ihe.org)

Furthermore, several UNESCO Chairsare dedicated to the issue of water, aswell as three UNITWIN networks: one onsustainable development and peace, atthe university of Nice- Sophia Antipolis(France); another on environment andconflicts at the Aristotle university inThessalonica (Greece); and a third onwater and women at Ouagadougouuniversity (Burkina Faso).


Absolute Priority

Traditional irrigation techniques in Iraq

Challenges

Improve general access to clean water and sanitation;Improve the efficiency of irrigation systems;Reorient water resources management and planningtoward sustainable development;Decrease water pollution.

Ice fishing on lake Peipsi, on the border between Estonia and Russia

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The transition to sustainability is a crucial challenge forsciences and technology. UNESCO, with its NaturalSciences (www.unesco.org/science/index.shtml) andSocial Sciences sectors (www.unesco.org/general/

eng/programmes/social), participates in the scientific andtechnological capacity building of Member States for the benefitof development, and contributes to international scientificcooperation. Encouraging interdisciplinary approaches, it helpsdevelop and spread sustainable development policies andpractices through its intergovernmental scientific programmes.

In social and human sciences, UNESCO contributes to theelaboration of concepts and methods to guide policy decisions,notably concerning democratic governance and urbanmanagement in multicultural societies; to the reinforcement of human rights and social justice; and to the development of ethical principles and approaches.

Man and the Biosphere, a pioneer programme

The main challenge of sustainable development is reconcilingbiodiversity preservation with human needs. To improveunderstanding of the relationship between humans and theirenvironment, UNESCO launched the programme Man and the

Biosphere (MAB), which led to the BiosphereReserve as a concept and tool. In 2005, the459 biosphere reserves in 97 countries serveas living laboratories of sustainabledevelopment, fulfilling three functions:conservation (ecosystems, species andgenes); development (human and economic);and logistic (observation, research,information exchange).

At various levels and in its different capacities,UNESCO monitors scientific progress closelyand provides expertise. For example, in faceof the danger of global warming, it created in 1984, in collaboration with the ScientificCommittee on Oceanic Research (SCOR),


Natural and SocialSciences for SustainableDevelopment

2005, InternationalYear of Physics

Celebrating the hundredthanniversary of Einstein’sformulation of his relativity,Brownian motion and quantumtheories, 2005 has beenproclaimed the InternationalYear of Physics. UNESCO isparticipating by organizing theWorld Conference on Physicsand Sustainable Development in Durban, South Africa, incooperation with the AbdusSalam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste (Italy) and theInternational Union of Pure andApplied Physics (IUPAP). It willalso launch initiatives aimed atphysicists in developingcountries, particularly youngscientists and women, includinga higher education projectcreated in cooperation with ICTP.

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an Advisory Committee on Ocean Carbon Dioxide, to followinternational research on CO2 capture in the ocean. Concerninggenetically modified organisms, it is preparing for 2006 aneducational kit containing articles, posters and 12 short films to help teachers and decision-makers teach and inform on this complex subject and its implications.

UNESCO’s scientific programmes

The mission of the Intergovernmental OceanographicCommission (IOC), created in 1960, is to increase knowledge of oceans and coastal areas, which are more and morethreatened. Among its numerous activities, it is developing aprogramme on ocean science, spanning such topics as harmfulalgae, coral bleaching, small pelagic fish and global climatechanges.

The activities of the International Hydrological Programme(IHP), created in 1965, are related to hydrologic processes,evaluation of the availability and use of water resources and the dynamics of hydrological basins and aquifers.

One of UNESCO’s main activities in the earth sciences is the International Geological Correlation Programme (IGCP),created in 1972, which has an essential role in increasingunderstanding of the Earth as a holistic system. Thousands of researchers have participated in its activities, and hundredsof field projects have yielded data on such varied topics as theimpact of natural geological factors on human and animalhealth, the evaluation of landslide risks for cultural heritage,the anthropogenic impact on weathering processes, and theapplication of remote sensing in geology. The IGCP is preparinga new geological map of the world.


Coastal regionsand small islands

Coastal regions and small islandsare particularly vulnerable to bothnatural disasters and negativeglobal changes – environmental,cultural, social or economic. Theyare therefore sources of preciseinformation about ongoing globalphenomena. In response to theirspecific problems, the CoastalRegions and Small IslandsPlatform (CSI) provides aframework for intersectoral fieldprojects and for an on-line forumon best practices for use of coastalresources. It is contributing to theBarbados Programme of Action forthe sustainable development ofSmall Island Developing States(SIDS), and to the follow-up of theMauritius Summit of January 2005.(www.unesco.org/csi/)

Biosphere reserves are life size laboratories for sustainable development.Mananara Nord, Madagascar

Tetrapods against tidal waves, Japan

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Natural disaster reduction

Population density, inadequate urban planning anddegradation of the natural environment make our societiesvulnerable to natural disasters, as the strong quake andtsunami of December 2004 in the Indian Ocean recentlydemonstrated. Following this catastrophe, UNESCO wascommissioned by the international community to coordinatethe establishment of a warning system in the region.Through the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission(IOC), the Organization has committed itself to put in placesuch a system and to work towards a worldwide anti-tsunami alert system.

Furthermore, UNESCO contributes to disaster prevention by promoting better understanding of risks, rationalplanning of land occupation, appropriate constructiontechniques, education in risk prevention, and raisingawareness of populations at risk.

Other scientific activities

UNESCO sits on the executive board of the IntegratedGlobal Observing Strategy (IGOS), founded in 1998 to studyclimate change and the state of the planet, primarilythrough satellite observation. It is the only forum that linksspace agencies and scientific communities doing researchon our planet.

UNESCO’s main contribution to the United Nations WorldSolar Programme (1996-2005) is the promotion of wider use of renewable energies, notably through the support of“solar villages”. UNESCO also produces demonstration andtraining materials through GREET, the Global RenewableEnergy Education and Training programme.

UNESCO has launched an educational kit ondesertification in collaboration with the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification(UNCCD). “Learn to Combat Desertification” includes ateacher’s guide, a collection of case studies, two comicstrips and a full-sized map of the world’s arid zones.

Scientific education is at the heart of projects undertakenin basic and engineering sciences, whether these concerntransferring technology to remote rural areas, contributing


Natural and Social Sciences

Using solar energy, Israel

Acid rains: danger! France

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to new international centre for synchrotron light in theMiddle East (SESAME), or facilitating the access of girls and women to science.

Social Transformations, cities and governance

Societies are undergoing rapid transformations, acceleratedby globalization and the spectacular development of newinformation and communication technologies. Increasinglyurbanized and multicultural, they are experiencing in allcountries, rich and poor, phenomena of poverty and socialexclusion. The programme MOST, Management of SocialTransformations, serves as a clearinghouse of informationbetween the Social Sciences sector and other partners of the Organization. It conducts research on thesetransformations, aimed particularly at informing policydecisions on such issues as governance or cities andsustainable development while emphasizing respect forhuman rights. (www.unesco.org/most/)

Management of public space, democracy, socialparticipation and respecting differences are factors thatcontribute to sustainable development by promoting politicalstability. By making negotiation possible among amultiplicity of actors, governance acts as a regulator of thevarious and sometimes contradictory forces at work.


for Sustainable Development

Good governance of cities, where half of the world population lives, is a major challenge for the 21st century. Johannesburg, South Africa

Encyclopedia of LifeSupport Systems

EOLSS (Encyclopedia of LifeSupport Systems) is the mostcomprehensive encyclopediaever published on sustainabledevelopment. It alreadycontains 50,000 printed pagesand 7 000 tables and graphics,and will triple in size oncecomplete. It is a work inprogress on all aspects ofdevelopment: climate, oceans,forests, water, application of pure sciences, andmathematical models forpredicting pollution or foodconsumption. It also coverssuch themes as human rightslegislation, global stability,education on poverty andreligious psychology.

Internet-based, withcontributions from more than 5 000 scientists in over100 countries, the EOLSS is founded on the ethics ofscience and the culture ofpeace, and conceived as aliving encyclopedia and site for action. (www.eolss.net/)

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Urban policies on theMediterranean coast

Five Mediterranean cities areserving as case studies for theintersectoral project “SustainableLiving in Small Historical CoastalCities” launched by UNESCO in1996. Essaouira (Morocco), Mahdia(Tunisia), Omisalj (Croatia), Saïda(Lebanon), and Kotor (Yugoslavia)are all confronting the sameproblems: coastal erosion, saltwater seeping into aquifers,demographic pressures,deterioration of buildings andrapid socioeconomictransformations. The municipalauthorities initiated restorationprojects in their historic centres,with the participation ofuniversities from north and southof the Mediterranean, architects,urban planners, geologists,hydrologists and inhabitants, whoacquire the approaches andtechniques. (www.unesco.org/csi/act/dure/dure.htm)

Today, half the world’s population lives in cities, where the first level of governance is exercised, through theconcentration of human, economic, technical and politicalforces. If these forces are not managed, the city becomesimpossible to live in – sometimes it already is – from aphysical as well and a social and political perspective.Nonetheless, cities are also a political and economic drivingforce, inasmuch as rural areas depend on decisions made in cities, just as rural States depend on the policies ofindustrialized States.

In Latin America, MOST has created a network of cityprofessionals centered around the UNESCO Chair at ITESOin Mexico, in cooperation with universities and professionaland civic organizations throughout the continent. It aims atpromoting better adaptation of professional qualifications to the social, environmental, economic and culturaldimensions of urban development.

Ethical principles for sustainable development

Scientific innovation and technology are important aspectsof sustainable development, insofar as they bring progresson numerous fronts, such as environmental preservation,agriculture or health. But they also present major ethicaldilemmas, as in transgenic research or human cloning.UNESCO has created the International Bioethics Committeeas a global intellectual forum on these issues. Its work has


Natural and Social Sciences

Traditional and modern lives: rapid social transformationsmake them difficult to manage.

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Challenges

Imbalances in science and technology between the North and the South;Decreasing proportion of government financing for science and technology;Ethical dilemmas in scientific innovation.

produced the 1998 Universal Declaration onthe Human Genome and Human Rights, thefirst universal instrument concerning biology,medicine and genetics.

Created in 1998, the World Commission on theEthics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology(COMEST) is a UNESCO advisory body thatworks in four areas: freshwater, outer space,energy and the information society. In 2002, itdecided to bring them into the broaderperspective of environmental ethics andsustainability. In 2004, COMEST published“Water and Governance: Some Examples ofBest Practice” that illustrates efforts made inJapan, South Africa, the Philippines, the Andesand the Nile River Basin to resolve theproblems of access to clean water.


for Sustainable Development

Indigenous knowledge for today’s needs

As the 1999 World Conference on Science inBudapest (Hungary) recognized, the profoundknowledge of the natural world developed byindigenous populations is a crucial contributionto sustainable development, because of its rolein preserving biodiversity.

Communities use these cumulative bodies of knowledge, know-how, practices andrepresentations as the basis for obtaining food, healing, traveling over land and sea,interpreting the weather and adapting toenvironmental change. These cognitive systems are also an irreplaceable resource to refine and even reorient biodiversityconservation approaches and strategies.

It is a form of knowledge not easily grasped by scientific disciplines because it does notseparate culture and nature, rationality andspirituality. The intersectoral project LINKS,Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems, aimsto build dialogue among traditional knowledgeholders, scientists and development specialists.It conducts field projects, notably in Canadawith the Cree hunters and fishermen; with theEven and the Koryak, reindeer herders who livein the Volcanoes of Kamchatka World HeritageSite, in Russia; and in Vietnam with the ThaiBinh farmers. (www.unesco.org/links)

Without ethics, industrial developmentcan cause damages. Greece

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Supporting anddeveloping the crucialrole of women

The UNESCO network “Women,science and technology” includesthree chairs on the theme inAfrica:

� At the University of Ouagadougou,in partnership with the universitiesof Lomé, Niamey and Bamako. It provides training for women in scientific documentation andinformation in the sub-region, andhas established a degree programin “Water, women and health”.

� At the University of Swaziland,which in cooperation with theUniversity of Botswana trains rural women in nutrition, health,environment and agriculture.

� At the University of Khartoum,which stresses information andcommunication technologies astools for access to science andtechnology training.

The UNESCO Chairs/UNITWIN Networks Programme(University Twinning and Networking), established in1992, numbers more than 500 Chairs and 63 networksin 116 countries (www.unesco.org/education/unitwin/).

UNESCO has created about 20 university chairs within theprogramme that are specialized in sustainable development.They fill the need for both boosting qualifications of sustainabledevelopment professionals, and for opening universities totransfer of knowledge and know-how from the field.(www.unesco.org/education/unitwin/sd). There are alsoUNESCO Chairs on desertification, climatology, agriculturaldevelopment, biology, ecotechnology, and water resources.

Some sustainable development Chairs

In Brazil, the UNESCO Chair in Sustainable Development at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro specializes in thesociopolitical and sociocultural dimensions of sustainabledevelopment. It has produced a video and a CD-Rom to traindevelopment workers in participatory research for sustainabledevelopment (in Portuguese, English and French).

In France, the UNESCO Chair in Training of sustainabledevelopment professionals at the University of Bordeaux-3 isaimed at managers from developing countries, NGO agents,


Sustainable Developmentin Universities

Professional agricultural training. Philippines Training on site, Ethiopia

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international organizations and companies. It has published“Entreprises face aux enjeux du développement durable”(Companies facing up to the challenges of sustainabledevelopment), published by UNESCO/Karthala, 2003.

In Uganda, the UNESCO Chair on InstitutionalStrengthening and National Capacity Building for YouthHealth and Development in Africa at Makerere University,Kampala, works on developing health-related programmes,notably on HIV/AIDS.

Some UNESCO Chairs/UNITWIN networks

The Compostela Group of Universities, based at theUniversity of Santiago de Compostela (Spain), specializes in development related to culture, business administration,energy, water resources, population sciences and training for public administration.

The CUNY-UNESCO Inter-University Network in PolicyResearch for Sustainable Human Development at the CityUniversity of New York focuses on intercultural dialogue,democratization, environment and health.

A bridge between theinternational academiccommunity and theUnited Nations

Since 1975, the United NationsUniversity (UNU) constitutes aninternational community ofscholars oriented towardsresearch, post-graduate studiesand knowledge sharing. The UNU(www.unu.edu/) serves as a thinktank and builder of capacities forthe UN, mainly for the benefit ofdeveloping countries. At the sametime it offers a platform fordialogue to promote innovationand creativity. The main themesof its programme are: Peace and governance; Environmentand sustainable development(www.unu.edu/esd.html);Crosscutting issues; and Capacitydevelopment.

There is close cooperationbetween UNESCO and the UnitedNations University in the area of higher education, notably in the framework of the UNESCOChairs/UNITWIN programme, the follow-up on the WorldConference on Higher Education,and the activities of the GlobalUniversity Network for Education(GUNI). The University took anactive role in the JohannesburgSummit and presented a reportentitled “Making IntegratedSolutions Work for SustainableDevelopment”. In cooperationwith UNESCO, the Universitylaunched the idea of creating a global alliance to promotesustainable development,mobilizing all levels of theeducational system (UbuntuDeclaration).


Agriculture institute, IraqTeacher training, Togo

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Acting against HIV/AIDS

UNESCO strategies for HIV/AIDS

UNESCO’s special involvement with the fightagainst the pandemic gives it a key role inprevention education within the UnitedNations system. To complement the “3 by 5” initiative, led by the World HealthOrganization (WHO) and UNAIDS to increaseaccess to antiretroviral treatment to threemillion people in developing countries by the end of 2005, UNESCO and UNAIDS havelaunched the Global Initiative on HIV/AIDSand Education. The Global Initiative waslaunched by the Cosponsoring Organizationsof UNAIDS in March 2004 to radicallyenhance national responses against theepidemic by helping governments and otherkey stakeholders to implementcomprehensive, nation-wide educationprogrammes for young people.

UNESCO’s unique interdisciplinaryexperience allows it to bring togethertreatment and prevention in an integratedstrategy (unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001345/134572f.pdf) that combineseducational policies, approaches andpractices, scientific knowledge, considerationof cultural and social contexts andcommunication expertise.

Forty million people in the world are living with HIV/AIDS.Every year, three million people die from it and five millionare infected (2004 figures). The HIV/AIDS pandemic continuesto spread, particularly in the Caribbean, in Asia and in Africa,

wiping out decades of investment in human development.

Cultural approach

Launched in 1998, the project “A CulturalApproach to HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care”aims to change risk behaviour. In partnershipwith NGOs, universities and governments,UNESCO has conducted research projects by country, offered training to communityrepresentatives (such as traditional healers in Mozambique) and developed manuals fordesigning projects applying the culturalapproach, for example using theatre or art.


On December 1st 2003, WorldAIDS Day, 30 young Cambodiansliving with HIV/AIDS marched inthe streets of Phnom Penh withlife-size self-portraits made in a

workshop organized by UNESCO and a local NGO, led by an anthropologist and an artist.

Youth against stigmatisation

HIV/AIDS and Human Rights: Young People inAction provides an educational kit with a series of ideas for concrete action to fight against thediscrimination that is provoked by the disease and also helps to spread it. UNESCO has created a website on the subject of young people andHIV/AIDS. (www.unesco.org/hiv/human_rights)

Support for research

In 2003, UNESCO renewed itscooperation agreement with the World Foundation for AIDSResearch and Prevention until2009. The Foundation’s director,Professor Luc Montagnier, isinvolved in a number of projects,notably the search for a pediatricvaccine to prevent mother-childtransmission of the virus. In Africa, clinical researchprogrammes are underway in Cameroon, Burkina Faso, and Ivory Coast.(www.unesco.org/aids)

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Danger in the EasternTropical Pacific

Whales, fish, sea turtles andother migratory species frequentthe vast marine ecosystem of the Eastern Tropical Pacific,particularly vulnerable todegradation from human activity.UNESCO is working withColombia, Costa Rica, Ecuadorand Panama to ensureconservation and sustainabledevelopment of World HeritageList sites, which are livinglaboratories for the study ofbiological processes as well as unique diving areas.(whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?ID_PROJECT=1&CID=39&I)

Protecting World Heritage

The 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the WorldCultural and Natural Heritage made a unique contribution tosustainable development by creating the World Heritage List of cultural and natural heritage. Inclusion on the list is intendedto protect and preserve monuments and sites that are ofoutstanding value to humanity and often threatened. Projectsundertaken on these sites, however, combine restoration ofmonuments, preservation of the environment and economicdevelopment (whc.unesco.org/).

Enlarging the concept of world heritage to include its oral andintangible expressions, UNESCO developed the Convention forthe Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, whichMember States adopted in 2003. The importance given to thisliving heritage – 47 exceptional examples are registered on theList of Masterpieces of Intangible Heritage – helps underlinethe social and cultural dimensions of sustainable development.


Integrating Culture inSustainable Development

Culture is increasingly recognized as an essential dimension of sustainabledevelopment, particularly since the 2002Johannesburg Summit.

The Galapagos islands are part of a vastmarine ecosystem. Ecuador

Mayan temple in the Tikal National Park, Guatemala

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Cultural diversity andbiological diversity

Promoting cultural diversity is apriority for UNESCO, which in 2001adopted the Universal Declarationon Cultural Diversity. It affirms thatcultural diversity (invoked withrespect for human rights) is asnecessary for humankind asbiodiversity for nature, and that itconstitutes the common heritageof humanity, with its wealth of6 000 ethnic groups.

Because synergy between cultural diversityand biological diversity is a crucial factor forthe preservation and balance of social andecological systems, several actions are ledjointly by the Culture and Science sectors.Efforts are concentrated particularly onbiosphere and world heritage sites and oninsular systems, promoting, for instance, the traditional sustainable uses of land,freshwater and sea.

Diversity implies dialogues between cultures.UNESCO has created university Chairs on

intercultural dialogue, some of which alsofocus on dialogue between religions. The latterprogramme organizes regional conferenceswith religious leaders, on themes such asHIV/AIDS prevention (December 2003 inNigeria) or sustainable agriculture(February 2005 in India).

Safeguarding linguistic diversity is another priority for action. The existing 5 000 languages and indigenous cultures are particularlythreatened, and they contain a wealth ofknowledge handed down by previousgenerations about biodiversity.


The Japanese Ningyo Johruri Buna puppet theater is oneof the Masterpieces of the World Intangible Heritage. Japan

Melanesia is the region with the greatest linguisticand cultural diversity in the world.

“All Different, All Unique:Young People and theUNESCO Declaration on Cultural Diversity”

This publication presents thearticles of the UNESCO Declarationon cultural diversity with youngpeople’s comments and suggestionson the text, gathered by UNESCOand the International YouthParliament in 8 countries: Argentina,Australia, Colombia, Guatemala,Indonesia, Italy, Jordan and Togo.(unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001345/134556e.pdf)

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The Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger of Disappearingestimates that out of 6 000 languages spoken in the world,about half are in danger – or are already in the process – of disappearing.

UNESCO’s new orientations in cultural policy encourageexploring the links between culture and other dimensions of human life, such as environment, agriculture, economy,industry, communication or food. Related to health, the culturalapproach to HIV/AIDS is UNESCO’s special contribution to theglobal battle against the pandemic. At the same time, a culturalapproach to behaviour patterns around food could promotebetter understanding of their evolution in the context ofglobalization.

Cultural goods and services

Globalization presents a challenge to cultural diversity, due to the increasing commercialization of cultural demand.Artistic creation and cultural goods and services are vectors of identity, values and meaning, and must not be treated asmere commodities, states the Declaration on cultural diversity.It recommends adopting policies that allow their freeproduction and circulation.

Sustainable tourism

Tourism, particularly mass tourism, represents a threat to natural and cultural assets, but also great potential forsustainable development. Sustainable tourism projects are


Integrating Culture in

Sustainable Tourism

Roads of the Ksour

Pilot project of the programme“The Sahara of Cultures andPeoples”, the Roads of the Ksourin Algeria will weave the themes of Saharan roads and historicaltowns and oases around thesefortified villages of eartharchitecture. Some Ksour will be restored for new uses byinhabitants and tourists, comingback to life as hostels, hammams,cyber teahouses or handicraftscentres. The project, launched in the first semester of 2004 withthe support of Algerian authoritiesand the UNDP, is aimed at thepopulation. Unemployed people,particularly youth and women, are receiving training that willallow them to find jobs.

Angkor

The rapid increase in the numberof tourists visiting Angkor inCambodia is making the famousheritage site vulnerable. Workingwithin the cultural and educationaldimensions of sustainabledevelopment, a seminar organizedby UNESCO and the APSARAAuthority in September 2003provided 16 young teachers with training on culturalheritage, tourism andintercultural dialogueissues. After writing theirown educational brochures,they disseminated theirnew knowledge in thevillages. Other trainingprojects will qualify localpeople for jobs in cultureand tourism.

Sustainable tourismprotects sites andprovides income forlocal people. Sale ofhandicrafts in Angkor,Cambodia

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Handicrafts:Bioetiqueta Label

Nothing could be more sustainablethan “Bioetiqueta textile”, a projectto create a label that guaranteescloth was tinted with natural dyeusing traditional methods. Toreceive the label, products mustrespect and maintain biodiversity;sustain the knowledge and know-how of traditional dyers; use localraw materials (to cut down on thefinancial and ecological cost oftransport); and promote health (no toxic or chemical dyes).Responding to market demand for natural, ethical products,Bioetiqueta also aims to promoteeconomic development. A pilotproject in Latin America, theBioetiqueta label will be presentedto governments to be awarded atthe national level. Its logo will bethe cochineal, a common cactusparasite used since antiquity tomake red, fuchsia and purplecoloring.

in place on several World Heritage sites: Tikal National Park(Guatemala); Sian Ka’an (Mexico); the El Vizcaino whalesanctuary (Mexico); and Ujung Kulon National Park (Indonesia).

Thanks to its multidisciplinary approach, UNESCO hasdeveloped expertise on the subject that it makes available togovernments. From 2001 to 2003, for example, it helped BalticStates elaborate an ambitious regional policy for culturaltourism, which balances environmental preservation,highlighting of heritage, high-quality tourism and economicdevelopment.

Sustainable tourism can help reduce poverty by stimulating the local economy. This is happening with ongoing projects in Angkor (Cambodia), in the Aral Sea basin, and in Saharancountries.

The UNESCO/UNITWIN university network “Culture, tourismand development” is an important vector of sustainabledevelopment education.

Handicrafts and design

UNESCO’s action related to handicrafts testifies to the essentialcontribution these can make to sustainable development and

poverty eradication. Theorganization promotes thework of craftspeople, makesavailable data on thecultural and socioeconomicimpact of handicrafts, andadvocates evolution inlegislation. It also supportsinnovative training – increating new products andpackaging and running asmall business, for example– particularly for womenand young people.


Sustainable Development

Carving a “moai” figure inthe Rapa Nui NationalPark. Easter Island, Chili

Weaving is an economic and spiritual activity.Peru

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ICTs: Access to Scienceand Technology

Learning science on CD-Roms

UNESCO New Delhi (India) has developed three trainingCD-Roms in cooperation withJawaharlal Nehru University:Computer training in biology,Computer training inchemistry, and Computertraining in physics. They arebeing distributed free ofcharge to secondary leveleducational institutions.

Specialized virtual libraryfor engineers

A pilot project to establish avirtual library on engineeringfor sustainable development,SudVEL-SKN (www.sudvel-uofk.net), is underway atKhartoum University (Sudan). It will be an addition to thevirtual library already put online by UNESCO and the WorldFederation of EngineeringOrganisations (WFEO).(avel.edu.au/vessel.html).

In this context, the free exchange of ideas and knowledge,which UNESCO promotes as one of its principal mandates, ismore than ever a condition of sustainable development. Socialparticipation and integration, freedom of expression and thesafeguarding of democratic values all depend on access toinformation.

UNESCO’s commitment to the crucial issues of free flow ofinformation and free access to sources of knowledge is deeplyrooted in its Constitution, which states that “the wide diffusionof culture, and the education of humanity for justice and libertyand peace are indispensable to the dignity of man andconstitute a sacred duty which all the nations must fulfill in a spirit of mutual assistance and concern.”


From Information Societiesto Knowledge Societies

In recent decades, the development of Information andCommunication Technologies (ICTs) has advanced at such speedand on such a scale that it represents a global economic andsocial revolution, as full of hope as it is ominous.

Scientists at the International Tsunami Information Centre. Honolulu, Hawai, United States of America

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Transparency and responsibility

Information, communication and knowledgeare at the heart of humanity’s progress,development and well-being. They serve toaffirm and consolidate the interdependent andmutually reinforcing mainstays of sustainabledevelopment, which are economic develop-ment, social development and the preservationof the environment at the local, national,regional and global levels. Information andcommunication technologies, both new andtraditional, can help bring about higher levelsof development for the benefit of millions ofpeople in all regions of the world.

To be effective and useful, developmentprogrammes must be fully transparent and based on responsibility to beneficiaries,thanks to a strong civil society with the meansto act and the ability to define its interests.The resources, structures and technologies of information and communication, and thechoices made in that arena, provide civilsociety with the means to organize anddevelop.

Similarly, access to relevant information andknowledge, the possibility of free expressionof opinions and participation in decision-making in the development process for allsectors of society, particularly women andyoung people, are some of the prerequisitesfor attaining sustainable development goals.

Raising media awareness

UNESCO is called upon to play an importantrole in helping to raise media awareness of the various dimensions and requirementsof sustainable development. It also promotesthe integration of ICTs in school curricula, to make them accessible to both urban and rural populations, and to create anenvironment conducive to establishing thesetechnologies.


Access to information in remote areas. Latin America

Free software for all

UNESCO encourages the development of free and “open source” software, whichplay a key role in education. It distributes free of charge, on line or on CD-Roms,software such as WinIDAMS for thevalidation, manipulation and statisticalanalysis of numerical data, or CDS/ISIS for databases and advanced text retrieval.

Its free software portal (www.unesco.org/webworld/portal_freesoft) offers a VirtualLaboratory Toolkit; Greenstone, software for building a virtual library; and a link to the African digital library, containing over 8 000 full-text e-books.(www.africaeducation.org/adl)

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http://www.unesco.org/webworld/portal_freesoft

http://www.africaeducation.org/adl

Nepal: Multimedia for All

The Community Multimedia Center (CMC) inTansen, Nepal, is run by young people frompoor families, traditionally marginalized by thecaste system. They learn how to use radio andvideo equipment and computers to produceprogrammes on subjects of local interest. Theirgoal is to broadcast information gathered onthe Web and on CD-Roms in local languages,using community radio, television or press.

The Tansen CMC is part of the regionalUNESCO network “Putting ICTs in the hands of the poor” in South East Asia, which helpsmarginalized people to escape ignorance,acquire skills and learn to use information and communication technology.


From Information Societies

Actions undertaken (www.unesco.org/webworld/) aim to:

promote the concept of “knowledge societies” – founded on principles of freedom of expression, universal access toinformation and knowledge, preservation of cultural diversityand equal access to quality education – as the essentialconcept for reaching Millennium Development Goals.

support the creation or reinforcement of CommunityMultimedia Centres, multipurpose community telecentres,public broadcasting, libraries, archives, information servicesand networks.

promote pluralist and independent media, at the same time contributing through media development to theconsolidation of peace in countries in post-conflict situations– a prerequisite for sustainable development.

support training for information and communicationprofessionals, especially in the media, to boost their know-how and capacities for reporting on sustainable developmentand ICT use, in order to reinforce development projects.

promote production of radio and television programmes with local content and on themes such as gender equality and universal basic education.

Technologiesto reduce poverty

UNESCO is fully committed topromote “knowledge societies” at all levels including local, and to face the crucial challenge ofpromoting the application oftechnology to the fight againstpoverty and for sustainabledevelopment. A video andassociated brochure entitled“Small is working: technology for poverty reduction” aims topresent, examine, and highlightthe benefits of smaller-scale andintermediate (versus large-scale)technology. (http://www.itdg.org/?id=small_is_working_transcripts)

Another example, “Rays of Hope”,describes renewable energies in aregion that served as a laboratoryfor testing technology that runson renewable energy. It makes a valuable contribution – in termsof information, education,awareness raising and advocacy –to the promotion and innovation of renewable energy use in smallisland states.

ICTs for Poverty Reduction. Tansen Community Multimedia Centre, Nepal

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http://www.itdg.org/?id=small_is_working_transcripts



Community Multimedia Centres

The goal of the Community MultimediaCentres programme (CMC) is to combinetraditional and modern information andcommunication technologies to allowisolated, marginalized or excludedpopulations to have access to globalinformation resources. Usually a CMCcombines a community radio station withtelecentre facilities (computers, Internet, CD-Rom).

International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC)

The IPDC promotes free and pluralistic media in developingcountries and the countries in transition. It helps strengthenpeople’s communicative and analytical skills and theirparticipation in democratic governance. The programmefinances dozens of projects every year, with priority given to those promoting press freedom and media pluralism,development of community media, enhancing professionalcapacity and building partnerships for media improvement.

World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)

Countries pledged to bridge the “digital divide” that separatesthe information-rich from the information-poor at this Summit,organized in two phases (in Geneva, December 2003, then in Tunis, November 2005). UNESCO monitors among otheraspects the ethical, legal and sociocultural dimensions of the information society, through programmes like theintergovernmental Information for All (IFAP).

UNESCO’s activities related to information and communicationare in themselves part of the implementation of WSIS goals(www.unesco.org/wsisdirectory). They range from mediaeducation, defending freedom of the press and digital literacy to promoting a multilingual cyberspace, support for publicbroadcasting on radio and television, research on authors’rights and professional training.


Facilitating exchange of geological data in Asia

The South East Asian Network for Geological Information System(SANGIS) is a UNESCO project for geological data management,involving national geologicalsurvey operations and govern-ments as participants. Using theInternet, the network facilitatesdata exchange both within andoutside South East Asia. The goalis to make data easily availableand accessible to all geologicalsurveyors and participatingdecision-makers with a view to making socioeconomic andenvironmental planning moreeffective.

SANGIS (www.cifeg.org/sangis/sangisbase.htm) bringstogether 11 South East Asiancountries. It aims to enhance themanagement of earth sciencesinformation within nationalgeological services in South EastAsia, and highlight informationavailable at the regional level.

to Knowledge Societies

Telecentres offer access to information and training to a whole community. José Saide, computer trainer in Namaacha, Mozambique

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http://www.unesco.org/wsisdirectory

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http://www.cifeg.org/sangis/sangisbase.htm

A community of dynamic actors

This community of actors includes governments,National Commissions, Parliamentarians, NGOsand associations, media, schools, cultural andscientific institutions, private sector partnersand the United Nations family of institutions.Together, they give life to UNESCO’s ideals andvalues around the world, at the local, nationaland international level.

Cooperation with Member States is carried outin particular through sustained consultation andcoordination with the National Commissionsand the Permanent Delegations to UNESCO.The National Commissions form a vital linkbetween civil society and the Organization. They provide valuable insight concerning theOrganization’s programme and help implementmany initiatives including training programmes,studies, public awareness campaigns andmedia outreach. (www.unesco.org/ncp/natcom)

Mobilize civil society

UNESCO places emphasis on the developmentof a range of partnerships, alliances and othercooperative mechanisms so as to foster visibilityand impact for its programme activities atinternational, regional and national levels. TheOrganization works closely with a wide range


Developing SustainablePartnerships

UNESCO can efficiently undertake actions in favour of sustainable development,thanks to the synergy between diverse stakeholders that together form aninternational community. All these actors have valuable contributions to maketo sustainable development. Many actors throughout the world are eager to be

associated with different initiatives in favour of sustainable development. UNESCO givesthem access to its wealth of networks and its worldwide outreach with governments,universities and NGOs. While a certain flexibility is maintained to take into account the diversity of partners, these partnerships are ruled by clear and strict principles to guarantee the credibility of initiatives undertaken.

of regional and national organizations. Some350 non-governmental organizations (NGOs)maintain official relations with UNESCO andhundreds more work with the Organization onspecific projects.

For example, the network of UNESCO Clubs,Centres and Associations, the first of which wascreated in Japan in 1947, is an important linkbetween the Organisation and civil societyworldwide. The Programme for Parliamenta-rians, first introduced by UNESCO in 1994, aimsto ensure that UNESCO’s values and objectivesare reflected in national policy-making andlegislation. The Organization seeks also todevelop new forms of partnership, with Citiesand Local Authorities in order to strengthen the political commitment for the priorities and the initiatives of the Organization.

Partnerships with the private sector

In the framework of the UN “Global Compact”,UNESCO also develops new partnerships withthe private sector, which can provide valuabletechnical expertise and financial resources.UNESCO cooperates with many private sectorpartners: large multinationals or smallcompanies, private foundations, economic,academic and professional associations,philanthropic organizations and individuals.

http://www.unesco.org/ncp/natcom

For the last several years, the United Nationshas given increasing importance to relationswith the private sector. Policies governingpartnerships with the private sector are inspiredby directives the UN adopted in 2000. They arefounded on the “Global Compact” and its tenuniversal principles that provide a standard-setting guide for the business world andpromote the integration of social values in theprocess of producing goods and commercialservices. (www.unglobalcompact.org)

Not only are the number and scope of suchpartnerships growing steadily, but also theirnature has diversified, surpassing merelyfinancial goals to include interaction,consultation and ongoing dialogue. Recentconcepts of partnerships with the private sectornow aim to mobilize the entire repertoire of the private sector’s special resources for the benefit of sustainable development.


Some UNESCO privatesector partners

� Boucheron for World Heritage

� Daimler-Chrysler for intercultural dialogue and exchange with “Mondialogo”

� Fondation Internationale Carrefour foreducation of children in distress

� MacArthur Foundation for decentralized scientific projects

� Hewlett Packard for access to knowledgenetworks and the fight against brain drain

� J Walter Thompson for awareness campaigns on sustainable development

� L’Oreal for support of women scientists

� Suez for water and sustainable development

� Mohamed Bin Issa Foundation for projects in the Arab world

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United Nations Decades, reference documents and UNESCOstandard-setting instruments

2005-2015 � International Decade for Action “Water for Life” (A/RES/58/217)[www.unesco.org/water/water_celebrations/decades/index.shtml]

2005-2014 � United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (A/RES/57/254)[www.unesco.org/education/desd]

2003-2012 � United Nations Literacy Decade (A/RES/56/116)[www.unesco.org/education/litdecade]

2001-2010 � International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence For the Children of the World (A/RES/53/25) [www3.unesco.org/iycp/]

1997-2006 � First United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (A/RES/50/107)(www.un.org/esa/socdev/poverty/poverty.htm)

2002 � The Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development[www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POI_PD.htm]

2002 � Johannesburg Plan of Implementation[www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POIToc.htm]

2000 � Dakar Framework for Action, Education for All: Meeting our CollectiveCommitments [www.unesco.org/education/ efa/ed_for_all/dakfram_eng.shtm]

2000 � Millennium Declaration [www.un.org/millennium/summit.htm]

2000 � Millennium Development Goals [www.un.org/millenniumgoals/]

2000 � Earth Charter [www.earthcharter.org]

1992 � Convention on Biological Diversity [www.biodiv.org/convention/articles.asp]

1992 � United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change[http://unfccc.int/resource/conv/]

1992 � Agenda 21, Chapter 36: Promoting education, public awareness and training[www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter36.htm]

1992 � Agenda 21, Chapter 35: Science for sustainable development[www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter35.htm]

1992 � Agenda 21: Global plan of action for sustainable development[www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21toc.htm]

1992 � Rio Declaration on Environment and Development[www.un.org/documents/ga/conf151/aconf15126-1annex1.htm]

http://www.unesco.org/water/water_celebrations/decades/index.shtml


http://www.unesco.org/education/litdecade

http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/poverty/poverty.htm

http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POI_PD.htm

http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POIToc.htm

http://www.unesco.org/education/efa/ed_for_all/dakfram_eng.shtm

http://www.un.org/millennium/summit.htm


http://www.earthcharter.org

http://www.biodiv.org/convention/articles.asp

http://unfccc.int/resource/conv

http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter36.htm

http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter35.htm

http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21toc.htm

http://www.un.org/documents/ga/conf151/aconf15126-1annex1.htm


2003 � Recommendation on the Promotion and Use of Multilingualism and UniversalAccess to Cyberspace [portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=17717&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html]

2001 � UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity[unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001271/127160m.pdf]

1997 � Declaration on the Responsibilities of Present Generations Towards FutureGenerations [www.unesco.org/cpp/uk/declarations/generations.pdf]

1997 � The Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights[portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13177&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html]

1995 � Statutory Framework of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves[www.unesco.org/mab/docs/statframe.htm]

1995 � Seville Strategy for Biosphere Reserves [www.unesco.org/mab/docs/stry-1.htm]

1972 � Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage[whc.unesco.org/world_he.htm]

1962 � Recommendation concerning the Safeguarding of Beauty and Character of Landscapes and Sites [portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13067&URL_DO=DO_PRINTPAGE&URL_SECTION=201.html]

Landmarks

1972 � United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm (Sweden)

1987 � Definition of the concept of sustainable development by the Brundtland Commission

1992 � United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), known as the Earth Summit

2000 � Millennium Declaration

2002 � World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg (South Africa)

2005-2014 � United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development

http://www.unesco.org/cpp/uk/declarations/generations.pdf

http://www.unesco.org/mab/docs/statframe.htm

http://www.unesco.org/mab/docs/stry-1.htm

Published by UNESCOUnited Nations Educational, Scientific

and Cultural Organization7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP France

Fax: 33 (0)1 45 68 56 35E-mail: [email protected]/education/desd

Project management: Education for Sustainable Development Section and Bureau of Strategic PlanningAuthor: Monique Perrot-Lanaud, in collaboration with Sabrina Sidhu, Stéphanie Tang and Marine Samson

Graphic design and layout: Sylvaine BaeyensTranslation: Cathy Nolan

Cover photo: ©UNESCO/Felipe Alcoceba

Printed at UNESCO©UNESCO 2005Printed in France

The designations employed and the presentation of materialthroughout the publication do not imply the expression of any

opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legalstatus of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities,

or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

mailto:[email protected]


UNESCO and sustainable development; 2005

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