Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
essence, this dialog bit off far more than it could chew and retired sub-
stantive rigor in favor of symbolism.
The purpose of the dialogs is to facilitate collaboration between gov-
ernments and the Major Groups. The pre-Johannesburg dialogs were
characterized by mutual exchange of best practices, the establishment of
new models for the achievement of sustainable development, and syner-
gistic outcomes that continued Major Group-government interaction
beyond the dialog sessions and well after the UNCSD meeting. The
strides gained were in large part facilitated by a structure that encouraged
conversations that were focused on very specifi c dimensions of the year's
theme.
For example, CSD6, which focused on the role of industry in achiev-
ing sustainable development, featured four sessions at its dialog: respon-
sible entrepreneurship, voluntary initiatives, technology cooperation and
assessment, and industry and freshwater. Each of these specifi c topics
was addressed in a three-hour conversation, enabling extensive and
thorough discussions that confronted and often overcame strong sectoral
disagreements. These 1997-2001 dialogs frequently addressed questions
of program implementation, monitoring, reporting, and multistake-
holder review; they allowed time for the Major Groups to highlight their
perspectives on existing programs and make suggestions for their
improvement on the ground. Such detailed and complex analyses were
only possible given (1) a focused topic and (2) ample time.
Recently, a new director of the Division on Sustainable Development
was appointed. At the intersessional meeting in February 2009, the new
director asked an NGO representative how “new energy” could be
infused into the UNCSD. Given the analysis here, one clear recommenda-
tion would be to return to previous models of Major Group participation
that allowed ample time for debate and discussion with governments
regarding specifi c policy dimensions of the achievement of sustainable
development. Likewise, this goal would be a valuable target of NGO/
social movement activities at the UNCSD.
General Evaluation of the Case Studies
This case analysis has been based on Clemens and Cook's (1999) model
of institutional characteristics that facilitate change. This choice is based
on the realization that institutions tend to reproduce dominant social
arrangements and resist intervention from less powerful actors. Institutional-
change scholars and students of the role of culture in institutions have
