World Student Community for Sustainable Development

Author: Atish Bajpai

MSc (Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Infrastructure); Kungl Tekniska Hagskolan, Stockholm, Sweden

The environment is in trouble and the United Nations is implementing plans in many areas to make the environment sustainable. Millennium goal 7 sets out the following 3 targets in the area of environmental sustainability about energy/forests/biodiversity, water & sanitation, and slums.

Target 9: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the losses of environmental resources.

Target 10: Halve by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

Target 11: Have achieved by 2020 a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers.

These targets have certain time limits that need to be met. The UN has implemented a lot of plans in these certain targets, but there is some scepticism about whether the targets and the goal in whole will be met. Of course, with any big task, there are criticisms that come about and alternatives which surface. Here, environmental sustainability is looked at and analysed in the three targets and conclusions are drawn whether the goal or specific target will be met.

Target 9: Energy, Forest & Biodiversity

As the Millennium Development Goals are broken down into more specific target oriented approaches, one of the foremost priorities that arises is the issue of effectiveness of UN policies at causing changes in the natural environment. By definition of UNEP, these changes are poised for the global level, by acting at local levels. This report will critically evaluate the bottom up approaches vis a vis the top down ones as adopted by the UN. Evidently, the various objectives of the UN are difficult to be implemented, as we do not see a lot happening particularly when it comes to internalising the environmental priorities in large scale planning. It is evident from the fact that, despite the commitments at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, fewer than half the world’s countries have adopted the recommended strategies, and even fewer are implementing them, as evident from the chart below (Figure 1.1).

In the following text, how the UN system – arguably the worldâ€^TMs most influential organisation – tackles the issue of integration of the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverses the losses of environmental resources will be explored. Forest and biodiversity as well as energy form the crux of the problem in the diminishing world of resources and the arguments will be more or less specific to those two issues. However, it must be noted that there are other factors which are important other than these two, which cannot be mentioned here due to the scope of this article.

Energy

The hunt for more and more energy continues the world over — needless to harp on its importance in this report. Let us start looking at the pattern of distribution of energy in the world as of now. While the maximum energy usage is in the U.S., its also noted that the maximum emission of CO2 also comes from the U.S. (IEA, Energy Outlook 2002, p373). Few, however, end up having such lavishness in terms of energy usage from many other places in the world. Some grim facts -over 1.64 billion people worldwide (99 percent of them in developing countries) live without access to electricity. Four out of five of those are in rural areas (IEA, Energy Outlook 2002, p377, 380, 132) and 80 percent are from South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Even in Latin America, where total electrification is much higher at 86 percent, nearly half of those in rural areas still lack access to electricity (IEA/OECD, 2002). As the International Energy Agency (IEA) World Energy Outlook 2002 notes, the “lack of electricity exacerbates poverty and contributes to its perpetuation, as it precludes most industrial activities and the jobs they create.†In this report an overview of the policies and programs of the UN is presented that are aimed for better energy management with a focus on if those initiatives pertain to the most demanding of the needs in terms of energy — the equitable distribution of energy consumption and search for better technology for energy utilization.

The Initiatives

The UNEP Program for Sustainable Energy addresses the environmental consequences of energy production and use, such as global climate change and local air pollution. UNEP Energy is concerned with renewable energy, energy efficiency, transport, energy finance, and policy issues.

UNEP program for sustainable energy

Critique and Suggestions

As far as energy is concerned, it has to be noted that there exists a lack of quantification in the Millennium Development goal itself, where there is no clear target set for Target 9 – Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the losses of environmental resources. This paralyses any effort to measure the extent of integration. Its also noticed that the UN is doing a commendable job in helping developing countries innovate and use new energy technology. There is however a telling lack of efforts to curb the consumption of energy by developed nations. There is also a need for efforts for a better monitoring and compliance system in developed nations. The financial viability of electric utilities in developing countries also remains constrained by improper billing, lack of payment, unauthorized connections and continued subsidies that often benefit customers who have the ability to pay (Kozlof, 1998). The UN does not have any program which specifically aims for such problems at the level of implementation. A possible orientation of UN policies pertaining to this situation can be through decentralization of the publicly owned power sectors in developing countries (Bacon, 1999). There is however a lack of mechanism in UN policies towards energy related issues, to monitor the process of implementation, particularly for those intended for developing nations. Regionally, there has been maximum implementation in Latin America and the least in Sub-Saharan Africa. An interesting area to look into would be to find out the mechanism of success stories of implementation in Latin America and to apply best practice. At a very small scale level, particularly for developed nations, there can be active propagation of awareness related to personal energy consumption, as done by the State of California ‘Flex Your Power’ program (Public Policy Journal, 1999). All in all it can be concluded that the UN policies for Energy need to be more quantified and more oriented towards adopting non-partial stances when it comes to strengthening the technology, i.e. -to have equal thrust on technology for changing high energy consumption in the North as well as for exploring more avenues towards resource efficient technology in the South.

*Despite moves to make homes more energy efficient, Australians increased their residential energy consumption from 18 gigajoules per person in 1980 to 20 gigajoules per person in 1999 **In response to the energy crisis, the Governor, Gray Davis, launched the ‘Flex Your Power’ campaign in February 2001, which led to the development and execution of an outreach campaign to educate consumers about conservation and energy efficiency

Forests and Biodiversity

The world’s forests are shrinking, formerly productive land is deteriorating and the biological diversity is being lost at an alarming rate! The challenge for the world community is to reverse these trends!

Policies

The United Nations has developed many programs, conventions and reports in order to reverse forest shrinking and biodiversity loss. The road map towards the implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration proposes the following strategies for action: In order to intensify collective efforts for the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forest, the proposed strategies include:
- Enhancing cooperation and coordination on forest-related issues among relevant international and regional organizations, as well as public-private partners
- Strengthening political commitment to the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests, including the special needs and requirements of countries with low forest cover. (General Assembly, 2001)

Moreover, in order to press for the full implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in those Countries experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, particularly in Africa, the proposed strategies include:
- Supporting the implementation of the UNCCD by taking measures that prevent land degradation and focus on new participatory approaches to solving the problem of desertification
- Ensuring the universal ratification of the CBD and the Catagena Protocol on Biosafety, as well as the harmonization and implementation of biodiversity related instruments and programmes. (General Assembly, 2001) For the quantitative monitoring of the progress of the proposed strategies, the following indicators were held:

- Indicator 25 — Proportion of land area covered by forests. This indicator was held in order to provide the relative importance of a forest in a country. (United Nations Development Group, 2003)
- Indicator 26 — Land protected to maintain biological diversity. This indicator was held in order to provide a measure of Governmentsâ€^TM will to protect biodiversity. (United Nations Development Group, 2003)
But do these policies work; In other words, Will the Goal be met?

Let us see what the statistics say about that (Fig 1.3,1.4, and 1.5)!

Considering the global conventions, the percentage of the World Nations that are party to UNCCD and CBD comes up to 97 percent (World Resources Institute, 2003). The Cartagena Protocol on Biodiversity (CPB) does not have the same success comparing to that of CBD. A lot of parties like, USA, Australia and Brazil have signed CBD but not CPB. (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity). This is probably because in CBD environmental protection comes up to trade. On the other hand regarding the implementation of the global conventions things are mixed. The UNCCD was adopted in 1994 and entered into force in 1996, but a lack of financial resources has limited its implementation. More encouragingly, there has been progress towards the full implementation of the CBD, with the adoption of measurable indicators and specific goals to reduce the current rate of biodiversity loss by 2010, and the entry into force of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety in September 2003. On the question of deforestation and forest degradation, nine international processes involving 150 countries that encompass 85 percent of the worldâ€^TMs forests have made progress in developing criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management. (UN, General Assembly A/59/282, 2004).

Critique

Indicators 25 and 26 show that the forest in Europe and the number of protected areas have increased. But does this mean that European counties are solving their deforestation problem and that the policies to reverse biodiversity loss are successful? In other words, are the indicators 25 and 26 adequate in giving information for the deforestation and the biodiversity trends? To begin with the indicators were construed, at least partly as a measure of the governmentsâ€^TM intention. But good intentions donâ€^TMt always mean effective policies and good results! Indicator 25 provides only quantitative and no qualitative information about forest areas that are lost or gained. For instance, in some European countries, although the total forest area is increased the urban-forest areas are decreased. Deteriorating this way increases the already important problem of the lack of urban-forest areas. Indicator 26 doesnâ€^TMt measure if the policy tools in the already protected areas are effective and contribute in reducing biodiversity loss. Moreover, it provides no information on areas that are not designed as protected ones but that are very important for conserving biodiversity. (United Nations Development Group, 2003) Regarding the treaties and conventions, we should focus on making existing treaties work, in other words on implementation. The structure of UN system, the lack of funds and mainly the conflict with world trade are some of the main reasons that weaken treaties and policy implementation. The complexity of the UN system of organizations, agendas and treaties sometimes causes gaps in international policy, fragmentation of effort and competing or incoherent decision-making structures. (World Resources Institute, 2003) Global financial interest is now oriented towards new problems —from AIDS to rebuilding Iraq-with result increasingly scarce resources for official support of environmental concerns. The lack of funds makes it really hard for environmental organizations to implement their programme. (World Resources Institute, 2003) The most important source of problems for environmental treaties is the ambiguous relationship between them and trade rules. Protection of environment comes up against global trade and investments, in other words against economic growth. In contrast to the loose global environmental regime, strong institutions characterize the global trade system —ex. WTO-with a consequence where conflicts occur, trade has the potential to trump environment. (World Resources Institute, 2003) In conclusion if the UN wants to make its targets met they should construct a coherent system of international environmental governance, introduce an affective monitoring programme with indicators that provide adequate information and foremost strengthen the environmental regime and embrace trade organizations.

Target 10: Water and sanitation

Introduction

How will the world survive without the use of fresh water and basic sanitation? Simple, it canâ€^TMt. According to the UN and WHO data, more than five million people die annually from water-borne diseases (Gadgil and Derby, 2003) and the cost associated with delivering safe drinking water and basic sanitation is far lower than the cost of treating the diseases that occur in their absence (Development Alternatives Group, 2004). Water is a very valuable resource that everybody needs. It is key in terms of poverty alleviation, consumption, production, sanitation, human settlements and biodiversity. It sustains all life and links environmental issues on land and in marine areas (UNEP,GEO Year Book 2003). But not everybody has access to freshwater and basic sanitation. In 2000, 1.1 billion people in the world lacked access to safe drinking water, while another 2.4 billion lacked access to improved sanitation (UNEP,GEO Year Book 2003). The UN is aware of this problem and is taking measures in order to improve this. The Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, proposed that by the year 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation would be halved. That is quite a task, (Tables 1.1 and 1.2) but needs to be done since basically freshwater ties into almost every other MDG. The UN has developed many programs and reports, which are working in order to achieve the goal, but there are still criticisms about the way the UN is handling the matter and discussions about whether the goal will be achieved.

The UN system

Over the past four years, the United Nations has implemented many new global and regional organizations; networks and partnerships have been established; new global reviews of water use and water scarcity have been undertaken; and new commitments have been made to increase investments in the water sector (McGranahan, 2003). One of the most important programs, The United Nations Environmental Programme has worked very hard to make the MDG more achievable. They set up the program in a way that addresses three main categories: assessment, management, and coordination. These three categories look at water issues from different angles and provide plans in order to achieve the goal. World Water day is held on March 22 and is another way in which the problem is being addressed. Meetings are held each year to discuss water issues and reports are issued on the progress of meeting the goal (UN Press Release, 2004). During 2003, “The International Year of Water,†many programs and activities were held to better inform the world about the water problems and sanitation problems. At the Third World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan 2003, many issues were discussed in order to move ahead with achieving the goal. One important proposal made was about rainwater harvesting in China. A report, concerning policy options and appropriate and efficient strategies to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, will come out in June 2005. This report will give further information on efficiently achieving the goal. The decade between 2005-2015, will be called “International Decade for Action — Water for Life†(UN, Freshwater). Looking at tables 1.3 and 1.4, the biggest percentage without water is rural sub-Saharan and Oceania countries. And for sanitation, the biggest percentages without basic sanitation were rural Southern Asia and rural sub-Saharan countries with big percentages also in Eastern Asian and Oceanian countries.

Critique

There are some criticisms as to how the UN is handling the target. World population is growing faster than the percentage of people receiving improved water and sanitation (UNEP, GEO Year Book 2003). At the third World Water Forum in March 2003, there were criticisms about the definitions of sustainable access, what is safe, and what is improved sanitation (UNESCAP, 2003). In order to meet the target, specific definitions need to be obtained so there is a consensus so there arenâ€^TMt different perceptions about meeting the target. For the water target, data on achievements are not available beyond 2002. In addition, most projections of the possible outcomes in 2015 start from the base year of 1990 and are thus weighted heavily by the results achieved before the Millennium Development Goals were even adopted and corresponding policies introduced, which suggests that relying on such historical data to anticipate future outcomes, including the situation in 2015, may provide an unduly pessimistic view (UN, General Assembly A/59/282, 2004). Indeed, if the vision behind the Millennium Declaration is to be realized, the Goals must be seen as a global deal that is built on mutual commitments and mutual accountability (UN, General Assembly A/59/282, 2004). The latest data, from 2002 compares 1990 to 2002 on percentages of people without water and sanitation (see table 1.3 and 1.4). The fastest progress was made in South Asia; little or no progress was made in the worldâ€^TMs poorest nations—the Least Developed Countries. Rural areas lag far behind; the rural urban gap in terms of access to safe water is greatest in sub-Saharan Africa, where only 45% of the rural population has access—against 83% for their urban counterparts (Vandemoortele, 2002). While the drop in percentages of people without access is defined precisely, it is quite difficult to determine what this means in actual numbers – like how many people were without drinking water and sanitation in 1990 and how many will there be in 2015 if the Goals are met. This imposes a considerable challenge to identify what needs to be done, where and by whom (Development Alternatives Group, 2004). To reach the Millennium Goal of halving the number of people without access to safe water by 2015, the global community will need to provide an additional one billion urban residents and 600 million rural residents with safe water within the next twelve years (Gadgil A.J. and Derby E.A., 2003). That requires 270,000 new connections per day, and twice as many more for sanitation in order to meet the goal (Press Release, 2004). The Millennium Development Goals are still technically feasible in even the poorest countries, but the window of opportunity is rapidly narrowing and the political will remain largely absent (UN, General Assembly A/59/282, 2004).

Will the target be met by 2015?

So far, there has been improvement towards meeting the water and sanitation goal, but not at a sufficient rate in order to meet the goal in 2015, not even halfway to it (Development Alternatives Group, 2004). Only a few countries have been able to do that. In the most important area, Oceania, where improvements have to be made, the percentage has declined for people being supplied with basic sanitation (UN, General Assembly A/59/282, 2004). Figure 1.6 and 1.7 shows that many parts of the world are having problems in improving the situation. As of now, the numbers show that the target will not be met by the given deadline. According to the World Bank, no more than 20 percent of countries are on track (Development Alternatives Group, 2004). But it is still early. With any new proposals, usually the numbers move slowly before they actually accelerate upwards. With the International Decade of water on its way, who knows what can happen in the 10-year time span. Significant improvements have to be implemented in order to reach the target. To achieve the goal or target at the different levels: local, regional, national or global, countries must strengthen the strategy of framework as well as secure the financial resources. Some proposed ideas that could aid in achieving the target are rainwater harvesting, membrane technologies, desalination of plants, privatisation, and solving other problems first, like the population growth problem (UN, Water, 2003). But with all these proposed ideas, there are doubts and problems within them. For instance, desalination is expensive, and privatisation hasnâ€^TMt gained popularity and people donâ€^TMt believe it will work. So solutions need to be made that will achieve this target in the given time frame. The focus must now shift to bottom-up measures, with greater inclusiveness of local communities, and a greater focus on institutions and of equity (Development Alternatives Group, 2004).

Target 11: Slum Upgrading

Introduction

UN defines slum household as a group of individuals living under the same roof which lacks one or more of following attributes(UN Statistics Division, 2004):
- Security of tenure
- Structural quality of dwelling
- Access to sanitation facilities
- Sufficient living areas

During the 1990s the growth of social inequality was unprecedented in human history. Access to decent, affordable housing is a basic requirement for human well-being, yet across the world millions live under the most inhumane conditions (WSWS, 2004). At present, there are about 900 million slum dwellers and if current local, national and international policies continue, this could rise to an estimated two billion by 2020. Almost half the population of African and Asian towns and cities live in slums, with figures for individual towns and cities ranging from 30-70 percent. The trends in the worldâ€^TMs slum population in absolute and relative terms are diverse; although North Africa and the Latin America-Caribbean regions are in relatively favourable positions; there are prospects for improvement in Asia. The bulk of the worldâ€^TMs slum-dwellers, in both relative and absolute terms, will be concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa within the next decade or so. In Sub-Saharan Africa, an estimated 72 percent of the urban population lives in slums. This compares with 36 percent in East Asia, 58 percent in south-central Asia and 32 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean. There are estimated to be 570 million slum dwellers in the Asia-Pacific region alone (Figure 1.8). Slums are not only a large city phenomenon, but also many towns and secondary cities have a high proportion of their populations living in slums. This paper seeks to look at the proposed solutions by the UN and to critique target 11 following the realisation of some shortfalls in the target.

The UN System

The scope of the improvement of slum dwellers is defined as improvement that goes beyond slum upgrading and supposes a comprehensive approach, implementation of poverty elimination, boosting public health and education service. (UN Statistics Division, 2004) Target 11 of the Millennium Development Goal 7 is an international recognition that slums are a development issue that has to be faced. The target is now interpreted to mean improving the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020 while helping cities to grow without new slums. Slums are the physical manifestation of poverty, inequality and social exclusion in urban areas. Slum dwellers live in neglected parts of towns and cities where housing and living conditions are appallingly deprived and often hazardous, and where basic services are lacking. Slum dwellers are not valued as members of the urban community and have few rights. In many areas they live under the constant threat of eviction. (Slum dwellers fact sheet, DFID) However certain organisations are teaming up with the UN to make this target a success, though it has been a tough task. A Slum Upgrading Action Plan has been constructed as an instrument to improve the living conditions and livelihoods of the urban poor. The World Bank and UNCHS (Habitat) have taken a step to create a framework for global partnerships and the so-called Cities Alliance which is running a ‘cities without slumsâ€^TM initiative. This helps to achieve the goal that requires powerful leadership, resolute political commitments and ownership at the local level, coupled with broad-based partnerships at all levels -local, national and international. To get a better result the Cities Alliance will support activities that are more specified for every country. Those activities will be proposed by local authorities and sponsored by country or regional staff of one or more Cities Alliance partners. The activities will be designed to raise the understanding, increase learning and propagate good practices. The targets of the Action Plan are:

- Year 2005 improve the lives of 5-10 million slum dwellers and 100 million by 2020
- Basic services to the urban poor done by increasing Bank investments
- Implementation of moving the projects from pilot projects to upgrading citywide and Nation-wide and to generate the required resources to do so
- Investing in global knowledge, learning and capacity in slum upgrading, and reducing the growth of new slums. (World Bank group, 1999)

The Department for International Development (DFID) has also collaborated with the Cities Alliance, UN-Habitat and the World Bank. For instance, some of DFID achievements include supporting a number of organisations to reduce urban poverty. DFID states, “We have committed £3 million to Cities Alliance. By the end of March 2004, we had contributed £1.2 million to the World Bank urban partnership and spent £228,000 with UN-Habitat by the end of March 2004 with a commitment of £66,000 more†. DFIDâ€^TMs urban and rural change policy team is working with UNHabitat and the World Bank to raise the profile of the MDG slum dwellersâ€^TM target and improve the methods that are being used to measure it at the local and national level.(Slum dwellers fact sheet, DFID)

Critique/ Proposed solution

Certain factors have been blamed for these mishaps or for the UNâ€^TMs inability to achieve these set targets. The UN has been blamed for not putting in place the necessary measures for target implementation. Predictions were made without taking into consideration these problems and their possible solutions.

Political

National governments and the international donor community need to acknowledge that poverty cannot just be addressed by programmes in rural areas, where the majority of the poor still live. In many countries, urbanisation is rapid and policymakers and planners are often unwilling or unable to keep up in terms of planning for shelter and basic services, or to invest the public expenditure needed. (Slum dwellers factsheet, DFID). The UN-Habitat report blames both national government inertia and what it describes as globalisation and neo-liberal economic policies imposed upon nations by the International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organisation over the last three decades (WSWS, 2004). The United Nationsâ€^TM goal of “Cities without Slums†is not attainable, according to the report “The Challenge of Slums: Global Report on Human Settlements 2003†, which calls for a vigorous implementation of urban planning and management policies designed to prevent the emergence of slums, along with slum-upgrading and a commitment on the part of government to reduce poverty. It can be realised that the governments has a lot of influence on decisions that directly and indirectly affect the slum dwelling situations of its respective countries. In as much as the UN may be right, it should put measures in place for which governments will be obliged to adhere to. It is a step in the right direction that the UN has identified the political shortfall in this implementation process. Governments are found to have taken the issue of slum dwelling very lightly. Cities should be taken more seriously and all available resources should be adequately utilised. The taskforce 8 states, “One largely untapped human resource has been the professional services of relevant design, planning and related professionals and their educational and institutional bodies, who should be more powerfully enlisted to collaborate in the improvement of the lives of slum dwellers, as well as the social, health, economic, aesthetic and environmental sustainability of cities†. Government should implement this. Laws should also be passed by Governments against forceful eviction.

Economic

The urban poor work in a wide range of industry and services, but their economic contribution to the urban and national economy is rarely recognised. (Slum dwellers fact sheet, DFID). Slum formation is closely linked to economic cycles, trends in national income distribution, and in more recent years, to national economic development policies. The report finds that the cyclical nature of capitalism, increased demand for skilled versus unskilled labour, and the negative effects of globalisation — in particular, economic booms and busts that ratchet up inequality and distribute new wealth unevenly — contribute to the enormous growth of slums. The report, “Challenge of Slums†notes that, in the past, the global economic system was responsible for creating the famous slum areas of major cities in todayâ€^TMs developed world and it is very likely to do the same again in the developing world. In recent times, most economic policies have sidelined the poor. These have in most cases caused the growth of slums in many areas. The upgrading process is of no use unless the poverty stricken population in the slum areas obtains better jobs. Of course, better jobs can only come about if the necessary infrastructure like roads, transport facilities and other sources of communication are put in place. This will in turn increase the number of investors in the areas and provide jobs. At this point, it will then be fair to look at the upgrading of slums because the people will be able to bare the cost. On the other hand, the process of upgrading will not be such a good idea because new settlements have been found to be less expensive as the taskforce 8 report states “Planning for future urban settlements also makes economic sense: new settlement is less expensive than upgrading consolidated informal settlements†.

Social

Slum dwellers have few rights as urban citizens and consequently little power or influence to change their circumstances. They have few or no basic services, low life expectancy and little access to justice. They are frequently the victims of crime and many live under constant threat of eviction. The emphasis on slums should not be to destroy them. Most destroyed slum areas tend to spring up somewhere else and so the problem never goes away. Forceful evictions are not the answer because it is often accompanied by violence and a violation of human rights by international standards. “It is an inhumane practice as it often destroys homes that can be easily improved,†states the taskforce 8 report. The security of tenure issue should be well addressed, as it is the best. Slum dwellers mostly lack legal documents or formal agreements for authorities. Therefore laws can be passed to serve as a legal basis for which the right of slum dwellers are established. There should rather be a concerted effort to provide planned urban area with all the needed services before slums develop. Then slums will not be formed. In conclusion, it is fair to note what has been done so far. It is obvious that the UN habitat has realised most of the shortfalls and have put in place corrective measures. For example the UN Habitat has launched a Global Campaign for Security of Tenure through the implementation of legislations. So far countries like Brazil, India, the Philippines and South Africa have benefited from this. This programme monitors, identifies and provides alternatives for forced evictions. Some governments for example in Namibia and Sri Lanka made easy land tenure arrangements through the giving out of blocks within informal settlements. These have been a few of the instances where governments have assisted. In Africa, countries like Zimbabwe, Kenya and Uganda are success stories of slum upgrading though there is room for improvement. The same can be said for Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco. The UN taskforce that is in charge of implementing this goal has suggested the rephrasing of target 11 to make it more achievable. The target 11 formerly defined as “significantly improving the lives of at least 100 million slum-dwellers by 2020†is now being redefined as “By 2020, reducing by half the number of slumdwellers by improving substantially the lives of at least 100 million slumdwellers while stopping new slum formation.†This has sparked various criticisms about the target being a great failure and the “Misunderstanding of the Millennium”.(World Urban Forum, 2004)

Conclusion

The UN works in many different dimensions as evident in earlier discussions in the report, ranging from grass root level initiatives in the slum dwelling related issues to major turnkey decisions in the power sector. Evidently, it is quite challenging to grasp the entire essence of its activities.â€^TM Apart from a general evaluation of the UN policies a more country specific approach would be more suited for the purpose, given that the Millennium Development Goals can be achieved only if the individual governments work in tune with UN policies. An apparent lack of orientation in the way the goals have been set for Goal 7 is all too apparent — in so far as there is no quantified target for Target 9. Such lack of orientation is also evident from the fact that there is no specific attempt to address the overconsumption patterns in the North, particularly in the energy sector related policies. Such shortcomings can be due to the complexity of the UN system and conflicting targets between the UN and different trade organisations. There have been improvements towards meeting the water and sanitation target, but not at a sufficient rate in order to meet the target by 2015. Also similar lack of progress for conservation strategies for biodiversity and forest comes through, where the lack of adequate indicators and lack of funds have also been concern areas. There has been some significant steps taken and some solutions have been forthcoming but the UN has a long way to go in ensuring that slums become history. The emphasis of security of tenure as well as collaboration between the target 10 (water and sanitation) and target 11 will speed up the process of obtaining the cities without slums in the near future. However, it should be noted that ensuring a security of tenure is not an end in itself but a means to an end. Of course other factors like funds and cooperation between all stakeholders will also play a major role in the success of target 11. It is undoubtedly premature to conclude if the UN activities are on track to meet the goals, but broadly it needs to be lauded for its efforts so far. We need more proactive initiatives from the UN, as much as we need the governances in individuals share the responsibilities to meet the goals as well as the activities for the other development goals to be on track to meet their respective goals.

List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

CBD Convention on Biological Diversity

CPB Catagena Protocol on Biosafety

DFID Department for International Development

GHG Greenhouse Gas emissions

IEA International Energy Agency

MDG Millennium Development Goal

REED Rural Energy Enterprise Development

SEAF Sustainable Energy Advisory Facility

UN United Nations

UNCCD United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

UNCHS United Nations Center for Human Settlements (now UNHabitat)

UNEP United Nations Environmental Programme

UNESCAP United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pasific U.S. United States Of America

WHO World Health Organization

WSWS World Socialist Web Site

WTO World Trade Organization

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