Stakeholder Forum For A Sustainable Future - Activities and Achievements

Activities and Achievements

Stakeholder Forum has been the main coordinating mechanism used by the UK Government to gauge UK stakeholder views for intergovernmental meetings. It has facilitated UK stakeholder input to the following events:

• the World Summit 2005
• the UNEP Hilltops to Oceans Conference (2004)
• UN Economic Commission for Europe Environment Conference (2003)
• The World Trade Organisation Meeting (2003)
• the World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002)
• the World Summit on Social Development Review (2000)
• the WHO European Health and Environment Conference (1999)
• UN General Assembly Special Seesion to review Rio Agreements known as Rio+ 5(1997)
• the Istanbul Habitat II Conference (1996)
• the Beijing Women's Conference (1995)
• the Copenhagen World Summit on Social Development(1995)
• the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (1993–2004)
• the Earth Summit(1992).

The UN and governments have increasingly used Stakeholder Forum to facilitate stakeholder engagement in international meetings. These have included:

• Facilitating stakeholder input to the Bonn Nexus Conference (2011)
• Facilitating stakeholder input on climate and water in the UNFCCC process (2008 to date)
• Facilitating stakeholder consultation in the UN Annual Ministerial Review (2008)
• Facilitating stakeholder consultation in the UN Heads of State Round Table on Environmental Sustainability (2008)
• Facilitating stakeholder consultation for the Informal UN General Assembly Session on International Environmental Governance (2007)
• Facilitating the UK media launch of UNEP Global Environmental Outlook 2 (1999) GEO3 (2002) GEO4 (2007)
• Setting up with SIWI a Global Public Policy Network on Water Management (2007)
• Facilitating stakeholder involvement in the Sustainable Development Consultation with the UN High Level Panel on System Wide Coherence (2006)
• Facilitating stakeholder involvement in UNEP GPA IGR-2 on Land based pollution to the marine environment (2006).
• Coordinated the Stakeholder Dialogues for the Bonn Renewable Energy Conference (2004)
• Preparing global stakeholders for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) (2002)
• Organising the Implementation Conference for the WSSD, launching 23 Type Two (2002)
• Setting up the Global Network (NRG4SD) for Regional Government for Sustainable Development (2002)
• Coordinating the Stakeholder Dialogues for the Bonn International Freshwater Conference (2001)
• Coordinating the stakeholder Dialogues for the Bergen Adhoc Environment Ministers Meeting (2000)

Stakeholder Forum hosted an informal workshop in June 1996 at Green College Oxford, to prepare governments and stakeholders for the Rio+5 review of the outcomes of the Earth Summit conference. Between 1998-2000 Stakeholder Forum hosted informal workshops to help create the momentum for a Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. This was eventually agreed to by governments in December 2000 at the UN General Assembly.

During the preparatory process for the World Summit on Sustainable Development it promoted the idea of multi-stakeholder partnerships being an engine for implementation for global agreements. At the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 it launched twenty three multistakeholder partnerships and also the facilitated the launching of the first global network for Regional Government on sustainable development (NRG4SD).

Since 2005 Stakeholder Forum has been articulating the link between human, environment and economic security. It has also been developing further work on multistakeholder processes such as the Global Public Policy Network on Water Management it developed with the Stockholm International Water Institute as a mechanism for stakeholders, governments and the UN to work together prior to a global meeting in developing a common narrative of the problem and some solutions.

In 2008 it hosted a workshop on the possible themes for a Rio+20. The outcome was known as the Donostia Declaration after the city in Spain where the workshop happened. This was ten days after G77 tabled a resolution in the United Nations General Assembly calling for a new Earth Summit. The workshop identified four areas for a possible Summit to address: a review of present commitments, sustainable development governance, the green economy and emerging issues. the United Nations General Assembly agreed to host a new Earth Summit in the General Assembly in December 2009. the Summit will be in 2012.

Since 1996 Stakeholder Forum has published a daily newsletter 'Outreach' at key sustainable development meetings. It has also run numerous training workshops based on the book 'How to Lobby at Intergovernmental Meetings - Mine is a Cafe Latte'. In 2009 it started a partnership with the BBC World Service Trust and UN Radio to produce radio programmes during the UN Commission on Sustainable Development meeting.