An Overview of the Regional Preparatory Meetings - Priorities for WSSD

Background to the Regional Meetings

In each region of the world—Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, and West Asia—intergovernmental Sub-regional and Regional Preparatory Committees (known as PrepComs) are being held during late 2001. These PrepComs are assessing the key challenges, opportunities and constraints relating to sustainable development that each region has faced over the past ten years, and identifying future priorities, new initiatives and the commitments needed to make progress in the coming years.

More specifically, the regional PrepComs will undertake the following main tasks:

1. Conduct a regional assessment of progress, taking into account national reports and country profiles. This would include:

- Main achievements in the region since UNCED in the implementation of Agenda 21 and other outcomes of UNCED, including any major regional, sub-regional and national initiatives towards sustainable development

- Progressive outlooks and main constraints faced by the region, and by countries in the region, including:

o Common constraints faced by countries in the region;

o Specific constraints faced by the region (or by the sub-regions); and

o Constraints resulting from global developments and changing conditions

- New initiatives and commitments within the region and its sub-region towards overcoming constraints and fostering further progress

2. Provide an opportunity for interaction and dialogue with major groups and other stakeholders

3. Share experiences and provide an opportunity to better prepare and understand the concerns and positions of the countries involved

The reports from these Regional PrepComs will be taken to the global PrepCom meetings being held during the first half of 2002.

Representatives from major groups have been playing an integral role in these discussions, through a multi-stakeholder dialogue process in which leaders from all sectors contribute their opinions and expertise to the regional evaluations.

In addition, a series of regional roundtables of eminent sustainable development experts took place in mid-2001.