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Questionnaire for the Major Groups on Experiences, Success Factors, Risks and Challenges with Regard to Objective and Themes of UNCSD Attachment A Questionnaire on Renewing political commitment for sustainable development I. Introduction

The overarching objective of UNCSD is to renew political support for sustainable development, assessing the progress to date and the remaining gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of the major summits on sustainable development, and addressing new and emerging challenges. The issue of renewed political commitment will need to be addressed in the longer term context of how agreement among governments and other stakeholders at UNCSD could help accelerate progress towards, inter alia: (i) the demographic goal of stabilizing the global population; (ii) the developmental goal of extending the benefits of development equitably to all segments of global society; and (iii) the decoupling goal of ensuring that the use of materials and generation of wastes is within the regenerative and absorptive capacities of the planet. II. Questionnaire

Major groups and other stakeholders are invited to provide contributions on experiences, success factors, challenges and risks pertaining to the UNCSD objective Renewing Political Commitment to Sustainable Development in response to the following questions which have been developed based on the discussions which took place at the first Prepcom. Experiences 1. Are there objective ways of measuring political commitment? What are the relevant indicators? Which indicators are most useful from your perspective? (e.g., New legislation enacted, Policy announcements, Budgetary allocation and support, Prominence of relevant institutions, Level of media interest, etc.) Response: From my own experience working with Thailands government agencies for environmental management and implementation of the Rio Conventions, I feel that (1) budgetary allocation and (2) prominence of relevant institutions are extremely important and useful as ways of measuring political commitment. The agencies which I worked with suffered from lack of budget to implement their mandate, as well as lack of influence with other national agencies. This led to a number of objectives not being implemented and general implementation of the Rio Conventions falling short (see Thailands

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National Capacity Self-Assessment published by UNDP and Thailands ONEP agency). Level of media interest is not an appropriate indicator because media can be (and are) influenced in many countries by political pressure and power from special interest groups; media coverage can also be bought. The amount of new legislation enacted is also not appropriate as an indicator. Thailand, for instance, has enacted a number of new laws throughout its history to address perceived gaps. However, these new laws suffer from the same institutional shortfalls as previous laws: a lack of budgetary funding for implementing / enacting agencies and weak institutional capacity and prominence to garner buyin from other stakeholders. 2. Based if possible on these indicators, how would you evaluate the political commitment today to sustainable development in the country(ies)/region(s) of interest to your group, compared to 1992? How would you evaluate the political commitment of the international community compared to 1992? Response: Lack of budget has been and continues to be a serious issue. This can be seen in general within the UN system, as the attendees described during the MDG meeting at the September 2010 UN Summit in New York. There was much discussion surrounding Member States failure to fund the requisite amount equal to 0.7% of national GDP. The trickle down effect is that UN agencies dealing with environmental and social issues related to the CSD are underfunded, and in turn the national agencies responsible for implementation of international conventions are underfunded. This is as true for Thailand as it is for other countries in the region. Success Factors 3. 4. What actions have been introduced in your country to strengthen political support for sustainable development? Are there specific sectors or areas (e.g., water, energy, biodiversity, other) where national political commitment to achieve sustainable development goals has been especially strong? If so, what factors explain that commitment?

5. What examples or experiences from other areas demonstrate how political support for critical issues was enhanced (e.g., MDGs, climate change)? How could they be applied to SD? Challenges 6. Looking forward to the next 10 years, what are yours highest priorities for accelerating progress towards sustainable development? 7. How can international cooperation ensure support for sustainable development? What are your expectations for UNCSD in this regard?

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Risks 8. Among senior national policy makers in the country(ies) or region(s) of interest to your group, would you say the predominant view of the three pillars of sustainable development is that: ____there are difficult trade-offs among them? ____ they are strongly complementary? Please briefly elaborate on your answer. Response: There are certainly difficult economic and environmental trade-offs among the Southeast Asia countries which comprise the Greater Mekong Subregion. The most apparent is the need for increased power generation and the threat that hydropower dams pose to the natural environment and the livelihoods of people living along the Mekong River. The proposals to establish mainstem hydropower dams in Laos are particularly concerning and could place millions of peoples food security at risk. See, for example, WWFs concerns about the impacts from the Sayabouly Dam proposal. http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/laos/?195111/WWF-calls-for-atransparent-and-rigorous-assessment-of-the-Mekong-river-Sayabouly-dam While hydropower dams may provide short-term relief of energy requirements in the region, they potentially threaten the mid-term and long-term health and safety of both environment and society and therefore require increased scrutiny through strategic environmental assessments and greater levels of regional dialogue. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Contact Information of Focal Point/Respondent: Name (optional): e-mail (optional): Organizational affiliation: M.A. Student / Research Assistance at Chulalongkorn University Major Group: Academia Organizations consulted in preparation of questionnaire: None Country(ies) or region(s) of interest to your Group: Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Vietnam