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Expert Consultation on Knowledge and Capacity needs for sustainable Development in Post Rio Era
  • Date2013-03-11 00:00
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Keynote Address
Expert Consultation on Knowledge and Capacity Needs for
Sustainable Development in Post-Rio+20 Era
6 March 2013
Dr. Byung-Wook Lee
President of Korea Environment Institute
 
It is a great pleasure for me to deliver keynote remarks for today’s event, “Expert Consultation on Knowledge and Capacity Needs for Sustainable Development in Post-Rio+20 Era”, organized by UNOSD in partnership with the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), the Korea Environment Institute (KEI) and the UN Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD).
 
Since officially launched in October 2011, UNOSD is devoting it efforts to promote sustainable development through knowledge exchange, research and policy analysis, capacity development, and partnership and networking activities. As someone who has been both scholar and practitioner in my career, I firmly believe in the power of knowledge as a tool to enhance the effectiveness of policies, and in that sense I am very much in support of OSD’s focus and also of today’s Expert Consultation. As the President of Korea Environment Institute which also endeavors to produce high-quality research on sustainable development and to share it with the sustainable development practitioners around the world, I would like to express that it is our great pleasure to support and co-organize this Expert Consultation in partnership with OSD.
 
Sustainable development has been at the forefront of international discussion now for more than two decades. Since the Rio Summit in 1992 officially recognized the sustainable development as a key to relieve global environmental problems, the concept of sustainable development has continually evolved upon numerous discussions.
 
One of the major achievements in the conceptual discussion of sustainable development is the integration of so-called “three pillars” of economic growth, social development, and environmental protection. On account of such integrated approach, sustainable development can be an effective solution to the multi-faceted crises that our world is facing today.
 
The world economy is still struggling to recover after four years since the eruption of the global financial crisis; although the world leaders committed themselves to achieving the Millennium Development Goals more than a decade ago, the hunger, lack of universal primary education, and gender inequality still remain global challenges; suffering of our global environment continues, with rapid buildup of greenhouse gases and erosion of biodiversity.
 
One of the challenges of today’s crises is that the problems are complex and interlinked. The global financial crisis is hampering the alleviation of poverty; lack of universal education is restricting the social development in many other aspects; global climate change is affecting natural habitats and agricultural activities, complicating the effort to improve food security and relieve hunger. The integrated approach of sustainable development encompassing the economic, social, and environmental dimensions can be an effective means to address such complicated and interconnected nature of today’s global crises.
 
Despite such conceptual evolution, realization of sustainable development takes so much more than a well-refined idea. It calls for strong political wills and commitments from each nation, effective financing mechanisms, technological development, strengthened institutional capacities, international cooperation with knowledge sharing and capacity building, and strong governance structure in international, national, and sub-national levels.
 
Among those many factors, today I would like to stress the importance of knowledge sharing and capacity development. In order to implement the sustainable development at the global level, the transfer of technologies and experiences from developed to developing countries and also through South-South cooperation, and the communication among diverse groups as policymakers, research communities, non-governmental organizations, and local communities can be critical factors. Sharing the development experience of one country with another, and sharing scientific, technological, and empirical knowledge from research communities with policymakers and practitioners are valuable activities that can accelerate the implementation of sustainable development. Providing such venues and opportunities is a critical contribution to sustainable development, and I firmly hope this Expert Consultation will stimulate such flow of knowledge.
 
The green economy was adopted as one of the main themes of last year’s Rio+20 Conference, and is being recognized as an effective tool to achieve sustainable development. In this post-Rio+20 era, it is on the forefront of development agenda, and the role of knowledge sharing and capacity building is even further emphasized.
 
Rather than being a rigid set of rules, the green economy should be flexible means tailored to accommodate each nation’s circumstances. Developing such country-specific green economy strategies can be greatly facilitated by flow of knowledge in technologies, developmental experiences, and policy research.
 
Distinguished participants, Ladies and Gentlemen,
 
This Expert Consultation we are holding today is providing valuable opportunities for exchanging views on knowledge sharing and capacity building towards sustainable development. I sincerely hope that this Expert Consultation will produce in-depth and lively discussions and many valuable lessons, which will show us the way forward.
 
Last but not least, I would like to express once again my deep appreciation to UNOSD and our partner, ASEF and UNCRD for organizing and supporting this Expert Consultation, and I also would like to recognize the great effort of UNOSD staff who have worked very hard to prepare for this event. At the same time, I wish ladies and gentlemen, experts, scholars, researchers and distinguished participants good health, and great success of the Expert Consultation’s activities.    
 
Thank you for your kind attention.


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