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WSSD: Joint Declaration of the Partner
Regions of Bavaria, Québec, Shandong, Upper Austria,
Western Cape for Sustainable Development
1. With this joint declaration the ministers of the
partner regions of Bavaria, Québec, Shandong,
Upper Austria and Western Cape, who are responsible
for sustainable development, wish to contribute towards
the success of the World Summit on sustainable development,
which will be held from August 26 to September 4, 2002
in Johannesburg, South Africa,.
2. The governments of the Partner Regions represent
more than 120 million people from four continents, with
different languages, highly varied cultures and ways
of life and with a history of their own. They, nevertheless,
share a common vision, that of sustainable development,
the principles of which were adopted by the Regional
Leaders on the occasion of their first conference held
in Munich on January 30 and 31, 2002.
3. The governments of the Partner Regions wish to support
the efforts undertaken at an international level with
a view to sustainable development, by addressing the
major and necessary topical issues linked with the set
goals.
4. In view of the close association between democracy
and sustainable development, the Partner Regions fully
subscribe to the efforts to consolidate democracy in
all countries of the world.
5. As they advocate a fairer and more equitable world,
the Partner Regions support the initiatives of the international
community aimed at combating and eliminating poverty,
particularly with regards to the African continent.
6. The governments of the Partner Regions are aware
of the importance of strengthening governance for a
sustainable development, both at a local and regional
level as well as at the national and international level.
7. We are of the opinion that the concept of sustainable
development should serve as a framework for governmental
policies aimed at improving the quality of human life.
8. We are also of the opinion that the cooperation
projects between governments of different world regions,
at an economic, social, cultural and ecological level,
play a decisive role in sustainable development. We
are sure that the positive results from this cooperation
will have an impact beyond the borders of our respective
regions. This is the actual reason behind the cooperation
entered into by the partner regions.
9. Principles underlying the cooperation between the
partner regions of Bavaria, Québec, Shandong,
Upper Austria, and Western Cape:
a) Sustainable development is of fundamental importance.
In view of our joint responsibility for this and future
generations, we are of the opinion that the preparation
and implementation of a strategy of sustainable development
constitutes one of our major tasks.
b) We ascertain that the tasks of sustainable development
can only be solved through concerted action on social,
economic, ecological and cultural issues. In congruity
with the principle »think globally - act regionally
and locally« we wish to contribute towards solutions
at a regional level, the impact which will, however,
be noticeable beyond our regional borders.
10. Sustainable development can only be achieved by
means of harmonious interaction between economic development,
ecological balance and social justice. These being the
key elements for the quality of human life. We wish
to achieve this goal through actions aimed at the preservation
as well as the just and efficient use of all our renewable
resources and also our non-renewable resources in as
far as this is required for the time being, based on
national economic circumstances. We shall encourage
measures which support a more economic use of all forms
of energy, more efficient conversion of primary to useful
energy as well as the increased use of renewable energy
sources, in particular hydropower.
11. Modern economic systems include the natural cycles
of air and water as well as natural resources and man-made
resources obtained through synthetic processes. We support
all measures aimed at promoting the efficient use of
energy and natural resources, the efficient use and
recycling of water resources as well as the reduction,
re-use and recycling of residual materials.
12. We support and promote activities which are aimed
at the preservation, restoration and sustainable use
of the varied species and ecosystems, such as the registration
and conservation of living species and biotopes, the
development of networks of protected areas as well as
measures in ecosystem management which observe the sustainability.
13. The maintenance and protection of the climate system
is one of the key challenges facing nations of all continents
in the 21st century, if we aim to reach a sustainable
development of our communities. The framework agreement
of the United Nations on climate change and the Kyoto
protocol have clearly established the initial steps
of a world policy for combating climate changes; we
fully support these measures. We propose the preparation
of programmes against global warming in our own individual
regions, by specifying aims and measures for reducing
gas emissions with a greenhouse effect, and which record
the emissions at fixed intervals in order to check the
actual effect of these methods.
14. Within the scope of their cooperation the Partner
Regions will develop new methods and new technologies
for the protection of the environment with a view to
sustainable development and will intensify technology
transfers.
15. In addition to environmental issues, a sustainable
development policy also requires the Partner Regions
to pursue a responsible development which links economic
growth and social security.
16. We are therefore working on social policies, which
will establish an equitable balance between the needs
and the responsibility of each generation. The key objectives
of such policies must be to successfully combat poverty
and marginalisation, which should also be closely linked
to health and education issues.
17. We are of the opinion that a policy in favour of
sustainable development must attach major importance
to the promotion and preservation of cultures and traditions
for future generations, in order to safeguard the cultural
diversity of our planet. Moreover, we are convinced
that languages are an essential part of a people's identity
and must also be preserved.
18. We shall endeavour to orientate sustainable development
to the terms of corporate environmental awareness and
eco-efficiency, which will promote the competitiveness
of companies and the efficiency of production methods.
We are also aware of the key role innovation, research
and development play in reaching set economic targets.
19. We believe growing importance will be attached to
the regions and their governments, based on their closeness
to their respective communities.
20. It is for this reason that the Partner Regions of
Bavaria, Québec, Shandong, Upper Austria and
Western Cape will be aligning their policies and efforts
to the principles laid down in this declaration. Beyond
this, we wish to strengthen our cooperation and know-how
exchange programmes with a view to sustainable development.
In this way we wish to contribute towards the efforts
undertaken by the international community, targeted
at enhancing quality of life for all people. Everyone
must work together to reach this common goal and accept
responsibility for the present and future generations.
Everyone is called upon to contribute.
Cape Town
26 August 2002
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