§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department(a) has taken and (b) is planning to take to consult on the (i) outcomes of the recent World 360W Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg and (ii) what steps planned by the UK Government to take forward implementation of the outcomes and which individuals or organisations have been or will be consulted as part of the process. [77574]
§ Mr. MeacherThe Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has continued to work closely with a wide range of stakeholder groups and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State and I met with stakeholders in October to discuss the outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development. Officials have subsequently met with stakeholders, in a meeting organised by the BOND Network (British Overseas NGOs for Development).
Ministers are in the process of considering how to take forward the UK's commitments from WSSD at the local, national and international level, building on existing work. We will be launching a major review of the UK Sustainable Development Strategy in the new year, which will take into account WSSD commitments. Stakeholders will be consulted in this exercise.
§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps were taken by her Department to promote the use of the precautionary principle in discussions at the recent World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg; and if she will make a statement on the outcomes of these discussions in taking forward its use in documentation and agreements emerging as a result of the Summit. [77575]
§ Mr. MeacherThe Plan of Implementation (paragraph 103(f)) reaffirms the importance for policy and decision-making of
the precautionary approach set out in principle 15 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development".It also underlines the importance of principle 15 for the sound management of chemicals and of hazard wastes for the protection of human health and the environment (paragraph 22).A copy of the Plan of Implementation will be placed in the House Library and can be found at http://www/johannesburgsummit.org/, along with a copy of the Political Declaration made at Johannesburg.
The United Kingdom and the European Union would also have liked the Plan of Implementation to refer explicitly to the development of the precautionary principle in a number of international legal instruments since Rio. The United Kingdom and the European Union will continue to promote the precautionary principle, as set out in the Rio Declaration and subsequently developed in international law, in taking forward the outcomes of the Johannesburg Summit and related work on international sustainable development and policies which impact on health and the environment.