UN Millennium Development Goals and ensuring environmental sustainability of Russia. Declarations Progress of the world community towards achieving the MDGs

They are a set of goals developed by the UN that call for reducing poverty levels by half by 2015.

In 2000, most countries in the world decided to halve the level of poverty in the world by 2015.

Development experts have studied the various problems that lead to poverty and prevent people from escaping it. They identified eight goals to help people meet basic needs. Achieving these goals will help the poor lift themselves out of poverty and start better life, and will also create conditions so that people can contribute more to the society in which they live. Today, these goals are known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

These goals enable development experts to assess progress in poverty reduction over the years.

Eight Millennium Development Goals:

Ending extreme poverty and hunger
Achieving universal primary education
Promoting gender equality and women's empowerment
Reducing child mortality
Improving maternal health
Fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Ensuring environmental sustainability
Forging a global partnership for development

Why does this concern me?

As of July 2007, the world is halfway through its 2015 target date.

The first goal of halving extreme poverty and hunger could be achieved in all countries except Africa, which lags behind on each goal. Today, the number of people living in extreme poverty has fallen by 135 million since 1999. By 2015, another 500 million people will be lifted out of extreme poverty.

However, according to the 2007 Global Monitoring Report, many countries around the world will fail to achieve the remaining goals, especially those related to reducing child mortality, controlling disease and ensuring environmental sustainability.

Find out how specific countries are achieving their goals.

Increasing public awareness will help in achieving the goals because, under the influence and pressure of public opinion, governments will do everything possible to achieve their goals.

Most people around the world, with the exception of those who deal with issues international development, does not know about these goals. According to a survey conducted by the European Commission in 2005, 88% of respondents from European countries never heard of the MDGs.

What is the international community doing?

Achieving the MDGs is possible if everyone lives up to their commitments: developing countries should not retreat from the planned reforms. And their partners are developed countries and international organizations- must provide them with support.

Development assistance and private charitable donations from developed countries are the main source of external financing for the poorest countries. In 2006, official development assistance (ODA) amounted to US$103.9 billion, but this is clearly not enough.

To combat poverty worldwide, donor countries and the United Nations have decided to increase the level of ODA to 0.7% of national income. But only five countries did this: Denmark, Holland, Luxembourg, Norway and Sweden.

In 2005, donor countries committed to delivering on their promises to increase aid levels, but to date (July 2007) this does not appear to have become a reality.

Also in 2005, G8 leaders agreed to double aid to African countries to US$50 million by 2010. According to the report World Bank World Development Finance 2007, ODA to Africa remained at US$35 billion between 2005 and 2006.

At the last G8 summit, held in June 2007, its intentions towards African countries were confirmed. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: “We are mindful of our responsibility and we will fulfill our obligations.” She also added that the G8 countries must fulfill their promises.

Undoubtedly cash must be spent in a manner that is accountable and transparent.

In addition, along with increasing the volume of aid to countries around the world, it is necessary to reform global trade and make it fairer for all countries.

What can I do?

If you live in a developed country:

Find out how your country is contributing to the Millennium Development Goals
Find national center volunteer and take part in its activities
Or visit the UN Volunteers or Idealist websites to check availability different countries world of possibilities volunteer movement for the purpose of promoting sustainable development.
Visit the additional sites listed on the Take the Initiative page.
Find out how much money your country's government allocates for bilateral and multilateral aid, and try to persuade it to allocate more.

If you live in a developing country.

Bobylev S.N., Professor, Faculty of Economics, Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, Doctor of Economic Sciences.

The Millennium Development Goals indicator system was proposed by the UN to assess the effectiveness of actions to address social problems and human development in different countries. All 189 UN member states have committed to achieving these goals by 2015. The MDG system has a three-tier configuration. It identifies 8 most important Development Goals, each of which has more specific objectives, including quantitative ones. Then, for each of the 18 specific objectives, a set of statistical indicators was developed - there are 48 in total. A significant feature of the MDG system and its difference from many other international and country indicator systems is the introduction of a time period (1990 - 2015) and specific figures for changes in indicators of the objectives - their decrease or increase during this period<*>.

<*>A detailed analysis of all the Millennium Development Goals for Russia is contained in the "Human Development Report in Russian Federation- 2005". M.: UNDP, 2005.

Among the UN MDGs there is also an environmental one. Goal 7 is designed to ensure the environmental sustainability of our planet and individual countries. The objectives and indicators of this Goal reflect the need to address two main issues to ensure environmental sustainability:

reduce human impact on the environment and their depletion of natural resources;
improve environmental conditions for human development, reduce environmental threats to human safety, health and living.

It should be noted the importance of solving the second MDG problem related to environmental conditions for humans and their health. This issue often comes up when considering sustainable development issues that focus only on environmental protection and the use of natural resources.

Table 1 presents the tasks and indicators under Goal 7 proposed by the UN (columns 1 and 3) and adapted for Russia by the author (columns 2 and 4). For Russia, ensuring environmental sustainability involves solving three tasks (tasks 1, 2 and 3 from the MDGs):

incorporate the principles of sustainable development into country strategies and programs and prevent the loss of natural resources;
provide the population with clean drinking water;
ensure improvement of the quality of living conditions of the population.

The last two objectives are related to human development and human health. Eight indicators are proposed as indicators of progress (see Table 1); Among them are two environmental (indicators 1 and 2), two economic (3 and 4) and four socio-ecological (indicators 5 - 8).

Formation of "anti-sustainable" development of Russia

Currently, trends are emerging in Russia that undermine the solution to Goal 7; an “anti-sustainable” type of development is emerging in the country. Let's look at the main features of some of these trends. Levels of environmental pollution and living conditions significantly affect the most important parameter of human development - human health and longevity, human capital in general. Currently, indicators in this area raise concerns for the success of human development in Russia. Currently, about 60 million people live in areas with an unfavorable environmental situation, occupying 15% of the country's territory. Since 1999, the number of cities with high and very high levels of air pollution has increased 1.6 times; 60% of the country’s urban population live in them<*>. The share of drinking water samples that do not meet hygienic standards is about 20%; The main problems here are the low technical level of water treatment and the high degree of wear and tear of water supply networks (more than 60 - 70%).

<*>See: State report "On the state and protection of the environment of the Russian Federation in 2003". M.: Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation, 2004. pp. 9 - 10.

A fairly high level of water and air pollution and waste compared to international standards poses a danger to the health of the Russian population. The world is paying more and more attention to assessing the impact of environmental factors on human health. Currently, there is a methodology for assessing human health risks developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), the US Environmental Protection Agency and other organizations. The results obtained were taken into account in the decision-making process of executive and legislative authorities in many countries around the world. Based on the health risk assessment by MSU experts, they calculated economic costs for human health in Russia caused by air and water pollution. Approximate estimates suggest that such costs range from 3 to 6% of GDP<*>. The health damage values obtained for Russia are quite impressive and are a powerful argument in favor of the transition to environmentally sustainable economic development and environmental correction of a number of the country’s development priorities.

<*>See: Bobylev S.N., Sidorenko V.N., Safonov Yu.V., Avaliani S.L., Strukova E.B., Golub A.A. Macroeconomic assessment of the costs to the health of the Russian population from environmental pollution. M.: Nature Protection Fund, 2002.

Table 1. MDG Goal 7 “Ensuring environmental sustainability”, targets and indicators

Tasks MDG 7 (UN)	MDG 7 targets For Russia	Progress indicators in achieving the goal (UN)	Progress indicators achieving the goal for Russia
1	2	3	4
Task 1: Enable principles of sustainable development into country strategies and programs and reverse bereavement process natural resources	Task 1: Enable principles of sustainable development into country strategies and programs and prevent losses natural resources	1. Percentage of territory with forest cover 2. Percentage protected territories to maintain terrestrial biodiversity environment 3. Power consumption per 1 dollar GDP 4. Dioxide emissions carbon (per capita) population) and consumption ozone depleting substances (tons) 5. Proportion of population, using hard fuel	1. Percentage of territory with forest cover 2. Percentage protected territories to maintain terrestrial biodiversity environment 3. Energy intensity 4. Dioxide emissions carbon (tons) 5. Population, living in a special polluted cities
Task 2. Reduce twice the share of people having permanent access to clean drinking water	Task 2. Provide population is pure drinking water	6. Proportion of population, with sustainable access to the source of quality drinking water in the city and rural areas	6. Share of housing stock, provided with running water (city, village)
Objective 3. By 2020 provide significant improvement life at least 100 million slum dwellers	Task 3. Provide quality improvement living conditions population	7. Share of urban population with access to the sewer 8. Share of households having access to real estate, own or rented	7. Share of housing stock, provided with sewerage (city, village) 8. Share of old and emergency housing stock

The formation of unsustainable development trends in Russia is largely due to the underestimation of the environmental factor in macroeconomic policy, which leads to further environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources. The economic recovery that has begun may further aggravate these processes. This is due to the environmentally intensive restructuring of the economy in the 1990s. in favor of the raw materials and polluting sectors, which occurred against the backdrop of degradation of resource-saving and high-tech industries. This trend is clearly visible during the period 1990 - 2003. Thus, the share of the fuel industry increased 2.5 times in 2003 compared to 1990, reaching 20%; electric power industry - 3 times (from 4 to 12.1%). In the structure of industry for 1990 - 2003. The share of ferrous metallurgy increased 1.7 times. Over the same period, the share of industries with low environmental impact has decreased significantly. So, for 1990 - 2003. the share of high-tech industries in mechanical engineering and metalworking decreased from 32 to 20%. A catastrophic decline also occurred in light industry. Overall, there has been a significant shift in the economy towards nature-intensive industries.

An unbalanced investment policy, leading to growing imbalances between nature-exploiting and manufacturing sectors of the economy, undoubtedly aggravates environmental problems. In the absence of environmental and economic barriers and incentives, there is only one criterion for efficiency - obtaining significant profits at a rapid pace, which is possible primarily through the exploitation and/or sale of natural resources (oil, gas, timber, etc.).

The “heavier” economic structure from an environmental standpoint was also accompanied by a deterioration age structure production assets, their massive aging and, as a consequence, an increase in the number of environmental accidents and disasters. Old equipment is poorly replaced by new equipment due to insufficient investment - today in many industries the degree of wear and tear of equipment reaches 50 - 60%.

Decentralization of environmental management has become a significant problem. In the 1990s. In conditions of a huge decline in production and growing social problems, attention to environmental protection has decreased. A reflection of this situation was the constant decrease in the role of influence ecological structures in the Government of Russia. The period of greatest powers of the Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources of the Russian Federation fell on 1991 - 1996, then in 1996 the Ministry was transformed into the Committee for Environmental Protection with a sharp reduction in functions and influence, and finally, in 2000 the Committee was disbanded and its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Natural Resources, whose main task is the exploitation of natural resources.

Currently, the departmental block of natural resource management and environmental protection includes three structures: the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation; Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring; Federal Service for Environmental, Technological and Nuclear Supervision. Departmental uncertainty and disunity in addressing environmental issues in the modern government structure do not contribute to the formation of environmental sustainability. Departmental functions may be duplicated (for example, the situation with environmental assessment is unclear) or, conversely, absent (for example, clear identification of the impact of pollution on public health).

The task of ensuring environmental sustainability is not sufficiently taken into account in the latest strategic documents of the Government of the Russian Federation; they address environmental problems appears to be more of a tactical and short-term action than a comprehensive long-term policy for the country. Thus, in the official programs of the Government of Russia - action plans of the Government of the Russian Federation for the short, medium and long term - mention of environmental problems is minimal. This position can be seen in the latest draft government program documents, in particular in the consolidated report “Goals, objectives and performance indicators of budget planning entities (federal ministries, federal services and federal agencies managed by the Government of the Russian Federation)" (2004).

There are objective and subjective reasons for underestimating the environmental factor in the process of economic development and decision-making. Among the objective reasons, the most general one should be highlighted - the ineffectiveness of the traditional market economic model in solving environmental problems, which is typical for the entire world economy and has led to the emergence of global and regional environmental problems (well-known “market failures” in economic theory). The underestimation was also facilitated by a sharp decline in production in the country in the 1990s, which objectively led to a decrease in the use of natural resources and total pollution.

Among the subjective reasons, one should note the assessment of environmental restrictions as barriers to economic growth, adherence to the slogan “first economic growth, and then ecology”; orientation of decision makers towards predominantly short-term goals (“patching holes”); the illusion of the inexhaustibility of the country’s huge storehouse and its vast spaces capable of effectively absorbing/dispersing pollution, etc.

The transition to sustainable development makes it necessary to include the environmental factor in the system of main socio-economic indicators of development. The MDG ideology corresponds to this idea. The underestimation of the environmental factor in decision-making is largely due to the lack of cost reflection of natural capital and environmental degradation in traditional development indicators. The traditional macroeconomic indicators currently available in this area (GDP, per capita income, etc.) ignore environmental degradation. The growth of these indicators in the country today is based on technogenic, nature-intensive development. This creates the possibility of a sharp deterioration in economic indicators in the future in the event of depletion of natural resources and environmental pollution.

MDG targets and indicators for Russia

The use of the MDG ideology by all Russian government structures in the field of ensuring environmentally sustainable development would contribute to increasing the efficiency of environmental management and solving the country's environmental problems, and would reduce environmental threats to public health. In fact, this goal, reflected in many cornerstone UN documents, is accepted and supported by Russia, but its implementation is not actively carried out. Let us consider in more detail individual tasks and indicators for the implementation of Goal 7, analyze their adequacy to Russian realities and propose new tasks and indicators adapted to the Russian context of sustainable development.

Objective 1 “Incorporate the principles of sustainable development into country strategies and programs and reverse the loss of natural resources” is adequate to the country’s objectives in both the short and long term. The future of Russia, the development of the human potential of the next generations, the preservation of the world's largest natural capital, and the support of the country's ecosystem functions that are of global importance depend on the successful implementation of this task. The only clarification of this task may concern the formulation of the problem of natural resources. It seems that in the MDG version, the provision “reverse the process of loss of natural resources” is associated primarily with renewable natural resources (land, forest, water, etc.), which is extremely important for the vast majority of developing countries. For Russia, the most acute problem is the depletion of non-renewable fossil resources (oil, gas, metals, etc.), and it is obvious that it is unrealistic to prevent the process of their loss. Therefore, it is better to talk about preventing the loss of natural resources, meaning the loss of resources due to their overexploitation and irrational use, which applies to all resources and corresponds to the context of the Russian language for the word “loss”. In this case, Objective 1 is formulated as follows: “Incorporate the principles of sustainable development into country strategies and programs and prevent the loss of natural resources.”

This task is closely related to the country’s economic growth and its quality. And here the most important indicator is the GDP energy intensity indicator or - which is the same thing - energy consumption per 1 dollar of GDP in the formulation of the UN MDGs (indicator 3). This indicator is not only a priority for ensuring environmental sustainability, but also, perhaps, for the entire economy of the country. A number of circumstances can be highlighted here:

the leading role of the energy sector in the Russian economy, in the formation of GDP, taxes, budget revenues, employment, and export revenues;
The energy sector's biggest contribution to Russia's environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources and degradation of vast virgin territories. The energy sector is the largest polluter, emitting more than 50% of all harmful substances into the country's atmosphere, about 20% of polluted Wastewater, over 30% solid waste production and up to 70% of the total volume of greenhouse gases;
the energy intensity indicator is a representative indicator of sustainable development, reflecting both economic and environmental aspects;
in the future, the role of the energy sector in the economy will remain with plans to increase the production of energy resources, which will likely increase the anthropogenic impact on the environment;
the need to significantly reduce the energy intensity of the economy and implement energy saving programs.

Currently energy intensity Russian economy is extremely high and its reduction is a priority task. Moreover, in the 1990s. a phenomenon quite unique for the world was observed - an increase in the Russian indicator by 16%<*>. In Fig. Figure 1 shows the energy intensity indicators of countries that occupy high positions in the UN ranking in the field of the Human Development Index, calculated on the basis of UN statistics. Russian energy intensity is on average 2.5 - 4 times higher than in these countries. Of course, Russia is a northern country, but the indicators of the Scandinavian countries indicate a huge potential for energy savings in the country. A typical example is Norway, which, like Russia, is a northern country, has significant energy resources and at the same time energy intensity is 3.3 times lower. Much more low levels Our neighbors with transformational economies - Poland and Hungary - have the same specific energy consumption. The greatest progress in reducing the energy intensity of GDP was made by the USA, Germany and Hungary - by about a third from the 1980 level.

<*>See: Main provisions of the Energy Strategy of Russia for the period until 2020 (2000). 0.8¬
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Rice. 1. Indicators of energy intensity and their dynamics in individual countries of the world (kg of oil equivalent per 1 GDP at PPP)<*>

<*>Calculated from: Human Development Report. 2004. UNDP, New-York, 2004. P. 207 - 208.

Other indicators for Objective 1 are also closely related to energy development. Carbon dioxide (carbon dioxide) emissions, the volume of which largely depends on energy, are of particular relevance in connection with Russia’s ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. Currently, 96% of the nation's carbon dioxide emissions come from burning fuels to produce energy. Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas contributing to global climate change. The MDG defines this indicator as “carbon dioxide emissions (per capita) and consumption of ozone-depleting substances (tons)” (indicator 4). It should be immediately noted that the ozone-depleting substances included in this indicator have not been produced by Russia since 2000, and therefore they are no longer relevant for the country. It should also be noted that the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol is not related to per capita carbon dioxide emissions, as proposed in the MDGs, but to the fulfillment of countries' obligations on total carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore, for Russia, it is better to reformulate MDG indicator 4 as “carbon dioxide emissions (tons)”. In accordance with the obligations of the Kyoto Protocol, the country must produce no more greenhouse gases in the first budget period of the protocol (2008 - 2012) than in 1990. These are quite soft obligations for Russia due to a significant reduction in emissions due to the crisis of the 1990s gg. Now the country emits only about 70% of carbon dioxide from the level of 1990. The obligations of other countries are much more stringent: the vast majority of developed countries are obliged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6 - 8% in conditions of economic growth. The rigidity and economic burden of these obligations led, in particular, to the US refusal to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.

The indicator “Number of people living in particularly polluted cities (millions of people)” proposed for Russia is also related to energy. The contribution of energy sector facilities to air pollution is significant (about half of all pollution from stationary sources). This indicator is a modification of indicator 5 from the MDG “Share of the population using solid fuel”, which is not relevant for the country due to its insignificance. Nevertheless, the meaning of the MDG indicator is quite obvious - monitoring the population living in conditions of increased air pollution and reducing the size of such a population. This task is relevant for Russia, especially for large cities with high levels of pollution. The number of such cities is 145 with a total population of about 60 million people.

MDG Target 1, related to the implementation of the principles of sustainable development, also includes two indicators that in the Russian context are largely related to forestry:

percentage of area with forest cover (indicator 1);
percentage of protected area to support terrestrial biodiversity (indicator 2).

These indicators can be used unchanged for Russian strategies/programs. According to indicators related to forests and biodiversity protection, Russia is quite prosperous and occupies a leading position in the world. The country has the largest forested area in the world, and the percentage of area with forest cover is also one of the highest in the world at 45%. Due to the crisis of the 1990s. deforestation decreased sharply, which contributed to the conservation of forest areas throughout the country. At the same time, the indicator of “forest cover” has a huge regional differentiation - it ranges from 0.2 - 1.0% (Kalmykia, Nenets Autonomous District) to 70 - 80% (Komi, Irkutsk region, Primorsky Territory, etc.). The percentage of areas with forest cover is also low in many regions of the European part of the country, which makes efforts to preserve and increase forest areas quite relevant here.

In Russia there is a fairly high percentage of protected areas for the conservation of biodiversity. In total there are more than 15,600 such territories. In statistical assessments of the security of biodiversity conservation by territorial forms of protection, only data on federal reserves and national parks. In total they occupy about 2% of the country's area. Other federal protected areas - nature reserves and natural monuments - account for about 1% of the territory. The remaining approximately 15 thousand territories of regional and local significance also carry out the functions of stabilizing the environment and preserving biodiversity. To these should be added 35 wetlands international importance, 17 objects world heritage, of which 11 are objects cultural heritage and 6 - natural, etc. If we sum up the protected natural areas all categories, then their share in the total area of the country will be 10.5%.

MDG Target 2 is related to improving the provision of clean drinking water to people, and its corresponding indicator 6 assesses the proportion of the population with sustainable access to a source of quality drinking water in urban and rural areas. The importance of this indicator for humanity is obvious - there are now 2 billion people in the world. are not provided with clean drinking water, which leads to numerous illnesses and deaths. Since in Russia there is no official statistical indicator for the population with access to high-quality drinking water, this indicator can be interpreted as “the share of the housing stock provided with running water (city, village).” In cities, this figure is close to 90%, and the proportion of rural residential areas with running water exceeds 40%.

Improving the human condition is linked to MDG Target 3, which aims to achieve significant improvements in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers around the world by 2020. There are two indicators to assess progress towards this goal: “proportion of urban population with access to sanitation” (indicator 7) and “proportion of households with access to real estate, owned or rented” (indicator 8). The very formulation of the task of improving the living conditions of the population is quite suitable for Russia, but its interpretation in the MDGs in relation to slum dwellers is not relevant. As a general task for the country, one can propose “improving the improvement and quality of the housing stock.” In this context, two indicators can be informative for Russia: “the share of the housing stock provided with sewerage (urban, rural)” and “the share of dilapidated and dilapidated housing stock.” Now 70% of urban and 32% of rural housing stock have sewerage. The indicator of dilapidated and dilapidated housing stock is now over 91,255 thousand square meters. m. Its dynamics are unfavorable - the total area of such housing has increased 2.4 times since 1995, and its share has increased from 1.4 to 3.2% of the total housing stock. In 2003, about 5 million Russians lived in dilapidated and unsafe residential buildings; most of them are citizens with incomes below the subsistence level, who do not have the opportunity to improve their living conditions.

Scenarios for ensuring environmental sustainability by 2015

The UN MDG concept includes a planned horizon for achieving the set goals and objectives - 2015. Therefore, for the Russian version of the MDGs, it is also advisable to study the possible development of the situation in the next ten years. The environmental sustainability of the country in the near future will be influenced by a number of factors: increasing extensive extraction of raw materials; continuation of natural export policy; the involvement of new territories in economic turnover and the destruction of vast natural ecosystems; an increase in the number of man-made accidents due to wear and tear of equipment; changes in the structure of the energy balance as a result of partial replacement of gas with coal, etc.

The state of the country's natural reserves raises serious concerns. The draft “Long-term state program for studying the subsoil and reproducing the mineral resource base of Russia based on the balance of consumption and reproduction of mineral raw materials until 2020” (2004), developed by the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation, contains pessimistic estimates of the actual reserves of our natural pantry. The deadline for the complete depletion of profitable exploitable reserves of many minerals is approaching: the reserves of oil, uranium, copper, and indigenous gold in the country will run out in 2015. The reserves of minerals, primarily oil and gas, in the Volga-Ural and Western Siberian regions are running out. Thus, the depletion of reserves of the main oil and gas provinces is 70 - 80% in the North Caucasus, 50 - 70% in the Ural-Volga region and Western Siberia- over 45%.

Unclear environmental consequences may be caused by the possible consolidation of the raw material nature of the Russian economy as a result of joining the WTO. It is obvious that for transnational and foreign companies in Russia, the first places in terms of attractiveness are occupied by nature-exploiting industries, and above all, energy resources are a competitive product, investments in oil and gas production provide quick returns. Here, foreign companies can quickly strengthen their positions due to the powerful investment potential and lack of funds in many Russian companies.

A significant problem for the future of the country’s economy may be global climate change, the reality of which is recognized in virtually all international documents and forecasts. For Russia, almost two-thirds of whose territory is located in the permafrost zone, warming and thawing can have an extremely negative impact on existing infrastructure facilities, buildings, pipelines, roads, etc. Facilities in the energy sector in the Siberian and northern regions may be especially affected.

Along with the existing negative environmental trends, new problems for the development of human potential may arise in the future. For example, energy workers intend to restructure the fuel balance by reducing the supply of natural gas for domestic needs for electricity production and increasing the use of coal and fuel oil. This will certainly increase air pollution in cities, and the morbidity and mortality rate of the population will increase. According to calculations by the Nature Defense Fund, such a replacement will lead to an additional 40,000 deaths in Russia.

At the highest quality level general view You can try to analyze three scenarios for the country's development for 2015 related to environmental sustainability: pessimistic, inertial and optimistic.

The first two scenarios will lead to the formation of an “anti-sustainable” type of development of the Russian economy. Unfortunately, even the continuation modern trends development in the business-as-usual scenario will lead to increasing environmental degradation. Only an optimistic option associated with a fundamental change in the type of economic growth in the country can lead to a transition to sustainable development.

The scenarios can be based on the programs of the Government of the Russian Federation, the Center for Strategic Research, the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation, in particular the “Energy Strategy of Russia for the period until 2020”, the draft Program for the socio-economic development of the Russian Federation for the medium term (2005 - 2008).

Given the current raw material and nature-intensive type of development, the state of the country's raw material base is important. Within the framework of the pessimistic scenario for 2015, in the most general form, without detailing, two potential threats can be identified: 1) the above-mentioned depletion of profitable reserves of oil and other minerals by 2015; 2) a sharp drop in world prices for oil and other raw materials, which is actually adequate to the first threat, since the profitability of new hard-to-reach fields that require significant investments for their development automatically decreases.

Let's take a closer look at the "price" threat. Due to complex natural conditions Due to the remoteness of production sites, the cost of oil in the country is several times higher than in the Middle East and Latin America, and it will continue to grow in the future. General trend is a decrease in the efficiency of investments in the energy sector. The situation on the oil market may also change due to the increase in oil production by OPEC countries, the restoration of Iraq, etc., which will lead to an increase in the supply of oil in the world and a decrease in its price. All this increases the risks of developing new fields in undeveloped territories. A fall in world prices could “freeze” a significant part of oil production in remote northern regions and on shelves with undeveloped infrastructure, render huge investments ineffective, and leave vast territories and marine areas environmentally degraded.

This development of events, along with the depletion of profitable mineral reserves, will cause a sharp decrease in federal budget revenues, spending on social needs, and unemployment will increase. It is obvious that in these conditions, the state and enterprises’ expenses for environmental protection will be significantly reduced, the load on old deposits will increase, in order to save costs, violation of environmental standards (standards for air emissions and discharges of pollutants into water) will become widespread, environmental pollution will increase and accordingly, the morbidity rate of the population. The implementation of such a scenario will lead the country further and further away from the trajectory of sustainable development.

The second scenario (inertial) is quite obvious: in 2015 “everything will be as it is now.” The country will be able to discover and develop new mineral reserves; in the context of maintaining high world prices for raw materials, the development of Yamal, the shelves of the Barents Sea and Sakhalin will become profitable; Huge exports of oil, gas, timber, metals, chemical raw materials, etc. will continue. All this will mean maintaining the modern economic structure, raw materials and nature-intensive type of development, based on the further depletion of the country’s natural resources and the growth of pollution. It is obvious that such growth cannot be sustainable beyond 2020 - 2030. may appear Negative consequences, similar to the pessimistic scenario.

To implement the third scenario (optimistic), within which a transition to sustainable development is possible, it is necessary to radically change the existing type of development, its paradigm, and reverse the “anti-sustainable” trends in the economy. The new type of economy is now defined in different ways: knowledge-based economy (the most common definition in the world); innovative economy; knowledge-based economy; information economy; post-industrial economy; sustainable economy, etc.<*>Regardless of the formal definition, the transition is based on: priority development of human capital, knowledge and information, deep structural and technological changes. Over the past 3-4 years, the President of the Russian Federation and members of the Government of the Russian Federation have repeatedly emphasized the need to move away from the raw material type of development of the Russian economy. On new type All the latest conceptual documents, strategies and programs of the Government are oriented towards the development of the country.

<*>The 2004 Human Development Report in Russia is dedicated to the new knowledge-based economy. for UNDP.

From the point of view of environmental sustainability, the future economy has the following important features: priority in development will be given to knowledge-intensive, high-tech, manufacturing and infrastructure industries with minimal impact on the environment; The ecological living conditions of the population and their provision are of significant importance; environmental pollution is reduced; the share of the raw materials sector in the economy is decreasing; the efficiency of using natural resources and their savings radically increases, which is reflected in a sharp reduction in the costs of natural resources and the volume of pollution per unit of final result (reduction in environmental intensity indicators). For the transition to sustainable development, the need to compensate for the depletion of natural capital through increased investment in human and physical capital is obvious. In practical terms, it is advisable to sharply increase investments in science, education, healthcare, innovative development, and create special funds such as the Fund for Future Generations, which exist in many countries around the world. The economic mechanism of the knowledge economy through the system of taxes, loans, benefits, investment climate, etc. stimulates the creation, dissemination and use of knowledge to drive growth and “suppresses” activities that deplete natural capital and pollute the environment. Many of the features noted above have already clearly manifested themselves in the development of many developed countries.

Let us note the enormous potential for the transition to environmentally and economically sustainable growth of environmentally balanced structural and technological restructuring of the economy, allowing for effective resource conservation and reducing environmental pollution. Structural and technological rationalization of the economy can free up up to half of the total volume of natural resources currently used inefficiently while increasing the final results and significantly reducing the level of pollution. It is possible to significantly reduce the production and development areas of energy resources, minerals, cultivated agricultural land, deforestation, etc. by improving the use and deepening of processing of natural and raw materials and significantly increasing the level of well-being of the population. Thus, in accordance with the “Russian Energy Strategy for the period until 2020.” (2003) based on the dissemination of fairly simple energy-saving technologies, it is possible to save almost half of the energy currently consumed.

In the famous report to the Club of Rome “Factor Four” (1997)<*>shows how production can be doubled while reducing the volume of attracted resources by half. At the same time, specific technologies are provided to achieve this result. Thus, in the world it is possible to reduce energy consumption by half with a modern industrial infrastructure, and with a new infrastructure based on existing technologies - by 90%. For Russia, this means that, for example, energy consumption can be reduced by 3-6 times based on traditional (even not the latest) Western technologies while increasing the final results.

<*>See: Weizsäcker E., Lovins E., Lovins L. Factor four. New report to the Club of Rome. M.: Academia, 2000.

Of course, it is naive to demand an artificial reduction in the growth rate of nature-exploiting sectors, primarily energy, in the conditions of the current socio-economic situation in the country. However, it is necessary to improve the efficiency of these sectors. Given the existing risks, from both environmental and economic positions, it is more profitable for Russia to increase the productivity of deposits in already developed areas of the country and abroad: new deposits in the north of the Caspian Sea, more active participation in the development of energy resources in Central Asia, etc. For example, the country is suffering heavy losses due to a drop in the oil recovery factor. If in the late 1980s. It accounted for 50% of production, but today, according to expert estimates, it does not exceed 30%. On the one hand, this is caused by the aging of large deposits and the deterioration of the quality of reserves; however, there is another reason - the weakening of state control over the rational use of subsoil.

Under the optimistic scenario, an environmentally feasible reduction in the share of natural resources in the export structure does not mean an automatic reduction in the economic benefits from the use of natural capital, the country’s natural advantages. The areas of restructuring the country's economy discussed above, in particular increasing the share of the processing and manufacturing sectors, can bring in additional tens of billions of dollars through the sale abroad of products with a deeper degree of processing of primary natural raw materials and greater added value.

I. Values and principles

1. We, the Heads of State and Government, gathered at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 6 to 8 September 2000, at the dawn of the new millennium, to reaffirm our faith in the Organization and its inviolable foundations for a more peaceful, prosperous and just world.

2. We recognize that, in addition to our individual responsibilities to our own societies, we also have a collective responsibility to promote the principles of human dignity, justice and equality at the global level. Therefore, as leaders, we are responsible to all the inhabitants of the Earth, especially to the most vulnerable among them, and in particular to the children of the world, to whom the future belongs.

3. We reaffirm our commitment to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, which have proven to be timeless and universal. Their relevance and ability to serve as a source of inspiration increase as countries and peoples become increasingly interconnected and interdependent.

4. We are determined to establish a just and lasting peace throughout the world in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter. We reaffirm our commitment to support all efforts aimed at ensuring the sovereign equality of all states; respect for their territorial integrity and political independence; settlement of disputes by peaceful means and in accordance with the principles of justice and international law; the right to self-determination of peoples still under colonial rule and foreign occupation; non-interference in the internal affairs of states; respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; respect for equal rights for everyone without distinction of race, gender, language and religion; and international cooperation in solving international problems economic, social, cultural or humanitarian nature.

5. We believe that the main challenge facing us today is to ensure that globalization becomes a positive force for all peoples of the world. This is because, although globalization offers great opportunities, its benefits are now being enjoyed very unevenly and its costs are unevenly distributed. We recognize that developing countries and countries with economies in transition face particular challenges in responding to this major challenge. That is why globalization can only become fully inclusive and equitable through broad and persistent efforts to forge a common future based on our common humanity in all its diversity. These efforts must include policies and measures at the global level that respond to the needs of developing countries and countries with economies in transition, and that are designed and implemented with their effective participation.

6. We believe that it is essential for international relations in the 21st century will have a number of fundamental values. These include:

Liberty. Men and women have the right to live and raise their children in human conditions, free from hunger and fear of violence, oppression and injustice. The best guarantee of these rights is a democratic form of government based on broad participation and the will of the people.
Equality. No person and no country should be denied the benefits of development. Equality of rights and opportunities for men and women must be guaranteed.
Solidarity. Global problems must be addressed with a fair distribution of costs and burdens in accordance with fundamental principles of equality and social justice. Those who suffer or are least favored deserve help from those who are most advantaged.
Tolerance. With all the diversity of religions, cultures and languages, people must respect each other. Differences within and between societies should neither be feared nor persecuted, but should be cherished as humanity's greatest asset. A culture of peace and dialogue among all civilizations should be actively promoted.
Respect for nature. The protection and rational use of all living organisms and natural resources must be based on prudence in accordance with the tenets of sustainable development. Only in this way can we preserve for our descendants the enormous wealth that nature has given us. Current unsustainable production and consumption patterns must be changed for our future well-being and the well-being of our descendants.
General Duty. The responsibility for managing global economic and social development and addressing threats to international peace and security must be shared among the peoples of the world and carried out on a multilateral basis. The United Nations, as the most universal and representative organization in the world, must play a central role in this.

7. To translate these shared values into concrete action, we have identified key goals to which we attach particular importance.

II. Peace, security and disarmament

8. We will make every effort to free our peoples from the scourge of wars, whether within or between states, wars that have claimed more than 5 million lives over the past decade. We will also work to eliminate the threats posed by weapons of mass destruction.

9. We are therefore determined:

strengthen respect for the rule of law, both internationally and internal affairs, and in particular to ensure compliance by Member States with decisions of the International Court of Justice, in pursuance of the Charter of the United Nations, in any cases to which they are parties;
enhance the effectiveness of the United Nations in maintaining peace and security by providing it with the resources and tools it needs for conflict prevention, peaceful dispute resolution, peacekeeping operations, post-conflict peacebuilding and reconstruction. In this regard, we take note of the report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations and request the General Assembly to promptly consider its recommendations;
strengthen cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations in accordance with the provisions of Chapter VIII of the Charter;
ensure compliance by participating States with treaties in areas such as arms control and disarmament, and international humanitarian and human rights law, and encourage all States to consider signing and ratifying the International Criminal Court;
take concerted action to combat international terrorism and accede as soon as possible to all relevant international conventions;
redouble our efforts to implement our commitment to curb the world drug problem;
intensify our efforts to combat transnational crime in all its aspects, including human trafficking and smuggling and money laundering;
minimize the adverse effects of United Nations economic sanctions on innocent populations; ensure that such sanctions regimes are regularly reviewed; and eliminate the adverse consequences of sanctions for third parties;
strive to eliminate weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear weapons, and keep open all available options for achieving this goal, including the possibility of convening an international conference to determine ways and means of eliminating nuclear threat;
take concerted action to stop the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, especially by ensuring greater transparency in arms transfers and supporting regional disarmament measures, taking into account all recommendations of the upcoming United Nations conference on the illicit trade small arms and light weapons;
call on all States to consider acceding to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, as well as the amended Mine Protocol to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.

10. We urge Member States to respect the Olympic Truce, individually and collectively, now and in the future, and to support the International Olympic Committee in its efforts to promote peace and understanding among people through sport and the Olympic ideal.

III. Development and poverty eradication

11. We will spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the degrading, extreme poverty in which more than a billion of them are currently forced to live. We are committed to making the right to development a reality for all and freeing the entire human race from want.

12. In this regard, we are committed to creating, both nationally and globally, an environment conducive to development and poverty eradication.

13. Success in achieving these goals depends, inter alia, on ensuring good governance in each country. It also depends on ensuring good governance at the international level and transparency in the financial, monetary and trading systems. We are committed to an open, fair, regulated, predictable and non-discriminatory multilateral trading and financial system.

14. We are concerned about the obstacles that developing countries face in mobilizing the resources needed to finance their sustainable development. We will therefore make every effort to ensure the success of the High-Level International and Intergovernmental Event on Financing for Development to be held in 2001.

15. We also commit to helping to address the special needs of least developed countries. In this regard, we welcome the convening of the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries in May 2001 and will strive to ensure its success. We call on industrialized countries to:

adopt, preferably before the start of this Conference, a set of measures to ensure duty-free and quota-free access to their markets for virtually all exports of least developed countries;
initiate, without further delay, an expanded program of debt relief for highly indebted poor countries and agree to write off all official bilateral debt of these countries in exchange for their strong commitments to combat poverty;
and provide more generous development assistance, especially to those countries that are truly trying to use their resources to reduce poverty.

16. We are also committed to comprehensively and effectively addressing the debt problems of low- and middle-income developing countries through various national and international measures aimed at making their debt sustainable over the long term.

17. We are also committed to addressing the special needs of small island developing States by implementing and implementing the decisions of the twenty-second special session of the General Assembly expeditiously and fully. We urge the international community to ensure that the specific needs of small island developing States are taken into account when developing the vulnerability indicator.

18. We recognize the special needs and challenges of landlocked developing countries and urge both bilateral and multilateral donors to increase financial and technical assistance to this group of countries to meet their special development needs and help them overcome conditioned by them geographical location difficulties by improving their transit transport systems.

19. We are also determined:

halve the share of the population by 2015 globe with an income of less than one dollar a day and the proportion of the population suffering from hunger, and to halve by the same time the proportion of the world's population without access to safe drinking water, including due to lack of funds;
ensure that, by the same date, children around the world, both boys and girls, have the opportunity to complete a full primary school education and that girls and boys have equal access to all levels of education;
by the same date, achieve a reduction in maternal mortality by three-quarters and mortality among children under 5 years of age by two-thirds compared with their current levels;
by the specified date, stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other major diseases that affect humanity, and begin a trend towards reducing their incidence;
provide special assistance to children who have lost their parents due to HIV/AIDS;
by 2020, achieve significant improvements in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers, as envisaged by the Slum-Free Cities initiative.

20. We are also determined:

promote gender equality and women's empowerment as effective means combating poverty, hunger and disease and promoting development that is truly sustainable;
develop and implement policies that give young people around the world a real chance of finding decent and productive work;
encourage the pharmaceutical industry to make essential medicines more widely available and accessible to all who need them in developing countries;
build strong partnerships with the private sector and civil society organizations for development and poverty eradication;
Take measures to ensure that everyone can benefit from new technologies, especially information and communications technologies, in accordance with the recommendations contained in the 2000 ECOSOC Ministerial Declaration.

IV. Protecting our shared environment

21. We must spare no effort in ridding all humanity, and above all our children and grandchildren, from the threat of living on a planet that will be hopelessly damaged by human activity and whose resources will no longer be sufficient to meet their needs.

22. We reaffirm our support for the principles of sustainable development, including those set out in Agenda 21 agreed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.

23. In this regard, we are determined to adhere to the new ethic of caring and responsible attitude towards nature in all our environmental activities and, to begin with, declare our determination:

make every effort to ensure the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol, preferably by the tenth anniversary of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 2002, and to begin the greenhouse gas emissions reductions it envisages;
intensify our collective efforts for forest management, conservation of all types of forests and sustainable development of forestry;
pursue full implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity and ;
stop unsustainable exploitation water resources, developing water management strategies at the regional, national and local levels that promote equitable access to water and its sufficient supply;
intensify cooperation to reduce the number and consequences of natural and man-made disasters;
provide free access to information about the human genome.

V. Human rights, democracy and good governance

24. We will spare no effort to promote democracy and strengthen the rule of law, and to ensure respect for all internationally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development.

25. We are therefore determined:

fully respect and support the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
to seek the full protection and promotion in all our countries of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights for all;
strengthen the capacity of all our countries to implement the principles and practices of democracy and respect for human rights, including the rights of minorities;
combat all forms of violence against women and implement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;
take measures to ensure respect and protection of the human rights of migrants, migrant workers and members of their families, stop the increasing manifestations of racism and xenophobia in many societies and promote greater harmony and tolerance in all societies;
collectively strive for greater openness in political processes, creating conditions for genuine participation by all citizens in all our countries;
provide funds mass media freedom to perform their essential function; and the public's right of access to information.

VI. Protecting the Vulnerable

26. We will make every effort to ensure that children, as well as all civilians who suffer the most as a result of natural disasters, genocide, armed conflict and other humanitarian emergencies, are provided with every assistance and protection with a view to their speedy return to normal life .

Therefore, we are determined:

expand and strengthen activities to protect civilians in complex emergency situations in accordance with international humanitarian law;
strengthen international cooperation, including burden-sharing and coordination of humanitarian assistance to countries hosting refugees; and assist all refugees and displaced persons to voluntarily return to their homes in safety and dignity and to reintegrate smoothly into their societies;
Encourage the ratification and full implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its optional protocols on the involvement of children in armed conflict and the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

VII. Meeting Africa's Special Needs

27. We will support the strengthening of democracy in Africa and assist Africans in their struggle for lasting peace, poverty eradication and sustainable development, thereby bringing Africa into the mainstream of global economic development.

28. We are therefore determined:

fully support the political and institutional structures of emerging democracies in Africa;
stimulate and support regional and subregional mechanisms for conflict prevention and promotion of political stability and ensure a reliable flow of resources for peacekeeping operations on the continent;
take special measures to address poverty eradication and sustainable development in Africa, including debt relief, improved market access, increased official development assistance (ODA) and increased foreign direct investment (FDI) flows, as well as technology transfer;
help Africa build its capacity to curb the HIV/AIDS pandemic and other infectious diseases.

VIII. Strengthening the United Nations

29. We will make every effort to make the United Nations a more effective tool to solve all these priorities: the struggle for development for all the peoples of the world, the fight against poverty, ignorance and disease; fighting injustice; combating violence, terrorism and crime; and combating the degradation and destruction of our common home.

30. We are therefore determined:

reaffirm the centrality of the United Nations as the main deliberative, decision-making and representative organ and enable it to play this role effectively;
to intensify our efforts to carry out comprehensive reform in all its aspects;
continue to strengthen, building on its recent achievements, in order to help it fulfill the role assigned to it in the Charter;
strengthen in order to ensure justice and the rule of law in international affairs;
encourage regular consultation and coordination between them in the performance of their functions;
ensure that the Organization is provided, on a timely and predictable basis, with the resources it needs to fulfill its mandates;
urge the best use of these resources, in accordance with clear rules and procedures agreed by the General Assembly, for the benefit of all Member States, through the use of the most effective methods management and advanced technologies and by focusing efforts on those tasks that are consistent with the agreed priorities of Member States;
promote compliance with the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel;
Ensure greater policy coherence and further improve interaction between the United Nations, its agencies, the Bretton Woods institutions and other multilateral bodies to ensure a fully coordinated approach to peace and development issues;
continue to strengthen cooperation between the United Nations and national parliaments through their world organization- Inter-Parliamentary Union - in various fields, including peace and security, economic and social development, international law and human rights, democracy and gender issues;
provide greater opportunities for the private sector, non-governmental organizations and civil society in general to contribute to the achievement of the goals and programs of the Organization.

31. We request the General Assembly to regularly review progress in the implementation of the provisions of this Declaration and request Secretary General publish periodic reports for consideration by the General Assembly and as a basis for further action.

32. We take this historic opportunity to reaffirm that the United Nations is the indispensable common home of all humanity and that through it we will strive to realize our common desire for peace, cooperation and development. We therefore solemnly pledge our full support for these common goals and declare our determination to ensure their achievement.

"United Nations Millennium Declaration" (Adopted by General Assembly resolution 55/2 of 8 September 2000)

"United Nations Millennium Declaration"

I. Values and principles

1. We, the Heads of State and Government, gathered at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 6 to 8 September 2000, at the dawn of the new millennium, to reaffirm our faith in the Organization and its Charter as the inviolable foundations of a more peaceful, prosperous and a just world.

6. We believe that a number of fundamental values will be essential to international relations in the 21st century. These include:

Liberty . Men and women have the right to live and raise their children in human conditions, free from hunger and fear of violence, oppression and injustice. The best guarantee of these rights is a democratic form of government based on broad participation and the will of the people.

Equality . No person and no country should be denied the benefits of development. Equality of rights and opportunities for men and women must be guaranteed.

Solidarity. Global problems must be addressed with a fair distribution of costs and burdens, in accordance with fundamental principles of equality and social justice. Those who suffer or are least favored deserve help from those who are most advantaged.

Tolerance. With all the diversity of religions, cultures and languages, people must respect each other. Differences within and between societies should neither be feared nor persecuted, but should be cherished as humanity's greatest asset. A culture of peace and dialogue among all civilizations should be actively promoted.

Respect for nature. The protection and rational use of all living organisms and natural resources must be based on prudence in accordance with the tenets of sustainable development. Only in this way can we preserve for our descendants the enormous wealth that nature has given us. Current unsustainable production and consumption patterns must be changed for our future well-being and the well-being of our descendants.

General Duty. The responsibility for managing global economic and social development and addressing threats to international peace and security must be shared among the peoples of the world and carried out on a multilateral basis. The United Nations, as the most universal and representative organization in the world, must play a central role in this.

7. To translate these shared values into concrete action, we have identified key goals to which we attach particular importance.

II. Peace, security and disarmament

9. We are therefore determined:

to strengthen respect for the principle of the rule of law, both in international and domestic affairs, and in particular to ensure that Member States comply with the decisions of the International Court of Justice, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, in any cases to which they are parties;

enhance the effectiveness of the United Nations in maintaining peace and security by providing it with the resources and tools it needs for conflict prevention, peaceful dispute resolution, peacekeeping operations, post-conflict peacebuilding and reconstruction. In this regard, we take note of the report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations and request the General Assembly to promptly consider its recommendations;

strengthen cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations in accordance with the provisions of Chapter VIII of the Charter;

ensure compliance by participating States with treaties in areas such as arms control and disarmament, and international humanitarian and human rights law, and encourage all States to consider signing and ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court;

take concerted action to combat international terrorism and accede as soon as possible to all relevant international conventions;

redouble our efforts to implement our commitment to curb the world drug problem;

intensify our efforts to combat transnational crime in all its aspects, including human trafficking and smuggling and money laundering;

minimize the adverse effects of United Nations economic sanctions on innocent populations; ensure that such sanctions regimes are regularly reviewed; and eliminate the adverse consequences of sanctions for third parties;

to strive for the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear weapons, and to keep open all available options for achieving this goal, including the possibility of convening an international conference to determine ways and means of eliminating the nuclear threat;

take concerted action to stop the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, especially through greater transparency in arms transfers and support for regional disarmament measures, taking into account all recommendations of the upcoming United Nations conference on the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons;

call upon all States to consider acceding to the Convention on the Prohibition of Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer anti-personnel mines and their destruction, as well as the amended Mine Protocol to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.

III. Development and poverty eradication

12. In this regard, we are committed to creating, both nationally and globally, an environment conducive to development and poverty eradication.

adopt, preferably before the start of this Conference, a set of measures to ensure duty-free and quota-free access to their markets for virtually all exports of least developed countries;

initiate, without further delay, an expanded program of debt relief for highly indebted poor countries and agree to write off all official bilateral debt of these countries in exchange for their strong commitments to combat poverty;

and provide more generous development assistance, especially to those countries that are truly trying to use their resources to reduce poverty.

17. We are also committed to addressing the special needs of small island developing States by implementing the Barbados Program of Action and the decisions of the twenty-second special session of the General Assembly expeditiously and fully. We urge the international community to ensure that the specific needs of small island developing States are taken into account when developing the vulnerability indicator.

18. We recognize the special needs and challenges of landlocked developing countries and urge both bilateral and multilateral donors to increase financial and technical assistance to this group of countries to meet their special development needs and help them overcome challenges arising from their geographical location by improving their transit transport systems.

19. We are also determined:

halve by 2015 the proportion of the world's population living on less than a dollar a day and the proportion of people suffering from hunger, and halve by the same date the proportion of the world's population without access to safe drinking water, including due to lack of funds;

ensure that, by the same date, children around the world, both boys and girls, have the opportunity to complete a full primary school education and that girls and boys have equal access to all levels of education;

by the same date, achieve a reduction in maternal mortality by three-quarters and mortality among children under 5 years of age by two-thirds compared with their current levels;

by the specified date, stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other major diseases that affect humanity, and begin a trend towards reducing their incidence;

provide special assistance to children who have lost their parents due to HIV/AIDS;

by 2020, achieve significant improvements in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers, as envisaged by the Slum-Free Cities initiative.

20. We are also determined:

promote gender equality and women's empowerment as effective means of combating poverty, hunger and disease and promoting development that is truly sustainable;

develop and implement policies that give young people around the world a real chance of finding decent and productive work;

encourage the pharmaceutical industry to make essential medicines more widely available and accessible to all who need them in developing countries;

build strong partnerships with the private sector and civil society organizations for development and poverty eradication;

Take measures to ensure that everyone can benefit from new technologies, especially information and communications technologies, in accordance with the recommendations contained in the 2000 ECOSOC Ministerial Declaration.

IV. Protecting our shared environment

22. We reaffirm our support for the principles of sustainable development, including those set out in Agenda 21 agreed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.

23. In this regard, we are determined to adhere to the new ethic of caring and responsible attitude towards nature in all our environmental activities and, to begin with, declare our determination:

make every effort to ensure the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol, preferably by the tenth anniversary of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 2002, and to begin the greenhouse gas emissions reductions it envisages;

intensify our collective efforts for forest management, conservation of all types of forests and sustainable development of forestry;

strive for full implementation of the Convention on biological diversity and the Convention to Combat Desertification in those countries experiencing severe drought and/or desertification, especially in Africa;

stop the unsustainable exploitation of water resources by developing water management strategies at the regional, national and local levels that promote equitable access to water and its sufficient supply;

intensify cooperation to reduce the number and consequences of natural and man-made disasters;

provide free access to information about the human genome.

V. Human rights, democracy and good governance

25. We are therefore determined:

fully respect and support the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

to seek the full protection and promotion in all our countries of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights for all;

strengthen the capacity of all our countries to implement the principles and practices of democracy and respect for human rights, including the rights of minorities;

combat all forms of violence against women and implement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;

take measures to ensure respect and protection of the human rights of migrants, migrant workers and members of their families, stop the increasing manifestations of racism and xenophobia in many societies and promote greater harmony and tolerance in all societies;

collectively strive for greater openness in political processes, creating conditions for genuine participation by all citizens in all our countries;

ensure the freedom of the media to perform their essential function, as well as the public's right to access information.

VI. Protecting the Vulnerable

Therefore, we are determined:

expand and strengthen efforts to protect civilians in complex emergencies in accordance with international humanitarian law;

strengthen international cooperation, including burden-sharing and coordination of humanitarian assistance to countries hosting refugees; and assist all refugees and displaced persons to voluntarily return to their homes in safety and dignity and to reintegrate smoothly into their societies;

Encourage the ratification and full implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its optional protocols relating to the involvement of children in armed conflict and the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

VII. Meeting Africa's Special Needs

28. We are therefore determined:

fully support the political and institutional structures of emerging democracies in Africa;

stimulate and support regional and subregional mechanisms for conflict prevention and promotion of political stability and ensure a reliable flow of resources for peacekeeping operations on the continent;

take special measures to address poverty eradication and sustainable development in Africa, including debt relief, improved market access, increased official development assistance (ODA) and increased foreign direct investment (FDI) flows, as well as technology transfer;

help Africa build its capacity to curb the HIV/AIDS pandemic and other infectious diseases.

VIII. Strengthening the United Nations

29. We will make every effort to make the United Nations a more effective instrument for all these priorities: the struggle for development for all the peoples of the world, the fight against poverty, ignorance and disease; fighting injustice; combating violence, terrorism and crime; and combating the degradation and destruction of our common home.

30. We are therefore determined:

reaffirm the centrality of the General Assembly as the main deliberative, decision-making and representative organ of the United Nations and enable it to play this role effectively;

to intensify our efforts to carry out comprehensive reform of the Security Council in all its aspects;

continue to strengthen the Economic and Social Council, building on its recent achievements, in order to help it fulfill the role assigned to it in the Charter;

strengthen the International Court of Justice to ensure justice and the rule of law in international affairs;

encourage regular consultation and coordination among the principal organs of the United Nations in the performance of their functions;

ensure that the Organization is provided, on a timely and predictable basis, with the resources it needs to fulfill its mandates;

urge the Secretariat to make the best use of these resources, in accordance with the clear rules and procedures agreed by the General Assembly, for the benefit of all Member States, through the use of the best management practices and advanced technologies, and by focusing efforts on those tasks that are consistent with the agreed priorities of States -members;

promote compliance with the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel;

ensure greater policy coherence and further improve interaction between the United Nations, its agencies, the Bretton Woods institutions and the World Trade Organization, as well as other multilateral bodies, in order to ensure a fully coordinated approach to peace and development issues;

continue to strengthen cooperation between the United Nations and national parliaments through their world body, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, in various fields, including peace and security, economic and social development, international law and human rights, democracy and gender issues;

provide greater opportunities for the private sector, non-governmental organizations and civil society in general to contribute to the achievement of the goals and programs of the Organization.

31. We request the General Assembly to regularly review progress in the implementation of the provisions of this Declaration and request the Secretary-General to publish periodic reports for the consideration of the General Assembly and as a basis for further action.

The United Nations Millennium Development Goals are eight goals that all 191 UN member states agreed to achieve in 2015. The United Nations Millennium Declaration, signed in September 2000, commits world leaders to combating poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women. All MDGs derived from this Declaration have specific targets and indicators.

The eight Millennium Development Goals:

eliminate extreme poverty and hunger;
provide universal primary education;
promote gender equality and empower women;
reduce child mortality;
improve maternal health;
fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases;
ensure environmental sustainability; And
build a global partnership for development.

All MDGs are interdependent, all MDGs affect health, and health affects all MDGs. For example, better health makes children able to learn and adults able to earn a living. For achievement better health gender equality is necessary. Tackling poverty, hunger and environmental degradation has a positive impact on achieving the MDGs, but results in these areas also depend on gains in health.