OUTLINING RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND KEY PRIORITIES

Consumption and production patterns are becoming increasingly global in nature and international cooperation is needed to enable societies to shift towards more sustainable lifestyles. The Marrakech Process was established to map out a process to achieve sustainability in consumption and production. The aims of the process are on the one hand to develop a 10-year framework of programmes (10YFP) to promote Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) in developed, emerging and developing regions. On the other hand the Marrakech Process aims at meeting the challenges of implementing sustainable lifestyles in society.

 

Making the Marrakech Process Work

The first International Expert Meeting on the 10-Year Framework of Programmes for SCP was held in Marrakech, Morocco, in June of 2003. During the 2003-2005 period eight further regional expert meetings were jointly organized in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Latin America. Among its first activities the CSCP drafted a discussion paper that served as a background document for the second Regional Expert Meeting on the Marrakech Process in San José, Costa Rica in September 2005. Entitled "Making the Marrakech Process Work" the discussion paper provided an outline of recent developments and SCP priorities at the global level.

 

Reviewing and Considering Scope of Action and Areas for Cooperation

The background paper discussed essential priorities to enhance sustainable consumption and production at an international and regional perspective. Key sectoral priorities for SCP were identified as energy, solid and hazardous waste, water and sanitation as well as urban planning and mobility. Additional identified priorities included a need for improved international cooperation, an assistance for developing countries and a recommendation for a review of the scope of the ten-year framework for SCP.

 

An understanding of the linkages between SCP and poverty alleviation and the need to develop and test SCP policy instruments were also identified as critical needs. Finally, the paper stated the importance of strengthening delivery mechanisms – awareness raising, training and capacity building for key actors at local and national levels.

 

Background

The paper was jointly prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Division for Sustainable Development of UN-DESA, and the UNEP/Wuppertal Institute Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP).