Commission on Sustainable Development: year-end update.

The history of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) is given in brief. A summary is provided of the plans for the Fourth Meeting of the CSD and of international conferences and activities related to sustainable development. Specific conference topics were consumption patterns, financial resources, the integration of environmental and development issues into decision making, information on sustainable development, legal means, forests, biological diversity, oceans, and chemical safety. Activities of the Second Committee of the 50th UN General Assembly are described. The discussion of Item 96 and Agenda 21 in the Second Committee is summarized. Discussion of items 171, 25, and 218 are also summarized in country-specific statements. A UNCED follow-up resolution, which included a request for a comprehensive assessment of progress on Agenda 21, was adopted on December 12, 1995. Other related resolutions are described. Upcoming events for 1996 are identified as the Ad Hoc Intersessional Working Group meetings, the Second Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests, the Fourth Session of the CSD, and other CSD-related intercessional meetings such as those on technology transfers for Africa and Small Pacific Island States. Official documentation of CSD activities is identified as available on the World Wide Web. Preparations for the 1997 special session of the General Assembly and special coverage of the CSD were added to the International Institute for Sustainable Development's Linkages World Wide Web site. UNCED's Agenda 21 called for the creation of the CSD as a follow-up mechanism for implementation at the national, regional, and international levels. The fourth meeting of the CSD is scheduled for April, 1996. The High-Level Advisory Board on Sustainable Development met during May, 1995, to discuss mobilizing financing for sustainable development, enhancing cooperation within the UN system, and building alliances with non-UN partners.