The consultation workshop was held in preparation for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD)\/Rio+20 June 2012. The session was jointly organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in its capacity as co-chair of the One UN Joint Programme on Environment and the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).<\/p>\n
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UNDP Country Director Toshihiro Tanaka said that rapid population increase calls for wise decisions on the use of available resources as more and more people are becoming dependent for their lives and livelihoods on already depleting natural resources. <\/p>\n
Former Ambassador Shafqat Kakakhel, UNDESA Consultant for Pakistan\u2019s Preparations for UNCSD, stated that the objective of the consultation was to secure renewed political commitment towards sustainable development based on the progress in implementation of previous summits on sustainable development and the new and old emerging challenges. <\/p>\n
Advisor on Climate Change and Development Dr Ishfaq Ahmed emphasised that strengthening implementation capacity on the ground is critical and the government and multilateral agencies can play a pivotal role in this regard. <\/p>\n
Former VC Quaid-i-Azam University and Member SDPI Board of Governors, Prof. Dr Qasim Jan, said that SDPI has contributed to the work of the Planning Commission\u2019s Task Force on Climate Change and the formulation of the National Environment Policy in recent years. It is represented on the Advisory Group on Climate Change and Development. He added that the substantive and logistic support extended by SDPI, in collaboration with the UNDP, is perfectly in line with the mandate and goals of SDPI. After the Rio summit, SDPI will join the government and other key stakeholders in ensuring the effective implementation of the outcomes of the conference.<\/p>\n