2005/2006 Annual Report - IISD...2005/2006 Annual Report Le Rapport annuel 2005/2006 de l’Institut...

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E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://www.iisd.org

Printed in Canada on recycled paper, June 2006 > Editor: Stuart Slayen, Manager, Publishing and Communications, IISD

Design: 23 Below Graphic Design > Proofreading (English): Lael Dyck > Translation (English to French): Sylvie Sabourin > Printing: Premier Printing

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1 Our Mission and Vision

2 Feature: The Change I Seek

6 From the President

7 From the Chair

8 Board of Directors

9 The IISD Team

10 Feature: Turning the Spotlight on the Wealthy Cow

12 Feature: A Youthful Perspective on Governance

14 Feature: Valuing and Valuating the Essentials of Life

15 Measuring Our Own Performance

16 Trade and Investment

19 Economic Policy

20 Sustainable Natural Resources Management

22 Measurement and Assessment

24 Knowledge Communications

26 Climate Change and Energy

28 Reporting Services

30 Auditors’ Report

31 Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

32 Consolidated Statement of Operations

33 Note on Funding Arrangements

34 Schedule of Operations by Activity Area

35 Schedule of Designated Grants Committed

36 Philanthropy for Innovative Thinking

1S O L U T I O N S

The International Institute for Sustainable Developmentcontributes to sustainable development by advancing policyrecommendations on international trade and investment,economic policy, climate change and energy, measurement andassessment, and sustainable natural resources management.Through the Internet, we report on international negotiationsand share knowledge gained through collaborative projectswith global partners, resulting in more rigorous research,capacity building in developing countries and better dialoguebetween North and South.

IISD’s vision is better living for all—sustainably; its mission isto champion innovation, enabling societies to live sustainably.IISD is registered as a charitable organization in Canada andhas 501(c)(3) status in the United States. IISD receives coreoperating support from the Government of Canada, providedthrough the Canadian International Development Agency(CIDA), the International Development Research Centre(IDRC) and Environment Canada; and from the Province ofManitoba.The Institute receives project funding fromnumerous governments inside and outside Canada, UnitedNations agencies, foundations and the private sector.

OUR MISSION AND VISION

IISD WEB STATISTICSFrom April 1, 2005, to March 31, 2006, IISD experienced anenormous amount of traffic on its research Web site atwww.iisd.org and on its Reporting Services Linkages Website at www.iisd.ca. Some highlights:

www.iisd.orgSuccessful page requests: 23,816,265Document downloads: 1,572,394 total files

www.iisd.caSuccessful page requests: 41,387,019Document downloads: 2,757,654 total files

Mailing ListsIISD runs a number of e-mail lists with subscribers from allover the world. Our current accumulated subscriber base is35,140, an increase of over 5,000 since March 31, 2006.Visit http://www.iisd.org/mailinglists.asp to learn about—and subscribe to—our lists.

IISDReportInside2006(E) 7/6/06 3:24 PM Page 1

2

Aaron Cosbey,Associate andSenior Advisor

I want more peopleto know what needs

to be done to make the world abetter place. I’m not looking forconsensus on my world view; I’d be delighted if more peopleunderstood the issues, yetdisagreed with me on solutions. Iwant the guy next to me at the coffeeshop to know that climate change isgoing to affect him and his kids, andthat he and I, and the coffee shopowner, and the coffee growers andour public officials all need to dosomething about it.This is theultimate challenge of our work: to gobeyond understanding problems toraising awareness. Until we do, weare planting single trees, whenwhat’s needed is a forest.

Marlene Roy,Research and LearningResources

The world is full ofcreative energy. Every day I see andhear about people harnessing theirown energy and working with natureto create a better quality of life. I'mcontinually astonished by whatpeople are able to accomplish.Yet, inmany places, destructive forcesdominate, many of them wielded bypowerful people against others andnature. I believe that in ourincreasingly populated andinterconnected world that human-induced destruction—especially offragile ecosystems—is a luxury wecan no longer afford. I would like to see a world where ordinary peopleeverywhere have the freedom to tapinto their own creative energy andbring about the changes they would liketo see to improve their quality of life.

Darren Swanson, Project Manager/Officer

As societies, wetend to manage

what we measure, and we measurewhat we care about. Imagine a futurewhere governments, be they local ornational, operate an Internet-basedsystem of information continuallytracking the current state of oureconomic, social and environmentalwell-being. Imagine that with aclick of the mouse, you could viewtrends of conditions that yourcommunity has collectivelyidentified as important to yourcurrent and future well-being. Andimagine that your government plansand manages their programs andprojects based on the ability to affectimprovement in these veryconditions. Experience over the past25 years tells us that progress towardsustainable development cannot becharted in advance, but rather it mustbe navigated through a process oflearning and adaptation.* To navigatethis critical journey we need real-timeinformation on the direction we aregoing and how fast we are gettingthere.This is the world I imagine andthe change I seek.* National Academy of Science 1999. Our common journey: Atransition towards sustainability. National Academy Press:Washington, D.C.

THECHANGEI SEEK

F E A T U R E :

IISD’s performance is driven by people. And our people are driven by deep convictions about correctinga troubled world. The collective passion of the IISD team is the foundation of an institute so sharplyfocused on achieving change. The following thoughts of IISD staff and associates capture the IISDspirit and the commitment to promoting change.

IISD people share their passion

C R E AT I V I T Y


3

Jason Potts,Associate

The combinedforces ofglobalization and

trade liberalization have establishedeconomic rationality as the supremeauthority in international relations.When the very institutions that define“who we are”absorb and embody thevision of humans as homo economicus,we risk losing the capacity to care forthose who lack economic “voice,”ofwhich the poor and the environmentare only too evident as examples. Theeffort to build a sustainable tradingsystem fundamentally rests onasserting the primacy of care andcompassion for others, which is tosay, the primacy of the very thingwhich makes us human—this is thechange I seek.

Damon Vis-Dunbar,CommunicationsAssistant, GlobalSubsidies Initiative

In the summer of2005, I spent a number of weeks inan elementary school in Vancouver,while producing a radiodocumentary on democratic habits inCanada. A grade five class on theeast side of Vancouver was making aspecial effort to master the art ofcitizenship. Day one of my visitbegan with a lively debate on theenvironmental costs and economicbenefits of fish farms in BritishColumbia. Some children talkedmore than others; a few spokeeloquently while others struggled tomake sense. But all spoke withpassion and all listened with interest.A change akin to the chemistrytaking place in that class of nine-year-olds would do much to fosterthe more specific goals IISDadvocates in the name ofsustainable development. It’s achange we seek when wecommunicate our work in a way thatsparks a response, and then listencarefully to the reply.

“I WANT THE GUY NEXT TO ME AT THECOFFEE SHOPTO KNOW THAT CLIMATECHANGE IS GOING TO AFFECT HIM AND HIS KIDS…”


4

Wanhua Yang,Senior Advisor(China)

To me, it’s clear thatthere will be no

sustainable development withoutdevelopment in the South; andsustainable development cannotbe achieved without changes inproduction and consumptionpatterns in the North, or withoutsignificant changes in the worldeconomy and world system. I amvery proud to work with a group ofvery dedicated people at IISD.Through working with our globaland local partners, we contribute tosustainable development byinfluencing policy towards changesby governments and in the worldsystem, we seek a better dialoguebetween North and South, and weshare best sustainable developmentstrategies, experience, practice andinformation worldwide.

Carissa Wieler,Project Officer

The change I seek inthe world is similarto the change I seek

in myself—that we become better atobserving and listening beforemaking complex and far-reachingdecisions. Globally, our diverseplanetary life conditions and valuesystems contribute to uniquesituations and challenges. Responsesthat appropriately address complexinteractions and, at the same time,are simple to implement, are mostneeded. These solutions are farfrom ready made, and I believethe turning point comes as wegrow in conscious awareness—ofthe world around us and in us.And this calls for observing, listeningto and even embracing ourselves,each other and all life on our verydynamic and beautiful planet.

Maja Andjelkovic,Associate

The twentiethcentury broughtmodernization,

industrialization and inspiration toscience, business, art and culture, butnot without serious harm to theenvironment and billions of people.Today, everyone seems aware of theneed to appropriately respond to theseharmful developmental effects.Sustainable development is oftenconsidered to be such a response.But when we talk about sustainabledevelopment, we must think not of acountermeasure to the damage done,but of the character of our era. Ourtime should not simply be known as apost-industrial, or an information age.If we are to develop further scientifically,economically and culturally, we mustmove toward a time of sustainable andresponsible development. Only thenwill our century and our millenniumhave a distinct character and anenduring purpose.

“…WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, WE MUST THINK NOT OF A COUNTERMEASURE TO THE

DAMAGE DONE, BUT OF THE CHARACTER OF OUR ERA.”

T R A N S F O R M AT I O N


5

Chris Spence,Deputy Director,Reporting Services

The old adage,“knowledge is

power,”has become so overused inrecent years it has almost ceased tohold any meaning. Which is ashame, really, because it’s morerelevant now than when FrancisBacon first penned it five centuriesago. But in the modern age of“information overload,”“spin”and“hype”, it can often be hard toidentify whether so-called“knowledge”is real, or just smokeand mirrors. For the past 14 years,IISD’s Reporting Services has beenon a mission to create transparency,openness and genuineunderstanding about key UNnegotiations on environment anddevelopment. As the manager of itsclimate team and editor of itsLinkages publication, I am committedto providing our 45,000 readers withthe highest quality information andanalysis.The people who read ourreports are not just anyone.They aredecision-makers and power brokersin governments, the private sector,academia, and intergovernmentaland non-governmentalorganizations. Our reports informthese people. And with climatechange now viewed as the greatestthreat of the 21st century, realknowledge on this topic is crucial.We may not have visited the world’s“danger zones”or post-disaster areaslately, but the work we do to ensurethat decision-makers have neutral,balanced, and independentinformation and analysis does makea difference. We inform and educate.And when it comes to a threat asterrifying as climate change,understanding is everything. FrancisBacon has never been so right.

Deborah Murphy,Associate

Mahatma Gandhi isreputed to have said,“I must first become

the change I seek in others.”And thisis the change I seek in the world—acommitment to change at theindividual level, which in turn can bea force for positive transformation atthe societal level. It’s easy to opt forconvenience over the moreenvironmentally-friendly alternative;especially in Canada where life iseasy and the “right”choice caninvolve time, effort and expense. Ican’t change the world—a sadrealization gained over time—butI, and all individuals, can makechange at the personal level andwork toward increasedcommunity, national and globalconsciousness of the environmentaland societal effects of our actionsand choices.

Michelle McLaren, Project Officer

The change I seekaround the worldwill take the

awareness, belief and caringconscious choices of each individual.It will require the necessity of findinga balance between work andpersonal life. With peace of mind, weare healthier and better able to valuethe simple things and to appreciateour surroundings, which are madeup of complex interdependentrelationships both in nature and athome.This may lead to a greaterwillingness to decrease our footprint,promote equality and improve ourenvironment by consuming less andconserving more.Those whoinfluence change will need toacknowledge repercussions andmake decisions with integrity,focusing on the benefits of sustainingthe well-being of all things. Witheach careful choice that we makewe may be able to realize thechanges that will save our world.

“AND THIS IS THE CHANGE I SEEK IN THE WORLD—A COMMITMENT TOCHANGE AT THEINDIVIDUAL LEVEL…”


6

This has been a turbulent year. Oiland other commodity prices appearset to stay at, or near, historic highs.International trade negotiations hit amajor bump in Hong Kong andappear to be stalled. And theprogress that was made at theclimate talks in Montreal in late 2005could only be described as a successbecause expectations were so low.

The special session of the UnitedNations last fall pointed out how farbehind the world is in meeting theMillennium Development Goals. Andthe Millennium EcosystemAssessment, published in 2005,illustrates the magnitude of the threatsfaced by the world’s natural systems.

Faced with the enormity of theseproblems, what can a smallinstitution like IISD do to make theworld a better place? The answer isto think strategically.

More than 10 years ago, we chose toinvest in making the internationalenvironmental negotiations processmore transparent and more effective.You can see the results of theseefforts in the section of this reportoutlining the accomplishments of

the Reporting Services team at IISD:240 editions of the Earth NegotiationsBulletin; an audience of 45,000readers of the ENB and otherReporting Services products; andthe launch of a new service fundedby South Africa—a developingcountry—to report on developmentsin Africa. We are also working withthe Danish government to developand promote suggestions to reformthe international environmentalgovernance system.

In our work on Trade andsustainability, we have long arguedthat the trading system is biased infavour of developed countries andthat the trading system would not beable to promote sustainabledevelopment until more equitableagreements were reached. OurGlobal Subsidies Initiative will revealthe extent to which subsidies arecreating an unlevel playing field forpoorer countries and will makerecommendations for improvement.Our Model International Agreement onInvestment for Sustainable Developmentsets out the basis for a newrelationship between investors andhost governments. And the serviceswe are providing to developingcountries will help them in theirnegotiations with developedcountries for fairer bilateralinvestment agreements.

Much has been written about theemergence of China and India onthe world stage. We have beenworking closely with the Chinesegovernment and with Chineseacademic institutions to buildChina’s capacity to develop tradepolicies that promote sustainabledevelopment. Our most recentproject will articulate a sustainabletrade policy for China’s Ministry of

Commerce and will examine theenvironmental impacts of China’strade in certain sectors on the rest ofthe world.

As energy prices rise and sciencebecomes even more certain aboutthe impact of our activities on theglobal climate system, the need fordecisive action on climate changebecomes more urgent. No matterwhat one thinks of the KyotoProtocol, it is at its best, a baby stepon the road to serious emissionsreductions. Our Climate Change andEnergy team is working to developnew paths after Kyoto expires in2012.They are working to integrateclimate and energy issues moredeeply into foreign policy and tointegrate concerns for energysecurity into climate policy. And theyare working to help developingcountries adapt to the realities of achanging climate.

The Millennium EcosystemAssessment pointed out that theworld’s drylands will be underincreasing pressure from climatechange and increased population.IISD’s head office lies at the edge ofthe prairie drylands. Risingtemperatures; and increasingdemand for water from the energyindustry, urban areas and agriculturalintensification, combine withnegative farm incomes to create agrowing crisis of water managementon the Great Plains. Our SustainableNatural Resources Managementteam is developing new techniquesfor community management ofnatural resources through integratedwater resources management andthe valuation and purchase ofecosystem services from farmers.

Our Measurement and Assessmentteam is working to design bettersocial indicators for Canada’s ruralareas and to develop robusttechniques to measure the costs and

P R O G R E S S

I N F O R M AT I O N

FROM THEPRESIDENT


7

In June 2005, I was honoured to be appointed Chair of IISD. Since then, I have gained adeeper appreciation of the talent and dedication of theexecutive staff and my fellow Board members.

IISD has become a unique and important fixture on a crowded institutional landscape.There are many co-existing NGOs, civil society organizations andorganizations who deal with stresses produced bydemographic change, environmental degradation andsocial inequity. Into this mix IISD adds the realities ofglobalization and the challenges to our world resultingfrom conflict, religious intolerance and human exploitation.

IISD and its allies are making a difference by buildingcapacity to advance the sustainability agenda; lendingclarity and definition to the issues; and assessingpathways to addressing the challenges of trade and theenvironment, climate change and global warming. Wealso make a unique contribution by providing reportingservices for a number of multilateral forums. I havepersonally witnessed what a valuable service IISDprovides with the dedication of graduate students fromdifferent countries in covering these meetings for theEarth Negotiations Bulletin. Their effectiveness at theMontreal Conference of the Parties in December 2005 inrecording and communicating the daily results ofmeetings was a force majeure.

I want to acknowledge the leadership of DavidRunnalls—an individual of intellectual integrity and atireless advocate for IISD and its priorities. Also to myfellow Board members who have, to the last man andwoman, impressed me with their individual passion andcontributions. I extend my special thanks to ElizabethMay and my predecessor as Chair, Jacques Gérin, whoretired from the IISD Board this year after years ofenthusiastic service.

I would be remiss were I not to thank my Vice-Chair,Jim Carr, and the fundraising staff of Nancy Folliott and Sue Barkman for their particular contribution insuccessfully raising the funding to match the corefunding provided by governments and agencies.

A job well done in achieving another successful year.

Daniel GagnierChair of the Board

FROM THE CHAIR

benefits of new agricultural practices.It is cautiously opening the door to adialogue on sustainabledevelopment with the hermitkingdom—North Korea.

Many have pointed out that thedistinguishing factor in sustainabledevelopment is its intergenerationalaspects. We continue our program toinvolve Canada’s youth in thesolution of these global problemsthrough our internship program,now in its tenth year, housed in our

Knowledge Communications program.We have worked with young peopleto involve them in the WorldSummit on the Information Societyand its 2005 event in Tunis.

I remain convinced that we canmake a difference. I remain skepticalabout the ability of formalinternational institutions to makeprogress on these issues without alively and critical mass of institutionssuch as IISD to do the appliedresearch, to apply the pressure and

to make the process as open andtransparent as it can be.

David RunnallsPresident and Chief Executive Officer

D E V E L O P M E N T


8

IISD BOARD OF DIRECTORS2005 | 2006

ADVISORY PARTICIPANTSNorm Brandson, Deputy Minister,Water Stewardship, Province ofManitoba

Paul Vogt, Clerk of the ExecutiveCouncil, Province of Manitoba

Samy H. Watson, Deputy Minister,Environment Canada

Maureen O’Neil, President,International DevelopmentResearch Centre

Paul Thibault, President, CanadianInternational Development Agency,(Retired May 2005)

Robert Greenhill, President,Canadian InternationalDevelopment Agency

DISTINGUISHED FELLOWSArthur J. HansonJim MacNeill, Chair EmeritusMaurice Strong

FOUNDING CHAIRLloyd McGinnis

FRIENDS OF THE INSTITUTEGro Harlem BrundtlandJosé GoldembergSir Shridath Ramphal

Daniel Gagnier Chair (Canada)

David Runnalls President (Canada)

Stephanie Cairns (Canada)

James Carr (Canada)

Angela Cropper (Trinidad & Tobago)

John Forgách (Brazil)

Christian Friis Bach (Denmark)

Jacques Gérin (Canada) Retired June 2005

Chuck Hantho (Canada)

Nicolas Imboden (Switzerland)

Huguette Labelle (Canada)

LaxanachantornLaohaphan

(Thailand)

Elizabeth May (Canada) Retired June 2005

Gordon McBean (Canada)

Mark Moody-Stuart

(United Kingdom)

Khawar Mumtaz (Pakistan)

Robert Page (Canada)

Jane Rigby (Canada)

MohamedSahnoun

(Algeria)

The Rt. Hon.Edward R. Schreyer

(Canada)

Mary Simon (Canada)

Tensie Whelan (United States)

VA L U E S

PA R T N E R S H I P


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STAFFJaved AhmadRod AranedaStephan BargLori BeattieSue BertrandOli BrownJodi BrowneCarolee BucklerGracia ChiassonHeather CreechDiane ConollyDennis CunninghamJohn DrexhageAnantha DuraiappahLael DyckPernille FengerCindy FilliettazNancy FolliottJanice GairBill GlanvilleLangston James

Goree VI “Kimo”Karen GouldingIsabelle GowryDebbie Xiaolin GuoMark HalleAnne HammillPeter HardiJennifer HirschfeldRobert JonesFabienne Kalifat TurnerJason MackiJason ManaigreKristen ManaigreClarita Martinet-FayStacy MatwickMichelle McLarenRoselle MikoChristina MoffatCatherine MuirJo-Ellen ParryRachel ParryAnita PennerJacqueline PilonLászló PintérMarcela RojoMarlene RoyDavid RunnallsJae Il Ryu

Ian SeymourJuan SimónStuart SlayenChris SpenceDarren SwansonBritany ToewsHenry VenemaDamon Vis-DunbarShannon WentzCarissa WielerTerri Willard Michelle WowchukJiahua YangWanhua Yang

ASSOCIATESMark AnielskiSabina AlkireMaja AndjelkovicGraham AshfordSue BarkmanWarren BellAsmita BhardwajDavid BoyerPamela ChasekLouise ComeauAaron CosbeyPeter DickeyTony HodgeHoward MannAlanna MitchellDeborah MurphyNorman MyersAdil NajamJason PottsTom RotherhamEmma Lisa SchipperSabrina ShawRon SteenblikIan ThomsonSimon UptonJohn Van Ham

SENIOR FELLOWSKeith BezansonPeter HardiRichard MatthewRobert SlaterKonrad von Moltke*Ola Ullsten

IISD REPORTINGSERVICES STAFFLori BeattiePam ChasekLangston James

Goree VI “Kimo”Diego NogueraMarcela RojoChris SpenceJiaHua Yang

IISD REPORTINGSERVICESCONSULTANTS Soledad AguilarKaren AlvarengaAsheline AppletonAndrew BaldwinIngrid BarnsleyNienke BeintemaAsmita BhardwajDan BirchallAlice BisiauxEmily BoydRobynne BoydAndrew BrookeRachel CarrellXenya ChernyAlexandraConliffeAlexis ConradDeborah DavenportRichard de FerrantiFrancisDejonRado DimitrovPeter DoranSocorro EstradaAngeles Estrada VigilBo-Alex FredvikMongi GadhoumAnders Goncalves da SilvaLeonie GordonMaría Gutiérrez Reem HajjarTwig JohnsonHarry JonasStefan JungcurtKuhasantisuk KhemarosPia KohlerKati KulovesiMarsel KuzyakovMaria Larsson OrtinoWilliam McPhersonLeila MeadLavina MontiAmber MoreenElisa MorgeraMiquel Muñoz CabréLaurel A. Neme

Diego NogueraRenata RubianNicole SchabusLisa SchipperSabrina Shaw CannabravaSarah Stewart JohnsonElsa TsioumaniJames Van AlstineCecilia VaverkaAndrey VavilovLynn WagnerHugh WilkinsNancy Joan WilliamsPeter John WoodKunbao XiaSarantuyaa Zandaryaa

INTERNSPhilip AkinsHeather ArnoldDominique AugerAndrew AzizHana BoyeTara CarmanLinda DavisLeanne DmyterkoMonica DominguezDolma DongtotsangDaniel FlohKelli FraserMichelle FrenchClaudia GarciaBobbie Jo GreenlandKaterina GrigoryevaSerge KoinovCynthia LauSara LyAlexander MacdonaldMeghan McKennaOren MizrahiJennifer PouliotteRenata RubianVictoria SheppardLaurel SteinfieldRobin UrquhartDamon Vis-DunbarSusan Weston

*Konrad von Moltke passed away in May 2005.A collection of tributes was

prepared in his honour and is available athttp:///www.iisd.org/pdf/2006/remembering_konrad.pdf

M E M B E R S O F T H E I I S DT E A M T R U LY R E F L E C T AD IVERS ITY OF BACKGROUNDS,TA L E N T S A N D I N T E R E S T S .T H E F O L L O W I N G P E O P L ES E R V E D W I T H T H E I N S T I T U T ED U R I N G T H E 2 0 0 5 / 2 0 0 6F I S CAL YEAR :

THE IISD

TEAM

Y O U T H


1 0

It’s an uncomfortable fact that cows inthe EU earn more than millions offarmers in the developing world—afact that makes plain the sheer levels ofinequality that exist between countries.And, perhaps even more important,it is one explanation for why manypoor countries are developing moreslowly than they could be, or failing todevelop altogether. It’s partly aproblem of subsidies.

One effect subsidies can have isoverproduction. In the absence ofsubsidies, producers would do theirbest to gauge the market’s appetite.Yet subsidies often create an incentiveto produce more than this, even whenthe market cannot absorb the excess.

That excess is often sold overseas,cheaply, undermining localproducers: a practice termed“dumping.”In West Africa, forexample, cheap beef and dairyproducts from the EU have seriouslyhindered the ability of local farmersto raise and sell beef at a profit—even as Western aid agencies areengaged in trying to encourage meatproduction in these countries.

This is just one instance of thenegative impact governmentsubsidies are having on the economy.Subsidies can also work toundermine the environment.Moreover, there is often very littletransparency—and therefore littlescrutiny and debate—in the waythese billions of dollars of publicfunds are spent.

THE GSI – PROMOTINGSUSTAINABILITY THROUGHSUBSIDY REFORM

Building upon IISD’s earlier work onsubsidies, the Global SubsidiesInitiative (GSI) will be taking a

comprehensive approachto addressing the problemof harmful subsidiesthrough wide-rangingresearch, and targetedcommunications andpolitical outreach.

“Much of what we do atthe GSI involvespromoting greatertransparency,”saysResearch Director, Ronald Steenblik.“This is really our starting point. Inmany cases, data on subsidies aresimply not made available bygovernments.”

The second step is asking whetherthese subsidies are sustainable, eitherin terms of trade, the environment orpublic finance. If the answer is no,then the GSI will also ask howgovernments should go aboutreforming them. As such, the GSI’sresearch will not sit on the shelf—itwill be put into the hands of thepublic and policy-makers in order toeffect real, tangible reform.

Subsidy reform can be immenselychallenging. Subsidies quicklybecome viewed as entitlements, andget built into the assumptionsfarmers, fishers or industries makewhen investing in their businesses.

"While issues like corruption or theevasion of environmental regulationsattract immediate and easycondemnation, the sheerordinariness of handingover subsidies seems to blunt publicconcern about what's at stake,”saysSimon Upton, GSI Project Director.“But the environmental damage and

lost development opportunities thatsubsidies can leave in their wake aretoo profound to be ignored.TheGlobal Subsidies Initiative is allabout turning a spotlight on the realdamage subsidies can do."

“While there is huge potential toraise public awareness about harmfulsubsidies,”says Javed Ahmad, GSI’sDirector of Communications,“theGSI’s goal is to act as a fair broker ofpublic information as well as aconvener for balanced public debate.”

A new GSI Web site will beinaugurated this summer, designedto reach a broad audience of experts,journalists and concerned citizens.The GSI is also re-launching theSubsidy Watch news bulletin.Thismonthly collection of news,commentary and research will keepan audience of experts andconcerned citizens informed on thelatest developments in policy andresearch on subsidies.

Meanwhile, an ongoing effort isbeing made to help journalists—boththose familiar with the issue andthose new to it—to report onharmful subsidies.The former will beprovided with expert contacts anddata. For the latter, the GSI isdeveloping an internationaljournalists’training program on howto understand subsidies and theireffects, designed and taught byprofessional journalism instructors,and tailored both to geographicregions and levels of expertise.These

IISD’s Global Subsidies Initiativeexamines the impact of subsidies onsustainable development

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

TURNINGTHE SPOTLIGHT ON THEWEALTHYCOW

F E A T U R E :

By Damon Vis-Dunbar


1 1

will help reporters from around theworld tackle the issues, ask the rightquestions and uncover new stories.

INTERNATIONAL ACTION TOPROMOTE DOMESTIC CHANGE

The key to effective subsidy reform infavour of sustainable development isto match action at the international,multilateral level with coordinatedeffort at the domestic level.The GSIreceives invaluable guidance andsupport from a 13-member high-level Advisory Group (see sidebar).These people are in tune with thepolitical climates in their homecountries, while enjoying respect andinfluence on theinternational stage.

The GSI also engagesinter-governmentalorganizations in an effortto promote effectivesubsidy reform,particularly the WorldTrade Organization(WTO), which, with amembership of 149countries, is the onlyglobal organization that

deals in the internationalrules that govern the useof subsidies.

In June 2006, the GSI and WTO co-hosted a successful workshop onwhat models can tell us about thewelfare gains from liberalizing trade.As the WTO’s Doha round ofnegotiations lumbers slowly towardsa consensus on new rules forliberalizing trade, such as reductions

in tariffs, domestic support andexport subsidies, there is significantdebate over whether developingcountries can expect to benefit froman agreement.

“The models provide answers to thisquestion, but there is a lot ofconfusion and uncertainty aboutwhat those answers are,”saysSteenblik.“By bringing together theworld’s top modellers and tradenegotiators, we hoped to bring someclarity to the debate.”

Notably, this meeting of modellersmarked the first time the WTO hasco-hosted a workshop with a non-

governmentalorganization.

Given its mandateto act as an honestbroker, bringingtogether diverse

strands of research,political persuasionand public opinion,the Global SubsidiesInitiative hopes tobuild the criticalmass of consensusneeded for

widespread reforms to subsidy regimesacross economic sectors, politicalspectrums and geographic areas.

For more information, seehttp://www.iisd.org/subsidies/

Damon Vis-Dunbar is theCommunications Assistant for IISD’sGlobal Subsidies Initiative.

R E F O R M

HIGH-LEVEL ADVISORY GROUP: IISD’S GLOBAL SUBSIDIESINITIATIVE

Dr. Isher Judge AhluwaliaChair of Board of Trustees of the InternationalFood Policy Research InstituteAmbassador Nobutoshi AkaoFormer Japanese Ambassador to WTO;Chairman of the ASEAN-JAPAN CentreDr. Kwesi BotchweyExecutive Chairman of the AfricaDevelopment Policy Ownership Initiative;Former Minister of Finance, GhanaDr. Rebeca GrynspanDirector of the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme's Regional Bureau of LatinAmerica and the Caribbean; Former SecondVice-President of Costa RicaH.E. Mats HellströmGovernor of Stockholm Province; Chair of theSwedish Institute for European Policy Studies;Former Minister of Trade, SwedenDr. Prof. Celso LaferUniversity of São Paulo; Former Minister ofForeign Affairs, BrazilDr. Norman MyersScientist-Economist, University of Oxford, U.K.Dr. Sylvia OstryDistinguished Research Fellow, Munk Centrefor International Studies, University of TorontoDr. Ismail SerageldinDirector General of Bibliotheca Alexandrina;Former Vice-President of the World Bank forEnvironmentally and Socially SustainableDevelopmentProf. Dr. Dr. h.c. Horst SiebertAGIP Professor at the Johns HopkinsUniversity Centre in Bologna; PresidentEmeritus of the Kiel Institute; Member of theEU Council of Economic AdvisersThe Honorable Paula SternFormer Chair of the U.S. International TradeCommissionRt. Honourable Simon Upton (Project Director)

Chair of the Round Table on SustainableDevelopment at the OECD; Former Ministerof Environment, New ZealandH.E. Minister Gerrit ZalmNetherlands Minister of Finance“…THE ENVIRONMENTAL

DAMAGE AND LOST DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES THAT SUBSIDIES CAN LEAVE IN THEIR WAKE ARE TOO PROFOUND TO BE IGNORED.”


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A YOUTHFULPERSPECTIVE ONGOVERNANCEIISD program promotes effective governancewith the help of young Canadians

F E A T U R E :

By Alanna Mitchell, IISD Associate

Monica Dominguez moved to Indialast year, worked in Bhutan and thenfell passionately in love with theCanadian civil service.

Dominguez, 27, who has a Masters ofPublic Administration from theUniversities of Winnipeg andManitoba, was part of IISD’s EmergingLeaders for Governance (ELG)program this year.The program isdesigned to export the enthusiasm ofCanada’s young people to developingcountries to help those countries buildbetter systems of governance.

Dominguez was in Canada lastsummer working in an unfulfilling jobwhen she heard about the ELGprogram through a listserv of theWorld University Service of Canada.

She was intrigued by the thought ofhaving a new experience and applied,signing on for a six-month stint ofservice overseas. Part of her job was to

help the Royal Government of Bhutanfoster access to government servicesamong the poor and rural.

Still, Dominguez wasn’t prepared forwhat she found in Bhutan.

The tiny mountain kingdom to thenortheast of India had only recentlyopened its borders to television andthe Internet. Dominguez, who has along-term interest in how citizensand their governments connect witheach other, hadn’t realized how littleaccess to government informationmany citizens in some isolatedcountries have.

Her experience in Bhutan openedher eyes.

“In Canada, I, personally, am amiddle-class woman who is educated,and can get information very quickly

about government and business,”shesays.“I didn’t see where there was agap for others. But in Bhutan, I didunderstand some of the differences.”

As part of her job, Dominguez set up awiki, or interactive Web site. Shedesigned it to create betterrelationships between Canada’sInternational Development ResearchCentre (IDRC), which was doing workin the country, and the RoyalGovernment of Bhutan. (Seehttp://www.dit.gov.bt/idrcwiki/index.php/Main_Page)

Dominguez would have stayed inIndia long-term had family mattersnot prompted her to return to Canadain March. But her experience in Indiaand Bhutan has made her long towork in the Canadian civil service, andto help all people get access to suchnecessities as health care.

IISD sent MonicaDominguez (left) andMichelle French to Asiaand Europe to look atgovernance from a fresh,electronic perspective.

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As a result, in May 2006 she started athree-year internship with theManitoba government, where she willrotate through departments so she cancome to understand how each oneworks. She’s particularly interested inManitoba’s north.

“Working with the government inBhutan was completely exhilarating forme,”she says.“The work was just soencouraging.”

Michelle French, 27, learned a greatdeal about herself last year, too.

Another participant in the ELG program,French took a post at the RegionalEnvironmental Center for Central andEastern Europe in Szentendre, just northof Budapest, Hungary.

The Center was established in 1990 bythe United States, the EuropeanCommission and Hungary. It isdesigned to help solve environmentalproblems in Central and EasternEurope by supporting the free exchangeof information and public participationin decisions about the environment.

French’s revelation came when sherealized the disparity in standard ofliving among European countries.The25 members of the European Union aredoing well. But those not yet part of theunion—many of which are in the east—are struggling with poverty and want.

“There’s a shocking difference,”saysFrench, who has a Master’s degree injournalism from Carleton University.“The divide is still there. People in theeast feel shut out of Europe.There’sthe sense of a bruised ego.”

French became impassioned aboutencouraging people to participate,whether through getting informationon such issues as waste, waterpollution and environmentalsustainability or through access tothose making the decisions.

It also made her determined to stayinformed about her own country.

“I came to realize how important it isto me to be politically active,”she says.

While she doesn’t rule out workingabroad again to share her experience,she’s decided to apply her talents toher home country.

“People here need help,”she says,pointing to such issues as risinggreenhouse gas concentrations, theloss of species, the problems of wasteand recycling.“It’s important that wetry to figure out how best to use ourresources in a way that doesn’toverexploit them.”

Since she got back from Hungary inMarch, she’s been devouringnewspapers and applying for jobs.She’s decided to take a short-termcontract in Corner Brook,Newfoundland, with CBC Radio.

Moving to a small town inNewfoundland doesn’t faze her afterhaving lived in Hungary for the sixmonths of her internship.

“It was a really challengingexperience,”she says.“It matures youin terms of what you are capable ofdealing with.”

The ELG program is supportedthrough Canada Corps, a program ofthe Canadian government managedby the Canadian InternationalDevelopment Agency.

Each leader must be a citizen orpermanent resident of Canada betweenthe ages of 19 and 40. Each must bekeen to experience new cultures and beinterested in electronic governanceissues. Each post lasts for six months.

The program is one of several IISDprograms aimed at encouraging thenext generation of Canadian talent inthe field of sustainable development.Over the past several years, IISDprograms have sent more than 300highly educated young Canadians intothe international arena, many of whomnow have leading positions in the field.

IISD’s youth programs are aimed atnurturing a new generation ofsustainable development leaders. IISDseeks to foster key talents includingthe ability to innovate, collaborate andcommunicate.

International demand is high forleaders in sustainable developmentwith these skills. IISD has pledged tomake sure that Canada’s newgeneration of leaders in sustainabledevelopment will be highly skilled andeffective as they participate in policy-and decision-making.

“WORKING WITH THEGOVERNMENT IN BHUTAN WASCOMPLETELY EXHILARATING FORME. THE WORK WAS JUST SOENCOURAGING.”

IISD’S YOUTH PROGRAMS ARE AIMED ATNURTURING A NEW GENERATION OFSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT LEADERS.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON IISD’S INTERNSHIPPROGRAMMING, FOLLOW THE LINKS:

Emerging Leaders for Governancehttp://www.iisd.org/leaders/elg/

Young Canadian Leaders for a Sustainable Futurehttp://www.iisd.org/interns/

The Circumpolar Young Leaders Programhttp://www.iisd.org/interns/arctic/

T R A N S F O R M AT I O N


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VALUING AND VALUATING THE ESSENTIALSOF LIFE

L E V E R A G E

F E A T U R E :

By Stephan Barg (Sr. Corporate Advisor and Sr. Project Manager) and Henry David Venema (Director, Sustainable Natural Resources Management)

Humanity depends on theavailability of ecological goodsand services.The air webreathe, the food and waterthat build and sustain us areall produced by ecosystemsat various scales—from localto global.

We can break down the variousaspects of ecological goods andservices into four categories, followinga model used in the MillenniumEcosystem Assessment:• supporting services (nutrient

recycling, soil formation and primary production);

• provisioning services (food,freshwater, wood and fibre,and fuel);

• regulating services (climate regulation, flood regulation, disease regulation, and water purification); and

• cultural services (aesthetic, spiritual,educational and recreational).

While there are methodological,technical and indeed philosophicaldebates regarding the definition, itcaptures an essential truth: humanityderives essential value from theecosystem, and that value is not oftencalculated or understood economically.But how can we put a dollar value onthe essentials of life? In some sense,their value is infinite, because wedepend on them for life itself. But inanother sense, it is very useful to tryto calculate the value of changes inthe mix or quality of ecological goodsand services.That is, a small ormarginal change in the quality orquantity of the good or service, has acost or a benefit that can becalculated, at least in principle.For example, if the air becomespolluted, people suffer from asthmaattacks.There are costs to theindividual, in terms of health andcomfort, and there are also costs to thehealth care system, in terms ofhospital admissions, medications andso on. In addition to the humanhealth costs, there may beenvironmental damage to crops or

forests, which can also have significantcosts. On the other hand, if air qualityis improved, there are commensuratebenefits. And while our estimates ofthe value of ecological goods andservices are always partial, it’s clearthat it makes more economic sense tomaintain pristine watersheds than torely on expensive capital infrastructureand technology to provide us withclean water.Appreciating the value of ecologicalgoods and services is importantbecause many decisions are madelargely on the basis of economics, andif there are no economic data onenvironmental issues, then the issuesget left out of the decision.There has been a recentstrengthening of the trend supportingvaluation of ecological goods andservices. One of IISD’s Boardmembers, Angela Cropper, served asCo-chair of the Assessment Panel ofthe Millennium EcosystemAssessment, which has driven thedebate. It has examined ecosystemservices, and developed a frameworkfor analyzing them at all levels. Byclarifying the links between theecosystem and human well-being, theMillennium Ecosystem Assessmentalso clarifies the methods by whicheconomic valuation figures can beused in decision-making.In Canada, a recent conference onecological goods and services inagriculture focused on the valuation ofthe services provided by the ecosystem,and how agriculture may affect them.Manitoba is home to a unique pilotstudy, the Alternative Land Use Servicesprogram, that rewards farmers forproviding ecosystem services—for thewildlife habitat they maintain, for theirrestraint of water erosion, for the beautythey bring to the Canadian landscape.There are other experiments withpayment systems under way inAustralia, which may serve as usefulmodels for Canada to consider.IISD welcomes renewed policyinterest in the essential truth thathuman well-being is dependent onwell-functioning ecosystems—and that

the financial value of ecological goodsand services needs to enter ourunderstanding of the economy andhow to manage it. IISD is rapidlydeveloping a broad research program inEcological Goods and Services Valuationand the closely related concept ofNatural Capital, with a particular focuson prairie agricultural and waterresources, watershed management, andthe economic costs and benefits ofchanges in farming practices.

How do we place a dollar value on clean air, pure water and other essentialsources of life provided by our ecosystem? And why should we?

Some sample values:•According to a study by IISD AssociateMark Anielski, the annual non-marketvalue of ecosystem services providedby Canada's boreal ecosystem isabout CDN$93 billion (2002 dollars),which was about eight per cent ofCanada's 2002 GDP—but this value isnot counted as part of Canada's GDP.The most important constituents of thevaluation were flood control and waterfiltering by peat lands ($77 billion), andpest control by birds ($5.4 billion).

•Professor Nancy Olewiler of SimonFraser University estimates theecosystem values of example naturalareas at $22,832 for a hectare ofestuary; $8,498 for a hectare of lakeor river; $2,007 for a hectare oftemperate or boreal forest; and $232for a hectare of grass or range lands.

•In a 1997 article in Nature, RobertCostanza and co-authors estimate thatthe combined value of selectedecosystem services is at least US$33trillion per year globally.

WHAT'SNATUREWORTH?


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A C C O U N TA B I L I T Y

Five years ago, we set out to monitor,assess and report on our progresstoward achieving sustainabledevelopment in our operations.Knowing that we had much to learn,we modestly chose four indicators inour first year. Over time we addedmore, resulting in 10 indicators acrosseconomic, environmental and socialdimensions. We ambitiously set 34targets in our first four reports: 16 forenvironmental measures; five foreconomic measures; and 13 for socialmeasures. A look back over the pastfive years shows that we achievedalmost half of these targets; andmade notable progress on anadditional 11.

One of our successes has been theestablishment of an internal carbon

emissions tracking system andpurchase of carbon offsets (see Table1).This initiative has propelled otherssuch as working with like-mindedorganizations to pool our emissionswith theirs, resulting in larger offsetpurchases and hence a greaterinvestment in sustainabledevelopment.

Several targets for the socialdimension were also achieved.Notable is the launch of the Trainingand Development Fund, aninvestment in our human capital. Overthree years this fund has disbursedover $53,000.00 to 54 employees.

Some targets remain elusive, though.Two stand out. First are those relatedto tracking innovation, an indirecteconomic indicator.The indicators we

initially developed were not telling uswhat we needed to know to makebetter management decisions, andthey are currently being re-worked.

The second target relates to genderequity. In this case the indicators arefine, but actually achieving targets isan ongoing challenge given that weare a fairly small organization withlittle staff turn-over. We have,however, made some progress inclosing the gender gap for researchand Reporting Services staff and theBoard of Directors (see Table 2).

Overall we have made progress inthe past five years. Our initial effortsfocused on relatively easy targets toidentify and achieve. Since then, wehave moved into more difficultterrain as we tackle less tangibleindicators such as level of innovation.But more important, by monitoringprogress and setting targets we havebeen able to provide direction that haspositively affected IISD’s operations.

Our complete 2005–2006sustainability report is available athttp://www.iisd.org/about/sdreporting/

MEASURING OUR OWN PERFORMANCE

By Marlene Roy, Team Leader, Internal SustainableDevelopment Assessment and Reporting

A sustainable development institute must act sustainably

Total C02 emissionsReporting Year (metric tons) Offset

2002/03 375 Yes2003/04 980 Yes2004/05 1,105 Being finalized2005/06 1,031 Being finalized

TAB

LE1

2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06

53% 47% 48% 52% 47% 53% 53% 47%

78% 22% 78% 22% 77% 23% 78% 22%

41% 59% 35% 65% 37% 63% 51% 49%

22% 78% 22% 78% 20% 80% 20% 80%

n/a n/a 38% 62% 35% 65% 42% 58%

Overall

TABLE 2 - GENDER EQUITY

Administrative, Accounting and Technical Services

Research and Reporting Services

Corporate Management and Program Directors

Board of Directors

Female Male


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Responding to a longstanding concern withgovernment subsidies that undermine sustainabledevelopment, IISD launched the Global SubsidiesInitiative (GSI) in 2005. Meeting in Hong Kong lastDecember, the GSI Secretariat and its High-levelAdvisory Group approved an ambitious program ofresearch, communications and political outreach. Amajor initial GSI effort is focusing on subsidies todomestic production of liquid biofuels. Promoting theseas cleaner, more secure alternatives to gasoline andpetroleum diesel, some industrialized countries areusing subsidies and import barriers to ensure that mostbiofuels are produced from domestically grown crops.Consequently, exports of bio-ethanol and bio-dieselfrom lower-cost developing countries have beenreduced to a trickle. See our feature story on page 10,and visit http://www.iisd.org/subsidies/

Launched in 2002, the Sustainable Commodity Initiative(SCI) is designed to improve the social, environmentaland economic sustainability of commodities productionand trade by promoting global strategies, sector bysector. Work began in the coffee sector, with theformation of the Sustainable Coffee Partnership. In 2005,the SCI’s work included the following: researching thecosts of making the transition to sustainable practice inselected growing regions; helping to establish the"Financing Alliance for Sustainable Trade," an associationof financial service providers committed to sustainableproduction and trade; and facilitating dialogue amongstakeholders on the integration of sustainabilityobjectives within the International Coffee Agreement.See http://www.iisd.org/trade/commodities/sci_coffee_partnership.asp

One of the central objectives of the Convention onBiological Diversity is to regulate both the access togenetic resources and to ensure that the benefits fromthe use of these resources are equitably distributed. Thedetails of how this is to be achieved, however, havealways proved elusive and controversial. The Access andBenefit Sharing Management Tool project promotes theuse of the Tool among a broad set of stakeholders tocreate opportunities and a model for sharing benefits

between biodiversity providers and users. Our ultimategoal is to ensure that the commercial use of geneticresources, and other biodiversity products, results ineconomic benefits for local communities and naturalareas from where these resources are extracted. TheTool is available in Spanish, French and English. The ABSteam has been working with industry and stakeholdersin field testing and refining the ABS tool. The results ofthese tests and revision of the tool will be presented inautumn of 2006. See http://www.iisd.org/abs/

Since 2000, a joint project between IISD and IUCN –The World Conservation Union has focused on theways in which trade in natural resources cancontribute to violent conflict and on the role offoreign aid in accelerating or alleviating thisdownward spiral. Our recent research has investigatedthe options available to domestic and internationalpolicy-makers. This work was distilled into six policybriefs which we launched at the December 2005 HongKong meeting of the WTO. We have since presented ourrecommendations to influential audiences including theU.K. and European parliaments, the Canadian Ministryof Foreign Affairs and the OECD. At the end of 2006 weplan to collate our research into a book titled, Aiding,Trading or Abetting? The Future of Trade, Aid and Security.Read the policy briefs at http://www.iisd.org/security/tas/research_ko.asp

A project made possible by IISD's Innovation Fundexplored the security implications of China'senvironmental challenges. A workshop of experts inWinnipeg examined the dimensions of the problem.Their discussions were developed into a paper thatanalyzed the impact of China's growth on local,

TRADE AND INVESTMENTDirector, Mark Halle

PA R T I C I PAT I O N


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regional and global stability withreference to four key resources:energy, water, air and forests. Thepaper raises important questions:How will China secure theresources it requires if it is tofulfil its ambition of becoming theworld’s leading trading power?Can tensions be reduced betweenChina and its neighbours throughcooperation over sharedresources and environmentalconcerns? And what, if anything,should the international communitydo to promote better environmentalmanagement in China? Read thepaper at http://www.iisd.org/pdf/2006/tas_growing_risk.pdf

IISD is in the process of renewingan agreement with the SwissAgency for Development andCooperation (SDC) to provide"backstopping" services on tradeand investment. This is a kind of

standing contract that covers IISD'scosts in responding to periodic callsfor advice and service provision toSDC on a range of trade issues and,since the last contract period, forinvestment issues as well.Theservices include participating ininternal meetings (and evenparticipating with SDC and as part oftheir team in external meetings);training courses; briefing papers;policy analyses; commentary onSwiss policy positions or drafts;and regular contact and dialogue.The relationship has brought us closeto one of our key funding sources.

But it has also proved useful inhelping SDC understand the whysand wherefores of our ownpriorities, leaving them moreinclined to provide support forthese. The new two-year agreementis the third, and comes in at a recordlevel. It is fair to say that we havebecome privileged partners of SDCin this important policy area.

In April 2005, IISD launched itsModel International Agreement onInvestment for SustainableDevelopment at the home of theCommonwealth Secretariat inLondon, England. Since then, theModel Agreement has led to a jointmeeting in July 2005 of theCommonwealth and Francophoniein Paris to consider the relevance ofthe Model Agreement to theEuropean Community negotiationswith the developing countries of theCommonwealth and Francophonieunder the Cotonou Agreement.(Continued on page 18)

C H A N G E

R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y


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The Model has now, in fact, movedto the heart of at least three of thosenegotiations as they relate toinvestment, and meetings are stillscheduled with other regionalgroups. IISD legal associates havebecome direct advisors to thedeveloping country regions in thiscontext. In addition, the ModelAgreement has achieved significantimpacts in the NGO community,particularly in Europe where it hasbeen seized upon by a range oforganizations to lobby individualgovernments (U.K., Germany,Switzerland and others) as well asorganizations like the OECD as itrelates to investment law and policy.It was the subject of presentations byIISD staff and associates inWashington, Geneva, Amsterdam,Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Brisbane,Jamaica, London and others,culminating with it being part of thediscourse in two panels at theAmerican Society of InternationalLaw's 100th anniversary meeting inMarch 2006.The Model Agreementhas in many ways already achievedits objective: it has re-fashioneddebate from a reactive view againstall investment negotiations towardsthe IISD view of the need for abalanced set of investor and stateobligations working towards makinginvestments a positive contributionto sustainable development indeveloping countries.

Five years ago, IISD beganpublishing Investment Treaty News(formerly INVEST-SD: the InvestmentLaw and Policy News Bulletin). Sincethen, the newsletter has establisheditself as a leading chronicler of therapidly-evolving legal regimes thatgovern foreign direct investment.ITN specializes in tracking thenegotiation of internationalinvestment treaties and investor-state disputes. Thousands of thesetreaties have been negotiated withlittle transparency, despitesignificant public policyimplications. While a small number of investment

treaty disputes grab theheadlines, the vast majority goesunder the public radar. ITN worksto bring these cases to light,through rigorous, investigativejournalism. Its impartial and timelyreporting has become anindispensable resource for a diverseand fast-growing audience of NGOs,lawyers and policy-makers. Seehttp://www.iisd.org/investment/itn/

IISD GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THE GENEROSITY OF THEFOLLOWING SUPPORTERS OF OUR WORK IN TRADE ANDINVESTMENT IN 2005–2006:China Council for International Cooperation on Environment andDevelopment > Commonwealth Secretariat > Department of ForeignAffairs and International Trade > Eco-Accord > Friedrich Ebert Stiftung >Health Canada > Industry Canada > International Development ResearchCentre > Mott Foundation > Netherlands: Ministry of Finance >Netherlands: Ministry of Housing > New Zealand: Ministry of ForeignAffairs and Trade > Norway: Ministry of Foreign Affairs > NorwegianAgency for Development Cooperation > Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development > Oxfam America Inc. > RockefellerFoundation > Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs > SustainableDevelopment Policy Institute > Sweden: Ministry of Environment >Swedish International Development Agency > Swiss Agency forDevelopment and Cooperation > Switzerland: Agency for the Environment,Forests and Landscape > Switzerland: State Secretariat for EconomicAffairs > United Nations Conference on Trade and Development > UnitedNations Development Programme > United Nations EnvironmentProgramme > United Nations Office for Project Services > United StatesAgency for International Development > Worldwatch Institute

TRADE AND INVESTMENT (CONTINUED)

E N V I R O N M E N T


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Two global initiatives that started in 2000 each resultedin a progress report that was published in 2005. One,the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, found that 60per cent of ecosystem services assessed were beingdegraded. The other, the Millennium DevelopmentGoals report, found that even though progress had beenmade, several of the poorest countries may not meetmany of their goals by 2015. Even though both reportsprovided important information to guide governmentplanning, more is needed. Hence, IISD took on two ofthe many challenges facing decision-makers. One wasto link multilateral environmental agreements todevelopment efforts; the other was to providedisaggregated information on ecosystem servicesand human well-being that can be used by policy-makers to design better interventions.

A method to measure the degree of policy coherenceamong multilateral environmental agreements as well ascoherence among MEAs and the Millennium DevelopmentGoals (MDGs) was developed. First, coherence amongfive MEAs, namely the Convention on BiologicalDiversity; Convention to Combat Desertification;Ramsar Convention on Wetlands; Convention onInternational Trade in Endangered Species; and theUnited Nations Framework Convention on ClimateChange, was measured.This was followed by a secondanalysis which measured coherence among these sameMEAs and the MDGs. Specifically, this exercise assessed thedegree to which each agreement takes account of theothers.Two papers describing the method and analysis willbe published in 2006.

A prototype Poverty-Ecosystem Report (PER) wasdeveloped under a grant from the IISD InnovationFund.The report links poverty to ecosystem services atthe national level and assesses whether human andecosystem services have improved, declined or stayed thesame over 10 years. A similar trend analysis was done forbiodiversity in country eco-regions for the same timeperiod. PER is more than a progress report, though. It alsoidentifies country-level, key human-ecosysteminteractions (drivers) and then evaluates policyinterventions listed in the country’s poverty reductionstrategy paper to determine their possible effectiveness inchanging the drivers so that poverty is alleviated andecosystem services improved.The prototype Poverty-Ecosystem Report will be published in 2006.

Dr. Anantha Duraiappah, former Director of the EconomicPolicy program, wrote a concept note for and attended thehigh-level brainstorming workshop “Creating Pro-PoorMarkets for Ecosystem Services,”which was held October10–12, 2005. The workshop considered theopportunities and possible perverse effects, especiallyin the form of exclusion of the poor, resulting from thecreation of markets for ecosystem services.The noteprovides some background information on the concept ofmarkets for ecosystem services and on work undertaken inthis field at the international level. It also raises some keyquestions regarding the desirability and feasibility ofmarkets for ecosystem services.

*Anantha Duraiappah left IISD in January 2006. A successor has not yet been named.

IISD GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THEGENEROSITY OF THE FOLLOWING SUPPORTERS OFOUR WORK IN ECONOMIC POLICY IN 2005–2006:Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute > United NationsEnvironment Programme > Winslow Foundation

ECONOMICPOLICY

Director, Anantha Kumar Duraiappah*

E N G A G E M E N T

I M PA C T


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K N O W L E D G E

The goal of IISD’s SNRM program isbuilding resilient socio-ecologicalsystems in the midst of pervasivechange and uncertainty. Climatechange and peak oil impacts are majorsources of uncertainty that will affectall aspects of modern natural resourcesmanagement. IISD believes thatadaptive management buildsecosystems resilient to shock andstress. Adaptive management viewseach management action as anopportunity to further learn how toadapt to changing circumstances—learning by judicious doing. IISD iscommitted to the research,dissemination and application ofadaptive ecosystem managementpolicies, tools and techniques thatbuild community-level resilience.The loss of ecosystem services throughimproper valuation, incentives andmisuse, conflict or disaster is a majorsource of human insecurity. Also, post-conflict and post-disaster re-construction are among the criticalopportunities for establishingecosystem management policies thatbuild resilience and improve security.

The SNRM program’s current projectsfocus on Western Canadian waterand agriculture. The Prairie WaterPolicy Symposium, held inSeptember 2005 in Winnipeg,convened 100 water experts todiscuss IISD’s research on thecumulative stressors on prairiewater and the capacity to manageadaptively. Following thesymposium, IISD produced an invitedsynthesis to the OECD reviewingagricultural water policies on theprairies; the Manitoba Department ofWater Stewardship requested thatIISD lead a long-range waterresources management strategy forthe province based on the twin pillarsof water and energy efficiency; andSNRM Director Hank Venema was

asked to teach a Water ResourcesPlanning and Management course atthe University of Manitoba. IISD isnow pursuing policy research on theconjunction of Payment for EcologicalGoods and Services, and IntegratedWater Resources Management in theCanadian prairie context. (See featurestory on page 14).

Adaptation as Resilience-building,a policy study of climate changevulnerability and adaptation on theCanadian prairies, reflects IISD’sconcern with the resilience of agro-ecological systems, their variedadaptive capacity, and the underlyingpolicies that promote or impedeadaptive capacity to, in this case,historical climate variability. Partners inthis project are the Natural ResourcesInstitute at the University of Manitoba,and the Prairie Farm RehabilitationAdministration. See http://www.iisd.org/climate/canada/prairies.asp

IISD is involved in a community-basednatural resource management initiativewith First Nations and provincialgovernments in Manitoba andOntario. IISD is assisting in developinga proposal for UNESCO WorldHeritage Site recognition for a 45,000sq km cultural landscape located in apristine section of boreal foreststraddling the Manitoba-Ontarioborder on the east side of LakeWinnipeg.The proposal is beingdeveloped by a very innovativepartnership between five First Nationsand the provinces of Manitoba andOntario.This is a unique opportunityto combine environmental stewardshipwith community-based resourcemanagement creating sustainablelivelihoods in aboriginal communities

and allowing the continuance of anintact cultural landscape that hasexisted for thousands of years.Assessments by Parks Canada andIUCN – The World Conservation Unionhave concluded that the site containssignificant cultural and natural heritagefeatures, and Parks Canada has includedthe proposed site on its tentative list fornomination. IISD has been acting assecretariat to the “Assembly,”which isthe decision-making body in which allpartners are represented.

Lake Winnipeg, one of the largestfreshwater lakes in the world, isexperiencing pollution stresses fromnutrient loadings within its enormousdrainage area. IISD, in collaborationwith the University of Manitobaand Ducks Unlimited, hasexplored the revitalization of theNetley-Libau Marsh, a large,biodiverse, but threatened wetlandscomplex on the southern edge of LakeWinnipeg. An ecosystem approach tore-developing these wetlands couldimprove biodiversity, reduce nutrientloads on Lake Winnipeg and provideeconomic co-benefits through bio-energy production. IISD’srecommendation that this concept beconsidered was subsequently adoptedby the Lake Winnipeg StewardshipBoard in its interim report to theManitoba government. Consistent withIISD’s mission of engaging the nextgeneration of sustainable developmentleaders, the SNRM program, inpartnership with the Natural Sciencesand Engineering Research Council ofCanada (NSERC), will co-fund adoctoral student at the University ofManitoba through an NSERCIndustrial Postgraduate Scholarship.

Applications of the tools andmethodologies being developed by theSNRM program extend well beyondthe Canadian prairies. For example, the

SUSTAINABLE NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENTDirector, Henry David Venema


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C O N S E R VAT I O N

methodological principles developed in“Adaptation as Resilience-building”arealso being applied in a new four-yearproject being undertaken incollaboration with IISD’s ClimateChange and Energy team and fundedby Canada’s InternationalDevelopment Research Centre (IDRC).Through the project, AdaptivePolicy-making: Linking ClimateChange, Agriculture and WaterResources, we are conductingcomparative case studies inCanada and India to examinepolicies promoting or impedingadaptive water resources andagricultural management in areas thatare historically highly exposed toclimate variability.

Our international work alsoemphasizes building community-scaleresilience to environmental stressorssuch as climate change and naturalhazards.The uniquely tragic events ofthe 2004 Asian tsunami spurredmembers of IISD's SNRM team toundertake an Innovation Fundproject—Natural Disasters andResource Rights: Building Resilience,Rebuilding Lives—which examinedthe role of resource rights (such asownership of land, and access to seaand forest products) in communityresilience to natural disasters and the effectiveness of post-disaster re-construction.The team investigatedthe role of resource rights in naturaldisasters over the past 15 years;including hurricanes Mitch, Jeanne andKatrina; landslides in Haiti; volcaniceruptions in the Philippines; theGujarat and Bam earthquakes; and theAsian tsunami, observing that when

resource rights are clearly defined,equitable and verifiable, poor andmarginalized communities arebetter equipped to survivedisasters and recover after them.Our subsequent work hastherefore focused on a survey ofhow humanitarian agenciescurrently address land tenureand land-use issues in theaftermath of disasters.

Conflict-riven areas of the world alsopresent unique opportunities forbuilding resilience to future stress.Research has also shown thatenvironmental issues provide anopening for cooperation over sharedinterests, reducing tensions betweenconflicting parties. IISD is interested inanalyzing these links in Africa’sAlbertine Rift, a region extendingthrough Uganda, Rwanda, theDemocratic Republic of Congo, Burundiand Tanzania, endowed with richbiodiversity and beset by some of theworst violent conflicts in recent history.In September 2005, IISD wasawarded a grant from theMacArthur Foundation tosystematically examine howconservation activities contribute topeace and conflict in the AlbertineRift, and use this information to helpconservation actors integrate conflictsensitivity into project planning andimplementation.An inception meetingheld in Nairobi in February 2006 hadexcellent representation from the EastAfrican conservation community.

Sudan is a fascinating case that revealsthe linkages between environmentalstressors—like climate change,resource competition and conflictemergence—and the role ofcommunity-based natural resourcesmanagement for building resilience tofuture stress. Sudan has been in a stateof civil war for much of the periodsince independence in 1956. While theconflicts are rooted in a complex arrayof identity issues, natural resourceshave also played a prominent role intriggering and prolonging these civilwars. Since the late 1970s, localcompetition for land and waterresources exacerbated by apparentclimate change (manifest as increaseddrought frequency) has fuelled the

conflict. Supported by an InnovationFund grant, IISD is examining thelinks between environment andsecurity in Sudan, and how theywill be affected by climate change.An inception meeting in Cairo inMarch 2006 convened representativesfrom the Center for UnconventionalSecurity Affairs at the University ofCalifornia, Irvine; StockholmEnvironment Institute – Boston Center;the Middle East and North Africaregional office of IDRC; and severalSudanese researchers. IISD is devisinga research program that will generateempirical evidence linking climatechange-induced natural resource stresswith conflict and a raft of major policyimplications for community-basednatural resources management andglobal environmental change policy.

IISD GRATEFULLYACKNOWLEDGES THEGENEROSITY OF THEFOLLOWING SUPPORTERS OFOUR WORK IN SUSTAINABLENATURAL RESOURCESMANAGEMENT IN 2005–2006:

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada >Environment Canada > Friends ofthe Earth Canada > InternationalDevelopment Research Centre >MacArthur Foundation > ManitobaHydro > Organisation for EconomicCo-operation and Development >Parks Canada > Province ofManitoba > Province of Ontario >Shell Canada > Suncor Energy Inc. >Swedish International DevelopmentAgency > Swiss Agency forDevelopment and Cooperation >University of Guelph > University ofRegina > Western EconomicDiversification > Winslow Foundation >The World Conservation Union(IUCN) > World Economic Forum >World Wildlife Fund (InternationalGorilla Conservation Programme)

IISD BELIEVES THAT ADAPTIVEMANAGEMENT BUILDS ECOSYSTEMSRESILIENT TO SHOCK AND STRESS.


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IISD has been working with NorthKorea’s Environment Ministry tobuild the country’s capacity foradvancing sustainabledevelopment. In November 2005,IISD arranged a 10-day workshopand study tour in Beijing with helpfrom the Chinese Society forEnvironmental Sciences and fundingfrom Canada’s InternationalDevelopment Research Centre. Itfocused on: monitoring and reportingon environmental conditions;establishing sustainable developmentstrategies; and strengtheningknowledge transfer among Canada,China and North Korea. Furthercapacity development projects are inthe works to address climate change;economic instruments forenvironmental management;measurement and assessment;renewable energy; and internationalcooperation.

When farmers change their practices,there are environmental effects, suchas more or less soil erosion, more orless carbon emitted into theatmosphere, and more or less energyuse. Is it possible to calculate theeconomic costs or benefitsassociated with those changes?

IISD has been working withAgriculture and Agri-Food Canada,a federal government department,to answer these questions. We areusing the same general method weused to calculate the economic costsof health damage due to air pollution,but the agricultural issues require newapproaches. In 2005–2006 (year three ofa five-year project), we developed aframework for valuation on a farm orsmall watershed basis. In the followingyears we will be implementing theframework and developing ways toapply it to larger areas.

Since the early 1990s, the UnitedNations Commission for SustainableDevelopment has played animportant role in trying to coordinateindicator development andintegration into policy mechanisms.In preparation for a November 2005expert workshop, the UN Division forSustainable Developmentcommissioned IISD’s László Pintér toprepare a review of sustainabledevelopment indicator trends; aretrospective on the role of the CSD’sindicator work; and the potential forthe emergence of a commonindicator framework. The Indicatorsfor Sustainable Development:

Proposals for the Way Forward reportalso outlined five alternativescenarios for the way the field ofsustainable developmentindicators and measurement mayunfold in the future. Seehttp://www.iisd.org/measure/principles/way_forward.asp

More strategic introduction ofmeasurement and assessment toolsinto everyday agricultural practice hassignificant potential for turning theglobal agriculture sector towardsustainable development.This simpleyet powerful hypothesis served as thestarting point for the first symposiumof the International Forum onAssessing Sustainability inAgriculture (INFASA). Jointlyorganized by IISD and the SwissAgriculture College in Bern in March2006, the symposium broughttogether researchers, policy-makersand farmers to discuss the design, useand potential of measurement tools.The symposium led to broadagreement that tackling emergingsustainability challenges in globalagriculture will demand a betterinformation base and bettermeasurement tools. It also concludedthat developing a global criteria andindicators process for sustainableagriculture is a concrete and worthychallenge INFASA could tackle in thefuture. See http://www.iisd.org/measure/community/infasa/

In March 2005, the Secretariat for theCanadian Sustainability IndicatorsNetwork (CSIN) was established atIISD.The purpose of the network isto provide indicator practitionersfrom across Canada with resourcesand tools to advance sustainabilityindicator practice in Canada. CSIN isbest known for its monthlyLearning Events, bringing together10-15 leading practitioners fromacross Canada to discuss pertinenttopics in the field and shareknowledge. In 2005–2006, the CSINSecretariat focused on four mainareas: cultivating an active CSINadvisory committee; continuance ofCSIN Learning Events; developmentof additional pilot resources and

Director, László Pintér

MEASUREMENT AND ASSESSMENT

A C H I E V E M E N T

INFASA participants gather in Bern to discuss agricultural indicators


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communications tools; and coordination of variousinformal opportunities for CSIN members to meet inperson (including four conferences across the country).The work completed in 2005 strengthened CSIN'sfoundation and social capital, providing elements of theplatform needed for CSIN to continue to provide currentresources and tools, and to move toward more substantivecollaborative projects. See http://www.csin-rcid.ca/

As part of IISD’s contribution to the Canadian Index ofWell-being project, funded by the Atkinson Foundation,the M&A team together with the Global FootprintNetwork have completed a pilot project, calculatingall the provincial, territorial and federal ecologicalfootprints for Canada for the first time in acomparable, methodologically sound way.Thecalculations, based on land-use consumption matrices,included several methodological innovations andaccording to the leaders of the CIW national team, eventhough we consider the results preliminary, theimportance, utility and policy relevance of the footprintcalculation is crucial and we need to move as quickly aspossible to finalize and publish the results.

To meet growing demands for public accountability andtransparency, finance departments of several provincialgovernments are now preparing annual reports for thepublic which present a suite of measures relating to keyconditions in our economy (e.g., household income); oursociety (e.g., children entering school ready to learn); andour environment (e.g., quality of water in rivers and lakes).This is an evolution from government reporting effortswhich traditionally focused on the progress of majorprograms and projects.They now also consider how theeconomic, social and environmental conditions thatmatter to citizens are changing as a result of theseprograms and other influences. During 2005–2006, theMeasurement and Assessment team worked closelywith Manitoba’s Treasury Board Secretariat to create atraining workshop for the development and use ofoutcome-based measures in government planningand reporting.The Secretariat’s move toward outcome-based planning and reporting, together with Manitoba’sprovincial sustainability reporting process, is positioningthe province to better navigate progress toward asustainable future. IISD is proud to be able to assist.

During 2005–2006, IISD was contractedby the Green Policy and IntegratedEnvironmental Monitoring Sections ofSaskatchewan Environment to carry outresearch in support of proposed

Departmental Stewardship Planning for theGovernment of Saskatchewan. DepartmentalStewardship Planning supports Saskatchewan’s goal of“Shared Responsibility, Integration and Accountability”asset out in the province’s new Green Strategy. To implementstewardship planning, Saskatchewan Environment createdan inter-departmental planning committee to develop astewardship planning template and to discuss howstewardship planning might be incorporated into theprovince’s existing departmental planning and reportingprocesses. IISD is providing expert advice.

Measuring the social dimension of agriculture is about theability of producers and their families to contribute tosustainable agriculture in the future. In the context ofongoing collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-FoodCanada, considerable progress was made in definingand developing social indicators for the agriculturesector in Canada. Key stakeholders and experts exploredpriority social issues for the sector at two consultationmeetings.This engagement process resulted in theidentification of a preliminary set of social indicators,which will be further developed in the next phase of thework. Initially, the development of social indicators willfocus on both small- and large-scale producers.The intentis to use these social indicators in Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's departmental sustainable developmentreport along with previously constructed economic andenvironmental indicators.

IISD GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THEGENEROSITY OF THE FOLLOWING SUPPORTERSOF OUR WORK IN MEASUREMENT ANDASSESSMENT IN 2005–2006:Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada > Association ofUniversities and Colleges of Canada > The AtkinsonFoundation > B.C. Hydro > Blue Plan Regional ActivityCentre > China Council for International Cooperation onEnvironment and Development > Department of ForeignAffairs and International Trade > ELTE University Officeof the Provost > Environment Canada > Government ofSaint Lucia > International Development ResearchCentre > Lake Balaton Development CoordinationAgency > Organisation for Economic Co-operation andDevelopment > Promei > Province of British Columbia >Province of Manitoba > Province of Prince EdwardIsland > Province of Saskatchewan > REC Slovakia >Scott Wilson > Statistics Canada > Support to theFormulation and Implementation of Vietnam Agenda 21 >United Nations Environment Programme > UnitedNations Headquarters > United Way > University ofManchester > Vienna University > The WinnipegFoundation > The World BankS T R AT E G Y

MORE STRATEGIC INTRODUCTION OF MEASUREMENT ANDASSESSMENT TOOLS INTO EVERYDAY AGRICULTURAL PRACTICE HASSIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL FOR TURNING THE GLOBAL AGRICULTURESECTOR TOWARD SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.


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KNOWLEDGE COMMUNICATIONSDirector, Heather Creech

IISD’s reach and impact dependupon the technologies that allow usto collaborate with our partners andto communicate our knowledge.We believe that ICTs—information and communicationstechnologies—have becomeessential tools for achievingsustainable development. We havea stake in securing their appropriateuse throughout the world.

We have been active for nearly 10years in international efforts topromote ICTs as enablingtechnologies for sustainabledevelopment—from the 1997Global Knowledge event sponsoredby the World Bank and theCanadian InternationalDevelopment Agency, through allthe stages of the recent WorldSummit on the Information Society(WSIS). We are now participatingin the debate on Internetgovernance, recognizing that theInternet has become the backbonefor global sustainable developmentdialogue, research and action.

The Internet’s security andstability must therefore bemonitored and championed by the global community.

WSIS concluded its second phase inNovember 2005, with the gatheringin Tunis of 15,000 ICT stakeholders.As a contribution to the process,IISD assembled a network ofyoung Southern researchers toexplore how ICT policy couldsupport sustainable development.Their investigations included anexamination of gender issues in theIT sector in Costa Rica; a nationalSouth African e-strategy that wouldsupport the communication of localknowledge; and the identification ofeconomic incentives for thedeployment of ICTs in support ofenvironmental management inKenya. With our support, theseresearchers had the uniqueopportunity to debate their findingswith national decision-makers andwith delegates at WSIS preparatorymeetings and in Tunis itself.We havepublished their insights in the book,A Developing Connection, available athttp://www.iisd.org/networks/wsis.asp

In addition to our work at the ICTpolicy level, we have continued tohelp other organizations use thetechnologies more effectively,through strategy development,training and evaluation services. Thisyear, we worked with UNESCO tosee how their communitymultimedia centres in Africa, Asiaand the Caribbean weresupporting local economic andsocial development, through ahybrid of community radiobroadcasting, Internet access andcomputer training. With NetcorpsCanada/International, we reviewedseven years of ICT volunteerprogramming, and the changingICT needs in developing countries.We were invited to share our insightson communications and networksinternationally (with the GlobalMechanism of the UN Conventionto Combat Desertification);

N E T W O R K I N G


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nationally (with the Canadian HealthResearch Services Foundation); and atthe local level (with the City ofWinnipeg, the home of ourheadquarters). We provided training tomembers of China’s Central PartySchool on models for collaboration andnetworking. We completed our workwith the Global Village EnergyPartnership on strategies and tools forthe management of its internationalpartnership of energy servicesstakeholders. And we started a newinternship program on e-governance,placing our interns in internationalprojects focused on using ICTs tosupport public participation indecision-making, from forestmanagement in Kenya to thestrengthening of civil society in CentralEurope to investigating youthcommunications channels across theArctic. See the feature story on page 12of this report.

IISD GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THE GENEROSITY OF THE FOLLOWING SUPPORTERS OF OUR WORK INKNOWLEDGE COMMUNICATIONS IN 2005–2006:Canada Life Securities > Canada School of Public Service > Canada World Youth > Canadian International Development Agency >Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade > The GlobalAction Network Net > Human Resources and Skills DevelopmentCanada > Indian and Northern Affairs Canada > Institute forEnvironmental Studies > Intermediate Technology DevelopmentGroup > International Development Research Centre > InternationalInstitute for Environment and Development > The WorldConservation Union (IUCN) > Lake Balaton DevelopmentCoordination Agency > Province of Manitoba > United NationsEducational Scientific and Cultural Organization > Walter andDuncan Gordon Foundation > The Winnipeg Foundation > The World Bank > World Business Council for Sustainable Development

WE BELIEVE THAT INFORMATION ANDCOMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES HAVE

BECOME ESSENTIAL TOOLS FOR ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.

D I A L O G U E

Since 1997, IISD has placed more than 300 interns around the world


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CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGYDirector, John Drexhage

It would not be using a cliché to say that on the issue ofclimate change, we live in very interesting times. Thepast year was the busiest, most successful and mostchallenging yet for IISD’s Climate Change and Energyteam, shaped largely by Canada’s decision to host the

Eleventh Conference of the Partiesto the UN Framework Conventionon Climate Change (COP-11) inMontreal in December 2005.

Four years of hard work came tofruition in 2005, culminating inthe publication of three pieces ofanalysis: Which Way Forward?

http://www.iisd.org/climate/unfccc/cop_prep.asp);Canada in a Post-2012 World (see http://www.iisd.org/climate/canada/post_2012.asp); and Realizing theDevelopment Dividend (see http://www.iisd.org/pdf/2005/climate_realizing_dividend.pdf). All threepublications were well received and demonstrated theClimate Change team’s analytical capacity and ability toconstructively develop options for going forward on thecomplex climate change issue.

In addition, IISD enjoyed an extremely strong profile atthe Montreal Climate Conference—demonstrating itsbroad appeal to the domestic and internationalcommunity. IISD personnel played an active role in themany side events held during the conference,participating in and/or hosting at least 15 panel sessions,covering the Clean Development Mechanism, post-2012regimes and implementation of the (erstwhile) Canadianplan. See http://www.iisd.org/climate/unfccc/cop.asp

One of the more significant highlights during COP-11was Development and Adaptation Days, an event co-sponsored with the International Institute forEnvironment and Development. There were standing-room-only crowds in attendance for the entire two-day, weekend event. Participants attended sessions onthe links between climate change and development; theimplication of climate change for health and disastermanagement; adaptation science; community-basedadaptation; and National Adaptation Programs of Action.See http://www.iisd.org/climate/unfccc/cop_dadays.asp

IISD also received considerable attention due to ourDevelopment Dividend project, which is helping finda meaningful place in the international carbon marketfor Clean Development Mechanism projects thatprovide significant benefits beyond greenhouse gasreductions.These include social benefits such asimproved quality of life through provision of electricity, theeconomic benefits that can accompany increased foreigndirect investment, and environmental/human healthbenefits such as improved air quality. Guided by a committed Task Force composed of 30 experts from around the world, the project plans to publish its second phase results in August 2006, and is making plans for a subsequent phase.See http://www.iisd.org/climate/global/dividend.asp

O P P O R T U N I T Y


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While the last half of 2005 was about solidifying andbroadening the appeal of IISD to domestic andinternational audiences, the new year, with a newCanadian government in place, saw a fresh set ofchallenges and opportunities ahead for the ClimateChange and Energy team. The team has been workinghard, particularly with energy associations in Canada,to share strategies on how best to constructivelysupport the new government’s efforts while ensuringthat climate change continues to grab the policyattention in Canada it requires. In particular, IISD hasbeen an active proponent of a more integrated approachto addressing climate change mitigation—one which is,for example, framed by broader discussions around thedevelopment of a national energy strategy for Canada.This approach could also enjoy benefits internationally;it likely will be much easier to get significant playerssuch as the United States, China, India and Russia tothe table focusing on energy, of which climate change isa critical element, rather than the other way around.

The Climate Change and Energy team also continues tostrengthen, in collaboration with the SustainableNatural Resources Management program, its work atthe program and policy level on vulnerability andadaptation. IISD is currently engaged in a four-yearresearch project to study the characteristics ofadaptive policies—those policies that are robust to arange of anticipated conditions but which also have theability to adapt to unanticipated circumstances. Researchis being conducted in Canada and India with our projectpartner The Energy and Resources Institute, with a focuson agriculture and water resources management. Seehttp://www.iisd.org/climate/canada/adaptive_policy.asp

The Livelihoods and Climate Change project focused onfine-tuning and testing its project management toolCRISTAL (Community-based Risk Screening Tool –Adaptation and Livelihoods). The tool represents aconcrete attempt at mainstreaming climate changeinto field projects, providing users with a frameworkfor understanding the links between climate stressand livelihoods, and ensuring that project activitiesstrengthen local coping capacity. To date, the tool hasbeen tested in Mali, Bangladesh and Tanzania. Seehttp://www.iisd.org/natres/security/ccvca.asp

As well, in partnership with the United NationsEnvironment Programme and the African Centre forTechnology Studies, IISD has begun a three-and-a-half-year project that aims to reduce the vulnerability ofcommunities in Kenya, Mozambique and Rwanda toclimate change-induced drought in the key sectorsof agriculture, forestry and energy production. Theproject will provide support for community-level actionsthat increase resilience to climate change in the shortand long term, as well as support integration of climatechange adaptation into policy- and decision-making.

At home, IISD has been solidifying and slowlyexpanding its client base to cover the governments of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario.We are exploring options for expansion in Quebecand identifying opportunities for entry into new areas ofactivity such as urban climate change and adaptation.

IISD GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THEGENEROSITY OF THE FOLLOWING SUPPORTERSOF OUR WORK IN CLIMATE CHANGE ANDENERGY IN 2005–2006:Alcan Inc. > Auditor General of Canada > CanadianInternational Development Agency > Chatham House >Climate Change Central > The Climate Group > The Delphi Group > Denmark: Royal Danish Ministry ofForeign Affairs > Department of Foreign Affairs andInternational Trade > Environment Canada > GlobalChange Strategies International Company >International Development Research Centre > ManitobaHydro (B.T.) > Margaree Consultants Inc. > MistraFoundation for Strategic Environmental Research >National Round Table on the Environment and theEconomy > Natural Resources Canada > Norway:Ministry of the Environment > Norway: Ministry ofForeign Affairs > Pew Center on Global Climate Change> Province of Alberta > Province of British Columbia >Province of Manitoba > Province of Ontario > SuncorEnergy Inc. > Swiss Agency for Development andCooperation > TransCanada PipeLines Limited > United Nations Environment Programme > United NationsOffice for Project Services > Vancity Credit Union > The World Conservation Union (IUCN) > World Wildlife Fund

T R A N S PA R E N C Y

A D VA N C E M E N T

Photo courtesy IISD/Earth Negotiations Bulletin


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In 2005, IISD Reporting Services continued to deliverunbiased information and expert analysis onenvironment and sustainable development negotiationsto its readership of 45,000 experts and decision-makers.During this period IISD RS published:

• 240 editions of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB),its flagship publication;

• 20 editions of ENB on the Side, ENB’s sister publicationfor side events;

• 43 editions of Your Meeting Bulletin, its customized publication made available at selected meetings; and

• 17 issues of Linkages Update, its fortnightly newsletter with news and updates on environment and sustainable development issues.

Aside from meeting reports, IISD RS also focused onfinding new challenges and identifying needs fromreaders to create new information resources. At the endof 2005, IISD RS started a project to launch a newpublication at the beginning of 2006: MEA Bulletin, apublication that provides readers with updates andinformation focused specifically on the activities of keyMultilateral Environmental Agreements and theirSecretariats. MEA Bulletin also provides details of newreports, announcements, meetings, implementationactivities and other news. This project was madepossible by funding from UNEP’s Division ofEnvironmental Conventions (DEC). The launch of MEABulletin also created a platform where information onMEAs can be gathered on an ongoing basis. The goalis to facilitate efforts to follow the activities of eachMEA, as well as to identify and better understand cross-cutting issues that may impact a wide range of theagreements and related negotiations. MEA Bulletin wascreated together with MEA-L, a peer-to-peer listserv for the exchange of information on MEAs.

In addition to MEA-L, IISD RS launched Oceans-L, alistserv covering ocean issues. IISD RS’s mailing listsinclude postings on policy news, announcements ofworkshops and conferences, job listings, andinformation on new publications and onlineresources. As with any of the other peer-to-peerannouncement lists that IISD hosts, any subscribercan post to this list. The lists are all moderated andonly announcements that satisfy the guidelines will bedistributed to subscribers.

Through 2005 IISD RS worked on unifying its visualidentity by creating banners and logos that follow thecorporate image design patterns to allow fasterrecognition from users and subscribers.Visithttp://www.iisd.ca/email/subscribe.htm to subscribe toany of the IISD RS lists.

REPORTING SERVICESDirector, Langston James “Kimo” Goree VI

C O L L A B O R AT I O N


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IISD RS and the Department of EnvironmentalAffairs and Tourism of South Africa started a newthree-year project to begin coverage to regionalenvironmental policy meetings in Africa. This projectis the start of the expansion of the Earth NegotiationsBulletin (ENB) from the international to the regionallevel. This first “module”will cover meetings of ministersin Africa on sustainable development, environment,water, energy and transport. IISD RS will also bebuilding a network of environment and sustainabledevelopment policy experts working in African capitalsand hiring ENB writers in the region. The success of thisproject will be used to replicate this experience intocoverage of regional meetings in Latin America and Asia.

In December 2005, IISD RS was in Montreal, Canada,at the 11th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties tothe United Nations Framework Convention on ClimateChange and at the 11th Meeting of the Subsidiary Bodyon Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice of theConvention on Biological Diversity. Forty-three ENBers

converged for multiple meetings, including the biggestevent ENB has covered since the World Summit onSustainable Development in 2002, and the biggestclimate meeting since Kyoto. IISD RS produced ENBs inEnglish, French, Spanish and Japanese; ENB on the Side(ENBOTS) coverage of the climate change side events; aspecial publication on the Development and AdaptationDays event; and a display at the climate changemeeting’s exhibition.

As part of IISD RS’s expansion in recent years, a newstructure for Issue Cluster Experts (ICE) for LinkagesUpdate and MEA Bulletin has been developed.The IssueCluster Experts are the IISD RS writers who contribute toLinkages Update and MEA Bulletin. As a result of the newpublication and the restructuring of Linkages Update, IISDRS has hired more members to be part of its ICE structureand has re-assigned responsibilities for each cluster.

IISD GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THE GENEROSITY OF THE FOLLOWINGSUPPORTERS OF OUR REPORTING SERVICESWORK IN 2005–2006:

Austria: Federal Ministry for the Environment > Austrian Foreign Ministry > Australian GreenhouseOffice > Burson-Marsteller Mexico > Centre forEnvironmental Research, Training and Education >European Commission > Finland: Ministry ofEnvironment > Finland: Ministry of Foreign Affairs >France's Ministry of Foreign Affairs > Germany:Capacity Building International > Germany: Ministry forEconomic Cooperation and Development > Germany:Ministry of Environment > Institut de I'Energie et deI'Environnement de la Francophonie > InternationalTropical Timber Organization > Italy: Ministero dellAmbiente e della Tutela del Territorio > Italy: Ministry ofEnvironment > Japan: Global Industrial and SocialProgress Research Institute > Japan: Institute forGlobal Environmental Strategies > Japan: InternationalCenter for Environmental Technology Transfer > FrankLiu > The Netherlands' Ministry of Foreign Affairs >New Zealand: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade >Norway Ministry of the Environment > Republic ofKorea: Ministry of Environment > Royal Danish Ministryof Foreign Affairs > South Africa: Department ofEnvironmental Affairs and Tourism > Spanish Ministryof Environment > Sweden: Ministry of Foreign Affairs >Sweden: Ministry of Sustainable Development >Swiss Agency for Environment, Forests and Landscape >Taiwan > UK: Department for International Development >UK: Foreign & Commonwealth Office > United NationsDevelopment Programme > United Nations EducationalScientific and Cultural Organization > United NationsEnvironment Programme > United Nations Food &Agriculture Organization > United Nations FrameworkConvention on Climate Change > United NationsIndustrial Development Organization > United NationsOffice at Nairobi > University of Delaware > WorldAgricultural Forum > The World Bank > The WorldConservation Union (IUCN)

I N N O VAT I O N


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AUDITORS’ REPORTTo the Members of International Institute for Sustainable Development

We have audited the consolidated statement of financial position of International Institutefor Sustainable Development as at March 31, 2006 and the consolidated statements ofoperations, changes in net assets and cash flows for the year then ended. These financialstatements are the responsibility of the Institute’s management. Our responsibility is toexpress an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit.

We conducted our audit in accordance with Canadian generally accepted auditing standards.Those standards require that we plan and perform an audit to obtain reasonable assurancewhether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includesexamining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in thefinancial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used andsignificant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financialstatement presentation.

In our opinion, these consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all materialrespects, the financial position of the Institute as at March 31, 2006 and the results of itsoperations and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with Canadiangenerally accepted accounting principles.

Chartered AccountantsWinnipeg, ManitobaMay 19, 2006

2001 - 2006 IISD FINANCING TREND

Fiscal years ended March 31

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

$ M

ILLIO

NS

20

01

20

02

9.66

10.72

2.12 2.26

14

11.32

2.16

20

03

20

04

11.99

2.11

11.50

2.15

20

05

11.77

2.64

20

06

Designated Grants and Other Revenue

Total Expenditures

Operating Grants

PA R T N E R S H I P


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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITIONMarch 31, 2006

2006 2005ASSETSCURRENT

Cash $ 1,347,469 $ 1,126,258 Marketable securities 6,782,977 5,426,563 Accounts receivable 7,988,400 5,909,963 Prepaid expenses and deposits 122,662 74,123

16,241,508 12,536,907 CAPITAL ASSETS 354,857 308,751

$ 16,596,365 $ 12,845,658

LIABILITIES CURRENT

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 1,363,668 $ 1,088,067 Deferred revenue 8,286,655 5,071,130

9,650,323 6,159,197

COMMITMENTS

NET ASSETSNet assets invested in capital assets 354,857 308,751 Reserve for program development 3,471,906 3,565,301 Reserve for long-term development 1,318,802 1,456,997 Innovation Fund 221,937 317,400 Unrestricted net operating assets 1,578,540 1,038,012

6,946,042 6,686,461

$ 16,596,365 $ 12,845,658

R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y


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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONSFor the Year Ended March 31, 2006

2006 2005REVENUE

Designated grants $ 9,024,212 $ 8,764,270 Operating grants 2,642,130 2,153,696 Innovation Fund 79,123 2,079 Interest 229,015 246,930 Other revenue 153,473 20,111

TOTAL REVENUE 12,127,953 11,187,086

EXPENSESProjects

Trade and Investment 2,993,409 3,747,824 Reporting Services 2,938,892 2,569,681 Climate Change and Energy 1,664,175 1,340,347 Knowledge Communications 984,379 1,092,505 Sustainable Natural Resources Management 788,472 494,268 Measurement and Assessment 681,225 612,023 Economic Policy 256,620 383,407 New Project Development 93,402 165,729 Innovation Fund 79,479 2,079

10,480,053 10,407,863

Administration 771,462 684,695 Fund Development and Outreach 395,909 269,603 Board 125,485 136,396

TOTAL EXPENSES 11,772,909 11,498,557

EXCESS OF REVENUE OVER EXPENSES(EXPENSES OVER REVENUE) 355,044 (311,471)

APPROPRIATION FROM (TO) NET ASSETSNet assets invested in capital assets (46,106) (77,529)Reserve for program development 93,395 164,979 Reserve for long-term development 138,195 22,375

INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET OPERATING ASSETS 540,528 (201,646)NET OPERATING ASSETS, BEGINNING OF YEAR 1,038,012 1,239,658

NET OPERATING ASSETS, END OF YEAR $ 1,578,540 $ 1,038,012


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NOTE ON FUNDING ARRANGEMENTSDesignated grants IISD receives funding from a variety of public and private sources to finance specific projectsrelating to its strategic objectives. Projects may carry on over more than one year. The related designated grants arerecorded when the funding commitment is made and recognized in revenue as the projects progress. A comparativesummary of designated grant funding committed during the year is as follows:

Funding Commitments2006 2005

($000’s) ($000’s)Governments and agencies

Canada $ 2,287 $ 2,474International 7,400 4,460

9,687 6,934United Nations agencies 876 650International organizations 370 437Philanthropic foundations 694 222Private sector and other 287 305

$11,914 $ 8,548

Designated grants and other revenue which includes publication sales, cost recoveries and, in the case of Administration,Fund Development and Outreach the unrealized foreign exchange loss recognized at March 31 in the amount of$96 thousand (2005 - $84 thousand), are summarized by activity area as follows:

Other Innovation DesignatedActivity Area Revenue Fund Grants Total

($000’s) ($000’s) ($000’s) ($000’s)Trade and Investment $ 3 $ – $ 2,735 $ 2,738Reporting Services – – 2,592 2,592Climate Change and Energy 112 – 1,376 1,488Knowledge Communications 12 – 871 883Sustainable Natural Resources Management 14 – 719 733Measurement and Assessment 35 – 608 643Economic Policy 23 – 113 136 Administration, Fund Development and Outreach (45) – 10 (35)

154 – 9,024 9,178

Innovation Fund – 79 – 79

$ 154 $ 79 $ 9,024 $ 9,257

Operating grants IISD has entered into renewed funding arrangements with the Government of Canada(Environment Canada and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)) for a three year period fromApril 1, 2005 to March 31, 2008. The arrangement with CIDA provides operating grants. The arrangement withEnvironment Canada provides a blend of operating grants and contributions in support of research that isconsistent with the interests and priorities of Canada.

A summary of the operating grant funding is as follows:Funding

Funding Funding Recorded CommitmentCommitment 2006 Prior years Remaining

($ 000’s) ($ 000’s) ($ 000’s)Government of Canada

Environment Canada $ 1,500 $ 500 $ – $ 1,000Canadian International Development Agency 4,280 1,240 – 3,040

Government of Manitoba 4,584 802 3,782 – International Development Research Centre 200 100 100 –

Operating grant revenue $10,564 $ 2,642 $ 3,882 $ 4,040


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SCHEDULE OF OPERATIONS BY ACTIVITY AREA ($000’S)For the Year Ended March 31, 2006

The following table summarizes expenses incurred in each of the IISD’s activity areas:Climate Sustainable Fund

Trade Change Natural Measurement New Developmentand Reporting and Knowledge Resources and Economic Project Innovation and 2006 2005

Investment Services Energy Communications Management Assessment Policy Development Fund Administration Outreach Board Total Total

Revenue $ 2,738 $ 2,592 $ 1,488 $ 883 $ 733 $ 643 $ 136 $ – $ 79 $ (64) $ 29 $ – $ 9,257 $ 8,786

Personnel 1,494 823 914 346 369 397 123 51 47 626 209 – 5,399 4,813 Collaborators 676 791 206 422 247 67 41 7 18 4 53 – 2,532 3,021 Travel 458 980 325 91 83 132 53 20 13 46 13 – 2,214 1,915 Rent 82 98 48 19 19 25 6 – – 28 11 – 336 375 Supplies and

other 100 66 50 18 22 20 9 14 – 39 37 – 375 306 Publishing 55 40 24 12 2 1 14 – – – 51 – 199 142 Amortization of

capital assets 38 58 19 14 11 10 4 – – 11 7 – 172 151 Meetings 42 – 39 45 23 8 – 1 – – 4 – 162 368 Telecommunications 35 77 30 14 9 17 4 – 1 12 10 – 209 222 Board – – – – – – – – – – – 125 125 136 Research

materials 14 7 9 3 4 4 2 – – 5 2 – 50 49

Total expenses 2,994 2,940 1,664 984 789 681 256 93 79 771 397 125 11,773 11,498

Excess of (expenses over designated grantsand other revenue)designated grantsand other revenue over expenses $ (256) $ (348) $ (176) $ (101) $ (56) $ (38) $ (120) $ (93) $ – $ (835) $ (368) $ (125) $ (2,516) $ (2,712)

Excess of expenses over designated grants funded by:Operating grants 2,642 2,154 Interest 229 247

Excess of (expenses over revenue) revenue over expenses $ 355 $ (311)

Governmentsand Agencies,Canada 29.5%

United NationsAgencies 9.3%

InternationalOrganizations 4.8%

Governmentsand Agencies,International 49.6%

PhilanthropicFoundations 2.8%

Private Sectorand Other 4.0%

Measurement andAssessment 6%

Climate Changeand Energy 14%

Economic Policy 2%

KnowledgeCommunications 8%

Sustainable NaturalResources Management 7%

ReportingServices 25%

Trade andInvestment 25%

New Project Development,Fund Development and Outreach,Administration, and Board 13%

2005 - 2006 REVENUE ANDEXPENSES BY ACTIVITY AREATotal expenses of $11,772,909

Designated Grants and Other Revenue

Operating Grants

2005 - 2006 DESIGNATED GRANT REVENUE BY DONORTotal designed grant revenue of $9,024,212

Financed by:


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SCHEDULE OF DESIGNATED GRANTS COMMITTED ($000’S)For the Year Ended March 31, 2006

Government of Canada (and Agencies)Environment Canada $517 Canadian International Development

Agency (CIDA) 420 Department of Foreign Affairs and

International Trade 331 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 204 Canada World Youth 110 International Development Research Centre (IDRC) 106 National Round Table on Environment and Economy 68 Canada School of Public Service 24 Parks Canada 20 Western Economic Diversification 10 Indian & Northern Affairs 9 Other (2)

1,817

Governments of provincesManitoba 369 Ontario 34 Saskatchewan 31 Alberta 29 British Columbia 7

470

Governments of other nationsSweden

Swedish International Development Agency 1,327

Ministry of Foreign Affairs 185 Ministry of Environment 39 Ministry of Sustainable Development 8 1,559

NetherlandsMinistry of Housing 1,365

SwitzerlandState Secretariat for Economic

Affairs (SECO) 1,219 Swiss Agency for Development

and Cooperation (SDC) 97 Swiss Agency for the Environment,

Forests and Landscape 4 1,320 Denmark

Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs 872 Norway

NORAD 307 Ministry of Foreign Affairs 68 Ministry of the Environment 8 383

United StatesUSAID 348

Australia 257 New Zealand 176 Italy 171 South Africa 222 France

Ministry of Foreign Affairs 102 Institut de l’Energie et de

l’Environnement de la Francophonie 64 166

European Commission 139 Spain 107 Germany

Ministry of Environment 91InWent 15Ministry for Economic Cooperation

and Development (BMZ) (3) 103 Japan 95 Austria 44 Taiwan 42 Other 31

7,400

United Nations agenciesUnited Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) 603 United Nations Educational Scientific

and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 91 United Nations Framework Convention

on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 82 United Nations Development Program (UNDP) 40 United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) 21 Other 39

876

International organizationsThe World Conservation Union (IUCN) 75 Organization For Economic Co-operation

and Development (OECD) 61 Commonwealth Secretariat 46 International Tropical Timber Organization 42 Sustainable Development Policy Institute 35 Friedrich Ebert Stiftung - FES 32 World Bank 25 Centre for Environment Research Training

and Education (CERTI) 12 The Climate Group 12 Other 30

370

Philanthropic foundationsThe John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation 382 Rockefeller Brothers Fund 234 The Winslow Foundation 39 Charles Stewart Mott Foundation 30 The Atkinson Foundation 3 Other 6

694

Private sector and otherOther (sum of amounts under $25 thousand) 133Burson-Marsteller Mexico 79 University of Regina 50 Shell Canada 25

287 $11,914


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PHILANTHROPYFOR INNOVATIVETHINKING

RESEARCH

We thank our corporate,government, foundation andindividual donors for their supportand for sharing our vision of“Better living for all—sustainably.”

The key to achieving that vision isinnovation. Innovation is thelifeblood of IISD. It permeates allthat we do. It's the spirit with whichwe brainstorm, conduct research,communicate with partners, engagedecision-makers and reach out tofunders. Our fundraising efforts aremotivated and flavoured by ourquest for innovative approaches toaddressing the continually evolvingchallenges in achieving sustainabledevelopment.

By supporting IISD, our fundersexpress their desire for innovativeresearch and creative action. Theirsupport asserts that for sustainabledevelopment to be achieved, wemust continue to move beyondnormal research and that we mustseek novel horizons, exceptional

ideas and momentous change.Their support recognizes thatsustainable development issimultaneously a moving targetand an urgent objective.

We are grateful that our funderscare so deeply about achievingsocial equity, environmental healthand economic well-being. And weare grateful that our funders areconfident in our ability to deliver theideas that will move thesustainability agenda forward.

We are driven by this confidenceand by our collective conscience.With zeal, we continue our globalefforts to inform and advise policy-makers and world leaders who havepromised human dignity; peace andsecurity; environmental fitness;vibrancy; and overall well-being fortoday and for future generations.

By Sue Barkman (IISDAssociate) and Nancy Folliott(Fund Development Coordinator)

We thank our funders for sharing the vision

We invite prospective

donors to learn more about

sustainable development

and about the International

Institute for Sustainable

Development. IISD is

registered as a charitable

organization in Canada and

has 501(c)(3) status in the

United States. Please

contact us our Fund

Development office at

+1 204 958 7742.


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