March 2004: The fifth meeting of the Commission on Sustainable Development’s (CSD) Bureau convened on 1 March 2004 in New York.

On the organization of work for CSD-12, Bureau members discussed issues that emerged during a 25 February briefing, regional briefings and communications to Bureau members from member States. Questions raised during the 25 February briefing included how Major Group representatives would participate in official discussions, how their input would be incorporated into the chair’s summary of the discussion, who could participate in the High-level Segment and how it would be organized. At its 1 March meeting, the Bureau agreed that there would be a speaking list for the High-level Segment and delegations could indicate a preferred date and discussion theme for Ministers’ interventions. The Bureau also reiterated the importance of Major Groups’ participation during CSD-12. The Bureau will meet again on 19 March 2004 in New York.

For more information, see the note on the Bureau meeting: http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/csd12/bureau_meeting_5th.htm and the Earth Negotiations Bulletin Briefing Note on the 25 February briefing: http://enb.iisd.org/csd/csd12/CSD12_Briefing_2.25.04.html