Verdrag inzake duurzame ontwikkeling tussen het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden en het Koninkrijk Bhutan

The policies, arrangements, programmes and projects referred to in Article I may have the following aims:

• a)

  to develop and implement economic policies which take into account the principles embodied in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and the requirements arising from the concept of sustainable development as described in Agenda 21, adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992;

• b)

  to implement production, distribution and consumption patterns which protect the ecological base for development;

• c)

  to promote and implement sustainable management of natural resources;

• d)

  to conserve biodiversity and the sustainable use thereof;

• e)

  to promote and implement waste prevention and minimization

• f)

  to control transboundary movements of hazardous substances and to prevent, control or eliminate transboundary movements of hazardous wastes, through air, via water or over land;

• g)

  to implement measures to gradually eliminate the production and consumption of chlorofluorocarbons and of other ozone depleting substances in order to protect the ozone layer;

• h)

  to reduce net emissions of greenhouse gases, in particular CO₂, through energy saving, use of alternative fuels, renewable energy sources and afforestation in order to prevent, control or minimize the causes of climate change and mitigate its adverse effects;

• i)

  to strive for and adopt policies to provide citizens in their respective countries with equitable access to the sustainable use of available natural resources;

• j)

  to promote the participation of citizens in their respective countries in decision-making processes and activities connected with sustainable development;

• k)

  to strengthen the vital role of women in environmental management and development as an indisρensible element in sustainable development ;

• l)

  to promote scientific and technological co-operation, transfer of technology and joint human resource development in order to generate adequate capacity in each country for sustainable development;

• m)

  with respect to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, to contribute to covering, through direct and indirect transfers of resources, the incremental costs of investment, including investment in production processes, or the incremental loss of income as a result of adjusted production processes, in order to contribute to sustainable development in Bhutan;

• n)

  to promote the conclusion and implementation of trade or other agreements conducive to the process of sustainable development;

• o)

  to promote debt relief and/or macro-economic support to strengthen the process towards sustainable development;

• p)

  to promote any other form of co-operation or exchange that both Governments consider conducive to the process of sustainable development.

The two Governments shall, without prejudice to their international commitments, consult with one another on the positions to be adopted with regard to sustainable development issues, which have to be decided upon in international organisations and specialised international conferences. These consultations will also be held with other countries, where necessary and appropriate.

In order to promote the co-ordination of the implementation of this Agreement, each Government shall define or establish a national mechanism for the relevant preparation and implementation of decisions adopted under this Agreement. Both Governments will inform each other of the executive entity to be established and which will be constituted in accordance with the laws of that country. The national mechanisms, which can also take the form of, for instance, a "task force", will promote inter alia the participation of different segments of society in the preparation and execution of the different programmes and projects.