WHAT IS THE UK-CHINA SDD?

• A commitment to a bilateral partnership on sustainable development.  
• A high-level structured dialogue on sustainable development between the UK and China, based on common interests and mutual learning.
• Diverse activities and projects supporting the priority dialogue themes, involving a range of departments in government, the private sector and civil society. 
• The UK-China SDD was officially launched on November 8th 2005, following a joint prime-ministerial declaration in May 2004, in which “China and the UK pledge to join hands in … promoting sustainable development”.  The 2nd annual Ministerial was held in the UK in October 2007.
• The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) is the lead department on the Chinese side, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) leads on the UK side.

BACKGROUND

• The World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002) and the Millenium Summit (2000) outlined the key challenges facing human societies and set an ambitious agenda for the international community in the 21st century.
• Tackling the Sustainable Development challenge will require leadership by governments, and cooperation from all sectors of society at multiple levels.
• Sustainable development provides a conceptual framework within which nations can make informed and balanced choices to achieve economic growth, combat environmental degradation and make social progress at the same time. It also provides a sound basis for securing peace and stability.
• At the national level, both China’s 11th Five Year Programme and the UK’s Sustainable Development Strategy seek to ensure that the environmental dimensions of development are integrated into national policies in order to meet both national aspirations and our international commitments.
• No single nation or organisation can address these challenges alone, co-operation is required to ensure that efforts are collectively made, learning is shared and progress achieved.    

FOCUS THEMES                                     

Four initial SDD priorities have been agreed for 2007 and 2008:

• Sustainable Consumption and Production, including:
  o Capacity building in chemicals management
  o Industrial Circular Economy at Provincial level
  o Sustainable procurement
• Natural Resources Management, including:
  o Forestry
  o Agriculture
  o Biodiversity
• Urban Development, including:
  o Low income housing
  o Urban regeneration
  o Spatial planning
• Capacity building and Governance for Sustainable Development Capacity, including:
  o Local Sustainable Development Indicators
  o Training activites

HOW DOES THE SDD WORK?

• Working groups and fora are establishing areas of mutual cooperation between the UK and China on each of the above themes;
• Ministerial meetings take place at least once a year to review progress and agree future activities; working level meetings, workshops and technical exchanges will take place as and when required;
• Small amounts of funding for approved projects are available through an International Sustainable Development Fund (ISDF) mechanism;
• A joint UK-China SDD work plan has been produced, involving nine ministries on the Chinese side, and ten departments on the UK side.

For full details of activities, see the separate latest “SDD update”.

For more information, contact the SDD national coordinator in Beijing, Leo Horn, l-horn@dfid.gov.uk

UK-China SDD partners:

National Development and Reform Commission
http://www.ndrc.gov.cn

Ministry of Construction
http://www.cin.gov.cn

State Envrionmental Protection Adminsitration  
http://www.sepa.gov.cn  

State Forestry Administration  
http://www.forestry.gov.cn

Ministry of Science and Technology
http://www.most.gov.cn

Ministry of Agriculture
http://www.agri.gov.cn

ACCA21
http://www.acca21.org.cn

China Dialogue
http://www.chinadialogue.net

UK links:

Sustainable Development in the UK
http://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk

Sustainable Development Dialogues
http://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/international/dialogues/index.htm

Technology, Infrastructure and Urban Planning Resource Centre, DFID
http://www.ti-up.org