The International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management (IPSRM) will be holding its next 6 monthly meeting at the Sustainability Institute. The IPSRM was established in 2007 by UNEP in the wake of the 4th Assessment Report of the IPCC (see www.unep.fr/scp/rpanel).
The primary aim of the Resource Panel is to investigate the resources required by the global economy and the associated environmental impacts in order to recommend approaches that could lead to the decoupling of rates of resource use and negative impacts from economic growth rates. Completed reports and reports in production address issues such as biofuels, metals, land and soils, water and environmental impacts .
The Resource Panel has 30 members from all parts of the world who are, in turn, experts in the wider field of sustainability (Prof. Mark Swilling, the SI’s Academic Director, has been a member of the Panel since its inception). Members of the Panel will engage with South African researchers on Saturday 20th November, with special reference to ways that material flow analysis can reinforce South Africa’s Green Economy initiative. The formal meetings of the Panel will start on Monday 22nd, ending off on the 24th/25th with a dialogue between the Resource Panel and representatives of various African Governments and NGO networks (see the link to the discussion paper below). Some of the South African government delegates are members of the support team for President Zuma who has been appointed by the Secretary General of the UN as Co-Chair of the recently established High Level Panel of Global Sustainability. On the evening of the 24th November, the Rector of Stellenbosch University will host a reception for the Panel in Stellenbosch where he will also announce and launch Stellenbosch University’s recently approved Sustainability Policy.