First WSDF Patrons meeting
         IHC, New Delhi, 22 January 2007

WSDF (World Sustainable Development Forum) has been envisaged as a conduit for identifying, analyzing, and disseminating policy interventions to enhance human well being in the present, and create conditions for a sustainable future. The forum enjoys the support of a body of highly distinguished patrons who met formally, for the first time, during Delhi Sustainable Development Summit 2007 on 22 January 2007. The following patrons were present at the meeting.

HE Mr Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, President of Iceland
HE Ms Tarja Halonen, President of Finland
Mr A Raja, Hon’ble Minister for Environment and Forests, Government of India
Prof. Jeffrey D Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute; and Special Advisor to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Washington, DC
HE Mr Kjell Magne Bondevik, Former Prime Minister of Norway
Ms JoAnne DiSano, Director, Division for Sustainable Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations on behalf of Dr Jose Antonio Ocampo, Under Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations
Dr Hiroyuki Watanabe, Senior Technical Executive, Toyota Motor Corporation, who participated on behalf of Dr Shoichiro Toyoda, Honorary Chairman/ Member of the Board, Toyota Motor Corporation, Japan

At the meeting, discussions were directed towards the creation of an action plan of activities to be undertaken under the forum. The WSDF website was also launched by HE Ms Tarja Halonen, President of Finland. It was widely felt among the patrons that forums like the WSDF could play a pivotal role in understanding sustainable development issues, by bridging knowledge gaps or building partnerships. It was also proposed that WSDF partner with the Asian Development Bank in organizing the Asia Pacific Sustainable Development Summit to be held in November 2007. A steering committee to guide the activities of the forum was also formed during the meeting, at which the following members of the committee were present.

Dr Adnan A Shihab-Eldin, Former Acting Secretary General and Director of Research at OPEC as well as Advisor to Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, Austria
Mr Warren Evans, Director of Environment, The World Bank, USA
Dr Prodipto Ghosh, Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India
Dr Bindu N Lohani, Director–General, Regional and Sustainable Development Department, Asian Development Bank, Manila, Philippines
Dr Ligia Noronha, Director, Resources and Global Security Division, TERI
Dr Pal Prestrud, Director, Center for International Climate and Environmental Research–Oslo, Norway
Dr Leena Srivastava, Executive Director, TERI

In the meeting some members of the steering committee proposed that WSDF look at conducting a detailed water study examining the linkages of water with other aspects of sustainable development, in conjunction with The Earth Institute at Columbia University. They also recommended that the forum take up outreach and communication for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and tailor reports, briefs, and papers for a wider audience as part of its activities in the year 2007.