text: Plan,including themonitoring ofprogress inproviding drinking watersupplyand sanitation services totheurbanandruralpoor,following theendofthe International Drinking WaterSupply andSanitation Decade, willcontinue tobean essential element oftheworkoftheSecretariat. 19.30 Thefurther implementation oftheMardelPlataActionPlaninthe1990s, as wellassystem-wide actionconcerning drinking watersupply andsanitation, will continue torequire closeco-operation andco-ordination ofefforts amongthe organizations oftheUnitedNations systemconcerned. Continued support willbe giventotheACCInter-Secretariat GroupforWaterResources, aswellasto co-operative arrangements concerning drinking watersupplyandsanitation following theendoftheDecade. SUBPROGRAMME 3.MINERAL RESOURCES (a)Objectives 19.31 Thelegislative authority forthesubprogramme derives fromGeneral Assembly resolutions 32/176, 33/194 and34/201; andEconomic andSocialCouncil resolutions 1761(LIV), 1954(LIX), 2014(LXI),1979/71, 1981/76, 1981/77, 1981/78, 1981/79 and1988/91. 19.32 Duringtheearly1980s, astructural changehadoccurred inthe international marketformineral rawmaterials, resulting insubstantially lower consumption growthratesinthemajorusercountries, ascompared toprevious decades. Thisshifthashadprofound implications forthosedeveloping countries thatareheavily reliant onminerals asaconstituent oftheirgrossdomestic products andasanelement intheirbalance ofpayments. Manydeveloping countries havestrengthened theirinstitutions responsible forbasicgeological investigations, mineral exploration, technical andeconomic evaluation ofmineral projects, legislative andadministrative regulation ofthemineral resources sector, andinvestment promotion andnegotiations withforeign investors. Knowledge oftheresource endowment hasincreased inmostcountries, personnel have beentrained inboththepublic andprivate sectors, investment hasbeenattracted forexploration, development ofminesandprocessing facilities andrehabilitation ofexisting installations, andnewmineral development regUlations andstrategies havebeenintroduced. Therehasrecently beenaconsiderable increase inprices formostminerals andmetalsasaresultofariseinconsumption growth. Asa consequence, stocklevelsdecreased forsomeminerals andmetals andshortages developed forsomeothers. 19.33 While,duringthe1960sand1970s,majorlargeprojects dominated them~n~ng industry, morerecently thenewprojects aresmaller, produce lesscommonminerals andmetals andinclude installations forfurther processing withinthedeveloping countries. Exploration andproduction technology changes rapidly, anddeveloping countries oftenlackaccesstosuchnewtechnology orhaveaccessonlythrough the services offoreign expertise. 19.34 Whileadequately trained andexperienced personnel existinsomedeveloping countries withalonghistory ofmineral sectoractivities, mostcountries still lackmanagerial andtechnical expertise required fortheefficient management of themineral sector. Availability ofexperienced personnel isparticularly important inviewofthepersistent weakness oftheinternational mineral markets, -7-l Digitized by Dag Hammarskjöld Libraryandrational policies areimportant forachieving progress andremaining, or becoming, competitive. Themostimportant constraints arethelackofadequate training facilities andopportunities togainexperience. Because ofthe international nature oftheminerals industry, suchexperience hastobegainedat theinternational level, andnotonlyinthenational framework, asisthecasein manycountries atpresent. 19.35 Inrecent decades, thedemandforcertain metals hasbeensharply curtailed bysubstitution ofman-made materials, e.g.,substitution fortinbyplastics. Prospects forthecontinuation oftheuseofsynthetics haveimportant implications fortheconsumption, required ratesofinvestment andavailability offinancing to theminerals industries, whichneedtobeexamined systematically.
analysis: This text appears to focus on the management and development of natural resources, particularly mineral resources, with implications for economic development and the global market. The text discusses the challenges faced by developing countries in exploiting their mineral resources, including the lack of technical expertise, inadequate training facilities, and competition from international markets. The text also touches on the impact of technological advancements and changes in consumption patterns on the demand for certain minerals.