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to the challenges of demographic change, including one or more of the following: growing numbers of young people, population ageing, internal and international migration, urbanization, low fertility and continued high fertility. Demographic change was seen as both a challenge and a potential opportunity, and population policies and programmes were suggested as enablers for achieving sustain able development. States called for further incorporation of demographic trends into all aspects of national planning. Strengthening knowledge and accountability systems Strengthening knowledge systems to generate and use demographic data is crucial 76. States emphasized the importance of routine demographic data collection, including civil registration, vital statistics and regular population censuses. They called urgently for adequate resource allocation and for cooperative action and collaboration between Governments, relevant United Nations agencies and other stakeholders to ensure the capacity necessary for effective production and use of population data. There is a need to reinforce national capacity for data collection, use and dissemination across multiple sectors that affect development 77. It was noted that national capacity across multiple sectors was needed for implementing and monitoring evidence-based programming for the agenda of the International Conference on Population and Development. States highlighted the urgent need to strengthen national capacity to generate, disseminate and effectively use demographic and socioeconomic data as part of local, regional and sectoral planning and policy development, through the improvement of i nstitutional and human resources. Monitoring, evaluation and transparency are central to accountability 78. States made a general call for higher accountability, greater transparency and better-functioning mechanisms of monitoring and evaluation. Strengthened national capacity for data collection and analysis was needed to facilitate accurate monitoring and evaluation of programmes, as part of well-functioning and transparent accountability systems. All relevant stakeholders should be involved in strengthening the capacity of local experts and relevant institutions.
E.
Sustainability Population dynamics, environmental sustainability and climate change 79. Many States acknowledged the interactions between population dynamics, the environment and sustainable development, stressing the need to better integrate population dynamics into policies and programmes for environmental preservation, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and mitigation. States said that they were increasingly facing environmental threats, including flooding and drought, and other climate-related hazards such as sea-level rise, desertification, ocean acidification and loss of biodiversity, which were threatening livelihoods, in particular those of the most vulnerable. Unsustainable production and consumption patterns, environmental degradation and the need to balance the r equirements of a
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