asconserve biodiversity and ecosystems including during post miningclosure. We call on governments and businesses to promote thecontinuous improvement of accountability and transparency, as well asthe effectiveness of the relevant existing mechanisms to prevent theillicit financial flows from mining activities.Education229.We reaffirm our commitments to the right to education and in thisregard, we commit to strengthen international cooperation to achieveuniversal access to primary education, particularly for developingcountries. We further reaffirm that full access to quality educationat all levels is an essential condition for achieving sustainabledevelopment, poverty eradication, gender equality and womensempowerment as well as human development, for the attainment of theinternationally agreed development goals including the MillenniumDevelopment Goals, as well as for the full participation of bothwomen and men, in particular young people. In this regard, we stressthe need for ensuring equal access to education for persons withdisabilities, indigenous peoples, local communities, ethnicminorities and people living in rural areas.230.We recognize that the younger generations are the custodians of thefuture, as well as the need for better quality and access toeducation beyond the primary level. We therefore resolve to improvethe capacity of our education systems to prepare people to pursuesustainable development, including through enhanced teacher training,the development of curricula around sustainability, the developmentof training programmes that prepare students for careers in fieldsrelated to sustainability, and more effective use of information andcommunication technologies to enhance learning outcomes. We call forenhanced cooperation among schools, communities and authorities inefforts to promote access to quality education at all levels.231.We encourage Member States to promote Sustainable Developmentawareness among youth, interalia,by promoting programmes for non-formal education in accordance withthe goals of the United Nations Decade of Education for SustainableDevelopment.232.We emphasize the importance of greater international cooperation toimprove access to education including through building andstrengthening education infrastructure, increasing investment ineducation particularly investment to improve the quality of educationfor all in developing countries. We encourage internationaleducational exchanges and partnerships, including the creation offellowships and scholarships to help achieve global education goals.233.We resolve to promote Education for Sustainable Development and tointegrate sustainable development more actively into education beyondthe United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development(2005-2014).234.We strongly encourage educational institutions to consider adoptinggood practises in sustainability management on their campuses and intheir communities with the active participation of interaliastudents, teachers, and local partners, and teaching sustainabledevelopment as an integrated component across disciplines.235.We underscore the importance of supporting educational institutions,especially higher educational institutions in developing countries,to carry out research and innovation for sustainable development,including in the field of education, to develop quality andinnovative programmes, including entrepreneurship and business skillstraining, professional, technical, vocational training and lifelonglearning, geared to bridging skills gaps for advancing nationalsustainable development objectives.Genderequality and womens empowerment236.We reaffirm womens vital role and full and equal participation andleadership in all areas of sustainable development, and decide toaccelerate the implementation of our respective commitments in thisregard as contained in the Convention on the Elimination of all Formsof Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) as well as Agenda 21, theBeijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the MillenniumDeclaration.237.We recognize that, although progress on gender equality has been madein some areas, the potential of women to engage in, contribute to