World Summit on Sustainable Development
The World Summit on Sustainable Development, WSSD or Earth Summit 2002 took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 26 August to 4 September 2002. It was convened to discuss sustainable development by the United Nations. WSSD gathered a number of leaders from business and non-governmental organizations, 10 years after the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. (It was therefore also informally nicknamed "Rio+10".)
Declarations
The Johannesburg Declaration was the main outcome of the Summit; however, there were several other international agreements. [1]
Agreements
Johannesburg, 27 August: by 2015 agreement was made to restore the world's depleted fisheries. It was agreed to by negotiators at the World Summit.
But as usual the process proceeded slowly and full of ironies. Protesters outside were having fun, even dancing, whilst demanding food, work and a better environment. Annette Cotter said "If the people who were marching today were inside the meeting room representing our planet, there'd be laughter, fun, dancing, and real action."
Criticism
The absence of the United States, rendered the summit partially impotent. George W. Bush boycotted the summit and did not attend. Except for a brief appearance by Colin Powell, who hurriedly addressed the closing stages of the conference whilst his airplane taxied on the run-way of Johannesburg International, ready to take-off, the US government did not send a delegation, earning Bush praise in a letter from conservative, corporate-sponsored organizations such as Americans for Tax Reform, American Enterprise Institute, and Competitive Enterprise Institute.
Earth Summit 2002 attendees have been criticized as being hypocritical for providing expensive catered food and drink for dignitaries while a few miles away there were starving South Africans. The summit organisers have also been criticised by others for excluding a variety of organisations and individuals, particularly those early founders, instrumental in the nations conservation and green history. The summit also excluded critics in the movement who believe the "sustainable development" mantra is being misused in order to greenwash economic development at the expense of long term environmental goals.
History
The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, was first held in Stockholm, Sweden, in June 1972, and marked the emergence of international environmental law. The Declaration on the Human Environment also known as the Stockholm Declaration set out the principles for various international environmental issues, including human rights, natural resource management, pollution prevention and the relationship between the environment and development. The conference also led to the creation of the United Nations Environment Programme.
The Brundtland Commission set up by Gro Harlem Brundtland, the pioneer of sustainable development, provided the momentum for first Earth Summit 1992 – the United Nations Conference on Environmental Development (UNCED), that was also headed by Maurice Strong, who had been a prominent member of the Brundtland Commission – and also for Agenda 21.
South Africa's first National Conference on Environment and Development entitled, "Ecologise Politics, Politicise Ecology" was held at the University of the Western Cape in conjunction with the Cape Town Ecology Group and the Western Cape Branch of the World Conference on Religion and Peace in 1991. Prominent persons involved in this conference were Ebrahim Rasool, Cheryl Carolus, Faried Esack, and Julia Martin.
See also
- United Nations Environment Programme
- Conference on the Human Environment
- Earth Summit
- Cape Town Ecology Group
External links
- Greenpeace Earth Summit Page
- Friends of the Earth press release on conservative organizations' support of Bush's decision not to attend
- Johannesburg Summit
