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World Summit on Sustainable Development Runs from August 26th-September 4
Contentious Negotiations Expected, but President Bush Is Not 
JOURNALISTS: EMAIL REQUESTS FOR INTERVIEWS
August 13, 2002 - More than 60,000 government representatives, journalists, non-governmental organizations, business leaders and others will gather in Johannesburg, South Africa for the events surrounding the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD),to be held from August 26 - September 4, 2002. The Summit will represent one of the largest gatherings of Heads of State ever, most European, Asian, African and Latin American leaders. One notable exception is US President George W. Bush, who has not committed to attending and is not expected to participate.
The multifaceted agenda at the Summit will include final, difficult, likely controversial negotiations of a final action plan to guide efforts to achieve sustainable development, which aims to promote simultaneous economic, environmental and social progress.
In the coming days, PLANetWIRE will offer features on some of the key issues surrounding the Summit meeting and its underlying subject matter – persistent poverty, growing gaps between the “haves” and have-nots”, and a growing global environmental agenda. PLANetWIRE's features are intended to inform reporters and others interested in focusing on some of the most profound issues shaping and/or surrounding the Summit meeting.
Features include:
OVERVIEW: ORIGINS OF THE WSSD
In 1972, nations convened in Stockholm for the first world conference on the environment. The UN Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm not only helped identify the existence of environmental challenges facing nations around the world, but also launched a whole series of national and international actions to help protect the environment. Coming out of Stockholm, UNEP was created and many nations began developing domestic environmental laws to protect the planet’s environment and human health.
Twenty years later, the second major world conference on the environment -– the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) -- was held on Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June, 1992. If Stockholm was about pointing out the existence of major environmental challenges, UNCED was about identifying a plan to combat these challenges in a cooperative international manner. The Earth Summit was profound for revealing certain new trends (the new role, power and scope of NGOs, as well as the existence of global scale environmental challenges) and also for launching new institutions, treaties and a comprehensive action plan for global environmental protection.
Rio was certainly characterized by debate and dialogue between developed and developing nations. At UNCED, poor nations pressed hard for new and additional development assistance as well as preferential access to technology and markets, while developed nations called for good governance, private investment and international cooperation. But there can be no mistaking that Rio was primarily an environmental conference – and that is why it was called and widely known as “The Earth Summit.”
The Summit produced the following concrete outcomes: -
A landmark treaty on global warming – the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was opened for signature at Rio;
- A landmark treaty on the protection of biodiversity – the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, also opened for signature at Rio;
- A sweeping, 500-page action plan – Agenda 21 – that outlined in broad terms the steps that would be required for nations individually and collectively to make real progress in environmental protection and development;
- Put the term “sustainable development” on the map and defined it as meeting the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs -- encompassing equally the concepts of economic progress, equity and environmental protection;
- Creation of a new institution to monitor progress in implementing Agenda 21 – the Commission on Sustainable Development, and establishment on a permanent basis of a international financial institution – the Global Enviornment Facility – to provide assistance for transboundary environmental concerns; and
- Helped bring NGOs into the international policy development process.
PREPARATIONS FOR JOHANNESBURG
In the 10 years since Rio, much has changed and some of the trends have not been positive. Most notably, global economic progress has been uneven. Income has grown in many countries – but the 1990s were a lost decade for development. Citizens in more than 80 countries have lower per capita income than they did a decade earlier. Moreover, the WSSD Secretariat has identified studies that show that humanity’s footprint on Earth is 25 percent greater than the planet can sustain over the long term.
In addition, several other trends have been unfavorable: the gap between rich and poor has widened and grown more stark; the anticipated peace dividend coming out of the Cold War never materialized – in fact, development assistance has declined significantly; globalization has transformed people’s outlook and priorities; a war on terrorism has emerged; and governments have fundamentally failed to summon the political will to address the challenge of sustainable development financially or substantively.
There have been some bright spots on the development front, including development of the Millennium Development Goals, the successes of the Doha meeting of the WTO, which promised to launch a new “development” round of trade negotiations, and the Monterrey Conference on Financing for Development, which seemed to have spawned a new commitment from donor nations for development assistance.
To assess these trends and progress since UNCED, four preparatory meetings have been held over the past two years to prepare for the Johannesburg Summit. The last round of negotiations, in Bali, Indonesia, ended inconclusively, although about two-thirds of the “Plan of Implementation” has been agreed. As a result, difficult discussions and contentious sessions are expected at the WSSD. Most importantly, developing countries want to focus negotiations and outcomes on the development agenda, and ensuring that all nations benefit from globalization and economic progress.
CENTRAL SUMMIT OUTCOMES
The WSSD has been organized to develop three outcomes:
1. An Implementation Plan -– the standard action plan that comes out of major world conferences. This one is intended to be a hybrid identifying and overcoming barriers to Agenda 21 implementation and marking new goals and initiatives.
2. A Political Declaration -– the declaration will be more visionary in nature and is likely to contain concrete commitments – targets and timetables – on key issues and goals.
3. Partnerships -– so-called “Type-2” outcomes are intended to be concrete partnerships between governments, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations. For a current list of proposed partnerships, click here.
KEY WSSD ISSUES
Over the course of the preparatory process and various negotiations, key issues have emerged and are likely to be central to deliberations at Johannesburg. The UN Secretary-General, the Summit Secretariat, many NGOs and governments are in near agreement that Johannesburg would be a success if it fostered progress in five areas (the so-called “WEHAB” agenda):
Water/sanitation;
Energy;
Health;
Agriculture/food security; and
Biodiversity.
In addition, the Summit will focus on the role of major groups, including women, who are powerful agents of change and central to many of the issues associated with sustainable development – from poverty to social justice to stewardship of the land.
As noted above, 30 percent of the draft Plan of Implementation is in disagreement. Among the key areas of contention are:
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Issues related to finance and trade, with special reference to launching the “development” round of trade negotiations and further concretizing financial commitments pledged at the Monterrey Conference on Financing for Development;
- Issues related to the previously established principle of “common, but differentiated responsibilities,” which suggests that all nations must contribute to sustainable development, but that those nations who have contributed the most to global problems, and that have the greatest wherewithal, should play a lead role;
- Issues related to good governance and human rights;
- Language related to health and sustainable development, including efforts by the United States to maintain weak language on reproductive health care.
- Definition of specific goals and targets.
WSSD EVENTS
With 60,000 people in attendance, there will be a vast array of events, activities and initiatives in Johannesburg.
The World Summit on Sustainable Development (Sandton Convention Centre): This is the official, UN-sponsored meeting of governments and others. The central activity at the WSSD will be final negotiations among governments on a Plan of Implementation and Political Declaration. In addition, there will be a period (August 29-30) when intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, representatives of major groups and others will be afforded the opportunity to address the WSSD plenary. September 2-4, 2002 has been reserved for statements by Heads of State and delegation leaders, as well as for a series of four roundtables on key issues for Heads of State and other key leaders. On September 4th, after negotiations have been completed, but prior to adoption of final agreements, there will be a multi-stakeholder dialogue on the key outcomes of the Summit.
Global Peoples Forum (Expo Centre, South of Johannesburg): This forum will be a parallel event, organized by non-governmental organizations, giving citizens and citizens groups the opportunity to make recommendations to the WSSD and the world at large on the issues associated with sustainable development.
Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development (Ubuntu Village and Pretoria): This event will offer scientific and other experts an opportunity to highlight the importance of solid scientific and technological underpinnings in sustainable development.
Business Forum (Hilton Hotel, Sandton, September 1, 2002): Organized by Business Action for Sustainable Development, this event will interject business viewpoints and business leaders into the WSSD discussion.
Parliamentarians Forum (Summer Place Hotel, August 29-30): Organized by Parliamentarians for Global Action, this event will offer the many parliamentary and legislative leaders expected to be in attended to discuss sustainable development efforts in their countries.
Local Governments (Sandton Crowne Plaza, August 27-30): Local government representatives will gather to discuss efforts undertaken at the local level to implement Agenda 21 and realize the promise of sustainable development. The meeting is organized by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives.
Women’s Action Tent: The Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) will organize a Women’s Action Tent August 26-30 in the central arena of the Expo Center, where the Global People’s Forum is being organized.
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