United Nations Conference on Environment & Development
Rio de Janerio June 1992

“For all intensive purposes, the road began with the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. This meeting was unprecedented for a UN conference in terms of both the size and scope of concerns. Leaders of nations from around the globe (172 governments represented, 108 by heads of state) joined together with 2,400 NGO representatives in search of ways to help governments rework economic development strategy, to illuminate the destruction of natural resources, and reduce pollution of the planet. In other words, the conference centred around making the necessary decisions needed to ensure a healthy planet for future generations.

In 1972, at the UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, the relationship between economic development and the environment was recognised for the first time and, in turn, placed on the international agenda. As a result of this conference the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) was founded in order to act as a motivational tool for action to protect the environment. Despite this new programme, very little was done in the years to come to integrate environmental concerns into the areas of national economic planning and decision making. In 1983, environmental degradation was on its way to absurdity in developing nations and, in turn, the UN set up the World Commission on Environment and Development. Finally, in 1987 the UN General Assembly called for the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The primary goals of the Summit included: the establishment of concrete strategies that would ensure broad-based sustainable development; forming foundations for global partnerships between the developing and the industrialised worlds while focusing on mutual needs and common interests of both, thus, ensuring a healthy future for the planet.

The Earth Summit held its central concern as being the need for broad-based, environmentally sustainable development. The issues included, but were not limited to: the adoption of Agenda 21, a comprehensive programme of action to attain sustainable development on the global scale; patterns of production, particularly the production of toxic components; alternative sources of energy sought to replace the use of fossil fuels; and awareness of and concern over the growing scarcity of water.

After discussion of these and other issues 108 governments adopted three major agreements concerned with changing the traditional approach to development. These agreements included: the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (a series of principles defining the rights and responsibilities of states); the Statement of Forest Principles (a set of principles to underline the sustainable management of forests world-wide); and Agenda 21. In addition, two legally binding Conventions, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity, both seeking respectively to prevent global climate change and the eradication of the diversity of biological species were opened for signature at the Summit, providing a forum for the development of these issues.

As a result of the Summit and these agreements, three bodies were created within the UN to ensure full support for implementation of Agenda 21 and other programs world-wide. These bodies included: the UN Commission on Sustainable Development; the Inter-agency Committee on Sustainable Development; and the High-level Advisory Board on Sustainable Development. The Earth Summit has influenced all of the following major UN conferences which have dealt with the relationships between human rights, population, social development, women and human settlements, and the need for environmentally sustainable development. For example, the World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna in 1993, underscored the right of people to a healthy environment and the right to development, controversial demands that had met with resistance from some Member States until Rio. Thus, beginning the Roadmap for 2002.”
From United Nations Earth Summit Website: http://www.earthsummit2002.org/roadmap/conf.htm#rio

Local Agenda 21 was chapter 28 of Agenda 21, an agenda for the 21st Century.  It provides for sustainable development to be implemented at the local level through sharing of resources, partnership and networking across the sectors.

For further information on the Rio ’92 Conference refer to:
gopher://gopher.un.org/11/conf/unced
http://www.un.org/esa/agenda21/natlinfo/index.html

Earth Summit II - New York '97
http://www.un.org/esa/earthsummit/

Email: info@cef.ie