WORLD SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (WSSD)
JOHANNESBURG 2002

Introduction to Johannesburg Summit 2002
The United Nations WSSD took place from August 23rd to September 4th 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa, 10 years after the Rio Conference on Environment and Development. This page provides information about the background to the WSSD, the organisations and meetings which worked towards the Summit and links for websites which carry further information and reports relating to it.

The United Nations invited submissions which assessed sustainable development over the decade since the Rio conference. The Irish Government organised a conference Rio+ 10 which took place in September 2001 and held a further meeting in December 2001 as part of its consultation process. The National Report produced by the Department of Environment & Local Government (DOELG), was entitled ‘Making Ireland’s Development Sustainable – Review, Assessment and Future Action” (available from Government Publications sales office). Earth Summit Ireland (ESI) was a group of NGOs who formed a loose coalition to make a group submission to the WSSD, their submission was entitled Telling it like it is – 10 years of unsustainable development in Ireland (copies available from FEASTA, Dublin). The documents produced during this assessment provide a good reference covering the past 10 years.

Cork Environmental Forum attended the Irish preparatory events held by DOELG and ESI and made a submission to the WSSD copied to An Taoiseach, Mr. Bertie Ahern TD and Mr. Martin Cullen TD. Minister for the Environment. A copy of the CEF submission is available on this website. CEF’s Development Officer, Jacqueline Hodgson was part of the 32 member official Delegation from Ireland who attended the Summit and handed a copy of the CEF submission to the Chairman of the Summit, President Mbeki of South Africa.

Further to the WSSD, CEF held a plenary meeting in Cork (17.09.02) where a summary report was presented followed by a discussion of some of the outcomes. An article of Reflections on the WSSD was circulated to the press (available on this website), this received some coverage. A JoBurg Memorial Park was planted in Midleton during National Tree Week in March 2003 and there are plans to plant a similar memorial in the City. 26 schools in the City and County also planted trees and hedgerows as a Memorial to the WSSD and to help off-set the carbon-debt incurred from CEF’s delegate’s travel to South Africa, which required 65 trees to be planted. 

By being directly represented at the Summit, CEF endeavoured to bring the views of the citizens of Cork to the attention of the national and international stage regarding Local Agenda 21 in Cork, it also sought to bring the information and an understanding of the Summit back to Cork and seek ways in which some of the positive outcomes could be furthered through the work of CEF and the Local Action 21 process.

The proposal which was agreed at the Summit conference run by ICLEI (the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives) was for Local Agenda 21 to become Local Action 21. This and their official Johannesburg Call was signed up to by over 500 Mayors and local Government representatives who attended the ICLEI conference. CEF is pursuing this proposal, which is a framework for sustainable development at the local level and will be working towards the Members of Cork City and County adopting this proposal.

Click here to download the CEF report on the World Summit 2002 (Word doc format and 50KB in size)

Click here to download the report on CEF submissions to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Word doc format and 57KB in size)

Further information and useful websites:

WSSD Outcome Official documents: 
Plan of Implementation, 10 September 2002
Political Declaration, 10 September 2002

(See also the proposed Plan of Implementation prior to the Summit’s final agreement of the text)

These documents and others are available at LINKAGES the International Institute for Sustainable Development website www.iisd.ca/wssd/portal.html

International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives 
Local Action 21 Focal Point http://www.localaction21.org/
= Motto • Mandate • Movement - of local authorities in the post-Johannesburg decade 
The next stage of Local Agenda 21 - Launched by local government at the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg 2002

Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) and ENB on-the-side daily coverage, summary and analysis of the WSSD is available at http://www.iisd.ca/2002/wssd/index.html

WHAT IT SET OUT TO ACHIEVE:
“Over the last decade, there has been progress on putting the principles of sustainable development into action, but many fundamental challenges remain. The impacts of globalisation - increasingly the central context for international decision-making - were not addressed at all in Rio. For both rich and poor countries, much more is needed to place sustainable development as a central policy objective at every level, and to implement the plans agreed previously. Poor countries require access to resources, technology, markets to develop and good governance systems. Rich countries will need to show real commitment to changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and production and moving towards far greater efficiency in resource use. Civil society and private sector action is central to these needs, and means to integrate it, into what was once a government-heavy agenda, are sorely needed. 

This is a challenge for society as a whole, but governments must create the climate in which real change is possible. The UN is convening a World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa, September 2002. The Johannesburg Summit offers a major opportunity to develop understanding of these issues, and have a mature debate on practical ways to achieve progress.”
From: International Institute for Environment and Development (iied) webpage http://www.iied.org/wssd/

Background to the WSSD
The following information comes from the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) website LINKAGES www.iisd.ca/wssd/background.html#csdprocess

The 55th Session of the United Nations General Assembly resolved in December 2000 to hold the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2002. The GA also decided that the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) would serve as the central organizing body for the Summit and coordinate a comprehensive 10-year review of progress achieved in the implementation of Agenda 21.

Johannesburg Summit 2002 will strive to answer some of the following questions: What accomplishments have been made since 1992? How have participating countries been implementing Agenda 21? Have they ratified the conventions they agreed to since 1992? What obstacles have they encountered? What lessons have they learned about what works and what does not work? What new issues have emerged to change the situation? Where should we focus further efforts? 

The Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) emerged from Agenda 21, the programme of action adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in June 1992. Agenda 21 called for the creation of the CSD to ensure effective follow-up of UNCED, enhance international cooperation, rationalize intergovernmental decision-making capacity, and examine progress of Agenda 21 implementation at the local, national, regional and international levels. In 1992, the 47th session of the UN General Assembly (GA) set out, in resolution 47/191, the CSD's terms of reference, composition, guidelines for the participation of NGOs, organization of work, relationship with other UN bodies, and Secretariat arrangements. The Division for Sustainable Development at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) serves as the CSD Secretariat. The CSD held its first substantive session in June 1993 and has since met annually in the spring at UN Headquarters in New York. The spring (April-May) meetings are preceded by two weeks of intercessional meetings (February-March). Expert meetings focusing on CSD agenda items are often held prior to the intercessional and/or Commission sessions. 

First five CSD sessions: The CSD’s first substantive session (CSD-1) met from 14-25 June 1993 and adopted a multi-year thematic programme of work. CSD-2, CSD-3 and CSD-4 subsequently met at UN Headquarters in New York during annual spring sessions. Each session reviewed different sectoral chapters in Agenda 21. They all considered cross-sectoral issues including finance, technology transfer, trade and the environment, and consumption and production patterns. CSD-2 added panel discussions to the work method to enable participants to enter into a dialogue on the session’s agenda items. CSD-3 established the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests. CSD-4 completed the Commission’s multi-year thematic programme of work and began considering preparations for the 19th Special Session of the UN General Assembly to Review Implementation of Agenda 21 (UNGASS). CSD-5 focused on negotiations in preparation of UNGASS. 

UNGASS: In June 1997, five years after UNCED, the General Assembly held a Special Session (UNGASS-19), which adopted a "Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21." Among the decisions adopted at UNGASS was a new five-year CSD work programme, which identifies sectoral, cross-sectoral and economic sector/major group themes for the subsequent four sessions of the CSD. Overriding issues for each year are poverty, and consumption and production patterns.

CSD-6: CSD-6 met from 20 April to 1 May 1998. Participants considered the economic theme of industry and the sectoral theme of strategic approaches to freshwater management. They also reviewed implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States and discussed the cross-sectoral themes of technology transfer, capacity building, education, science and awareness raising.

CSD-7: CSD-7 met from 19-30 April 1999, to consider the economic theme of tourism, the sectoral theme of oceans and seas and the cross-sectoral theme of consumption and production patterns. Participants also prepared for the review of the Barbados Programme of Action.

CSD-8: CSD-8 met from 24 April to 5 May 2000. Participants deliberated on the economic theme of sustainable agriculture and land management, the sectoral theme of integrated planning and management of land resources and the cross-sectoral themes of financial resources, trade and investment, and economic growth. The conclusions and proposals in the final report of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests were also discussed, as were preparations for the ten-year review of UNCED.

CSD-9: CSD-9 met from 16-28 April 2001. Participants focused on the economic theme of energy and transport, the sectoral themes of atmosphere and energy and the cross-sectoral theme of information for decision-making and participation and international cooperation for an enabling environment.

WSSD preparations: The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) will be held 10 years after the UNCED to review implementation and to reinvigorate the global commitment to sustainable development. In December 2000, the General Assembly adopted resolution 55/199, in which it decided to embark on this ten-year review. The General Assembly accepted South Africa’s offer to host the event in 2002. The resolution decided that the review should focus on accomplishments and areas requiring further efforts to implement Agenda 21 and other UNCED outcomes, leading to action-oriented decisions. It should also result in renewed political commitment to achieve sustainable development. 

CSD-10, acting as the Preparatory Committee for the WSSD, held its first session at UN Headquarters from 30 April to 2 May 2001. The session adopted decisions on: progress in WSSD preparatory activities at the local, national, regional and international levels, as well as by Major Groups; modalities of future PrepCom sessions; tentative organization of work during the Summit; provisional rules of procedure; and arrangements for accreditation and participation of Major Groups. 

The second session of the PrepCom was held from 28 January to 8 February 2002 at UN Headquarters. The session engaged in review and assessment of progress achieved in the implementation of Agenda 21, agreed to transmit to its third session the Chair’s Paper as the basis for negotiation, and adopted the Chair’s Report, to which are annexed the Chair’s Summary of the Second Preparatory Session, the Chair’s Summary of the Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue Segment, and the Proposals for Partnerships/Initiatives to Strengthen the Implementation of Agenda 21. 

The third session of the PrepCom took place at UN headquarters in New York from 25 March to 5 April 2002. The first week of PrepCom III was dedicated to preliminary consideration of the Chairman’s Paper, with discussions on the subsequent compilation text taking place during the second week. The PrepCom also held preliminary discussions on an informal paper on sustainable development governance, prepared by the Bureau on the basis of comments made during PrepCom II. In addition, delegates began consideration of Type 2 outcomes (partnerships/initiatives). 

The fourth session convened in Bali, Indonesia from 27 May - 7 June, with informal consultations beginning on 25 May. During the session, delegates produced the Draft Plan of Implementation for the WSSD , which was transmitted to the Summit in Johannesburg for further negotiation. They also agreed on the modalities for the organization of work during the Summit (A/CONF.199/PC/L.7) and, based on the consultations held, mandated PrepCom Chair Emil Salim to prepare elements for a political declaration and post them on the Johannesburg Summit website by the end of June 2002. Although the session had hoped to conclude negotiation of the implementation plan, round-the-clock negotiations by ministers during the last three days of the session failed to produce consensus on key aspects of the plan, particularly on trade, finance and globalization. 

The WSSD is scheduled to take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 26 August to 4 September 2002, with informal consultations on the Draft Plan of Implementation to be held from 24-25 August.

For more information on the CSD, visit http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd.htm

For more information:http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/html/brochure/final_brochure.pdf
For the 55th General Assembly Resolution on the World Summit on Sustainable Development:
http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/web_pages/resolution.htm

For ENB's Daily Coverage of UNCED PrepCom IV:
http://www.iisd.ca/linkages/vol01/ 

For ENB's Daily Coverage of the UNCED in 1992 in Rio, including Pre-Conference Consultations:
http://www.iisd.ca/linkages/vol02/

Email: info@cef.ie