Earth Summit and Agenda 21

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Earth Summit and Agenda 21

About the Earth Summit

The first United Nations Conference on Environment and Development(UNCED Earth Summit) was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It represented aturning point in the way we look at environment and development. At the EarthSummit, world leaders adopted Agenda 21, a blue print to attain sustainable

development in the 21st century. Agenda 21 includes Chapter 14, SustainableAgriculture and Rural Development (SARD). At UNCED, nine major groups were

designated to represent civil societys concerns in the follow-up work, and the UNestablished a Commission on Sustainable Development to guide and monitor thefollow-up process, which included a major global stock-taking event every fiveyears.

Basic texts

Agenda 21 provides a comprehensive action programme to attain sustainable

development and address both environmental and developmental issues in an

integrated manner at global, national and local levels.

Chapter 14 of Agenda 21 recognizes and confirsm the importance of thesustainable agriculture and rural development (SARD) concept. Adopted at the Rio

Earth Summit in 1992, it sets out the programmes and specific actions needed to

promote SARD, and represents the commitment of UN member nations toimplement these programmes and actions.

Commission on Sustainable Development

The UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was set up after theUNCED Summit in Rio to meet annually at UN Headquarters in New York and tofollow-up by monitoring and reporting on the implementation of agreements atthe local, national, regional and international levels. The UN Department for

Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) provides the secretariat for theCommission. FAO serves as Task Manager for Chapter 14 (SARD) and isresponsible for monitoring and reporting progress on SARD to the CSD.

Major Groups

Agenda 21 designated nine sectors of society, known asCSD Major Groups, ascritical for the development and implementation of policies for sustainable

development. The nine major groups that work closely with CSD are: (i) businessand industry, (ii) children and youth, (iii) farmers, (iv) indigenous people, (v) localauthorities, (vi) NGOs, (vii) scientific and technological community, (viii) women,

and (ix) workers and trade unions. As stated in the preamble to the section onstrengthening the role of Major Groups in Agenda 21:

"23.3. Any policies, definitions or rules affecting access to and participation bynon-governmental organizations in the work of United Nations institutions oragencies associated with the implementation of Agenda 21 must apply equally toall major groups."

Earth Summit + 5

Progress in implementing Agenda 21 was reviewed by a Special Session of theUnited Nations General Assembly in 1997 (Earth Summit + 5). FAO preparedthe Chapter 14 Task Managers Report for this Session, and the conclusions

reached are contained in the Land and sustainable agriculture decision ofUNGA Special Session, 1997.

The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED),

popularly dubbed the "Earth Summit," brought together 117 heads of state and


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government in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 3 14 June 1992. The product of this historic

meeting, an 800-page document called "Agenda 21," set forth global measures to

protect the planet's environment while guaranteeing sustainable economic growth.

An important statement of the basic principles of sustainable development, The Rio

Declaration on Environment and Development, was adopted by acclamation. The

conference also spawned a new functional commission of ECOSOC, the Commission

on Sustainable Development, which has a mandate to monitor international treaties

on the environment, provide policy direction, and coordinate action within the

United Nations system to achieve the goals of Agenda 21.

In addition to Agenda 21, two important conventions on the environment were

opened for signature and received widespread endorsement: the Global Warming

Convention, which set guidelines for regulating emissions of gases believed to cause

global warming, was signed by 153 nations; and the Biodiversity Convention, which

committed signatory nations to protection of endangered species and cooperation on

genetic and biological technology, was signed by representatives of 150 countries.

The Biodiversity Convention became legally binding in December 1993, after 30

countries had ratified it. Two important documents setting forth the principles

behind the concept of sustainable development also were widely adopted at the Earth

Summit: the Statement on Forest Principles, recommending preservation of world

forests and monitoring of development impact on timberlands; and the Declaration

on Environment and Development, a statement of principles that emphasized the

coordination of economic and environmental concerns.

More than two years were spent preparing for the Earth Summit and drafting the

documents that would achieve widespread international acceptance. However, many

controversial propositions had to be deleted or scaled down in the final documents to

achieve the final consensus. For example, negotiators removed or excluded specific

targets on pollution controls, resource protection, and financial aid to developing

countries that restrain their economic development in order to protect their natural

resources. Developing countries had sought to establish a "green fund" to support

their efforts to implement environmentally sustainable development. However, the

G-7 group of industrialized countries succeeded in specifying that such development

funds would be channeled through the World Bank's Global Environment Facility

(GEF), effectively retaining control of funding in the hands of the industrialized

world. The European Community had recommended a tax on fossil fuels in


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industrialized nations, but, opposition from oil -producing countries killed this

provision. Also deemphasized in the final documents were references to population

control. Passages referring to contraception were completely deleted at the insistence

of an odd coalition that included the Holy See (Vatican), Roman Catholic countries,

and Moslem countries.

The sense of urgency that brought 35,000 accredited participants and 117 heads of

state to Rio de Janeiro for the Earth Summit is perhaps well summed up by the

UNCED secretary-general, Canadian Maurice Strong: "The Earth Summit must

establish a whole new basis for relations between rich and poor, North and South,

including a concerted attack on poverty as a central priority for the 21st Century. We

owe at least this much to future generations, from whom we have borrowed a fragile

planet called Earth."

At the Earth Summit+5 meeting held in June 1997 in New York City, the objectives

were to revitalize and energize commitments to sustainable development, to

recognize failures and identify their causes, to recognize achievements (there were

many Agenda 21 success stories that were highlighted during the event), to define

priorities for the post-97 period, and to raise the profile of issues addressed

insufficiently by Rio. In addition to assessing progress since the last meeting and

outlining areas requiring urgent action, attendees called for greater cooperation and

adherence among intergovernmental organizations and developed a program of workfor the Commission on Sustainable Development for the years 19982002. The

program included a comprehensive review of the program of action for the

sustainable development of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), developing

integrated management and planning of land resources, and developing strategic

approaches to freshwater management.

Read more: The earth summitagenda 21 - Economic and Social Development - tax,

product, issues, growth, system, future,

policyhttp://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/United-Nations/Economic-and-Social-

Development-THE-EARTH-SUMMIT-AGENDA-21.html#ixzz1Er00rI7s


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Agenda 21

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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suggestions. (February 2009)

Agenda 21 is an action plan of theUnited Nations (UN) related to sustainable development and was an outcome of the United

Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janerio, Brazil, in 1992. It is a comprehensive

blueprint of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the UN, governments, and major groups in

every area in which humans directly affect theenvironment.

Contents

[hide]

1 Development of Agenda 21

2 Rio5

3 The Johannesburg Summit

4 Implementation

5 Structure and contents

o 5.1 Section I: Social and Economic Dimensions

o 5.2 Section II: Conservation and Management of Resources for Development

o 5.3 Section III: Strengthening the Role of Major Groups

o 5.4 Section IV: Means of Implementation

6 Local Agenda 21

7 See also

8 References

9 External links

Development of Agenda 21

The full text of Agenda 21 was revealed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit),

held in Rio de Janeiro on June 13, 1992, where 178 governments voted to adopt the program. The final text was the result of

drafting, consultation and negotiation, beginning in 1989 and culminating at the two-week conference. The number 21 refers to

an agenda for the 21st century. It may also refer to the number on the UN's agenda at this particular summit.

Rio5

In 1997, the General Assembly of the UN held a special session to appraise five years of progress on the implementation of

Agenda 21 (Rio +5). The Assembly recognized progress as 'uneven' and identified key trends including


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Documents

Earth Summit and Agenda 21