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The United Nations World Summit on
Sustainable Development
 

Rio Earth Summit

The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the "Earth Summit," was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. The Earth Summit (held on the 20th anniversary of the first U.N. Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm 1972) made history by bringing global attention to the understanding that environment protection and natural resource management were closely linked to economic and social conditions, such as poverty. It recognized that social, environmental, and economic needs must be met in a balance with each other for sustainable outcomes in the long term. It captured this concept in the term "sustainable development" defined as ". . . development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

This concept of sustainable development was proclaimed as a workable objective for everyone around the world, whether at the sub-national (e.g., local, regional, state, etc.), national, or international levels. The concept started a lively debate among governments, and between governments and their citizens, on how to achieve sustainability.

President George H.W. Bush participated in the Earth Summit and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator William Reilly led the U.S. delegation.

The Earth Summit produced:

  1. The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development: A set of 27 principles to help guide international action on the basis of environmental, social and economic responsibility;

  2. Agenda 21: A broad ranging program of voluntary actions (or blueprint) on how to make development socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable - a guide for business and government policies and for personal choices;

  3. Statement of Forest Principles: a set of 15 non-legally binding principles governing national and international policy for the protection, management and utilization of global forest resources;

  4. Two international conventions: The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity; and

  5. United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD): An institutional outcome established to monitor effective implementation of Agenda 21. The CSD consistently generates a high level of interest; over 50 Ministers attend the annual sessions. A five-year review was held in June 1997 in which President Clinton participated. The CSD is serving as the central organizing body for the 2002 World Summit.

World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)

The World Summit on Sustainable Development was convened, 10 years after the historic United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, the "Earth Summit," held in Rio de Janiero in 1992. The Summit was held from August 26 to September 4, 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Summit on Sustainable Development focused on taking concrete steps for better implementing sustainable development as presented in Agenda 21: The United Nations Programme of Action from Rio. Also, the Summit reinvigorated, at the highest political level, the global commitment to sustainable development and its implementation at the local, regional, national, and international levels. In addition, the Summit fostered creative new partnerships that mobilize governments, the private sector and civil society to collaborate for sustainable development. The issues taken up at the Summit included all aspects of sustainable development, including water, energy, health, agriculture, and biodiversity (ecosystems).

The 40,000 participants included governments, non-governmental organizations, business and industry, multilateral financial institutions, United Nations agencies, citizen groups, and others. Citizen participation was organized around the nine "major groups" as identified in Agenda 21 (business and industry, scientists, women, non-governmental organizations, indigenous people, youth, trade unions, state and local governments, and farmers) and included formal "Multistakeholder Dialogues" on specific topics.

World Summit Links

International Links

International Partnerships for Sustainable Development

United States Government and U.S. Agencies
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Last updated: December 2, 2002