Taking stock of biodiversity

Protect & profit

Money matters

The web is getting tighter. The South is realising that funds that were to pay for global environmental problems are entangled in countless issues.

Whither peoples’ movements

The Rio summit proved graphically that even in Northern countries such as the US and Canada and the European countries, national and regional level movements on issues such as environment, sustainable development and toxic wastes did not find a voice either in the process leading up to UNCED or in UNCED itself.

Press rewind key

1992 was the year of environment. More than 100 heads of state and government gathered at Rio to discuss the health of the planet. But the conference refused to look at underlying issues, lack of global democracy at one level and local democracy on the other, that favour exploitative forces. Instead, they dealt with symptoms of the disease and promised a few technocratic and regulatory pills.

20 years to…where?

Next year, in June, world leaders will get together in the joyful city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to mark 20 years of UNCED—the Earth Summit (see Down to Earth, May 15, 1992).

Time for green gadgets

Though they were not very much in the spotlight, many scientists were present in Rio to stress that while the development of science and technology has been held responsible for the present ecological crisis, the solutions too lie in harnessing of science to meet the ecological needs of today.

Only one people

The biggest problem with the Rio conference has been its petty-mindedness. It has consistently refused to look into the basic processes that lead to environmental destruction. The world’s political leaders have shown great fear of the economic and political restructuring that such an approach would demand.

Mining industry makes all-out bid to send right signals before WSSD

in the run up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (wssd) to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from August 26 to September 4, 2002 leading business establishments across the globe are scurrying to portray their respective sectors as sustainable. One such segment is the mining industry.

Three brackets to Johannesburg

"don't consider this as a big disaster" said Emil Salim referring to the fourth preparatory committee (prepcom) for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (wssd), that was held in Bali from May 27 to June 7, 2002, of which the former Indonesian minister was the chair. This, the latest instalment of "we are all doing well" from the organisers of the Summit belies the real truth: we are not well -- we are all in the well, deep, down and under.

Going slow

Efforts to reduce the impact of business and industry on nature are falling short, reveals a new United Nations Environment Programme (unep) report. Very few companies in each industry are actively integrating social and environmental factors into business decisions. Furthermore, improvements are being overtaken by economic growth and increasing demand for goods and services, states the document.