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![UNCED Conference](/web/20160804205640im_/http://www.un.org/geninfo/bp/uncedtyp.gif)
Conference |
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED),
Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992 |
Informal name |
The Earth Summit |
Host Government |
Brazil |
Number of Governments participating |
172, 108 at level of heads of State or Government |
Conference Secretary-General |
Maurice F. Strong, Canada |
Organizers |
UNCED secretariat |
Principal themes |
Environment and sustainable development |
NGO presence |
Some 2,400 representatives of non-governmental organizations
(NGOs); 17,000 people attended the parallel NGO Forum |
Resulting document |
Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development,
the Statement of Forest Principles, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change and the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity |
Follow-up mechanisms |
Follow-up mechanisms: Commission on Sustainable Development; Inter-agency Committee
on Sustainable Development; High-level Advisory Board on Sustainable Development |
Previous conference |
UN Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm (1972) |
The Earth Summit
The Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro was unprecedented for a UN conference, in terms
of both its size and the scope of its concerns. Twenty years after the first global
environment conference, the UN sought to help Governments rethink economic development
and find ways to halt the destruction of irreplaceable natural resources and pollution
of the planet. Hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life were drawn
into the Rio process. They persuaded their leaders to go to Rio and join other nations
in making the difficult decisions needed to ensure a healthy planet for generations
to come.
The Summit’s message — that nothing less than a transformation of our attitudes and
behaviour would bring about the necessary changes — was transmitted by almost 10,000
on-site journalists and heard by millions around the world. The message reflected
the complexity of the problems facing us: that poverty as well as excessive consumption
by affluent populations place damaging stress on the environment. Governments recognized
the need to redirect international and national plans and policies to ensure that
all economic decisions fully took into account any environmental impact. And the
message has produced results, making eco-efficiency a guiding principle for business
and governments alike.
- Patterns of production — particularly the production of toxic components, such
as lead in gasoline, or poisonous waste — are being scrutinized in a systematic manner
by the UN and Governments alike;
- Alternative sources of energy are being sought to replace the use of fossil fuels
which are linked to global climate change;
- New reliance on public transportation systems is being emphasized in order to
reduce vehicle emissions, congestion in cities and the health problems caused by
polluted air and smog;
- There is much greater awareness of and concern over the growing scarcity of water.
The two-week Earth Summit was the climax of a process, begun in December 1989, of
planning, education and negotiations among all Member States of the United Nations,
leading to the adoption of Agenda 21, a wide-ranging blueprint for action to achieve
sustainable development worldwide. At its close, Maurice Strong, the Conference Secretary-General,
called the Summit a “historic moment for humanity”. Although Agenda 21 had been weakened
by compromise and negotiation, he said, it was still the most comprehensive and,
if implemented, effective programme of action ever sanctioned by the international
community. Today, efforts to ensure its proper implementation continue, and they
will be reviewed by the UN General Assembly at a special session to be held in June
1997.
The Earth Summit influenced all subsequent UN conferences, which have examined the
relationship between human rights, population, social development, women and human
settlements — and the need for environmentally sustainable development. The World
Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna in 1993, for example, 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.
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Revised 23 May 1997
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