Earth Summit 1992

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 relationship between economic development and environmental degradation was first placed on the international agenda in 1972, at the UN Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm. After the Conference, Governments set up the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which today continues to act as a global catalyst for action to protect the environment.

Background: By 1983, when the UN set up the World Commission on Environment and Development, environmental degradation, which had been seen as a side effect of industrial wealth with only a limited impact, was understood to be a matter of survival for developing nations. Led by Gro Harlem Brundtland of Norway, the Commission put forward the concept of sustainable development as an alternative approach to one simply based on economic growth — one “which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

After considering the 1987 Brundtland report, the UN General Assembly called for the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).

The Earth Summit Agreements

In Rio, Governments — 108 represented by heads of State or Government — adopted three major agreements aimed at changing the traditional approach to development:

• Agenda 21 — a comprehensive programme of action for global action in all areas of sustainable development;
  
  
• The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development — a series of principles defining the rights and responsibilities of States;
  
  
• The Statement of Forest Principles — a set of principles to underlie the sustainable management of forests worldwide.

Two legally binding Conventions were signed:

• The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
• The Convention on Biological Diversity

At the Summit, the UN was also called on to negotiate an international legal agreement on desertification, to hold talks on preventing the depletion of certain fish stocks, to devise a programme of action for the sustainable development of small island developing States and to establish mechanisms for ensuring the implementation of the Rio accords.

UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) — The Earth Summit called on the General Assembly to establish the Commission under the Economic and Social Council as a means of supporting and encouraging action by Governments, business, industry and other non-governmental groups to bring about the social and economic changes needed for sustainable development. Each year, the Commission reviews implementation of the Earth Summit agreements, provides policy guidance to Governments and major groups involved in sustainable development and strengthens Agenda 21 by devising additional strategies where necessary. It also promotes dialogue and builds partnerships between Governments and the major groups which are seen as key to achieving sustainable development worldwide. In June 1997, the General Assembly will hold a special session to review overall progress following the Earth Summit.

In 1995, the Commission established under its auspices the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests with a broad mandate covering the entire spectrum of forest-related issues and dealing with conservation, sustainable development and management of all types of forests. The Panel will submit its final report containing concrete conclusions and proposals for action to the 1997 session of the CSD.

In 1995, the Commission also adopted a work programme on the transfer of environmentally sound technology, cooperation and capacity building. The programme places an emphasis on three interrelated priority areas: access to and dissemination of information, capacity building for managing technological change, and financial and partnership arrangements. The Commission is working with the World Trade Organization, the UN Conference on Trade and Development and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to ensure that trade, environment and sustainable development issues are mutually reinforcing.