The Conventions

36. Two conventions were also signed at the Rio Conference: one on the Protection of Biodiversity, and another the Framework Convention on Climate Change. At the beginning of the Preparatory Process, the idea for a third convention on Forests was also discussed, but it appears that countries were not ready and adopted, instead, a "non-binding" statement of principles on forests. However, no doubt rests that in the way the Rio Declaration will be revisited as a first draft for an Earth Charter, sooner or later the "Forest Principles" document will be considered by many as a first step in the direction of an eventual international legal instrument on that subject.

37. The Framework Convention on Climate Change is particularly interesting in the context of evaluating the Earth Summit as a whole. Not a strong convention in the specific obligations of the parties in terms of limiting greenhouse gas emissions (the industrialized country parties) and of reporting (communication) requirements (all country parties), it is nevertheless considered by many to be a good first step given the complexity of the problem. The important elements of a strong treaty are there. The treaty needs time during which specific objectives can be further concretized, as the scientific uncertainties are diminished and the general political context toward the treaty becomes friendlier.

38. When "evaluating" the Climate Convention, it is worth comparing it briefly to the Vienna Convention, which was the basis for the Montreal Protocol for the Protection of the Ozone Layer. While the Vienna Convention itself was judged by many to be weak, later it was possible to complement it with strong and effective protocols. In this sense, the Framework Convention on Climate Change has a head start, as it is already much more concrete. Hopefully, over time, some of the specific provision can be further strengthened.

39. It would be a mistake to attribute the conference success (or lack of it) to its paper output. The conventions, Agenda 21 and the declarations are all extremely important, as these are documents that one can refer to either in some general way, or specifically as legal instruments. Nevertheless, some of the unwritten, less tangible but equally important outputs of UNCED must not be forgotten.

40. The first and perhaps most important of these, already mentioned above, is the question of wide participation. That so many were involved in the preparatory process, that so many came to Rio, and that most of the major sectors were well represented have started a new process. UNCED has demonstrated not only the need, but also the real possibility for bringing together groups of people representing wide ranges of social, political and ethical views, and at the same time being able to work on common issues of concern. Nothing is perfect, and the UNCED process certainly wasn't. Many important groups -- such as organized labour -- were almost completely absent from the process.

41. Some observers argue that such broad participation was a "sell-out" by the environmental movement to the business or economic development communities. [See, for example, Pratap Chatterjee, Matthias & Andrea Finger: UNCED Follow-up, The same old order, in EcoCurrents, Vol.2, No. 3, December 1992. ]  The "environmental community" cannot solve the problems of sustainable development on its own, and neither can the business or development communities. We are in this together, and we need each other to get to the end of the tunnel. In that process, compromises will be made on all sides.

42. Similarly, the UNCED experience confirms that building regional and global partnerships around certain issues is of vital importance, and further, that they are absolutely necessary for satisfactory resolution of many problems. The experience of the world's indigenous communities provides excellent examples to how this can be done, even for people coming from very different backgrounds.

43. Perhaps the most crucial "result" of the whole UNCED process has been the "process" itself. The National Reports for UNCED were not typically prepared by a single ministry -- the usual course of action for large UN conferences of this kind -- but rather inter-ministerial committees, representing environment, industry, agriculture, non-governmental organizations, etc. Many of these committees continue to function after the Conference itself is over, realizing that interdisciplinary, sustainable development issues can be discussed and worked on in such a process. Environmental and developmental NGOs have began to talk to each other seriously, although disagreements remain. The business community is tackling challenges put forward by the Business Council on Sustainable Development, limited as their support may have been. Life, environmental protection, economic development, sustainable development, are simply not the same as before the Conference.

44. It is a year since the Earth Summit. If we believe that UNCED should be judged as much by the process as the words on paper, let us see how that process has moved forward.

45. At the institutional level, the Commission on Sustainable Development of the United Nations has been launched. The CSD will meet on a regular, yearly basis to consider an ambitious agenda to follow up the decision of the Earth Summit. The first substantive meeting of the CSD is in June of 1993, and by that time more will be known more about the way the Commission intends to operate.

46. Following one decision of the Earth Summit, a new inter-governmental commission was created to begin the negotiation of a Convention on Desertification. A small secretariat has been set up in Geneva, and work has started.

47. The Secretary General of the United Nations has made a number of changes within the UN itself, to respond to the recommendations of UNCED, in particular, forming an Inter-agency Committee on Sustainable Development. Its purpose is to ensure that different UN organizations can respond to the recommendations of UNCED in a coordinated manner.

48. At the level of the UN Secretariat, the Secretary General has initiated a major reorganization. An entirely new department was created, the Department on Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development (DPCSD), headed by Nitin Desai, who was the Deputy Secretary General of UNCED. The DPCSD has a number of major functions, including servicing the Commission for Sustainable Development and the Inter-Agency Committee on Sustainable Development, as well as providing secretariats for the Conventions on Climate Change and Desertification (CSD). Through these functions the new department will be able to continually monitor implementation of Rio agreements, not only by countries but also by United Nations organizations themselves. Asked to complete a full review of the whole of Agenda 21, and its implementation, by 1997, the Department has an ambitious agenda. It still remains to be seen, however, whether it will be provided with the necessary human and financial resources to carry these out effectively. The expectations are very large.

49. There is little reliable information about happenings at the national level. Anecdotal evidence, however, suggests that many countries have tried to vigorously push forward key recommendations of Rio. In many cases, inter-ministerial committees set up to prepare the UNCED National Reports, are being revived with the task of preparing national programmes to respond to Rio Recommendations, or to develop "national Agenda 21's." Similar anecdotal evidence from inter-governmental organizations suggests that their programmes are being revised in the light of the recommendations of Agenda 21. Starting with the first session of the Commission on Sustainable Development, one hopes regular reports on these activities from countries and international organizations will be received.

50. One interesting example of this is the United Nations Development Programme pilot programme on the Sustainable Development Network (SDN). The basic idea is to set up national networks of key actors in sustainable development, covering all major stakeholders and sectors. Through such an approach, it is felt countries will be better equipped to undertake sustainable development activities, such as the creation and implementation of "national Agenda 21's".  [For further information contact the Director of the SDN, UNDP, New York, NY. 10017, USA. Tel.: (1-212)906-5862, Fax.: (1-212)906-6952, or E-mail at: chuck.lankester@undp.org ]]

51. At the non-governmental level there has also been movement. Notable among these has been the launching of the San José, Costa Rica-based Earth Council -- an international, NGO, whose mandate is to monitor and evaluate the performance of countries, of inter- and non-governmental organizations in implementing the Rio agreements. [For further information contact the Executive Director, Consejo de la Tierra, Aptd. 2323-1001, San José, Costa Rica. Tel.: (506)23-3418, Fax.: (506)55-2197, and E-mail: abarcena@igc.apc.org ]

52. While there is movement, in one area very little has been achieved: the area of new, additional financial resources. While the UNCED Secretariat's estimate of $120 billion per year was only one possible estimate, practically no new funding has been made available. In anything, there even seems to be a tendency to cut existing levels of development assistance.

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