World Summit on Sustainable Development
This section contains information in chronological order on the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). The WSSD was preceded by 4 global preparatory meetings (Prepcom IV in Bali, and Prepcom III, II and I in New York). There were also regional processes that contributed to the WSSD. Lastly, there is information as produced by our colleague NGOs, or by specific governmental bodies.
AFTER WSSD: ANPED and IIED launch
ANPED and the International Institute for Environment and Development jointly launched a website and CD_ROM that brings together the broad range of ideas and information developed as a result of the WSSD, which would otherwise be lost - focussing not just on the inter-governmental process, but on the range of meetings and initiatives developed in the space created by the official event.
WORLD SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Johannesburg, South Africa 26 August - 4 September 2002
Introduction.
The WSSD took place in Johannesburg, South Africa in August/September 2002, 10 years after Rio. ANPED was closely involved in the preparations for the World Summit, both on the global level, and within the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) region.
As expected, the Johannesburg Summit attracted more than 100 Heads of State and thousands more high level government officials. The Summit enjoyed the participation of an unprecedented number of delegates from the global business community, NGOs, Trade Union representatives and a wide range of community based organisations. With the considerable sectoral representation of different groups at the Summit, the understanding of sustainable development was broadened and strengthened. Moreover, the Summit reaffirmed sustainable development as a central element of the international agenda and gave new impetus to global action to fight poverty and protect the environment.
Critique however is justified. The large number of participants were not able to devise a strong plan of action, as the programme ended up with close to no new targets for action, and close to no timetables for implementation. In fact, the “implementation” summit (as this summit was dubbed) served more to protect the basic principles of sustainable development than to find creative solutions to move the sustainable development agenda along.
Below are the reports of each of the Preparatory meetings leading up to the WSSD, as well as the publications ANPED helped produce that were published during these meetings. In addition, you will find a description of the different coalitions in which ANPED participated.
We have also included most of the relevant documents produced at or for the summit. By reading through the documents that were produced after each preparatory meeting, one can get a sense of what the real sticking points were.
Many different analyses have been written on the Summit. ANPED staff wrote one also, which you can find below.
ANPED, together with the partners from the Sustainable Development Issues Network (SDIN), convened morning sessions around various issues on the agenda. During the Summit, SDIN has produced the newsletter Taking Issue.
Main Outcomes of WSSD
Johannesburg Plan and Implementation
Political declaration
Summary of chairman
Main outcomes WSSD Civil Society Global Forum
- Civil Society Declaration,
- Program of Action
Sustainable Development Issues Network (SDIN) ANPED is involved in the Sustainable Development Issues Network. SDIN is a collaborative effort among civil society networks and nongovernmental issue caucuses aiming to improve communications and access to information on Sustainable Development issues, with an emphasis on the WSSD. ANPED, together with Third World Network and Environmental Liaison Centre International facilitated the work of SDIN. A partnership with the UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service made it possible to facilitate the participation of many Southern and Eastern European groups. The SDIN distributed information, provided a forum for discussion and tried to ensure that governments received input on issues in a timely and effective manner. The SDIN did not aim to represent the NGOs on issues or political content. Instead, its function during the summit was to act as a co-ordinating and information-disseminating body. This global initiative, where North, South, East and West, as well as the different issue caucuses are represented, tried to ensure that a strong voice will be heard from the groups involved at the Summit in South Africa.
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