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25 years of Stakeholder Forum
25 years ago, Mostafa Tolba, the then Executive Director of UNEP, approached UK stakeholders and the UK government to set up what would become the first UNEP National Committee, writes Felix Dodds, Stakeholder Forum. Originally known as UNEP-UK and housed at IIED, Stakeholder Forum was born in June 1987… More |
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Roads to Rio and points beyond
If one calls where we are now Point A – ‘living outside planetary boundaries’ – we have to get to Point B – ‘living within Planetary Boundaries’. There are many different routes to Point B, writes Catherine Skopic. Some of us have a long way to travel, being very far away, greatly exceeding planetary boundaries; and some of us are already close to Point B, living in proximity to planetary boundaries – and all of us need to live within the context of happiness and wellbeing…. More |
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Sustainable Development Dialogues
The Government of Brazil is organising, with the support of the United Nations, the Sustainable Development Dialogues, a forum for civil society, to be held in Riocentro, between 16-19 June, in the context of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development – Rio+20… More |
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Profile: Rachel Kyte
Name: Rachel Kyte
Nationality: British
Country of Residence: USA (Washington D.C.)
Current Position: Vice President of Sustainable Development, World Bank.. More
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Rio+20 must address global economic governance
As many of you know, during the previous round of informal informals, civil society was alarmed at the proposals of certain states to delete, weaken or bracket references to rights, equity and important Rio principles, which are also grounded on human rights, writes IBON International. We initiated an open letter to the UN Secretary General and member states, signed by over a thousand organisations from over 100 countries and territories, expressing our alarm and calling on them to reaffirm and strengthen rights and Rio principles and be accountable for their implementation… More |
Right to water affirmed, but social rights and Rio principles still under threat
A few weeks ago, civil society groups involved in Rio+20, shared their deep concern about the threat against human and social rights in the draft text for Rio, as well as the risk to important collective principles established in 1992 at the first Earth Summit,André Abreu, France Libertés Foundation. During the negotiations in March, we watched with surprise and disappointment, a group of a few member states on an offensive to bracket and delete any reference to human rights, including the right to water, in the draft text…More |
Major Group interviews on the Rio+20 Process 1
In the run up to the Earth Summit in June, the Major Groups have been invited to fill out a questionnaire on the Rio+20 process, the responses from four of the groups can be seen below. Questions were focused on the development of a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication, looking at the inequity within and between countries, and the overexploitation of natural resources and the destruction of the environment… More |
Recipe for success at Rio+20
Nathalie Rey, Greenpeace
- Take one small planet
- Add a Rio outcome containing new commitments; recycling old ones is not sufficient
- Using a new high seas biodiversity agreement, ensure benefits from marine genetic resources are divided fairly
- Take existing economies, remove rotten sections leaving only green parts… More
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Major Group interviews on the Rio+20 Process 2
ANSWERS BY LEIDA RIJNHOUT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ANPED, REPRESENTATIVE OF NGO’S A1: There is huge inequality in resources and power at the global level, as well as within countries. How do you think this influences country efforts to attain sustainable development? More |
Major Group interviews on the Rio+20 Process 3
ANSWERS BY JOJI CARINO, REPRESENTATIVE OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES:
A1: There is huge inequality in resources and power at the global level, as well as within countries. How do you think this influences country efforts to attain sustainable development? More
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Moving from the ‘future we can achieve’ to the ‘future we want’
By choosing the title “the future we want”, the UN has challenged us to avoid making the mistakes of the past and to rather think outside of the box to bring real solutions to the negotiating table, write Alice Vincent and Sébastien Duyck. So far, it seems that too few have registered this challenge. With 47 days to go until Rio+20, we call on young people to drop the façade of pragmatism and ignore calls to be more ‘realistic’, for it is having the guts to keep calling for more ambitious change that will move us towards a brighter future… More |
A sense of possibility – delegates’ minds turn to post Rio delivery in New York
The likely tangible outcomes and post Rio+20 activities are starting to emerge from the jumble of square brackets and haze of wordsmithing here in New York, writes Sue Riddlestone, BioRegional. As we reach the final days of the negotiations, you can see delegates’ minds starting to turn to implementation of the anticipated agreements, with the obvious main outcome expected to be the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)… More |
What happens on Monday? From Talk to Walk
Riding on the wave of momentum generated from Conferences and Summits is something that we all aim for – to go home and set in motion all the plans that will support the outcomes and achieve the commitments made, and to set to task to create the future that they want, writes Kirsty Schneeberger, Stakeholder Forum. History shows us, however, that despite all best intentions, when one thousand flowers bloom, they do not always all survive… More |
Reflections on the negotiations
The corridors leading to conference room 1 were alive with discussions and delegates intently reading a two page document. They were accentuating their arguments with body language, displaying strength, showing defensive positions, reading, studying, questioning, and looking behind the words for a subtle meaning, writes Jan-Gustav Strandenaes, Stakeholder Forum. The veil of apparent lethargy had lifted from the negotiations and been substituted with delegate passion: the long awaited proposal on IFSD from G77 had finally revealed itself… More |
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Quote of the day
Some have dreams of Rio that reach far into the future. I have a very concrete dream. It is just around the corner: ready to happen – just waiting for some bold Rio negotiators to make it happen. What is that dream? That one year after Rio, all large companies of the world – almost a hundred thousand – will be measuring their impact on sustainable development; and share that knowledge through sustainability reporting.
Teresa Fogelberg, Deputy Chief Executive, GRI
Outreach is a multi-stakeholder magazine which is published daily at Rio+20 Intersessional and Preparatory Meetings. The articles written are intended to reflect those of the authors alone or where indicated a coalition’s opinion. An individual’s article is the opinion of that author alone, and does not reflect the opinions of all stakeholders.
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