World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002-Johannesburg
-Michael Odenwald,
Editor, Focus magazine, Germany
The earth must function
as a home for future generations, too; enabling people to feed themselves from the land
and utilize the earth's resources, like those before them-in such a way, however, that
natural assets are preserved for forthcoming generations. Such were the conclusions
reached by the international community at the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and
Development in Rio de Janeiro. The conference was acclaimed worldwide, attracting an
impressive 17,000 participants to the Brazilian metropolis, including government
delegations representing 178 countries. Together with envoys sent by local authorities,
representatives of environmental and developmental organizations as well as leading
figures from the scientific and economic communities, the assembled delegates addressed
the need to find solutions for global problems such as hunger, poverty and war in addition
to the growing socio-economic gap between industrialized and developing countries. The
central issue, however was how to protect the global Eco-systems from damage. The
industrial countries acknowledged that they had a particular obligation to preserve the
earth's natural assets, since they were chiefly responsible for environmental problems
across national boundaries. At the Rio conference, therefore, they committed themselves to
supporting a model of "sustainable development". The summit's main achievement
was the adoption of Agenda 21, a program of action for achieving and preserving worldwide
quality of life in the 21 st century. The 40-chapter document lays down strategic
recommendations for all major areas of politics, including the "Convention on the
Preservation of Biological Diversity", the "Declaration on Forest
Preservation" and the "Framework Convention on Climate Change". The latter
was implemented in the Kyoto Climate Protection Protocol of 1997 through which the
majority of industrialized nations committed themselves to reducing greenhouse gas
emissions. Ultimately, the Rio Declaration lays down 27 principles governing nations'
behavior in matters of ecological and political development both towards each other and
regarding their fellow citizens. The first principle reads: "People are what matter
when it comes to striving to secure sustainable developments which will not destroy the
environment. They have a right to lead a healthy and productive life in harmony with
nature." Now, ten years after the Rio Earth summit, those involved in Rio process are
meeting once again-this times in Johannesburg. The "World Summit on Sustainable
Development" will take place in South Africa's biggest city from August 26 to
September 4 with 65,000 participants invited by the South African government.
Realizing
potential for sustainability: In common with all other signatories of Agenda 21,
the German government is committed to presenting a national strategy on Sustainable
Development by the Johannesburg World Summit, equal to a political concept which will
clarify just how future issues like environmental protection and socio-economic
development will be dealt with in Germany. The model for the National Strategy on
Sustainable Development at the follow-on-conference from Rio lists 21 aims and indicators
relative to sustainable development plus ways and means towards the best prospects for
viable future development; including for example, halving the amount of power and raw
material consumption by 2020 compared to 1990 levels and doubling the percentage of
renewable energy used as part of total energy consumption by 2010. The amount of living
space needed will be reduced from current levels of 130 to 30 hectares per day by 2020.
Private and public expenditure on research and development will steadily increase to three
percent of gross domestic product and all-day child care provision will become more
systematically widespread. "The strategy on Sustainable Development covers a wide
spectrum: fairness towards future generations, social cohesion, quality of life and
international responsibility from the cornerstones of our strategy," says Hans Martin
Bury, cabinet minister and advisor to the Federal Chancellor as well as chairman of the
"Green Cabinet", a parliamentary committee involving several ministries which is
in charge of strategic preparations for Johannesburg.
The Johannesburg agenda
devotes plenty of time to reviewing progress of the Rio aims to date:; assessing what has
or has not been achieved over the past decade. Countless reports from various UN
organizations will form the basis for this. including the "Global Environment
Outlook" of the UNEP which documents changes in global ecosystems or the "Report
on Poverty in Rural Areas" compiled by the international Agrarian Development Fund.
The issues to be
considered at Johannesburg are being identified at national and, ultimately, international
preparatory conferences. The process is still underway; following a third international
conference in New York at the beginning of April and a final one will now take place in
the Indonesian Island of Bali. (Both of these meetings have already concluded-editor). Yet
the major issues have already emerged. The protection and efficient management of
resources have top priority as a prerequisite for sustainable global economic strategy. In
particular with regard to energy production and water management. The fight against
poverty and globalization issues are also at the forefront. The main challenge will
consist of turning globalization into a positive development for people all over the world
and setting up a regulatory framework which opens up viable future prospects for market
economies. Then there are "classic" issues like global environmental protection,
preserving of biological diversity, combating desertification and protecting forests.
In the southern
countries, poverty is one of the major causes of environmental destruction depriving many
people of the economic, social and cultural basis underlying their existence. The struggle
to survive forces the poor and the hungry to massive over-exploitation of sensitive
eco-systems. Many people can't afford fuel and building materials, for example. In
desperation they strip away at forests in order to have wood for heating and housing. A
vicious circle ensues: depleted forests reduce biological diversity, sink the groundwater
level and precipitate desertification. This results in inferior soil quality and poor
agricultural harvests which in turn affect those who are unable to buy extra food due to
poverty. At the millennium Summit in September 2000 in New York the world's heads of state
addressed the problem and decided that the number of people living in extreme poverty must
be halved worldwide by 2015. Germany's "Program of Action 2015" will make a
special contribution to this cause, too.
Overall, the world's
heads of state in Johannesburg should agree on a time table to implement the resolutions
adopted in 1992. In addition, it is time to adopt a final declaration. Both steps are
urgently required in order to give the Rio process a new lease of life. Notwithstanding
certain progress over the past decade towards a sustainable global economy, much still
remains to be done. Poverty is still widespread, the world's climate is changing visibly
due to scarcely reduced levels of greenhouse gases and biological diversity is
disappearing rapidly. Yet it is by no means certain that the continuation of Rio will take
place in Johannesburg. What NGO officials fear most of all is that, if anything, the
results of Johannesburg might not even equal those of Rio. The German ministry for the
environment, however, is optimistic.
A long term aim of the
Rio process is the adoption of an "Earth Charter"' as a global model. The
Charter lays down 16 resolutions governing ethical principles towards a sustainable way of
life. Germany's UNEP director Klaus Topfer hopes that "'the principles laid down in
the Charter will serve a guideline for the governments, nature conservation organizations,
industrial and scientific communities involved".
The Earth Charter as a
long-term aim:; The "Earth Charter"' also calls upon humanity to husband its
resources. The Germans in the 14-century knew how to do this. In those days, forestry
regulations forbade the cutting down of trees, which could not be replenished. In 1975,
the forester Georg Ludwig gave a closer definition of his ancestors' conclusions:
"'The forests should be used in such a way that future generation can profit from
them just as current generations do". The world is calling upon the
"Rio+10"' conference in Johannesburg to emulate the forester.
Text Courtesy:
Deutschland. N 3/2002 June/July. Embassy of Germany in Kathmandu.
On the eve of
French National day : 14 July
French Foreign Policy
As one of the oldest
European nations, the country in which the ideals of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights originated and a permanent member of the Security Council, France has always
claimed the right to influence international affairs and done so.
After the Second
World War, the determination to bring to an end the rivalries that had long torn Europe
apart led France, together with its European neighbors, to build the European Community,
which subsequently became the European Union. Further afield, France has continued to
develop its special relations with African, Middle-eastern and Asian countries and has
campaigned for development in the Southern Hemisphere, especially in the LDCs. A shared
history has forged close ties with the Americans, which it continues to maintain. France
remains faithful to the ideals of 1789 Revolution: Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity for
all of humanity. France's activity in support of democracy and peace all over the world is
proof of its commitment to these ideals.
Principles: The
aim of French foreign policy are unchanging. The type of influence exerted has of course
evolved since the end of Second World War, but French policy has always been based on
respect for certain principles.
France values its
independence highly, a principle which guided General de Gaulle's foreign policy during
the 1960s and underpinned his decision that France should develop a credible independent
defense capability based on nuclear deterrence. The same spirit lay behind some
spectacular diplomatic initiatives, notably in the Middle East and Asia which showed that
France remained wholly in control when it came to analysing situations and deciding its
foreign policy options. The determination to continue along this path did not weaken over
the subsequent decades.
However, France's
commitment to independence does not preclude efforts to develop solidarity with others.
Throughout the Cold War, France reaffirmed through words and deeds that it was a part of
the free world. It fulfils the responsibilities devolving from its international status as
a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a member of various
alliances and is guided by the ambition to see that the values it has inspired-values
enshrined in solemn documents by international institutions-prevail throughout the world.
These principles and
ambitions have lost none of their validity now that the Cold War has ended. They continue
to shape France's major foreign policy goals, which are to pursue European integration in
order to guarantee stability and prosperity on the continent, and to encourage progress
towards peace, democracy and development within the international community.
France and the
building of Europe: Since 1945, building Europe has been central to French
foreign policy. These considerations have made these ambitious design a priority: the
determination to end the conflicts that twice in the space of 30 years tore the continent
apart and weakened France; the need in the cold war context, to ensure stability and
guarantee the security of democratic nations west of the Iron Curtain; and finally the
desire to build a united economic areas adapted to modern production conditions,
guaranteeing the prosperity of the European peoples.
Two French politicians
were instrumental in launching the building of Europe: Robert Schuman and Jean Monnet.
Believing in the need to bring the nations of Europe together into a single organization,
they set up a framework of economic cooperation with a view to speeding up the
establishment of closer political ties. This was the context in which the European Coal
and Steel Community, ECSC, was founded on April 18, 1951 and its institutions were to
serve as a model for subsequent stages in European integration. On 25 March 1957, the six
member states of the ECSC-Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands,
signed the Treaty of Rome setting up the European Economic Community, EEC. The six nations
pledged to link their economic future by abolishing all customs barriers between them and
establishing a Common Agricultural Policy, CAP.
When General de Gaulle
became President of France in 1958, he expressed his determination to go further in this
direction, as have his successors. And so, in the three decades since the treaty of Rome
was signed, France actively contributed to the steady progress of the process of building
of Europe. Under George Pompidou's presidency, on 1 January 1973, the customs union was
followed by first enlargement of the Community to include three new members:; the United
Kingdom, Denmark and Ireland. The 1970s saw important political reforms such as the
establishment of the European Council, bringing together the heads of state or
governments, the election of members of the European Parliament by universal suffrage and
the development of the European Monetary System, EMS, at the instigation of president
Valery Giscard d'Estaing and Chancellor Helmut Schmidt of Germany. Soon afterwards, the
desire to help the democratic states of southern Europe led to a further enlargement:
Greece joined the Community in 1981, Spain and Portugal in 1986. Finally at the
instigation of Francois Mitterand, Helmut Kohl and Jacques Delors, then president of the
European Commission, the Single European Act was adopted in February 1986. Its aim is to
create a genuine single European market guaranteeing freedom of movement for people, goods
and capital, as well as freedom to provide services anywhere in the Community. By and
large, this was achieved by 1993. |
