PHA-Exchange> Report tracks a decade of sustainable development in six countries

[George(s) Lessard]

Reports from six countries 
on progress towards 
Sustainable development  

India Japan South Africa Tanzania Uganda United States  

The Report is available online only. Visit the Panos London™s website - 
http://www.panos.org.uk/environment/roads_to_the_summit_cover.htm
The Report
http://www.panos.org.uk/Earth%20Summit%202002%20Report.pdf

This requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to be installed on your computer, 
which can be downloaded here. 
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html  


For online version clickhere. 
http://www.panos.org.uk/environment/roads_to_the_summit.htm

For a "text-only" [Actually a 343 kb MS Word... ed.] version clickhere. 

http://www.panos.org.uk/environment/Earth%20Summit%202002%20-
Roads%20to%20the%20summit.doc

[Please copy & past all lines of the URL into your browser 
[rather than double-clicking for access] 
if you are having problems accessing the site. ed]

Click here for News Release. 
http://www.panos.org.uk/environment/PR_roads_to_the_summit.htm

------- Forwarded message follows -------  


For immediate release
Newspeg:
World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, South 
Africa
26 August “ 4 September 2002 
Roads to the Summit

Panos London and LEAD international have published a joint new 
report, which explores what six countries have achieved in sustainable 
development since the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio. The report, called 
Roads to the Summit, also looks at their preparations for the upcoming 
World Summit in Johannesburg. The countries in focus are: India, 
Japan, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and the United States.

The report shows that each country has enacted an array of new mainly 
environmental legislation, but has largely failed to go the extra mile to 
integrate environmental protection with development. Most of the 
countries being reviewed, moreover, do not appear convinced by the 
concept of sustainable development.

The report shows that the poorer countries lack the physical 
infrastructure, ideas and human capacity to integrate sustainability into 
their development planning. Richer countries, on the other hand, 
perceive sustainability to be expensive to implement.

However, most of the countries analysed in this report have established 
environment ministries and signed or ratified the main Rio environment 
conventions. And many “ particularly the US “ have successful local-
authority initiatives in sustainability.

In addition, the decade since the Rio summit has seen a flowering of 
new environmental NGOs and new business initiatives in sustainable 
development. Both business and NGO groups -- who were new to Rio -- 
are now more mature and play an important role in their countries™ 
sustainable development policymaking. 
Agendas for Johannesburg
Poor countries and development organizations want to put poverty 
reduction at the top of the summit agenda, according to the report. The 
richer governments on the other hand, are pushing for the Summit to 
focus on concrete results on a broader range of issues, which they see 
as urgent and dangerously neglected “ such as water, energy, health, 
agriculture and biodiversity.

Predictably, Japan and the US are more lukewarm about the Summit 
than the other countries. The US, in particular, does not want the 
summit to encroach upon other international initiatives, such as climate 
change, biodiversity, desertification, international trade and 
development finance, which are all discussed in separate and 
comprehensive international meetings.

Environmental organisations will use the summit to call countries to 
account; to praise positive initiatives, and to shame those that have 
taken little action. Other issues that some governments want to see 
discussed include insecurity, the failure of some states, the underlying 
causes of terrorism, technological progress in communications, and the 
role of science and technology in sustainable development.
- ends - 

The Report is available online only. Visit the Panos London™s website - www.panos.org.uk/environment/roads_to_the_summit_cover.htm <http://www.panos.org.uk/environment/roads_to_the_summit_cover.htm>  

Notes Panos-London™s mission is to work with media and other 
information actors to enable developing countries to shape and 
communicate their own development agendas through informed public 
debate. Panos particularly focuses on amplifying the voices of the poor 
and marginalized.  

Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) is a global 
network of 1200 professionals and 14 NGOs committed to sustainable 
development. LEAD™s mission is to create, strengthen and support 
networks of people and institutions promoting change towards 
sustainable development. More from www.lead.org 
<http://www.lead.org/>  

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*** Via / From / Thanks to the following :  

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