The environment emerges as prominent international issue
Real success of summit will depend on how well principles are enforced
RIO DE JANEIRO — A few clear lessons have emerged from the Earth Summit which ended on Sunday after a fractious 12 days of diplomatic free-for-all among 178 nations.
One is the new-found prominence of the environment as an international issue, bidding to rank with economics and national security.
After Rio, "you can’t be treated as a world leader on any issue without being a player on the environment", said Dr Michael Oppenheimer, a senior scientist with the Environmental Defence Fund, a research and advocacy organization.
Many diplomats in Rio remarked on the paradox that the Bush administration, immobilized by placating the American rightwing during an election year, was abdicating leadership of the worldwide environmental movement just as the issue was moving to centrestage.
A second lesson is that blandness can sometimes prove to be a surprisingly effective bludgeon.
The parcel of treaties signed have been portrayed by disappointed advocates as pitiful creatures with no bite. But they have hidden teeth that will develop in the right circumstances.
That is why seasoned diplomats such as Mr Richard Benedick, the former US State Department official who helped negotiate the ozone-layer treaty, said on the very first day that "the history books will refer back to this day as a landmark in a process that will save the planet from deterioration".
The Earth Summit "should not be judged by the immediate results, but by the process it sets in motion", he said.
It might be years before the results were apparent, he added.
A case in point is the climate treaty which, at Washington’s insistence, has no targets or timetables for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. Yet it commits ratifying countries to control emissions.
The treaty also has built-in flexibility, allowing for stronger measures if the threat of global warming appears more serious than at present.
The recent complete phase out of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) was set off by just such a provision in the Montreal Protocol governing protection of the ozone layer.
"This is a launching pad, not a quick fix," said Mr Maurice Strong, Executive Secretary of the conference.
On the debit side, the summit agreements all tend towards the lowest common denominator, perhaps an inevitable result when an entire planet’s interests clash on matters involving economics.
On the scorecard of North versus South, the developing countries succeeded clearly in their goal of making economic development as important as environmental protection.
Judging the conference’s immediate accomplishments is an exercise in the half-empty, half-full problem.
Everything now depends on how well the principles enunciated and the bargains struck in Rio between rich and poor countries are put into force.
What a country did in its own backyard was once its own concern. After the conference, the world is more likely to be watching. — NYT.
Some Sobering statistics
BETWEEN 600 and 900 plant and animal species became extinct during the 12 days of the Earth Summit, according to environmentalist groups. They also said that:
• 197,256 ha of arable land turned to desert.
• THE population of the world grew by 3.3 million.
• 534,000 ha of tropical rain forest were destroyed.- Reuter.
Five Principal Summit Documents
•AGENDA 21:
A non-binding, 800-page blueprint for action to protect the environment while encouraging development. Summit organizers said the plan would cost US$125 billion (S$201 billion) a year to implement. It was adopted by consensus on Sunday.
The treaty:
• Calls on countries to use scarce natural resources more efficiently, cut waste and recycle more.
• Proposes better family planning and an improvement in the status and education of women, plus big health programmes.
• Sets up a new UN Commission on Sustainable Development which will follow up and implement Agenda 21 programmes.
• Calls on all governments to integrate environmental considerations into all policy decisions and promote energy efficiency.
• BIODIVERSITY CONVENTION
A legally-binding treaty to protect plants and animals in danger of extinction. A total of 153 countries signed by Sunday; the European Community also signed. Other nations may do so at the United Nations in New York through June next year. It must be ratified by individual governments.
The United States — alone among the major economic powers — did not sign. US negotiators said it did not adequately protect patents, copyrights and other "intellectual property rights".
The treaty:
• Requires signatories to inventory plants and wildlife within their borders, and develop plans to protect those that are endangered.
• Establishes financial mechanisms to help developing countries carry out the inventory and protection programmes.
• Obliges countries that use the genetic resources of a nation to share the research, profits and technology with that nation.
• GLOBAL WARMING CONVENTION
A legally-binding treaty that recommends curbing emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other "greenhouse" gases thought to warm the climate by trapping the sun’s heat close to earth.
However, at US insistence, it does not set targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The US is the single largest producer of those emissions.
A total of 153 countries, including the US, signed the treaty by Sunday. Other nations may do so at the UN in New York until June next year. It must be ratified by individual governments.
Malaysia refused to sign because of the lack of specific targets in the final document. The European Community and Japan signed, and also pledged to cap their carbon dioxide emissions at 1990 levels by the year 2000 —the target written out of the pact.
The treaty:
• Urges nations to stabilize their greenhouse gas emissions.
• Sets up mechanisms to transfer to developing nations financial aid and technology that would minimise greenhouse gas emissions.
• RIO DECLARATION ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
A non-binding statement of 27 broad principles to guide environmental policy. It was adopted by consensus on Sunday.
Among its statements:
• Nations have a responsibility to ensure that activities within their borders do not damage the environments of other nations.
• The needs of developing countries, especially the poorest and "most environmentally vulnerable", should receive priority.
• STATEMENT ON FOREST PRINCIPLES
A non-binding statement on protection of forests. The 17-point document was adopted by consensus on Sunday.
It maintains that sustainable management of forests is important for economic, ecological, social and cultural reasons. It also stresses the importance of indigenous peoples’ rights and biodiversity.
The statement:
• Recommends that countries assess the impact of economic development on their forests, and take steps to minimize the damage.
• Establishes a process for countries to work together on the safe use of forests. This could lead to a legally-binding convention. —AP, Reuter.
Source : The Straits Times, June 16, 1992
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