A group of 30 journalists that includes Fellows, editors, trainers and staff from 20 countries will report on the negotiations of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, also known as the Rio+20 Summit, taking place in Brazil in June, 2012. Over 10 days, the journalists will participate in capacity-building activities focused on the main themes of the international meeting, have contact with sources of government, civil society and multilateral organizations, and provide locally relevant reporting to audiences back home.
Summit ends with $513 billion in pledges
Ken Weiss - 23-Jun-2012
By Kenneth R. Weiss, Los Angeles Times June 22, 2012, 10:41 p.m. RIO DE JANEIRO — After days of quiet backroom dealing and soaring public rhetoric, global leaders on Friday approved a plan to bring clean water, sanitation and energy to the world's poor without further...
Crianças plantam árvores no evento
Maristela Crispim - 23-Jun-2012
Maristela Crispim Diário do Nordeste Apesar das críticas em relação aos resultados da Rio+20, iniciativas de instituições ainda simbolizam esperança Foram três dias de reunião do alto escalão da Conferência das Nações Unidas sobre Desenvolvimento Sustentável (Rio+20) sob chuva. Ontem, particularmente, o céu encoberto exacerbou a sensação de frustração ao se alcançar o fim da tão esperada reunião mundial para traçar o destino do planeta nos próximos 20 anos. Para quem aprovou, o documento dá...
The Switzerland of Central Asia pushes for mountain issues at Rio+20 Summit
Tashi Dorji - 22-Jun-2012
Kyrgyzstan says it has come to Rio to learn from other countries so that it can have a sustainable economic development policy Tashi Dorji from Rio de Janeiro The mountainous country of Kyrgyzstan has come to the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development in Brazil with an “open mind” to learn from the experiences of other mountain countries and to seek advice from developed countries on how to embrace a sustainable development policy, keeping the environment in the center of its...
Nigeria Vs Argentina: Sustainability In The Eyes Of Two Reporters
Armsfree Ajanaku - 22-Jun-2012
By Armsfree Ajanaku “I think you are my roommate,” said Lucas Viano. His voice was friendly and confident. But as soon as he told me he was from Argentina, unpleasant memories flooded my mind. They were memories of lost football games that were religiously watched in Nigeria, from where I come. In Lucas, I saw the faces of great Argentine footballers, including the legendary Diego Armando Maradona, and the inimitable Lionel Messi. These names have caused many Nigerians...
Rio+20: The Side Events Have Become the Main Event
James Fahn - 22-Jun-2012
Does the summit deserve the scorn and indifference it has received from the media? Tragedy and farce. Those are the two general impressions conveyed by much of the world’s media regarding the global negotiations taking place here this week, which harken back to the historical treaty talks held 20 years ago in the same city. Journalists covering the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, knew something was odd when the negotiations wrapped up before the arrival of world...
Desprolijidades en Río+20
JUAN WALBERTO CABALLERO ACHUCARRO - 22-Jun-2012
En la primera presentación de Paraguay en la Cumbre de Rio+20 se produjo un pequeño desvarío porque al momento de ser convocado el ministro del Ambiente Óscar Rivas, apareció el canciller Jorge Lara Castro. Paraguay debía abrir la sesión de ponencias en la Cumbre de las Naciones Unidas sobre Desarrollo Sostenible, que se inauguró esta mañana, en Río de Janeiro. Pero no fue así, ya que en ausencia del presidente paraguayo Fernando Lugo se dio prioridad a mandatarios de otros países, para dar...
No hay fondos para la economía verde de Río+20, por ahora
JUAN WALBERTO CABALLERO ACHUCARRO - 22-Jun-2012
El proyecto de economía verde a ser lanzado en la Cumbre de Río+20 no tiene aún financiamiento. Los países desarrollados no están de acuerdo en aportar US$ 30 billones para el fondo propuesto por los países en desarrollo agrupados en el G-77+China, en el cual también está Paraguay. Este problema fue reconocido públicamente por el director del Departamento de Desarrollo Sostenible, Asuntos Económicos y Sociales de las Naciones Unidas, Nikhil Seth, quien dijo a la prensa que existe una serie de...
El futuro del agua, como bien público, en agenda de Río+20
JUAN WALBERTO CABALLERO ACHUCARRO - 22-Jun-2012
El agua es una de las siete áreas destacadas durante los preparativos para la Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo Sostenible (Río+20), que tendrá lugar en esta ciudad brasileña, del 20 al 22 próximos.El tema nos interesa, y debemos estar atentos, considerando que Paraguay es uno de los países más ricos en este recurso. Expertos negociadores de todo el mundo trabajan ahora en Río de Janeiro, preparando documentos consensuados para que los presidentes de los países firmen en el...
Alertan en Río+20 sobre excesos en la comercialización del agua
JUAN WALBERTO CABALLERO ACHUCARRO - 22-Jun-2012
El agua será un commodity en un futuro no muy lejano; será un bien comercial, advirtió el Banco Mundial (BM), conforme se anunció en la tarde de ayer durante la sesión sobre recursos hídricos, previa a la CumbreRío+20, que se inicia mañana. Paraguay y los demás países del Mercosur defienden soberanía sobre sus aguas. En la tarde de ayer fueron dadas a conocer las 10 propuestas que los negociadores de los distintos países consensuaron y que serán entregadas mañana a consideración de los jefes de...
Gestión integrada del agua colabora en la economía verde
JUAN WALBERTO CABALLERO ACHUCARRO - 22-Jun-2012
El organismo presentó el resultado de una investigación realizada en 130 países, detallando justamente las actividades en beneficio del cuidado del agua en cada uno de ello. Desde Río 92 a la fecha, más del 80% de los países reformaron su legislación sobre el uso de los recursos hídricos, entre ellos nuestro país, que promulgó la ley de agua a principios de este siglo. Las NN.UU. destacan que en los últimos 20 años hubo una reacción de los países a la demanda creciente de los recursos hídricos...
The hard climb continues
Joydeep Gupta - 22-Jun-2012
The politics of Rio+20 – as in similar global conferences – has worked at two levels. First, and very visible, were the country blocs that negotiated its draft political declaration and worked to protect what they think are their national interests. The result was a document with the lowest common denominator, so low as to lose most of its teeth. Second, and not so visible, were the sectoral interest groups that sought to include their agenda in the declaration. They have had mixed success. The...
Carta de ONGs lamenta falta de compromisso de líderes
Maristela Crispim - 22-Jun-2012
Maristela Crispim Diário do Nordeste Segundo Marina Silva, a sociedade civil não se vê representada nos 283 pontos do documento aprovado na Conferência No mesmo dia em que organizações ambientais, como a Rede de ONGs da Mata Atlântica e o Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (IPE), comemoravam, junto com a Rio-92, 20 anos de existência, várias entidades e personalidades expressaram desgosto com o texto que deve ser aprovado hoje por plenária dos chefes de Estado reunidos na Rio+20. Considerando a...
Walk the talk, Indian NGOs urge prime minister
Ketki Angre - 22-Jun-2012
To quote from the Prime Minister's speech at the Rio+20 summit here in Brazil: "Sustainable development (also) mandates the efficient use of available natural resources. We have to be much more frugal in the way we use natural resources. A key area of focus is energy. We have to promote, universal access to energy, while, at the same time, promoting energy efficiency and a shift to cleaner energy sources by addressing various technological, financial and institutional constraints." Dr....
'The Future we want' or an ‘epic failure’?
Aoife O'Grady - 21-Jun-2012
Heads of state and government of over 170 countries are tomorrow expected to adopt 'The Future We Want', the outcome text of Rio+20, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development. The 49-page document, finalised by negotiators in the small hours of Tuesday morning, sets out a common vision for sustainable development, focusing on the global shift to a 'green economy'. Criticised by many NGOs and generally acknowledged as a 'compromise text', it introduces the concept of Sustainable...
Cities are doing what countries don't
Lucas Viano - 21-Jun-2012
Rio+20 will not be remembered joyfully by the agreement signed by countries in the UN framework. But subnational governments did show good initiatives. That is what most distinguishes this meeting from the Earth Summit 1992. Río+20 no será recordada alegremente por el acuerdo firmado por los países en el marco de la ONU. Por más que los diplomáticos lo destaquen como un logro, el texto es un fracaso porque no fija metas concretas sobre cómo enfrentar la degradación del...
Ecological resilience: a life insurance policy for communities
Peter Bjerregaard - 21-Jun-2012
What is the Green Economy really? That was the key question posed by the UN Environment Program in Rio this week when experts and policy makers met for a discussion on the link between research and policy during the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). The overall answer to the question was to integrate nature and start valuing the services provided by ecosystems, such as water, agriculture and biodiversity. One of the main points of discussion was...
Goodbye GDP, Hello IWI
Peter Bjerregaard - 21-Jun-2012
It makes little sense to talk about growth if it’s not sustainable. United Nations launches a new index at Rio+20 that seeks to change the way we measure prosperity. By Peter Bjerregaard RIO DE JANEIRO – The cost of last year’s extreme floods around the world amounted to billions for insurance companies, and as a result gross domestic product (GDP) rose by a similar amount and was listed as growth in national accounts. This creative accounting method might sound dubious, but that’...
Energia sustentável é tema de recomendações
Maristela Crispim - 21-Jun-2012
Diário do Nordeste Maristela Crispim Debatedores realizaram dez rodadas de discussão de onde saíram propostas para os líderes mundiais Enquanto as discussões da Conferência da Organização da Nações Unidas sobre Desenvolvimento Sustentável (Rio+20) giravam em torno do texto consensual que, para muitos, deve adiar decisões importantes, outros conferencistas presentes ontem no Riocentro debatiam questões mais específicas. Muitos passaram o dia discutindo energia sustentável, incluindo...
Green Economy: Last Straw for Salvation?
Yan Wang - 21-Jun-2012
Twenty years after the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, the United Nations is again bringing together governments, international institutions and major groups to discuss a range of measures to reduce poverty, promote decent jobs, clean energy and a more sustainable and fairer use of resources. Around 2PM on June 19, after days and nights’ fervent negotiations among nations, one day prior to the arrival of heads of nations in Rio de Janeiro to take part in the United Nations Conference on...
