Rio Summit
INTRODUCTION
In the
early days of man’s evolution, his needs were few and hence he lived harmony
with nature. Human activities did not form any severe threat to the
environment. With population growth, the volume and diversity of human
interference with nature increased threatening the delicate balance in nature.
In developed countries, it was the developed process themselves that were
responsible for the environmental problems, were as in developing countries, such
problems arose from poverty, insanitary conditions, soil erosions etc…Against
this backdrop, many international efforts have been initiated. The one among it is Rio summit or
earth summit.
BACKGROUND
OF RIO SUMMIT
Rio
summit is in fact culmination of a series of UN conference. These conferences
were held to generate international co-operation, global partnership and a
solemn responsibility to bear the environmental calamities and imbalances in
the world.
It was environmental calamities during the fifties
and sixties in UK,USA and Japan that generated widespread awareness about the
dangers of environmental pollution. There prevailed a condition that the
developed countries enjoyed luxuries whereas the poor countries experienced
poverty as well as struggle even for food. It was in this background that the
first UN conference on Human environment was held in Stockholm. Smt. Indira
Gandhi’s speech in this conference has stressed the need of linking environment
with development at a global level. After the Stockholm conference, the
ordinary people too started to protect their environment. They started to work
through the nongovernmental organization. In 1983, the UN general assembly set
up a commission, World commission on environment, headed by Norway’s Prime Minister,
Mrs. Gro Harlem Brundland to examine the state of world environment and
development beyond 2000. The report of the commission noted that the human
future was at a risk if we continue the current modes of unsustainable
development. They have spotted up the problems such as ozone layer depletion,
global warming etc…
RIO
SUMMIT 1992
The conference named “earth summit” was held
at Rio de Genero in June 1992. The earth summit officially called the United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) began on June 3,
1992. It continued for 12 days at the minstrel level up to June 14 and at the
head of the states level from June 12 to 14. The conference was attended by 115
heads of stated and about 1000 delegates from all over the world. About 10000
governmental missions and around 20000 nongovernmental organizations also took
part in the discussions. The major six basic issues of the earth summit are:
1) Greenhouse
gas emission.
2) Forests
3) Population
4) Technology
transfer
5) Finance
6) Degradation
I.
Green
house gas emission
The rich nations of the north wanted 20%
reduction in emission of greenhouse gasses like CO2, CHn
by the year 2005. The poorer nations wanted them to cut down their green house
gas emission.
II.
Forests
The rich countries considered forests in
terms of timber, paper, CO2 sinks and wanted a legally binding
convention that restricted cutting down of trees in tropical rain forest. But,
the poorer nations wanted the richer countries to conserve the biodiversity by
restricting the cutting down of trees.
III.
Population
The developed countries think that poverty and
population growth are the main reasons for deforestation and water pollution.
In turn, the developing countries blame the developed countries that the
industrial development is the major cause for deforestation.
IV.
Technology
transfer
While rich countries believe that the technology of
development is to be treated as a commercial proposition, the poor countries
want the use of technology for cleaning up the pollutants.
V.
Finance
The
rich countries does not want to give any mandatory contribution and wants UN
institutions such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF) or the world bank to
distribute the aid for cleaning the environment which is brutally exploited by
the rich countries.
VI.
Degradation
The developed countries admit that the
degradation of the environment but do not want to pay for it.
The
earth summit finally ended on June 14, 1992, after adopting the Rio declaration
and agenda 21.
FOUR
CRUCIAL DOCUMENTS OF THE SUMMIT
The four crucial documents of the summit
were:
1) Rio
declaration or a draft earth charter.
2) Conventions
on climate change and bio- diversity.
3) Convention
on forestry.
4) Agenda
21 or action plan.
MAJOR
ACHIEVEMANTS OF RIO SUMMIT
The major achievements of Rio Summit are:
Ø The
Rio declaration on environment and development continued a series of principles
that defined the rights and responsibilities in this area.
Ø The
Agenda 21 which was framed during the Rio summit is a comprehensive blueprint
for global actions to effect the transition to sustainable development.
Ø The
document named “forest principles” featured a set of principles to support the
sustainable management of forests worldwide.
Ø The
two legally binding convention such as convention on climate change and the
eradication of biologically diverse species. These conventions were signed by
the representatives of more than 150 countries.
Ø The
summit has put environmental issues including protection of “only one earth on
the world agenda, with a new added consciousness to protect it against any
further degradation.
Ø For
India, the biggest achievement was that it approach had been recognized as the
“activist country” in movement on environment and development.
CONCLUSION
Rio conference was mainly arranged with an
objective to conserve the natural ecosystem including the forest. After the Rio
conference, awareness spread in the minds of the people to safeguard the
environment including the forest.
BIBLIGRAPHY
Natarajan, S. (2013). Environmental Education. Chennai : Sri Ram publishers.
Nagarajan, K., & Nithyasri , N. (2017). Environmental Education. Chennai: Sriram
publishers.
Sharma, R. A. (2007). Environmental Education. Meerut : R.Lall book depot.
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