SUSTAINABLE GERMANY
A SOUTHERN PERSPECTIVE 10 YEARS AFTER RIO

A View of Germany from the South

On the occasion of the World Summit the Heinrich Boell Foundation along with the One-World-Representative of North-Rhine Westphalia and the regional foundation of Lower Saxony Leben und Umwelt is conducting a project entitled "Sustainable Germany - A Southern Perspective 10 years after Rio". A team of five experts from countries of the South were invited to take a critical view of the implementation of sustainable development in Germany. Team members are coming from five countries: Mexico, Chile, India, Jordan and Kenya, all of them familiar with sustainability issues in their respective home countries.

The project aims at a view from a distance as a contribution to the German debate on sustainability. Thus, the delegation has been asked the question as to what has been done since the Rio Summit in 1992, and what should be done in the future. In order to conduct the study the team will be visiting Germany twice for a period of a fortnight each time. The first visit took place in September 2001 and a second one in early 2002. North-Rhine Westphalia, serving as a case study was the main region to be visited during the trips.

Three main sectors of action are in the centre of the study: 1) Traffic and Mobility, 2) Agriculture and Nature Protection, 3) Energy Use and Climate. A report is now being prepared and will be presented to the public concerned, the media and political decision makers.

The report from the first visit is available for download to the right. The report of the second visit will be available at the end of May. in the meantime, read the brief interviews with the participants after their second visit.

Participants of the visit

Batir (M.A.) J. Wardam Amman
Jordan, Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature

Meena Menon Mumbai
India, Freelance Journalist

Bernardo Reyes Santiago
Chile, Institute for Political Ecology Coordinator "Ecological Economics Programme"

Jane Mumbi T. Ngige
Kenya, Green Belt Movement, Deputy Coordinator

Hilda Salazar Ramírez
Mexico, Mujer y Medio Ambiente Red Mexicana de Acción Frente al Libre Comercio