THE JOHANNESBURG CHALLENGE

Many heads of state and government are planning to attend the Johannesburg conference. Therefore, the WSSD is not likely to become a meeting of Ministers of Environment and Development, often marginalized within their own political systems, but will bring together governments on a higher level.

The official agenda of the WSSD is to review the achievements that have been made since UNCED in 1992. Governments will debate what participating countries have done so far to implement Agenda 21 and if they have adopted National Sustainable Development Strategies as was agreed they would by 2002. Among other issues, governments will also debate new factors that have emerged since UNCED and what mid-course corrections need to be made. The WSSD is not meant to revise Agenda 21 but to reinforce its goals and strengthen commitment of all parties.

NGOs perceive an interest by some of the actors to redefine Sustainable Development as sustained growth. We may see the Johannesburg agenda putting rethorically poverty eradication in the forefront while advancing economic growth as the main strategy for poverty eradication. This may result in the usual recipes for economic growth being redefined as sustainable development strategies, e.g. market liberalisation, foreign direct investment as main motor and funding mechanism, public private partnerships or good national governance (to safeguard property rights), but few if any counterbalancing environmental and social rules and regulations or redistributive mechanisms.

NGOs like ANPED, the Northern Alliance for Sustainability, demand that the World Summit must review why the action agendas resulting from numerous conferences and agreements regarding sustainable development have not been implemented ('Crisis of Implementation'). The WSSD needs to challenge governments to fulfil their commitments voiced since UNCED in 1992, in particular those crucial agreements like the Convention on Biodiversity and the Convention on Climate Change which are still awaiting ratification. There are six such conventions to examine:

1. The Framework Convention on Climate Change with the Kyoto Protocol
2. The Convention on Biological Diversity with the Cartagena Protocol
3. The Convention to Combat Desertification
4. The Convention on Persistant Organic Pollutants
5. The Convention on Straddling and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks
6. The Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade

There are no new conventions on the table for Johannesburg. Nonetheless, it is much more important that the ratification processes for some of the existing conventions and protocols be finalized and that a regulatory framework for the resulting outcomes, as well as for resolution of conflict be found. In addition, the institutional and financial obstacles that presently hamper the implementation process must be removed. Especially for NGOs this is of great importance as the World Summit provides THE opportunity to increase the pressure on their own governments thereby increasing their own chances for success.

The (economic) globalisation is becoming more and more an issue affecting sustainable development and, as e.g. ANPED argues, is giving Transnational Corporations (TNCs) increasing influence over the livelihoods of ordinary citizens. NGOs demand that the WSSD needs to address this issue by starting a process leading to a system of corporate accountability making TNCs responsible for their social and ecological impacts.

Furthermore, there is an urgent need to strengthen the UN institutions working on sustainable development. Such a reform of the global environmental governance system would certainly need to address resolving conflicts between world trade rules and multilateral environmental agreements, controlling the social and ecological impacts of the globalised economy or influencing it so that globalisation and world trade would effectively contribute to sustainable development.

Fighting poverty needs to be another crucial focus of the World Summit as poverty is an obstacle for achieving global sustainability. Poverty and ecological degradation are often enhancing each other. The WSSD should develop programmes to eradicate poverty by addressing the underlying causes. The principle of equity and an equitable access to resources, opportunities and to decision-making structures could be one, debt relief programmes for the poorest nations another part of such agreements. The WSSD should also start converting international development goals into praxis. Among those belong for example the topics education, health, fighting poverty and also a number of linked issues as there are questions regarding the amount of financial resources which are needed, the transfer of technology and capacity-building, the meaning of gender democracy or governance structures at the international, regional, national or local levels. Fighting HIV/AIDS needs a special focus, as e.g. many African NGOs argue, since in Africa sustainable development cannot be discussed without reference to HIV/AIDS that has been identified to be closely linked to poverty.

UNCED acknowledged in its Agenda 21 that patterns of unsustainable production and consumption (mostly in the North) are the major cause for ecological deterioration all over the world. Yet little has happened. The WSSD must make the need to change those patterns an overarching priority during the whole summit.

Among several more issue related topics, freshwater and access to it as well as development finance seem to become more and more important. Covered by own UN conferences in the run up to the WSSD, these issues need to be addressed at the WSSD itself to ensure committed follow up and to start implementing the results. Similarly, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety needs to be developed and agreed into a recognised international agreement.

All this processes require the active involvement of civil society organisations and other key actors of society. To be effective, such involvement requires access to information, processes of decision-making and justice. The WSSD should take forward establishing these rights throughout the world, a process that has already been initiated in Europe through the Aarhus Convention.

As it is becoming clear that the international institutions in their current form are unable to address sustainable development properly, the WSSD also needs to look at possible reforms of UNEP and the CSD.