Rio + 20 United Nation Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) THE FUTURE WE WANT -FINAL DECLARATION At Rio, our vision

must be clear: a sustainable green economy that protects the h ealth of the environment while supporting achievement of the Millennium Developm ent Goals through growth in income, decent work and poverty eradication. - Ban Ki -moon Rio+ 20 summit held at Rio -de Janeiro, Brazil, from 20-22 June 2012. Major features of the The Future We Want final declaration adopted by the the Rio+ 20 Summit on June 23 2012. Declaration is sheer size of 283 paragraphs in 49 pages. I. Our Common Vision 1. States committed to free humanity from poverty and hunger as a matter of urgency. 2. States reaffirmed their commitment to making every effort to accelerate the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the M illennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. 3. People are at the center of sustainable development. 4. Reaffirmed the importance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. II. Renewing Political Commitment Reaffirmed Rio principles and past action plans. 1. Reaffirmed their commitment to fully implement the Rio Declaration on En vironment and Development, Agenda 21, the Programme for the Further Implementati on of Agenda 21, the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable D evelopment (Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development and the Plan of Implementation) of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the Barbados Pro gramme of Action and the Mauritius Strategy for Implementation. 2. Fully implement their commitments under the United Nations Framework Con vention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Engaging major groups and other stakeholders. 1. Reaffirmed the key role of all levels of government and legislative bodi es in promoting sustainable development. 2. Underscored that broad public participation and access to information an d judicial and administrative proceedings are essential to the promotion of sust ainable development. 3. Recognized that information and communication technology (ICT) would be facilitating the flow of information between governments and the public. 4. Acknowledged that the implementation of sustainable development will dep end on active engagement of both the public and private sectors. 5. Recognized that farmers, including small-scale farmers and fishers, past oralists and foresters, can make important contributions to sustainable developm ent through production activities that are environmentally sound, enhance food s ecurity and the livelihood of the poor, and invigorate production and sustained economic growth. III. Green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradica tion 1. Considerd green economy in the context of sustainable development and po verty eradication as one of the important tools available for achieving sustaina ble development. 2. Will encourage each country to consider the implementation of green econ omy policies in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication,

in a manner that endeavours to drive sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth and job creation, particularly for women, youth and the poor. IV. Institutional framework for sustainable development 1. Recognized that effective governance at local, sub-national, national, r egional and global levels representing the voices and interests of all. 2. t. Strengthening inter-governmental arrangements for sustainable developmen

3. Reaffirmed the role and authority of the General Assembly on global matt ers of concern to the international community, as set out in the Charter. 4. Reaffirmed that the Economic and Social Council is a principal body for policy review. 5. Decided to establish a universal inter-governmental high level political forum, building on the strengths, experiences, resources and inclusive particip ation modalities of the Commission on Sustainable Development, and subsequently replacing the Commission. 6. Committed to strengthening the role of the United Nations Environment Pr ogramme as the leading global environmental authority. 7. Recognized that sustainable development should be given due consideratio n by the programmes, funds and specialized agencies of the UN system and other r elevant entities such as international financial institutions, and the United Na tions Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in accordance with their res pective existing mandates. V. Action and follow-up 1. Focus on Thematic areas and cross-sectoral issues.

2. Poverty eradication- recognizes that sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth in developing countries is a key requirement for eradicating pov erty and hunger and achieving the MDGs. 3. Food security and nutrition and sustainable agriculture- reaffirmed our commitments regarding the right of everyone to have access to safe, sufficient a nd nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food and the fundament al right of everyone to be free from hunger. 4. Water and sanitation- recognized that water is at the core of sustainabl e development. 5. Energy- recognized the critical role that energy plays in the developmen t process, as access to sustainable modern energy services contributes to povert y eradication, saves lives, improves health and helps provide basic human needs. 6. Sustainable tourism- emphasizing that well designed and managed tourism can make a significant contribution to the three dimensions of sustainable devel opment. 7. Sustainable transport- noting that transportation and mobility are centr al to sustainable development. 8. Sustainable cities and human settlements-recognized that if well planned and developed including through integrated planning and management approaches, cities can promote economically, socially and environmentally sustainable societ ies. 9. Health and population- recognized that health is a precondition for, an outcome of, and an indicator of all three dimensions of sustainable development.

10. Promoting full and productive employment, decent work for all, and socia l protections. 11. Least developed countries- agreed to effectively implement the Istanbul Programme of Action and to fully integrate its priority areas into the framework for action, the broader implementation of which will contribute to the IPOAs ove rarching goal of enabling half of LDCs to meet the criteria of graduation by 202 0. 12. Disaster risk reduction-reaffirmed their commitment to the Hyogo Framewo rk for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to D isasters. 13. Climate change- underscored that the global nature of climate change cal ls for the widest possible cooperation by all countries and their participation in an effective and appropriate international response, with a view to accelerat ing the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions. 14. Forests- highlighted the social, economic and environmental benefits of forests to people and the contributions of sustainable forest management to the themes and objective of the Conference. 15. Bio-Diversity-reiterated our commitment to the achievement of the three objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity and call for urgent actions that effectively reduce the rate of, halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity. 16. Sustainable consumption and production- reaffirmed their commitments th at they would phase out harmful and inefficient fossil fuel subsidies encouragin g wasteful consumption and undermine sustainable development. 17. Education- committed to strengthen international cooperation to achieve universal access to primary education, particularly for developing countries. 18. Gender equality and womens empowerment- reaffirmed womens vital role and full and equal participation and leadership in all areas of sustainable developm ent, and decided to accelerate the implementation of respective commitments in t his regard as contained in the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Dis crimination Against Women (CEDAW) as well as Agenda 21, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Millennium Declaration. 19. Sustainable development goals- underscored that the MDGs are a useful t ool in focusing achievement of specific development gains. VI. Means of implementation 1. Finance- they call on all countries to prioritize sustainable developmen t in the allocation of resources in accordance with national priorities and need s, and recognized the crucial importance of enhancing financial support from all sources for sustainable development for all countries, in particular developing countries. 2. Technology- emphasized the importance of technology transfer to develop ing countries. 3. Capacity building- emphasized the need for enhanced capacity building fo r sustainable development and, in this regard, they call for strengthening techn ical and scientific cooperation including North-South, South-South and triangula r cooperation. 4. Trade-reaffirmed that international trade was an engine for development and sustained economic growth.

Source: www.uncsd2012.org/.../727THE%20FUTURE%20WE%20WANT%... India s concerns endorsed 1. Summit has said that developing countries needed additional resources fo r sustainable development and that unwarranted conditionalities on Official Deve lopment Assistance (ODA) and finance should be avoided. 2. The task before the world community is to give practical shape and conte nt to this architecture in a manner that allows each country to develop accordin g to its own national priorities and circumstances. 3. Recognized the crucial importance of enhancing financial support from al l sources for sustainable development for all countries, in particular developin g nations. 4. The Rio+20 documents also emphasized the importance of technology transf er to developing countries. 5. Respect each country s national sovereignty over their natural resources taking into account its national circumstances, objectives, responsibilities, p riorities and policy space with regard to the three dimensions of sustainable de velopment. 6. The Green Economy policies should also strengthen international cooperat ion, including the provision of financial resources, capacity-building and techn ology transfer to developing countries. 7. The Green Economy policies should also contribute to closing technology gaps between developed and developing countries and reduce the technological dep endence of developing countries using all appropriate measures. 8. Only time will tell the story of its implementation. Source: PTI ,Saturday, June 23, 2012, 09:01