THE concept of Sustainable Development was made universal at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio-de-Janeiro in 1992.
The Conference recognised the need for human activities in all countries of the World to expand economic and social development to improve the lives of all Peoples on our Planet.
However, it emphasised the necessity for development to be controlled in order to maintain adequate supplies of the Earth’s natural resources and prevent pollution and degradation of the earth’s natural environment.
The earth’s natural environment and its abundant natural resources are the vital sources required for human beings to be able to sustain the development process. On this basis, the world was introduced to the concept of Sustainable Development to guide the continued march of all Nations based on a dynamic balance and integration of the Economic, Social and Environmental dimensions of the Development process.
The participants of that historic Conference in 1992 captured their bold, innovative message in the form of “the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development” set out in 27 Principles.
It was also opportune that the Conference took place in the last decade before the start of a new Century and Millennium. As such, the 1992 Conference agreed to provide more specific guidelines for Action in the 21st Century to pursue the path of Sustainable Development through an Action Plan called AGENDA 21.
The Rio Declaration emphasised the need for cooperation among all Nations to eradicate poverty and to provide special assistance to those countries that are least developed and most vulnerable.

The Principles in the Rio Declaration include:
Principle 1 –    Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.

Principle 5 –     All States and all Peoples shall cooperate in the essential task of eradicating poverty as an indispensable requirement for sustainable development, in order to decrease the disparities in standards of living and better meet the needs of the majority of the people of the world.

Principle 6 –     The special situation and needs of developing countries, particularly the least developed and those most environmentally vulnerable, shall be given special priority. International actions in the field of environment and development should also address the interests and needs of all countries.

Principle 7 –     States shall cooperate in a spirit of global partnership to conserve, protect and restore the health and integrity of the Earth’s ecosystem. In view of the different contributions to global environmental degradation, States have common but differentiated responsibilities. The developed countries acknowledge the responsibility that they bear in the international pursuit of sustainable development in view of the pressures their societies place on the global environment and of the technologies and financial resources they command.

Principle 8 –     To achieve sustainable development and a higher quality of life for all people, States should reduce and eliminate unsustainable patterns of production and consumption and promote appropriate demographic policies.

Principle 12 –     States should cooperate to promote a supportive and open international economic system that would lead to economic growth and sustainable development in all countries, to better address the problems of environmental degradation. Trade policy measures for environmental purposes should not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade.

Principle 25 –    Peace, development and environmental protection are interdependent and indivisible.

Principle 27 –     States and people shall cooperate in good faith and in a spirit of partnership in the fulfilment of the principles embodied in this Declaration and in the further development of international law in the field of sustainable development.

These Principles point to the real meaning of Sustainable Development as:
* Ensuring a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature for all people
* Eradicating poverty and providing a higher quality of life for all people,
* Decreasing the disparities in standards of living and meeting the needs of the majority of the people of the world.
* Conserving, protecting and restoring the health and integrity of the Earth’s ecosystem.

June marks 20 years since UNCED in 1992. To mark this very significant milestone, the UN has convened once more in Rio the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development called “RIO+20” under the theme “The future we want.”

The stated  Objectives of RIO+20 are to:
* secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development,
* assess the progress to date and the remaining gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of the major summits on sustainable development,
* address new and emerging challenges

Much progress has been made since 1992, particularly in relation to the issues of environmental management, but there are many huge gaps in the implementation of Agenda 21.

The Rio Declaration had pointed to the need for a global approach and emphasised:
* Promoting a supportive and open international economic system that would lead to economic growth and sustainable development in all countries.
* Addressing the interests and needs of all countries, particularly the least developed and those most environmentally vulnerable.

Today, the dreams and hopes expressed in the Rio Declaration are a far way from being realised. The world is in a deep global economic crisis. Social conditions are worsening for billions of people, especially the poor and the vulnerable.
The assessments by Experts in the UN World Economic and Social Survey point to the need for a new approach to global governance. The essential principles for this approach were set out in Rio 20 years ago. Unfortunately, these have not been seriously pursued.
RIO+20 provides a new opportunity to reverse the decline by starting a new era in which the shaping of the new global architecture can begin.
In this approach, the UN needs to further the implementation of its Resolution, “The role of the United Nations in the promotion of a New Global Human Order.”(NGHO)
When Dr Cheddi Jagan first made the visionary call for the NGHO in 1994, he based it on the belief that the Rio Declaration of 1992 was a catalyst for the shaping of a new era in the relationship between States.
World Leaders in the most powerful countries of the world turned their backs on the critical principles of the Rio Declaration of 1992. Like the mighty lion in the fable, they saw no need for cooperation with the feeble mouse.
The current global economic crisis is the huge net that has trapped the deaf lion. RIO+20 offers a new opportunity for the lion to engage the mouse to bite sharply to open the net.
This is the chance which must not be missed.