Rio+10: Sustainable Development Revisited

In an assessment of the state of the world ten years after the 1992 Earth Summit, this paper argues that neither the environment nor socio-economic development has fared well. While awareness of environmental issues has increased and remarkable progress made in niches such as wind power and organic farming, nearly all global indicators continue to be headed in the wrong direction. Many social issues advanced slowly, with some of the gains offset by setbacks. The decade since Rio saw decreases in deaths from infectious diseases such as pneumonia and diarrhoea, but a six-fold increase in deaths from HIV/AIDS, with people in developing countries most at risk. The paper addresses the need to focus on such issues as increased participation of women in development activities, and system-wide rather than incremental approaches when considering policies and strategies for sustainable development.