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VOL.4 August 2012
Maintaining Pressure on Sustainable Development
Rio+20 promises much, but falls short of tangible action to address concerns of ordinary people
by Alphonce Shiundu

The impression one gets after reading the 53-page resolution of the United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development, better known as Rio+20, is that all those who compiled the document know what the so called "planet-in-peril" needs to cure its problems.

The document, aptly titled "The Future We Want," captures the dreams and aspirations of conservationists. It is a mixture of resolutions that combines a passion for the environment, social justice, economics, and preserving the planet for future generations.

Chinese diplomat Sha Zukang, Secretary General of Rio+20 held from June 20-22 in Brazil, said sustainable development is the only option "for humanity, for our shared planet, and for our common future."

Sha believes the resolution document has "aspirational goals" that "must guide" the world in solving the problems of scarce resources, poverty, food insecurity, pollution, lack of clean water, expensive energy and global unemployment, "especially youth unemployment."

 

Finite resources

For all the resolution's good intentions, there are no timelines in the document or targets that have to be met. The language of the document, with words like "to encourage," "to invite" and "to follow up," reeks of procrastination. Meantime much discussion revolved around improving people's well-being and social equity while reducing environmental risks, or in other words, a green economy.

In Africa, talk of sustainability of the obviously finite resources, in the face of a bulging population and the quest for food security, seems like a dream. There are competing interests, but it all boils down to the dichotomy of economic growth and industries versus the protection of key natural resources, such as forests and dams.

Purity Rima, a natural resource manager in Kenya, who has research grounding in carbon emissions and climate change, is of the view that, even in the face of these competing interests it is for the continent to ensure that it can produce enough resources for the current and future generations.

Rima told ChinAfrica that the very concept of sustainable development means an appreciation of the fact that resources are not infinite.

"It means using resources sparingly, while conserving the resources to ensure that they last long enough to assist future generations," she said.

At the time of her interview with ChinAfrica, Rima was scheduled to visit Tanzania to investigate the causes of fire in the Miombo Woodlands, in the southeastern part of the country.

Forest fires, whose frequency has been high in recent weeks, are just one of the results of climate change. Rima, who's affiliated to Econometrica, a UK-based environmental research firm, said that while economists and politicians want to see their countries register high growth rates, the growth needs to be sustained over a long period of time.

"There's a lot of politics when it comes to the environment and sometimes politicians are a huge impediment to the implementation of policies and programs to ensure sustainable development," said Rima.

 

UNEP upgrade

Kenya has recently discovered oil. It is very keen on fast-tracking the oil exploitation. The country also has coal deposits that it wants to exploit. Uganda too struck oil and the drilling is imminent. Tanzania has immense resources of natural gas. Ghana, Sudan, Nigeria and Angola are becoming prolific exporters of petroleum products.

All these activities mean that more fossil fuels will be burned and released into the environment. But it could also mean more revenue and possibly jobs for the economies of the respective countries, assuming the process is carried out efficiently.

The answer, as the delegates in Rio+20 agreed, lies in a green economy.

"Green policy options provide opportunities for increased and sustainable productivity, decent jobs, poverty eradication, environmental protection and economic development for the benefit of humankind," said Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki.

For Kibaki and the bulk of Sub-Saharan Africa, the good news from the Rio+20 resolutions is that the Nairobi-based United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) got an upgrade. That means UNEP will have a regular flow of funding, have the final say on environmental issues and have international backing to lead the global debate on the environment and climate change.

Its location in Nairobi means African countries can feel comfortable knowing that "one of their own" is overseeing the march toward a green economy, waste reduction and the conservation of natural resources.

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