Wars of the green kind

For a fistful of dollars

BRAZIL

USA faces up to the biodiversity challenge

The US President reiterates that the one world, one environment theme is the only way to protect the planet.

Green issues need equitable entitlements

Now that the Cold War is over, concern for the environment will play a vital role in international relations in the foreseeable future.

Revitalised role forecast for people's movements

It is becoming possible to utilise the capacities that exist outside the state -- such as non-governmental organisations -- to influence state …

Being accountable

The reluctance of financial institutions to be made answerable will stymie progress on implementing the Earth Summit agreentents.

North - South tussle over SDC

The proposal for setting up a Commission for Sustainable Development, considered one of Rio's successes, is already caught in a dispute over size,…

Awareness growing about Amazon destruction

AMAZON WATERSHED -- THE NEW ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTIGATION George Monbiot Publisher: Michael Joseph, London Price: Pounds 17.99

North deserts initiative on desertification

Africa's success at Rio summit in securing international support for a proposed desertification convention seems to be short-lived as Northern …

Rio has not changed the North-South equation

The UNCED deliberations have to be viewed in the context of northern attempts to maintain hegemony over the rest of the world

Commission of omissions

After prolonged negotiations, what the Rio summit has produced is a weak and poorly represented commission on sustainable development

Did Riocentro learn anything from Flamengo park?

While heads of state deliberated on the future of the world at the Riocentro, social activists and NGOs expressed their sense of frustration …

Forests of global contention

The South's determined efforts to scuttle the forest convention that the North was adamant on pushing through was a major triumph. A blow-by-…

Stockholm and Rio: Bigger, but was it better?

Stockholm wasn't as big as Rio, but I think it had a soul. I expect Rio's soul was there too, somewhere

Passing USA's laugh test

Helping George Bush gain political mileage seemed to be the overriding concern at the recent climate convention negotiations in New York. India …

India, UK link efforts

The minister's manifesto

Are we ready for global unity?

Uncertainty increases over convention terms

As it comes under increasing scrutiny, the biodiversity convention signed last year is proving to be neither good nor bad -- just uncertain. Key …

Delegates stall action on greenhouse gases

Little was achived at the December climate meeting in Geneva by way of setting schedules for future sessions,mainly because of stalling tactics …

Finnish belt-tightening chokes green projects

Faced with the century's worst recession Helsinki has had to cut back heavily on development aid. At stake are several international …

Third World posers for Northern donors

In the new environment-sensitive atmosphere after Rio, two Northern agencies that aid research projects in the developing world are being …

A watered-down capitulation

Who should benefit from biotechnology? The South, where the genes originate, or the North, with its massive gene banks? Commercial interests …

Politics of punctuation

A comma gave rise to an argument over whether technology transfer should take place according to terms agreed upon at Rio or terms mutually …