Recession makes north renege on aid
Against a background of worldwide recession, the Rio conference came and went with many promises of aid by the Northern countries. But by the end …
Beyond home
Bill Clinton's absence from the Copenhagen summit on social development underscores the post-Cold War parochialism that has gripped the American …
Heart to heart
A tongue-in-cheek report of a conversation overheard at a bar during a meeting of the Commission for Sustainable Development.
Have we forgotten Rio already?
India has failed in the basic work that it needed to do even before going to Rio -- define the pathway of sustainable development for itself
And miles to go before we meet
The North-South divide is not a fabrication: for three-fourths of the world, it is a fact of daily existence. Ignoring it will not make it …
All for the people
International organisations concentrating on the moral and material uplift of the underpriviledged
An identity crisis for the South
The developing world needs to define what the South represents, for otherwise it risks its legitimacy as a negotiating bloc
A handful of aces for the North
Global environmental concerns throw open the South to Northern intervention, whereas the South has limited interest in intervening in Northern …
No taking cheap Colombian coal to Newcastle
John Major's Conservative government is learning the hard way that a free market economy alway works better anywhere but at home.
Speaking for the people
Rio saw the largest ever gathering of NGOs -- over 2,000 of them. And finally the world was forced to acknowledge that NGOs were the real voice …
Off to the next round
The South came back reasonably victorious from Rio, it was only because of the poor leadership of USA. The question now is: will it be able to …
Nothing gained, but nothing lost either
The glitz at UNCED was very impressive -- over 100 heads of government gathered together to thrash out environment politics. But the results were …
The global green farce
At UNCED the inclustrialised countries do not want any serloys restructuring of their economies or their lifestyles to save the earth. But the …
Rio's Stepchild
The UN Convention to Combat Desertification is a non-starter. Administrative and financial matters get the better of any serious attempts to deal …
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
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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-…
