WSSD - the road to Johannesburg

Making the most of the World Summit on Sustainable Development
28th August - 4th September 2002

The Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002 did not pop up out of nowhere. Perhaps knowing something of the history of the Summit and its context will help you understand its outcomes better.

1972 Stockholm

It was thirty years ago that environmental problems first received formal recognition as international problems requiring international solutions. In 1972, the United Nations Conference on Human Environment, which took place in Stockholm, Sweden, established the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) based in Nairobi, Kenya. It was recognised at that stage that the developed countries of the North and the developing countries of the South do not necessarily share the same environmental problems.

1987 Our Common Future

The Brundtland Report, Our Common Future, was the first UN document to look comprehensively at issues of environment and development. It provides us with the most commonly used definition of sustainable development: “development which meets the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. In other words, the report takes a long-term view of Earth and acknowledges its resources are limited.

“Sustainable development meets the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

The Brundtland Report

1992 Rio de Janeiro

In 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also called the Earth Summit, took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Some key outcomes of the Earth Summit were:

1) The Rio Declaration of 27 sustainable development principles.
2) Agenda 21, a framework for action on sustainable development. Local Agenda 21 (LA21), an interpretation for local issues, came later.
3) Conventions on climate change and biodiversity.

4) The establishment of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) which meets once a year to discuss progress on agreements made at Rio.

1994 South Africa joins

In 1994, the South African government came on board the Earth Summit process.

1997 New York

In 1997 (five years on from the meeting in Rio) Rio+5 was held in New York to assess progress. The Johannesburg Summit will be Rio+10.

What is at Stake?

The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) is a conference to discuss global environmental issues, but these are directly linked to developmental paths which are in turn driven by global economics and politics. The solutions are thus economic and political ones. To make the best use of the opportunity presented by the Summit, we need to explore the links between our organisations’ issues and the realities of global politics; we need to find ways of engaging with the Summit process that make the most sense to us.

The Summit is a political process — each government fights to get the best deal in terms of its own national interests out of any international environmental agreement. CSOs do not play a major role in the formal Summit, but the CSO Global Forum, held alongside the Summit, is just as much a site of struggle. We should guard against being naïve — some cynics have billed the Summit the world’s biggest photo-opportunity.

We need to ask ourselves: Who is to blame for unsustainable development and global environmental problems? Who is going to pay to fix them? Who will be the watchdog? A strong polarisation is developing between the North and the South on these questions as well as on the fundamental question: What does sustainable development really mean?

At Rio, the idea emerged that sustainable development issues are fundamentally development issues, such as over-consumption, poverty, debt, and not just narrowly environmental issues. Some Northern CSOs are claiming that poverty is the greatest threat to sustainable development. Is this true? Southern CSOs may argue that excessive wealth and over-consumption are even greater threats. We need to develop and promote a uniquely Southern perspective on sustainable development, a uniquely South African perspective on how these problems can be solved. Our goal should be to break the logjam that has developed, to encourage leaders when they are moving in the right direction and to pull them up when they’re on the wrong course. We need to build on South Africa’s political success. What does South Africa specifically have to offer to this international process?

Whose Summit is it?

The South African government lobbied the UN for the right to host the Summit. Cabinet decided that it would be held in Johannesburg and that the Department of Environment and Tourism (DEA&T) would be the lead government agency. The DEA&T set up a Section 21 (non-profit) company called the Johannesburg World Summit Company, or JOWSCO, to organise venues, transport and so on for the Summit, but the content is being directed by the DEA&T, with help from the Department of Foreign Affairs. Because the South African government is hosting the Summit, it is in a good position to play a leadership role in the discussions.

Planning for the Summit

A series of Preparatory Committee Meetings (PrepComs) take place during the run-up to the Summit. The first took place in New York in May 2001 which was attended by some NGO members of the SA NGO Coalition. The next two will be in New York, followed by a final meeting in Indonesia. The PrepComs are very important as they decide what will be on the agenda in Johannesburg, who will be there and how countries should prepare their input.

The Johannesburg Summit will be a review of ten years of progress towards meeting Agenda 21 goals.

Ten years since Rio

The first PrepCom confirmed that the Johannesburg Summit should be a review of ten years of progress towards Agenda 21. This requires that countries follow a standardised method of gathering, interpreting and reporting data so that results can be easily compared.

Where will you be?

Since there is not one venue large enough to accommodate all 50 000 expected delegates and visitors, the plan is to locate different parts of the Summit at different venues:

The Sandton Convention Centre will host the official conference. It is hoped that between 110 and 190 heads of state and 6 000 government delegates will attend. Journalists (about 3 000 are expected) and CSOs are generally only there as observers.

Nasrec, the MTN Sundome and Gallagher Estate will be used to house activities organised by the civil society organisations, local government delegates and labour representatives. Some 30-40 000 people from organisations and movements from around the world are expected. In addition, about 2 000 global business leaders are expected

It will be a huge challenge to link all the venues — by means of transport, information technology links and visits — so that all delegates can keep track of what is happening at other venues, especially at the official conference. This is the responsibility of JOWSCO

How can CSOs engage with the process?
…at the official Summit

The Summit offers many different opportunities for taking part, and not all of them require that you be part of any organised or official process. If you do want to get accreditation for the official United Nations conference, you need to apply to the UN. There are two ways in which accredited CSOs can take part in the official conference.

1. The first is through a UN mechanism called Major Groups which brings together representatives from ten groups such as farmers, indigenous people, youth, scientists and so on. A single representative from each group is allowed limited speaking rights.
2. The second is to be part of an official government delegation. This gives you direct access to the negotiations, however, you may have to agree not to divulge sensitive information or speak out of turn. Many governments include CSOs on their delegations, but the position of the SA Government on this is not clear.

…at the global level

CSOs can try to get accreditation and funding to attend the remaining three PrepComs.

…at the African and sub-regional level

There are African and sub-regional (Southern African Development Community) Agenda 21 reviews which

CBOs, NGOs, CSOs??

The UN defines all organisations which are not part of a govt. delegation as “non-governmental organisations or NGOs. These include businesses, educational institutions and so on. We use the term Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) for Community-Based Organisations and NGOs are already well advanced. These are co-ordinated and driven by governments with some space for CSOs to participate.

…at the national level

There are three processes open to CSOs. The first two are driven by DEA&T and relate to the development of South Africa's position at the Summit. The 3rd relates to the development of an independent South African civil society "voice" at the Summit.

1. The Multi-stakeholder Advisory Committee (MAC) gives input to DEAT on finalising the SA government position for the Summit. Stakeholders are representatives from different sectors, such as health, education, youth, economic justice, environmental justice, etc. It is not clear how much real influence the MAC has over Government.
2. The Agenda 21 Review. The Summit will include a world-wide review of Agenda 21progress over the last 10 years. The South African Review is being done by DEAT with help from consultants. Civil society has a first opportunity to give input in December 2001, though it is not clear how comments will be processed. The DEAT must also produce a national strategy for sustainable development (nssd) in time for the Summit. It is assumed that public comment will be invited.
3. A forum for debate and discussion the South African Civil Society Indaba has been established under the wing of the South African NGO Coalition (SANGOCO), and a full-time Secretariat is in place to service the forum. It has the difficult task of establishing a process and agenda for the parallel civil society event, known as the Global Forum. This event must be sufficiently relevant to attract CSOs from around the world, but must also reflect the particular interests of South African and other African organisations. South African organisations could have a lot of influence here. The Indaba comprises of about 35 representatives broadly covering all sectors. The CSO Secretariat also liases closely with the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, the SA government, the Johannesburg World Summit Company and the international NGO community.

some things to do

If you want to get UN accreditation to the official conference, apply to the UN through their web site at www.johannesburgsummit.org

Find out who your provincial representative and sector representative to the Civil Society Indaba are.
Phone the WSSD CSO Secretariat (011) 403 4119.

Find out who your MAC representatives are.
Phone DEAT at (012) 310 3911.

Choose your site of struggle

Just because the World Summit on Sustainable Development will be hosted by South Africa, does not mean you have to drop everything and engage with the various mechanisms and processes that have been, or are being, set up. But then again, it is a special, global, high-profile event that offers a range of possibilities that will not come again. Explore these opportunities and use them.

Push your issue

From now until September 2002, the SA government will be very sensitive to its international image with regard to the environment. The world’s spotlight will be on South Africa and our government does not want to be embarrassed by looking as if it is doing nothing to implement sustainable development principles.

CSOs have an unprecedented opportunity for lobbying — not only DEAT, but other departments too.Try to frame your organisation’s issues in the light of the forthcoming Summit. Lobby government, use the media. Bring your issue to the Civil Society Indaba. These doors may not be open again. Push your issue!

Learn and share

Civil society organisations from around the world will want to know about local environmental and developmental issues. In the same way, organisations from around the world are preparing to use the Summit to highlight their issues or success stories. With so many different organisations and different perspectives arriving at the same time at the same place, there will be a huge amount that you will be able to learn, and much that others will want to learn from you. Find out if there are organisations with similar issues to yours in other parts of the world. Make contact with them and encourage them to come to the Summit. Some delegates and journalists may stay on after the Summit and may want to visit local projects. Do you want them to visit your project? Some organisations may be planning seminars, theatre, marches, media events, etc. Is there something your organisation would like to do? At the very least, make sure you have enough cards and brochures to distribute.

Come out of the green corner

South African civil society has a history of fragmentation. During the apartheid years, it made sense for hundreds of little organisations to operate independently – rather than a few really big ones. In addition, “environmental” organisations have struggled to get their issues into the mainstream of social change movements in South Africa.

The Summit provides an ideal opportunity for South African environmental organisations to forge stronger alliances with the development sector that will last beyond Johannesburg 2002 – to merge “green” and “brown”. To start with, visit the organisation closest to yours. Find out if they have any plans to engage with the Summit process, and share yours – or develop a joint strategy. Make contact with your sector representative at the Civil Society Indaba.

Go global

Maybe your organisation wants to become a global player. You first need to secure UN accreditation. This means you will have access to the next three PrepCom Meetings, where you will be able to listen (but not speak!) to the presentations, objections, interjections, of your and other government delegations. You may even be able to stop one of the SA Government delegates in the lobby of the UN and “lobby” your point of view. You could also meet and join forces with other global NGOs who follow the WSSD process.

But having UN accreditation and flying around the world to workshops and conferences does not necessarily make your organisation more effective, and think of all the greenhouse gas emitted in the process! More importantly, the Summit is an opportunity to understand how the “local” issues which concern your organisation are linked to global issues.

It’s a chance to explore the connections and to be part of the emerging global social movement. Its a chance to find out more about the positions and agendas of the really big global NGOs like Friends of the Earth, GreenPeace, etc. The most influential groups are based in the North… and you may not agree with their arguments and positions. Be prepared to engage with them before and during the Summit.

Kick some butt!

The World Summit is a high-profile global conference. Official government delegates may be almost outnumbered by journalists, TV crews and newspaper reporters. They may want to speak to you! To get attention you have to know how to turn your local issue into a global one… and how to do this in a 5 second sound bite! Bring comfortable shoes. There is sure to be a march you will want to join.

Text: Stephen Law & Duncan Proudfoot