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International Policy: United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development

Compilation

Earth SummitThe United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), known as the Earth Summit or Rio+20, will take place in Brazil in 2012 to mark the 20th anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, and the 10th anniversary of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.

In 2011, there are a number of meetings scheduled in preparation for the lead up to the UNCSD. These meetings will look to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development and assess the progress to date (and the remaining gaps) in the implementation of the outcomes of previous summits on sustainable development.  Additionally, UNCSD will focus on two specific themes:

  1. A green economy in the context of poverty eradication and sustainable development, and
  2. An institutional framework for sustainable development.

Learn more:

While the Rio+20 agenda is ambitious and examines a plethora of environmental issues, there is insufficient emphasis on examining the human-caused influences which threaten the sustainability of ocean ecosystems and marine resources. Our oceans are in peril. Overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, destructive fishing practices and inadequate fisheries management have contributed to the systematic destruction of the marine environment and the species that reside within it.

The Pew Environment Group looks to global leaders to address key environmental issues impacting the ocean in the lead up to the UNCSD.  There can be no healthy planet Earth, no “green economy,” and indeed no sustainable future for humanity without a healthy ocean. Governments should continue the tradition of the Earth Summits and reach for a bold, courageous and visionary agreement at UNCSD to ensure the future viability of ocean ecosystems.

Find out more about our international policy work.

View our timeline highlighting major international committments, world populations, and global fish stock assessments. 

Helpful Resources

  • Potential Elements of an UNCLOS Implementing Agreement

    • Other Resource
    • Apr 25, 2012, 16:40 EST

    The high seas and the Area of the deep seabed (areas beyond national jurisdiction or ABNJ) contain perhaps the largest reservoir of biodiversity left on Earth.More

     

  • Healthy Oceans: Charting a New Course at Rio+20

    The United Nations, the Pew Environment Group, and TARA expeditions invite you to join best-selling authors, marine scientists, fishermen, and ocean explorers at an event to galvanize global support for action on oceans at the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development.More

     

  • What States Want from Rio+20: The Ocean

    During the preparatory process for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD or Rio+20), restoring the health and economic viability of ocean ecosystems arose as prominent issues among all stakeholders. Political groups, States and non-governmental organizations identified ocean issues as critical in submissions to the compilation document. Additionally, the UNCSD Bureau has indicated that management of the ocean will be one of the seven priority areas addressed.More

     

  • Ocean Earth: How Rio+20 Can and Must Turn the Tide

    At UNCSD in 2012 (Rio+20), the international community must take urgent action to reform ocean governance to ensure the sustainability of global fish stocks and to ensure legal instruments are in place to facilitate the protection and long term sustainable use of marine biodiversity. Read Pew's policy recommendations.More

     

  • Rio+20: Time to Turn Back the Tide

    An analysis of the gaps in the implementation of the ocean-related outcomes of the major summits on sustainable development.More

     

  • Keeping the Green Economy Blue

    At this workshop, in preparation for Rio+20, speakers will (1) assess the current state of the oceans and marine environment; (2) review the commitments made at Rio 1992 and at the World Summit for Sustainable Development in 2002; (3) analyse the social and economic implications for preserving a blue economy; and (4) consider policy recommendations for transitioning to a blue economy.More

     

  • Recommendations to the Open-Ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (UNICPOLOS)

    The UNICPOLOS preparatory meeting offers States the opportunity to advance strengthened measures for oceans governance. The Pew Environment Group has compiled a number of recommendations to bridge existing gaps and reform ocean governance in line with the themes of UNCSD.More

     

  • Bringing the Ocean Back into the Earth Summit

    Oceans are currently managed through a fragmented system where national and international bodies possess separate and overlapping jurisdictions. This has created an international structure of governance that lags far behind the threats posed to marine ecosystems. Moreover, measures established by existing institutions to tackle gaps and inadequacies in ocean governance have not been broadly and effectively implemented. The Pew Environment Group has compiled a number of recommendations to bridge existing gaps and reform ocean governance in line with the themes of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.More

     

  • The Ocean in the 2012 Earth Summit: A Brief Background

    While perhaps well-intentioned, States, and in particular the major fishing States, have failed to live up to the relevant provisions of the Rio Declaration and its progeny, particularly for the ocean. Twenty years later, it is imperative to ensure that the principles, goals and targets that were agreed to in prior negotiations are implemented, and to forge a new way forward. The principles, goals and targets highlighted in this brief continue to be highly relevant today. There can be no healthy Planet Earth, no “green economy”, and indeed no sustainable future for humanity, without a healthy ocean.More

     

  • Meet the Experts: International Policy

    The following experts focus on our international policy work.More

     
 
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