World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg): an assessment for IISD

This paper provides an outline and analysis of the outcomes of the Johannesburg, 2002 world summit on sustainable development (WSSD). The author gives an overview ofkey issues and outcomes/commitments of the WSSDthe main actorsa political analysis and conclusionsThe author describes the three types of outcomes produced at the summita political declaration now known as the ‘Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development’ the ‘Johannesburg Plan of Implementation’, a 65-page document restating existing targets such as the Millennium Declaration Goals and a limited number of new commitments‘Type II’ non-negotiated, partnership commitments by governments and other stakeholders, including business and non governmental organisationsThe paper looks at the commitments and changes made specifically in the sectors where IISD work, namely:international trade and investmenteconomic policyclimate changemeasurement and indicators of sustainable developmentnatural resource managementIt also outlines the actions and positions of some of the countries in attendance.The author considers that this round of talks, as opposed to those in 1992 and previously, achieved little that was new and frustrated the expectations of many. He argues that the time for agenda setting through large conferences such as WSSD is over, the agenda has been set and more or less agreed, so implementation is now the order of the day. The coming decade, beyond agenda setting, will see an increasing focus on questions of effective implementation and institutional/political obstacles. This will occur, he argues, via the transference of individual issues to relevant international organisations such as the WTO and through increased corporate responsibility.Challenges identified by the author , that the multilateral system will have to address under conditions of globalisation are:new regionalism (e.g. NEPAD) and the pursuit of regional interestsformation of interest-defined groups (e.g. the Mega-Diverse countries)the significance of ‘glocalisation’ as evidenced by the proliferation and success of Local Agenda 21 programmesthe ascendancy of civil society’s role and that of global public policy organisations in mediating the gaps between the State, corporations and communitiesThe author ends by predicting that the discourse of sustainable development will become enshrined in political exchanges alongside the norms of democracy, economic justice, human rights and participation and that we have begun the process towards that point via democratic demands for accountability and transparency in the private sector.