World gathers togethers for environment meeting
World gathers togethers for environment meeting
The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali
Over 6,000 delegates from 189 countries will start their two-
week meeting here on Monday to reduce or even stop
overexploitation of the world's natural resources.
However, vast differences between developed and developing
countries over how to achieve sustainable development may get in
the way of settling a strong deal.
"The coming two weeks will be crucial to find a common
platform to build a better future for mankind," said Coordinating
Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti during
Sunday's opening ceremony of the fourth UN Preparatory
Committee/Ministerial Meeting at the Bali International
Convention Center in Nusa Dua.
The meeting in Bali will lead to the World Summit on
Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa,
from late August to September.
Talks will center on continuing the pledges made at the 1992
Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which sought to bring
concern about the environment onto the global stage.
Sustainable development aims to allow future generations to
continue to draw on the earth's wealth. Yet most countries that
have ratified the Rio declaration have failed in implementing the
pledges, including Indonesia.
The Johannesburg Summit hopes to haul back these concerns into
the global stage and get countries to commit to action.
Previous meetings agreed to boil down the wide-ranging issues
of sustainable development into five areas. They are water and
sanitation, energy, health, agriculture and biodiversity.
Bali is the last round of the presummit meetings, where
delegates must finalize the action plan that will provide the
basis for a political statement by world leaders in Johannesburg.
The plan, known as the chairman's statement, was drafted by
Emil Salim, who chairs the meeting in Bali and was then state
minister of the environment representing Indonesia at the 1992
Rio Summit.
Members of the Indonesian delegation predicted tough
negotiations ahead, as the revisions had to be finalized by
Friday.
"We have 100 meetings going on for the coming two weeks,"
Dorodjatun said.
However, talks would likely run along the differences between
the interests of the developing countries and those of the
developed.
A senior Indonesian delegate said developed countries refused
to tie their commitments to a timetable and withheld aid unless
developing countries reduced their levels of corruption.
For their part, developing countries, including Indonesia,
wanted greater international responsibility, as preserving
natural resources meant cutting back on much-needed revenue.
Unless there is enough assistance from developed countries, be
it in financial assistance or reduction of debt, developing
countries would continue with their practice of unsustainable
development.
UN Secretary-General for WSSD Niti Desai, however, gave a more
positive note. "The major challenge is that we must find common
ground."