A global review of disaster reduction initiatives - Welcome to the ...

These joined the long standing Ramsar Conventionon Wetland Preservation (1971) to emphasizethe importance of natural resource managementand the dynamic growth of risk factors thatcontribute to natural disasters.History of the Earth SummitRelated international commitments and the UN role in disaster risk reductionsustainable development as development which"meets the needs of present generations withoutcompromising the ability of future generations tomeet their own needs."Sustainable development meets the needs of the presentgenerations without compromising the ability of futureones to meet their own needs….6The concept of sustainable development datesback a long way but it was at the UN Conferenceon Human Environment (Stockholm, 1972) whenthe international community met for the firsttime to consider the global environment andhighlighted the need to support people in thisprocess. The Conference indicated that industrialisedenvironmental problems, such as habitatdegradation, toxicity and acid rain, were notnecessarily relevant issues for all countries andcommunities. However, it was the existingenvironmental problems that dominated themeeting and led to wider public environmentalawareness.In the 1980s, the UN set up the World Commissionon Environment and Development, alsocalled the Brundtland Commission. Theyproduced Our Common Future, otherwiseknown as the Brundtland Report, whichframed much of what would become Agenda21 and the 27 principles of the Rio Declarationon Environment and Development. It definedHowever, the description of sustainable developmentin Agenda 21 called for a total shift inthe status quo of prevalent value systems andinstitutional processes. Such global changecould never have occurred over night. Whenprogress was assessed after five years - Rio+5 inNew York, 1997 - many gaps in implementationwere identified, particularly with regard to socialequity and poverty. Falling levels of officialdevelopment assistance (ODA) and growinginternational debt contributed to this. It alsoshowed failures to improve technology transfer,capacity building for participation and development,institutional coordination, and to reduceexcessive levels of production and consumption.The review meeting called for the ratificationand implementation of the growing number ofinternational agreements and conventionswhich refer to environment and development.The same concerns regarding implementationhave been raised in the Rio+10 preparatoryThe four broad areas of action of Agenda 21ElementsSocial and economic dimensions todevelopmentConservation and management of naturalresourcesStrengthening role of major groupsMeans of implementationIssuesPoverty, production and consumption, health,human settlement, integrated decision-makingAtmosphere, oceans and seas, land, forests, mountains,biological diversity, ecosystems, biotechnology,freshwater resources, toxic chemicals, hazardousradioactive and solid wasteYouth, women, indigenous people, NGOs, localauthorities, trade unions, businesses, scientific andtechnical communities, farmersFinance, technology transfer, information, publicawareness, capacity building, education, legalinstruments, institutional frameworks289