The Road to Rio

Rio de Janeiro, Breogan67, German Wikipedia

In late June, tens of thousands of delegates and stakeholders from around the globe will descend on Rio de Janeiro for a once-in-a-generation “Earth Summit,” referred to as "Rio +20" due to its anniversary with the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. The United Nation’s priority for this event is to advance both “sustainable development” and the “green economy.” The U.N. has also identified seven key issues to highlight at Rio +20, including water and the oceans.

Earth Law Center is working with delegates and other stakeholders as part of the Rio +20 preparations to advance the rights of ecosystems and species to be healthy, thrive and evolve. The Center submitted detailed written comments to the U.N. in November that called for adoption of a platform of Earth rights and exposed the inherent flaws of the U.N.’s proposed market-based “solutions” to current environmental crises.

Earth Law Center has continued this advocacy at all U.N. General Assembly planning meetingsfor Rio +20. The Center successfully worked with Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) colleagues at these meetings to include, in both the December and the January formal NGO Statements to the U.N. General Assembly, a call for legal rights for ecosystems and species to exist, thrive and evolve. The Center also prepared and advocated specific edits to the initial working document, or "Zero Draft," for Rio +20, calling for the recognition of rights for ecosystems – a call echoed by a growing number of Member States.

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