In a statement on PrepCom 4, South Africa’s Minister of Environment and Tourism, Mohammad Valli Moosa, said, “The main areas of disagreement revolved around the trade and financing provisions of the Plan – the so-called ‘economic platform’ of the document. Developing countries insist that a poverty eradication strategy should not ignore the most important causes of poverty, among them unfair terms of trade and, in particular, the lack of market access for agricultural products from poor countries. Developing countries also differed with the rich countries on the resourcing of the implementation plan. Developed countries wanted the plan to indicate who and how the good intentions would be financed.” He went on to say that South Africa is pleased with the global consensus on the main framework of the Summit and the focus on all three pillars of sustainable development, and with the agreement on the overall target of halving poverty by 2015. There was also agreement on the need for a concrete programme of action addressing water, sanitation, energy, health, agriculture and food security, education, and biodiversity, and on the need for a global partnership between rich and poor countries, and between governments, business and civil society for sustainable development (www.sarpn.org.za).
South African President Thabo Mbeki has indicated that he will be addressing the unresolved issues in a series of international forums such as the G8 meeting in Canada and at the launch of the African Union in South Africa in the run up to the WSSD.
In a comprehensive review of PrepCom 4, the Earth News Bulletin notes that the failure to reach full agreement on the Draft Implementation Plan was not unexpected (www.iisd.ca/2002/pc4/). The fundamental issues that were not resolved concern finance, terms of trade and globalisation, and the Rio principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (see box). Agreement on these issues will lay the foundation for resolving other outstanding issues that deal mainly with the work programme. Underlying the lack of agreement on these fundamental issues is the widening gap between rich and poor, seen as reflecting the ‘broken promise’ of Rio. The resulting lack of trust has also been fed by developments in the international governance system, with the role of the WTO seen as having sidelined Rio. Trade liberalisation and corporate led globalisation are seen to be increasingly sidelining the role of UN agencies in global governance. The UNEP Global Environmental Outlook report argues that the choice is to pursue either a ‘Markets First’ scenario or a ‘Sustainability First’ scenario where global policy is no longer the servant of the trade regime.
Failure to reach agreement on all issues at PrepCom 4 means that there are crucial areas outstanding for the Johannesburg summit. The Earth News Bulletin argues that until the ‘hot political issues of finance, trade and means of implementation are resolved’, many of the targets and programmes to address sanitation, biodiversity, depleted fish stocks, sustainable consumption and production and energy will be ‘held hostage’. In addition the United States shift to a unilateralist agenda risks derailing the summit unless text dealing with unilateral coercive measures is agreed on.
Partnerships between the private sector and governments to implement agreements are also an area of contention. While the United States sees them as a major outcome of the summit, developing countries in the G-77/China bloc are wary that they may be used to impose conditionalities on developing countries and to avoid government commitments by developed countries. Amongst the major groups, business and industry are enthusiastic supporters along with local government, while NGOs are calling for criteria and frameworks to guide implementation. Amongst NGOs there are differing viewpoints, with NGOs involved in implementation seemingly less opposed than those involved in campaigning and advocacy work.
A series of international events including the G8 Summit in Canada, the meeting of EU leaders in Seville and the launch of the African Union in South Africa are likely to play an important role in determining the attitude of Heads of State and Government to the WSSD. NGOs will also be making their preparations, including the launch of a million signature petition at Bali under the anti-globalisation slogan ‘We the peoples believe another world is possible’. Key to meeting the developing countries’ demands will be the transformation of the Monterrey Consensus into an action agenda, and the delivery of political commitments set out in the Doha Declaration.
It seems likely that the road to securing some of the more fundamental changes will be a long and difficult one. At the G8 meeting African representatives were able to secure a commitment that a substantial portion of the ODA pledged at Monterrey would go to Africa, and some additional finance for the HIPC initiative, but so far there has been no progress on restructuring the international financial system. While the WSSD will be the biggest international event ever staged in Southern Africa, it is only one in a complex and highly political set of international interactions and is unlikely to deliver definitive answers to many of the fundamental issues that remain unresolved. As far as the trade and finance issues go, the WTO takes precedence over all other international agreements. Answers to some of these issues will only emerge in the WTO Doha round of developmental talks, which are scheduled to end in 2005. What this means for poverty eradication will be influenced by the way different stakeholders engage with the issues. For those who live with poverty it will not be soon enough.
For more information see:
www.sarpn.org.za (the best resource on poverty related issues in Southern Africa)
www.johannesburgsummit.org (UNEP site)
www.johannesburgsummit.co.za (mainly logistics)
www.johannesburgsummit.org.za (South African civil society)
www.rio10.dk (good coverage of African preparations)
www.iisd.ca/2002/pc4/ (Earth News Bulletin)
www.iisd.ca/wssd/portal.html
www.iucn.org/wssd/
www.g8.gc.ca
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