I am here in Rio, so I can start the discussion. Civil Society is beyond frustrated with the state of the negotiations and the final text. In a nutshell by the end of last week only 1/3 of the text had been agreed upon. Brazil quickly wrote a "new text" in an attempt to save the process, and that is the working text that is being used. It has been watered down, with no committments in terms of implementation, and in particular in terms of creation of new institutional structures to support sustainable development. The Vatican has been successful in removing reference to ""reproductive health" in the text, so many now feel that it is a fight for the status quo, as opposed to anything new and meaningful.
Civil society has been divided into a set of "Major Groups"in order to coordinate their work. The NGOs and Trade Unions are now working to get the phrase "with full participation by civil society"removed from the preamble as a way to express their discontent. Famers, Women and Youth may also support that initiative. The wifi signal isn't very good here, so I'm not even sure if this will post. Hopefully others will jump in with their thoughts. Shannon Shannon K. Orr, Ph.D. Associate Professor/Graduate Coordinator (MPA) Political Science Department Bowling Green State University Bowling Green, OH 43403 (419) 372-7593 ________________________________ From: [email protected] [[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ken Conca [[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2012 11:01 AM To: GEPED Subject: [gep-ed] gep-ed views on Rio + 20:...?! GEPED-ers: I am struck by the silence on the list as Rio+20 plays out. For those not following closely, but interested, here is a link to the "text for agreement" that Brazil has brokered as the host delegation: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jun/19/rio-20-future-we-want-draft-text Brazil and many others are anxious to see it not be reopened for negotiation; we'll see how that goes over the next few days. If folks on the list would like to write a paragraph (max) summarizing their thoughts about what is happening, isn't happening, should happen, can't happen, etc., send it to me <[email protected]> and I'd be happy to string them together and circulate to the list. Include your name and institutional affiliation. Feel free to respond now, or in the coming days, or to wait until the circus is over. I am just curious as to the range of views that are out there in our intellectual community....Ken Conca
