World Summit on Sustainable Development: Daily Highlights

Johannesburg, South Africa (26 August-4 September 2002)

Monday 26 August

The World Summit on Sustainable Development opened in Johannesburg, South Africa, this morning with South African President Thabo Mbeki calling on the Summit to agree on practical results that will improve the lives of people everywhere, through sustainable development. He said, “The peoples of the world expect that this World Summit will live up to its promise of being a fitting culmination to a decade of hope, by adopting a practical programme for the translation of the dream of sustainable development into reality and bringing into being a new global society that is caring and humane.” President Mbeki was elected by acclamation to preside over the Summit.
Summit Secretary-General Nitin Desai and United Nations Environment Programme Executive Director Klaus Topfer also addressed the opening session.
The Foreign Minister of South Africa, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, chaired the first of six plenary sessions aimed at building a framework for action in the areas where the Summit is expected to produce results. The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to the Summit, Jan Pronk, moderated an interactive discussion, which focused on health; others will deal with energy, water, agriculture, biodiversity and cross sectoral issues such as trade and finance.
In the negotiations, countries have agreed to paragraphs regarding the Global Environment Facility, which has been replenished in the amount of $2.9 billion. There was also agreement on a provision calling on the GEF to serve as the funding mechanism for the Convention to Combat Desertification, a major issue for African countries.
As of this morning, the UN has accredited 12,625 government delegates, NGOs and media representatives to the Summit.