Rio+20

 As part of the preparatory process for the forthcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (dubbed Rio+20) to be held in Rio de Janeiro in mid-2012, over 600 organizations have made submissions for inclusion in the "compilation document" which will be used to draft the final "outcome document".  The second intersessional being held in New York, during December 2011, will review the compilation document and agree on the outline of the draft outcome document.

The Importance of Environmental Compliance and Enforcement for Sustainable Development for the Rio+20 Conference Submitted by The International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE)

Summary

Robust national environmental compliance and enforcement systems for environmental and energy laws are critical parts of an effective overall governance strategy to meet green economy, poverty eradication, and sustainable development objectives. Multidisciplinary approaches to capacity building for parliamentarians, inspectors, prosecutors, and judges are keys to this process.

 Over the past month or so I have attended a number of meetings or conferences where the forthcoming World Conference on Sustainable Development (dubbed Rio+20) in June 2012 has been a high priority item on the agenda.  To some, it is an opportunity to reflect on the various successes and failures since the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm in 1972 (hence Stockholm+40)—and yes there are still some people actively engaged who remember this event.  To others, it