Deciding the future

When world leaders gather in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Wednesday for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, or the Rio+20 as it is known, they need to demonstrate a strong political will and adopt concrete policies and measures to make the world a more sustainable place for future generations.

A follow-up to the 1992 Earth Summit, the biggest UN conference in years is expected to draw 50,000 participants from 190 countries. They will seek to address some of the major issues the world is facing today, including poverty reduction, environmental protection and social equity.

Compared to 20 years ago when countries adopted Agenda 21 - a blueprint for rethinking economic growth, promoting social equity and ensuring sustainability - key challenges ranging from climate change to the loss of biodiversity, and land degradation to water security have only become more alarming.