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.24 Minister of Health & Welfare v Woodcarb (Pty) Ltd and Another 1996 (3) SA 155 (N) Hichange Investments (Pty) Ltd v Cape Produce Company (Pty) Ltd t/a Pelts Products and Others 2004 (2) SA 393 ECD
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Milestones:
The UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and is better known as Earth Summit. It produced three non-binding instruments: the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development; Agenda 21; and the UNCED Forest Principles. It also brought forth two treaties: the Convention on Biological Diversity; and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (which led to the Kyoto Protocol). It also led to the establishment of new international institutions, including the Commission on Sustainable Development.
Milestones:
The 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity was opened for signature at Rio Earth Summit. It had three main goals: conservation of biological diversity; sustainable use of its components; and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources. The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety is a supplementary agreement to the Convention, adopted in 2000 as a specific consequence of the Convention. The object of the Protocol is to contribute to ensuring an adequate level of protection in the safe transfer, handling and use of living biotechnology-modified organisms that may have adverse effects on the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, taking into account risks to human health and focusing on transboundary movement. The Convention also established the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, sought to slow the pace of plant extinction around the world by 2010. Finally, the Convention established
the Conference of the Parties (COP), which is the convention's governing body consisting of all governments (and regional economic integration organizations) that have ratified the treaty; the Secretariat, operating under the United Nations Environment Programme, whose main functions are to organize meetings, draft documents, assist member governments in the implementation of the programme of work, coordinate with other international organizations, and collect and disseminate information; and The Subsidiary body for Scientific, Technical & Technological Advice (SBSTTA), a committee composed of experts from member governments competent in relevant fields, which plays a key role in making recommendations to the COP on scientific and technical issues.
Milestones:
The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg in 2002 yielded the Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development; the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development; and the Johannesburg Principles on the role of law and sustainable development. Instead of new agreements between governments, the Earth Summit was organised mostly around almost 300 partnership initiatives, known as Type II (as opposed to Type I Parnerships, which are the more classic outcome of international treaties). These were to be the key means to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. They are kept in a database of Partnerships for Sustainable Development.
Milestones:
Rio + 20 was centred around Agenda 21: assessing progress, implementation gaps, and new and emerging issues; and securing renewed political commitment. The outcome document was titled The Future We Want. The 192 governments present renewed their commitment to sustainable development.