By Stephen Leahy

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jun 16 (TerraViva) Delegates in Rio will need to take a leap of faith and agree on concepts like the green economy and sustainable development goals without really knowing what they involve, suggest experts on the sidelines of the Rio+20 Earth Summit. Continue Reading

By Fabiana Frayssinet

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jun 15 (TerraViva) – Swallowed up in the crowd in front of the spectacular Guanabara Bay, indigenous leader Apolinario from Brazil’s Amazon rainforest acted as an impromptu guide on the first day of the People’s Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Continue Reading

By Khaled Mansour*

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 15 (TerraViva) With more than seven billion people on the planet, the international community should ask in Rio de Janeiro what sustainable development means for the world’s 2.2 billion children. Continue Reading

By Stephen Leahy

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jun 15 (TerraViva) – Poor countries that green their economies will lift millions of their citizens out of poverty and generate higher incomes while protecting invaluable natural ecosystems, says a report released here in Rio Thursday. Continue Reading

By Marcelo Furtado *

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jun 15 (TerraViva) – The rise of Brazil and other emerging economies is one of the major changes since the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. With power comes responsibility. Continue Reading

By Thalif Deen

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jun 14 (TerraViva) When a reluctant George H.W. Bush, Sr., then U.S. president, changed his mind and decided at the eleventh hour to address the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, he sounded defensive in his strong response to charges that the United States was one of the major powers responsible for the some of the world’s worst environmental ills – from greenhouse gases to conspicuous consumption. Continue Reading

By Zofeen Ebrahim

KARACHI, Jun 14 (IPS/TerraViva) – In the summer heat, fresh mangos are the fruit of choice for politicians seeking to exchange favours with foreign dignitaries. But when it comes to global trade, the prospects of the so-called king of fruit are limited. Continue Reading

Rousbeh Legatis interviews NAVANETHEM PILLAY, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 14 (IPS/TerraViva) – Human rights should be explicitly recognised as an indispensable ingredient of sustainable development at the Rio+20 summit in Brazil, says Navanethem Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Continue Reading

IPS U.N. Bureau Chief Thalif Deen Interviews FLAVIA PANSIERI, Executive Coordinator of UN Volunteers

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 13 (IPS/TerraViva) – When the Rio+20 summit gets underway in Brazil next week, the estimated 50,000 to 60,000 participants will not only include world leaders, government delegates and U.N. staffers but also a staggering array of activists from the far corners of the world. Continue Reading

Isabelle de Grave interviews MICHELE BACHELET, Executive Director of UN Women

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 13 (IPS/TerraViva) Unlocking women’s energies and allowing them to become drivers of change could fuel the motor of sustainable development. Continue Reading