NYU-UN-FRTL-A4   Finn Longinotto   November 4, 2002

 

Expanded Table of Contents and Outline of Final Paper

 

 

 

Title

 

“An Assessment of The Environmental Agenda of the UN in Light of the Rio Declaration.”

 

 

Introduction

 

This paper’s thesis is that it is still possible for “the most environmentally vulnerable developing countries to be given the priority accorded them by UNEP’s Rio Declaration and, eventually, for some of their environmental problems to be alleviated.

 

Chapters I – III lay down the facts surrounding the UN’s Environmental Agenda, while Chapters IV – VI attempt to provide a critical analysis of the relevance, success an failure of the agenda over the years, first with a view to the health of the planet as a whole and, secondly, with particular reference to disparities between the developed and undeveloped world.  The conclusion is that it the record has been patchy but there is still hope for the most vulnerable countries.

 

 

Facts

 

Chapter I         Historical Background of the UN’s Environmental Agenda

 

• Global Environmental Problems
• Environmental problems of:
• The developed world
• The undeveloped world
• Impact of a borderless world
• Chronology of UN conferences and agreements on the environment

 

Chapter II        The 1992 Rio Declaration

 

• Terms of the Rio Declaration
• Principle 6 of the Rio Declaration
• Definition
• Implication
• Some countries targeted by Principle 6
• Africa
• Others
• These countries’ environmental situation, then (1992), and now (2002)

 

Chapter III       Financial Situation

 

• Environmental Budget of the UN
• Historical budget and disbursements
• Contributions
• Allocations

 

 

Analysis

 

Chapter IV       Critical Evaluation of UN’s Environmental Agenda prior to 1992

 

• The reasons developed countries have advanced further than developing countries in environmental awareness
• Economic and political handicaps facing environmentally vulnerable developing countries
• Efforts made by the developed world to address the situation
• Steps taken locally by the developing countries

• Successes and Shortcomings

 

Chapter V        Critical Evaluation of UN’s Environmental Agenda after Rio Declaration

 

• “Rio + 5” Evaluation
• “Rio + 10” (Johannesburg) Evaluation

• Where there has been some success, what caused it to happen?

 

Chapter VI       Political Factors

 

• Political impact of these developing countries in:
• UN
• UNEP
• The U.S. stance – helpful or not?

 

Chapter VII     The Future

 

• Global impact of failure to respect the spirit of Principle 6
• Budgetary Implications for the Future
• Reasonable expectations for the future for:
• Global environmental situation
• The environmental situation of vulnerable, targeted countries
• Follow up of Rio Declaration

 

Conclusion

 

The trend can be reversed.  Acting together as a body, “the most environmentally vulnerable developing countries” can take measures to ensure that they are given the top priority intended, with a subsequent suspension of environmental deterioration and, possibly, even an amelioration.