Conference call

The World Summit on Sustainable Development is being organised in Johannesburg, South Africa from September 2 to 11. It is bringing together tens of thousands of participants, including heads of state, national delegates and leaders from non-governmental organisations, businesses and major groups from all over the world. It is presenting an invaluable opportunity to these participants to build on the past decades’ knowledge, while providing fresh inputs for achieving sustainable development.

Ten years ago at the ‘Earth Summit’ in Rio de Janeiro’, governments committed themselves to Agenda 21 as the comprehensive plan of action for integrating environmental, economic and social concerns into a single policy framework. But commitments alone have proven inadequate. Johannesburg Summit would focus on turning plans into action. In the words of Kofi Annan, secretary-general of United Nations, "It must send out a message that sustainable development is not only a necessity, but an exceptional opportunity to place our economies and societies on more durable footing."

To participate in the summit or for details visit summit’s official website, www.johannesburgsummit.org

The prime question before Johannesburg Summit 2002 is how can we improve people’s lives and conserve our natural resource in a world that is growing in population, with ever-increasing demands for food, water, shelter, sanitation, energy, health services and economic security? Will they succeed?

Send in your views to:
sumita@cseindia.org/
eklavya@cseindia.org

A Banglore-based rainwater club has developed a comprehensive guide to rooftop rainwater harvesting. The club is formed by a group of concerned individuals with interest in the sustainable management of water. The site can be easily accessed in two languages – English and Kannada. In a simple yet effective manner it addresses the why, how, who, when and where’s of implementing rainwater harvesting. The site also presents the case studies from school, residents and industries with all the technical and financial details. The site would ensure a good exploration trip – if you have interest in ecological architecture, rainwater harvesting and water recycling, reuse and wastewater treatment. It has been developed as a forum for advocacy, research, guidance and consultancy for water management from household to a regional level.