Leaders assess progress on sustainability

Government representatives, business leaders and NGOs from Southern Africa are meeting in South Africa this week to assess the implementation of some of the resolutions passed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg two years ago. The meeting from 15 to 17 March, the first since the summit, is expected to highlight the impact of HIV/AIDS on sustainable development. The agenda includes discussions around key issues such as water and sanitation, poverty eradication and corporate social responsibility. The WSSD summit in 2002, a follow-up to the 1992 Earth Summit in Brazil, reaffirmed commitment to the implementation of the UN Millennium Development Goals - a set of eight targets for reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development worldwide. More than 300 partnerships were announced in 2002, committing more than US $200 million in new and additional resources. South African officials attending the upcoming meeting are expected to showcase local efforts already underway to arrest poverty in the country.