The recent Rio plus 20 summit has been described as a ‘failure’ and one of such meetings held by world leaders to push for their economic benefits under the guise of sustainable development by Fiu Mata’ese Elisara, executive director of Samoa’s Ole Siosiomaga Society.
Elisara was in Honiara for the 11th Pacific Arts Festival to present his paper on Pacific Island leaders’ failure to address sustainable development. Speaking to the Solomon Star, Elisara said Rio plus 20 was a disappointment. He said since the first meeting in 1992, there were promises that were never delivered.
“It should be called Rio minus 20 because we have gone back another 20 years. The political will was never delivered since 1992,” he said.
O le Siosiomaga Society a Samoan non-government organization established in 1990. It has represented the Pacific in a number of global conferences.
OLSSI aims to monitor the state of the environment in Samoa, with particular emphasis on human induced impacts on land, fresh water, mangroves, lagoons, reef, ocean and air as well as promoting only those policies and practices which have positive impacts.
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Additional reading- Marshall Islands Joins Fiji, Tuvalu in Regional Climate Talks
- Rio+20: A Sustainable Future for the Pacific Islands?
News category: Asia Pacific.