Johannesburg Declaration 2002
The ten-year review of Rio: the three pillars of sustainable development and the push to implement
In one minute
There is no binding "Johannesburg Convention". The event was the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg from 26 August to 4 September 2002. It reviewed ten years of progress since the Rio Earth Summit, so it is called Rio+10.
It produced two non-binding documents, the Johannesburg Declaration and a Plan of Implementation. It is best remembered for the three pillars of sustainable development and for voluntary partnerships.
Exam focus
- Frequency: No data
- Usually asked as: No data
Legal provision
- World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, 26 August to 4 September 2002: held under General Assembly resolution 55/199 as a ten-year review of the Rio conference.
- Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development, paragraph 5: the participants assume a collective responsibility to advance and strengthen the interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars of sustainable development.
- The text names those pillars: economic development, social development and environmental protection.
Meaning and definition
The Johannesburg Declaration is a political statement of the governments at the Summit. It is soft law. The Plan of Implementation is a long action plan that goes with it. Neither is a treaty and neither can be enforced in court.
The syllabus sometimes writes "Johannesburg Convention". That is wrong. The correct name is the Johannesburg Declaration, 2002.
Detailed explanation
Step 1: why a review summit
The Rio Earth Summit of 1992 produced two conventions and three non-binding documents. By 2002 it was clear that the pace of carrying out those promises was slow. The Summit's task was to push implementation.
Step 2: the Declaration and the Plan
The Declaration restates the commitment to sustainable development. Its paragraph 7 says humankind is at a crossroads and calls for a plan to bring about poverty eradication and human development. The Plan of Implementation is the longer working document with detailed action points.
Step 3: the three pillars
The Declaration treats economic development, social development and environmental protection as equal and linked pillars. Earlier debates often set environment against development. The pillar model says none of the three can be given up for another in the long run.
Example. A State plans a coal plant to give power to a poor district. The pillar model asks three questions: does it raise incomes, does it serve social needs, and what is its environmental cost? A good plan answers all three.
Step 4: Type I and Type II outcomes
The Summit also launched Type II partnerships. These are voluntary, multi-stakeholder initiatives in which governments, business and civil society groups work together on a project. They sit beside the formal Type I outcomes, which are the Declaration and the Plan.
Step 5: the pattern across summits
Stockholm in 1972 set principles. Rio in 1992 added conventions and an action programme. Johannesburg in 2002 checked on implementation and added partnerships. The pattern repeats about every ten years.
Don't confuse: Type I and Type II outcomes
| Point | Type I outcomes | Type II outcomes |
|---|---|---|
| What they are | Declaration and Plan of Implementation | Voluntary partnership initiatives |
| Who acts | Governments | Governments, business and civil society together |
| Binding? | No, political commitments | No, voluntary |
Inside the concept. A water company, an NGO and a State jointly run a drinking-water project and report to the Summit's process. That is a Type II partnership.
Just outside it. Governments adopt the Declaration at the Summit. That is a Type I outcome.
Common mistakes
- Calling the outcome a "Johannesburg Convention".
- Treating the Declaration or the Plan as a binding treaty.
- Listing the pillars wrongly. They are economic development, social development and environmental protection.
- Saying the Summit was in 1992. That was Rio. Johannesburg was in 2002.
Leading case laws
No case page in this subject turns on the Johannesburg Declaration. Questions on it are answered from its text and its place in the sequence of summits.
How to write this answer in the exam
5-mark answer
- Correct name and dates.
- Outputs: Declaration and Plan of Implementation.
- The three pillars.
10-mark answer
- Name correction and background to Rio+10.
- The Declaration, paragraph 5 and the Plan.
- The three pillars with an example.
- Type II partnerships.
- The pattern from Stockholm and Rio; conclusion.
Key points to remember
- World Summit on Sustainable Development, 26 August to 4 September 2002; Rio+10.
- Outputs: Johannesburg Declaration and Plan of Implementation, both non-binding.
- Three pillars: economic development, social development, environmental protection.
- Type II outcomes: voluntary partnerships.
Quick self-test
1. Is there a binding Johannesburg Convention?
No. The outcome is the non-binding Johannesburg Declaration.
2. Name the three pillars of sustainable development.
Economic development, social development and environmental protection.
3. What are Type II outcomes?
Voluntary partnership initiatives among governments, business and civil society.