Sustainable Development Timeline
 
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Over the past fifty-five years, optimism about the creation of a modern technological utopia has been replaced by a more realistic understanding of the forces contributing to the world's problems. The following timeline has been prepared by the International Institute for Sustainable Development.
  • 1962. Rachel Carson publishes Silent Spring shattering the assumption that the environment had an infinite capacity to absorb pollutants.

  • 1963. International Biological Programme initiated by nations around the world, laying the foundation for a science-based environmentalism.

  • 1968. Paul Ehrlich publishes Population Bomb on the connection between human population, resource exploitation and the environment.

  • 1968. Intergovernmental Conference for Rational Use and Conservation of Biosphere provides a forum for early discussions of the concept of ecologically sustainable development. UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.

  • 1969. USA passes the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) creating the first national agency for environmental protection - the EPA.

  • 1970. First Earth Day held as a national teach-in on the environment in the USA.

  • 1971. Founex Report notes that while concern about the environment sprang from the production and consumption patterns of the industrialized world, many environmental problems are a result of underdevelopment and poverty.

  • 1972. Rene Dubos and Barbara Ward write Only One Earth. The book sounds an urgent alarm about the impact of human activity on the biosphere but also expresses optimism that a shared concern for the future of the planet could lead humankind to create a common future.

  • 1972. United Nations Conference on Human Environment held in Stockholm under the leadership of Maurice Strong. The conference is rooted in the regional pollution and acid rain problems of northern Europe. This eco-agenda is opposed by the Group of 77 and the Eastern bloc. The conference leads to the establishment of numerous national environmental protection agencies and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

  • 1972. Club of Rome publishes Limits to Growth. The report is extremely controversial because it predicts dire consequences if growth is not slowed. Northern countries criticize the report for not including technological solutions while Southern countries are incensed because it seems to advocate abandonment of economic development.

  • 1973. European Environmental Action Programme launched.

  • 1973. Chipko Movement born in India in response to deforestation and environmental degradation, influencing forestry practices and women's participation in environmental issues.

  • 1974. Rowland and Molina release seminal work on CFCs in Nature magazine. They calculated that if human use of CFC gases was to continue at an unaltered rate, the ozone layer would be significantly depleted.

  • 1974. Bariloche Foundation publishes Limits to Poverty. It is the South's response to Limits to Growth and calls for growth and equity for the Third World.

  • 1975. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) comes into effect.

  • Late 1970's. Environmental catastrophes capture public attention. Eg. Amoco Cadiz oil spill and Three Mile Island nuclear reactor leak.

  • 1980. World Conservation Strategy released by IUCN. The section Towards Sustainable Development identifies the main agents of habitat destruction as poverty, population pressure, social inequity and the terms of trade. It calls for achieving a more dynamic and stable world economy, stimulating economic growth and countering the worst impacts of poverty.

  • 1980. Independent Commission on International Development Issues publishes North:South - A Programme for Survival (Brandt Report.) It asks for a re-assessment of the notion of development and calls for a new economic relationship between North and South.

  • 1980. US President Jimmy Carter authorized study which leads to Global 2000 report. This report recognized biodiversity for the first time as a critical factor in the proper functioning of the planetary ecosystem.

  • 1982. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea is adopted.

  • Mid 1980s. More environmental crises in the South shock an increasingly "tuned in" Northern public. eg. Bhopal, India, famine in Africa's Sahel region, rain forest decimation, international debt crisis.

  • 1984. Worldwatch Institute publishes its first State of the World Report monitoring changes in the global resource base and their effect on the economy. It concludes "we are living beyond our means, largely by borrowing against the future."

  • 1985. Antarctic ozone hole discovered by British and American scientists.

  • 1985. World Meteorological Society, UNEP and International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) report on the build-up of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. They predict global warming.

  • 1986. Accident at nuclear station in Chernobyl generates a massive radioactive explosion.

  • 1987. World Commission on Environment and Development publishes Our Common Future (Brundtland Report), giving direction for comprehensive global solutions. It popularizes the term "sustainable development."

  • 1987. Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is adopted.

  • 1988. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change established to assess the most up-to-date scientific, technical and socioeconomic research on climate change.

  • 1991. Hundreds of oil fires burn out of control in Kuwait for ten months following the Persian Gulf War.

  • 1992. Business Council for Sustainable Development publishes Changing Course establishing business interests in resolving environmental issues.

  • 1992. United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro. The Earth Summit results in the publication of Agenda 21, the Convention of Biological Diversity, the Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Rio Declaration, and a statement of non-binding Forest principles. The parallel NGO Forum signs a full set of alternative treaties.

  • 1993. The U.S. President's Council on Sustainable Development (PCSD) is established. (Abandonded by the Bush administration in 2000.)

  • 1993. The first annual meeting of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development is held.

  • 1993. World Conference on Human Rights is held. Governments reaffirmed their international commitments to all human rights and passed resolutions leading to the appointment of the first UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

  • 1994. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) enters into force. The side agreement -- the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation -- establishes the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) to facilitate effective cooperation on the conservation, protection and enhancement of the environment.

  • 1994. International Conference on Population and Development is held in Cairo, Egypt.

  • 1994. United Nations Convention on Desertification is completed.

  • 1994. US Agency for International Development redefines its foreign assistance program in terms of sustainable development.

  • 1995. The Uruguay Round of the Global Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) negotiations is completed and the World Trade Organization (WTO) is created.

  • 1995. World Summit for Social Development is held in Copenhagen, Denmark. For the first time the international community expresses a clear commitment to eradicate absolute poverty. The Conference also addresses the need for socially responsible structural adjustment and greater accountability by the IMF and World Bank.

  • 1995. The execution of Kan Saro-Wiwa in Nigeria brings international attention to the linkages between human rights, environmental justice, security, and economic growth.

  • 1995. Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action recognizes that the status of women has advanced but obstacles still remain.

  • 1996. United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) is held in Istanbul, Turkey.

  • 1996. APEC Ministerial Meeting on Sustainable Development is held in Manila, Philippines. The Manila Declaration and an Action Programme cover key areas for cooperation on sustainable cities, cleaner production and technologies, and the sustainability of the marine environment.

  • 1996. The Summit of the Americas on Sustainable Development is held in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The Declaration of Santa Cruz de la Sierra and the Plan of Action for the Sustainable Development of the Americas stress fairness in regional development.

  • 1997. Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF) submits its recommendations to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. The IPF calls for continued dialogue, but cannot reach an agreement on important issues such as financial assistance and trade-related measures, or whether to begin negotiations on a global forest convention.

  • 1997. The Earth Council convenes NGOs at the Rio+5 Forum in Rio de Jainero, Brazil. They note many organizations and individuals working for sustainability in their own communities and sectors continue to work largely in isolation from each other.

  • 1997. Global Knowledge '97: Knowledge for Development in the Information Age is held in Toronto, Canada, initiating a global dialogue on how to harness knowledge and information as tools for sustainable and equitable development.

  • 1997. United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) acts as a sober reminder that little progress has been made in implementing key components of Agenda 21. It ends without significant new commitments.

  • 1997. Intentional land-clearing fires in Southeast Asia are intensified by the El Nino induced drought. The resulting haze blankets the region causing over $1.4 billion (USD) in short-term health costs and at least that amount in direct fire-related damage.

  • 1997. Delegates to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change 3rd Convention of the Parties (COP-3) sign the Kyoto Protocol. This document commits developed nations to reducing overall emissions of several greenhouse gases and mechanisms to encourage North-South cooperation on emissions reduction.

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