FOTO: ANTONIO RIBEIRO/GETTY IMAGES

Por Bernardo Buarque de Hollanda

Retrospectively, despite great expectations at the time of the Eco-92 Conference, which took place in Rio de Janeiro 30 years ago, little climate changes have been witnessed by city life since then. Naturally, the local organizers in favour of the event pointed to the legacies for the city in terms of goods, infrastructure, media, and services. Examples of so-called benefits include increased tourism and the construction of the "Linha Vermelha" Expressway. In short, the main contribution was connected to the topic, bringing ecological awareness to people all over the world.

The world's first major environment event was held in Stockholm (Sweden), in 1972. Rio-92 was the next most significant international event, both under the auspices of the United Nations. During the first two weeks of June, thousands visited the Conference and journalists devoted millions of newspapers pages to covering the event.

During Eco-92, two other important parallel meetings on the agenda took place: the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and the Global Forum of Non-Governmental Organizations (or civil society organizations). The former was attended by 175 nations and took place from June 10-12, at Riocentro, a venue localized in the western part of the city.

Despite some agreements, many discussions were derailed by political confrontations, especially Bush's statements about the struggle between rich and the poor countries. The general topics and challenges can be found below:

1^st: Integration of economic and ecological interests.

2^nd: The biodiversity agreement.

3^rd: The climate agreement.

But the main controversy concerned the control of the Amazon and its sovereignty: who is responsible for policing the Amazon Forest? Brazil, regional power countries, or even international institution? Certainly, this topic remains a major and controversial issue that mobilizes the Army forces, the Brazilian government, public opinion, and civil society at large. Eco-92 Conference tried to develop preservation projects for this immense region, in association with its borders, such as Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Equator and Bolivia, united and interested in this common task.

On the third and fourth days, the debates were especially difficult, as the US government opposed the aforesaid agreements. In fact, the United States were against changing the economic conditions to reduce CO2 emissions. This is another issue that demanded thought three decades ago: does the US have the right to support this political position, despite all the evidence? Considering the future, what about the next generations represented today by ourselves in the 21st century.

The Eco-92 Conference also hosted the Global Forum of Non-Governmental Organizations from June 10-12. Overall, was attended by two thousand non-government associations from 112 countries, among them Greenpeace, a key environmental reference worldwide. According to the organizers, investment in the event was about $11 million. Most activities took place at the Aterro do Flamengo region, with installations being adapted to this open area.

At the same time, parallel meetings took place, especially in terms of cultural and technological interests, such as Ecotech, Ecoart, Eco Urbs and, finally, the Conference of Indigenous Nations.

Edição Final: Guilherme Mazzeo