September brings a change in seasons, which are always good times to pause and reflect on progress made and what lies on the road ahead. Given that this is The Road to Rio, it is worth spending a moment to take stock and to identify important markers ahead.

What’s Happened Lately?

While it may seem to some observers that the past few months have been quiet in relation to preparations for Rio+20, there was in fact a great deal of important activities and meetings that will have an impact on the final outcome. These meetings may have escaped the notice of some because most were focused at the regional and sub-regional levels.

In June, both the African Union and the European Commission made significant initial statements on unified positions and both regional groupings will meet again later this year to finalize their positions. Small island States held meetings at the sub-regional level to discuss their unique perspectives on the Conference themes, in particular emphasizing the need to consider “blue” as well as “green” in reference to the important role of oceans and water in economies and in sustainable development overall.

From 7-9 September, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) held the first in what will be a series of Regional Preparatory Meetings at all five of the UN Regional Commissions. Among the highlights of the meeting were proposals on the Rights of Nature (introduced by Bolivia) and on the concept of Sustainable Development Goals (introduced by Columbia and Guatemala).

At the global level, over 350 officials from 90 countries, 56 United Nations bodies as well as other stakeholders met in mid-July in Solo, Indonesia for the High-Level Dialogue on the Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development (IFSD). The meeting represented what is perhaps the most elaborated discussion on IFSD to date and is summarized in what is referred to as the “Solo Message.”

The Bureau for Rio+20 (the committee of Member States providing guidance on the process) held two meetings over the summer as well. One major result was the release of a “Guidance Note” for stakeholders that wish to contribute their ideas for the “zero draft” of the outcome document before the 1 November deadline.

For more details on their discussions, you can read the minutes from their 14 June meeting here and the minutes from the meeting between the Bureau and the high-level representatives of many UN entities here.

Civil society organizations also held several meetings in the last few months, including the DPI-NGO Conference (3-5 September, Bonn) and the CIVICUS World Assembly (10-12 September, Montreal). Attended by over 1,600 people, the DPI-NGO Conference produced a declaration that emphasizes the important role of citizens and volunteering in the achievement of sustainable development and is intended to input into the process directly by providing ideas on sustainable development goals as well as ideas on the two main themes of the Conference. The CIVICUS World Assembly emphasized the importance of citizen participation in governance and made linkages between sustainability, development effectiveness and justice.

What’s Next?

September also means the start of a new session of the UN General Assembly. The 66th Session of the General Assembly began on Tuesday 13 September and the annual General Debate is set to take place this year from 21-27 September. It is within the 66th Session that the Rio+20 Conference will take place with H.E. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser of Qatar serving as President of the 66th Session.

While Heads of State, as well as the UN Secretary-General, will address a panoply of pressing global issues during the Debate, one can expect that many will use the platform to address issues related to global sustainability, including issues of direct concern to Rio+20.

And with the 1 November deadline looming, one can expect the schedule of important activities to only become more dense and for various perspective to become more clear. Three of the remaining Regional Preparatory Meetings will take place in the second half of October and several Member States have taken it upon themselves to organize additional dialogues around the conference themes in an effort to provide stakeholders with additional opportunities to discuss the issues and find consensus.

Consult the official Rio+20 calendar for more details.

This issue of The Road to Rio aims to provide you with an overview of much of what has happened over the last couple of months as well as additional commentaries from various stakeholders on the state of the process, outcomes they would like to see and relevant initiatives that they are already undertaking.