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afrol.com, 13 December - The South African Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism recently announced that the United Nations General Assembly on Environment and Sustainable Development (UNCED) had chosen South Africa to host the Earth Summit in 2002. In a statement, Rejoice Mabudafhasi, the deputy minister of environmental affairs and tourism, said that South Africa welcomed the decision to bring the conference to the African continent. The summit would be held in Johannesburg. "Bringing the Earth Summit to South Africa is a major boost for Africa as the major conference on sustainable development on our soil will firmly place these issues and debates on the agenda of our continent" said Mabudafhasi. In 1992, the leaders of the world's nations met at the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro to set out an ambitious agenda to address the environmental, economic, and social challenges facing the international community. At the famous Rio Summit, the Agenda 21 for a sustainable development was set. Five years later, states followed up at the "Earth Summit+5" in New York, June 1997. The "Rio+10" event will carry the title World Summit on Sustainable Development. In February, President Thabo Mbeki made a formal offer to the United Nations to host the 10-year Review Summit, popularly referred to as the Earth Summit 2002. 'It is significant that it should take place in the developing world' Several heads of state will attend the summit that is expected to draw about 40 000 participants. More than 130 heads of state participated in the summit in 1992 and it is expected that the majority of the 188 members of the UN will send delegations to the 2002 conference. More than 15 000 NGOs were represented at the 1992 meeting. Mabudafhasi said that the significance of the conference went beyond the actual event because it set the agenda for sustainable development and the environment for the next decade. "It is therefore significant that it should take place in the developing world where the issues of development and the environment are fundamental to the daily struggle against poverty." Earth Summit 2002 should deepen the global commitment to sustainable development and bring environmental issues to the fore. There is wide consensus that the primary focus of the summit should be poverty, development and the environment. Poverty and underdevelopment are seen as the fundamental threats to environmental security and sustainable development.
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