For me, Rio+20 started on 13 June with a session about sustainable development for the Amazon region. Organized by the Brazilian Academy of Science, this event was based on the publication 'Amazonia: Brazilian Challenge of the 21st Century – the Need for a Scientific and Technological Revolution and was attended by a number of Brazilian scientific experts, including Carlos Nobre and Berta Becker.

Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development.
13 June

It was great to see speakers such as the Vice-President of the Brazilian National Development Bank (BNDES) which funds projects such as the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam  - a  programme that will have a massive impact on the livelihood of a great number of indigenous people. This side-event took place at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and was part of the Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development.

I also attended a bigger session called “The Contribution of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services to Sustainability: Science Requirements” and lastly, a session about traditional knowledge and its different applications. One of the speakers that attracted my attention was Jaqueline Evangelista from Articulação Pacari, an NGO that works with traditional people in the Brazilian savannah in order to improve the production of remedies from medicinal plants.

Another key moment at this side-event was the release of the book "Weathering Uncertainty: traditional knowledge for climate change assessment & adaptation". Produced by the United Nations University and UNESCO, this book recognizes the importance of traditional knowledge in solving the climate crisis. This issue will be widely discussed in the next assessment report from the International Panel on Climate Change.

Athletes’ Park
14 June

I spent the day at the Athletes’ Park – a large space near the RioCentro conference centre that was the focus for governmental and intergovernmental exhibitions, debates, seminars and roundtables. It was great to see exhibitions on sustainable initiatives from all over the world  - from countries such as Brazil, China and the USA,  companies like BMW and Volkswagen as well as United Nations institutions and universities. While visiting the Indonesia stand I also bumped into a LEAD Fellow from my training session last year – it was great to have a chance to catch-up!

Forum for Social Entrepreneurship
15 June

On 15 June I went to the amazing Forte de Copacabana – a military base that became the ‘Humanity Space’ (Espaço Humanidade) during Rio+20. It also hosted the forum for Social Entrepreneurship, where I had a great opportunity to witness a round table about economic growth with three very different economists: Tim Jackson (author of the book ‘Prosperity Without Growth’), Ricardo Abramovay (São Paulo University ) and Arminio Fraga (ex-president of the Brazilian Central Bank).

The key points from the session were:

Tim Jackson

• What is the economy for? It is about prosperity for the people
• It is needed to provide economic stability without consumption growth
• Politicians don´t want doubts about economy growth because they believe that these  doubts will affect the jobs
• It is about stop persuading people to consume. The economy depends on consume
  today. And if you have a crisis the solution is: consume more!

Arminio Fraga

• I don´t believe in an economy without growth, I do believe in an economy with limited growth
• The public sector has difficulty developing policies the guarantee the well-being of humanity
• I’m not against the economic growth, but in favour of a limited and policed growth

Ricardo Abramovay

• The world is not increasingly poor. Actually, poverty has decreased.  70 million people are born every year, and 70 million new cars are on the streets every year
• We need the economy for: sanitation, education, human well-being and electric energy for all.
• It is not possible to have sustainable companies on an unsustainable economy

Sustainable Development Dialogues
16 June

For the first time I went to Riocentro, where the official conference negotiations would take place later in the week. Between 16-19 June the Brazilian government organised the Sustainable Development Dialogues, which provided an opportunity for representatives from civil society, including private sector, NGOs, the scientific community, and other major groups to engage in open debate about sustainable development. Different topics were discussed each day and the top three recommendations were conveyed to the Heads of State and Government representatives

On 16 June the topic was ‘sustainable development as an answer to economic crisis,’ and some the key issues discussed were:

• We need a tax reform that encourages donations from companies for the sustainable development (Marcela Benitz).
• New indicators are needed (Herman Mulder).
• Considering that the conventions (climate change, biodiversity and desertification created at Rio-92) have failed, we should set our goals for sustainable development and make the public sector follows us (Jeffrey Sachs).
• We need to move towards a) a low carbon energy system, b) a sustainable agriculture and food system, c) more resilient cities and d) clean industry (Jeffrey Sachs).
• We must educate future leaders and future citizens (Henrique Iglesias).
• The politicians are basically followers nowadays, so we need bottom-up alliances (Industries, NGOs, companies, society…) (Caio Koch-Weser)

Another discussion centered on the topic ‘sustainable development to fight poverty’. Some of the key insights were:

• Rio+20 should deliver a transversal message about the importance of dignity (Manish Bapna – WRI Interim President).
• Education is about making sure people have a good quality of life, not for them to become money-earning machines (Lourdes Huanca Atencio – Indigenous leader from Peru).
• 2.6 billion people depend on agriculture. 60% of the world area is oriented towards subsistence agriculture. Considering this information, it is important to focus on small farming and with that increase the subsidies for small farmers. With small farmers we can achieve green economy (Pavan Sukhdev – Green Economy Initiative, UNEP).

The other Dialogues concentrated on the Economy of Sustainable Development, Forests, Sustainable Energy and Water.

SD – Learning event.
From the Ground to the Cloud: New Tools for Sustainable Development (Google)
17 June

SD Learning was a capacity building event consisting of multiple courses on crucial aspects of sustainable development. I went to a session to learn more about the new tools and maps offered by Google Earth.

In the session, we were given tips on using these tools and were also shown some practical examples of partnerships that are already going on with NGOs and Indigenous People in Brazil. These groups are using Google maps to monitor deforestation in the Amazon region and to support public policies in the state of Amazonas.

The most interesting partnership that is already going on is with the ‘Paiter Surui’ tribe - the first indigenous tribe to have a carbon offset project approved.

By working with Google, the tribe can monitor illegal deforestation and burnings on their land. They have learned how to use smart phones in order to record these activities, and the phones then send information to the Cloud. Everyone can therefore access this information, learn about the Tribe’s culture, and government and police can monitor illegal activities.

Choose Change: LEAD Celebration event
17 June

LEAD’s 20^th anniversary event was a fantastic opportunity to reconnect with Fellows from around the world. We had some very interesting discussions about what it takes to be a sustainability leader, and what we need to do in order to make the transition to a more sustainable world.

People’s Summit
18 -21 June

The People’s Summit was a big event in Flamengo Park for civil society and other groups that weren’t formally involved in the Rio+20 Conference. The atmosphere was very different from Riocentro:  besides round tables, debates and discussions there were a number of cultural activities including indigenous painting, Hare Krishna celebrations, peaceful protests, samba, rock and reggae concerts. The vibe was fantastic and I really enjoyed the chance to spend a few days there!

Over the course of a few days I visited a number of exhibitions, and listened to an interesting roundtable on agroforestry and partnerships at the Greenpeace stand.  I also acted as a facilitator at one of LEAD’s workshops, which was a great opportunity to talk to a wide range of people about leadership and sustainable development.

Goodbye to Rio
23 June

After 10 days in Rio de Janeiro and lots of events, debates, discussions, I reserved the last day to rest, explore Rio and swim in the sea!

Being part of Rio+20 was an amazing experience and it allowed me to discuss sustainable development issues with different stakeholders from around the world. For me, the key issues that emerged from the sessions that I went to were:

• New indicators of economic growth and human well-being are needed (not just GDP or HDI)
• Changing patterns of consumption
• Limits to economic growth are needed
• The role of youth in sustainable development
• Science, technology and innovation in sustainable development

The Future We Want

Even though Rio+20 was not designed to produce a legally binding document, the results from the conference were still underwhelming. To my mind, “The Future We Want” – the final document that was approved by 114 leaders - didn’t explain key issues like how to finance the transition to a green economy or how the UN convention to protect the biodiversity of the sea is going to be implemented.  However, the conference did result in a number of positive actions such as the strengthening of UNEP. It was also good to hear that working group on ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ will be put in place in 2013.

The most important thing about Rio+20 for me however, was being part of inspiring debates and discussions with leaders from around the world. Scientists, politicians, students, local communities- everyone brought their own experiences of sustainability, and suggestions about initiatives that will lead to a sustainable future.