Industrialised nations, the developing world and NGOs have conflicting perspectives on what constitutes sustainable development, reports Cornia Pretorius from Johannesburg An explosion of thumping drums and swirling bodies kick-started the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa on Sunday night, 25 August. Before the summit began it already highlighted the ongoing differences between the industrialised nations and the developing world over development issues and their priorities. Prior to the beginning of the Summit, South Africa worked fervently behind the scenes to bridge the gap between the industrialised nations and the developing nations. The host nation manoeuvred carefully between the European Union and the United States on the one hand, and the non-governmental organisations such as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth International and the Third World Network on the other. The non-governmental organisations (NGOs) discovered that the industrialised nations were supporting an agenda that gave priority to trade matters over issues like environmental degradation and climate change. In a bid to avert chaos, South Africa drafted a compromise document. Prompting Jan Pronk, special representative for UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, to remind delegates that it was impossible to separate trade relations and the environment issues. South Africa is Africa's industrial power-house, yet it still deals with the issues of a developing nation. This could be seen in the juxtaposition between the summit's setting and surrounding communities. The summit is being held in Sandton, Johannesburg's glitzy upmarket business and cosmopolitan shopping district. Summit delegates and staff swamped the area. Tagged with accreditation cards, made from recycled plastic bottles, hanging from their necks. The streets were over-whelmed with blue uniformed policemen -- a sign that organisers wanted to keep South Africa's crime problems as far away from the summit as possible. Despite such efforts, the Swiss government asked for improved safety after thieves entered the hotel rooms of two Swiss delegates. There were no injuries, but the delegates promptly left South Africa. This act of violence served as a reality check to the participants in the summit. The squalor that most South Africans live in can be witnessed only a few kilometres from Sandton. The protective glitz of the suburb may mask the poor conditions of surrounding communities, but it cannot solve the problem. Dallas Mahlangu, a waiter in one of the many restaurants in Sandton, made exactly that point, "The summit is about giving people jobs and helping the poor," he said. The Swiss incident, the many empty chairs at the vibrant opening ceremony on Sunday night, the disputes over the Plan of Implementation and a series of disputes over the agenda, did not deter South African President Thabo Mbeki from declaring the summit a "moment of hope, not despair". Mbeki compared the responsibility of the delegates to that of the South Africa's early anti-apartheid activists. He said the delegates should work to dislodge a "global system of apartheid" in which poverty continues to dehumanise people. During the weekend fears of looming disaster were expressed regarding another conflict between the industrialised nations and the developing world. This time the conflict centred around industrialised nations' disregard for clauses in the Plan of Implementation that call for greater financial support for poorer nations both in terms of aid and in opening up markets. As the details of the plan were being hammered out behind closed doors, a few dark clouds drifted over Sandton to challenge the summit's success. The South African government has been frantically trying to prevent Zimbabwean politics from distracting summit participants from "people, planet and prosperity". The Zimbabwean land redistribution plan has prompted the US and Britain to impose sanctions and call for regime change. Over the weekend, Greenpeace activists launched a raid on the Koeberg nuclear plan outside Cape Town and were arrested after they erected banners saying, "Nukes out of Africa". In another twist in the fight to gain top billing at the summit, the landless and local anti-eviction campaigners clashed with police in Johannesburg when they marched to highlight the plight of homeless in South Africa. The government has placed tight restrictions on protesters, ensuring that they will be well-contained. A smaller and more focused summit was held by NGOs a week prior to the UN summit. This NGO event held in Kimberly, South Africa, suffered from poor attendance. But smaller NGOs and groups that would normally not be heard at the main summit succeeded in Kimberly. Groups representing indigenous peoples and pushing for the proper implementation of environmental laws were vocal at the Kimberly conference. The path to this UN summit has been littered by confrontations. Industrialised nations and the developing world have clashed over what issues should take priority, while NGOs have battled to define their own agenda. Meanwhile, the world is waiting for a conference that will produce more than talking-points and broad proclamations. But hope remains for this summit, Nitin Desai, secretary-general of the summit said on Sunday, "In Johannesburg we will try to change the way people act."
