2nd Sept: A victory in sight?2 September 2002
Making headlines -
but also headway?
but also headway?
Hi. I'm so tired I can hardly think straight. I think the same goes for all of us.
It's pretty relentless here, but thankfully some of our hard work has paid off.
It was great seeing our Hear our voice action splashed all over the Earth Summit freebie newspaper this morning which goes out to all the delegates.
The faces behind the voicesNow our action is over, I've finally had time to go and visit the Radio Earth Summit crew. They are lucky enough to be working from a small eco-cabin in an endangered species park where zebras wander by out the back.
Radio Earth Summit - Fabian, Caroline and Eka
They've been broadcasting every day across Africa and webcasting every day on Radio Earth Summit.
Their programmes include:
- Updates with Friends of the Earth campaigners
- Messages from the public
- Sounds of endangered species
- Interviews with the likes of Jane Goodall, Naomi Klein and Klaus Topfer
They asked me to pass on their thanks to everyone who 'Made a noise' for the Earth Summit.
The faces of the nations
The heads of state are now here and it seems they have been blathering on about sustainable development without saying anything of substance. That goes for Tony Blair too!
But there is some good news. They have finally recognised that rules to control big business will not be reliable if they are simply voluntary, and that binding rules are necessary.
Ricardo Navorro
- Friends of the Earth
International Chair
- Friends of the Earth
International Chair
This is a huge victory for Friends of the Earth International who have been working day and night on this (together with other organisations).
Campaigners are lobbying hard even as I write, to try and make sure they stick to this agreement, because things can change hourly here.
Sadly there is no other positive progress worth reporting on any other issues being discussed at the Summit.
The voices of the wild
You can forget you are in Africa here when you only see what lies between your accommodation and a sterile conference building. So I might wander round now and look at some of the native animals they keep in this park.
If governments don't make the right decisions here, there could be many more endangered species filling up places like this.
Love Sarah
Sarah Donnelly, our Policy and Campaigns Co-ordination Assistant is sending daily updates direct from the Earth Summit.
© Friends of the Earth
