Posted on May, 08 2012

‘The future we want’ has become the tagline for the upcoming Rio+20 Summit to be held in Brazil in June. As one can imagine, there are as many visions of a desired future state, as there are people asked to provide an answer. This inherently causes a problem for a global summit, as world leaders must come together to define a collective vision for an improved collective future.

We must make strides to lessen the gap between those that benefit from, and those that do not benefit from, the current economic development pathways. But let’s be clear, planet Earth is currently on the losing end of the equation and the future projections do not look hopeful. Earth is not benefitting from the current state of affairs.

As I write this column, WWF is working closely with dozens of government leaders during the final round of negotiations prior to the Rio Summit. Although the overall ambition in the current negotiating text for the Summit is laudable, there is a lack of urgency, a paucity of clear targets and unclear actions that will guide delivery of the ambition. In other words, with less than 60 days to go to the Summit, there is still a lot of work to do.

One of the challenges often talked about, is how to make a green economy real. In Jakarta, during the recent Heart of Borneo Forum – Green Economy for People, Planet and Prosperity, we began to see clear signs of how a green economy can be real. WWF and co-host the Government of Indonesia’s Heart of Borneo National Working Group brought together leaders from science, economics, policy, finance and civil society to discuss and debate the tangible steps being taken to create green economies based on the natural, economic and social values in the Heart of Borneo. You will read more in the newsletter about the details of the Forum, but let me point out a few highlights:

• Collaboration with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants under the theme ‘Is Corporate Asia Ready for a Green Economy?’ brought over 100 leaders together in two roundtable discussions (Singapore and Jakarta) to debate the policy, business and finance preparedness for green growth.
• First launch in Asia of the book “The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for Business and Enterprise” by author Dr. Joshua Bishop, followed by a lively dialogue with a panel of private sector leaders discussing the challenges and opportunities for green growth in Borneo.
• WWF and UNDP co-hosted a Partnership Approach breakfast dialogue with Ambassadors, diplomats and senior officials from 25 embassies, agencies and/or multilateral organizations.
• And who better to help define future priorities than youth? The Forum ended with the final competition of a regional debate on sustainability that saw nearly 30 secondary schools verbally slug it out in the hope of winning a trip (for them and their teachers) to the Heart of Borneo with WWF, to explore rainforest issues first hand.

And finally, in my previous column in our February issue, I mentioned that the ‘Heart’ of Borneo is still beating strong. This past week several traditional leaders traveled great distances from the highlands of Borneo to participate in the Forum. In addition to releasing The Human Heart of Borneo, a new publication celebrating the rich cultural heritage of the indigenous peoples and their role in conserving the forests of Borneo, they also used their political voice to help define their future priorities. Anye Apui (Customary Chief of Hulu Bahau, Malinau, East Kalimantan) reminded us how deeply the identity of Dayak Peoples is tied to the forest. “Yes, timber is gold, but this is not the kind of gold that is good for us. I want to protect the forest in my area, as the forest is life for Dayak people. ”

I can only hope the negotiators for Rio+20 feel the same sense of urgency as Pak Anye Apui.