ABSTRACT
It is only appropriate that the tenth edition of this Yearbook, which was first launched at the Rio Conference on Environment and Development in 1992, is published to coincide with the ‘Rio plus 10’ World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. From the outset, the aim of mis Yearbook has been to provide independent analysis and carefully researched documentation of (1) how far the international community has come in addressing the main challenges in a wide range of environment and development issues, (2) the obstacles to achieving adequate responses, and, not least, (3) what needs to be done to overcome those obstacles. To this end, its four sections are designed with a view to enabling readers to assess whether the frequently bold objectives that are stated in international treaties or at global conferences are followed up by equally bold practices.
