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UPSC Prelims 2016 · Environment · Rules for the Planet
With reference to 'Agenda 21', sometimes seen in the news, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- It is a global action plan for sustainable development.
- It originated in the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in 2012.
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: (a) 1 only
An action plan from Rio 1992.
Statement by statement
1. ✓ CORRECT Agenda 21 is a global action plan for sustainable development in the 21st century.
2. ✗ WRONG It came from the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, 1992. (Johannesburg was 2002, and the 2012 summit was Rio+20.)
The idea
Agenda 21 is the action plan from the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. The “21” stands for the 21st century. It is a long, non-binding list of what governments, local bodies and citizens should do for sustainable development.
Rio 1992: Agenda 21 → 2000: Millennium Development Goals → Johannesburg 2002: plan to implement Agenda 21 → Rio+20, 2012: “The Future We Want” → 2015: Agenda 2030 with 17 SDGs
The trap
Statement 2 mixes two summits: Johannesburg (2002) and Rio+20 (2012).
Also know
It has 40 chapters. “Local Agenda 21” asks city and village bodies to make their own plans, which is why the phrase “think globally, act locally” is linked to it. The statement in the question joins the place of one summit (Johannesburg, 2002) with the year of another (Rio+20, 2012).
🔒 Rio 1992: Agenda 21, UNFCCC, CBD, UNCCD talks, Rio Declaration, Forest Principles.