The Eye on Earth Summit closed with the adoption of the Summit Declaration, to be forwarded to Rio+20.
The Declaration was prepared at special Rio+20 sessions, during which the role of environmental information in supporting decision making was discussed and the launch of negotiations on a global, legally binding instrument on Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration was proposed.
15 December 2011: The Eye on Earth Summit (Eye on Earth 2011) met under the Patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to discuss efforts to find common solutions to obstacles to data access. The event concluded with the adoption of the Summit Declaration, which will be forwarded to the UN Conference for Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20).
The Summit, held from 12-15 December 2011, in Abu Dhabi, UAE, brought together over 1,000 participants, representing governments, international organizations, academia, the private sector and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Participants discussed collaboration to strengthen existing initiatives and fill gaps to allow more informed policy making.
The Summit also hosted sessions on Rio+20, during which the role of environmental information in supporting decision making was discussed, and the Eye on Earth Summit Declaration was prepared. In the Declaration, participants recognize the need for accessing timely, credible and relevant observations and information from a wide array of actors. Recalling Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration, as well as the Bali Strategic Plan for Technology Support and Capacity-Building, they note the opportunity presented by Rio+20 to renew political commitment for the role of information in advancing sustainable development. In addition, a panel on Open Collaboration highlighted the call by participants for Rio+20 to launch negotiations on a global, legally binding instrument on Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration.
Aspasia Camargo, State Deputy, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, stressed that green economy, poverty eradication and good governance are three areas where environmental and social information is indispensible for measuring and managing sustainable development. Also on sustainable development, John Scanlon, Secretary-General, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), highlighted that international trade carried out consistently with CITES has contributed to the decrease of poverty in rural areas that are heavily dependent on wildlife through improved wildlife management, and contribute to sustainable development and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). He also called for practical measures to advance high-level principles for addressing the over-exploitation of biodiversity and noted some of the measures developed by CITES, such as electronic permits and the CITES Trade Data Dashboards for visualizing and monitoring species trade. [IIRS RS Coverage of Summit] [CITES Press Release] [Eye on Earth Press Release] [Eye on Earth Summit Website]