16 May 2012: The preliminary programme of over 500 on-site side events organized by governments, major groups, organizations from the UN system and other international organizations at the upcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) has been released. The programme is searchable as well as organized in calendar form.The on-site side events will take place in the RioCentro venue during: the Third Meeting of the UNCSD Preparatory Committee (PrepCom III), taking place from 13-15 June; the Sustainable Development Dialogue Days, taking place 16-19 June; and the Conference itself, from on 20-22 June.

All organizers of on-site side events have been strongly encouraged to register any commitments that result from their side events. The on-site side events will be held daily in Pavilion T and Pavilion 3 and will be open to Conference participants with valid ground passes.

Events include workshops on: making climate finance an effective driver of sustainable development, organized by Transparency International; mountains under review – communicating the state and trends, organized by the Interim Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention; People and the planet: population, consumption and the environment, organized by the Royal Society; and forests in a global bioeconomy, organized by the Government of Sweden. [Preliminary Programme of Side Events]