But, what has actually happened during the last nine years is the betrayal of the Rio commitments. The whole concept of sustainable development is being viewed through the prism of environmental protection. This has led to selective implementation of Agenda 21. Somewhere in the process, the two most important pillars of sustainable development, namely, economic growth and social development have been lost. The world continues to remain afflicted with abject poverty.
Environmental degradation is worse than it was ten year ago.
One-third of humanity lacks reliable access to power. In nominal terms, ODA has sharply declined since 1992. Recipient countries are being given inventories of best practices rather than a helping hand. There is excessive emphasis on prescriptive guidelines and good governance, both leading to conditionalities. The number of countries with unsustainable debt burden is growing at an alarming pace.