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JOHANNESBURG, Sept 4: The Earth Summit was slammed by environmentalists and development campaigners on Wednesday as lacking much in the way of new action to tackle poverty and environmental degradation.
But the 10-day conference and its hefty action plan, if followed, may produce some winners and losers, as illustrated by these possible pairs:
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Winner - Fishermen in poor countries
In one of the summit’s few firm commitments, governments promised to restore the world’s depleted fish stocks by 2015. “This should lead to more local food available to coastal communities and less fish going to the West to be put in catfood,” said Greenpeace’s Steve Sawyer.
Loser - Farmers in poor countries
Despite a vague agreement from rich countries to approach the next round of trade talks “with a view to phasing out all forms of export subsidies”, rich countries such as those in the EU are under no obligation to phase out massive payments to their farmers which make many Third World exports uncompetitive.
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Winner - Amazon rainforest tribes
Indigenous peoples could make a killing if scientists stumble across the cure for cancer in the genes of a plant or animal living in their part of the jungle. The Johannesburg action plan says locals should share in any benefits Western companies gain from exploiting natural resources found there.
Loser - Brazilian coffee farmers
Still at the mercy of commodity market price fluctuations, growers of cash crops gained little from the summit, according to Oxfam’s Andrew Hewett. “Fluctuating commodity prices are one of the main causes of poverty in the developing world. The lack of action at this summit was yet another failure,” he said.
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Winner – Ethiopia
A political minnow that managed to delete words in the action plan that would have made environmental treaties subservient to World Trade Organisation rules. Diplomats said Ethiopian delegate Tewolde Gebre Egziabher made an impassioned plea on behalf of poor nations in closed-door talks to win over hard-nosed negotiators in intense late-night talks.
Loser – Tuvalu
The tiny island which rises only four metres (13 ft) above the South Pacific will be the first nation to vanish if U.N. predictions on global warming come true and seas rise. With no new action by rich, energy-guzzling nations to fight climate change, Tuvalu’s long-term prospects are as grim as ever.
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Winner - Germany’s Gerhard Schroeder
Struggling for re-election in less than three weeks, the German chancellor scored a hit at the summit by promising 500 million euros over five years to promote renewable energy in developing countries. Amid a deluge of vague “partnership agreements” where governments promised to work with the private sector on aid and environment projects, Schroeder’s plan was singled out by Friends of the Earth as one of the few that offered new money. Will Germany’s green-minded voters notice?
Loser - Germany’s Juergen Trittin
One of the first Green party politicians to enter government, Germany’s environment minister pushed in vain to persuade the summit to set a target to boost the use of renewable energies such as wind and solar power. Trittin underestimated the intransigence of the oil-friendly United States and other oil-producing countries.—Reuters
