Hundreds of delegates representing the government, the private sector, the NGOs and special interest groups gathered in New York at the UN Headquarters to discuss and agree on important issues that will be submitted to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) planned for September this year. For two weeks from January 28 to February 08, 2002, these officials and delegates reviewed outcomes of previous preparatory meetings as well as outcome of the UN Secretary General’s Report and deliberated on how and what to do next in order to produce an outcome that will be satisfactory to everyone and ready for the WSSD.

Because the final document was crucial, everyone was given the chance to constantly meet as individual groups. The Group of 77 (G-77) and China, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), and Pacific Island Forum (PIF) for example, gathered from time to time to discuss and review the issues that were of concern to them, and tried to bring them to the Plenary.

The Ambassador of Indonesia was elected Chairman for the Plenary Session and after the two long and tiring weeks of difficult negotiations and debates, the Chairman’s Paper which is the outcome for PrepCom 2 was produced and approved by the delegates.

The Chairman’s Paper contains seven major issues which are as follows: poverty eradication; changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and production; protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development; sustainable development in a globalizing world; health and sustainable development; sustainable development of small island developing states; sustainable development initiatives for Africa; and means of implementation which constitute the major concern of financing for development and implementation of Agenda 21.