China's hopes and challenges

Meanwhile, the conference made clear that China has become a major stakeholder in sustainable development. "An unsustainable world means an unsustainable China; an unsustainable China means an unsustainable world," said Veerle Vandeweerd, director of the UN Development Programme's environment and energy group.

An indigenous child join adults in a march to submit their demands and proposals to the United Nations and Brazilian government as part of Rio+20 on June 21. Provided to China Daily

Premier Wen Jiabao was among the 100-plus heads of state who attended the conference. Just hours after his arrival on June 20, Wen said that as a major developing country, China will play a more active role in promoting sustainable development. "Countries must share the common responsibility of protecting our planet, while recognizing that they are at different stages and levels of development," he said.

Du Ying, head of the Chinese preparatory committee for Rio+20, said that one of the summit's successes was that it didn't renege on the principles of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, such as the principle of "common, but differentiated responsibilities".

Given its size and rapid growth during the past 30 years, China faces huge challenges in virtually every field of sustainable development discussed at Rio+20, even though the country's 12th Five-Year Plan has been described as "a green plan". Wang Weizhong, vice-minister of science and technology, said at the conference that China is slowing its economic growth for the sake of sustainable development.

The China Pavilion in Athletes' Park, a 10-minute walk from the main venue at Riocentro, hosted many side events about China and received 10,000 visitors. On the last day of the conference, Yin Hong, deputy administrator of the State Forestry Administration, addressed a roomful of visitors and outlined China's progress during the past 20 years but also emphasized the tough challenges ahead.

She rolled out a blueprint showing specific targets for the expansion of nature reserves, wetlands and forested areas, in addition to plans for the reduction of desertification in China by 2020.

Chinese NGOs and corporations released the first civil society report on the country's sustainable development over the past 20 years and Chinese college students joined young people from around the globe to tell the world exactly what sort of future they want.

Side events

Despite the frustration and disappointment about the lack of progress at the conference itself, one bright spot was the array of more than 500 side events covering sustainable development and ranging from protection of the oceans and public participation.

Nikhil Seth, director of the division for sustainable development at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said that educating the public and spreading the sustainable development message around the world is vital to put the mission into action.

The Sustainable Development Learning course was a capacity-building event, consisting of a number of classes about crucial aspects of sustainable development. Attendees received a certificate after each class.

"This is the place we can exchange and talk about our experiences, get new ideas and pass those experiences onto our country and our region," said Maryam Safari, head of the international department at the Charitable Institute for Protecting Social Victims.

However, not everybody stayed in the classrooms. Many took to the streets. The biggest protest was staged on June 20 when thousands of protestors — estimates range from 20,000 to 50,000 — marched in the city center. Organized by some 200 grassroots organizations attending the "People's Summit", protestors denounced low wages and the plight of indigenous peoples, the deforestation of the Amazon and the unscrupulous entrepreneurs they believe are attempting to hijack the green economy.

In light of the protests emphasizing the lack of confidence in the traditional structures, Zhang Jianyu, head of the Environmental Defense Fund's Beijing office, questioned whether the traditional multilateral governance framework is still suited to current social conditions. "There is apparently something lacking in this top-down structure when NGOs, corporations and grassroots organizations have to become increasingly active," he said.

Contact the reporter at chenweihua@chinadaily.com.cn