Earth Summit - It’s time to share wealth

SINCE the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro 10 years ago, relatively little progress has been made in tackling major issues that continue to overshadow human society.

A decade later, as 40,000 delegates resume the debate in Johannesburg , the agenda has been re-set by South African President Thabo Mbeki.

In an eloquent address, he rightly condemned the “savage principles” of the survival of the fittest in a global society characterised by islands of wealth, surrounded by a sea of poverty - a truly unsustainable scenario.

Despite the absence of US President George W Bush, the world’s biggest polluter, it would be difficult to exaggerate the moral impact as other nations come together with the aim of resolving the problems besetting the planet.

In a spirit of genuine co-operation, they can get down to discussing such major concerns as water, energy, health, agriculture and bio-diversity.

The immediate relevance of the meeting is illustrated, for instance, by the growing awareness that water is a finite resource. Widely regarded as “blue gold”, it is likely to dominate the planet’s political future of the planet and could yet lead to global conflict.

Regrettably, having cut its overseas aid by 30 million, Ireland is hardly well-placed to lecture other nations on how to tackle the conflicting concerns of the industrialised and the developing world.