IISD’s ENB Marks 20 Years Of World-Leading Coverage

WINNIPEG—March 1, 2012—The Earth Negotiations Bulletin, the world’s leading publication on international environment and sustainable development negotiations, is marking its 20th anniversary with ongoing coverage of a series of meetings and events leading up to where it all began—in Rio de Janeiro at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.

Langston James “Kimo” Goree VI, director of the International Institute for Sustainable Development IISD Reporting Services; Pamela Chasek, executive editor of ENB; and Johanna Bernstein wrote and edited the first issues of the publication at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992.

“This anniversary marks an important milestone in IISD’s history. We are proud of ENB’s significant contribution to international environmental governance and social development by shedding light on important meetings and negotiations for sustainable development over the past 20 years,” said IISD board chair Dan Gagnier.

In the past 20 years, more than 200 people from almost 40 countries have worked as ENB writers, primarily PhD students and graduates, as well as lawyers, former United Nations representatives, government officials and other experts.

ENB writers were part of world’s first wave of Internet and digital media users to provide daily coverage of meetings and negotiations, with overnight dispatches disseminated to a global readership.

“When we first started publishing the Earth Negotiations Bulletin, we decided that the best way to influence the process was not by using our publication to lobby or advocate for any political position, but to help level the information playing field and promote both transparency and the free distribution of knowledge to all of the participants,” Goree said.

ENB writers work as knowledge brokers and serve as trusted intermediaries for sustainable development decision-makers. They are the experts sitting in the back of the room, taking notes and reporting on the statements of governments and international organizations at key world summits, using new and emerging digital technologies.

ENB’s reports are complemented by a photographic library that is a treasure trove of historic moments. The photos are regularly featured by the world’s leading news media outlets and publications to tell the stories of international negotiations and events related to the three Rio Conventions—on biodiversity, climate change and desertification—as well as other events and meetings related to sustainable development.

IISD Reporting Services has continued to promote transparency and the free distribution of information through its suite of knowledge management products and platforms related to coverage of climate change, energy and sustainable development.

As part of its 20th anniversary celebration, IISD Reporting Services is launching Help Bring ENB Back to Rio—a fundraising campaign to ensure an ENB presence at the meetings leading up to and during the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio this June.

ENDS

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