First published in 1997. 1997 marked the fifth anniversary of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. The Way Forward outlines the successes and failures of those first five years. The study provides an unparalleled analysis of the agreements that were reached, and the stakeholders who were charged with implementing them.

List of Contributors; Preface James Gustave Speth; The Adventures of Change Felix Dodds; Introduction Jonathan Porritt; Part One: Agreements from the Rio Summit; 1. Agenda 21 Chip Lindner 2. The UN Commission on Sustainable Development Tom Bigg and Felix Dodds 3. A Changing Landscape of Diplomatic Conflict: The Politics of Climate Change Post-Rio Peter Newell 4. The Convention on Biodiversity Fiona McConnell 5. The Desertification Convention Camilla Toulmin 6. The Forest Principles and the Inter-Governmental Panel on Forests Carole Sant-Laurent 7. The Rio Declaration Philippe Sands; Part Two: Major Groups; 8. Non-Governmental Organisations Peter Mucke 9. Local Authorities and Local Agenda 21 Jeb Brugman 10. The Business Charter for Sustainable Development Björn Stigson 11. Trade Union Action: A Paradigm for Sustainable Development Winston Gereluk and Lucien Royer 12. Women, Environment and the United Nations Angela Mawle 13. Young People and Sustainable Development Zonny Woods; Part Three: Major Issues for the Future; 14. Trade and Sustainable Development Caroline LeQuesne and Charles Arden Clarke 15. Indicators for Sustainable Development Gary Lawrence 16. Financial Resource for the Transition to Sustainable Development Barbara Bramble 17. Building Sustainable Production and Consumption Patterns Elizabeth Dowdeswell; Part Four: Perspectives on the Future; 18. Perspectives on the Future from the UN: The First Steps from Promise to Performance Nitin Desai 19. The NGO View of the Next Ten Years: Thoughts on Moving from the Basement of the UN to Global Implementation Peter Padbury 20. Perspectives on the Future - From a Northern Government Klaus Töpfer 21. The UNCED Process: In Search of Sustainability for the South Henrique Cavalcanti 22. The Way Forward Beyond Agenda 21: Perspectives on the Future from Europe Derek Osborn; Appendices; List of Acronyms; UNED-UK; Index