Statement from The Nature Conservancy's Andrew Deutz: "We came here for the other Rio"

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Statement from The Nature Conservancy's Andrew Deutz: "We Came Here for the Other Rio"

The Conservancy's director of international government relations responds to the final negotiating text

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | June 19, 2012

The following is a statement from Andrew Deutz, director of international government relations at The Nature Conservancy, in response to the release of the final negotiating text at Rio+20:

"There are two conferences going on here – they are half a mile apart physically and a universe apart in tone and potential impact. One is the negotiators who are rehashing old text and one is the communities, countries and companies who are making tangible commitments to solve the sustainability challenges they face. We came here for the other Rio.

"It’s time to move away from one-size-fits-all, lowest-common denominator commitments anyway and focus on getting results on the ground. The world has evolved to a new way of writing the rules of the road for sustainability that is bottom-up and leader-driven. We’re seeing emerging countries and local communities and global corporations make meaningful commitments to investing in the value of nature.

"The real question is how to make the ideal of sustainable development real. We’re focused on supporting innovative leaders to make smart choices about their natural resources."

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.