Preparations are underway for 2012’s event marking twenty years since the Rio de Janeiro-hosted United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, commonly known as the Earth Summit. The newly launched FAO@Rio+20 web site will be updated throughout 2011 as preparations are underway with FAO’s detailed programme of work, studies and various initiatives related to the event.

Sustainability is a broadly used term that is said to encompass three dimensions of the environment, economics and social sustainability. Although sustainable development is often presented within the theory of systems analysis, at present, there are no tools that provide a practical approach to assessing sustainability outcomes. This paper identified issues, targets and performance indicators for sustainability. It represents an initial effort by FAO and ISEAL to define a universally agreed framework for sustainability which is intended to be further elaborated through the Rio+20 consultative process.

Preparation is underway for the June 2011 release of the first issue of the State of Land and Water (SOLAW) Flagship publication. The flagship publication will report on and analyze the global status of land and water resources. A new SOLAW website has been launched to highlight news and information related to the ongoing preparation work.