|
Although the ultimate goals are similar, the particular circumstances
of each region - political, economic, cultural and environmental - dictate
different emphases in each region. In Africa, a premium is placed on food
security, governance, economic diversification, population growth and
urbanization, universal primary and secondary education, poverty, health
(particularly in relation to HIV/AIDS), deforestation and land degradation.
Deforestation, inequity, poverty, urbanization, freshwater resources
and regional air pollution head the reform agenda in Asia and the Pacific.
In Europe, the accent is on energy, governance (especially in relation
to EU enlargement), agriculture, transport and the preservation of natural
areas. Governance, healthcare, universal primary and secondary education,
deforestation, poverty and inequity, and urbanization are highlighted
in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Discussions in North America focus on energy use, perverse subsidies,
trade regimes and water availability in the arid west. The principal concerns
in West Asia are water availability, food security, diversifying the economy,
healthcare and universal primary and secondary education. In the polar
regions, the focus is on governance in relation to international activities
in the Antarctic, rights of indigenous peoples in the Arctic and resource
exploitation in both.
|
