In 1992, more than 100 heads of state met in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the first international Earth Summit convened to address urgent problems of environmental protection and socio-economic development. The assembled leaders signed the and the , endorsed the and the , and adopted , a 300 page plan for achieving sustainable development in the 21st century.
The (CSD) was created to monitor and report on implementation of the Earth Summit agreements. It was agreed that a five year review of Earth Summit progress would be made in 1997 by the United Nations General Assembly meeting in special session. This special session of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ General Assembly took stock of how well countries, international organizations and sectors of civil society have responded to the challenge of the Earth Summit.