Diplomats from more than 30 countries holding last-ditch talks behind closed doors on the eve of the UN Earth Summit are making progress on resolving differences, South Africa's foreign minister said today.
"They are narrowing the gaps and some of the brackets identifying areas of disagreement have been removed," Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said, declining to reveal details before they had been endorsed by delegates. "They are clearing up some issues and making good progress."
Ms Dlamini-Zuma said she hoped the summit would see "closer co-operation between rich and poor, North and South ... government and civil society" to make sure of an implementation plan that would work.
Last night South African police made one arrest and fired three stun grenades last night to disperse about 700 people who tried to stage a banned march ahead of the Earth Summit in Johannesburg.
About 10,000 extra police and troops are on duty in South Africa's economic capital for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) that formally starts work tomorrow and runs until September 4th.
UN officials were despondent that media coverage had been so rapidly dominated by the protest, following massive and violent demonstrations at previous international meetings in Seattle, Genoa, Prague and Davos.
Scant progress was made yesterday, when rich countries expressed reluctance to grant new aid as part of a 77-page document meant to halve poverty in developing nations by fueling environmentally friendly economic growth.
Pessimism surrounds any prospects for major agreement at the summit after the last negotiating session had ended deadlocked in Bali in June.
Delegates said compromises on issues including boosting healthcare, reining in pollution from burning fossil fuels and protecting dwindling fish stocks might have to await the arrival of an expected 100 world leaders for a two-day finale.
Organizers say they expect up to 100 world leaders to attend - not including US President George Bush. But they have slashed predictions for the number of delegates from 65,000 to about 40,000.