Earth Negotiations Bulletin

Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) is a specialist environmental diplomacy reporting service that documents multilateral negotiations and related conferences on environmental protection and sustainable development. Its coverage follows the work of the United Nations, national governments, civil-society organizations, scientific institutions and other participants involved in responding to global challenges. Subjects covered include climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, forests, chemicals and waste, ocean governance, deep-sea mining, water and wetlands, sustainable development, endangered species and the environmental dimensions of trade and investment. The service began during the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, commonly known as the Earth Summit. It was initially called the Earth Summit Bulletin and was created as a joint initiative by environmental lawyer Johannah Bernstein, doctoral student Pamela Chasek and Langston James Goree VI, also known as Kimo. The founders came from the nongovernmental-organization community and produced a daily bulletin for participants and observers at the conference. After the summit, the International Institute for Sustainable Development approached the group about continuing the publication during subsequent negotiations. In November 1992, the publication adopted the name Earth Negotiations Bulletin, and it became associated with IISD as an ongoing reporting operation. Since 1993, ENB has reported on more than 30 negotiating processes within the United Nations system. Its work has extended across major multilateral environmental agreements and institutions, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Montreal Protocol, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the Convention on Migratory Species, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and negotiations concerning marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. It has also covered sustainable-development institutions, forestry and land-management processes, ocean-law discussions, environmental finance and specialized sustainability conferences. ENB's core output consists of daily meeting reports, summaries and related conference documentation. The material has traditionally been distributed in print at negotiation venues and is also made available online, by email and through social-media channels. Reporting teams attend conferences and negotiations in person, allowing the service to summarize plenary sessions, contact groups, working groups, side events and procedural developments for readers who may not be present. It also undertakes coverage under arrangements with conference organizers, including regional meetings and sector-specific sustainability events. The bulletin occupies a distinct position between journalism, institutional documentation and specialist research support. Its reports are intended to provide timely, neutral and accessible accounts of complex negotiations rather than advocacy positions or formal negotiating texts. Writers have often joined the team while undertaking graduate study and later moved into international organizations and other policy careers; the reporting group has also included experienced former diplomats. Through its archives and continuing conference coverage, ENB serves negotiators, government officials, researchers, civil-society organizations, businesses and other observers seeking a practical record of environmental diplomacy. It operates as a division of the International Institute for Sustainable Development.

Earth Negotiations Bulletin originated at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. Three members of the nongovernmental-organization community—environmental lawyer Johannah Bernstein, researcher Pamela Chasek and Langston James Goree VI, known as Kimo—established a daily publication called the Earth Summit Bulletin. Its purpose was to give conference participants and observers a concise account of the proceedings and emerging environmental diplomacy. Following the Earth Summit, the International Institute for Sustainable Development offered to support continuation of the publication during the negotiations that followed Rio. In November 1992, the Earth Summit Bulletin was renamed Earth Negotiations Bulletin. The change reflected a broader remit: rather than reporting only on the summit itself, the service would follow the continuing negotiating processes through which governments and other actors implemented environmental agreements and sustainable-development commitments. From 1993 onward, ENB expanded its coverage across more than 30 negotiating processes within the United Nations system. Its reporting portfolio came to include climate and atmospheric policy, biodiversity and wildlife, forests and land, chemicals and waste, sustainable development, human settlements, water, oceans and wetlands, environmental institutions, and trade and investment issues connected with sustainability. It followed proceedings under agreements and bodies such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Montreal Protocol, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions, CITES, the Convention on Migratory Species and the Ramsar Convention. The service also covered negotiations and conferences outside a narrow treaty-by-treaty framework. These included the World Water Forum, ocean-governance meetings, discussions on marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction, forestry institutions, regional negotiations and sustainability conferences organized around particular sectors. Conference organizers have engaged ENB reporting teams for special events and thematic sessions, including industry-focused sustainability meetings and special-interest programming attached to larger climate conferences. ENB developed from a printed bulletin distributed at meeting venues into a multi-channel information service. Its daily reports and summaries are distributed through the web, email and social-media feeds, while archives preserve coverage of past negotiations. The reports typically explain procedural developments, summarize statements and debates, identify the work of negotiating groups and record the progression of draft decisions or other outcomes. This makes the service useful to participants who need rapid documentation as well as to researchers studying the evolution of environmental diplomacy. Its reporting workforce has included early-career writers who later entered international organizations and other policy professions, alongside experienced practitioners including retired diplomats. The service therefore combines conference-reporting capacity with familiarity with formal multilateral processes. As a division of IISD, ENB remains focused on documenting international environmental and sustainable-development negotiations rather than acting as a negotiating party or advocacy campaign.

• 2021

  Digital archive and website innovation highlighted

  [3]IISD’s Innovative Earth Negotiations Bulletin Websitecbd.int

  The Convention on Biological Diversity highlighted IISD's innovative Earth Negotiations Bulletin website, reflecting the service's continuing role as a digital source for negotiation reporting.

• 1993

  Expansion into continuing negotiations

  [1]Earth Negotiations Bulletinen.wikipedia.org

  ENB began its continuing coverage of environmental and sustainable-development negotiating processes within the United Nations system.

• 1992

  Launch at the Earth Summit

  [1]Earth Negotiations Bulletinen.wikipedia.org

  Johannah Bernstein, Pamela Chasek and Langston James Goree VI launched the Earth Summit Bulletin as a daily report on the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro.

• 1992

  Renamed Earth Negotiations Bulletin

  [1]Earth Negotiations Bulletinen.wikipedia.org

  After the Earth Summit, IISD offered to support continuation of the publication. In November, the Earth Summit Bulletin adopted the name Earth Negotiations Bulletin.

An independent-style specialist information and reporting service focused on timely, accessible documentation of multilateral environmental and sustainable development negotiations.

• Environmental policy reporting · 1992

  Daily negotiation reports

  Timely written accounts of daily proceedings at environmental and sustainable-development negotiations. Reports can cover plenary meetings, working groups, contact groups, procedural decisions, government statements, civil-society interventions and progress on draft outcomes.

• Conference documentation

  Conference summaries

  Summaries that consolidate the main developments and outcomes of treaty meetings, intergovernmental conferences and related sustainability gatherings. They provide a more accessible account of complex negotiations for readers who need an overview rather than a session-by-session record.

• Research information service

  Online archives

  A web-based archive of ENB reports and conference materials covering a broad range of environmental agreements, institutions and sustainability processes. The archive supports researchers, negotiators, civil-society groups and other users tracking the development of international environmental policy.

• News and information distribution

  Digital distribution

  ENB distributes reporting through its website, email and social-media channels, supplementing the printed copies historically made available at conference venues. This format allows participants and external observers to follow negotiations during meetings.

1. 1Earth Negotiations Bulletinen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Earth Negotiations Bulletin official websiteiisd.ca
3. 3IISD’s Innovative Earth Negotiations Bulletin Websitecbd.int
4. 4Earth Summit implementation: progress since Riodoi.org
5. 5Environmental Organizations and Multilateral Diplomacy: A Case Study of Earth Negotiations Bulletindoi.org
6. 6Could Access Requirements Stifle Your Research?doi.org