This meeting addressed the concept of the ‘Socio-Environmental Protection Floor,’ including key aspects and lessons learned from programmes implemented at the country level.

Underscoring the need for a smoother transition to a greener economy and for providing a “safety net” to those whose livelihoods are under threat. Magdy Martinez, UN Development Programme (UNDP), introduced the debate explaining that the “Socio-Environmental Protection Floor” is a concept currently under development and highlighted examples of country-level programmes related to this concept.

Christine Bockstal, International Labour Organization (ILO), stressed the relevance of the social dimension of sustainable development, including the provision of essential social services, healthcare, water and sanitation, nutrition and good-quality education. Highlighting that the implementation of a social protection floor should be country-led and adapted to national circumstances, she said the concept has been increasingly recognized as a key development instrument.

Rômulo Paes de Sousa, Deputy Minister of Social Development, Brazil, stressed the need to create policies that focus on the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. He described the positive experience in Brazil, in particular the Green Grants programme (Bolsa Verde) intended for families living in extreme poverty that are already participating in the “Bolsa Familia” programme. He said families sign an agreement to be involved in environmental protection activities and receive additional income in exchange.

Radhika Lal, International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG), drew attention to the particular circumstances of developing countries, such as extreme levels of inequality and informal labor markets. Through describing experiences in India, Brazil and South Africa, she highlighted the need to, inter alia: establish large-scale high-impact programmes providing medium-term “safety nets” for vulnerable sectors; ensure the right to access to information on implementation of these activities; and reduce transaction costs through measures such as creating a single registry.

In the ensuing discussion, participants covered, inter alia: promoting coherence between environmental and economic policies; whether the concept could be part of the deliverables for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD or Rio+20); and ensuring the sustainability of these programmes.

This event provided an overview of the Rio Conventions Pavilion (Rio Pavilion) as a tool to highlight the synergies between the three Rio Conventions, namely the CBD, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Neil Pratt, CBD, noted that the Rio Pavilion is a key collaborative outreach activity for the Rio Conventions. He highlighted the use of the Rio Pavilion in awareness-raising, exchange of experiences and realizing the co-benefits of implementing the conventions, including on water security, sustainable land management, sustainable forest management and the involvement of indigenous peoples and local knowledge in environmental protection.

Noting that the Rio Pavilion can enhance synergies among core stakeholders, he said that hosting the Rio Pavilion at Rio+20 will present a crucial opportunity to address linkages between the three Conventions, as well as enhance cooperation and increase synergies between biodiversity, land management and climate change actors.

Providing an overview of the positive experiences from the Rio Pavilion at the tenth Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD, Melchiade Bukuru, UNCCD, underscored that projects under one convention, such as land management projects, will benefit the other conventions, and this should be highlighted to delegates and stakeholders to “break down the silos” when implementing the Conventions at the national level.

Sekou Toure, Global Environment Facility (GEF), underscored GEF’s continued support for the Rio Pavilion, and invited broad participation from interested parties at Rio+20. Dan Shepard, UN Department of Public Information (DPI), said that the Rio Pavilion is also vital in bringing forward cross-cutting issues such as gender.