The Earth Summit +5 in New York is a chance for everyone, as stockholders of the environment, to critically assess how far we've come as a planet in creating sustainable development projects around the world.

Around the globe some common themes have emerged as defining factors of sustainable development projects. Many have found that the communities where the decision-making processes are inclusive rather than exclusive, and where the participants, or "stakeholders," are local community members are the most effective in creating realistic sustainable development.

In Cusco, Peru, for example, in an evaluation of the Jocchoc River Basin Jurisdiction terrace reconstruction project, an evaluator writes, "A project supported by local active involvement becomes a successful tool. A down-to-earth project fitting into the local possibilities is easily taken on by the community. A project encourages the people if, in the short run, it shows concrete works, earnings increase, and improvement of the living standards." This means throwing out the idea of government setting the agenda for development and ushering in a new kind of action that brings community members into the playing field as decision makers and participants in development.

Many have found that creating a human environment that encourages sustainable development at the community level is important in seeking sustainability. An example of this encouragement is creating more equal access to resources than what exists today. When people have the basic necessities of life, they have more equal access to the tools for becoming active players in development. Education, for example, makes people able to contribute to sustainable development projects as they know the issues and have the tools to confront problems (i.e. technological know - how). Internationally, activists, government and community stakeholders in both the South (countries who have large populations with no access to basic necessities of life) and North (countries with industrial wealth, like Canada, the United States, Britain, Germany, Japan) are beginning to see the intrinsic value of equity and development in the path to sustainable living.

A truly international challenge that unites all participating countries is the issue of production consumption patterns - the lifestyle challenge. It is quite amazing to think of the consumer impact that youth around the world have. When one thinks of the clothing, food, music and books that we consume during a year we are actually also confronting one of the biggest environmental challenges that all nations share.

People around the world are putting forth the challenge to themselves and to one another that the hardest individual choices - the ones that alter our ways of living to reduce consumption and waste - must be made by many youth of today to achieve sustainability.

The report from the Second Session of the World Youth Forum lists one of their main objectives as, a "greater commitment among young people to sustainable lifestyles." This principle means that we, as youth, can make important environmental change without waiting for the governments of the world to do it for us. It is a challenge to alter our own individual habits and to redefine our vision of good living. This implies a radical change in our own lives!

These are just a very few of the common themes that have been brought to light by those involved in different projects started since the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Throughout the next week, we will be talking to youth from all over the world who have come to the Earth Summit +5 talks, and we will be publishing their own stories about the international progress made on sustainable development!