Brazil Exemplifies Challenges, Opportunities for Rio +20

When a government spokesman announced on April 4, 2012 that no country has better credentials for hosting the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in June, he had a point. Brazil’s environmental record isn’t perfect; it is still home to vast pockets of poverty. But those challenges—echoed across the world in countless places—could make this South American giant the perfect forum for discussing the challenges ahead. Few countries are better acquainted with the difficulty of balancing human and natural needs.