Introduction:

No small targets were formulated in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, when adopting the “Agenda 21” for the transformation of the world economy towards a sustainable development. Government representatives of 179 states, Germany among them, signed this document as the start of global partnership and cooperation of all societal groups for the solution of urging ecological and social problems on this planet.

For ten years the Agenda 21 exists as a guideline for a socially responsible management of the earth in the age of globalization, but at the precincts of the Rio+10 summit in Johannesburg the achievements limp way behind the disappointments and the simply undone things. In the following text, some systematic impediments for the implementation of sustainable development are presented, but also the formation of propulsive forces in the shape of non-governmental organizations. The rise and increasing significance of non-governmental organizations for environmental protection, human rights and development assistance goes back a long way before the Agenda 21. The question arises, whether these organizations are qualified to overcome impediments for sustainability or – as some speculate – even form the core of a new civilian global governance.