On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Second United Nations Confe
rence on Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, June 1992) and the Ri
o+5 Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly (New York, June
1997), developments in ecodynamics and geopolicy at the global, regional (E
urope) and local (the Netherlands) levels are reviewed. It is emphasized th
at the results achieved are unsatisfactory and more resolute efforts are re
quired to achieve sustainable development.