In a statement, the WWF said that the first negotiating draft for the Rio+20 summit had the direction right, but the magnitude wrong and was especially weak on water-related ambition.

WWF said that while “The Future We Want” Zero Draft contained few practical measures to enable the world to meet challenges in balancing competing global food, water and energy needs over the next 10 years.

Lasse Gustavsson, Executive Director, Conservation at WWF International commented:

“This document recognizes that countries have failed to act effectively on the environment and development over the last two decades but its lack of binding commitments risks setting us up for another decade of failure.”

“Rio 2012 could fail solely on the basis of what it does – or doesn’t do – on freshwater. At this point, the document isn’t offering much more than a recommitment to sanitation systems.”

“What we need is water management based on natural, not political boundaries; a commitment to protect and restore vital freshwater systems; protection for the forests that safeguard our water supplies; and to prepare the world for the major water supply impacts of climate change.”

WWF welcomed the commitment to the sustainable management of marine and ocean resources, but is concerned there is no commitment to a sorely needed system of high seas protection, no workable safeguards for the sustainability of dwindling fish stocks, and no proposals for curtailing criminal exploitation of marine living resources.

The WWF is also concerned that the proposals for change are based on “voluntary national commitments” – which are not legally binding and will not commit countries to meet any targets or to work within a given timeframe.