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cultural diversity protection was consolidated within UNESCO through the 2001 UNESCO

Declaration of Cultural Diversity, while the Convention for Biological Diversity had

preceded this in 1992. Even though both biological diversity and cultural diversity were not

new ideas, what was new was the articulation of a relationship between loss of global

biodiversity and of cultural diversity. There was growing awareness of, not only material

environmental loss, but also of large-scale loss of indigenous languages, heritage and

traditional practices. And finally there was an increased awareness of and dissatisfaction

with the limits of scientific knowledge in addressing many ecological concerns. Originally

the debate centred on bringing together environmental concerns with socio-economic ones.

The main model on which a working definition of sustainability was based was a three-pillar

model that incorporated social, economic, and environmental areas and promoted their

interconnectedness – both in relation to the issues at hand and also in creating solutions. A

Venn diagram typically represented the three-pillar model, situating sustainability at the

centre of the three overlapping spheres. Still today this is popular shorthand for an integrated

concept of sustainability in government, business, NGO and public arenas. This model was

consolidated in the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit of 1992 (Agenda21culture n.d.). Themes of

the environment and of humanity came to the global forefront and were condensed within the

emerging definition of sustainability. The summit prepared a new program called Save Our

Planet.

Its principle was to harmonize eco-systems with industry and population...It was
organized around “climate change”, man’s impact on environmental resources and
the organic biosphere we live in. It was a blueprint to radically change the entire
world in the name of Economic, Social, and Environmental Equity. (European
Union & South East Europe Transnational Cooperation Program 2012, p. 3)

In the aftermath of the summit came critiques that suggested the three-pillar model should

expand to include culture. Such critiques found anchorage in global organisations like the

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