Also known as the “Earth Summit” (June 3 – 14, 1992), the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to discuss the global conflict between economic development and environmental protection. Representatives of 172 nations agreed to work toward the sustainable development of the planet, although most of the agreements were not legally binding. Sustainable development is the growth of population, industry, and agriculture in a way that will allow the present generation to meet its own needs without damaging those of future generations. Two binding declarations–to minimize global climate change and to stem the depletion of the world's inventory of biological diversity were signed by more than 150 countries at the conference, with others expected to sign later. Other documents concerned the financing of environmental and forest protection, technology transfer, and such diverse subjects as and atmospheric pollution; the responsibilities and rights of nations in development-environment issues; and the sustainable management of the earth's forests. Follow-up meetings were held in 1997 at the UN General Assembly in New York and in 2002 in Johannesburg, S.Af.