The Talloires Declaration of October 1990, by the Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future, was a significant forerunner to the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The declaration of the latter, endorsed by governments of most of the world's nation states, was the most prominent among the many documents that highlight the impending crisis. The Rio summit was followed by several other events which include: the Global Conference on Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, Barbados, 1994; the International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo, 1994; the World Summit on Social Development, Copenhagen, 1995; the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 1995; the Second UN Conference on Human Settlements, Habitat II, Istanbul, 1996; and other non-UN forums. All these, and many other events, have raised awareness and contributed to the concept of sustainable development.