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| | | Sustainable Development |
Maintained by FAO-FI
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| | “In the 21st century, the agendas of peace and sustainable development will be inseparable” (Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO) | | | | What is 'sustainable development'? | | |  Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Brundtland Commission, 1987).
Sustainable development is the management and conservation of the natural resource base and the orientation of technological and institutional change in such a manner as to ensure the attainment and continued satisfaction of human needs for present and future generations. Such sustainable development (in agriculture, forestry and fisheries) conserves land, water, plant and animal resources, is environmentally non-degrading, technically appropriate, economically viable and socially acceptable. (1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries).
In order to achieve sustainable development, a balance between environmental integrity, social development and economic development must be found. Fundamental to the concept of sustainable development is the recognition that the global environment that sustains all life on Earth is not an unlimited reservoir of resources to be exploited with abandon by humanity.
The living and non-living resources of the global oceans are no exception – though vast, covering over 2/3 of the Earth’s surface – they are not inexhaustible. And humanity depends on the oceans for, inter alia: food, employment, transportation and communication, waste disposal and recreation as well as for the oceans’ role in climate regulation and chemical and nutrient processing via the hydrogen cycle.
Sustainable development of the global oceans and adjacent coastal areas (more than 60% of the world’s population lives within 60 kilometers of the coast) includes everything from the pursuit of science and technology that support human development to integrating indigenous fisherman to sustainable fishing practices.
Sustainable development calls for a cross-disciplinary methodology that requires communication and cooperation from the international level. As such, the United Nations is uniquely placed to promote and implement sustainable development policies and procedures. | | | | UN Programs and Efforts for Sustainable Development | | |  The major outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janiero, 1992) was the document entitled Agenda 21.
Agenda 21 calls for, inter alia, governments, civil society, the private sector, industry, scientists, educators, communities to embrace the principles of sustainable development and participate in their implementation.
Furthermore, the United Nations formed the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) to promote and coordinate sustainable development activities and programs throughout the UN system and amongst its member states.
Chapter 17 of Agenda 21 handles the sustainable development of the oceans and coasts. In 2002, the World Summit on Sustainable Development was held in Johannesburg, South Africa. Attended by over 22,000 people, this Summit reinforced Agenda 21, devised the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and enhanced the role of the CSD. The agencies and institutions of the UN system have accepted sustainable development principles as part of their mandate -- including those UN organizations who are concerned with the oceans (ie World Meteorlogical Organization, International Maritime Organization, Food and Agricultural Organization, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and the United Nations Environmental Program). | | | | |
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| Getty Prize goes to Madagascar community leader
by WWF News Centre 20 October 2008 | |
| | WWF-US has announced that Roger Samba has been named the winner of the 2008 J. Paul Getty Award for Conservation Leadership. | |
Read more at http://www.panda.org/new ... ID=148221.
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