What is Environment and Development?

Environment and Sustainable Development builds upon the concept of sustainability highlighted in the 1987 World Commission on Environment and Development Report that proposed that sustainable developed should refer to: “…development that meets the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (WCED, 1987). The latest development trends look at development from a triad: economic, social and environmental aspects. Environmental Sustainability then refers to the management and use of natural resources to meet the needs of present generations without compromising future generations.
Two key documents are at the heart of environmental regulation: the Rio Declaration, which lays down principles on the general rights and obligations of States with respect to environment and development; and Agenda 21, an international plan of action for achieving sustainable development - which seeks to align further economic development with the need to protect the environment. The Rio Declaration also reflects a consensus of developed and developing states on the need for generally agreed norms of international environmental protection, and includes more provisions with the Kyoto Protocol.

What this site does

The focus of the Environment and Sustainable Development page is to compile resources that civil society groups, policy-makers, government officials and academics will find valuable as they research the subject of environment and sustainable development. It is a place where you can find not only links to official sources, but also to databases, international organizations, and policy and research institutes. This page on the Development Gateway aims to draw on your experience to identify some of the key issues in Environment, elaborate on them through constructive, open debate and point to the best resources available to resolve those issues.

Who it's for

All who share our professional or educational interest in Environment and Development are welcome to join us. However, you might typically work at a university or an NGO in the developing world and be looking for resources not readily available to you. Or you might be in need of a quick answer to a tough question. What areas it highlights The editor and partners have identified the following key areas in ES. Other content is welcome but postings on these areas will receive more attention on the page: • Air and the Atmosphere • Freshwater resources • The Sea And Fisheries • Biodiversity and Forests Ecosystems • Biotechnology and Biosafety • Climate Change • National and International Environmental Law • Hazardous Waste and Materials • Health and Sanitation • International Financial Institutions • Forests and Land use • Natural Disasters • Sustainable development and environmental management • Private Sector and Environment • World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002 follow-up

Your thoughts about what should be added to this list or removed from it are welcome. Write to the editor at the e-mail address given below.

How you can join in

The success and usefulness of the page will largely depend on your contribution, since you are invited to actively shape the content of the page. We hope you will take the lead in determining the future direction of this site, and we invite you to contribute to its development. Content that is unavailable or cannot easily be found on the web is particularly welcome - in English, French or Spanish. Apart from linking to existing web pages, you can upload files to the Gateway in Word, PDF (Acrobat), Excel, PowerPoint and other formats. Be sure that you are not infringing any copyright restrictions. In other words, if you are not the author or publisher, please obtain their permission before posting their content on the Gateway.

What we aspire to

Our aim is to make knowledge about Environment and Sustainable Development more readily available to those who need it. As the reach of the internet grows to include poorer countries, we would like people in such countries, who are searching for information about it, to find on this site a comprehensive and user-friendly window onto the bewildering world wide web. Write and tell us what you think of our efforts to accomplish this goal: environment@dgfoundation.org