Future directions of human development
Global Change & Sustainability
Large-scale changes, resulting mainly from human activities, are affecting the global environment to an unprecedented extent and threatening the sustainability of ecosystems that are essential to our survival and well-being. The global change and sustainability focus of UNU-ISP seeks to clarify our understanding of sustainable development and the interaction among its constituent components (environment, society and the economy).
The problems that are profoundly influencing the global environment and sustainability cannot be resolved in isolation; they must be addressed in the context of the social and economic drivers that will shape future global population composition and consumption patterns. Hence, the programme emphasizes global change, which is broader in concept than global environmental change in that it encompasses human-induced changes to the biophysical environment as well as the evolving social systems and interactions that will determine the future directions of human development.
One of the greatest challenges now facing humanity is climate change, and mitigating its adverse impacts is a top UN priority. Climate change involves not just the increase of greenhouse gases, but also such factors as growing amounts of atmospheric carbon from bio-mass burning and industrial and traffic pollution, and large-scale changes in land cover and land management practices that affect carbon storage and fluxes.
Changes in land cover and management also are leading to land degradation and loss of biodiversity, thereby affecting ecosystem sustainability. Mountains and drylands, as well as marine and coastal areas, are particularly vulnerable. Rapid urbanization is another major trend, bringing with it a host of sustainability and quality-of-life problems.
This approach incorporates an anthropogenic-centred focus on sustainable development (development that fulfils the needs of the present generations without endangering the needs of future generations) and an eco-centric perspective aimed at improving the quality of life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting eco-systems.
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Page last modified 2009.09.08.
