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| RE-THINKING 21ST CENTURY CONSERVATION |
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The IUCN Council set out to boost the waning power of the sustainable development concept to deal with the challenges of the 21st century. The objective is to identify a vision, innovative solutions and a new leadership role for the Union that will reenergize societies to work together for a just world that values and conserves nature.
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In January, Council convened a meeting of economic, social and environmental leaders to focus their intellect and experience on the fundamental question: What is the future of sustainability?
The first result was a synthesis of their insights1. We have a sorrowful lack of reliable data to measure our progress towards sustainability, yet we have enough to know that urgent action is needed. We see many hopeful innovations from social entrepreneurs, leading businesses and new partnerships, but too few to fundamentally green the global economy. We hear many stories about the problems, and too little of the solutions we already have. We appeal to minds, when we should also capture hearts.
Above all, the leaders conveyed a sense of urgency and opportunity for IUCN to convene, shape and lead the debate as a think tank and take action as a platform for new partnerships. The energetic and heated debate online on the synthesis then confirmed the desire for the Union to demonstrate intellectual leadership.
Based on that demand, Council asked the Secretariat to take the ‘Future of Sustainability’ forward and outward by convening members and partners. A series of discussion papers and events, culminating at the 4 th World Conservation Congress in 2008, is now in preparation to develop and articulate a new vision and strategy for sustainability.
1 http://www.iucn.org/en/news/archive/2006/06/
iucn_future_of_sustanability.pdf |
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