Sustainable Development Uncovered
Twenty years after the first Rio Conference, what has become of the proposal to steer our societies toward sustainable development? Adopted by some, used as a political tool by others, this concept of sustainable development is often stripped of its meaning. Yet the exponential impact of human activities on natural resources, public health, and the environment demands that we explain exactly what it means. What is sustainable development today? What about the availability of resources and the use we make of them? In the areas of water, climate, soil, and biodiversity? In rural areas, along the coast, or in urban settings—where the majority of the population will live by 2050—how do we consume over time, across different regions? What impacts do human activities have on resources, on public health, and on the environment itself? Must the relationship between humanity and the environment evolve? These are the questions posed to scientists who shed light on the complexity of interactions between systems and propose solutions for the long-term future. From our ecosystems to our consumption patterns, from natural hazards to new technologies and pollution, from the factories of the future to waste management, Sustainable Development Unveiled informs, explains, and shares everything that current science can contribute to the major challenge of the 21st century: how to better understand the complexity of the issues that concern us all and ensure humanity’s development without destroying its biotope. Economists, physicists, sociologists, agronomists, ecologists… more than 150 researchers have come together to combine their expertise with their critical perspective and to describe, understand, model, and envision—with the aid of illustrations and diagrams—the tools needed to build the equitable societies of tomorrow. A reference work for building an equitable and sustainable society in the 21st century.
Authors: Agathe Euzen, Laurence Eymard, Françoise Gaill, Claude Grison
CNRS Editions
September 12, 2013
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