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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
environmental science
Internationally agreed environmental goals: A critical evaluation of progress
Environmental Development, Volume 3, No. 1, Year 2012
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Description
The number of international environmental institutions, goals and agreements has increased greatly since the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in 1972. However, the results of this proliferation for environmental protection have been mixed. The upcoming "Rio +20" conference (2012), offers world leaders an opportunity to reaffirm the importance of achieving a sustainability agenda and to revisit their strategies for doing so. To inform this process it is crucial to learn from the ambitions, achievements and shortcomings on goal attainment to date. Drawing on the United Nations Environment Programme's fifth Global Environment Outlook report (GEO-5), this paper presents an evaluation of progress made on globally agreed environmental goals in relation to a series of biophysical trends. The analysis suggests a picture of patchy achievements rather than sustained progress. The most encouraging results have occurred where measurable targets were established on problems with relatively straightforward causes and courses of action. Key obstacles to the achievement of goals include a series of mismatches: between narrow objectives and the need for integrated approaches; between types of problems and types of solutions; between the fragmentation of governance and the need for collective action; between science and policy; between the responsibilities and resources of environmental institutions; and between complex systems and the desire for measurable outcomes. Overcoming these obstacles will require not only learning from past successes and failures but also adapting this knowledge to environmental, political and economic circumstances that have changed considerably over the past 40 years. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.
Authors & Co-Authors
Jabbour, Jason
Kenya, Nairobi
United Nations Environment Programme
Keita-Ouane, Fatoumata
Kenya, Nairobi
United Nations Environment Programme
Hunsberger, Carol
Netherlands, The Hague
International Institute of Social Studies
Sánchez-Rodríguez, Roberto
Mexico, Tijuana
El Colegio de la Frontera Norte
Gilruth, Peter
Kenya, Nairobi
United Nations Environment Programme
Patel, Neeyati
Kenya, Nairobi
United Nations Environment Programme
Singh, Ashbindu
United States, Washington
Un Environment North America Office
Levy, Marc A.
United States, New York
Earth Institute
Schwarzer, Stefan
Switzerland, Geneva
Université de Genève
Statistics
Citations: 33
Authors: 9
Affiliations: 6
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/j.envdev.2012.05.002
ISSN:
22114645
Research Areas
Health System And Policy