Caring for the Earth: A Strategy for Sustainable Living

IUCN, UNEP, and WWF (1991): Caring for the Earth: A Strategy for Sustainable Living. Earthscan, London.

The aim of this book is to help improve the condition of the world’s people, by defining two requirements. One is to secure a widespread commitment to the ethic for sustainable living and to translate its principles into practice. The other is to integrate conservation and development.

The text has three parts. Chapter one of The Principles for Sustainable Living (Part 1) defines principles of sustainable societies; the following chapters recommend activities that will give substance to the principles.

Part II, Additional Actions for Sustainable Living, describes actions required in relation to the main area of human activity and some of the major components of the biosphere. The chapters deal with energy; human settlements; farm and range lands; forest lands; fresh waters; and oceans and coastal areas. Each chapter begins with a brief survey of the issues with which it deals. This is followed by a series of recommended priority actions.

Part III, Implementation and Follow-up, consists of one chapter which proposes guidelines to help users adapt the strategy to their needs and capabilities and implement it, and sets out how the sponsors propose to follow up the Strategy and involve the community of users in its follow-up. It also contains a listing of all the recommended priority actions and suggested targets.