5 Two decades have passed since nations of the world assembled in Rio de Janeiro and agreed to adopt a sustainable development (SD) agenda, promising to chart a development path that is equitable, environmentally just and economically rewarding. We now stand at a crossroads looking for the right path towards the world we want. The prognosis is not encouraging. According to many studies conducted by research or policy bodies, we seem to have made some progress, but still fall far short of what is required to sustain current levels of well-being. Negative environmental trends continue to be exacerbated by human interventions – primarily led by a model of unsustainable and conspicuous consumption The unsustainable conversion of natural capital for supporting this emerging consumer culture while ignoring the ecological consequences to economies and other aspects of well-being has become quite entrenched. The extraordinary emphasis on developing produced capital appears to have overwhelmed all other aspects of natural capital required for our well-being. On the positive side, there is expanding awareness and a growing acknowledgement of this gap in our planning and implementation processes. Increasing resolve to align production activities with environmental and equity considerations, and efforts aimed at reforming global institutional structures to create more synergies and effective implementation of relevant policies are welcome signs of change. Indeed, the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD CO P 11) is seen as an opportunity to streamline various decisions and focus on implementing them to achieve the different objectives of the Convention, and more broadly, that are relevant to global goals. Research and capacity building activities at the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS) have examined various aspects related to the rubric of governance challenges in achieving SD – from a focus on broad-based development and wellbeing at the community level, equity issues related to urbanisation and its implications for environmental resources, to innovations that could aid in achieving global goals for policy-making for SD. This publication analyses a diverse set of biodiversity and traditional knowledge related case studies from various Regional Centres of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development and highlights the need for strengthening multistakeholder, cross sectoral partnerships at the local level for effective implementation of global and national strategies and targets. It also draws attention to the importance of education, communication and awareness building in this context. Our broader research indicates that despite the exalted nature of global goals, they become relevant only when defined and shaped into pragmatic objectives and actions. This would require cooperative action by all stakeholder groups, implying that future policy processes need to ensure their relevance at various levels to guarantee successful implementation. This is no easy task, but by no means an impossible one. Current accepted standards of practice and business norms must be re-oriented to include a more consultative policy setting with all major actor representatives. It would require designing regulations that acknowledge the need for balance among all forms of capital, and incentives that provide equitable access to resources and services. There are a number of expectations from the outcomes of CBD CO P 11, particularly on how the decisions will be transformed into action and results. UNU-IAS stands ready to work with its existing and future collaborators to transform our aspirations into reality as we move forward in translating the sustainability agenda into action. Partnerships with the Regional Centres of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development are one of the significant avenues to realise this ambitious task through learning and capacity development. Govindan Parayil Director, UNU-IAS and Vice-Rector, UNU October 2012
Traditional Knowledge and Biodiversity
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