What is the tragedy of the commons? Hardin’s idea, real examples from cod to CO2, Elinor Ostrom’s 8 design principles, and solutions that work.
National Councils for Sustainable Development
Regional sustainable development networks: Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Americas and Europe
What Is Ecotourism? Principles, Examples, Greenwashing
What is ecotourism? Learn its 8 core principles, real examples from Costa Rica to Palau, its downsides, and how to spot greenwashing before you book.
Solarpunk: The Hopeful Vision of a Sustainable Future
What is solarpunk? Origins, core ideas, architecture, solarpunk vs. cyberpunk, real-world projects, criticisms, and how you can help build it.
The Phosphorus Cycle: Steps, Human Impact and Why It Matters
Learn how the phosphorus cycle moves through rocks, soil, water, and life—and how fertilizer runoff can disrupt ecosystems.
Anthropogenic: Meaning, Examples and Effects on the Planet
Learn what anthropogenic means, how human activities affect climate and wetlands, and why the term matters for understanding planetary change.
Agenda 21, Chapter 18: protecting freshwater resources
Chapter 18 of Agenda 21 set out the first global programme for freshwater management. Here is what it asked for and how the water agenda looks today.
National Councils for Sustainable Development: what they were and what replaced them
How the national councils that grew out of the 1992 Earth Summit worked, why the global network faded, and where that work continues today.
WSSD – World Summit for Sustainable Development
The World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) refers to a summit that occurred in Johannesburg in the last week of August and first week of September 2002. It
Sustainable development policy has always had a regional layer between national governments and the United Nations. In the 1990s the network of National Councils for Sustainable Development held regional meetings for Africa and the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, the Americas and Europe, and published reports on them. Those meetings no longer take place, but the regional layer is stronger than ever.
The five UN regional commissions
Today the regional backbone of the sustainable development agenda is the five UN regional commissions: the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). Each runs an annual Regional Forum on Sustainable Development that prepares the region’s input to the High-level Political Forum in New York.
Africa and the Middle East
Early NCSD work in Africa included council-building in Kenya, Ghana, Zambia and South Africa and an information-exchange meeting in 1997. Today the African Union’s Agenda 2063 sits alongside the SDGs, and the ECA publishes an annual Africa Sustainable Development Report. For the Middle East, ESCWA tracks the Arab region.
Asia-Pacific
The Asia-Pacific councils were among the most active, with the Philippines running one of the earliest and longest-lived councils. ESCAP’s SDG Progress Report has warned repeatedly that the region is off track on most goals, especially on climate action.
The Americas and Europe
In Latin America the councils worked closely with parliaments and regional agreements; the 2018 Escazú Agreement on environmental access rights is the most important regional treaty since then. In Europe the 1998 Aarhus Convention plays a similar role, and the European Union’s Green Deal frames national strategies for member states.
This site is an independent reference and holds no archive of the former regional NCSD meetings.
Sustainable development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own.