Human activities have become key drivers of earth system processes and are manifested in the depletion and degradation of natural resources; the loss of key ecosystems, habitats
and biodiversity; the pollution of land, oceans and the atmosphere; and in climate change, with concomitant severe and unpredictable weather effects as humanity approaches or exceed what have been referred to as “planetary boundaries”. In recent years such processes have produced unprecedented shocks and stresses, reflected in floods, droughts, devastated urban and rural landscapes and livelihoods, with many people and places suffering from a confluence of food, climate and financial crises. These crises of unsustainability potentially affect all and carry profound risks for future generations, as described in 1987 in the Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, “Our common future”.