Global goals mapping: the environment-human landscape
A new analysis, Global Goals Mapping: The Environment-human Landscape, confirms that ecosystem resilience, security of natural resources and the stability of Earth’s life support systems are essential for human response and adaptation to global changes and for sustainable development. UNEP-WCMC and the Sussex Sustainability Research Programme at the University of Sussex were commissioned to conduct this analysis for the Towards a Sustainable Earth initiative, a collaboration between the Natural Environment Research Council, The Rockefeller Foundation and the Economic and Social Research Council. The Towards a Sustainable Earth initiative identifies research and innovation for sustainable and resilient human development. This analysis is the first to focus specifically on environment-human interactions, and demonstrate how they are vital in achieving all SDGs. The report draws on research evidence and innovations relating to environment-human interactions published in the last 10 years to explore the specific relevance of these interactions for each individual SDG and for the relationships among the Goals. It identifies 20 connections where human-environment interactions are likely to be most critical to meeting those targets.