In an article featured on the UNDP's “Our Perspective” blog series, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark outlines why equity and sustainability matter for human development, underlining that inclusion and equity must be considered as indispensable requirements for sustainable development.
17 March 2012: In an article titled “Why Equity and Sustainability Matter for Human Development,” UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark has called for equitable, inclusive and sustainable development, highlighting the importance of integrating the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development in decision-making.
The article is part of the “Our Perspectives” online blog series, an initiative of UNDP featuring a series of articles on the UNDP website. In the article, Clark notes that while people today are generally healthier, wealthier and better educated than in 1990 – the baseline year against which progress on the Millennium Development Goals is measured – the “inconvenient truths” of poverty, inequality, and ecosystem stress are increasing. In response to these trends, she calls for an integrated approach to sustainable development, one that at once advances better living standards, economic growth and environmental balance. She states that inclusion and equity must be considered as indispensable requirements for sustainable development.
Noting the upcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), she expresses hope that world leaders would seize the opportunity to move equitable and sustainable human development forward, with the ultimate goal of expanding people’s opportunities without compromising those of future generations. [Publication: Why Equity and Sustainability Matter for Human Development]