T

he environmental and development agendas need to be brought together and integrated for our future. Sharing resources more equitably and abating unequal levels of consumption is the only way we can keep within the Earth'€™s means.

These are the core messages of the newly released report from the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda (WFUNA). A New Global Partnership: Eradicate Poverty And Transform Economies Through Sustainable Development was released on May 30 in New York and expounds what the Rio+20 process fell short of achieving in 2012.

It is a welcome breakthrough to read in clear terms that the eradication of poverty in our time can only be achieved when setting global development paths on a more sustainable and inclusive course in which environmental resilience is secured and promoted.

The long '€œjourney of consultations, discussions and analysis'€ as it is described in the document was co-led by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

All countries are basically facing two sides of the same challenge. On the one hand, there is the need to sustain or foster development to overcome poverty, to address widening inequalities between rich and poor, and to create jobs. On the other hand, there is the responsibility to limit excessive consumption and operate within the limits of our environment.

The WFUNA high-level panel report calls for strong measures to be taken to reduce the impacts of consumption, production, trade, waste and pollution, and for mandatory social and environmental reporting by companies.

Business should indicate how it can invest to reduce environmental stress and provide '€œintegrated reporting'€ on the social and environmental impacts as well as financial performance. The report suggests a mandatory '€œcomply or explain'€ regime on the part of large corporations. Transparency should also extend to the way companies and agencies use scarce natural resources.

Countries around the world today are all linked in global processes and facing scarcities and waste, collapse of fisheries, deforestation and high carbon emissions, losses through natural disasters, including droughts, floods and storms. People living in poverty, and the rural and small island populations, whose livelihoods rely on ecosystem services even more directly, are the most vulnerable to economic and environmental crises.

In developed countries, and among high-income groups, the environment can no longer be regarded as an accessory to lifestyle, but must be seen as a key asset in laying the foundation for lasting well-being. If the natural assets are neglected or abused, either at home or in the countries they are source from, this comes at a high cost for which we have to be accountable.

In developing countries the demands of development and environment are clearer than ever. Growth is urgently required to address poverty, rising populations and inequality, yet growth so often depends on the exploitation of natural resources that provide increasingly essential local, regional and global services.

Finding the path to secure more environmental, economic and social stainability has great relevance for the economic and financial policy choices of emerging economies. To embark on the right track requires fundamental changes in the way we plan for development and its intersection with the environment. Countries like Indonesia, Brazil, Russia, India and China, as members of the G20, now have the opportunity to take the lead on green economies and sustainable development, to leap-frog their developed counterparts and create a new vision of well-being.

Some are accepting the challenge head on. Indonesia, for example, has committed to a 7 percent growth while cutting emissions by 26 percent and conserving biodiversity. The country has also committed to pursuing inclusive growth with equity, reforming the governance of its natural resources and promoting sustainable and optimal management practices in the key sectors of agriculture,
mining, forestry and fisheries.

The transformation of economies to promote sustainable development needs to follow '€œgreen'€ and '€œblue'€ pathways. There is a need for the clear establishment of a range of accountability by all actors in the development and environmental agenda toward a '€œcommon good'€. The natural capital we rely on for almost every aspect of life needs to be taken care of and shared more equitably.

Green and blue economies can bring the right solutions, including green jobs, green finance and renewable energy, to help slow down global warming, build resilience and mitigate the effects of climate change and natural disasters. But they need to be based on strong equity, empowerment and social inclusion principles and integrate rural level economies to help bridge the inequality gaps.

 The writer is the CEO of WWF-Indonesia. He has master and doctoral degrees in forest science from the Universite de Nancy I in France and has been working on forest and biodiversity conservation, conservation management and sustainable development issues for the past 30 years.