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TRANSFORMING OUR WORLD IN HARMONY WITH NATURE, INTEGRATING NATURE INTO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SDGS

Nature is fundamental to the Economy and Society, the other two dimensions of sustainable development: It provides the resources that fuel the economy and human life itself. Moreover, while we, human beings, create our societies and economies, we are an integral part of Nature. We consist by virtue of the air we breathe, the water and biodiversity that nourishes us and our life energy: We are an integral part of Nature. Living in harmony with Nature requires not a human but a Nature-centric intuitive, approach.

After the two years during which the SDGs were being developed it became clear that social and economic concerns were being dealt with more urgently than our rapidly deteriorating relationship with Nature and thereby human beings were transgressing Nature's planetary boundaries necessary for human life.

The Partnership on the Rights of Nature. Integrating Nature into the Implementation of the SDGs, of which the IPS was a founding member, consisting of academics, indigenous peoples, civil society organizations and Nature communicators undertook as a part of the UN's Partnership Exchange to write reports, based on input from around the world, whereby a Nature-centric approach would be applied to all of the SDGs and almost all of the targets. They both completed these reports, and brought them together in this trilogy, arranged according to the SDGs that were the focus of discussions at the High Level Political Forums in 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively. These are teaching manuals, reference works, and guides for government ministries, whch can be used as follows:

1. To get insight into what constitutes a Nature-centric approach, read the Executive Summaries of the books that contain the goals that interest you most; and then read the Introductions and Conclusions to each of the 9 chapters in Part Two of the first book, mentioned below. This book was written last and contains most diverse features.

2. To get ideas about how a Nature-centric approach can be applied to any of the SDGs or targets, just consult the relevant report. These are mentioned beside the appropriate link.

3. If you are part of a government ministry or a civil society organization, check the chapter(s) in Part Two of each of the three books for “Means of Implementing” those SDGs that relate to focus of your work (SDG 17. Means of Implementation.)

Here are the links:

Transforming our World in Harmony with Nature. Integrating Nature into Rights of Nature: Integrating Nature into SDGs 1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 14 and 17
Transforming our World in Harmony with Nature. Integrating Nature into Rights of Nature: Integrating Nature into SDGs 6, 7, 11, 12, 15 and 17
Transforming our World in Harmony with Nature. Integrating Nature into Rights of Nature: Integrating Nature into SDGs 4, 8, 10, 13, 16, and 17