Implementing the Transition to Sustainable Development

From 1890 to 1990, the world population increased four times over while consumption of industrial products grew 40 times, energy consumption 16, water consumption 9 and the total size of the economy 14 times. Thanks to his creativity, man has the power to innovate and adapt his technologies, socio-political institutions and attitude towards respect for Nature in order to alleviate pressure on the environment. Markets in general do not take into account the value of many goods and services which are provided by Nature (such as the pollination of plants by insects, the regulation of floods by vegetation cover, the decomposition, by bacteria, of waste and toxic waste released into the water and soil, or the aesthetic value of the landscape). The successful transition to sustainable development requires the combination of sound information on the state of the environment, motivation turned into action and capacity to do so.