Reviewing sustainability of policies of international agencies and finance institutions

International financial and development institutions should further review their policies and programmes in the light of the objective of sustainable development.

There is increasing recognition that international political and economic institutions must be seen as subsystems of our planetary ecology and be informed by its limitations and requirements. Specific ecological components from the emerging ecological world view that underlie these principles include the following: (1) The value of biological diversity; (2) Ecological limits on human activity; (3) The intimately intertwined and systemic nature of the planet's abiotic and biotic components; (4) The thermodynamic irreversibility of natural processes; and (5) The recognition of the dynamic, constantly evolving, and often unpredictable properties of natural systems.

This strategy features in the framework of Agenda 21 as formulated at UNCED (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), now coordinated by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and implemented through national and local authorities.