Insight and Analysis
‘A Call to Action,’
Reproduced with permission from Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK
Excerpt (200 words) from "Our Common Future" by WCED (1987)
The next few decades are crucial. The time has come to break out of past patterns. Attempts to maintain social and ecological stability through old approaches to development and environmental protection will increase instability. Security must be sought through change. The Commission has noted a number of actions that must be taken to reduce risks to survival and to put future development on paths that are sustainable. Yet we are aware that such a reorientation on a continuing basis is simply beyond the reach of present decision-making structures and institutional arrangements, both national and international.
