The Contribution of Earth Sciences to Sustainable Land and Resource Management Towards a Sustainable Future

The monograph The Contribution of Earth Sciences to Sustainable Land and Resource Management is a Canadian contribution to the land use dialogue at the Eighth Session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UN CSD), April 24 to May 5, 2000.

The monograph explores how earth sciences in Canada contribute to the sustainable and integrated management of land and resources by generating, analyzing, and disseminating information that is critical to land use decision making on local, regional, and global scales. The earth sciences are critically important to making balanced decisions regarding sustainable land and resource management for several key reasons. First, the unknown cannot be managed. Second, Canada faces growing and competing pressures on land use. Third, there are global issues (for example, climate change, water, transboundary pollution, and natural hazards) where scientific data are integral to good policies for either preventative or remedial action or resolution. Fourth, and finally, the creative application of modern earth science technologies is enriching as well as empowering Canadians in implementing sustainable development principles in land use decisions to their own benefit, as well as to the benefit of future generations of Canadians.

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This publication may be reproduced without permission provided the source is fully acknowledged. However, reproduction of this publication in whole or part for the purposes of resale or redistribution requires prior written permission from the Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0S9.

Other monographs in the series are as follows:

• The Sustainable Management of Forests, Monograph No. 1
• Sustainable Transportation, Monograph No. 2
• Ensuring the Health of the Oceans and Other Seas, Monograph No 3
• Sustainable Development of Minerals and Metals, Monograph No 4
• Canadian Youth Perspectives on Sustainable Development, Monograph No. 5
• Canada and Freshwater: Experience and Practices, Monograph No 6
• Canada's Oceans: Experience and Practices, Monograph No 7
• Cultivating a Secure Future: Rural Development and Sustainable Agriculture in Canada, Monograph No. 8
• Sustainable Forest Management: A Continued Commitment in Canada, Monograph No 9
• Minerals and Metals: Towards a Sustainable Future, Monograph No. 10
• Indigenous Peoples and Sustainable Development in the Canadian Arctic, Monograph No. 11
• Learning from Nature: Canada – The Ecosystem Approach and Integrated Land Management, Monograph No. 13