Sustainable development can be ensured only by protecting the environment and using its resources wisely.

Most countries have adopted principles of sustainable development and agreed to international accords on protecting the environment. But good intentions are not enough. Around the world land is being degraded. Forests are being lost. Fisheries are being overused. Plant and animal species are becoming extinct. And carbon dioxide emissions are driving changes in global climate.

Poor people, often dependent on environmental resources for their livelihood, are the most affected by environmental degradation and natural disasters (fires, storms, earthquakes) whose effects are worsened by environmental mismanagement. Rich countries are major consumers of products and services from the environment. Thus rich countries and poor countries alike have a stake in using environmental resources wisely.

Target 7.A
Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the losses of environmental resources.

Target 7.B
Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss.

Target 7.C
Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

Target 7.D
By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers.