The role of international institutions in promoting sustainable development

Sustainable development can only be achieved through a broad participatory process involving all layers of societies, both in the public and private sectors. International institutions, including the United Nations system, can contribute to the process through setting standards and providing a framework for collaborative endeavors. This paper makes a critical review of UN sponsored special conferences on global issues relating to sustainable development over the past 20 years. It discusses some negative tendencies that detract from the effectiveness of multilateral efforts, as well as good progress that has already begun, towards sustainable development. This paper also discusses the need for conceptual tools for the assessment of options for action in rational pursuit of sustainability as global interest. The paper also suggests a conceptual equation that might help to articulate the global interest focusing on the relationships between resources, technology and population.