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Science 27 April 2001:
Vol. 292. no. 5517, pp. 641 - 642
DOI: 10.1126/science.1059386
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Policy Forum

ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT:
Sustainability Science

Robert W. Kates, William C. Clark,* Robert Corell, J. Michael Hall, Carlo C. Jaeger, Ian Lowe, James J. McCarthy, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Bert Bolin, Nancy M. Dickson, Sylvie Faucheux, Gilberto C. Gallopin, Arnulf Grübler, Brian Huntley, Jill Jäger, Narpat S. Jodha, Roger E. Kasperson, Akin Mabogunje, Pamela Matson, Harold Mooney, Berrien Moore III, Timothy O'Riordan, Uno Svedin

Meeting fundamental human needs while preserving Earth's life support systems will require an accelerated transition toward sustainability. A new field of sustainability science is emerging that seeks to understand the fundamental character of interactions between nature and society and to encourage those interactions along more sustainable trajectories. Such an integrated, place-based science will require new research strategies and institutional innovations to enable them especially in developing countries still separated by deepening divides from mainstream science. Sustainability science needs to be widely discussed in the scientific community, reconnected to the political agenda for sustainable development, and become a major focus for research.

R. W. Kates, 33 Popple Point, Trenton, ME 04605, USA. W. C. Clark and N. M. Dickson, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. R. Corell, American Meteorological Society, Washington, DC 20005, USA. J. M. Hall, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA. C. C. Jaeger and H. J. Schellnhuber, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Potsdam D-14412, Germany. I. Lowe, Griffith University, Nathan 4111, Australia. J. J. McCarthy, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. B. Bolin, Stockholm University, Stockholm S-18451, Sweden. S. Faucheux, Centre d'Economie et d'éthique pour l'Environment et le Développement, Université de Versailles, Guyancourt 78047, France. G. C. Gallopin, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Santiago, Chile. A. Grübler, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Vienna A-2361, Austria. B. Huntley, National Botanical Institute, Cape Town 7735, South Africa. J. Jäger, International Human Dimension Programme on Global Environmental Change, Bonn D-53113, Germany. N. S. Jodha, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Katmandu, Nepal. R. E. Kasperson, Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm 103 14, Sweden. A. Mabogunje, Development Policy Centre, Ibadan, Nigeria. P. Matson and H. Mooney, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. B. Moore III, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA. T. O'Riordan, Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK. U. Svedin, Swedish Council for Planning and Coordination of Research (FRN), Stockholm S-10387, Sweden.

*To whom correspondence should be sent. E-mail: william_clark{at}harvard.edu

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