Memories of the 1992 Rio summit, which produced important global agreements on combating climate change and protecting biodiversity, as well as the presence of so many world leaders, had also inflated expectations.

ECONOMIST: A limp agreement at the UN��s vaunted environmental summit

Superimposed on these global drivers we have the additional risks generated by climate change, biodiversity loss and the limits to natural resources.

UNESCO: World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP)

Science plays an important role in our response to global issues such as climate change, the hydrological cycle, biodiversity loss, natural hazards and human-induced disasters, population growth, land-use change, migration and urbanisation.

UNESCO: UK National Commission for UNESCO :: Environmental Science

The panel on Indigenous Knowledge noted the expanding recognition of indigenous and traditional knowledge as an essential building block for global sustainability in numerous domains such as biodiversity conservation and management, food security, natural disaster preparedness, climate change assessment and adaptation, amongst others.

UNESCO: Preparing the way to sustainable development after Rio+20: Forum on Science Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

The Planet Under Pressure conference is organized by Diversitas, the International Programme of Biodiversity Science, the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change, and the World Climate Research Programme.

UNESCO: Planet under pressure: taking stock of scientific data