in the process of our daily activities today, there is an increasing trend that we use a lot of resources for mass production, consume a large amount of products, and then dispose a large amount of waste, with significant impacts on the environment (Figure 1-1-3). We must consider that these impacts have negative effects on not only our daily lives but also on biodiversity.

For our better lives, there are two important viewpoints for considering the sustainability of the Earth: the limitation of non-renewable resources, and the value of biodiversity that can never be brought back once they are lost.

In the following subsection, we will give an overview of the progress in international awareness about sustainability and quality of life, and the world's efforts aimed at evaluating such awareness, and we will also discuss the status of sustainability and quality of life around the world and in Japan, focusing on environmental aspects.

### 3. Progress in International Awareness about Sustainability and Quality of Life

## (1) The World History of Moving toward a Sustainable Society

In the 1960s to the 1970s, while environmental pollution became a large social problem in developed countries, the urgent task in developing countries was to break free from poverty. Amid such circumstances, in 1972 the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was held in Stockholm. Based on the Stockholm Declaration, a framework for agreement and actions in order to promote environmental conservation were formed. However, there were conflicts between developed countries and developing countries over the awareness about environmental problems. The developed countries continued their lifestyle of mass production, mass consumption, and mass disposal and further expanded economic activities, while developing countries prioritized development in order to break free from poverty. This was development that could not be called sustainable.

Around this time, however, predictions about the future of humankind, such as the “Limits to Growth” (a report of Club of Rome) and the “Global 2000 Report to the President” (a report of the United States), were published, clarifying the limits of the resources on the Earth and environmental constraints, and greatly shocking the people of the world.

What triggered the establishment of the term “sustainable development” was the report “Our Common Future” by United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development, which had been established by the United Nations based on a proposal by Japan.

The “United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (the Earth Summit)” was held in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro in June, 1992, and an action program for sustainable development was adopted. At this Earth Summit, countries adopted the “Rio Declaration on Environment and Development,” which is a principal of action toward sustainable development, and “Agenda 21,” which is an action plan for the declaration. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was a decision for each country to cooperate with efforts to prevent global warming, and the Convention on Biological Diversity, which was a decision in order to conserve biodiversity and use it sustainably, were adopted by consensus. With such movements in the background, the concept of “sustainable development” became widespread throughout the world.

After that, international discussions about global warming proceeded, and in 1997 the Kyoto Protocol was adopted at the $ 3^{rd} $ Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that was held in Kyoto. In 2008, at the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit, the leaders of developed countries made declarations about global warming, including the goal of achieving at least a 50% reduction of global emissions by 2050.

Meanwhile, international movements concerning preservation of biodiversity and sustainable use also became active, and in 2002 the Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development was politically declared at the Johannesburg Summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa. The $ 6^{th} $ Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP6) was held at The Hague in the Netherlands, and the 2010 Biodiversity Target of reducing the rate of loss of biodiversity by the year 2010 was decided upon. In October 2010, which was the year for achieving that target, the $ 10^{th} $ Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP10) was held in the City of Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, and the “Aichi Targets,” which would become new worldwide targets for preserving biodiversity, and the “Nagoya Protocol,” which concerns access to genetic resources and benefit sharing (ABS), were adopted.

## (2) Worldwide Efforts for Monitoring & Evaluation of Quality of Life and Sustainability

As concerns about sustainability increase, it becomes important to consider what true quality of life and sustainable development are. Although there are many different points of view concerning sustainable development, one of the widely accepted definitions is "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs," which was indicated in the previously mentioned report "Our Common Future." Under this perspective, the world has made efforts for reconsideration of methods for measuring conventional development by scale of economic activity. That served as a trigger for spreading awareness of the necessity of measuring not only the scale of economic activity but also true quality of life, and the necessity of evaluating quality of life not only for the current generation but also that for the next generation.

Thus, in addition to the efforts for achieving sustainability, international organizations such as