Designing Ecological Habitats - Gaia Education

Under the Patronage of
Foreword
The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD, 2005-
2014), for which UNESCO is the lead agency, has moved into its second
half and continues to seek to integrate the principles, values and practices
of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning. The
DESD, as a global educational movement and effort, has been encouraging
changes in behaviour worldwide to create a more sustainable future in terms
of environmental integrity, economic viability, cultural diversity and a more
just society for present and future generations.
Designing Ecological Habitats – Creating a Sense of Place is an important
and eloquent exploration of humanity’s limits to growth and addresses
the problems arising from climate change, habitat destruction, population
growth and resource depletion. This is not a book of theoretical ideas but an
anthology of solutions, of experience, tried and tested, from experts all over
the world. The designs and practices included in this book present a vision
for the future, already tested out in ecovillages, sustainable communities and
projects in many countries. These are practical low carbon solutions which
provide significant improvements in the quality of life.
By understanding the process of creating integrated ecological designs,
we also make explicit the process of creating integrated social and economic
systems. We reconnect with the true meaning of ecology that comes from
the Greek word oikos, meaning ‘home’ or ‘a place to live’. Humanity’s
greatest challenge is to ensure that planet Earth can support human life far
into future centuries by not only by adapting to climate change but also by
mitigating it. We must start to do this at home and in our personal lives,
our communities, our bio-regions, our nations and ultimately on our planet.
Designing Ecological Habitats offers us human-scale solutions to do just this.
The DESD Secretariat at UNESCO is thus pleased to be partnering with
Gaia Education in launching the 4 Keys for Sustainability Book series and in
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