As countries prepare for the ‘Rio+20’ United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, UNDP is pleased to share this report. It sets out national examples of progress toward sustainable development, from developing countries like Nepal and Niger, as well as emerging economies like South Africa and Croatia. These examples show how social, environmental, and economic progress can be integrated to make a more sustainable future. They illustrate what the future of development programming should look like.

Instead of focusing on the tradeoffs between the three strands of development, this report highlights the range and significance of the complementarities between them. It describes ‘triple win’ development policies and programming that regenerates the global commons by integrating social development with economic growth and environmental sustainability.

UNDP invites policy-makers and practitioners preparing for ‘Rio+20’ to consider this report as a contribution to the debate on how to make sustainable development happen.

As is our underlying mission, UNDP will continue to support countries in translating the principles of sustainable development into practice in the 177 countries and territories in which we work—empowering lives and advancing resilient nations—and to share their experiences for the benefit of others.