The new millennium sees humankind living in a vastly more complex, inter-linked, and mutually dependent world. There are increasing numbers of actors in world affairs today, as private and public non-state actors jostle alongside national governments in setting and implementing an ever more crowded agenda. This situation is presenting new challenges, in the fields of security, governance, development and environment, and will require innovative thinking and new forms of global governance. This book looks at the problems, processes and actors that constitute the milieu for human development and the environment. The contributions in this volume outline productive ways in which the international community and the UN system can address the major challenges of eradicating poverty and reducing the rate of environmental deterioration.