Science for environmental sustainability. JRC thematic report

The Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission’s in-house science service, supports EU Member States in implementing environmental policies and participates in international efforts to promote the sustainable use of resources and improve land-use management. This report describes the work of the JRC in support of sustainable development. It shows how its tools, methods, analyses and activities contribute to a better understanding, monitoring and anticipation of the complex interactions between human activity and the natural environment. In this way, the JRC supports the development and implementation of policies that protect the global environment and ensure that strategic resources (water, land, forests, food and minerals) are managed in a more sustainable manner for the benefit of present and future generations, within and outside the EU.