Human beings, in their quest for economic development and enjoyment of the riches of nature, must come to terms with the reality of resource limitation and the carrying capacities of ecosystems, and must take account of the needs of future generations. This is the message of conservation. The World Conservation Strategy provides both an intellectual framework and practical guidance fo the conservation actions necessary.
Published in English, French and Spanish. Other translations were issued in Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, Danish, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazilian version), Portuguese (Portuguese version) and Swahili. Issued first in a folder and later as a single publication.