Sustainable Environment 1

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SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT


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According to Brundtland report

(1987) Sustainable development is development that meets theneeds of the present without compromising the ability offuture generations to meet their own needs.

It contains within it two key concepts:

1. the concept ofneeds, in particular the essential needsof the world's poor, to which overriding priority shouldbe given; and

2. the idea oflimitations imposed by the state of

technology and social organization on theenvironment's ability to meet present and future needs

(World Commission on Env & Devolpment)


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SD

Sustainable Development encourages the conservation andpreservation of natural resources and of the environment, and themanagement ofenergy, waste and transportation.

Sustainable Development is development based on patterns ofproduction and consumption that can be pursued into the future

without degrading the human or natural environment. It involves the equitable sharing of the benefits of economic activity

across all sections of society, to enhance the well-being of humans,protect health and alleviate poverty.

If sustainable development is to be successful, the attitudes ofindividuals as well as governments with regard to our currentlifestyles and the impact they have on the environment will need tochange.


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SD underscores that rate of consumption or use of natural resourcesshould approximate the rate at which these these resources can besubstituted or replaced.

So it restricts that a nation satisfies its social/economic requirementswithout jeopardizing the interest of future generations.

To strenghten the concept of SD, principle ofjustice & equitybetween the people of North & South has to be achieved.

This means that both groups have the responsibility for sounddevelopment, economic & environmental issues, keeping in view theprinciple of equity.

Another aspect is the system analysis i.e. how the economic, socialand environmental systems interact at various scales of operation inway that leads to SD.

SD should always be projected to remove poverty, resourcedepletion, env damage & social instability

Thus SD can be ensured only when inequality & poverty issues areaddressed.


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Pillars

Economic development,

Social development,

Environmental protection Cultural development


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Environmental sustainability

Environmental sustainability is the process of making sure thatcurrent processes of interaction with the environment are pursuedwith the idea of keeping the environment as pristine as naturallypossible based on ideal-seeking behavior.

An "unsustainable situation" occurs when natural capital (the sum

total of nature's resources) is used up faster than it can bereplenished.

Sustainability requires that human activity only uses nature'sresources at a rate at which they can be replenished naturally.Inherently the concept of sustainable development is intertwinedwith the concept ofcarrying capacity.

Theoretically, the long-term result of environmental degradation isthe inability to sustain human life. Such degradation on a globalscale could imply extinction for humanity.


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Corporate sustainability

The most broadly accepted criterion forcorporatesustainability constitutes a firms efficient use ofnaturalcapital.

This eco-efficiency is usually calculated as the economic

value added by a firm in relation to its aggregatedecological impact.

This idea has been popularised by the World BusinessCouncil for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) underthe following definition: Eco-efficiency is achieved by thedelivery of competitively-priced goods and services thatsatisfy human needs and bring quality of life, while

progressively reducing ecological impacts and resourceintensity throughout the life-cycle to a level at least in linewith the earths carrying capacity


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Corporate sustainability

Socio-efficiency describes the relation between a firms value addedand its social impact.

Whereas, it can be assumed that most corporate impacts on theenvironment are negative (apart from rare exceptions such as theplanting of trees) this is not true for social impacts.

These can be either positive (e.g. corporate giving, creation ofemployment) or negative (e.g. work accidents, mobbing ofemployees, human rights abuses).

Depending on the type of impact socio-efficiency thus either tries tominimize negative social impacts or maximise positive socialimpacts in relation to the value added.

Both eco-efficiency and socio-efficiency are concerned primarily withincreasing economic sustainability. In this process theyinstrumentalize both natural and social capital aiming to benefit fromwin-win situations.


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Agenda 21

United Nations Conference on Environment &Development (UNCED) or Earth Summit held atRio de Janeiro (Brazil) 3-14 June 1992 to ensurerelationship between environment and

development on a global level. Four documents were adopted

Rio Declaration

Convention on climate change & Biodiversity

Convention on forestry Agenda 21 was a major achievement (on

sustainable development)


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Agenda 21 or Action plan

Action plan for 21st century in all the areas ofenvironment & economic growth in sustainableway

Implementation of the programme with targets &costs estimates in all the areas of env &development

Action plan called for global partnership based

on mutual interests and needs, in whichdeveloping countries have the incentives & themeans in contributing in protecting globalenvironment


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Agenda 21 is based on a global approach encompassing theproblems of human development and the preservation of ourecological heritage.

It inventories the major problems of the present day and suggestsways of preparing the world for future challenges in accordance with

sustainable development in other words, by pursuing social andeconomic development alongside with the protection of theenvironment and natural resources. It is a document of almost 300pages that comprises 40 Chapters divided into four sections:

Social and Economic Dimensions;

Conservation and Management of Resources for Development;

Strengthening the Role of Major Groups; Means of Implementation


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The report highlighted three fundamental components to sustainabledevelopment:

environmental protection, economic growth and social equity.

The environment should be conserved and our resource baseenhanced, by gradually changing the ways in which we develop and

use technologies. Developing nations must be allowed to meet their basic needs of

employment, food, energy, waterand sanitation. If this is to be donein a sustainable manner, then there is a definite need for asustainable level ofpopulation.

Economic growth should be revived and developing nations should

be allowed a growth of equal quality to the developed nations.


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Promoting sustainable development through

trade

An open, equitable, secure, non-discriminatory and predictablemultilateral trading system that is consistent with the goals ofsustainable development and leads to the optimal distribution ofglobal production in accordance with comparative advantage is ofbenefit to all trading partners.

Moreover, improved market access for developing countries'exports in conjunction with sound macroeconomic andenvironmental policies would have a positive environmental impactand therefore make an important contribution towards sustainabledevelopment.

a commitment to sound economic policies and management, aneffective and predictable public administration, the integration ofenvironmental concerns into decision-making and progress towardsdemocratic government, in the light of country-specific conditions,which allows for full participation of all parties concerned.


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Checking SD

by comparing the relative progress made by different countriestowards sustainable development at a given time or

by measuring progress made by a given country or region over time.

Strategies

reduction in consumption of goods and services by the affluentwithin and between nations.

The production and consumption must be curbed to achieve even amodest degree of sustainable development and determined effortsmust be made to reduce consumption through formal education

The creativity, ideals and courage of the youth of the world shouldbe mobilized to forge a global partnership in order to achievesustainable development and ensure a better future for all.


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Science, technology and environmental

sustainability

sustainable development and global environmentalsustainability achieved with the application of scienceand technology.

progress towards sustainable development isdependent upon a fundamental change in societiesattitude to nature and the environment

to bring about this change of attitude is education inmoral and ethical philosophy. In the young minds it isessential to reinforce the environment-respecting moralvalues.


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WSSD

World Summit on Sustainable Development, Aug 26-4Sep, 2002,, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Attended by 4000 delegates and NGOs

Reviewed the progress of SD made since Earth Summit,1992, held at Rio

Key issues were poverty, globalization, financing, freshwater and governance.

Served as a platform for proving global opportunities forworld leading in the direction of global governance- UNSecretary General Kofi Annan


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Sustainable Environment 1

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