Sustainable Development: Meaning and Concept
Sustainable Development: Meaning and Concept
Introduction
Transforming developing countries from an agricultural to an industrial economy has been
focus of planners, underpinned by goals of stimulating growth and reducing poverty.
Development is no doubt an inevitable part of society but the development should go hand in
hand with the environment. The continued deprivation of environmental quality shakes the
foundation of human survival. Recently there has been a major concern over environment and
its implication on traditional goals of development. Environmental problems centre on human
activities resulting pollution of the atmosphere, ocean and land. These ranges from global
(greenhouse warming and ozone depletion) to regional (acid rain and desertification),
national (deforestation) and local (urban population, soil erosion and contamination of fresh
water). The advantages of development can only be enjoyed in true sense, when it does not
cause adverse effect on environment.
Development without concern for the environment can only be a short term development. In
the long term it will only result into human suffering, poverty and destruction of life and
property. Over the twentieth century indiscriminate deforestation, mineral exploitation,
industrialisation and urbanisation have led to unsustainable environment which have resulted
in creation of wasteland, pollution of river and seas, green house effect, acid rain etc.
Environment protection became a major issue and that led to birth of concept of sustainable
development. The concept assumed immense importance against the backdrop of ever
growing population and nature of modern man in terms of indiscriminate and careless
exploitation of environment to fulfil his insatiable greed and to gratify his ever growing
hunger for prosperity.
Environment and development were considered traditionally to be paradoxical and both were
essential for the well being of the mankind, it was then required to find out a more balanced
approach where there can be development but with due care and ensuring protection of
environment. This gave birth to the concept of sustainable development.
The concept sustainability originates from the Latin word “sustinere” which means “to hold
up”, “to endure”. Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary describes sustainability as “to
give support” to “to keep up”. Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines “Sustainable”
as capable of being sustained said of economic development and capable of being
maintained at a set level. Cambridge English Dictionary defines, “Sustainable” is also
used to refers to a way of suing natural products so that no damage is cause to the
environment. Sustainability means “ability to maintain a certain state” and using the
resources in a way that does not cause environmental damage.
For the first time, World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), chaired
by Brundtland submitted a report Our Common Future. The Report defines the concept of
Sustainable Development as,
“Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs”.
The Concept of Sustainable Development contains the two key concepts : The concept of
‘needs’, in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which overriding priority
should be given; and The idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social
organization on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs.
Caring for the Earth (Caring for the Earth: A Strategy of Sustainability, 1991, prepared by
UNEP, IUCN and WWF, (Gland, Switzerland, 1991), p 211.) defines “Sustainable
Development as “improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying
capacity of supporting ecosystem”.
The world commission on environment and development (1987) stated that S.D is not a fixed
state of harmony, but rather a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the
direction of investment, the orientation of technological development, and institutional
changes are made consistent with future as well as resent needs.
In the 18th century economic theoreticians such as Adam Smith pointed out issues of
development, in the 19th century Karl Marx and classical economists Malthus, Ricardo and
Mill also argued about certain elements of sustainable development, while later neoclassical
economic theory emphasized the importance of pure air and water and renewable resources
(fossil fuels, ores) as well as the need for government intervention in the case of externalities
and public goods. Previous periods, and even the following century, saw the dominance of
the economic doctrine with focus on human as a ruler of natural resources.
The term sustainable development was originally introduced in the field of forestry, and it
included measures of afforestation and harvesting of interconnected forests which should not
undermine the biological renewal of forests. This term was firstly mentioned in the Nature
Conservation and Natural Resources Strategy of the International Union for
Conservation of Nature published in 1980 (IUCN, 1980). Although initially sustainable
development primarily viewed an ecological perspective, soon it spread to social and
economic aspects of study. Development based on economic growth remained until the 1970s
when it was obvious that consumerism and economic growth put pressure on environment
with the consequences of polluted and inadequate living space, poverty and illness. At the
same time, the exploitation of natural resources, in particular the stock of raw materials and
fossilfuels, has led to deliberation of the needs of future generations and created a
prerequisite for defining the attitude of long-term and rational use of limited natural
resources.
The imbalance between human development and ecological limits has pointed to the
growing environmental problems and possible consequences with disastrous proportions.
Črnjar & Črnjar (2009) summed up the basic causes of environmental pollution:
In 1971 Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen published The Entropy Law and the Economic
Process, similarly warning about the dangers of economic development and marking the
beginning of the ecological economics and environmental economics.
Among the various activities, three key events set the fundaments and principles of
sustainable development. According to them, the history of the concept of sustainable
development is divided into three periods. The first period covers the period from economic
theories, where certain theorists (Smith, Marx, Malthus, Ricardo and Mill) recognized the
boundaries of development and environmental requirements, through the activities of the
Roman Club, which warned on the negative consequences of economic development, to the
First United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm in 1972.
This conference marked the introduction of the concept of sustainable development, and
although it did not fully associate environmental problems with development, it stressed the
need for changes in economic development policy. In the report published after the
conference, the necessity of balance between economic development and environment was
proclaimed and 28 principles were set aimed to preserve environment and reduce poverty.
Within the action plan, 109 recommendations (socioeconomic, political and educational)
were given for quality environmental management, and finally, after the conference,
resolution on institutional and financial agreements was signed between the states.
Years after the Stockholm conference represent the second period of the concept of
sustainable development. The terms such as development and environment, development
without destruction and development in accordance with the environment were
increasingly used in publications, while the term eco-development was first described in
edition of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) published in 1978. In
1980, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) set an idea of linking
economics and the environment through the concept of sustainable development.
A few years later, more precisely in 1983, the United Nations World Commission on
Environment and Development (WCED) was established to develop a global change
programme. This programme was aimed to raise awareness and concern about the negative
impact of socio-economic development on the environment and natural resources as well as
provision of perspectives of a long-term and sustainable development in accordance with the
environmental protection and conservation. After several years of work, in 1987 the
Commission of 19 delegates from 18 countries, led by Gro Harlem Brundtland (the then
Norwegian Prime Minister), published a report Our Common Future, better known as the
Brundtland Report, where the concept of sustainable development was introduced in its true
sense. In its twelve chapters this report analysed and provided a clear overview of the
conditions in the world (socio-economic development and order, environmental degradation,
population growth, poverty, politics, wars, etc.) and elaborated the concept of sustainable
development. As a new approach, this concept should be able to respond to future challenges,
such as achieving balance between socio-economic development and the environment,
reducing pollution and environmental degradation, exploiting natural resources, reducing
harmful gas emissions and climate impacts, reducing poverty and hunger, achieving world
peace and other serious challenges and threats faced by humanity. In the second chapter, the
concept of sustainable development is defined as “development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs”, which contains the core of the concept and soon became a generally accepted and
probably the most cited definition in the literature, no matter where the context of sustainable
development is being discussed.
The fundamental objective of the concept outlined in the document is to provide basic human
needs to all people (home, food, water, clothing, etc.), with a tendency to improve living
standards, as well to achieve the aspiration of a better life. An imperative of the Brundtland
report is: rational and controlled use of resources focused on renewable and long-term
usage, protection and conservation of nature, raising ecological awareness, stricter
national regulation and international co-operation, stopping population growth, using
industry and technology in line with environmental requirements, developing
technological innovations in order to reduce impact on environmental. Thus, according
to the Report, the underlying principles of the concept of sustainable development are
assurance of the human needs, while respecting certain environmental constraints. The
Brundtland report marked the beginning of a new global socio-economic policy in which the
concept of sustainable development has become a key element in environmental management
and other areas of human activities. This event was followed by the third, so-called After
Brundtland period, which lasts until today and included several significant events.
Caring for the Earth, 1991: A Strategy for Sustainable Future was developed by the second
world conservation project comprised of the representatives of the IUCN, UNEP and WWF.
The central theme of the report is the application of the principle of Sustainable
Development. Caring for the earth represents current, middle-of-the road thinking on the
relationship between conservation and development. The document also concerns both
human rights and the biodiversity and environmental degradation. Specific recommendations
of the report include:
- establishing a comprehensive system for environmental law, and providing for its
implantation and enforcement;
- reviewing the adequacy of legal and administrative control and of implementation and
enforcement mechanisms;
2) Agenda 21,
The first two documents are key for the concept of sustainable development. The Rio
Declaration on Environment and Development contains 27 principles of sustainable
development on the rights and responsibilities of the United Nations. These principles also
form the basis for future policy and decision making and balance between socio-economic
development and the environment. The Declaration gives people the right for development
but also the obligation for preserving the environment, and since the environment is a public
and common good, it also highlights the need for cooperation and understanding between the
public and private sectors and civil society. Among the principles, it is emphasized how
humans are in the centre of concern for sustainable development and should not delay
measures to prevent environmental degradation. At the same time, it is emphasized that each
country has the sovereign right to exploit its own resources, if this does not endanger the
environment of other countries, thereby polluters should bear the costs of pollution.
Eradication of poverty, reduction of inequalities and assuring basic living standards and
peace in the world are essential for sustainable development, therefore developed countries
have the responsibility to ensure sustainable development, particularly for technology and
financial resources.
From these fundamental activities and documents the three key elements of the concept were
identified:
2) the concept of needs (redistribution of resources to ensure the quality of life for all) and
At the same time, concept of sustainable development outlined core principles, namely:
ensuring needs and care for the community of present and future generations, continuously
improving the overall quality of life and equality, protecting and preserving the environment,
biodiversity and ecosystems, protecting and preserving the natural resources, with the rational
use of renewable resources and reduced depletion of non-renewable resources, changing
production and consumption respecting the ecological constraints, using renewable energy
and innovative technologies to reduce the negative impact on the environment, strengthening
international cooperation at the national, regional and local level, creating an institutional
framework with a strong network of stakeholders interested in implementing the concept of
sustainable development, etc.
The report further suggests that social equity, economic growth and environmental
maintenance are simultaneously possible and that each nation is capable of achieving its full
economic potential whilst at the same time enhancing its resource base.
Ten years after the earth summit, UN convened World Summit on Sustainable
Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg; from 26th August to 4th September 2002 to review
the achievements of Earth summit and to future reinvigorate a global commitment to
sustainable development. The summit was attended b 21,000 participants from 191
governments intergovernmental and no governmental organizations private sectors, civil
society, academia and the scientific community.
The JPOI laid down some basic requirement, which were as follows-:
Results of the past period were presented at the conference, as well as the progress and
problems in the implementation of sustainable development. Past commitments of the
member states were updated, but also new goals were set moving towards the Green
Economy, poverty eradication and the establishment of an institutional framework for
sustainable development. The conference followed a publication which provided
statistical data and indicators of dynamic and turbulent geopolitical, socio-economic and
ecological changes over the last 20 years, dominated by the development of technology
and the process of globalization. While some positive improvements are visible in the use
of renewable energy sources, reduced emissions and the recovery of ozone layer, once
again it has been emphasized how environmental degradation has been continuing, with
the loss of biodiversity, natural ecosystems, habitats and species, and further pollution of
space and water (UNEP, 2012). The Rio +20 Conference was rather successful and set a
path for sustainable future.
CONCLUSION