Sustainable development
What is sustainable development?
Sustainability – the property of being sustainable, the condition where human activity may be continued indefinitely without damaging the environment and where the needs of all peoples are met equally.
Sustainable development - that which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, refers to the processes by which sustainability may be achieved.
27 principles to guide sustainable development around the world were adopted by 179 Governments at the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. These are given in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development.
Sustainable development embraces the main interdependent and indivisible areas of environmental protection, economic development and social development. Our Common Future - the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, suggested strategies for dealing with the accelerating deterioration of the human environment and natural resources and the consequences of that deterioration for economic and social development.
"Failures to manage the environment and to sustain development threaten to overwhelm all countries. Environment and development are not separate challenges; they are inexorably linked. Development cannot subsist upon a deteriorating environmental resource base; the environment cannot be protected when growth leaves out of account the costs of environmental destruction. These problems cannot be treated separately by fragmented institutions and policies. They are linked in a complex system of cause and effect." [ Our Common Future ]
The subsequent Earth Summit in 1992 produced Agenda 21 - a blueprint for sustainable development. Aimed at providing a high quality environment and healthy economy for all the peoples of the world, the document addresses:
Social and economic dimensions:
International cooperation to accelerate sustainable development in developing countries, poverty, consumption patterns, population, health, sustainable human settlements, integrating environment and development.
Conservation and management of resources for development:
atmosphere, land, forests, ecosystems, mountains, agriculture, biodiversity, oceans, fresh water resources, combating desertification and drought, environmentally sound management of biotechnology, toxic chemicals and hazardous and solid waste and sewage, safe and environmentally sound management of radioactive waste.
Strengthening the role of major groups:
women, children and youth, indigenous peoples, NGOs /partners for sustainable development, local authorities, workers and trade unions, business and industry, farmers, scientific and technological community.
Means of implementation:
finance, transfer of environmentally sound technology, cooperation and capacity-building, education and public awareness, science for sustainable development, international institutions, legal measures, information.
The resources below and on the Agenda 21 page, provide in depth information on the concept of sustainable development.
Databases, directories and other resources
- The Sustainable Development Reference Link
A site with the needs of public servants, academics and individuals in developing countries in mind. The site is designed to provide links to some of the most useful sites on the World Wide Web, including sites which provide software for sectoral management, economic models, data or references. sustainableworld.com - EnviroLink Library
A large resource providing comprehensive, up-to-date environmental information and news. http://library.envirolink.org - Global System for Sustainable Development (GSSD)
A cross-referenced index to resources and materials on sustainability - a project of the Global Accords Consortium for Sustainable Development housed at MIT. http://gssd.mit.edu - World Wide Web Virtual Library: Sustainable Development
A site packed with useful links including: organisations, projects and activities, electronic journals, libraries, references and documents, databases, directories. www.ulb.ac.be/ceese/meta/sustvl.html - International Institute for Sustainable Development
Canadian knowledge base for sustainable development. www.iisd.org - Sustainable Development Gateway
Fundamentals of sustainable development ideas and applications, on-line documents on key sustainable development issues in the SD Topics section, a roster of mailing lists (listservs) and news sites dealing with sustainable development. http://sdgateway.net - The Environment Directory
A huge exclusively environmental organization directory including sites from over 100 countries and covering many aspects of sustainable development and the environment. webdirectory.com - GrownupGreen
…is aimed at households who want to make more informed choices on issues such as renewable energy, managing the household waste, purchasing of consumer goods, etc. www.grownupgreen.org.uk
UK Government information
- The Encyclopedia of Sustainable Development
The Encyclopedia is a very informative source of information on sustainable development. Written by the Atmosphere, Climate and Environment Information Programme, and is supported by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. www.ace.mmu.ac.uk/esd/ - The Sustainable Development Unit (SDU)
The SDU embeds, monitors and reports on sustainable development across Whitehall and the UK. Their work includes the development of a UK strategy to set out how government facilitate the delivery of sustainable development. www.sustainable-development.gov.uk - Sustainable Development Commission
The Government’s independent watchdog on sustainable development, reporting to the Prime Minister and the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales. www.sd-commission.org.uk - Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The UK Government department responsible for water, the environmental protection, Wildlife and Countryside, Sustainable development, etc. www.defra.gov.uk