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Sustainable development is meeting today\'s needs of development without compromising future generations\' ability to develop. The linkage between environment and development was globally recognized in 1980, when the International Union for the Conservation of Nature published the World Conservation Strategy and used the term "sustainable development.""World Conservation Strategy: Living Resource Conservation for Sustainable Development". NSSD.net. Retrieved on August 2, 2007.World Conservation Strategy ISBN 2-88032-104-2 accessed 18 October 2007 The concept came into general usage following publication of the 1987 report of the Brundtland Commission — formally, the World Commission on Environment and Development. Set up by the United Nations General Assembly, the Brundtland Commission coined what was to become the most often-quoted definition of sustainable development as development that "meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."United Nations. 1987."Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development." General Assembly Resolution 42/187, 11 December 1987. Retrieved: 2007-04-12
This definition is not operational and has created much antagonism and cognitive dissonance. This arises because sustainability is often taken to refer to processes that can be maintained indefinitely. This is, of course, not the case for economic growth and development, just as the world\'s exponential population growth is unsustainable. Development is thus unsustainable in this sense. If it were to mean development of sustainability rather than sustainability of development, there would be no contradiction, but sustainability is clearly being used as an adjective here. The issue is resolved when it is realized that \'sustainable\' has a different meaning in this context; something like \'that which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability to meet the needs of the future\'.
The field of sustainable development can be conceptually broken into three constituent parts: environmental sustainability, economic sustainability and social-political sustainability.
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Sustainable development does not focus solely on environmental issues. More broadly, sustainable development policies encompass three general policy areas: economic sustainability , environmental sustainability and social sustainability . In support of this, several United Nations texts, most recently the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document, refer to the "interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars" of sustainable development as economic development, social development, and environmental protection.
Scheme of sustainable development: at the confluence of three preoccupations.
The Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity (UNESCO, 2001) elaborates further the concept by stating that "...cultural diversity is as necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature”; it becomes “one of the roots of development understood not simply in terms of economic growth, but also as a means to achieve a more satisfactory intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual existence". In this vision, cultural diversity is the fourth policy area of sustainable development.
Economic Sustainability: Agenda 21 clearly identified information, integration, and participation as key building blocks to help countries achieve development that recognises these interdependent pillars. It emphasises that in sustainable development everyone is a user and provider of information. It stresses the need to change from old sector-centred ways of doing business to new approaches that involve cross-sectoral co-ordination and the integration of environmental and social concerns into all development processes. Furthermore, Agenda 21 emphasises that broad public participation in decision making is a fundamental prerequisite for achieving sustainable development.Will Allen. 2007."Learning for Sustainability: Sustainable Development."
Green development is generally differentiated from sustainable development in that Green development prioritizes what its proponents consider to be environmental sustainability over economic and cultural considerations. Proponents of Sustainable Development argue that it provides a context in which to improve overall sustainability where cutting edge Green development is unattainable. For example, a cutting edge treatment plant with extremely high maintenance costs may not be sustainable in regions of the world with less financial resources. An environmentally ideal plant that is shut down due to bankruptcy is obviously less sustainable than one that is maintainable by the indigenous community, even if it is somewhat less effective from an environmental standpoint.
Some research activities start from this definition to argue that the environment is a combination of nature and culture. The Network of Excellence "Sustainable Development in a Diverse World", SUS.DIV sponsored by the European Union, integrates multidisciplinary capacities and interprets cultural diversity as a key element of a new strategy for sustainable development.
Still other researchers view environmental and social challenges as opportunities for development action. This is particularly true in the concept of sustainable enterprise that frames these global needs as opportunities for private enterprise to provide innovative and entrepreneurial solutions. This view is now being taught at many business schools including the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise at Cornell University and the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan.
The United Nations Division for Sustainable Development lists the following areas as coming within the scope of sustainable development:United Nations Division for sustainable Development. Documents: Sustainable Development Issues Retrieved: 2007-05-12
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Sustainable development is an ambiguous concept, as a wide array of views fall under its umbrella. The concept has included notions of weak sustainability, strong sustainability and deep ecology. Different conceptions also reveal a strong tension between ecocentrism and anthropocentrism. Thus, the concept remains weakly defined and contains a large amount of debate as to its precise definition.
During the last ten years, different organizations have tried to measure and monitor the proximity to what they consider sustainability by implementing what has been called sustainability metric and indices.
Sustainable development is said to set limits on the developing world. While current first world countries polluted significantly during their development, the same countries encourage third world countries to reduce pollution, which sometimes impedes growth. Some consider that the implementation of sustainable development would mean a reversion to pre-modern lifestyles.http://www.menominee.edu/sdi/whatis.htm
Others have criticized the overuse of the term:
Environmental sustainability is defined as the ability of the environment to continue to function properly indefinitely. This involves meeting the present needs of humans without endangering the welfare of future generations. The goal of environmental sustainability is to minimize environmental degradation, and to halt and reverse the processes they lead to.
An "unsustainable situation" occurs when natural capital (the sum total of nature\'s resources) is used up faster than it can be replenished. Sustainability requires that human activity only uses nature\'s resources at a rate at which they can be replenished naturally. Theoretically, the long-term result of environmental degradation would be local environments that are no longer able to sustain human populations to any degree. Such degradation on a global scale could imply extinction for humanity.
| Consumption of renewable resources | State of environment | Sustainability |
|---|---|---|
| More than nature\'s ability to replenish | Environmental degradation | Not sustainable |
| Equal to nature\'s ability to replenish | Environmental equilibrium | Steady-state Sustainability |
| Less than nature\'s ability to replenish | Environmental renewal | Sustainable development |
The United Nations has declared a Decade of Education for Sustainable Development starting in January of 2005. A non-partisan multi-sector response to the decade has formed within the U.S. via the U.S. Partnership for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.US Partnership for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. Retrieved on: 2007-07-16 Active sectors teams have formed for youth, higher education, business, religion, the arts, and more. Organizations and individuals can join in sharing resources and success stories, and creating a sustainable future.
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