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THE CONCEPT AND PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Conference Paper · February 2011

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 THE CONCEPT AND PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT

BY

ABUBAKAR JIBRIL

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY, FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, USMANU

DANFODIYO UNIVERSITY, SOKOTO
E-Mail: ajabarshi@yahoo.com
Tel: +234 803 5944 794

Being a Paper Presented at the 52nd Annual Conference Organised by the Association of Nigerian
Geographers (ANG) on “Climate Change and Sustainable Development”, held at the Auditorium,
Sokoto Energy Research Centre, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto Between 15th and 17th
February, 2011.

Abstract

Sustainable development (SD) is one of the leading issues in the contemporary development
discourse. It is an approach to development that takes the environmental dimension and
which owes its origin to various debates and environmental movements in 1970s and 1980s
regarding the connection between environment and economic development. The approach
seeks to reconcile human needs and the capacity of the environment to cope with the
consequences of the economic system so that these needs can be met not only in the present,
but also for future generations. It holds that wealth of nations does not rest solely on its
economic wealth but also on the smooth development and protection of environmental
resources. The major principle of the concept is that the natural resources should be used in
a manner which does not eliminate or degrade them, or otherwise diminish their usefulness
for future generations. However, the concept has been criticized as being vague, oxymoron,
unattainable which is introduced by developed countries to protect capitalism and impede
development of other countries. Others believed that the implementation of sustainable
development would mean a reversion to pre-modern life styles. This paper, therefore,
attempts to examine the concept of sustainable development, its principles, and efforts made
by the international community to ensure its realisation and also presents some of the
arguments against the concept.

Key Concepts: Development, Environment, Sustainability, Human Needs

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Introduction

Development has historically been pursued aggressively by nations, as a means not only of
satisfying basic material needs, but also of providing the resources necessary to improve
quality of life, more generally. This process of development makes demand on the
environment by using natural resources which, by extension, has implications for future
generations because some of these resources are finite and, thus cannot be replenished for the
use in the future. Sheng (1995) further contends that this process of development encourages
policies and activities that are destructive to the environment and provide no compensation
for future generations.

The end of the 1980s saw a radical reappraisal of concerns over resource availability and use, the
environmental consequences of resource exploitation and the relationship between the
environment, poverty and economic change (Taiwo, 2009). This re-appraisal has given rise to a
new approach to environment and development issues - an approach which seeks to reconcile
human needs and the capacity of the environment to cope with the consequences of economic
system. This approach is called sustainable development. The approach is, therefore, based on the
proposition that the wealth of nation does not rest solely on its economic wealth but also on the
smart development and protection of its people and natural resources (United Nations
Development Programme, 2008). This implies that the process of development may generate
diminished or even no social and economic returns if risks threatening the natural environment are
not managed actively and ahead of time, if not prevented entirely. By causing irreparable damage
to the natural environment or depleting available natural resources, we limit the access of future
generations to these resources and thereby compromise their ability to meet their own needs.
Thus, sustainable development is the interplay of the economy and environment (ecology) and
how to manage both to ensure inter-generational equity. This paper examines the concept of
sustainable development and its basic principles. The paper also traces the historical development
of the concept and presents some of its critiques.

2
The Concept of Sustainable Development

Sustainable development is a concept found in many environment and development literature and,
thus, has become increasingly popular in the contemporary world. Consequently, there are
currently many definitions of sustainable development. Most of the definitions stress that
sustainability requires making decisions that recognize the connections between actions and their
effects on the environment, economy and society.

One of the most quoted definitions of sustainable development is that of the Brundtland Report
which defined sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (United Nations,
1987:2). The report further asserts that sustainable development contains:

 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.

Another definition of the concept was by the Caring for the Earth, where it views the concept as
an approach aimed at “improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying
capacity of supporting systems” (Trzyna, 1995:5).

Sustainable development, therefore, implies using environmental resources in a manner which

does not eliminate or degrade them, or otherwise diminish their usefulness for future generations.
It involves a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investment,
the orientation of technological development and institutional change are all in harmony and
enhance both current and future potentials to meet human needs and aspirations. Therefore,
development plans, according to the concept, have to ensure sustainable and equitable use of
resources for meeting the needs of the present and future generations without causing damage to
the environment.

While many of the environmental management principles embodied in the concept of sustainable
development are derived from this ecological perspective, the social aspects are now also
accepted to be of equal concern alongside economic issues, emphasizing that development should

3
lead to:

 Poverty eradication;
 Job creation and sustainable livelihood;
 Women empowerment and effective participation; and
 Environmental protection.

In other words, sustainable development promotes development that is pro-poor, pro-jobs, pro-
women and children and pro-environment; it does not focus solely on environmental issues. In
fact, the United Nations 2005 World Summit Outcome Document refers to the "interdependent
and mutually reinforcing pillars" of sustainable development as economic development, social
development and environmental protection (United Nations, 2005). However, the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) the United Nations Permanent
Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Convention on Biological Diversity, among others, have
argued that there are four pillars of sustainable development, the fourth being cultural. They
emphasized that cultural diversity is as necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature and
it is one of the roots of development. This is because development is understood not simply in
terms of economic growth, but also as a means to achieve a more satisfactory intellectual,
emotional, moral and spiritual existence (UNESCO, 2001). From these viewpoints, therefore,
cultural diversity is the fourth policy area of sustainable development. Sustainable development,
therefore, challenges the values of conventional development because its processes involve not
only social, economic and political advancement but also managing and allocating natural capital.

Historical Development of the Sustainable Development Concept

Many of the ideas that are now embedded in the concept of sustainable development have been
around for a long time – from as long ago as the work of Malthus on population growth in the late
1700s. However, recognition for inventing the term itself has been variously attributed to Eva
Balfour, founder of the Soil Association, the International Institute for Environment and
Development, and Wes Jackson, the American geneticist and biodynamic farmer (Sulaiman,
2002). The concept, according to the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) (2010) was
born out of the emerging environmental movements that started from 1950s up to 1980s drawing
attention to man’s over-exploitation of the environment and the inextricable links between

4
environment and development. The movement, thus, warned that human activity was having
severe and negative impacts on the planet, arguing that patterns of growth and development
would be unsustainable if they continued unchecked. Key works that highlighted this thinking,
according to the SDC (2010), included Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (1962), Garret Hardin's
Tragedy of the Commons (1968), “the Blueprint for Survival” by the Ecologist magazine (1972),
and the Club of Rome's Limits to Growth report (1972). For instance, in The Limits to Growth, a
study that simulates the likely future outcomes of the world economy, the authors warned that the
planet was running out of resources and that unless some major changes in the physical, economic
and social relationships that govern world development occurred, within 100 years, society would
run out of the non-renewable resources on which industry depends. This, according to them,
would trigger a collapse of the world economy and bring on massive unemployment, decreased
food production, and a decline in population as the death rate soared (Paul, 2008).

The Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment organised by the United Nations in 1972,
was the first international meeting on how human activities were harming the environment and
putting humans at risk and, although the term sustainable development was not explicitly referred
to, nevertheless the international community agreed to the notion (now fundamental to sustainable
development) that both development and the environment, hitherto addressed as separate issues,
could be managed in a mutually beneficial way (Sustainable Development Commission, 2010).
At the end of the conference, a declaration was issued that highlighted problems of pollution,
destruction of resources, and damage to the environment.

The Brandt Commission, established by the United Nations in 1977 under the Chairmanship of
Willy Brandt, former Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, was the first major
independent global panel to examine the connection between the environment and international
development (Ojameruaye, 2004). The first report of the Commission, titled “North-South”,
noted that:

…important harm to the environment and depletion of scarce natural resources is

occurring in every nation of the world, damaging soil, sea, and air. The biosphere
is our common heritage and must be preserved by cooperation otherwise, life
itself could be threatened (James, 1996:2).

5
The 1980 World Conservation Strategy prepared by the International Union for the Conservation
of Nature along with the United Nations Environment Program and the World Wildlife Fund,
further promoted the idea of environmental protection in the self-interest of the human species
(Sustainability Reporting Programme, 2000).

The term, was further popularized in 1987 by Our Common Future, the report of the United
Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (UNWCED), often referred to as
the Brundtland Commission or the Brundtland Report, named after the Chairperson of the
Commission, Gro Harlem Brundtland, the Prime Minister of Norway (National Strategies for
Sustainable Development (NSSD) (2003). The Commission took a close look at the interplay
between economic development and the environment and warns that:

Major unintended changes are occurring in the atmosphere, in soils, in waters, among
plants and animals. Nature is bountiful but it is also fragile and finely balanced. There
are thresholds that cannot be crossed without endangering the basic integrity of the
system. Today we are close to many of those thresholds…. (Sustainability Reporting
Programme, 2000:2).

The report, therefore, came up with the concept of sustainable development including what is
deemed the 'classic' definition of sustainable development as: "development which meets the
needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs". The report also made suggestions with regard to the conflict between the environment and
development that development was acceptable, but must be sustainable, that is, would meet the
needs of the poor, but not worsen environmental problems (United Nations, 1987).

World attention on sustainability peaked at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development (UNCED), otherwise known as the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. The Summit which brought together the heads or senior officials of 179 governments and
representatives from other civil society organizations was the first international attempt to draw
up action plans and strategies for moving towards a more sustainable pattern of development.
(Sustainability Reporting Program, 2000) The Summit took the Brandt proposals and the
Brundtland Report a step further, placing the model of “sustainability” at the centre of all global
plannings for development (Taiwo, 1998). At the end, a set of five agreements were reached and
are as follows:

 Agenda 21: a global plan of action for achieving sustainable development in the 21st
Century which calls on countries to reduce pollution, emissions and the use of

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 precious natural resources.

 The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development: a statement of key principles

to guide the integration of environment and development policies, including the
polluter pays, prevention, precautionary and participation principles.

 The Statement on Principles of Forests: a global consensus that pledges to reduce

deforestation.

 The Framework Convention on Climate Change: an agreement to limit the emissions

of green house gases (carbon dioxide and methane) in the atmosphere at levels that
will not upset the global climate system.

 The Convention on Biological Diversity: an agreement to conserve the world’s

species diversity and using biological resources in a sustainable way (NSSD, 2004).

In 2002, the Second Earth Summit (The World Summit on Sustainable Development, WSSD or
the Johannesburg Summit) took place in South Africa to review the progress made since the Rio
Summit and to progress the sustainable development agenda. The Summit was attended by 191
national governments, UN agencies, multilateral financial institutions and other major groups.
Key commitments made at this summit included those on sustainable consumption and
production, water and sanitation, and energy. It was also recommended that each country should
prepare its plan of action for sustainable development (i.e. its National Sustainable Development
Plan-NSDP) (Sustainable Development Commission, 2010).

Today, there are many organizations interested in sustainable development and the United
Nations has established various agencies to look at its various aspects. Governments around the
world, international institutions, local organisations and NGOs have committed themselves to its
principles and have adopted policies to promote it. Multi-national corporations and local
companies have now started focusing their attentions on ensuring sustainable development as part
of their corporate social responsibilities. Geographers, economists, environmentalists and other
scholars in various disciplines continue to put heads together to find out how to use natural
resources and modify our life styles in order to achieve sustainability. Thus, the body of literature
on sustainable development is now overwhelming.

7
Main Principles of Sustainable Development

The statements that came to be known as the major principles of sustainable development were
made at the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Declaration on the Environment and Development. These
principles were reproduced by Mindjov (1999:196) as follows:

1. Everyone has the right to healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.
2. Present and future generations are equally entitled to this right.
3. Environmental protection must be seen as an integral part of any developmental process.
4. Each country has the right to utilise its own resources, without affecting the environment
beyond its borders.
5. The polluter must compensate the damage caused to the environment – “polluter pays”
principle.
6. Economic activities are combined with the principle of acquiring preventive measures for
environmental protection.
7. States must cooperate for environmental protection.
8. The alleviation of poverty and living standards, inequity in the different parts of the world
are an integral part of sustainable development.
9. States must limit and extinguish the unsustainable modes of production and consumption,
and enhance the appropriate demographic policy.
10. The most efficient way of solving environmental problems is the involvement of all
interested parties.
11. States must develop and encourage the informed participation of the population in
decision-making process (participatory democracy).
12. States must develop and implement effective legislation for environmental protection.
13. Environmental protection must involve all social groups.
14. Peace, development, and environmental protection are inter dependent and indivisible

8
Critique of the Concept of Sustainable Development

The concept of “Sustainable Development” raises several critiques at different levels, some of
which include:-

Critique regarding the vagueness of the concept

The concept of sustainable development was criticized for its vagueness. For example,
wikipedia.com reports Jean-Marc Jancovici arguing that the term is obligatory, but also absurd, or
rather so vague that it says nothing. It further quoted Luc Ferry, a philosopher, saying that the
term is trivial by a proof by contradiction and, thus, should be best addressed as “untenable
development”. Moreover, Marshall (1998) added that it is difficult for governments which tend to
be accountable to electorates over short term periods (such as four years or so) to accept the
political consequences of promoting sustainable development.

Critique regarding the basis of the concept

Brunel (2008) reports that Sylvie Brunel, a French geographer and specialist of the Third World,
develops in A qui profite le développement durable (Who benefits from sustainable
development?) a critique of the basis of sustainable development. She thinks that the idea of
sustainable development is perfectly helping out capitalism and protectionism from the developed
countries and, thus, impedes the development of the other countries. Similarly, Anderson (2002)
suggests that the real purpose of sustainable development is to contain and limit economic
development in developing countries. While current First World countries polluted significantly
during their development, the same countries encourage Third World countries to reduce
pollution which sometimes impede growth of the Third World.

Critique of the "de-growth"

The proponents of de-growth argued that the concept of sustainable development is an oxymoron.
According to them, on a planet where 20% of the population consumes 80% of the natural
resources, a sustainable development cannot be possible for this 20%. Thus, according to them,
the right term for the concept should be a “sustainable de-growth”. Some consider the
implementation of sustainable development would mean a reversion to pre-modern life styles.

9
Conclusion

Sustainable development is one of the leading issues in the contemporary development discourse.
However, it remains an eclectic concept, as a wide array of views fall under its umbrella. It is an
approach to development that entails a pattern of resource use that aims to meet human needs
while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also
for the future generations to come. It emphasizes the need to improve the quality of human life
without damaging ecological systems. In other words, exploitation of natural resources and the
activities of industries must not be allowed to destroy and degrade the environment to the extent
that it would not be able to support future economic activities. Its debate is, thus, based on the
assumption that societies need to manage four types of capital (economic, social, cultural and
natural), which may be non-substitutable and whose consumption might be irreversible.
Sustainable development, is therefore, an implied development without destruction, it is the
judicious use of non-renewable resources for the present and future generations. The concept was
however criticized as being vague, oxymoron, unattainable and whose implementation will be
beneficial only to the developed countries while impeding the development of others.

10
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Brunel, S. (2008). “Who Benefits from Sustainable Development?” Retrieved from http://en.
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James, V. U. (1996). Sustainable Development in Third World Countries: Applied and
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Marshall, G. (1998). A Dictionary of Sociology (2nd Edition). New York: Oxford University
Press.
Mindjov, K. (1999). Our Responsibilities Towards Future Generations. USA: Green pack.
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