SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

According to Brundtland report (1987)

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts: 1. the concept of needs, in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and 2. the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs (World Commission on Env & Devolpment)

SD
Sustainable Development encourages the conservation and preservation of natural resources and of the environment, and the management of energy, waste and transportation. Sustainable Development is development based on patterns of production 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 of individuals as well as governments with regard to our current lifestyles and the impact they have on the environment will need to change.

 SD underscores that rate of consumption or use of natural resources should approximate the rate at which these these resources can be substituted or replaced. So it restricts that a nation satisfies its social/economic requirements without jeopardizing the interest of future generations. To strenghten the concept of SD, principle of justice & equity between the people of North & South has to be achieved. This means that both groups have the responsibility for sound development, economic & environmental issues, keeping in view the principle of equity. Another aspect is the system analysis i.e. how the economic, social and environmental systems interact at various scales of operation in way that leads to SD. SD should always be projected to remove poverty, resource depletion, env damage & social instability Thus SD can be ensured only when inequality & poverty issues are addressed.

Pillars
Economic development, Social development, Environmental protection Cultural development

Environmental sustainability
Environmental sustainability is the process of making sure that current processes of interaction with the environment are pursued with the idea of keeping the environment as pristine as naturally possible 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 be replenished. Sustainability requires that human activity only uses nature's resources at a rate at which they can be replenished naturally. Inherently the concept of sustainable development is intertwined with the concept of carrying capacity. Theoretically, the long-term result of environmental degradation is the inability to sustain human life. Such degradation on a global scale could imply extinction for humanity.

Corporate sustainability
The most broadly accepted criterion for corporate sustainability constitutes a firms efficient use of natural capital. This eco-efficiency is usually calculated as the economic value added by a firm in relation to its aggregated ecological impact. This idea has been popularised by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) under the following definition: Eco-efficiency is achieved by the delivery of competitively-priced goods and services that satisfy human needs and bring quality of life, while progressively reducing ecological impacts and resource intensity throughout the life-cycle to a level at least in line with the earths carrying capacity

Corporate sustainability
Socio-efficiency describes the relation between a firms value added and its social impact. Whereas, it can be assumed that most corporate impacts on the environment are negative (apart from rare exceptions such as the planting of trees) this is not true for social impacts. These can be either positive (e.g. corporate giving, creation of employment) or negative (e.g. work accidents, mobbing of employees, human rights abuses). Depending on the type of impact socio-efficiency thus either tries to minimize negative social impacts or maximise positive social impacts in relation to the value added. Both eco-efficiency and socio-efficiency are concerned primarily with increasing economic sustainability. In this process they instrumentalize both natural and social capital aiming to benefit from win-win situations.

Agenda 21
United Nations Conference on Environment & Development (UNCED) or Earth Summit held at Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) 3-14 June 1992 to ensure relationship 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)

Agenda 21 or Action plan

Action plan for 21st century in all the areas of environment & economic growth in sustainable way 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 which developing countries have the incentives & the means in contributing in protecting global environment

 Agenda 21 is based on a global approach encompassing the problems of human development and the preservation of our ecological heritage. It inventories the major problems of the present day and suggests ways of preparing the world for future challenges in accordance with sustainable development in other words, by pursuing social and economic development alongside with the protection of the environment and natural resources. It is a document of almost 300 pages 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

 The report highlighted three fundamental components to sustainable development: environmental protection, economic growth and social equity. The environment should be conserved and our resource base enhanced, 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, water and sanitation. If this is to be done in a sustainable manner, then there is a definite need for a sustainable level of population. Economic growth should be revived and developing nations should be allowed a growth of equal quality to the developed nations.

Promoting sustainable development through trade

An open, equitable, secure, non-discriminatory and predictable multilateral trading system that is consistent with the goals of sustainable development and leads to the optimal distribution of global production in accordance with comparative advantage is of benefit to all trading partners. Moreover, improved market access for developing countries' exports in conjunction with sound macroeconomic and environmental policies would have a positive environmental impact and therefore make an important contribution towards sustainable development. a commitment to sound economic policies and management, an effective and predictable public administration, the integration of environmental concerns into decision-making and progress towards democratic government, in the light of country-specific conditions, which allows for full participation of all parties concerned.

Checking SD
by comparing the relative progress made by different countries towards 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 affluent within and between nations. The production and consumption must be curbed to achieve even a modest degree of sustainable development and determined efforts must be made to reduce consumption through formal education The creativity, ideals and courage of the youth of the world should be mobilized to forge a global partnership in order to achieve sustainable development and ensure a better future for all.

Science, technology and environmental sustainability

sustainable development and global environmental sustainability achieved with the application of science and technology. progress towards sustainable development is dependent upon a fundamental change in societies attitude to nature and the environment to bring about this change of attitude is education in moral and ethical philosophy. In the young minds it is essential to reinforce the environment-respecting moral values.

WSSD
World Summit on Sustainable Development, Aug 26-4 Sep, 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, fresh water and governance. Served as a platform for proving global opportunities for world leading in the direction of global governance- UN Secretary General Kofi Annan