DS : 2204. 7.0 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

7.0   SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

7.1   What is Sustainable Development?

Sustainable development is the environmental, economic and social well-being for today and tomorrow or at present and future.

"Sustainable Development is that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."  (Oxford University Press, 1987).

Sustainable development has been defined in many ways, but the most frequently quoted definition is from Our Common Future, also known as the (Brundtland Report 2008)

"Sustainable development as the 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:

• 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."

All definitions of sustainable development require that we see the world as a system—a system that connects space; and a system that connects time and people.

7.2 Sustainable Development Goals

1. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture 2. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages 3. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong  learning opportunities for all 4. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all 5. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all 6. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all 1.      Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation 2.    Reduce inequality within and among countries 3.    Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable 4.    Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns 5.        Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts* 6.       Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development 7.        Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss 8.       Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels 9.       Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development 10.   Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development NB. It is the role of all entrepreneurs to consider these development goals in their process of entrepreneurial activities so as to ensure the use of available resources for the benefit of the present society without compromising the use for the future generation. Therefore the learners of this course have to think for way forward to put this notion in practice.

7.3 The sustainable development entrance

Sustainable development has been defined as balancing the fulfillment of human needs with the protection of the natural environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but in the indefinite future. Also sustainable development is defined as "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

The field of sustainable development can be conceptually divided into four general dimensions: social, economic, environmental and institutional. The first three dimensions address key principles of sustainability, while the final dimension addresses key institutional policy and capacity issues.

7.4 Domains of Sustainable Development

Different domains have been identified for research and analysis of sustainable development. Broadly defined, these include ecology, economics, politics and culture — as used by the United Nations and a number of other international organizations.

The three common and important domains holistically nature of sustainability

i. Society                               

Society is the primary and important agent of sustainable development. People are there to serve their daily life by closely and fully interacting with other two agents of sustainability which are environment and economy. Life satisfactions of any society go together with utilization of its environment around so as to improve production and economy in general.

Therefore it is the roles of human being not overuse the available resources so as to be effectively used in the present without compromising the use of the resources in the future generations.

In his economic development, human engage in agriculture and mining (use land), carpentry and building (use forests), fishing and water transport (use seas, oceans, lakes and rivers), move from one place to another using air transport (use air). In all these activities destroy environment for his economic development. So, he must effectively consider sustainability.

ii. Environment

Environmental sustainability concerns the natural environment and how it endures and remains diverse and productive. Since natural resources are derived from the environment, the state of air, water, and the climate are of particular concern. The IPCC Fifth Assessment Report outlines current knowledge about scientific, technical and socio-economic information concerning climate change, and lists options for adaptation and mitigation. Environmental sustainability requires society to design activities to meet human needs while preserving the life support systems of the planet. This, for example, entails using water sustainably, utilizing renewable energy, and sustainable material supplies (e.g. harvesting wood from forests at a rate that maintains the biomass and biodiversity).

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 should imply an increase in human death rate until population falls to what the degraded environment can support. If the degradation continues beyond a certain tipping point or critical threshold it would lead to eventual 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 economy
Less than nature's ability to replenish	Environmental renewal	Environmentally sustainable

iii. Economics

It has been suggested that because of rural poverty and overexploitation, environmental resources should be treated as important economic assets, called natural capital. Economic development has traditionally required a growth in the gross domestic product. This model of unlimited personal and GDP growth may be over. Sustainable development may involve improvements in the quality of life for many but may necessitate a decrease in resource consumption. According to ecological economist Malte Faber, ecological economics is defined by its focus on nature, justice, and time. Issues of intergenerational equity, irreversibility of environmental change, uncertainty of long-term outcomes, and sustainable development guide ecological economic analysis and valuation.