Geography Project

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

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 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Sustainable development is the organizing principle for meeting human
development goals while simultaneously sustaining the ability of natural systems
to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services upon which
the economy and society depend. The desired result is a state of society where
living conditions and resources are used to continue to meet human needs without
undermining the integrity and stability of the natural system. Sustainable
development can be defined as development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations.

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: "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs."

HISTORY OF SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
The concept of sustainable development formed the basis of the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The
summit marked the first international attempt to draw up action plans and
strategies for moving towards a more sustainable pattern of development. It was
attended by over 100 Heads of State and representatives from 178 national
governments. The Summit was also attended by representatives from a range of
other organizations representing civil society. Sustainable development was the
solution to the problems of environmental degradation discussed by the Brundtland
Commission in the 1987 report Our Common Future.

The remit of the Brundtland Report was to investigate the numerous concerns that
had been raised in previous decades, namely, that human activity was having
 severe and negative impacts on the planet, and that patterns of growth and
development would be unsustainable if they continued unchecked.

The concept of sustainable development received its first major international

recognition in 1972 at the UN Conference on the Human Environment held in
Stockholm. The term was popularized 15 years later in Our Common Future, the
report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, which
included what is deemed the 'classic' definition of sustainable development:
"development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs".

More recently, the World Summit on Sustainable Development was held in

Johannesburg in 2002, attended by 191 national governments, UN agencies,
multilateral financial institutions and other major groups to assess progress since
Rio. The Johannesburg Summit delivered three key outcomes: a political
declaration, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, and a range of partnership
initiatives. Key commitments included those on sustainable consumption and
production, water and sanitation, and energy.

GOALS OF SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 global goals
set by the United Nation General Assembly in 2015 for the year 2030. The SDGs
are part of Resolution 70/1 of the United Nations General Assembly, the 2030
Agenda.
The Sustainable Development Goals are:

1. No Poverty
2. Zero Hunger
3. Good Health and Well-being
4. Quality Education
5. Gender Equality
6. Clean Water and Sanitation
7. Affordable and Clean Energy
8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
9. Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
10.Reducing Inequality
11.Sustainable Cities and Communities
12.Responsible Consumption and Production
13.Climate Action
14.Life Below Water
15.Life On Land
16.Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
17.Partnerships for the Goals.

Sub groups
Sustainable development, or sustainability, has been described in terms of three
spheres, dimensions, domains or pillars, i.e. the environment, the economy and
society. It has also been worded as "economic, environmental and social" or
"ecology, economy and equity". This has been expanded by some authors to
include a fourth pillar of culture, institutions or governance, or alternatively
reconfigured as four domains of the social - ecology, economics, politics and
culture, thus bringing economics back inside the social, and treating ecology as the
intersection of the social and the natural.
  Environmental Sustainability: Environmental sustainability means that we
are living within the means of our natural resources. To live in true
environmental sustainability we need to ensure that we are consuming our
natural resources, such as materials, energy fuels, land, water etc, at a
sustainable rate. Some resources are more abundant than others and
therefore we need to consider material scarcity, the damage to environment
from extraction of these materials and if the resource can be kept
within circular economy principles. Environmental sustainability should not
be confused with full sustainability, which also need to balance economic
and social factors.
 Economic Sustainability: Economic sustainability requires that a business
or country uses its resources efficiently and responsibly so that it can operate
in a sustainable manner to consistently produce an operational profit.
Without an operational profit a business cannot sustain its activities. Without
acting responsibly and using its resources efficiently a company will not be
able to sustain its activities in the long term.
 Social Sustainability: Social sustainability is the ability of society, or any
social system, to persistently achieve a good social wellbeing. Achieving
social sustainability ensures that the social wellbeing of a country, an
organization, or a community can be maintained in the long term.

Taking these three pillars of sustainability further if we only achieve two out of
three pillars then we end up with:

 Social + Economic Sustainability = Equitable

 Social + Environmental Sustainability = Bearable
 Economic + Environmental Sustainability = Viable
Only through balancing economic + social + environmental can we achieve true
sustainability and a truly circular economy.

HOW CAN WE MAKE IT HAPPEN?

To make sustainable development the norm, we have to change the vision of the
cultures of each country. To change the vision of the culture two things have to
occur.

1. The culture must value a global benefit more than a local one.
2. A responsibility towards providing and sustaining resources for the future
must be of more value than profit in the present must be developed.

Both of these are very hard to do because it requires an element of self-sacrifice be

adopted by the present society. The value of the future is something that is not held
in high esteem when it comes to creating a profit, or to living with convenience.
The general self-focus of each generation is understandable, but as history has
shown in other areas – it can be expanded to include a sense of responsibility
towards futures unknown that will allow for different choices to me made in the
present.

WHAT PREVENTS SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT FROM
HAPPENING?
There are two major issues that prevent sustainable development from happening.
The first is that for many aspects of development, using sustainable methods and
materials is expensive. While the long-term cost of sustainability does prove to be
less expensive that traditional development, the creation of a sustainable project
may be far more expensive in the first phase. The second major issue is that there
is not a generally accepted need for sustainable development. This is an education
issue that may take many years to resolve.

Contractors and investors cannot see the importance of sustainable projects when
they cost more to initiate. When the goal is to make money in the short term, it can
be very difficult to generate the long-term vision that is required to understand the
importance of sustainability. Towards this end, there are more government
regulations and incentive programs that have been put into place to make
sustainable development a more attractive option for program and project
managers.

Importance of Sustainable Development

Sustainable development is a hard topic to nail down because it consists of a wide
range of things. Due to the technicality and complexity of this topic, it’s best to
check out its importance holistically to be able to grasp it easily. Population is the
main factor driving up sustainable development campaigns. So, the importance of
sustainable development can be viewed from this perspective:

1. Provides essential human needs

The explosion of population means people will have to scramble for the limited life
essentials like food, shelter, and water. Adequate provision of these basic needs
almost entirely hinges on infrastructure capable of sustaining them for a long time.
If governments insist on utilizing fossil fuel based sources of energy instead of
renewable and sustainable options, the cost and environmental effects of supplying
these basic needs would become a tall order.
 2. Agricultural requirement

Growing population means agriculture must catch up. Finding ways to feed more
than 3 billion people can be staggering. If same unsustainable cultivation, planting,
irrigation, spraying, and harvesting techniques are utilized in the future, they might
prove to be financially burdening considering fossil fuel resources are projected to
run out. Sustainable development focuses on sustainable agricultural methods such
as effective seeding techniques and crop rotation to promote high yields while
maintaining the integrity of the soil, which produces food for a large population.

3. Manage climate change

Climate change can be mitigated by sustainable development practices. Sustainable

development practices seek to reduce the use of fossil-based sources of fuel like
oil, natural gas, and coal. Fossil fuel sources of energy are unsustainable since they
will deplete in the future and are responsible for the emission of greenhouse
gasses.

4. Financial stability

Sustainable development practices have the ability to create more financially

sustainable economies across the globe. Developing countries that can’t
access fossil fuels can leverage renewable forms of energy to power their
economies. From the development of renewable energy technologies, these
countries can create sustainable jobs as opposed to finite jobs based on fossil fuel
technologies.

5. Sustain Biodiversity

Unsustainable development and overconsumption practices greatly

impact biodiversity. Life ecosystem is designed in such a way that species depend
on one another for survival. For instance, plants produce oxygen that humans need
for respiration. Humans exhale carbon dioxide that plants need for growth and
production. Unsustainable development practices like emission of greenhouse
gasses in the atmosphere kill many plant species resulting in reduction of
atmospheric oxygen. This is not good for humans. Sustainable development
practices encourage the use of renewable energy resources, and organic farming
practices that do not emit any greenhouse gas to the atmosphere.

Examples of Sustainable Development

Wind Energy

Wind energy is energy harnessed from the motion of wind using wind turbine or
windmills. Wind energy is renewable, which means it’s never ending and can be
used to substitute energy at the grid. This makes it a good sustainable development
practice.

Solar Energy

This is energy harnessed from the sun using solar panels. It’s advantageous since
it’s absolutely free and its supply is infinite. These factors make it beneficial to
consumers and good for Mother Nature because it doesn’t contribute to emission
of greenhouse gasses.

Green Spaces
Green spaces are locations where plants and animals are left to flourish. Parks also
fall into the category of green spaces. Green spaces provide people remarkable
opportunity to take pleasure in outdoor recreation, more so in big cities, where
resting space is hard to come by. Green spaces also help regulate climate and
quality of air, insulates rivers and streams from polluted runoff and lowers energy
usage by dealing with the warming impacts of paved surfaces.

Crop Rotation

Crop rotation is the practice of planting different crops in the same farm to enhance
soil fertility and assist control diseases and insects. Crop rotation is beneficial in
many ways; most importantly, it’s chemical free. This means using this farming
practice maintains integrity of your soil, making it a sustainable development
practice.

In the long run, there will be no debate about sustainable development. Sustainable
development has proven to be cleaner, potentially more efficient, and is the only
way to grow our economies without impacting human health and environment.
Due to world governments putting more emphasis on sustainable development,
more people today are moving towards renewable sources of energy like solar,
wind, hydro-power and geothermal. As more people join this bandwagon, a lot
more of the resources will be required, and this will mean faster depletion of
resources. With time sustainable development will not be an option for individuals
wanting to live a healthy life and lifestyle-choices.

Understanding regulations and incentives

There is a very real necessity for a change to the regulations and incentives that
govern development in order to make sustainable development the better option to
choose. It isn’t really possible to mandate sustainable development because it
could hinder projects that are necessary for the common good by making them
unaffordable to create. However, by using various tax credits and incentive
programs assigned to different levels of sustainability in a development program,
more of a project can meet the requirements of sustainability. This is a measure
towards creating the choice of whole sustainable development, but it also allows
for the reality of the cost of implementation while delivering options that won’t
impede progress.