SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: THE CONCEPT AND DEVELOPMENT!

All systems and societies naturally Develop. In this age and day, DEVELOPMENT is moving at breakneck speeds, thanks to advancements in technology. The only problem is that not everyone considers the downsides that comes along with UNBALANCED ECONOMIC GROWTH including Impacts on people’s well being and ENVIRONMENT.

Thus, comes the CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT! It’s about time people start to change their perspective on UNBALANCED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT by viewing the world in a completely different way which would help people achieve the SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS. Now, WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT? Well, According to WIKIPEDIA, “SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT is the organising principle for meeting human development goals while simultaneously sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the NATURAL RESOURCES and ECOSYSTEM SERVICES on which the ECONOMY and SOCIETY depends”. But, In simple terms, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT can be defined as “DEVELOPMENT that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. Sustainable development involves satisfying the needs of the present population without endangering the capability of the future population to satisfy it’s own needs. It’s about improving the well being of everyone wherever they are and achieving this milestone collectively! DEVELOPMENT also digs DEEPER. This means, We want COMPANIES to expand, everyone to afford NUTRITIOUS FOODS wherever they live, QUALITY and AFFORDABLE EDUCATION for everyone, and our ECONOMIES to grow EXPONENTIALLY. We want to develop INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES while keeping the ENVIRONMENT SAFE! Sustainable development is not about the ENVIRONMENT. It’s focus is much broader than that. It’s all about meeting the diverse needs of people in different communities, SOCIAL COHESION, creating EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES to ensure a STRONG and HEALTHY SOCIETY! It also focuses on finding better ways of doing things without affecting the quality of our life. Countries are now, recognizing the IMPORTANCE OF CONSERVING NATURAL RESOURCES, people are switching to cycling instead of driving that will improve their health! Farmers are practicing CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE and INDUSTRIES are realising as to how much they can save through ENERGY EFFICIENCY! Understanding SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT and it’s GOALS is the first step to learning what we can do to make it happen.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT has its roots in Ideas about”SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT” which were developed in EUROPE during the 17th and 18th century, while the MODERN CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT is derived from the 1987- BRUNDTLAND REPORT, and the 20th century ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS. In response to a growing awareness of the DEPLETION OF TIMBER RESOURCES in ENGLAND, JOHN EVELYN argued “sowing and planting of trees has to be regarded as a national duty of every landowner, in order to stop the ” DESTRUCTIVE OVER-EXPLOITATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES” in his essay “SYLVA”, 1662. Another Milestone was the 1968 article by GARRETT HARDIN that popularised the term ” TRAGEDY OF COMMONS”. He argued that if individuals act independently, Rationally and focused on pursuing their interests, they’d end up going against the COMMON INTERESTS of their COMMUNITIES and exhaust the planet’s NATURAL RESOURCES. In this way, human free access and unlimited Consumption of finite resources would extinguish these same resources! Hence, to his eyes, Mankind needed to radically change its way of using COMMON RESOURCES to avoid disaster in the future- this would be the way to keep on a SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT track. LIMITS TO GROWTH AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 1972:. A few years after HARDIN’S ESSAY, CLUB OF ROME, in 1972 ran a computer simulation that aimed to predict the CONSEQUENCES of what could happen in a planet with limited resources. One of the first uses of the term SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT in Contemporary sense was by the “CLUB OF ROME” in 1972 in its classic report on “THE LIMITS TO GROWTH”. They argued that if the pattern of LIMITLESS GROWTH continued, then there would arise problems of SUSTAINABILITY. And the very same year, in 1972, THE FIRST UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT was held, also known as “Stockholm Conference”. As the World’s knowledge of global Politics evolved the first historical conferences were organized. It was the FIRST BIG WORLD LEADERS MEETING organized by the UNITED NATIONS to discuss the human impact on the Environment and how it was related to ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. AFTER THIS, many meetings in the international scenario were organized , be it:. 1979- WORLD FIRST CLIMATE CONFERENCE, another one being 1992- RIO DE JANEIRO EARTH SUMMIT in RIO, BRAZIL. So, we can say Concerns over ENVIRONMENT got much higher in 21st century.

Since the BRUNDTLAND REPORT, the CONCEPT of SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT has developed beyond the Framework to focus more on the GOAL OF “SOCIALLY INCLUSIVE and ENVIRONMENTALLY SOCIAL-ECONOMIC GROWTH!