Introduction

 Sustainable development is a concept that we are made to understand and study, but we are left blind in understanding the ways to achieve it. SD, therefore, stands the risk of becoming a cliché to which everyone pays homage but nobody seems to define with precision and exactitude. We know that Sustainable Development is the road to a better future. But what is the road to sustainable development? 

What is Sustainable Development?

Development is defined as ‘an evolutionary process in which the human capacity increases in terms of initiating new structures, coping with problems, adapting to continuous change, and striding purposefully and creatively to attain new goals’ (Peet, 1999 cited in Du Pisani, 2006). According to Reyes (2001) development is understood as a social condition within a nation, in which the needs of its population are satisfied by the rational and sustainable use of natural resources and systems.

Sustainability means ‘a capacity to maintain some entity, outcome or process over time’ (Basiago, 1999). Stoddart (2011) defines sustainability as the efficient and equitable distribution of resources intra-generationally and inter-generationally with the operation of socio-economic activities within the confines of a finite ecosystem. Ben-Eli (2015), on the other hand, sees sustainability as a dynamic equilibrium in the process of interaction between the population and the carrying capacity of its environment such that the population develops to express its full potential without producing irreversible adverse effects on the carrying capacity of the environment upon which it depends.

Sustainable Development, in general, is defined as ‘the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Why Sustainable Development?

Sustainable development is the need of the hour. The economy crashing, forest burning, animals dying, climate-changing are some of the important examples as to why one should know about it. The severe change in climatic conditions rises maximum temperature, rises minimum temperature, rises sea level, causes shrinking glaciers and thawing permafrost. This increases the frequency of storms, floods, heat waves, and drought. There is also a decrease in biodiversity. “Biologists see the loss of biodiversity during the last fifty years as one of the four or five largest incidents of destruction of life on the planet” quotes Graciela Chichilnisky in her journal ‘What is sustainable development.

These problems were first addressed in 1992 at United Nations Earth Summit, Rio de Janeiro. In that Summit, sustainable development emerged as one of the most urgent subjects for international policy.

Pillars of Sustainable Development

To understand sustainable development is to understand its 3 main pillars: Economic sustainability, Social Sustainability, and Environmental Sustainability.

Economic sustainability was first addressed when we realized that natural resources are limited. We understood that not all of them are replenishable or renewable. This fact affected one of our 3 processes in economic sustainability. The function of the production unit started to decline. Newer and newer ways are researched every day to produce things at a correct rate so that everyone have equal consumption. The other two processes in economic sustainability include distribution and consumption. These two processes have to be monitored properly for economic prosperity.

Social sustainability encompasses empowerment, accessibility, notions of equity, participation, institutional stability, human rights, and cultural identity all of which promote peace and social stability for sustainable development. It should aim to alleviate poverty. Because of the complicated dynamics of society, it is said that social sustainability is difficult to achieve. As Everest-Phillips (2014) says, “the definition of success within the social system is that people are not subjected to conditions that undermine their capacity to meet their needs”. Anything that crosses the path of people meeting their needs has to be addressed.

Environmental sustainability, as we all know it, is about nature life and how it supports human life on earth. With increasing disasters every day, life on earth is becoming more and more difficult. This can be reasoned with the fact that we started to seek our existence on other planets, like Mars. It is predicted that, by the year 2080, about 20% of coastal wetlands could be lost due to sea-level rise (UNSD, 2018c). There is also the problem of increasing global warming, decreasing glaciers, rising sea levels, and increasing acidity of oceans.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

To solve these issues and everything that concerns it, the UN put forth 17 different goals. These goals are planned to be achieved by 2030.

GOAL 1: No Poverty

GOAL 2: Zero Hunger

GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being

GOAL 4: Quality Education

GOAL 5: Gender Equality

GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

GOAL 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

GOAL 10: Reduced Inequality

GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

GOAL 13: Climate Action

GOAL 14: Life Below Water

GOAL 15: Life on Land

GOAL 16: Peace and Justice Strong Institutions

GOAL 17: Partnerships to Achieve the Goal

Agenda 2030 has five ultimate outcomes, known as the five Ps: people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnerships, which span across the 17 SDGs.

Implications

Every government in the world should acknowledge the length of issue we are facing and take necessary actions to avoid them. Every government should adhere to SDGs for a successful and flourishing future.

Government should encourage “smart growth” through proper use of land and align their economic development. The government should make policies regarding population growth. As we all know, the more the population, the more the demand for a resource, the more the depletion of the resource. One key principle of SD is to conserve the ecosystem and biodiversity. The government’s policies should be made in a way that wouldn’t disturb biodiversity. Every government should have a social justice system that keeps checking on the integrity of the country.

Conclusion

The three spheres of SD are overlapped with one another that if one progresses, the remaining two follows. If the concepts contained in the sustainable development goals are applied well to real-world situations, everybody wins because natural resources are preserved, the environment is protected, the economy booms and is resilient, social life is good because there is peace and respect for human rights.