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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
What is “Sustainable Development”?
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Sustainable development refers to a concept that seeks to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It emphasizes the integration of economic, social, and environmental considerations to achieve long-term well-being and a balanced approach to development.
The concept of sustainable development gained prominence in 1987 with the publication of the Brundtland Report, also known as “Our Common Future.” The report defined sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
Key principles of sustainable development include:
1. Environmental Stewardship: Sustainable development recognizes the importance of protecting and conserving natural resources and ecosystems. It seeks to minimize environmental degradation, promote biodiversity, and ensure the sustainable use of natural resources.
2. Social Equity: Sustainable development emphasizes the importance of social equity and justice. It aims to reduce inequalities, promote inclusivity, and ensure access to basic needs, such as education, healthcare, and clean water, for all individuals and communities.
3. Economic Prosperity: Sustainable development acknowledges the significance of economic growth and prosperity but emphasizes that it should be achieved in a way that is environmentally responsible and socially inclusive. It encourages sustainable and equitable economic systems that promote job creation, innovation, and fair distribution of wealth.
4. Inter-generational Responsibility: Sustainable development recognizes the interdependence between present and future generations. It requires decision-making that takes into account the long-term consequences of actions, ensuring that resources and opportunities are preserved and made available for future generations.
To promote sustainable development, various strategies and frameworks have been established, including the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are a set of 17 goals and 169 targets that address global challenges, such as poverty, inequality, climate change, sustainable consumption, and biodiversity conservation. These goals provide a framework for governments, organizations, and individuals to work together towards a more sustainable future.
Achieving sustainable development requires a holistic and integrated approach, involving collaboration among governments, businesses, civil society, and individuals. It involves making informed decisions that balance economic, social, and environmental considerations, ensuring that development is both sustainable and inclusive.
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Sustainable development is the key to the stable growth of the the economy. It will not only lead to the development of the present economy but will also lead to its development in the future. It means that development should take place without damaging the environment, and development in the present should not compromise the needs of future generations. This concept stresses the role of the environment as capital that, if exhausted, cannot be replaced. It requires the preservation of human capital, physical capital, and natural capital.
The three core elements of sustainable development are briefly discussed below:
Environmental Conservation: The primary focus of sustainable development is to protect the environment so that the resources provided by it do not get destroyed.
Social Development: It aims to attain the well-being of an individual and society at large. It entails the availability of necessary resources, proper healthcare, and good quality of life for people.
Economic Progress: It encourages people to invest in sustainable efforts by persuading them through its long-term benefits and supporting both the environmental and social elements of the cause.
Characteristics:-
Real per capita income and economic welfare should continue to increase over the long run. Simply said, sustainable development means
that resources should be utilized organically and without overusing them.
Sustainable development aims to use natural resources and the environment to raise the standard of living while preserving future generations’ capacity to meet their own needs.
Promoting environmentally friendly and biodegradable products is a goal of sustainable development, as is establishing sustainable plans for resource replacement or replenishment. Green architecture and other environmentally friendly building techniques are emphasized in sustainable development.
Scope :-
Sustainable development is observed as the mutually beneficial interaction between the legal interest of a business and the economy, government and politics, and civil society, and culture. However, these social interactions do not exist alone. On the physical and material side, the society is bound by the carrying capacity of several ecosystems, landscape ecology, and eventually the biosphere of the Earth or Nature. On the spiritual and psychological side, the three fold functional differentiation of society is inspected by the caring capacity of an individual. Therefore, we can say that sustainable development is a multidimensional concept, involving not less than four dimensions.