Sustainable Development:: A Brief Overview

Sustainable Development : a brief overview

a

kind of development that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the next generations to meet their own needs.”

concern with extraction of resources while at the same time allowing the environment to replenish itself

.

The goal is to ensure that there will not come a time when development will be halted due to lack of naturally occurring materials as a result of environmental degradation.



The issue of sustainability can be divided into three constituent parts: environmental sustainability, economic sustainability and sociopolitical sustainability.

Scopes and definitions:

Environmental Sustainability We seek equilibrium between the amount and the processes of extractions with the ability of the environment to tolerate it without sliding into a point where there will be an irreversible slide in ecological balance.

 The

environment from which we extract food and raw materials is more often than not disturbed, the tip of ecological balance moved over a long period of time into point where there is a steady degradation until such time when it can no longer support itself, hence dying out and denying us a steady source of much needed materials in the future.

 An

‘unsustainable situation’ occurs when natural capital (the sum total of nature's resources) is used up faster than it can be replenished

 Theoretically,

the long-term result of environmental degradation is the inability to sustain human life. Such degradation on a global scale could imply extinction for humanity.” – wikipedia

Consumption State of Sustainability of renewable environment resources More than Environmental Not sustainable nature's ability degradation to replenish Equal to Environmental Steady-state econom nature's ability equilibrium to replenish Less than Environmental Sustainable nature's ability renewal development to replenish

Economic Sustainability 

Economic sustainability refers to the ability of the economy to supply the demands of the market with rooms for profit to ensure a steady growth over a period of time.

Economies are measured through this:  Gross

domestic product : the total financial value of the final goods and services rendered in a country over a one-year period.

 Positive

growth is indicated by an increase in the GDP over the two year period while a negative growth is indicated by the opposite.

Demand for Supply of goods and the raw services materials needed to sustain the economy High High

Economic Environme performanc ntal e sustainabilit y

Positive

Negative

Low

High

Negative

High

Low

Negative

Positive/Ne gative* Positive

Low

Low

Positive/Ne Positive gative**

* depends whether raw materials can be stored for future use ** depend more on market dynamics such as the difference between the product face

Econo mic growth

Point of Equilibrium

Environm ental sustainabi lity

Sociopolitical Sustainability  Man

is said to be a political animal. (Aristotle). Anything that has a power relationship can be considered as political.

 Although

there is no direct cause and effect relationship between environmental sustainability and the sociopolitical scene, it is essential to look at the power structures in given societies, even in the global level, to understand the policies implemented in certain areas, with regards to development sustainability.

Modernist countries

Economic development Post-modernist countries