Sustainable Development: concept and development.

Pankaj Bora

Concept of Sustainable Development:

Development refers to the yearning for a better life. This development should be environment friendly. It is why Sustainable Development is the need of the time. But what is sustainable development?
Worlds Commission on Human Environment defines Sustainable Development as it is development that “meets the needs of present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Again another definition is “Sustainable development (SD) is the process which effectively balances the needs of development with concern for the health of the environment.” Sustainable Development is socio-economic development that meets the needs of the present without negotiating the ability of future generation to meet their own needs. It is an ideology which maintains an appropriate balance between economic development, social development and environmental protection. Sustainable Development is characterized by economic growth that does not exhaust the resources.
The ideology of Sustainable Development refers to the process of development in sustainable way. Sustainable Development in the words of Baylis and Smith is “economic and social development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs; programmes which maintain an appropriate balance between economic development, social development, and environmental protection. In practice, this is a contested concept, in that groups with differing political, economic, social, and environmental perspectives disagree about its exact meaning.”
Sustainable Development is typified by economic and social growth with sustainability. This development does not exhaust the resources of the country. Sustainable development, to Abraham “is characterized by economic and social growth that does not exhaust the resources of a host country; that respects and safeguards the economic, cultural, and natural environment; that involves grass roots participation and builds indigenous institutions; and that is nurtured by eco-friendly policies and programmes.” Investment in human capital like in education, food, health, and total well being of the population can bring Sustainable Development.
So to sum up, Sustainable Development is a development pattern where resources are used in such a way that it meet the human needs by preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come.

Emergence of the concept:

Though there were few discussions about the importance of environment in the era of Aristotle and Montesquieu but as the development activities of those days were not identical to these days, environment had not degraded as it is today and hence importance of Sustainable Development was not realized. It is only after the two world wars, people has started realizing the environmental degradation and started working towards it protection both nationally and internationally. The concept and importance of Sustainable Development was even realized much later in 1980s. “The credit of inventing the term ‘sustainable development goes to Eva Balfour and Wes Jackson. The term first came into prominence in the World Conservation Strategy (WSD) (1990), and had become a catchphrase of the 1990s.”
The concept of Sustainable Development has received most attention since the UN conference on Environment and Development held in Rio De Janerio in 1992. This marked the first international attempt to draw up action plans and strategies for moving towards a more sustainable pattern of development. Before that in 1987 the term Sustainable Development was popularized by UN Commission on Environment and Development through the Brundtland Report. This report used Sustainable Development to mean use of renewable resources to promote economic growth, to mean protection of animal species and biodiversity and for commitment to maintaining clean air, water and land. But it was after Rio Summit; its importance is realized and recognized by the globe. Socialist Abraham believes that 1992 Rio conference and 2002 Johannesburg World Summit encouraged governments towards Sustainable Development. To quote him “The United Nations sponsored two worldwide summits-the Rio Conference on Environment and Development in 1992 and the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002- which encouraged governments to partner with NGOs and private industry to make a bold commitment to applying Sustainable Development principles in every area where humans impact on environment.”
Again Sustainable Development is also one of the Millennium Development Goals which aim to reduce any form of poverty in coming decades. The MDGs includes the integration of the principles of Sustainable Development into country policies and programmes. MDG also aims at control biodiversity loss, water resource management etc.
In India also Sustainable Development has gained its importance simultaneously. India has cooperated in the world summits on Sustainable Development. In February 2001, Tata energy Research institute organized a Sustainable Development summit in New Delhi, which was attended by several environmentalists from all parts of the world. The Bhopal Gas Tragedy, where leak of poisonous gas from a chemical plant claimed life of many people, becomes an importance accident towards rise of the concept of Sustainable Development in India.